Chapter 505
I Will Hold the King Accountable. (3)
Berhem’s madness did not end with devouring people.
"Are the preparations for war still not finished?!"
He had to capture and kill Count Fenris, the one who had driven him to this state. Even now, just thinking about him made his fury surge uncontrollably.
He repeatedly urged Marquis Domont. He wanted to swiftly crush the North with his mighty army.
Marquis Domont, sweating profusely, was busy trying to dissuade Berhem.
"Your Majesty, we still need more time. Please, just a little longer."
A war wasn't something that could begin just because one wished for it. This was especially true when facing a formidable enemy like the Northern Army.
The Northern Army’s capabilities had already been proven in the battle against Marquis Roderick and the rifts. Now that they had grown even stronger, meticulous preparation was necessary to defeat them.
They also needed to secure more food supplies and properly maintain their siege weapons.
"There are still lords who have not sent their response. We must gather their forces as well."
"Ugh… Those insolent wretches! How long has it been since I returned, and they still haven’t come running?!"
The regional lords and nobles were not enthusiastically following the king. They were still watching the situation cautiously.
The biggest problem was Count Raypold, who had been gradually eating away at the East. Taking advantage of Marquis Branford’s downfall, she had already seized six territories.
They needed to unite all these forces, but everyone was acting independently. In such a situation, sending the entire Royal Army to the North was impossible.
The lords feared that other nobles might use the opportunity to rebel.
Marquis Domont continued to pacify Berhem.
"The lords are loyal to Your Majesty. They are merely afraid at the moment."
"Afraid?"
"Yes. They have fought against the duchy before, have they not? Since a ceasefire agreement was signed, they fear potential consequences."
"Then what should be done?"
"Your Majesty must display magnanimity and pardon their transgressions. If you assure them of your protection, they will fall in line."
"Hmph, that much is easy. Is that all that needs to be done?"
"Even if they all march with their armies, we must proceed with caution."
Even after gathering the regional forces, they would still be insufficient against the Northern Army. Such was the overwhelming power the North had demonstrated.
Moreover, the 100,000-strong allied forces remained intact. With them as additional adversaries, the current Royal Army was far from enough.
The only silver lining was that the duchy had firmly decided to support this war.
Placus, who was tending to Berhem’s health, spoke up beside him.
"Please endure a little longer. Word has come that the Duke of Delfine’s forces will soon mobilize."
"Hnghh…"
Berhem groaned. The fact that he, the ruler of this kingdom, had to keep making concessions to the duchy infuriated him.
‘Once I take the North and recover my health, I will show them my true authority.’
Berhem swallowed those words. To him, the duchy was ultimately just another group of disloyal subjects that needed to be eliminated.
Waving his hand dismissively, he ordered,
"My head aches. Bring the offerings at once. Make sure there are young ones among them today."
Absorbing human life force was no simple task. Without a proper Core, he constantly suffered from chronic headaches.
His skull felt like it would split open, and he frequently suffered nosebleeds. The side effects were worsening.
Seeing Berhem clutch his head, Placus frowned slightly.
‘He’ll die before he even completes his Core.’
His body was already too frail to withstand the procedure properly.
‘Orb of Life’ wasn’t something that could be created just by offering many sacrifices. The refinement process naturally took a long time.
‘Well... I guess it doesn’t matter. I should be able to deploy before I die. The Orb of Life can be used to create more priests anyway.’
He had to stay alive until he secured control over the kingdom’s army. The kingdom’s army was essential to achieving his grand ambitions.
He had already lost too many troops, and fighting against the Northern Army would only lead to further losses. There was no way around it.
But soon, the duchy would finish their preparations and begin their movements. The king just had to survive until then.
Taking over this wreck of a kingdom had become far too easy.
However, things took an unexpected turn.
“Marquis Ferdium has sent proclamations across the land and declared rebellion!”
“W-What? That bastard has risen in revolt?”
One day, during a royal council meeting, Berhem was shocked by the report. He had intended to use the excuse of treason to sweep through the North, but he never expected them to openly rebel like this.
They knew he had allied with the duchy, yet they attacked first? The man was completely out of his mind.
Berhem fumed and shouted,
“This is actually perfect! Those rats have crawled out of their holes! Deploy the entire kingdom’s army and kill those wretched scums at once!”
The gathered nobles swallowed nervously.
The king had no idea what state the kingdom’s finances were in, nor the condition of its army. The nobles had already siphoned off everything for themselves.
In truth, supplies were in shambles, equipment was deteriorating, and morale was in the gutter.
‘Damn it… I was counting on the duchy.’
‘The kingdom’s army alone will never be able to stop the Northern Army.’
