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Vol. 8 Chapter 8 - Gudwar Kingdom of Dominion
🕑 Added 2021-09-20 11:27:32 +0000 UTCTranslator: Eternia
Editor: Baset
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The Gudwar Kingdom of Dominion had challenged the Algrand Empire.
As its name implied, the intergalactic nation was one where power meant everything.
With enough strength, one could climb up the social ladder. But without it, even the royal family would lose its position.
As such, competition within the Gudwar Kingdom of Dominion was fierce, even more so than their wars with other nations.
However, a prince managed to reorganize the kingdom and launch an attack on the Algrand Empire.
He was one of the overlord's many sons, and his status used to be very low.
Not only was he one of several thousand princes, he was far from the line of succession to the throne.
Nevertheless, he claimed that “We should not be fighting amongst ourselves. If we are to fight, it should be against foreign forces!”
His theory was that rather than fighting within the nation over who was strongest, it would be better to attack other countries and expand their territory.
[Izel] was his name. He used his fists to convince his brothers that he was right, and rapidly moved up the line of succession.
In the Kingdom of Dominion, strength alone determined who had the right to succeed.
Izel, who was still young, stepped forward for the future of his kingdom and seized the title of Crown Prince with his own hands.
He was only 200 years old and looked as if he was in his early twenties.
However, there were a number of scars on his well-trained body.
There was even a cross shaped wound on his forehead, but as injuries were regarded as marks of honor inside the Kingdom of Dominion, it had not been erased.
Such a man was leading the Kingdom of Dominion's fleets, which was around 3 million strong.
Confronting them was the Algrand Empire and its fleets, numbering around 5 million.
Inside the command room of the Kingdom of Dominion's fortress-class flagship, Izel was studying a simplified map of the battlefield.
“Calvin shouldn't have much experience on the battlefield, but he's holding out against us quite well.”
There were many brave warriors around Izel, with most of them being his former rivals that decided to follow him after being defeated.
Even the regular staff members were trained in some form of martial art, making them look buff and muscular.
“I thought the Empire's prince would be weak, but it turns out he has several promising warirors under him.”
“But their Imperial Army is a mess.”
“Yes, it's as if they're just there to fill the numbers.”
Izel crossed his arms and analyzed the data he had of the enemy fleet.
The battleships around Calvin were certainly state-of-the-art, but nearly 40% of the enemy fleet consisted of outdated ships that had been scraped together.
Their battleships, on the other hand, were all the same model.
As an intergalactic nation that prioritized strength over all else, they did not face any weapons-related issues.
Izel stretched his right hand forward.
“Let us continue defeating the Empire and gain control over a new territory!”
Under the leadership of Izel, the Kingdom of Dominion's fleet advanced towards Calvin's fleet with high morale.
◇
The Guide was also inside the battleship's bridge where the warriors were getting pumped up.
(So, this is what's meant by ‘might makes right’. Really, it's hard to understand them.)
He glanced over at Gudwar, whose head was like that of a bright red octopus.
The reason why the Kingdom of Dominion continued to wage wars was because of Gudwar, who was an existence similar to the Guide.
The Guide was showing Gudwar a deferential attitude.
“Wow, you have such reliable pawns. Is Izel, that young man, Gudwar's favorite ‘at the moment'?”
Gudwar glared at the Guide.
“What is the meaning of this? I thought I'd get to see a match between warriors that could make my blood boil, but they're all so disappointing!”
“E-Even if you say that...”
With the Kingdom of Dominion on the move, the Guide expected Liam to take part in the war.
However, he had refused to participate, using his training as an excuse. Calvin was actively keeping Liam away from the battlefield as well.
For some unknown reason, he was now in the rear, something that the Guide had not foreseen.
He thought Liam would eventually make his appearance if the Kingdom of Dominion kept pushing forward, but Liam refused to come out.
Gudwar had been looking forward to seeing the One-Flash in person, but it was taking forever.
While battles between strong men served as some distraction, it wasn't the main course he had been waiting for.
“I want to see Liam! Will my Izel triumph, or will he be killed? I want to see them fight on the battlefield!”
Growing agitated, Gudwar started slapping the Guide's cheeks with its octopi tentacles.
“I-It hurts. Please stop doing that, Gudwar.”
(How dare he! If I hadn't lost my strength, I would've erased him effortlessly.)
Gudwar continued to slap both of the Guide's cheeks and even grabbed his collar while he was at it.
“Bring him here. Now.”
“Eh?”
“Bring Liam to the battlefield! Make him fight against my Izel!”
“D-Don't be unreasonable! He'll erase me the moment I get too close!”
“I don't care! Just do it!”
Izel had the blessing of Gudwar. Unlike with the Guide, Gudwar's blessings were the real deal.
The Guide wished to drown Liam in misery, but Gudwar was different.
