Chapter 271 - Chapter 270: The Great Migration
The third day of the third week of the Month of Earth.
The emergency Imperial Council held in the Royal Castle's conference room was shrouded in despair.
This Imperial Council had been convened at the last minute at the urgent request of Tsudazen, the Minister of Military Affairs.
"Twenty million...?"
Even Dedoderic, the Prime Minister, could not hide his shock at that report, muttering it as if in a trance.
The worst-case scenario brought by Tsudazen.
At that absurd number, all the ministers, including the current King Kelnirles, turned pale.
Cranzard, the Crown Prince, who originally had no qualification to attend this Imperial Council, was also present.
Of course, only as an observer without the right to speak.
Having been consulted by Tsudazen beforehand, Cranzard had forced his way into attending, insisting he must be present at this scene no matter what.
Tsudazen glanced at the documents in his hand and continued his report.
"It is predicted that at maximum, over twenty-five million people of the Empire will rush against the border defense wall."
"That's impossible...! More than half of the citizens are falling for that foolish holy war!?"
Previously, it had been predicted that two to five million people would head for the border due to the Emperor of Gronoir's incitement.
Even then, the ministers were secretly laughing inside, thinking those were exaggerated numbers.
However, that prediction had been revised.
As if to say, "We made a mistake of one digit."
With a loud clatter, Kelnirles stood up from his chair.
"Impossible!? That can't be! More than half of the citizens coming to the border risking their lives!? Abandoning their lives!?"
That would be a perfectly normal reaction.
Anyone values their own life.
For half of the citizens to make such a decision to abandon it was absolutely impossible.
However, Tsudazen shook his head.
"I fear, Your Majesty. That is slightly incorrect."
"Incorrect!? What is incorrect!?"
To Kelnirles, who asked as if covering him, Tsudazen answered with an expressionless face.
"It is not half of the citizens. Almost all citizens are heading for the border."
Silence.
Everyone present had lost their words.
Cranzard silently watched the scene from the seat prepared against the wall.
Upon Tsudazen's point, a question should have arisen.
It was a question Cranzard himself held.
"Impossible! All the citizens!? But Gronoir should have had forty million people! What happened to the remaining fifteen million!?"
"Y-yes..."
"The numbers don't add up..."
When one minister pointed out the contradiction, other ministers agreed.
Unaware that this was the worst possible question.
That was a predicted question, and Tsudazen, who had actually been asked once by Cranzard, answered in a voice without inflection.
"They cannot reach."
"What!?"
"Probably more than ten million will collapse along the way. It is predicted that out of forty million, only around twenty-five to thirty million will manage to reach the border."
Only those used to walking can walk forty or fifty kilometers a day.
Otherwise, even walking twenty kilometers a day was a difficult task.
They are forcing themselves to walk like that every single day.
Even healthy young people will lose their lives.
Children, women, and even the elderly are trying to do such reckless things.
No, it is already happening.
On the eastern side of the Empire.
Those living on the opposite side of the Kingdom began the great migration.
Heading west.
Churches and nations in various places are said to be supporting this great migration with soup kitchens and distributions.
Considering such thoroughness, one can understand that this was a planned action.
In the regions where the migration began, almost everyone has disappeared, and towns and villages have been annihilated.
Even large cities have turned into dead cities devoid of any sign of life.
"Mothers holding infants too young to walk, can they endure this death march? Elderly people who spent their days basking in the sun, can they cross that vast territory? It is impossible. In fact, people are already collapsing and dying by the roadside."
The Empire had already collapsed.
From the edges of the vast imperial territory, waves of people were rushing toward the Daburandoru Plains.
Scattering corpses along the roadside.
Clang!
At that moment, a loud sound echoed through the conference room dominated by silence.
"Your Majesty!?"
It was the sound of Kelnirles collapsing and falling into his chair.
"Your Majesty! Stay calm! Your Majesty!"
Dedoderic called out, but Kelnirles seemed to have fainted.
Cold sweat was forming on his pale face.
"Head Chamberlain! Enter!"
While rushing to Kelnirles, Cranzard called out to the Head Chamberlain waiting outside the door.
He needs to be rested in the room immediately.
With Kelnirles having collapsed, the Imperial Council had to be suspended.
Fortunately, Kelnirles regained consciousness quickly.
Apparently, Kelnirles's mind could not keep up with a situation so far removed from common sense.
The diagnosis was that due to his advanced age, it had also affected his body.
