37-96

EP.96 Balkan Civil War (Conclusion) 

The battle between the infantry, which had become a contest of sheer strength, began to tilt in favor of Prinz’s army, whose remarkable cohesion pushed Heinrich’s Second Prince forces steadily backward. 

Watching the situation from the watchtower, Viscount Toys rushed to Prinz. 

“Your Highness, the situation is very favorable. If we deploy the knights and cavalry now, we can finish this for sure.” 

“You are the supreme commander. Move the troops as you see fit, no need to report to me.” 

“I will surely deliver victory to Your Highness!” 

Deeply moved by the crown prince’s trust, Viscount Toys hurried back to the watchtower and issued his orders. 

“Order the knights to charge! Divide the cavalry into two groups and strike the enemy’s left and right! We must break the enemy formation!” 

At his command, the horns for the charge sounded, and 4,000 mounted knights and cavalry swept across the battlefield. 

“Knights, break through to the enemy’s main camp! Whoever captures the enemy leader Heinrich will be granted the title of count and a fief!” 

With such a massive reward, the knights drove their horses fiercely into the Second Prince’s army. 

As the knights charged at high speed to strike Heinrich’s troops, thousands of arrows rained down on them, but their plate armor deflected most of the arrows. Some horses fell and a few knights were unhorsed by arrows slipping through gaps in the armor, but the knights did not stop. 

“Charge!! For the Crown Prince!!” 

“For Balkan!!” 

Heinrich’s troops tried to resist with long spears, but the charge of fully armored horses and knights could not be held back by spears alone. 

Crash! 

A tremendous impact sent Heinrich’s soldiers flying, and the knightly charge broke the enemy’s lines in a single blow. 

The knights kept pushing through the gap, and as the enemy formation crumbled, Prinz’s infantry poured in and began a massacre. 

“Keep pressing! Don’t give them time to recover!” 

“Don’t miss this chance! Shield bearers, push into the enemy and form a new line! Spearmen, look for gaps so the shield bearers can break through!” 

With the infantry’s efforts, dozens of knights broke through with little damage and paused briefly to catch their breath before charging at Heinrich’s main camp. 

The cavalry that had attacked Heinrich’s left and right flanks achieved similar results, and Heinrich’s army was soon being pushed back toward the Lake of Spirits, on the verge of being drowned. 

Prinz’s Camp 

“Hahaha, Viscount Toys! Well done! Isn’t everything going perfectly according to your plan?” 

Prinz himself came up to the watchtower to praise his commander as the battle went smoothly. 

“This is strange… It’s going too smoothly…” 

Despite the praise, Viscount Toys stared blankly at the battlefield. 

“Hm? Isn’t this just as you planned? Our army is pushing them back overwhelmingly. At this rate, we’ll capture Heinrich soon.” 

“The enemy is letting us break through too easily. And most of what we see are mercenaries; I don’t see their knights or cavalry. I sent out our knights to see how their cavalry would respond, but this…” 

“Don’t worry so much. Heinrich must be holding back his strength. He’s clueless about tactics and doesn’t know how to play his hand.” 

“If that’s the case, then it’s fine…” 

Still feeling uneasy, Viscount Toys kept watching the battlefield, but as Prinz’s army pressed harder, he began to feel more at ease. 

Heinrich’s Camp 

Heinrich, Count Dietrich, and a woman deeply hooded in a robe watched the battle unfold. 

Even as his soldiers were being pushed back, Heinrich sipped his drink with utter composure, as did Count Dietrich. 

“Ahh~ This is good wine. Looks like it’s time.” 

“Yes, Your Majesty. We’ll begin the counterattack now.” 

“Hahaha, it’s a shame I can’t see my brother’s panicked face. He must be excited, thinking about how to deal with me. Hahaha!” 

As Heinrich laughed heartily, Count Dietrich bowed deeply to the robed woman. 

“Please, Lady Jennifer. Everything is ready.” 

“Good! But keep your promise double the budget for the Mage Tower, and give me 100 handsome boys under 15 as attendants.” 

“Don’t worry, Lady Jennifer. His Majesty always rewards those who help him.” 

The robed woman was Jennifer, the Imperial Mage Tower Master. She threw off her robe, faced the battlefield, and began chanting. 

Magical energy surged, magic circles appeared all over the plain, and huge flames erupted from them. 

“Send out the knights! Tell Marquis Deerwood, who commands the cavalry, to attack! Fetch water from the lake to the front lines!” 

At Count Dietrich’s orders, Heinrich’s army quickly prepared for the counterattack. 

“Now, let’s see how my brother responds… hehehe.” 

Seeing the Crown Prince’s army panic, Heinrich’s smile grew ever wider. 

“Fire attack!!” 

“Call for mages at headquarters!!” 

“Aaah, the fire won’t go out! Help!!!” 

Jennifer’s flames set the dry grasslands ablaze, engulfing the Crown Prince’s army. 

Though they had trained hard and matched the regular imperial army in strength, the Crown Prince’s troops were helpless before the flames. And with Heinrich’s men, soaked with water from the lake, charging through the fire, the Crown Prince’s army was caught between fire and enemy assault, their lines collapsing. 

Naturally, Prinz’s command tent was in chaos. 

Bang! 

