How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 266

Duke Bachelran had established a command post in the highest spire to oversee the defense against the ongoing enemy invasion.

The knight guarding the command post was Harkins, who greeted me with a welcoming expression.

“Oh, Chief of Staff! Feeling better, sir?”

“Is the Commander inside?”

“He is.”

“How’s the situation at the front?”

“The offensive has been successfully repelled, but they’ll likely be back in a few hours. Marquis Rodkius seems to have completely lost it.”

Following Harkins’ gaze, I looked over the ramparts and saw a horrific battlefield.

Corpses lay scattered everywhere. Hundreds of wounded soldiers groaned in agony between them.

“They’re not even collecting the wounded. He’s completely insane. What does he think we are? They usually don’t attack those tending to the wounded, no matter what.”

I nodded at Harkins, who clicked his tongue in disapproval, and immediately entered the spire. After passing through a few doors, I found Duke Bachelran looking exhausted.

Unusually, Pleta Bachelran was with him. According to Ruth, Pleta had sent a message ahead to join us, so she must have arrived with the rear supply unit while I was asleep.

She started to acknowledge me but stopped, sensing my grim expression.

“You’re awake?”

Duke Bachelran asked without looking up. I nodded and approached him.

“Yes.”

“Feeling better? I heard about the Master-level knight. Lordane and you successfully repelled him; I won’t forget your contribution. More importantly, the current situation is…”

“Excuse me, but may I speak?”

I interrupted Duke Bachelran.

He slowly lifted his head from the desk. After making eye contact, he narrowed his brows.

“You look serious. What is it?”

“This war was orchestrated by Rodkius. And his purpose is…”

I paused, then closed my eyes tightly and said, defeated, “We’ve been played, Commander.”

Yes, that was my conclusion.

Why? Because it was clear they were exploiting life force using Mana Stones [stones that amplify magical energy, often at a cost].

But all those plans were exposed because of me, and the plant they were trying to build in the Southern Islands was ruined. In that situation, what should they do to advance the delayed plan?

Yes. It was my fault that I only realized Marquis Rodkius’s intentions now. From the beginning, this war shouldn’t have been approached this way.

“…Hey, what are you talking about?”

Duke Bachelran looked at me as if wondering if I’d hit my head. But I continued to speak rapidly.

“There were signs. You know they’re making Mana Stones, right?”

“Wait.”

When I brought up a story that was almost confidential, Duke Bachelran looked surprised and gestured to the surrounding staff, who were watching us.

“Everyone, please step outside for a moment. Pleta, you stay here.”

With only the three of us left in the command post, Duke Bachelran frowned.

“I’ll assume you have a good reason for this. Anyway, you mentioned Mana Stones? Of course, I know that terrible thing well. Didn’t you investigate it yourself and report it to me?”

“And do you know how to contain the power of those terrible Mana Stones?”

“I’m a mage, too. Of course, I know.”

“Would you tell me?”

“Why now…? Alright.”

Sensing my serious expression, Duke Bachelran began to speak slowly and deliberately.

“The Elven race, masters of spirits, used Dark Elves in their case. They coerced them to create Spirit Stones that sealed dark spirits. And black magic is used to sacrifice humans and inject evil energy to create the terrible Mana Stones.”

“And you know the purpose and utility of those Mana Stones.”

“They suppress the side effects of Mad Blood Grass and enhance its effectiveness. The Unholy Knights you fought before are living proof of that benefit. I heard it can also be applied to monsters. You testified that you saw the case of the Orcs directly.”

“Yes. I thought until now that they, led by the Neviros Order, were focused on manufacturing Mana Stones only to utilize monsters or nurture Unholy Knights.”

“Isn’t that the case?”

“No. That seems to have been just a secondary goal.”

“A secondary goal?”

“You said before, Duke, that there have always been crazy black mages throughout the long history of the kingdom. They always try to summon unholy beings to bring chaos, but the human body is too weak to be a vessel, so there is a clear limit.”

“That’s right.”

“They were making that vessel. Strengthening monsters, nurturing Unholy Knights—those were just means to that end.”

“…Making a vessel?”

“That black-haired man.”

“He’s the vessel? For what?”

“For what else could it be?”

“Are you saying…? Wait a minute.”

Duke Bachelran sat back in his chair, stroking his chin and pondering for a long time. After several minutes, he spoke again.

“If it’s to bring a transcendent being into the world, you need a suitable vessel. The power of the incarnate also depends on the qualities of the vessel.”

Duke Bachelran continued, organizing his thoughts aloud.

“But no matter what, the thing you’re worried about is an existence that can never be contained in a human body. Even if it descends, its strength won’t greatly exceed the limits of the original vessel.”

“The black-haired man is not human.”