‘I need to find a way to buy time…’
During the ceasefire negotiations, the Delfine forces’ prisoners were not returned. Berhem had stubbornly refused.
The duchy hadn’t been too concerned, thinking they could retrieve them later.
Since those troops had been restructured into the kingdom’s army, their numbers were still considerable. If they all moved out at once, they could stall for time.
The nobles intended to use that delay to gather their wealth and escape.
Unaware of their true motives, Berhem continued to rage.
“Send summons to all the lords immediately! Order them to march against the traitors!”
According to feudal contracts, lords had autonomy in peacetime, but during war, they were required to obey the king’s commands.
Now that Ferdium had ignited a civil war, even the passive lords were expected to rally their forces and march to the capital.
Berhem fully believed this would happen.
But the news that followed was nothing short of disastrous.
“The 3rd Legion has surrendered completely!”
“The other legions are also surrendering without even putting up a fight!”
“The army is completely out of control!”
Kingdom forces that encountered the Ferdium army, like the 3rd Legion, were surrendering en masse without resistance.
Some units even had their lower-ranking officers and knights assassinate their commanders before surrendering together.
“What nonsense is this! Why is everyone surrendering? Do I not have a single army willing to fight for me?”
“E-Even when we deploy, the moment Count Fenris charges in, our soldiers scatter and flee…”
Even if the soldiers didn’t surrender immediately, the result remained the same.
For those who refused Zwalter’s offer to surrender, the first thing that happened was the beheading of their commanding officer.
And to Ghislain, Zwalter’s son. Even if he simply charged in alone, the soldiers would panic, scatter, and leave their commanders completely exposed.
To the kingdom’s soldiers, Ghislain was practically a god of war and a legendary hero. There was no way they would fight their hero and savior.
With Zwalter and Ghislain cutting down the commanders of the royalists’ armies, the soldiers could then comfortably defect to the Ferdium army.
And the next report was even more absurd.
“T-the, the kingdom’s people are taking up arms and joining the Ferdium and Fenris’ forces.”
“W-What did you say?”
“Wherever the Ferdium’s army passes, the people... they are following them.”
Upon hearing those words, Berhem was horrified. Did this not mean that the entire kingdom was turning against him?
And those lowly commoners dared to stand against their king!
“Th-Those wretched insects...! Born of filthy blood, yet they dare...!”
Berhem had lived his entire life steeped in inferiority. The very thought that even the kingdom’s people opposed him ignited an uncontrollable fury within him.
Mere food sources that existed solely for his benefit—how dare they!
But the problems did not stop there.
“Your Majesty! The lords across the land have begun to support the Marquis of Ferdium!”
“What?!”
Berhem’s expression twisted with despair. Did this mean that even the lords who had once wavered had ultimately chosen the Marquis of Ferdium over him?
Indeed, that was the case. The hesitant lords, upon receiving Zwalter’s proclamation, written with his heartfelt sincerity, made their decision.
From the beginning, these were lords who had fought to protect the kingdom. There was no way they could tolerate the current king’s actions any longer.
They issued the same declaration from all across the land and began to raise their armies.
— “We will depose the tyrant and restore the kingdom.”
Realizing the situation, Berhem trembled as he asked,
“A-Are you saying all those armies are marching toward the capital? The duchy! What are they doing?”
“It seems the duchy will be deploying their forces soon as well. However…”
“Why? Why? If they just arrive, everything will be solved, won’t it?”
“The armies of the central and eastern lords are all moving to the southern front.”
“T-To the southern front, not the capital?”
“They appear to be trying to block the ducal family’s forces while the Ferdium army attacks this place. The coalition forces of the neighboring countries, the western army, and the northern army have mostly moved south as well.”
No matter how powerful the ducal family was, if such a massive force bore down upon them, their advance would inevitably be stalled.
By the time the Delfine forces broke through that vast army and reached the capital, this place would already be in ruins.
Everything had fallen apart so suddenly. Growing more anxious, Berhem urgently asked,
“W-What if we take the Marquis of Branford and the nobles hostage?”
“It would be useless, Your Majesty. Do you think those who have already rebelled would concern themselves with hostages? Moreover, attempting to seize them would result in heavy losses.”
The Marquis of Branford still had highly trained knights and private soldiers. The same applied to the nobles who had once led the kingdom.
Of course, Berhem’s forces vastly outnumbered them, so they would win if they fought.
But his own side would suffer casualties as well.
In this situation, any depletion of his forces would be a greater loss for him.
“Then what do you expect me to do?! Someone, offer a solution!”
Berhem scanned the throne room. However, the number of nobles attending the council was noticeably lower than usual.
“W-Why have so many not come to the royal palace in such a critical moment? S-Summon them immediately! We must find a solution!”
