Chapter 256 – A Demonstration Against the Monarch's Oppression that Violates the Nobles' Core Rights!
After the Grand Gathering, Counts such as Jacques Huan amassed their troops upon returning to their lands. Together, the assembly of soldiers far exceeded that of any single northern count during the First Internal Conflict a couple of years ago.
Furthermore, as the smaller nobles nearby joined their cause, it took less than a month for Count Huan's territory to overflow with over a thousand knights and a strong army of more than 20,000 soldiers, turning it into a formidable stronghold.
Nevertheless, there were still some who couldn't shake off their anxiety.
"Doesn't the royal army possess 50,000 troops? Even if their count of knights is lower, with the forces of Maclaine and Esperanza..."
"Our forces will keep growing. The foolish king has turned all the nobility against him; it's fair to assume that apart from Maclaine and Esperanza, everyone is on our side."
"But still..."
"Haha, no need to worry so much. Moreover, the royal family lacks the resources to sustain their army, right? You've verified that separately, haven't you?"
Jacques reassured the concerned nobles while keeping his calm demeanor.
'We've revolted here, and in the capital, powerless nobles are continuously presenting petitions. How long can the king hold on?'
Jacques's eyes sparkled with excitement as he envisioned a future post the king's temporary surrender.
However, that façade of confidence quickly crumbled.
– The royal proclamation declares direct punishment for these uncivilized nobles who have defied the crown and taken up arms in rebellion!
Just a few days later, the royal decree shattered Jacques's smug grin.
"What's happening, Count!"
"The royal family can't wage war, they say!"
"What is this...!"
"Silence! Silence!"
Bang. Bang.
"Are all of you this cowardly? Such a disgrace to our nobility!"
Jacques's shout immediately silenced the chaos in the room.
Yet, he couldn't conceal the grinding of his teeth as he faced those still visibly anxious.
"Even if Maclaine and Esperanza manage to procure supplies, their army can barely hold out for a few days! Are you that afraid of an army too weakened to fight?"
"But still...!"
"I consider this an opportunity!"
Jacques Huan overpowered Mike Terosa's efforts to argue, surveying the bewildered faces of the nobility as he spoke with determination.
"If we defeat the royal army by force, the king will no longer be able to reject any of our demands! Mobilize the troops to their maximum capacity! It's a war we win simply by enduring!"
The sound reasoning in his argument eluded those ignorant of the fundamentally flawed assumptions he based it upon.
Despite persuading the other nobles, Jacques himself couldn't completely deceive his own heart.
'What's amiss? What's lacking? No, it must be a bluff by the king. It has to be...'
Blood involuntarily tinged his lips from biting them, but he was entirely unaware, lost in visions of ambition and failing to assess the ground beneath his feet, although an instinctual unease remained impossible to hide.
* * *
Booooooom!
With a blaring trumpet, a massive army departed from Gran's city gates.
Thud. Thud.
The resolute march echoed through the city, led by Logan, armored as always.
As he glanced back, the capital's citizens erupted with cheers.
"Wowww!"
Although the soldiers were compelled for morale, the oblivious troops drew strength from the spectacle.
'Someday, I'll establish a nation where all of this occurs willingly.'
With a clenched fist and determined gaze, Logan turned back to the royal guard, now bearing his name.
Impeccably armored infantry, armed with repeating crossbows, totaled 48,000. Ahead of them, 3,000 crossbow-mounted cavalry rode on majestic lightly armored steeds, marching stoically, with over 500 knights and 300 mages carrying flame-emblazoned banners leading the vanguard.
Such formidable forces seemed unbelievable for just a year's duration.
With Luther Kail and Whicken Calia, the Gargantuan and Stormsword, flanking him, how could he not feel fortified? Behind them lay a supply unit unimaginably vast to any noble's forecast.
'This will conclude swiftly.'
Having entrusted Gran's protection to his mentor and the Esperanza duchy, it was time to imprint the royal guard's strength across the entire realm.
Logan issued a command that resonated throughout the fortress.
"March the entire army forward!"
– ATTACK!!!
The robust chorus of a 50,000-strong force signified the commencement of their advance.
Within just three days, this formidable military might approached Count Huan's stronghold.
Bang!
"How many of them are there!?"
"They weren't expected! How can they...!"
"Count Jacques! What is happening here!?"
As the Royal Guard's outline emerged on the horizon, the previously skeptical nobles at Huan Castle descended into chaos.
