Chapter 120

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 120

Chapter Title: Rebels at the Gate

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At that moment, a fierce clash was unfolding before the castle walls between the rebels trying to breach the royal palace and Marquis Giliphos's forces holding them back.

Crack!

Marquis Giliphos swung his flail from the front lines.

With a menacing whoosh cutting through the air, three or four men flew back at once.

"Giliphos! They said you were Baldina's last hope amid its rot, but that was all lies too. Can't you see the suffering people?!"

One of the rebels bellowed at him.

It was a ploy to undermine his prestige and break his momentum.

"The people, you say? All I see are sell-swords sniffing out coin!"

But the surrounding insurgents, terrified by the rampaging Marquis Giliphos—like a fierce tiger—hesitated and fell back.

"Y-You! If you're so old, why not crawl into your coffin and rot? What's wrong with you lot? Getting shaken by that rabble? We outnumber them ten to one!"

Horols flinched preemptively at Marquis Giliphos's thunderous roar and flew into a frenzy.

"What are you doing? Kill him! Kill that old bastard!"

A volley of arrows shot toward Marquis Giliphos as he swung his flail.

At that instant, a knight raced in and raised a shield to block his front.

Thud thud thud. The arrows raining down on the shield all snapped at the fletching.

In that brief moment before the shield went up, someone on horseback had slashed them all away with a sword.

"Dianzel!"

Marquis Giliphos was startled to spot the familiar figure atop the horse.

"Master, what are you doing out here? And who's that rabble?"

"Dianzel! You should be at His Majesty's side on the battlefield—why are you here?!"

He was someone Marquis Giliphos could never have run into by chance in Baldina right now.

"Don't worry. There's only one reason we're here safe and sound, isn't there?"

"Don't tell me... the war's over?"

Astonishment and joy mingled in Marquis Giliphos's voice as he trailed off.

"Yes, we've won. We've reclaimed the Plains Tribes."

Dianzel grinned.

"His Majesty is on his way too. I brought a scouting party ahead to check on the palace, but I never expected to run into a fight."

Even as he spoke, his eyes sharply scanned the rebels' banners.

"A rebellion?"

Marquis Giliphos quickly wiped the tears glistening in the wrinkles of his eyes upon hearing the news of victory and replied.

"Not exactly. It's more like traitors drunk on power have wormed their way in."

"What? Who?!"

Dianzel furrowed his brow. Then he paused, realization dawning.

"...She was never that bold to begin with. This is the first time she's ever sent me a letter like this. Something must have happened to Dea."

'Could His Majesty's order not to report the victory mean this? And the reason Her Highness suddenly changed...'

"What happened in Baldina while we were gone?"

Marquis Giliphos snorted at Dianzel's question.

"Oh, plenty. Just like with the Plains foes, this place is crawling with demons in human skin everywhere."

"..."

Dianzel's expression hardened as he trained his bow on the rebels once more.

His gaze remained fixed on Marquis Giliphos.

Twang! A scream echoed from the distance where the arrow flew.

"I knew it. Some of those rabble handle blades too well for commoners—must be the paid ones."

Having spent years on battlefields, he immediately spotted the mercenaries disguised among the rebels.

'We've been away too long.'

Dianzel seethed even as he sighed inwardly.

An empty throne and delayed tidings of triumph—that was time enough for empty ambitions to fester.

"The Regent Duke, perhaps?"

Dianzel cut straight to the heart despite his master's cryptic words.

It was the instinct of a seasoned commander who could pick out enemies amid throngs.

As Marquis Giliphos smiled in confirmation, Dianzel ground his teeth.

'That greedy wolf. So he finally bares his fangs.'

As if sensing his master's fury, Dianzel's warhorse snorted threateningly.

"But no need to worry. That bastard won't get what he wants."

Marquis Giliphos glanced at the rebels recoiling in fear.

As some even began slipping away from the front lines, their leader bellowed furiously.

'Her Highness said to let them advance only up to the walls.'

The princess's orders went only as far as preventing them from scaling the palace. Scare them too much, and they might flee entirely.

Marquis Giliphos cast a brief glance at the distant white walls before bellowing thunderously.

"That's enough! We're pulling back!"

"Yes, Master!"

Marquis Giliphos's elite knights swiftly withdrew from the fray.

Their discipline was astonishing—their formation held firm without a hint of disorder.

"Master, it's a motley force of rabble and mercenaries. Why not crush them here first and head into the palace?"

Dianzel couldn't hide his confusion at the bizarre order, just as Marquis Giliphos once had.

But instead, Marquis Giliphos posed an unexpected question.

"Dianzel, how many Agema did you bring with the scouts?"

"Pardon? About twenty. We didn't bring many to guard His Majesty."

A satisfied smile tugged at Marquis Giliphos's lips.

"That'll do. You and I have a quick detour."

He pointed to a small village outside the palace walls.

"Grand Duke Kastulro's forces are hiding there. Scheming to meddle in this country."

"What? What do you mean, Master?"

Seeing Dianzel's utter bewilderment, Marquis Giliphos recalled the princess's letter.

[Grand Duke Kastulro's remnants, recently driven from the palace, are likely still lurking in Baldina.

They'll try to insert themselves into the coup for influence, so smash them and drag them out to expose Kazen's true face to the world.]

Right after receiving it, he'd secretly tracked the grand duke's traces.

As the princess predicted, Grand Duke Kastulro hadn't left Baldina but had been secretly visiting the Claudio Ducal House.

And soon after, a large group of disguised elites infiltrated Baldina—far superior to the rebels.

Marquis Giliphos realized they were the grand duke's covert operatives.

'They aided the rebels from the rear even during the palace assault earlier.'

They'd hidden again to avoid detection once he appeared, of course.

'If Her Highness hadn't warned me beforehand, we'd have been blind to Kazen's poison and lost the palace right under our noses.'

Was a coup backed by the empire truly Baldina's alone?

It was tantamount to declaring they'd become Kazen's puppets.

'Does Claudio care nothing so long as he seizes the throne? What of this nation's future...!'

Marquis Giliphos trembled with rage at the Regent Duke's selfishness, yet thrilled at the chance to shatter it.

"Soon, when the signal comes, we'll hit that hill and ambush the grand duke's troops. Of course, we'll pretend we had no idea they were Kazen—mistaking them for rebel allies. Hiding like rats, who could blame us?"

Dianzel was utterly baffled by his master's jumble of tenses.

"Master, I truly can't make sense of—"

"You dolt. Just remember to smash them. It's Her Highness's command."

"Her Highness?"

Dianzel's eyes lit up at the response.

Did our princess—who oversaw this distant battlefield—have yet another scheme?

He immediately smoothed his displeased expression and nodded.

"Then we move at once."

"You... did you take a rock to the head on the battlefield or something...?"

Marquis Giliphos paused at this stubborn disciple's sudden compliance, but Dianzel replied.

"Master, you don't know? If not for Her Highness, we'd all be dead."

"What?"

"I'll explain everything once this is over. You won't believe it."

Marquis Giliphos snorted derisively.

"Hmph, think unbelievable things only happen to you? I've got plenty to say too, you brat."