Lampas Territory, a northern border city of the empire.
It was one of the worst territories in the empire, crawling with monsters while other races frequently invaded from beyond the walls.
There was nothing particularly special about why Viscount Arkal had been appointed there.
It was an order from the Imperial Family.
The term of office for the Northern Commander stationed here was three years, preventing the troops from being privatized. From the Imperial Family's perspective, it was better to assign an ambitious but capable lord.
Even so, it was a region everyone avoided, so Arkal had been permitted to bring as many as ten thousand territorial troops with him.
The viscount valued his own life greatly, so he had brought the legal maximum number of territorial troops allowed.
This was his second year.
He would be able to return to his territory next spring, so like a soldier counting down the days to discharge, he was careful enough to avoid even a falling leaf.
All he had to do was maintain the status quo.
And then, all of a sudden, he had been designated a rebel.
“Ha…… Fuck. What the hell is going on?”
Even after starting a rebellion, he felt like he was going mad from anguish.
He remembered clearly what had happened a month ago.
With six months remaining before completing his service and handing over the post, Viscount Arkal received good news.
The notorious Third Prince was apparently being sent to serve as Northern Commander, almost like an exile.
Arkal summoned his commanders to share the good news, only to find himself blurting out something insane without meaning to.
“If the Third Prince takes office, the empire's defenses will collapse. We refuse to accept that scoundrel's appointment.”
“What!?”
“Commander! What kind of insane…… No, it is not insane at all.”
“Of course. If that scoundrel is taking office, what does an imperial command matter?”
“……!”
The knights who had been about to object, along with several administrators from local magnate families, suddenly looked half-deranged and began spouting bizarre nonsense.
Not everyone reacted that way.
About half of them shouted at the top of their lungs, asking whether everyone else had lost their minds.
Arkal purged the opposition on the spot.
“Throw every bastard who objects into prison!”
“Yes!”
Viscount Arkal immediately mobilized the army and began training.
The soldiers believed a massive enemy force was approaching and were throwing themselves into their drills.
While Arkal was overseeing training, his adjutant ran over and groaned in distress.
“Commander, even so, the imperial command is…… Urgh!”
“What is it?”
“Let us simply join the dynastic revolution! If we enter the revolutionary army, you might be able to secure an important position!”
“You insane……! No, you are right. Let us do that.”
“Ha…….”
After finishing his recollection, Arkal let out a sigh.
Rationally, he knew perfectly well that he should never even dream of rebellion.
Even his ten thousand troops had been scraped together from nearly every soldier in his territory.
He was neutral, not part of the Second Prince Faction, so if he were branded a traitor, there would be no faction willing to protect him.
The only ones who might welcome him were the rebels in the central region, but they were far too distant.
That was why he was resisting the urge to rebel as much as he could.
Yet every time he opened his mouth, nonsense came pouring out.
“I am loyal to His Majesty the Emperor…… Like hell I am! The Emperor should die! Aaaagh!”
BANG! BANG!
Arkal slammed his head down repeatedly.
Someone was controlling him.
He wondered whether he had been possessed by a demon, but where in the world would there even be a demon?
And even if such a thing existed, it should not have been capable of exerting such absolute power.
‘Is this divine intervention?’
At the very least, thinking about killing the Emperor was something he absolutely should not be doing.
All he needed to do was stop the Third Prince.
“His Majesty's imperial command is garbage!”
Tears streamed down his face.
Whenever he tried to resist that incomprehensible being's command, he even felt as though his heart were being squeezed.
The symptoms were getting worse and worse.
He began to think his heart might actually burst and kill him.
It was while Arkal was suffering between fear for his future and the interference of an absolute being.
“My lord! That scoundrel Third Prince has arrived!”
“Ha…… Then I suppose we should receive him.”
“B-But there is a problem!”
“A problem? There is always a problem.”
‘This entire situation is the problem!’
If he did not commit treason, his heart might burst and kill him.
What could possibly be more serious than that?
The chief of staff's lips trembled.
“Young Lord Blow has been brought here as a hostage!”
“What!?”
Arkal's mind went blank.
A hostage?
Even this far north, he had heard rumors that the Third Prince was insane, but a member of the Imperial Family had actually brought an heir as a hostage!?
“Is that true!?”
“Yes!”
Arkal's thoughts spun.
He had spent his entire life working for the sake of his house.
He had done everything he could to rise higher, and as long as his heir's actions did not harm the family, Arkal had overlooked anything he did.
After all, Arkal himself was hardly a clean man.
And now the heir he had cherished so dearly had been taken hostage?
A tremendous rage surged through him.
“That bastard Third Prince!”
***
The rear fortress of Lampas Territory in the north.
This place had been built for logistics.
Its walls were not especially high, and if Kaon was willing to accept casualties, he could attack it.
The problem was the difference in troop strength.
Charging with a sixfold numerical disadvantage would only lead to a massacre.
Kaon knew that perfectly well.
But he had something he could rely on.
THUD!
“Gweeegh!”
Young Lord Blow rolled across the ground after being kicked.
At the same time, a scream erupted from the fortress wall.
“Aaaagh! Stop!”
“If the soldiers come out, this bastard loses his head.”
Viscount Arkal could be seen staggering.
The threat seemed to have worked, because no arrows came raining down on them.
If the archers fired from this distance, they might hit the precious son Arkal treasured above all else.
“How about lowering the bows?”
THUD!
“Ghk!”
This time, blood burst from both of the young lord's nostrils.
Viscount Arkal writhed as though the blood were flowing from his own body.
“Lower your bows, you bastards!”
The soldiers quietly lowered their bows.
Their expressions immediately relaxed.
