Chapter 144: Chaos and Confusion in the Center (3)
Chapter 144: Chaos and Confusion in the Center (3)
In fact, the reason why the situation blew up like this was because this was something that the Center had brought upon itself.
Rishun and the Center’s ‘prank’ on Iron raised the public’s interest in him. Because of them, many had discussed whether Iron was truly fit to lead a corps-level army. From the scholars of the Court Martial to the Imperial public, they all discussed whether they should value and uphold their principles or make an exception because of the crisis that they were facing.
Some claimed that they should send a temporary corps commander-level figure to command Iron and his troops. They firmly opposed the fact that Iron should lead the corps himself despite the fact that he was actively fighting in the battlefield.
With the situation at a stalemate, an airship carrying reporters directly came to the area where Iron was currently located. They moved personally to get an interview with Iron, the most famous figure in the Empire right now. The newspaper companies raised money and took the risk to send their reporters to Soren territory.
Iron treated them sincerely and with all due respect.
The news reporters couldn’t help but tilt their heads in confusion.
Contrary to the rumors about him being rude and self-righteous, he was actually taking care of them well. They were people who had eyes and working heads and they could see how the troops were living.
The soldiers’ training was truly fierce and desperate. They always came back dirty and covered in mud. They also had plenty of small injuries littering their bodies.
But once they excluded the training?
Perhaps it was because these three things that the soldiers wanted the most were guaranteed that none of them had any complaints except for the difficulty of their training.
To prove that, the only thing that they complained and cursed about during some secret interviews was their training. None of them talked bad about Iron. They were even rather very grateful to him that they could survive and live in such a safe place.
The reporters, who were presented with such a situation, quickly found out that the rumors were unfounded.
[ The rumors are fake. I believe the Center is deliberately trying to drag Brigadier General Iron down. ]
The reporters moved busily to send this fact to their own newspaper companies.
After confirming this, Iron smiled as he threw bombs at the reporters. It was his gift for them especially after they took the risk and came all the way here.
The bomb was none other than…
< Evidence of Illegal Experiments in the Center’s Secret Laboratories. >
“This… is this true?”
“We have enough evidence. We have also raised this concern to the Center but we have received no answer.”
The reporters’ eyes glowed after hearing Iron’s words.
The Center’s corruption and the nobles and government officials that deliberately tried to frame Iron to cover it up.
The story was already complete. All they had to do was write an article.
The reporters, after receiving proper care and treatment in Soren territory, flew back to the capital.
And right now, at the present…
“Explain yourself, Emperor!”
“Explain!”
“Explain!”
“All of the government officials who framed the hero should resign!”
“Resign!”
“Resign!”
The people of the Empire gathered together and protested loudly but the Center did not answer.
Everything would pass by and the public’s anger would subside if they remained silent. However, it was now completely different.
The collapse of the Central Army and the Imperial public’s evacuation to seek refuge from the Center. On top of that, there were also the families of the missing people.
All of them were furious. They demanded the Emperor to explain himself.
Their movements were completely different in scale compared to their anger during the Northeast’s situation. Back then, they were also angry. However, they believed that it was still a matter related to another region. But this was different.
Everyone expressed their wrath and anger that had festered over time including those who have lost their homes, the families of the missing, those suffering from excessive taxes and those whose lives were being threatened by the Death Corps.
“What a mess.”
Iron smiled as he looked at the news about the protest in the Center.
The scene of the protest was depicted in black and white and was plastered on the front page like a huge window showing the scene.
“You’re completely separated from the Center now.”
Iron grinned when he saw Ariel’s bitter look.
“Why? You feel sorry?”
“There is a high possibility that they will continue to interfere with the Brigade Leader in the future.”
Just like Ariel said, they will never forget about this.
If he made enough contributions, he would be able to go up to the level of a division leader somehow. After all, the commanders of the Northeast, East and the North were all treating him favorably. There would be no problem on that end at all.
However, it would be entirely different starting from the corps commander level.
There were only a bit more than 20 corps commanders in the entire Empire. It was because they all needed to consult with the Center the moment they needed to promote someone to that level. But considering what happened, they would definitely not allow Iron’s promotion that easily.
With his contributions right now, he was sure that the division leader was already in the bag. However, the path to becoming a corps commander was dark and dreary for Iron especially with his separation from the Center.
“Bothering me… it’s all meaningless now.”
For Iron, the Center’s interference was completely meaningless now. No matter what the Center would try to do, it would never cause a ripple in Iron at all. They would just be like a speck of flying dust in front of him.
“Will you be coming back to the Northeast?”
Iron stared at Ariel quietly.