“…”

“From the beginning, that bastard was created to be a vessel. Like a Lich [an undead creature sustained by magic], if you seal the source of his power somewhere, he will be resurrected as a Death Knight forever! And that power is constantly growing. He has probably been quietly growing his power by using the Mana Stones that have been created so far. The guy who was originally estimated to be an Expert High-Ranker recently appeared with a dramatic increase in power.”

“Recently…?”

I gritted my teeth.

“It’s after we started the war.”

“…”

“Do you know the current damage scale of the Royal Allied Forces and the Southern Army?”

“The exact numbers are unclear, but we’re reporting about 30,000 combined. If you include civilian casualties, it will increase further.”

“Does that include the siege warfare that has been going on for several days?”

Duke Bachelran shook his head.

“No.”

“If you include it?”

“It would be well over 60,000.”

“60,000 in just a few months. And we don’t even know how many more people will die in the future. As you can see, the Marquis is still sending soldiers who know nothing to this castle to die, isn’t he?”

“So, is that why you said we’ve been played?”

“Let’s go back to the beginning. To when Marquis Rodkius appeared in Capital [the kingdom’s main city] and declared war. Did he need to do that? The more time he had, the more advantageous it was for him. The set procedure was to ignore the summons and raise troops, giving the royal family a legitimate reason to punish him, but what did he do?”

“He arrogantly trampled on Capital and the palace in front of His Majesty the King and returned, so we were able to quickly mobilize the army.”

“Furthermore, isn’t it strange that we advanced so easily to this place? Of course, I have no doubt that your strategy and tactics, Commander, were excellent, but didn’t Rodkius intentionally keep pushing back the front lines and obsessively try to force a battle?”

“I don’t want to say we were deceived, but I can’t deny that Rodkius’s response was lukewarm.”

“Isn’t it obvious? That cunning Rodkius only wanted to create victims by choosing battlefields where all preparations were complete.”

My throat is dry. I grabbed the water bottle on the nearby table and drank it in one gulp. The lukewarm temperature is irritating. It would be nice if there was ice.

Pleta’s face, which I saw in passing, was as white as a blank sheet of paper. Damn it, I’m going crazy, too.

I wiped my mouth and spoke again.

“And in the end, we became unable to move from here as intended. Rodkius was able to steadily grind down people’s lives under the pretext of retaking the castle.”

“But everything you’ve said so far is just speculation, isn’t it?”

I reached out and pointed to the battlefield.

“Then can you explain why such an absurd thing is happening for any other reason? Other than Marquis Rodkius being senile?”

“…No.”

“Decisively, I personally know a Druid who is deeply knowledgeable in necromancy [magic involving raising the dead].”

Duke Bachelran chuckled at the word Druid.

“Was it Rahenna? I thought she was an Elf like Lordane, but she was a Druid. I’m not even surprised anymore. So?”

“Rahenna came here a while ago with the story of that necromancer. She said that the causality was out of sync, that what should have disappeared from the continent has not disappeared and remains suppressed.”

“Suppressed means…?”

“Perhaps it means that the souls of the sacrificed soldiers have been absorbed and bound somewhere. Isn’t it obvious?”

“The circumstances seem to fit when you just listen to it. But as you said, this castle is surrounded. That doesn’t mean we can immediately lead the troops out and fight a losing battle, does it? The 2nd and 6th Legions are coming here. What we have to defeat with them doesn’t change.”

“No!”

I slammed the table.

No. Absolutely not.

Duke Bachelran frowned at my strong reaction, but he was a man who was as cold as he was rational.

“Explain why it can’t be done.”

“All units except our 4th Legion must be sent back north.”

“To the north? What on earth…?”

“The south is no good. You must never let people die in the south! Because every death will become their strength! This expedition should not have started from the beginning!”

I know. I could now understand why the black-haired madman was trying to find Kerwyn.

It’s to smash the barrier that blocks the north. If he finds out where Kerwyn is, he will kill him and smash it, and even if he can’t find him, he will smash it with force.

He can do it. He’s a guy who rose to Master in an instant with 30,000 to 40,000 deaths. I don’t know what will happen if twice as many die.

“If it’s the north?”

“Monsters will come pouring down. It will definitely happen. It’s no longer just a problem for Rodkius. The entire kingdom will be covered in war. This is not speculation; it is an inevitability that will come sooner or later. The faster our troops shed blood in this south, the faster it will come.”

I drove a wedge into Duke Bachelran, who was surprised by my words.

“The enemies are probably already moving. They will aim for the north while we are stuck here in the middle of the faraway south. Even if we end Rodkius and the south as it is, it will only be a victory in a local war. Rather, we will gain something small and lose something big. The battlefield is now the entire kingdom!”

“Wait, just wait a minute.”

Duke Bachelran’s attitude was quite different. He was so nervous that his fingertips were even trembling slightly.

I spoke to the confused Duke once again in a low but forceful voice.

“The goal of the expeditionary force has changed at this moment! From offense to retreat!”