Against the World II: Transgression
Chapter 26: The Imperial Army, part 1
...—8th January, E643 | Imperial Army— Temporary Base...
When the Favilifna Kingdom is located vertically parallel to Avada, the Ekralina Kingdom is in an imaginary straight line with Verada. Only, the distance between Ekralina Kingdom and Verada City was almost two and a half times the distance between Avada and Favilifna Kingdom. With a regular horse carriage, a month's journey is the required travel time to arrive in Verada from the small country.
The Imperial Army Temporary Base was located right at the midpoint between Verada and Coralina, the capital of the Ekralina Kingdom. That point also parallels the main road leading to Maidenhair Magic City which splits the Swamp Wet Forest into two halves. However, of course, a significant difference in distance is not possible to see the road from the base.
As the name suggests, the Imperial Army Temporary Base is the temporary place of deployment of the Imperial Army's main offensive forces for the upcoming war. Currently there are hundreds of soldier barracks that stand block-block there—one block consists of more than ten barracks. Information centers, armories, logistics warehouses, public kitchens, and various facilities have been built. Some of the facilities are still unfinished, but the majority are finished.
Xavier and seven battalions (eight with medical battalions) of the Imperial Army's 12th Division arrived at the base after travelling from Verada. There he found the 7th Division led by Dermyus had arrived yesterday, while the 4th Division arrived two days before the 7th Division arrived. The two divisions also each carried seven battalions, but their one battalion numbered 500 and 700 more soldiers than the number of one 12th Division battalion.
As plans have been made in advance, from tomorrow until six days after the 12th Division will train together with the 4th and 7th Divisions at the temporary base. Not only offensive troops, but also medical forces.
Xavier instructed his eight captains to ensure all soldiers had a place to rest in the army barracks. An average barrack is 80 soldiers. With the total troops that Xavier brought in exceeding eleven thousand five hundreds, it required at least 145 barracks/dorms. He did not know how many barracks they could wear, but if it was not enough then they had to set up a tent.
“Commander Xavier, welcome!” greet a woman with the captain attribute of Division 3. “Please to main room. Commander Reinhart and Commander Dermyus were there. Commander Hekiel was also there. Earlier this morning Commander Cleria stopped by here for a while, but she was gone an hour ago.”
Xavier thanked the captain, then darted towards the room in question. He did not know the purpose of Hekiel being there, but it would not be surprising if he was appointed the chief leader of this temporary base.
...—Headquarters Order 1 Knight Templar, Eden, Emiliel Holy Kingdom—...
Arthur was not surprised to receive notice that Order 7, Order 8, Order 10, and Order 12 had instructed Pope Genea to mobilize north of Ekralina Kingdom. Saint Rossia has been sent to negotiate with King Mortana. Merlin's assumption that Mortana had been manipulated must have been reported to the Pope, but based on reports that arrived at his desk a few minutes ago, Pope Genea considers the manipulation to be non-existent.
If you think about it at a glance, it was an unwise action from Pope Genea. Liberating Mortana will provide more “reh” justification for Emiliel Holy Kingdom. However, Arthur understands why Pope Genea decides to follow the perp's game behind the Mortana manipulation. He wanted to color Ekralina Kingdom as a traitor. That would make their actions to rule the kingdom even more acceptable.
With the Knights Templar moving as the chosen knights of the gods, and given Mortana's not-so-good reputation among his subjects, relocating the majority of the population to the Holy Kingdom would not be difficult.
“But...sending four Orders at once?”.
Between himself and Merlin, Arthur isn't shy about saying he's not smarter. Merlin was smarter, more cunning, and more annoying than him. Arthur is just a normal guy who trains hard to be strong. There is nothing in him that is abnormal. Perhaps, even in the entire universe, nothing was more normal than him. Therefore, he who does not directly understand why Pope Gene sent four Orders at once should not be surprised at all.
Arthur drained his mind trying to find another reason, but in the end he put his shoulder to the ground when no other more plausible reason came into his head.
...—Royal Palace, Etharna, Favilifna Kingdom—...
Elmira's laughter broke the silence of the throne room as soon as the economy minister finished giving his annual report. The laughter sounded melodious, full of pleasure, full of happiness; there was no mistake in it. However, to those who knew what Elmira was like before, the laughter was so terrifying that it made the bones shiver.
The economy minister is one of the few who knows what the Elmira Cent Nix Favilifna really looks like. The cold sweat that filled his temple was clear evidence that he felt between life and death in the throne room. Especially when he rolled his eyes at the gripping creature that floated behind Elmira. The minister felt at any time he could catch up with the dead as pawns in the queen's board game.
“Good work, Minister,” Elmira said as her captions subsided. “Make sure you keep up your good work. Hm, I have another role that you can play if you feel unbearable doing your duty now, but I know you're looking forward to making a big profit for the palace, right?”
“Te-Of course, Your Majesty. Slave will keep trying to dredge the wealth of Ekralina Kingdom in a way that ‘entertain’.”
“Good, good, I can expect a lot from you. Now you can go, enjoy your day off as much as three days.”
“Te-Thank you very much, Your Majesty. Servants will do their best, and I will definitely enjoy the holiday that His Majesty has given.”
The minister bowed his head in salute, then turned his body and stepped swiftly leaving the throne room.
“You don't want to kill him, or change his mind?” ask Mary who is lying on the floor behind the throne. “He already knows what you really are. You're not worried that he's gonna find allies and plan your abdication?”
“Hihihihi, it will be interesting to see, won't it?” Elmira did not wait for Mary's answer, the hue of your face quickly became serious. “What about the movement of the Knights Templar? It's been almost two weeks since that woman we let know what really happened in Ekralina Kingdom. I thought they should have acted to take advantage of it.”
“There has been no movement to Ekralina, but the Forbidden Valley of Ed is already controlled by Order 1 Knight Templar.”
“So? Hm, let me know as soon as there's a move to Ekralina. I have to make sure the Imperial Army will move when the Knight Templar moves. The sooner they kill each other the better. Ah, I also have to recruit more soldiers to protect the kingdom. Perhaps taking to the streets and showing solemnity my worries would be effective in attracting the patriot souls of the people. What do you think, Mary?"