The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 174

The Earl’s Scion is a Genius – Chapter 174

Act 20: Bloodline: The Scion Aboard

Alex knew the Emperor well.

He was the cautious type, always testing the waters before crossing. He never jumped into anything that might put him at a disadvantage. He feared challenges and always stuck to the safe path.

So, for such an Emperor to suddenly bring up Reynolds and try to arrest him?

This meant the Emperor had discovered that Crown Prince Reynolds’ death was not an accident but an assassination, and he was convinced Alex was the culprit.

‘Where on earth did the information leak from?’

At first, Duke James’ face came to mind, but he quickly shook his head. He was the one who wanted Alex to ascend to the throne.

Besides, Alex’s current bodyguards were all under Duke James’ command. If Alex was a hindrance, he would have had the bodyguards kill him cleanly, not use such a risky method.

If that was the case, there was only one culprit.

The Black Night information guild, which was involved in the assassination operation.

Those bastards were the traitors.

“Seize the sinner!”

“Protect me!”
The two orders intersected.

The heavily armored knights guarding Alex drew their swords, blocking the approaching imperial knights.

A tense standoff ensued between the imperial knights trying to carry out the Emperor’s orders and the black knights sent by Duke James.

“Daring to disobey the imperial order, you must be insane,” Knight Commander Hans’ voice was filled with indignation.

Alex decided he needed to escape this place first. He turned sharply and slipped away.

Fortunately, a warhorse was nearby. He snatched the reins from the soldier holding them, mounted the horse, and galloped away.

“Huh?”

“Catch him! Catch him!”

“Everyone, get out of the way!”

The Emperor ordered the Crown Prince’s arrest.

The Crown Prince ordered a path to be cleared.

The military camp descended into chaos.

Who would dare aim an arrow at the Crown Prince? The flustered soldiers milled about, passively watching Alex’s escape. In the meantime, Alex broke through the entrance and successfully fled.

Meanwhile, the black knights who had bought Alex time to escape were all subdued by Knight Commander Hans.

The black knights’ strength itself was enough to surpass the imperial guard, but Hans, the greatest swordsman on the continent, easily crushed them.

“Let’s see that handsome face of yours.”

Hans removed the helmet and tore off the mask, swallowing a gasp. The face hidden beneath the mask was a pure white skeleton, devoid of any skin.

“A Death Knight?”

He was undead.

“This one has finally crossed the line he should never have crossed.”

The Emperor sighed.

Alex’s guilt was as good as proven.

* * *

Melves Great Plains, westward.

Duke James’ military camp.

Like the Emperor’s camp and the Desert Kingdom’s camp, a hundred thousand troops were lined up.

As befitting the de facto ruler of the Empire, James had mobilized an army of similar size to the Emperor.

Duke James, looking down at his military camp from the highest point, recalled the last Twilight Church executive meeting.

‘The Demon King’s resurrection is one year away.’

The Twilight Church leader’s declaration.

James had also been active in the final battle twenty years ago. The undead legion he commanded accounted for a significant portion of the Demon King’s forces.

He still remembered.

The hordes of zombies and ghouls tearing at the enemy, and the soldiers who died to them rising up to attack their former allies. The pandemonium.

How beautiful that sight was!

The battlefield, where corpses kept appearing, was a stage prepared for him. As a Lich King [a powerful undead sorcerer], he felt alive only in this place.

An undead commander who felt life by observing the deaths of others. That was Duke James, the essence of Arrogance.

In the meantime, tedious times continued.

He played the role of the Empire’s Duke, wearing clothes that didn’t fit. Still, he silently endured and carried out his role, to feel the joy of the great war once more.

After a long wait, the time had come to reap the sweet fruit.

According to the leader, Baal’s resurrection was one year away, or even less. Until then, what Arrogance had to do was clear.

‘Cover the continent in the flames of war.’

The war with the Desert Kingdom was the first step.

To this end, Arrogance sent the assassin of Queen Sandy, whom he had been hiding, to the Desert King, hoping that the Desert King, who had a sorcerer capable of discerning the truth, would raise an army.