However, it could not be said to be a good state.
In fact, Kelnirles was in a state where he could hardly get up, so he was resting in bed.
Due to the Prime Minister's arrangements, Nieslaza had been summoned to take care of him.
All ministers had gathered in Kelnirles's quarters, but it was decided to disperse now as rest was necessary.
However, the situation would not wait.
Without anyone saying it, the ministers gathered in the conference room again.
"What do we do? Time is not so plentiful?"
Tsudazen muttered, seemingly to no one in particular.
It was something everyone felt.
"At the time of the previous report, fifty thousand of the Kingdom Army were already deployed at the border. Lord armies have also been summoned from lordships across the nation, with ten thousand heading for the border. Adding the fifteen thousand from the Marquis Leventein domain and the Hailhord Region's lord army, seventy-five thousand are securing the border defense."
This was the number of troops scraped together to the very limit while maintaining domestic order.
Even then, the condition was that it was only temporary.
Sending more troops would be like removing the pillars supporting the Kingdom and sending them to the front line.
It would become a repeat of the "Battle of Daburandoru Plains," where almost all domestic troops were deployed.
It is said that the turmoil within the Kingdom afterward was terrible.
So much so that years later, people often say, "How did the Kingdom survive?"
Cranzard stood up from his seat against the wall and slowly walked toward the King's seat.
"Geppenhars. Orsomos. Ivmark. ............"
He called out the names of each minister one by one, looking firmly at their faces.
Then, standing beside the King's seat, he looked at Dedoderic sitting next to him.
"Dedoderic. Do you have any good measures? I will ask the ministers as well. In this crisis, anyone with a clever plan should speak up."
However, if it were such an easy matter, there would be no need to convene an emergency Imperial Council.
There is no way there is one.
A method to push back a crowd exceeding twenty million with seventy-five thousand troops.
No, even if all the Kingdom's troops were gathered, it would be two million five hundred thousand.
In such an absurd battle, proper control could not be maintained; they would simply be swallowed up.
Overwhelmed by overwhelming numbers and crushed.
Here, Kelnirles's creed was proven to be absolutely correct.
War is fought with numbers.
It is truly so.
How powerless are small tricks before numbers.
Cranzard hung his head and shook it.
"...As I thought, there is none."
He muttered that.
But when he lifted his face, which had been bowed, his expression was not that of a resigned person.
Cranzard's sharp gaze turned toward the Minister of Military Affairs.
"Tsudazen. I permit it. Use [Divine Wrath]."
"H-Your Highness!?"
"What!?"
"Have you lost your mind!?"
At Cranzard's sudden order, the ministers were startled.
"I don't know how much can be reduced, but if possible, I want to cut it in half. If we can bring it down to under ten million, defensive tactics using the defense wall will become realistic. ...Even so, they will likely break through."
However, even if the defense wall is crossed, the city of Sarbengeal is still over forty kilometers away.
If we slow them down with moats and sandbags and whittle them down, there should be a chance to win.
The enemy are not trained soldiers, but civilians.
If the numbers are reduced, their threat level will drop instantly.
If the difference in numbers can be narrowed to about five times, everything else will work out.
At such arbitrary words from Cranzard, the conference room became chaotic.
"S-such a thing...! Even for Your Highness, it is not permitted!?"
"Your Highness, p-please calm down! Do you know what you are saying!?"
Some ministers turned pale, while others viewed the Crown Prince's words as problematic.
Amidst this, the Minister of Finance raised his hand silently.
When Cranzard pointed at him, the Minister of Finance stood up.
"I support Your Highness."
"What!?"
"Impossible!?"
The conference room descended into confusion.
Amidst that, the Minister of Military Affairs, Tsudazen, also stood up.
"I also support Your Highness."
"What!?"
And so, one by one, ministers stood up, expressing their support for Cranzard.
In the blink of an eye, the majority of ministers turned to support the Crown Prince.
Watching this scene, the Minister of Construction stood in a daze.
"...Is this a rebellion?"
That mutter reached the ears of other ministers who were watching the situation in a daze.
As an uneasy atmosphere flowed through the conference room, Cranzard smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth.
"It is not a rebellion. I will become Regent and take charge of royal authority as the King's proxy."
"R-regent...?"
Regent.
Placed when the King ascends the throne before reaching adulthood, or when they cannot conduct state affairs temporarily due to accidents or illness.
It is also placed in cases of the King's sudden death.
Basically, the Crown Prince or the King's spouse takes the position.