Until now, the soldiers had probably believed that an enemy was coming down from the north.
In the middle of all that, they had suddenly found themselves aiming bows at the officially appointed Third Prince.
It must have been driving them mad.
Kaon saw through the soldiers' state of mind as well.
Even if many of them had fallen into crime and been dragged north, plenty still had families here.
And now they were being asked to rebel?
If they joined the rebellion, surviving afterward would be difficult.
Merely holding a bow against a prince was already disrespectful enough.
Kaon read aloud from the imperial decree embroidered with a gold dragon.
“……Taking these achievements into consideration, We grant Lampas Territory in the north to Third Prince Kaon. In accordance with Our will, he shall strengthen the empire's frontier and devote himself to repelling its enemies.”
“……!”
The moment the soldiers heard that it was an imperial command, their morale dropped even further.
Even the knights shifted uncomfortably.
They might be knights serving a frontier lord, but defying an imperial command still awakened an instinctive fear.
Kaon folded the decree.
“I proclaim this to the rebels! Seize Viscount Arkal and the rest of your leadership and hand them over now. Do so, and I will not hold you accountable for your crimes.”
“Shut up! If you do not listen to me, I will kill every last one of you right now!”
The soldiers atop the wall began murmuring.
The distance was too great for Kaon to see them clearly, but they were probably agonizing over what to do.
Viscount Arkal was most likely drenched in cold sweat.
Kaon drew his sword.
“So Viscount Arkal is the problem. If that bastard dies, does that not solve everything?”
The soldiers said nothing.
Among the knights serving in the Northern Army, many had likely been forced to follow the viscount's orders.
Those who openly defied the Northern Commander were probably sitting in prison by now, but there would also be many who had resisted only in their hearts.
“Arkal! Come out and fight me one-on-one. I swear on the honor of the Imperial Family that if you defeat me, I will relinquish my position as Northern Commander and withdraw. But if you avoid this duel, your son dies. No exceptions.”
Murmur murmur.
This time, Kaon's own rear lines stirred.
“Your Highness! Leave that pig's father to me!”
“No. I need to go this far if I want the people of the north to remember me.”
The stage had already been set.
There was no reason to refuse it.
Kaon had no foundation to speak of.
He needed to solidify his position as Northern Commander and build up his military forces somehow, so it was better to show an overwhelming image.
Of course, Viscount Arkal would not be an easy opponent.
Internally, he bullied the people and preyed on the weak, but his skill itself was genuine.
There was a reason he had been appointed as a frontier commander.
The Imperial Family had acknowledged Viscount Arkal's ability, which was why they had appointed him Northern Commander twice.
Even if the viscount did not rank among the empire's Five Great Knights, he had spent years building experience along the frontier.
There was no way his skills could be shallow.
His swordsmanship was somewhere between the Intermediate and Advanced Knight level.
In the past, Kaon would not even have considered crossing swords with him.
But this time, that bastard author had once again bestowed a blessing(?) on him and strengthened his mana.
Kaon had also received special training from Sir Chester while advancing north.
He did not think he would lose.
Viscount Arkal opened the gate and rushed out.
“Third Prince! I trust you will keep your promise!”
“I swore on the honor of the Imperial Family.”
“Good. If you lose, you will withdraw your army as promised.”
“I promise.”
Nobles only made promises they intended to keep.
The aristocratic system itself operated through contracts, so even breaking a verbal promise was considered enough to call someone's qualifications as a noble into question.
If that was true even for an ordinary noble, then it went without saying for the Imperial Family.
Kaon had even invoked the honor of the Imperial Family.
If he broke his word now, even the Emperor would be criticized, so everyone could assume the promise would absolutely be kept.
Kaon warned his knights once more not to interfere.
“Hold your positions. If anyone interferes, I will punish it as insubordination.”
“……Understood.”
The knights sheathed their swords and stepped back.
The tension on both sides eased somewhat.
A member of the Imperial Family and a feudal lord had made an agreement, so at least while the duel was taking place, they could be confident that nothing else would happen.
Kaon looked at Arkal.
“Viscount, are you insane? What gave you the nerve to defy an imperial command?”
“That is my own will……! If someone like you governs the frontier, the empire will face danger. Rebels are already swarming through the central region. If the north falls as well, the empire will be in peril.”
“If you care so much about the nation, why did you not send even a single soldier to help suppress the rebellion?”
“Th-That is……!”
Arkal could not find a suitable excuse.
Anything he said would sound pathetic.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
“Just shut up and fight me!”
‘Tsk, tsk. This is definitely the author's interference.’
When Kaon looked up at the sky, clouds suddenly began gathering in what had been a clear sky.
The author who had set up this whole situation was undoubtedly watching.
Kaon crooked a finger at the viscount.
“Come to me.”
Viscount Arkal's eyes changed.
He might be infamous as a pathetic noble, but he still had genuine strengths.
In particular, both his military command and personal swordsmanship were considered among the better examples in the empire.
There was no way the sword of a man like that would be sloppy.
WHOOSH—!
Viscount Arkal charged at tremendous speed.
Kaon nearly lost track of his movement.
But.
‘I can see him.’
In the past, this would have been unimaginable.
Thanks to the enormous increase in his mana and the daily effort he had put into studying efficient mana circulation, his five senses had developed to an extreme degree.
His body moved naturally.
The swordsmanship of Sir Chester, once called a Master, unfolded from Kaon's hands.
The destructive power behind the blade flowing as naturally as water was immense.
BOOM—!
“Ghk!”
The viscount barely managed to block the strike before being blasted backward.
Kaon grinned at the sight.
“This is manageable.”