As expected, the enraged Gazelle led his troops north.

In the end, the current situation was as he had designed it.

To create chaos in the Empire by mass-producing undead through large-scale warfare. Then, the destruction of the continent due to the resurrection of Baal, who had broken free from his seal. A clean plan.

The time had come to throw away the mask of James and return to Arrogance.

“Hmm?”

A single horse was rushing into the camp from afar. Fluttering white hair. It was Crown Prince Alex.

A fool who didn’t know his place and harmed his own flesh and blood.

That was Arrogance’s assessment of Alex.

Originally, Arrogance’s plan was to install Alex, who was easy to manipulate, as Emperor and then turn the entire continent into a battlefield through expansionist policies.

Since he held Alex’s life vessel, there was no need to worry about him having second thoughts or stabbing him in the back.

He would have refused even if it made him uncomfortable, but he killed his brother, determined to aim for the throne, willingly putting on the dog collar himself. Perhaps the qualifications for Emperor were determined by a stupidity index.

Anyway, he had needed that guy before, so he even put on the hat of greed and made him a high-ranking executive, but with the Demon King’s arrival one year away, everything had changed.

Now that guy was a burden.

Useless trash.

“Duke! Please help me! Those lowly bastards from Black Night have stabbed me in the back! The Emperor has learned the truth about the Reynolds case!”

“Calm down.”

“How can I calm down! You could get involved too. Isn’t the master of Black Night an executive?”

Sloth’s betrayal… It was bound to happen someday. She had an unpredictable mental state.

In fact, among the high-ranking executives, perhaps only the giant Rage was truly loyal to the leader.

The rest were clinging to their executive positions for their own reasons. Even Arrogance himself was following the Demon King to satisfy his personal sense of joy. It wouldn’t be strange if anyone betrayed at any time.

But for a woman who wouldn’t bleed a drop of blood even if stabbed with a knife to openly stab him in the back.

“Hmm… I suppose it doesn’t matter since that person is coming.”

“Doesn’t matter? Are you out of your mind? You’re next after me! Do you think you’ll be safe if I step down from the Crown Prince position? If there are no teeth, the gums will ache!”

Noisy. A little too noisy. If he had just stayed still, he would have lived another year. I guess a fool is a fool after all.

“Hey, Alex.”

“What? Alex? Are you crazy?”

“You should watch your words. If there are no teeth, the gums… Surely you don’t think I’ve formed such an important relationship with a moron like you?”

“What…?”

“A toenail full of dirt. It’s a little inconvenient without it, but it doesn’t hinder my life. That’s all you are to me.”

Look at that stupid expression.

He changed his mind.

He was originally going to leave no trace of his corpse, but making him into a cute ghoul wouldn’t be bad either.

Thud!!

A gruesome tearing sound.

Alex’s eyes widened.

His body, with its heart destroyed, slowly collapsed.

“Why…”

“The fact that I have to explain this one by one is proof that you’re an idiot.”

Alex breathed his last.

A black knight waiting behind him approached.

“Master, shall we move?”

“Yes.”

Arrogance waved his staff in the air. Then, a black aura spread out from him in concentric circles.

The soldiers touched by the aura had their human skin melt away, revealing their hidden true forms.

Ghouls with a rotting stench, skeletons made of only white bones, or grotesque chimeras [monstrous creatures made from different animal parts]. Even high-ranking undead like Death Knights and Liches.

That’s right.

The hundred thousand troops that Arrogance had brought were all made up of the dead.

“Go forth! Drag the abominable creations of light into the darkness. There must be no life left on the Great Plains after the sun sets.”

The dark army rushed towards the Emperor’s camp. Within Arrogance’s empty pupils, a blue ghost fire flickered. The festival he had been waiting for, the carnival, had begun.

* * *

At the edge of the Melves Great Plains, there was a hill.

It wasn’t very high, but it was the only hill, so it was a place where you could see the Great Plains at a glance.

From that edge, I was keeping a close eye on the situation with my companions. Pahel and Sloth were also with me.