He would throw one challenge after another at Izel, giving him rewards whenever he overcame one.
However, if he couldn't overcome the challenge, he would lose Gudwar's grace.
Not only that, if he grew too strong, Gudwar would get bored of him.
Being watched over by Gudwar was not always a good thing.
The current Guide did not have what it took to pacify Gudwar and had to obey his words.
“O-Okay, okay.”
“Should've agreed from the beginning!”
Facing Gudwar, who sounded angry, the Guide clenched his fists.
(—After dealing with Liam, I'll make sure to erase him.)
The Guide disappeared from where he was after telling himself that now was not the time.
◇
Just as the Kingdom of Dominion's fleet began moving, Marion arrived at Augur.
The reason for his late arrival was because he and Liam received their notices at different times.
This, in turn, was because they had to find replacements for their posts.
Marion was looking outside with his arms crossed as the spaceship drew near the spaceport built above Augur.
What he saw was a magnificent spaceport that was still under construction.
“—He's a monster like the rumors say. It'll be hard to find any faults in him now that he's built such a grand spaceport in this short amount of time.”
With how sudden the orders were, Marion expected to see a scantily built spaceport.
As the mastermind behind him was thinking of using that as an excuse to pressure Liam, Marion had been sent as a minion to investigate.
“Then again, every man has his faults if you look deep enough.”
He had approached Liam while pretending to be an ally so that he could find out his weakness.
“This is taking longer than I thought it would.”
From the very beginning, Marion had been Liam's enemy.
When the ship arrived at the mooring of the spaceport, it was docked in place by several arms that extended out.
The crew onboard gave way as Marion walked towards the spaceship's exit.
As an official from the Capital, Marion's status was higher than the others.
After all, officials commanded a lot of authority inside the Empire.
He disembarked and stepped foot inside the spaceport.
There, he found someone waiting for him.
It was a knight that served Margrave Olgren.
From Marion's perspective, it was a meeting with a knight hailing from the main family.
“Greetings, Lord Marion. It has been a while.”
“Did you come all the way here to welcome me?”
“Yes.”
Knights and military personnel under Margrave Olgren surrounded him.
The atmosphere was tense, but from what he knew, they were on his side.
“I didn't know you guys were here.”
The knight smiled.
“It's all thanks to Lord Marion who convinced Count Banfield to send support. The Margrave is very pleased.”
Hearing this, Marion had his doubts. Before he could process it any further, the knights and soldiers around him drew their weapons.
“—What is this supposed to mean?”
The smile on the knight's face vanished, only to be replaced by killing intent.
It was clear to Marion that he would be attacked if he resisted, so he raised both hands in surrender.
“Count Banfield is waiting for you.”
Cold sweat trickled down Marion's forehead.
(What's going on? What has this got to do with Liam-senpai? I haven't even introduced him to the main family yet!)
While he had been meeting with the mastermind back in the Capital, Liam had been busy at work as well.
The knight flashed a dark smile.
“A change of clothes is in order. What you're wearing doesn't fit the Count's taste.”
“S-Stop!”
Marion tried to struggle free with wide eyes, but the female knights seized him.
◇
With the construction of the spaceport mostly done, what is there left to do, you may ask.
The answer is: we must party.
It matters not that our allies are fighting on the battlefield.
Besides, there's something that I'm looking forward to today.
Although it's a standing party, we're taking advantage of the weightlessness to have people on the ceilings and the walls.
It may appear baffling and somewhat incomprehensible, but it's a common thing in an intergalactic nation.
We can accommodate a lot of people since we're using the walls and ceilings as well.
Of course, Wallace was the one who prepared this party.
“Wallace, isn't this a little plain?”
I speak to Wallace, who's in a foul mood.
He seems to have put quite a bit of thought into this.
“If we go overboard, the people on the battlefield will come to resent us.”
“What's wrong with that? They're our political rivals anyway.”
“But we're all part of the Imperial Army. Don't you think we'd be in danger as well if we piss them off?”
Wallace sounds fed up with all this, but the reason why I carried myself all the way to the frontier is because I wanted to sniff around.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like Calvin was the one who summoned me here. Which means he's not connected to Madam Annabell.
How disappointing.
By the way, the drinks in our glasses are made so as not to fly away, even in zero gravity.
When I shake the glass, the drink within trembles like jelly.
The moment it enters my mouth, however, it turns back into liquid.
After hydrating the inside of my mouth with a couple sips of alcohol, I tell Wallace about what's to come.
“It'll be fine. He's a talented man after all. Calvin, that is.”
“What do you mean by that?”
He must be too busy to set me up, meaning there's someone else behind Madam Annabell.
“Calvin has too much on his plate right now to bother with us.”