Often chosen from the royal family, but there have been cases where a Duke took the position in the past.
Who should become regent is not defined by law, but clearly indicated by the Royal Family's rules.
It is complicated, but there is a similar position called the Plenipotentiary for State Affairs.
This is placed when the King designates someone to temporarily exercise royal authority.
If the King suddenly becomes unable to conduct state affairs, the Regent conducts state affairs. If they intend to conduct state affairs in advance through campaigns like personal expeditions, the Plenipotentiary for State Affairs conducts state affairs.
In other words, in the current situation, the proper procedure would be for Kelnirles to designate Cranzard as the Plenipotentiary for State Affairs, and then Cranzard would conduct state affairs as the Plenipotentiary.
Skipping that process and trying to act as the King's proxy immediately, it was no wonder the Minister of Construction mistook it for a "rebellion."
However, most of those in this conference room knew this was a de facto rebellion.
Especially those who expressed support for Cranzard.
Because Cranzard had no intention of returning royal authority to Kelnirles.
His plan was that once the situation calmed down, he would have his father, King Kelnirles, step down peacefully, and he would ascend the throne.
Dedoderic, who realized this, smiled bitterly.
And then, he let out a deep sigh.
"You've done it, Your Highness."
He muttered that in a low voice.
"What do you mean? I merely thought we should not create a political vacuum in this national crisis?"
Cranzard's point was correct.
Furthermore, even in this critical situation, the King seems reluctant to deploy his forces, so he must be made to step down.
If the wrong move is made, the Kingdom of Ektrem will be engulfed by the collapse of Gronoir.
Dedoderic made up his mind, stood up, and bowed respectfully to Cranzard.
"...Indeed, it seems we have no choice but to fall for that hand."
With Dedoderic siding with Cranzard, this flow could be said to be confirmed.
Until then, the ministers who were confused by the sudden situation also made up their minds.
Here, a new regime led by Regent Cranzard was established.
The first thing Cranzard did after becoming Regent.
"The King is ill, and he is also of advanced age. There must be no mistakes. He needs to recover well in his quarters."
With that reason, it was decided to confine Kelnirles.
The upper echelons of the Royal Guards were also brought on board, securing their cooperation to lock Kelnirles in his quarters.
Originally, knights are knights for the King.
Among them, the Royal Guards have a particularly strong awareness of this.
They would not accept such an act of betraying the King, even if ordered by the Regent and the Prime Minister.
However, in this situation, if Kelnirles continues to wield royal authority here, the Kingdom will perish.
The old knight commander of the Royal Guards understood this.
"...I wish to resign from my post."
Kneeling, he offered his resignation, saying he could not betray the King.
Cranzard accepted that.
"I am sorry."
He bowed his head.
"Your Highness's decision is likely not wrong. ...Even knowing that, I am the stubborn one who cannot accept it."
"That is not so. Precisely because of you, I can entrust the lives of my family. I, who am abandoned by someone like you, will surely not die a decent death."
The commander shook his head, stood up, and saluted Cranzard.
"Your Highness. Please, protect the Kingdom."
"Yes, I promise."
As he watched the back of the commander leaving, Cranzard felt a touch of loneliness.
There was no other way.
It was precisely because he thought so that this happened.
Still, it was painful to see someone he trusted leave.
However, there was not even time to indulge in sentimentality now.
There were many urgent matters to attend to.
He appointed a new commander of the Royal Guards right there and had them take over.
And so, Cranzard went to the Prime Minister's room with Tsudazen, briefly confirming the situation and instructions.
"Prepare [Divine Wrath]. ...However, do not think we can confront Gronoir head-on."
At Cranzard's words, Tsudazen nodded heavily.
The Kingdom had also managed to hold on by keeping [Divine Wrath] in reserve.
However, this did not mean all problems were solved.
Simply put, it was a matter of scale.
Because research had been conducted in secret, there were few people who could use it in the first place.
There was no chance of winning if they clashed directly with Gronoir, which could easily send out three hundred users of [Divine Wrath] to the battlefield.
If there was time, even a year, or half a year, there might have been a way to deal with it.
However, there was no such time margin.
Even if deploying [Divine Wrath], the situation was such that only those currently available could be sent out.
"The only salvation is that Gronoir [over there] is a mob. I don't think they can maintain a state where they can properly use [Divine Wrath]."
With a crowd of twenty million, there would be no strategy or anything.