After receiving the Desert King’s protection, I received a reply from the Emperor. The reply stated that Crown Prince Alex would be arrested and held accountable for his crimes.

It was fortunate that the Emperor had made the right decision. But would Alex accept it? I was a little skeptical about that.

Why was it that ominous premonitions never missed?

Crown Prince Alex, who had sprung from the Emperor’s camp, rode his horse to Duke James’ camp. He looked like a kindergartener going to tattle to his teacher.

Not long after, Duke James’ army quickly approached the Emperor’s side. It was clear to anyone that they weren’t approaching with good intentions.

[Life Control]

[Shared Vision]

I released a rat to see more clearly.

The scene shared through Shared Vision was shocking itself.

Not a normal army, but an undead legion. The corpse on horseback at the very front was Crown Prince Alex, with a large hole in his chest.

“He finally did it.”

I shared the scene seen through the rat’s eyes with the group. The one who showed the most surprised reaction was Orneo, as expected.

“What? Does that mean Duke James is after His Majesty now?”

“You should assume he’s after all life on the Great Plains, not just His Majesty. He’s a necromancer, a Lich, after all.”

Even as I spoke, the western flank of the imperial army was already collapsing.

Fighting ordinary humans was scary enough, but the opponent was the undead, who couldn’t die. The beings who had returned from death stimulated primal fear.

Moreover, all allies who lost their lives to the undead would become enemies.

The sight of former comrades charging with dangling necks and severed limbs was a sight too gruesome to bear.

Arrogance had clearly been aiming for this moment.

If he won the battle on the Great Plains, he would have a massive undead army of nearly six hundred thousand.

From here, it was only three days to Osdin City, the heart of the Empire. What if hundreds of thousands of undead legions massacred the millions of residents of Osdin City?

A undead empire of millions, or even more, would be born. It would be the beginning of the continent’s destruction.

“Look over there!!”

Sion pointed to the Desert Kingdom army’s camp.

A solemn horn sounded, and the Desert Kingdom army charged fiercely. Their target was Duke James, that is, Arrogance.

Desert King Gazelle had made a decision.

In this case, the act of recruiting him in advance had been a divine move.

What would have happened if I had left him alone? The Desert King, seeing it as an opportunity, would have struck the Emperor. And then, he would have belatedly discovered the undead legion and perished along with the Emperor.

But because of the stone I threw, the Desert King turned his sword towards James. Thanks to that, the undead legion, which had been happily attacking the Emperor’s camp, was hit hard in the flank.

They barely managed to maintain their balance.

You must never let your guard down.

Because time was not on our side.

The more people died, the more the enemy increased and the allies decreased. Moreover, the undead could fight continuously without getting tired. In the end, it was a war that would only end when Arrogance was defeated.

“Sage, please focus on helping the imperial army defend against the undead onslaught.”

“I understand.”

Sion and Campbell, Rakan and Aiden, even Amelia. I entrusted all my companions to Orneo.

Pahel would stand on Gazelle’s side and support the Desert Kingdom army. I could sense his intention to help his uncle and build a relationship on this occasion.

Sloth also declared that she would join Pahel. By now, Arrogance must have noticed her betrayal. Her position was that he must be killed.

“Henon, what will you do?”

I turned my head at Orneo’s question. At the end of my gaze, I saw Arrogance waving his staff.

“I will move separately.”

“Surely you’re not trying to kill Arrogance alone, Vice-Commander? That’s absolutely impossible.”

Campbell’s worry.

“It’s okay. I’m not alone.”

I took out a friend who had been waiting in the subspace. The true form of a giant Sacred Dragon was revealed to the world. It was the appearance of a legendary being.

Kyaooo!!!!

The earth trembled and the air shook at the dragon’s roar. The undead and humans alike, feeling the powerful presence, looked this way.

Taat!

I kicked off the ground and climbed onto Coco’s back. As I floated into the air with a flap of her wings, everyone’s faces grew smaller. I winked at them as they stared blankly.

“Then, I’ll be off.”