NOVEL NEXT chapter 9
9 – Episode 9: Brans’ Invasion (1)
*
Who is the most likely ruler to unify the Gaarand continent at the moment?
No matter who you ask, only one person’s name is mentioned.
The authenticity of the royal bloodline.
A very large territory obtained by pacifying the northern part of the continent.
Countless talents.
The tyrant, Serpina von Ainhardt, will conclude the war and unify this continent-
The storytellers at the taverns, as well as the civilians engaged in their trades, will all mention her name and declare her the new unified ruler.
And then.
If Serpina fails to unify, who is the next person with the highest possibility of unification?
That person is none other than Lynn Brans, the leader of Brans Ga and a talented triplet.
Long blue hair. An incredibly graceful appearance that naturally gives a favorable impression to anyone who meets her for the first time.
In addition to securing the most fertile land in the central part of the continent, they absorb and merge numerous small countries, growing day by day.
It was certain that the losers in the central part of the continent, where the population is the largest and where many small countries with intentions have risen, would be the Brans Army.
And now, Lynn Brans, who is sitting on the throne with a somewhat bored expression-
She was receiving a report from someone who appeared to be a subordinate.
“Your Grace. We have achieved victory in the Tianti Occupation Battle and successfully liberated Tianti from the Walnut Army.”
“Oh? Well done, Brother ♡”
Finally succeeded in tidying up the Walnut Army that they clashed with a few times a while ago.
Lynn smiled satisfactorily and turned to Kalintz, her second brother who was kneeling before her.
“How many prisoners do we have?”
“We have captured a total of five prisoners. Please decide their treatment. Look!”
“Four!”
At the man’s report, soldiers who were following along with their hands bound knelt before her, bringing along five prisoners.
Among them was a man who was once their leader, Walnut Castrado.
“…….”
“Look here.”
Lynn slowly scanned the prisoners.
There was one capable individual who had at least succeeded in putting a dent in their army.
“Alright! Everyone, pay attention! I heard that there is a general who once captured the Highzel Castle. What was his name again… Ah, right. It was Gurupa. Who is Gurupa?”
“…I am Gurupa.”
A man with short hair raised his head and spoke.
Lynn looked at his appearance and said with a mischievous expression.
“Oh my goodness… it’s you? The one who made things difficult for me. hehehehe♡ I thought there were no forces that would attack our territory first, but I guess you have quite some nerve.”
“….”
Although Gurupa didn’t say anything,
Rin seemed to like that expression as she chuckled.
She stood up, slowly approached Gurupa-
She lifted his chin with her two fingers, looked into his eyes, and spoke.
“How about it? Do you have no intention of belonging to me? I treat humans who are worth it – very, very well. Wouldn’t it be much more enjoyable to work under me than being a useless walnut or something? Hm?”
“…Kill me.”
Gurupa, without avoiding her gaze, mustered up the remaining strength to answer.
Rin looked at Gurupa with a smiling expression…
And then, she spoke with an extremely cold expression.
“Hm, I see. Fine. You have no intention of coming under me, huh?”
Rin roughly pushed Gurupa away with her hand.
With a thud, Gurupa fell to the ground and she gave an order to the soldier next to her.
“Yes. Take him away and kill him.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
That way, Gurupa was dragged away by the soldier to somewhere.
Everyone present in this space could tell that the destination would be the execution ground.
Even the surviving prisoners knew the same.
They watched this whole scene with wide-open eyes.
“Sigh, how boring. I don’t understand why it can’t be mine. I can show much more interesting scenery than that old man left behind in such an era.”
Rin sunk into thought for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.
“I will ask the others except for the walnuts. Will you come under me, or not?”
It was another offer for employment, but there was a clear difference in temperature compared to the one she made to Gurupa.
Whether they come or not, she didn’t have any interest, but if they want, she would be willing to employ them with that kind of nuance.
