Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 147

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아이멘 제국 [Aimen Empire].

육군사관학교 이스트라인 [East Line Military Academy].

전쟁사 강의실 [War History Classroom].

“Ten days ago, the Lionel Kingdom initiated a war to reclaim the territory they lost to the Hamel Empire over a decade ago. Today, let’s discuss this topic. As students of East Line, you should all be familiar with the basic facts of the war between these two nations, correct?”

The Major began his lecture, looking at the cadets seated in the classroom.

“In this war, the actions of the Lionel Kingdom have left this professor in awe. I believe it was the most perfect surprise attack in the history of warfare. It was almost beautiful. What are your thoughts?”

The Major made eye contact with the cadets, his eyes searching.

While everyone else avoided his gaze, one female cadet stood out with her bright eyes. The Major recalled some brief information about her.

Name: Laila.

Second highest score in the Military Academy entrance exam.

Her mother is an immigrant from the Lionel Kingdom.

To ensure the smooth progress of the class, the Major called on her.

“Laila, would you like to answer?”

“Yes, Professor. The war began at the perfect time, coinciding with the death of the Hamel Empire’s Emperor. The Hamel Empire, thrown into chaos by the Emperor’s death and his will, struggled to respond effectively. As a result, they ceded about half of the northwestern territory of the Lionel Kingdom, which they had occupied over a decade ago, in just one week.”

The Major nodded at Laila’s statement.

“Perfect timing. That’s right. Strike when the opponent least expects it. That’s what all military academies around the world teach, not just East Line. In that sense, I would give the Lionel Kingdom’s timing of this war a score of 200 out of 100.”

The Major scanned the cadets and noticed a plump cadet with a displeased expression, pouting.

Name: Liang.

Second-generation immigrant with parents from the Hamel Empire.

“Liang, you don’t seem to agree.”

“I can’t shake the feeling that it was just a cowardly surprise attack without a declaration of war.”

“Pfft-”

Laila chuckled softly.

Liang glared at her, eyes narrowed.

“Is that an insult, Laila!”

“It just sounds like the Hamel Empire had a declaration of war when they invaded the Lionel Kingdom over a decade ago.”

“Ugh! Back then······.”

“Enough!”

The Major firmly cut them off.

This was a sacred lecture.

He couldn’t let the cadets debate as they pleased, especially when it was likely to turn into an emotional fight.

“Laila, Liang. You can have your discussions during the designated time. In that sense, you both get two demerit points.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“······ Understood.”

Laila didn’t seem to care, while Liang bit his lip tightly.

The Major brushed it off.

The Aimen Empire was founded mainly by immigrants from the Brissen Alliance in the West Continent. Disputes related to parents’ or their own country of origin were common.

“However, Liang, there’s one thing I want to address in your statement. In the last 10 years, how many times has a war broken out after a declaration of war? Excluding small-scale localized conflicts, of course. If you get it right, I’ll remove the demerit points I just gave you.”

Liang’s eyes darted around. Soon, sweat broke out on his forehead.

Because he couldn’t think of a single instance.

“Th-Three times?”

He guessed.

The Major smiled and opened his mouth.

“Too bad. You looked like you knew the answer. The correct answer is not even once.”

“······.”

He turned his gaze away from Liang and looked at the other cadets.

“Returning to the main topic. This professor highly values Evan Lionel, the King of the Lionel Kingdom, who planned this war.”

The Major manipulated the magic tool on the platform, and a portrait of Evan appeared on the screen in the lecture hall.

“Just five years ago, his chances of succeeding to the throne were close to zero. He’s 18 years old this year. Ah, 16 years old by our reckoning. Younger than all of you sitting here.”

Even though they knew this fact, the cadets once again looked at Evan in the screen with admiration.

“After the outbreak of the Red Star Fever, the number of scholars in our country who became interested in the Lionel Kingdom and him increased. Some of them describe Evan Lionel’s rise to the throne as a miracle. His actions are more unconventional than those of the legendary founders of most kingdoms.”

The Major paused for a moment and manipulated the magic tool.

The timeline of Evan, who was once a ghost prince, rising to the throne appeared: royal trial, hearing, suppression of eastern pirates…

The origins of the events and what Evan gained from them were briefly summarized.

“Today’s topic is not Evan Lionel. It’s about the war between the Hamel Empire and the Lionel Kingdom. However, the reason why this professor mentions him is because you need to understand him to understand the actions of the Lionel Kingdom in this war.”

The Major turned his gaze from the cadets to the screen.

“The thing I value most about Evan Lionel is that he ‘creates’ the results he wants. Liang.”

“Yes? Yes!”

Liang, suddenly called, answered with a start.

“If someone framed you and you were standing in court, how would you respond?”

“I… I would try to clear my name somehow.”

The Major nodded.

“Yes, that’s what ordinary people would think. But Evan Lionel was different. He not only cleared his name but also made the Fourth Prince, who had framed him, go into exile. An exile to his death.”

The Major pointed to the hearing part of the timeline with the pointer.

“Now, let’s look at the hearing. The beginning was simple. A servant was identified as an agent of the Northern Liberation Army, which was then called a puppet group, and was captured. Here, Evan Lionel makes a choice that surprises everyone. He chooses to save the servant. There’s no need to explain how unusual this choice is, right? Perhaps it’s a case that can’t be found in any history of the world. Ah! If it were a maid instead of a servant, there might be a few cases.”

At the Major’s last words, which were hard to tell whether they were a joke or serious, some cadets chuckled softly.

“An ordinary person would have struggled to save even one servant. But Evan Lionel gained two things through the hearing: visible and invisible. I’ll give you two points if you get it right. Does anyone know what they are?”