Therefore, there is less need to fear [Divine Wrath] from Gronoir than before.
"What about that boy? Can he be used?"
At Dedoderic's question, Cranzard made a difficult face.
"First, officially cancel the punishment we have been holding. That is the premise, but whether he will listen or not."
"Can't even you move him, Your Highness?"
At Dedoderic's words, Cranzard shrugged his shoulders.
"Because you pushed them too hard, their connection with the Church has become strong. If it comes to it, they will come charging in again with the Pope and the Cardinal?"
When Cranzard said that, Dedoderic grimaced.
Due to Kelnirles's policy, they had no choice but to do so, but this blunder could be called a regrettable mistake.
"Well, if someone would just watch this situation quietly, they would not have been put in such a precarious position in the first place."
"Then, if we convey the current situation and our thoughts?"
Cranzard nodded at Dedoderic's opinion.
"We must convey our strategy to them, otherwise, they might stir up the battlefield again with their own ideas. We should give that person information."
How this battle turns out can be said to depend on Mika.
If it functions effectively, we win; if it just stirs things up, we lose.
More importantly, just winning is not enough.
If casualties are not suppressed, the Kingdom afterward will not be able to function.
Thinking of the severe battles that would come, Cranzard let out a heavy sigh.
■■■■■■
While Cranzard was troubled over how to handle Mika, Mika was also troubled after hearing information about the Gronoir Empire.
"Over twenty-five million...? Are they crazy?"
Almost all of the Empire's citizens were heading for the Kingdom of Ektrem, toward the Daburandoru Plains.
He had heard such a foolish story from Lebrantes, a concierge of the Information Broker Guild.
It seemed he had also contacted Yaroibarov, and they had come to Mika's inn together.
"It seems they were secretly notified by bishops and priests of the Church. Around the end of the second week of the Month of Earth, something like 'Head for the Daburandoru Plains' was announced."
Starting from that day, the churches began preaching all at once.
In response to that, the residents began the great migration.
Those living in the east went west.
Those living in the north went south.
Those living far away had already started moving, and it seems the crowds are now rushing even to the central part of the Empire.
A nightmare-like prediction that more than a quarter of those who started the great migration will collapse along the way.
In fact, it is said that people who collapsed are being left exposed in the fields in various places.
"The Emperor of the Gronoir Empire... was it Hildinlander? What is the purpose?"
"If we knew that, we could join their gang, right? You should be happy about not knowing. It's a proper evidence."
Yaroibarov asked, but it seems Lebrantes doesn't understand either.
Well, of course he couldn't understand.
"It seems various churches are supporting that great migration with soup kitchens. Not just the churches, but nations are also doing soup kitchens and such here and there."
It seems they give food to those used to traveling and make them cook it themselves.
Mika crossed his arms and stroked his chin, thinking.
"...Is Gronoir a conscription state?"
"What is that, Kokumin Kaihei?"
"Something like imposing military service obligations on all citizens."
"No, they aren't doing that. There are quite a few who have never even held a sword or spear, right? In places like the Vigilance Committees, many don't even have swords properly."
Mika asked with curiosity, but it seems they are inciting people who haven't even been trained and sending them to the battlefield.
"Trying to overwhelm with numbers? Even if you gather amateurs like that, they'll just die, right?"
Yaroibarov clicked his tongue and grimaced.
"It seems they intend to use those corpses too? They're saying things like 'Stack corpses upon corpses. To those who overcome the evil wall, the gods' blessings.' Something like that."
It seems they intend to cross the defense wall with a mountain of corpses.
Hearing Lebrantes's story, Mika's head began to hurt.
He instinctively shook his head and pressed his forehead with his hand.
Yaroibarov tapped the back of his head while muttering.
"Their goal is to destroy the Kingdom, right? If they do that, won't the Empire be the one destroyed first?"
"The oracle says they will destroy the Kingdom, but they certainly haven't mentioned what will happen to the Empire. For the Empire [over there], it's probably fine."
The goal is clear, but just because the means are not mentioned...
Mika listened to Lebrantes's words with disbelief.
People not trained like knights or soldiers.
No matter how much they say they will destroy the Kingdom, they are just citizens of the Empire.
(...Am I going to kill such people?)
Well, since they are attacking with malice, killing them is unavoidable, I suppose.
However, even if they agreed to the war through an oracle, for all the citizens to abandon their lives and participate in such a death march...
(What on earth is happening...?)
Mika felt a strange, incomprehensible terror.