“Damn it! A fire attack! And our mages can’t even counter that fire…” 

“Only Jennifer, the Mage Tower Master, could cast magic of that scale!” 

“She wasn’t supposed to be involved in this battle I got her word! Damn it! How did Heinrich buy her off?” 

While Prinz raged, Viscount Toys tried to find a way to counterattack. 

“Even Jennifer can’t keep up a fire like that forever. If we pull back and counterattack after it dies down wait, what?” 

But Prinz’s troubles weren’t over. 

As the flames died down, Heinrich’s knights appeared and struck the Crown Prince’s battered knights, and cavalry with Heinrich’s banners appeared from the rear, charging at Prinz’s headquarters. Viscount Toys realized defeat was inevitable. 

“All troops! Charge! Cut down the enemy leader Prinz!” 

‘How dare you play with my daughter and that monster woman! I won’t forgive you, Prinz!!’ 

Marquis Deerwood, usually seen as a mediocre noble who advanced by marrying off his daughter, now led the cavalry at the front, personally leading the attack on Prinz’s headquarters in a rage. 

Watching his army collapse, Prinz and Viscount Toys stared blankly at the battlefield map. 

“Our main force is on the verge of destruction from the enemy’s counterattack! Give the order!!” 

“The enemy cavalry has broken into headquarters!” 

“…Your Highness, I’ll lead the troops to hold them off. You must escape. You cannot fall here.” 

“Your Highness! You must flee with the Crown Princess! The cavalry will be here any moment!” 

Marquis Zeitlitz led Prinz’s bodyguards into battle, and Viscount Toys begged Prinz to escape. 

“…Where could a defeated leader possibly flee? Sigh… A son who couldn’t avenge his father… Where could I go in this empire?” 

Seeing Prinz in despair, Toys gritted his teeth and slapped him. 

Smack! 

“Y-you! What are you doing?” 

“Give me your clothes!!” 

“W-why are you doing this?” 

Prinz, too weak to resist, was stripped of his outer clothes by Toys and given a soldier’s uniform. 

“Your Highness! You entrusted me with the role of supreme commander, and now I must repay you with my life… Count Zion! Please look after the Crown Prince!” 

“Don’t worry, Supreme Commander! I’ll have my trusted men escort the Crown Prince and Princess!” 

“Count Zion?” 

“Haha, what’s the point of a father who couldn’t avenge his daughter living on? I’ll burn my last life here!” 

“…I’m sorry, Count Zion…” 

“What are you two doing!! Let go!” 

“Your Highness! We’ve prepared a teleportation magic circle. Go to Duke Windrage… That usurper must never be recognized as emperor. Restore justice to the empire…” 

Prinz was dragged away by Count Zion’s men, where Yunas, also dressed as a common soldier, waited on horseback. 

“Yunas…” 

‘If I die, what happens to Yunas… I must live… I will avenge myself on Heinrich, no matter what!’ 

Resolve returned to Prinz’s eyes. 

“Sorry! Toys! Zion!!” 

Shouting, Prinz escaped the battlefield with Yunas, heading for the teleportation circle outside the capital. 

To cover their escape, many soldiers began fleeing in all directions, sowing confusion, so Heinrich’s army paid little attention to the escaping common soldiers. 

Once the Crown Prince had safely escaped, Toys, now dressed in the prince’s clothes, and Count Zion led the last charge with the remaining troops. 

Arrows flew, men fell to spears and swords, but Toys’s charge did not stop. 

“Wha…? The headquarters has been breached! Your Majesty, please retreat!!” 

With only a few men left, Toys and Count Zion broke through and reached Heinrich’s command post. 

“That’s far enough! Prinz!!” 

“The First Prince’s head is mine!!!” 

Even as enemy soldiers rushed at them, Prinz’s men did not stop. But the difference in numbers was overwhelming, and only Toys and Count Zion were left, gasping for breath. 

“It’s over, Your Majesty.” 

“Sigh… Was my brother always this formidable? I’m surprised.” 

Heinrich, who had almost fled, breathed a sigh of relief and approached the two. 

“Graaah!!” 

Seeing Heinrich approach, Count Zion used his last strength to throw Toys, and Toys, with his last bit of energy, swung his sword at Heinrich. 

“Die! Heinrich!!” 

Clang!! 

But Toys’s final blow only grazed Heinrich’s forehead and was blocked by Count Dietrich’s sword. Guards rushed in and subdued them. 

“Aaaargh!!” 

“That’s not him… Take off his helmet!” 

At Heinrich’s order, Toys’s helmet was removed, revealing not Prinz but someone else, and everyone’s faces hardened. 

“So it was Viscount Toys. Where is my brother? If you’re wearing his clothes, that means he escaped somewhere, didn’t he?” 

“Heh… What’s the point of a parricide who killed his father and coveted his brother’s throne talking? Just kill me!” 

“…He won’t talk easily. We’ll torture him and find out where my brother is…” 

Slice!! 

Before Heinrich could finish, Count Zion threw his sword, stabbing Toys in the neck, and then killed himself with a hidden blade. 

“Aaaaargh!! Prinz!!” 

Heinrich knew that unless Prinz was dead, there would always be a chance of rebellion somewhere in the empire, and he could never be fully recognized as emperor. His rage soared to the heavens.