The Army Enters the City

After spending most of the day going through all the construction information from the Royal Capital over the past two or three years.

Standing beside the enormous map, Shire stroked his chin.

His mind automatically began putting itself in another's shoes.

And his years of experience surfaced on their own.

After pondering for a while, he picked up a pen and said softly to Jem Woz, "First are the more conventional places: hidden terrain, relatively little foot traffic, but not too far from human habitation."

As he spoke, he began marking the map, circling regions and labeling them with numbers. Most of those places were ancient abandoned sites within the Royal Capital, areas discarded with the passage of time and now generally used as slums, warehouses, and the like.

After drawing seven or eight circles and arranging them in numerical order, Shire continued, "Next are the better hiding places. Such places are either extremely remote, making them hard to notice, or pressed right up against crowds, using the massive flow of people to conceal their own abnormalities. The former is easier to deal with. No matter how well they conceal things, holding a Demon ritual will inevitably leave traces in those wild and desolate places. The latter, however, must have local nobles acting as umbrellas of protection, or they would definitely be discovered. On top of that, the people there are already a mixed bag, so they will be harder to search."

He began marking the map again, working outward from the city center. He did not stop until he had marked nearly ten locations, labeling each one as well.

"These locations will not be easy to investigate. All sorts of forces are tangled together there, and most of them are old hands. If possible, it would be best to have the Church investigate them. After all, they have accepted your favors.

"As outsiders, they can be more ruthless when they act and are not afraid of offending people, so they are quite suitable. Besides, their senses are indeed sharp when it comes to Cultists, far surpassing those of ordinary Soldiers. They will have a better chance of finding something wrong."

After thinking it over, Jem Woz felt that it made sense and nodded. "All right.

"They want to establish themselves in the Royal Capital, and they do need an opportunity to flex their muscles and prove their strength to all the forces here. I do not think they will refuse this request."

Seeing that he had accepted his advice, Shire nodded and said seriously, "Next are the most important locations. If you search them when the time comes, I think you should act together with the Church. Otherwise, it may cause a huge mess."

Though somewhat puzzled, Jem Woz saw Shire's serious expression and replied, "...I understand."

"Next are the best, and the worst, locations. If there truly is any cult in these places, then even if they are not the Wailing Spirit Society, they are definitely harboring ill intent and plotting something major. They will become a mortal threat to the Duchy of Maldon in the future. So once they are discovered, I suggest you wipe them out on the spot, at any cost."

Upon hearing this, Jem immediately understood that the next few locations might be troublesome.

The first place Shire circled was the Royal Palace, followed by the Beast Arena, the Central Library, Count Art's Manor...

Every one of them was exceedingly difficult to handle. They either belonged to people of high status and great authority, or had deeply entangled backers behind them.

Jem Woz immediately felt a faint headache coming on.

To investigate all these places along with the locations circled earlier would mean offending nearly a quarter of the Royal Capital's nobles. Some of them even included members of the royal family. This was undoubtedly unfavorable for his upcoming coronation ceremony.

Seeing his hesitation, Shire said helplessly, "At a time like this, you cannot afford to worry about too much. If we fail, there will be nothing left, so some bloodshed is unavoidable, no matter whose blood it is... If something truly goes wrong in those most critical places, I only hope you will not show mercy. No matter who they are, striking hard is the simplest method."

The implication was that once Jem Woz discovered anything wrong, he was to kill without exception and leave the other side no opportunity whatsoever.

If a Summoning Ritual had secretly been arranged somewhere like the Royal Palace, then the Wailing Spirit Society must have joined hands with one of Jem Woz's siblings. Otherwise, they could not possibly have concealed it from Jem Woz.

Likewise, if the Wailing Spirit Society's headquarters in the Royal Capital was somewhere like the Beast Arena or the Central Library, then their collaborator had to be one of the Royal Capital's highest-ranking nobles to possess that capability. Their status might even be somewhat higher than that of ordinary Princes and Princesses. When the time came, there was a great chance that Jem Woz would find himself hamstrung.

This was not to say that Jem Woz was softhearted.

As a Prince—and one who was about to wear the crown—Shire knew very well that Jem Woz had risen above his many siblings. He was absolutely not a softhearted person!

Though he could not be called a great tyrant of an era, he was certainly the ruthless sort. Otherwise, there was no way he could have kept his seat so firmly until now.