Perhaps it was because they witnessed Gurupa being taken away to the prison just now.
The remaining prisoners unanimously nodded and said.
“Yes, I surrender.”
“From today onwards, we will serve Lady Rin Brance.”
“P-please, p-please spare me! If you spare my life, I will be loyal, I promise!”
“……”
Rin approached the man who spoke last with cold eyes.
Then, she looked down at him and asked.
“Hey.”
“Eek…!! P-Please… please, spare my life…!”
“…Sigh.”
Rin let out a long sigh-
And then, she spoke while looking at the soldier.
“Hey. Just let him go.”
“Yes!”
“W-What… do you mean by letting me go? Just… set me free…?”
The man was surprised and questioned Rin with a shocked expression.
“You’re free. I’ll just release you. I don’t want to keep using someone like you and give you a salary.”
In other words, it meant, “Instead of paying you and using you, I’ll just set you free.”
Despite being a highly insulting remark to hear, the man, seemingly happy to have risked his life, repeatedly thanked Rin, banging his head against the ground.
“Thank you, thank you…! I will never forget the warmth you’ve shown me!”
“Yeah, yeah. Go inside. Hey, take him with you.”
“Yes! Come here.”
As the man whose release was decided was being dragged away, he continued expressing his gratitude, tears streaming down his face.
Of course, no matter how many times he spoke, his words didn’t reach her ears.
Turning her head, Rin gave a sly smile and spoke.
“And the other two can work for our Brans army from now on. Got it?”
“Yes, yes! Understood!”
“We will serve faithfully!”
Although two talented individuals had joined the Brans army, Rin wasn’t particularly happy.
She had missed out on the most delicious prey, and the rest were all just ordinary individuals.
“……”
“Oh, right.”
As if remembering something, Rin blinked and finally approached Walnut, speaking to him.
“Don’t you have anything you want to say? Mr. Walnut?”
“……I.”
The elderly man, Walnut, whose head was completely shaved, trembled slightly.
Even though he may be a prisoner now, perhaps it was because he used to be a military leader who once waged war.
Lyn was using respectful language towards Walnut.
“……If I were to save you, I will do my best to assist you.”
“Oh, really? The renowned Mr. Walnut, who was once a leader of a country, is willing to help us. That’s a joyful occasion♡”
Lyn smiled faintly-
But immediately changed her expression and lowered her voice.
“But I can’t.”
“……W-what do you mean…?”
Lyn raised her head slightly and looked down on him.
It was a gaze that seemed to look at a bug.
It was slightly different from the gaze she had when she looked down on the person who thanked her for saving him despite hearing disrespectful words just moments ago. Lyn’s gaze towards Walnut was a gaze filled with even more contempt, as if she was looking at someone beyond mere trash, someone utterly despicable.
“You. You are a leader. How pathetic is it for a leader to beg for his life? What did you do when you couldn’t keep up with Guropha and died to protect your faith? You led an army that can’t even compare to Guropha’s momentary recapture of Haizel?”
“Th-that’s because G-Guropha-“
“Shut up. You stink. Do you even know why the army led by trash like you was able to momentarily recapture Haizel? It’s because of Guropha. And yet, you believed in something you knew nothing about and rebelled against the army.”
Lyn glanced at the soldier standing next to her.
The soldier surprisingly understood that it meant “take him to prison.”
“Come this way!”
“W-wait… Lady Lyn Brance! Spare me! Please, have mercy on me…!”
Walnut continued to scream piteously-
But Lyn completely ignored him and elegantly walked back to her throne.
“Oh. To be beaten by such a pitiful person, it’s not only a disgrace but also a disgrace to one’s dignity.”
After the prisoner processing was complete.
Karlitz, who had been kneeling all along, cautiously spoke up.
“My Lord. What are your plans going forward?”