At the mention of points, the cadets raised their hands eagerly. Laila, who had received demerit points, also raised her hand like lightning.

“Laila was the fastest. Tell me.”

“First, the visible one is the Northern Liberation Army, which will support his forces!”

“That’s correct. Then what is the invisible one?”

“······ The servant’s loyalty?”

Unlike her first answer, her tone was hesitant. The Major stroked his beard for a moment and then nodded.

“Wrong, but not entirely wrong. To be precise, Evan Lionel gained the image of a lord who can be trusted and followed through the hearing. Some of you cadets may think that’s not a big deal. But this professor, at least I, think that was the driving force that allowed him to finally ascend to the throne.”

The Major paused to quench his thirst. As he brought the water bottle to his lips, he chuckled at Laila, who was looking at him with pleading eyes.

“Laila… I’ll give you two points.”

“Thank you, Professor!”

After quenching his thirst, the Major continued to lecture the cadets on Evan’s choices, which were different from those of other monarchs, and the interpretations of himself and scholars regarding the results.

And then.

Quite some time passed until they reached the moment when Evan was crowned king.

“······ Now, after talking this far, do you understand why this professor highly values Evan Lionel? Frankly, I don’t even know if it’s right for me to evaluate him.”

The Major, with a wry smile, manipulated the magic tool.

The timeline of Evan becoming king disappeared, and the northern part of the Lionel Kingdom appeared on the screen.

After glancing to make sure the map was displayed correctly, the Major opened his mouth.

“After Evan Lionel became king, his actions were considered somewhat dull. But with the outbreak of this war, the story has changed.”

As he spoke, he continued to manipulate the magic tool.

On the map, the angry-faced Khan began to move south.

“In modern times, many scholars have argued that a perfect surprise attack is impossible. Especially in a full-scale war between countries. Everyone knows why, right? Unlike in the past, communication systems have developed to the point where news from distant continents can be heard in a day or two. The scholars argued that it’s impossible for neighboring countries not to know about large-scale troop movements.”

On the screen, the entire Lionel Kingdom army began to move north to counter the angry Khan.

“But Evan Lionel thoroughly ridiculed their claims with this war. He made the Hamel Empire lower their guard by revealing large-scale troop movements. By using the barbarians of the north, the Khan.”

The Khan and the Lionel Kingdom army, who seemed to be growling at each other as if they were about to fight fiercely, suddenly changed direction and crossed the border of the Hamel Empire.

“The Lionel Kingdom army seized (formerly) Bayern Territory, the most important stronghold in the northwest, within a day of the start of the war. And this morning, the newspaper reported that the Lionel Kingdom army had occupied Ironforge, the largest landfill area of ​​Gray Steel.”

The Major cleared his throat once and continued.

“The Gray Steel buried in Ironforge is so tempting that even our Aimen Empire wants it. The Hamel Empire can never give it up. Even in the extremely chaotic situation after the Emperor’s death.”

The Major looked around at the cadets and licked his lips with his tongue.

Those who met his gaze swallowed nervously. It was a habit he had before asking questions for evaluation.

“Although it has not yet been announced in the press, according to this professor’s reliable sources, the two states of the Hamel Empire that developed the mines in Ironforge, Jeokheung Province and Eunhwa Province, have promised to cooperate. Can the Lionel Kingdom really defend Ironforge to the end? I would like to hear your opinions once again.”

***

It had already been fifteen days since the airships had taken off all at once from Berrington Fortress.

The Royal Army, which had been advancing rapidly, succeeded in recapturing Ironforge, the largest deposit area of ​​Gray Steel [a valuable resource].

Although about half of the territory that had to be recovered was still left, it could be said that they had sufficiently secured their gains even if they concluded a ceasefire agreement here.

But a problem arose.

Jeokheung Province and Eunhwa Province of the Hamel Empire, which had excellent mining facilities in Ironforge, joined hands.

A large force was approaching.

Two days ago, there had already been a war of nerves through the airship fleet.

‘Sigh….’

Recalling the damaged airships of the kingdom, a sigh escaped me. I swallowed it so that those gathered in the tent would not notice.

I raised my head and looked straight ahead.

Galad, Commander of the Blue Lion Knights.

Bert, Minister of National Defense.

Derek, Admiral.

.

.

.

All the key figures, including the kingdom’s Seven-Star Knights, were gathered.

All of them were looking at Julian, who was standing in front of the map with a pointer in his hand, with serious expressions.

When the war started, there were many knights who looked down on him. Now, at least, they don’t do it openly.

Whether they were knights or staff, they had to prove themselves on the battlefield, and Julian had so far come up with flawless strategies with very few casualties.

I winked at Julian.

After he nodded, he opened his mouth to the knights gathered in the tent.

“Then, let’s begin. Currently, the allied forces of Jeokheung Province and Eunhwa Province of the Hamel Empire are observed to be two days away from Ironforge. They are identified as a large force including four Seven-Star Knights.”

“Wait, Julian. Four Seven-Star Knights?”

Bert asked, as if he felt he had misheard, after scratching his ear with his finger.

“Yes. Four.”

Julian’s assertion remained firm.

The expressions of the knights gathered in the tent, including him, hardened slightly.

Because there was one less knight in the kingdom to stop the Seven-Star Knights [elite warriors].

“Hmm….”

Bert suddenly looked at me. Automatically, the gazes of others also turned to me.

Eyes that seemed to say, “Do it.”

Everyone didn’t say it, but they seemed to think that I would take on that one person, looking at me, the officially and physically Six-Star Magic Swordsman [a powerful warrior].