Despite hastily mustering their own forces, with their troops reaching 30,000, boasting thrice as many knights as the royal forces, none had truly anticipated war.
And among them all, Jacques Huan was the most taken aback.
"Curse them! They've deceived me!"
His wrath targeted the intelligence guilds that had provided him with information on the royal family. It boiled over when he discovered that the data from prominent guilds such as Nox, Arena, and Void was all inaccurate.
Of course, those guilds, supported by substantial funds and influence, were only beginning to grasp the extent of the royal intelligence network and reorganizing, an understanding Jacques could never have possessed.
'How dare these deceivers mislead me!'
While Jacques may have felt inclined to demand recompense or confront the deceivers, those were concerns to be addressed only if he survived the current predicament.
"If we engage in battle here, our forces will be decimated! Count, we must surrender!"
"The war was not supposed to occur! How will you be accountable for this!?"
The barrage of inquiries echoed loudly in his ears, but Jacques struggled to make a decision.
'Can we endure? Our knights outnumber theirs easily by twofold. We have repeating crossbows and the advantage of walls... Perhaps it's achievable?'
Doubt clouded his mind.
Could they emerge victorious?
Even if victory eluded them, if they simply withstood the assault, might the king propose a truce?
He couldn't readily accept the collapse of the glorious future that seemed so tangible just moments earlier.
His typically sharp mind grappled between greed and logic, unable to function as doubts lingered.
"They're progressing!"
"They won't halt!!"
"No declaration of war!? Nothing!!"
The shouts of knights outside stiffened Jacques's expression.
"There's no need for negotiation. Just crush them."
"Yes!"
As Logan's troops continued their advance, they exuded a fierce combat spirit as they relayed the king's will throughout the ranks.
"That is...!"
"They're approaching!"
"The Exalted Ones!"
"Fire!"
"Shoot! Unleash everything!"
The assault on Huan Castle commenced as three riders – or rather, two riders and a colossal being – surged towards the castle walls amidst cries of alarm.
Sensing the panic in those cries, Logan heightened his aura progressively.
Pa-pa-pa-pa-pang!
Flash.
Ta-da-da-dang!
A cascade of dark bolts rained from the sky, all rebounding off Logan's golden protective shield that emanated from his body, impervious to penetration, the reverberations resonating in the air.
His recently acquired mastery of the Force Blade Technique, extending the golden protective shield even to the front of his steed, was a minor feat for the now mid-tier aura user.
Logan, transformed into a colossal golden figure, charged towards the gates. Upon reaching the threshold, he raised his sword high.
'Overwhelm them entirely, so they don't dare resist.'
As his determination surged, another Force Core emerged from the six nestled within his heart.
Whoooooom.
His domain ascended momentarily. Experiencing the explosive power, Logan invoked a secret technique he had recently mastered.
The sixth form of Divine Sword Vision.
'Eliminate Origin (근원참), Extensive Deployment, Altered form (만상붕괴)!'
Kwooom.
Small golden orbs emanating from the tip of Logan's sword struck the western gate of Huan Castle, and a golden wave spread outward across dozens of meters from the point of impact.
Whooooooooooom.
Grrrrumble.
Rumble!
Engulfed by the golden wave, the western gate and walls of Huan Castle crumbled in a thunderous roar.
"Aaaah!"
"Magic!?"
"It's impossible!"
Boom!
Amidst the chaos, only a few knights managed to react as most of the soldiers manning the crossbows on the walls perished instantly.
The technique's potency, akin to now-extinct grand magic not imbued into the walls, was beyond belief.
"Hahaha! Truly splendid, Your Majesty! Indeed a monarch among Transcendents!"
To Logan's left, a colossal figure cloaked in red aura leaped into the breached walls with an exclamation of wonder.
"Surrender yourselves!"
Meanwhile, the Silver Storm began tearing through the city's interior.
Moments later, dozens, hundreds of liberatio poured from inside the walls.
Boooooooom!
Bang!
Boom!
"Ah, help!"
"R-run away!"
"Save me!"
With the onslaught raining down, the ranks of rebel nobles were already thrown into disarray. Ahead of them, 500 knights radiating red, yellow, blue, and white, donned in various enchanted armors provided by the 300-strong mage regiment, charged head-on.
The Royal Knight Order, clad in all sorts of armor-like enchantments.
"Defeat the traitors!"
"Obey His Majesty's command!"
"For Maclaine's honor!"
Outnumbered twofold, the noble coalition's morale faltered under the relentless charge and ensuing onslaught.