“Then who could have sent you here to the frontier? Well, I know it's Madam Annabell, but Cleo seems to have given his permission. What the heck is he doing?”
I turn to face Wallace with a look of sympathy.
Wallace notices this and asks me angrily, “What is it?! Tell me if you know something!”
I'd like to tell him to think for himself, but I'll leave it at that.
I look towards the entrance of the venue.
“More importantly, today's main guest is here. We must be ready to welcome her. Now, follow me!”
A woman enters the party venue surrounded by escorts.
She's wearing a pretty dress, but as the skirt is short, her beautiful, thin legs are visible.
It's hard to notice because she usually wears pants, but things become obvious once her shoulders and legs are exposed.
Confused, Wallace tilts his head.
“I think I've seen her somewhere.”
Of course he has.
Seeing us approach, the woman frowns, not bothering to hide her displeasure.
“Long time no see, Marion.”
Upon being called out, Marion the woman, makes a frustrated expression.
She's not crossdressing as a woman, or anything.
Marion's a woman to begin with.
She looks away, but Margrave Olgren who's standing besides her speaks to me.
He's a bit more friendly it seems.
“Thank you for inviting me over, Liam-dono.”
“To have the Margrave, who protects the border, at my party is my honor.”
We compliment each other to show the people around us that we're good friends, but my target audience is Marion.
—It's to show her that even without her, my relationship with the Margrave is good.
The Margrave brings up the topic of the weapons I sent him.
“Thanks to your support, we'll be able to form a unit with the newest generation of weapons in a few months and send them as reinforcements to the front lines.”
“That's good to hear.”
Hearing our conversation from the side, Marion shakes with anger and frustration.
The Margrave glares at her with cold eyes.
“—It seems Marion is indebted to you.”
“Well, we've been hitting it off in the Capital. Isn't that right, Marion?”
I smile at her, but she refuses to even face me.
She must be feeling humiliated by her current appearance.
—She should be grateful that I'm only going this far, considering what she's done to pit me against the Lengrand Family.
The Margrave begins to grumble about Marion.
“We sent her to the Capital to request for help. Of course, we were also planning on contacting the Banfield Family, but this troublesome girl just went off on her own without prior discussion.”
Be it the relatives of Margrave Olgren or Viscount Olgren, they're all staring at Marion with cold eyes.
It seems to be because Marion acted on her own discretion and ignored the orders from her family and the main family, which was to negogiate with influential aristocrats for support.
No, she was probably planning on making use of that order as an opportunity to show off her talent, thereby elevating her position inside the Olgren Family.
Just by doing a little bit of digging around, I was able to get some interesting results.
Well, to be fair, I wouldn't have really minded if Margrave Olgren tried to sabotage me.
I would've simply regarded him as an enemy and made use of the Kingdom of Dominion to hit his territory so hard he would never recover.
I turn to address Marion.
“Remember what I said when we first met? I asked for your master.”
With a face full of hatred, Marion raises her right hand against me, but the people around us are quick to react.
The Margrave's knights try to suppress Marion, whereas Kukuri and his subordinates get ready to appear from my shadow.
However, I grab her hand before anything happens.
“It was fun, Marion. For a small fry, you danced quite well.”
“...!”
I let go of her and face the Margrave.
“Well then, I think it's about time that we part.”
“I apologize for the trouble she has caused. How about this, I'll punish her as Liam-dono sees fit.”
“No, it's fine. Rather—I prefer her this way.”
The Margrave nods and looks at Marion.
“You better not let Liam-dono's kindness go to waste.”
I leave the scene with Wallace in tow, but not before giving Marion one last remark.
“You look cute in that dress, Marion.”
“That was quite terrible of you, Liam” Wallace whispers.
Well, I'm a terrible man to begin with, so I guess he's not wrong.
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Wakagi-chan (゜∀゜): “True postscript idols are those that appear the most in PVs! Now, I'll be advertising Volume 6 of 'The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs'! But I feel like I've already said most of what's there to be said, so today will be about the special benefits that come with it!”
Wakagi-chan (゜Д゜): “You see... for Volume 6, there will be a questionnaire special of 'Marie Route' that's written in 50,000 characters. Yes, you heard that right, 50,000. I think it would have been much more cost effective to prepare a bonus stage for me instead.”
Wakagi-chan (゜∀゜): “Rather than this 'Marie Route' nonsense, you want to see more of this postscript idol's activities, right? RIGHT?! You're free to say you want to read stories about Naegi-chan in the comment section below. Also, please vote for Naegi-chan in the popularity poll!”
Wakagi-chan (#゜Д゜): “I didn't get to appear in the CD Drama edition this time, but I won't give up! I'll definitely climb to the top and become popular!”
Comments
Randrey
This story is so great. I never know what's going to happen next.
Skoll
Wow. Honestly, didn't see that coming.