It was simply that those in high positions sometimes had more to consider. There was a strong possibility that other concerns would cause matters to spiral out of control.

Shire had seen similar situations in other countries before.

Jem Woz also understood what Shire meant. After a moment of silence, a trace of fierceness appeared in his eyes as he made his decision. "...In that case, let us leave those final targets for last!

"First, clear out everywhere else.

"If it truly comes to it, then even if the Royal Capital runs with blood, so be it."

Just as Shire had said, if they did not act cleanly, remnants would be left behind, and they would instead suffer from the chaos they caused.

In that case, they might as well strike hard and kill them all. There were far too many rotten things in the Royal Capital anyway. This was the perfect chance to carry out a Great Purge and sweep away all the things that had left him hesitant in the past!

"Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I will have the troops in the army loyal to me enter the city. Then we will crush everything in the simplest way possible."

Only after receiving Jem Woz's definite answer did Shire smile.

"Good. That is how a Crown Prince should be. If your heart is not ruthless, your seat will not be secure."

Raising his wineglass, Shire toasted him. "May everything go smoothly tomorrow."

"Let us hope so..."

Jem Woz replied helplessly.

Yet he was already calculating how to stabilize the Royal Capital's situation after making his move.

The next day, before dawn.

The sky had yet to brighten and remained a murky gray.

"Do not come any closer! What unit are you from? Have your Commander come out and see me!"

Looking at the army of his own country outside the city gates, Kroht, the Officer in charge of the gates, gripped his weapon tightly and kept muttering to himself.

What the hell is this? Sending so many troops into the city overnight... Are they planning a mutiny!?

Just as he was considering whether to sound the alarm immediately, the troops below parted to make way. A man holding a torch and riding a warhorse came to the very front.

Illuminating his face with the torch, Jem Woz said in a deep voice, "Kroht, it is me!"

"Your Highness Jem?"

Seeing the face revealed by the firelight, Kroht recognized him at once and felt slightly relieved. Since the person leading them was the Crown Prince, the worst possibility could be ruled out.

After all, no one rebelled against themselves!

Jem Woz calmly ordered, "That is right. Open the gates, quickly!"

"Yes, please wait a moment, Your Highness!"

Without any hesitation, Kroht accepted the order.

That was because he himself had been promoted by Jem Woz.

Several years ago, when Jem Woz had still been competing with his siblings for the position of Crown Prince, he had planted his own people in every key position. Kroht was one of them.

Watching the gates slowly open before him, Jem Woz nodded in satisfaction.

Though it was merely an idle move, it was still somewhat useful. Otherwise, as someone who had yet to ascend the throne, he would have had to take other factors into consideration.

With a gesture of his hand, he led the troops into the city like a tide.

Quiet. Utterly quiet.

There were no flashing lights or revelry.

In this era with few forms of entertainment, there were still people moving about during the first half of the night.

But once the latter half of the night arrived, there was not even a ghost on the streets. Even brothels did not operate around the clock.

Not even in the capital of a duchy.

At that moment, in the area around the city gates, there was no sound apart from the footsteps of Soldiers and the clopping hooves of warhorses.

"Kroht."

Looking at the pitch-black city district before him, Jem Woz let out a soft breath.

Kroht jolted and hurriedly replied, "Your subordinate is here!"

After giving him a casual glance, Jem Woz said sternly, "The country is now at a critical juncture. I have received secret reports that Cultists are hiding within the Royal Capital, intending to do something that will endanger the entire duchy. From this moment onward, I want you to guard these gates. No one is permitted to enter or leave without authorization. If anyone attempts to disobey, kill them without exception!"

The moment he heard this order, Kroht found himself in a difficult position. With the few men he had, stopping the entire city from coming and going would be far too difficult. If unrest broke out, he might not be able to contain it. But an order was an order, and he had to obey even if he could not. So he braced himself and said, "Understood. I guarantee the mission will be completed!!"

Seeing his troubled expression but also his acceptance of the order, Jem Woz found it somewhat amusing and said casually, "Good. I will assign several hundred Soldiers to you. You must stabilize the situation for me and do not let any major trouble break out! Do you understand?"

Kroht was immediately overjoyed. "Yes!!"

He had never dreamed that he would one day command troops.

Though this command was temporary and could not be used as he pleased.

At least he could have a taste of it!

He immediately followed a Knight to receive his troops, his expression filled with impatience.

After all, every man looked forward to something like this.