The nobles present lowered their heads with grim expressions. The sharpest among them had already gathered their wealth and fled the capital upon hearing the news.
Only then did Berhem finally realize that the situation was far graver than he had thought.
“W-Where have those who swore loyalty to me gone? A-Are you telling me they have actually fled? Has no one thought to defend this kingdom?”
“…Your Majesty.”
“Th-Those wretched traitors...! D-Did I not grant them great authority and rewards?! And yet they still betray me?!”
Watching Berhem’s outburst, Viscount Domont wore a bitter expression. In truth, he had never expected things to unravel this quickly either.
Who could have imagined that the royal forces would surrender without even putting up a fight?
He had believed that if they joined forces with the ducal family, the northern army could be easily dealt with.
But everything had collapsed in the blink of an eye.
Coming to his senses, Berhem, now pale, spoke.
“Summon the Marquis of Branford. We must request his mediation. Quickly, quickly bring the Marquis of Branford—”
“…Your Majesty.”
“The Marquis of Branford can protect me. Everyone followed him before, did they not? Quickly, inform him of the situation and…”
Berhem had wanted to kill Marquis Branford more than anyone else. But now, with the situation as it was, there was no one else he could rely on.
Berhem clung desperately, looking utterly pathetic.
"Wasn't Marquis Branford the one who swore loyalty to the royal family? He must come. He must be the one to resolve this."
Never in his life had he felt such a threat. Every problem has always been solved by others.
In the past, the commander of the Shadow Knights had protected the royal family. After him, it was Marquis Branford who stood as the royal family's shield.
As long as they held their positions, the thought that anyone would dare rebel against the royal family never even crossed his mind. They were simply too powerful for anyone to challenge.
Had they not even held back the might of the duchy?
But Berhem had always viewed them as usurpers who had stolen his authority. Consumed by inferiority, he had constantly wished for their downfall.
He wanted them all dead so that he could wield absolute royal power. He had believed that was the rightful order.
Only now did he realize the truth—he had been living comfortably under their protection.
They had safeguarded the royal family in place of his own frail body.
Naïve to the ways of the world, he had assumed that as long as he held power, everything would fall into place.
Berhem cried out in desperation.
"Summon Marquis Branford immediately!"
Marquis Domont responded with a grave expression.
"…Your Majesty, you must flee."
At this point, calling for Marquis Branford was meaningless. The flames of rebellion had grown beyond control.
The fact that the people were rallying behind Marquis Ferdium was proof of that.
If he had sought comfort, he should never have cast Marquis Branford aside. Since he had craved power, he now had to bear the consequences.
Berhem asked in a dazed voice.
"Where? Where would I even flee? This land belongs entirely to me."
"…You must go to the duchy."
The only place left capable of protecting the king was now the duchy. Having allied himself with the Salvation Church, he could not escape to another kingdom.
Berhem turned to Placus.
"Can you escort me to the duchy?"
Placus hesitated for a moment. With the royal army in shambles, Berhem had become truly worthless.
But that was not his decision to make. Berhem still held symbolic significance as the ruler of the kingdom.
Whether to abandon him or not was for the Salvation Church and the duchy to decide.
"Do not worry, Your Majesty. I am a Transcendent. Gather the Royal Knights and the Capital Defense Force at once. I shall escort you to the duchy."
"Y-yes. That must be done. Make the preparations immediately!"
Count Palantz, the Royal Knights' Commander, and Marquis Domont began making their move to escape the capital.
However, their opponents acted far faster than expected.
A lower-ranking officer rushed in, his face pale with terror.
"Y-Your Majesty! The capital has been surrounded!"
"What?! Wasn't the Ferdium Army advancing slowly? How could the capital already be under siege?!"
"Count Fenris has arrived with a separate force! It appears to be their famous Mobile Corps!"
Having absorbed the remnants of the royal army and even the common folk, the Ferdium Army had significantly slowed down.
Though their advance was awe-inspiring, akin to a king's march, they could not afford to move too sluggishly.
Rumors had spread that the duchy were also mobilizing.
Thus, Ghislain had led only the Mobile Corps ahead to strike the capital first.
Cardenia.
A fortress that had never in history been taken by force—an impregnable stronghold.
And now, once again, Ghislain stood before its gates.
In his past life, he had led a powerful army and crushed it outright. No matter how sturdy Cardenia's walls were, they could not withstand an army led by one of the Seven Strongest on the Continent.
Though he had fewer troops now than back then, it made no difference—Cardenia would fall all the same.
But Ghislain saw no need to waste effort in a direct assault.
He simply shouted with confidence.
"Open the gates!"
Immediately, a commotion erupted atop the city walls.