“Hmm? It’s going to be the same. We will conquer the surrounding small countries to expand our territory. We need to quickly suppress the central region so that we can stand on equal footing against the Serephina Army in the north. Right. What happened to the spy we sent to Jeyrant?”
“They have returned. Just like last time, Lunaryn Inyang is occupying it, and there are about 3,000 soldiers under her command, with a total of three generals.”
“Three? Weren’t there only two a few days ago? One old man and one carnivore woman, wasn’t that what was said?”
“It definitely seemed so last time… I heard that a young man with white hair has been seen frequently with Luna-Rienne Ianthe. It seems like they might have recruited a new member.”
“Huh? A new member joining the failing Luna-Rienne army? Are you sure you didn’t just mistake him for someone that Luna-Rienne was hanging out with?”
“Well… I’m not completely sure about that.”
“Hmm.”
Something was not fun about this.
The battle with Walnut Guun was supposed to be exciting, thinking that they could acquire Groufa after winning.
But the only thing they would gain from attacking and winning over Luna-Rienne was a small city called Jeillant.
The talents under her also didn’t seem very impressive.
“But what can we do? We need to finish this troublesome task quickly.”
Lyn spoke while looking at Kallintz.
“Brother, is Kallintz still in the south?”
“That’s right.”
Chell Branse.
He was Kallintz Branse, the older brother of Calintz Branse and Lyn Branse.
Branse Jägermeister was a strong man that everyone would mention.
“Hmm… Can Kallintz handle it by himself?”
In response to Lyn’s question, Kallintz bowed his head and spoke.
“If I may. If you entrust it to me, I will conquer Jeillant Castle. Negotiations have already been concluded.”
Concluded negotiations.
It seemed a bit unnecessary to go that far, but well, Kallintz will handle it.
Lyn nodded.
“Alright. I will prepare the soldiers appropriately. Let’s finish this quickly.”
“Yes!”
By consolidating five more forces, including the Luna-Rienne army, they would be able to completely bring peace to the central continent.
The Acesta army, who they would probably fight last, was a bit of a concern… but she believed she would somehow manage.
After all, who am I? I am Lyn Branse.
“I am the one who will unite the continent.”
She smiled with satisfaction.
It was an extraordinarily beautiful, elegant, and noble smile.
* * *
Luna and Sven quickly returned to Jeillant Castle after hearing the messenger’s story.
Inside the castle, Tifa and Cain had already gathered after hearing the news.
“You’re here?! Did you hear the news? The Brans people are attacking?!”
“… Yes, I heard. What about the leader?”
“There is a high chance it’s Kalintz Brans. We obtained testimonies that he was gathering an expeditionary force in the village.”
Luna’s expression darkened at Cain’s words.
“Kalintz Brans… He’s not an easy opponent.”
Kalintz Brans.
Of course, I was familiar with that name as well.
When playing as the Brans army, they were always the two commanders who stood at the forefront of battles.
Kalintz Brans, the older brother of Lord Lyn Brans, and Chel Brans.
Kalintz, Lyn’s second eldest brother, was not as outstanding as Chel, but he was an S-tier commander who didn’t easily fall for tactics due to his cool and ruthless personality.
I also primarily used Kalintz rather than Chel, who was unpredictable.
“Should we abandon the village and run away?”
I had already spent a lot of money to boost public sentiment, but no matter how much I thought about it, there was no chance of winning this fight.
Even if we combined the small commanders under Kalintz, they would easily outnumber us, and the total number of our side was only four, including myself.
It was a desperate situation where the difference in the number of soldiers was more than twice as much.
“Sven, what should we do?”
Luna asked me for advice.
Fortunately, I had an intelligence of 100.
If I followed her instructions, somehow it would work out.
Thinking so idealistically, I input Luna’s question into my head.
And then…
“Hmm?”
The answer that came out of my head was-
[Appoint Cain as the vanguard and engage in combat. That is the optimal strategy that can be carried out at the moment.]
Once again, an absurd answer came out.