Going back to the Northeast like this meant that he would leisurely serve his time in the military in a safe place without making any other contribution. In fact, Iron had been promoted at a rapid pace so it did not matter to him at all.
“That wouldn’t be so bad either. But no.”
“Then…”
“What I meant is that I won’t care about the Center anymore. To be more precise…”
Iron stood up and approached Ariel then he bent down and whispered.
“I will abandon the Empire.”
“……!”
Ariel’s eyes widened at Iron’s words.
“The capital is in a state of confusion, right? But you see, I will continue to throw evidence of their corruption and add more chaos to their confusion. So, what do you think will happen with the Capital Defense Forces that’s protecting the capital from the Death Corps?”
Ariel remained silent at Iron’s question.
She knew that no matter how much of an elite they were, they would still be affected once the capital became even more chaotic and noisy. Their morale would drop and more and more confused people would come out.
And the Death Corps would never miss out on this opportunity.
“I won’t help the capital even if they’re in a crisis.”
“Maybe… they’ll mistake this for treason.”
“That’s also a possibility. But what do you think will happen if I go and help the Central Army?”
She frowned after seeing Iron smile while saying those words.
“The Central Army will come to help the Capital Defense Force anyway.”
“The Death Corps aren’t idiots either, do you think they’ll leave them alone?”
“Uhm…”
“They will leave troops behind to stop them while smashing the troops in the capital.”
Regardless of the sacrifice that they would make, the Death Corps would still consider it a victory as long as they occupied the capital. It was just a force to them anyway. They could easily create new Death Corps from the countless people that lived and were living in the capital as long as their main commander survived. Even if they were wiped out, they would still consider it a victory as long as they laid waste and killed the Emperor. Their main purpose would always be focused on taking their revenge against the Empire and the Imperial Family.
“Even if we occupy one region of the Center with our troops, we’re only just half a corps. Do you think you can help the Center with just this force? Do you think our power could prove to be meaningful?”
Ariel’s expression was uncertain after hearing Iron’s question.
Even if Iron’s divine beasts and holy power participated in their battles, their victory still remained uncertain if they truly did come to aid the Center. In fact, if Iron was excluded, the army that had gathered in Soren would definitely struggle even against an elite division-level troops.
“But what if we helped the Central Army?”
“The Central Army’s tied feet will be loosened.”
“That’s right. If the capital held out and summoned me for disciplinary actions, I can just tell them that I went to help the Central Army to fight meaningful battles.”
Ariel nodded slightly at the end of Iron’s words.
In a critical situation, everything would thoroughly be under the discretion of the commander. This was the Commander’s Judgment. No matter how much the Center wanted to drag them down, they just couldn’t dismiss and suppress someone for using the Commander’s Judgment during a war.
And to implement such a judgment, a justification was needed. A controversy would be avoided if they twisted their words and turned it into a justification.
“It’s reasonable for us to say that we helped the Central Army since we believed that the Capital Defense Forces would hold out firmly, right?”
“That may be true, but… if the capital really collapses… wouldn’t it be a big problem?”
“They experimented a lot in their laboratories, so something would definitely appear to stop it from happening. Didn’t they do that to use it in such a crisis?”
Ariel shut her mouth after seeing the cold look on Iron’s face.
‘It would be better if they really did get breached.’
Iron thought to himself as he clenched his fists tightly.
The secrets of the world and the Imperial Family holding onto one such secret.
If the Death Corps successfully breached through the capital and reached the Imperial Palace, then he would be able to know what it was. Perhaps the God Game would even throw him a quest before that happened.
‘If the Imperial Family is really important then they would definitely give out quests to tell us to stop them.’
Iron had no intention of helping the capital until that moment arrived. Perhaps the other-worlders outside of the capital had also gathered together for that purpose too. Those shrewd and manipulative bastards would not care how many of their people died or what would happen to this world. After all, their original world was safe and that was all that mattered.
‘That’s what I believed at one point in time too.’
Iron looked out of the window as he thought so.
Right now, he was doing his best to protect this place that had now become his reality. Perhaps this decision could prove to be a mistake especially in the situation that they were in but he could no longer tolerate and dismiss the evils that the Center had done. He would not tolerate this necessary evil anymore.
Iron began to move as he firmly made up his mind.
He exposed the Center’s corruption and continuously threw firewood so that the fire that he lit would never go out.
[ Experiments. Are we sure that this is really just this time’s problem? ]
[ Brigadier General Iron Carter reveals another! ]
[ It turned out that these experiments had been going on for decades! How rotten can the Center be?! ]
[ Dangerous Imperial Family, rotten Central Officials. Can we even put our trust in them in such a critical situation? ]
The newspaper companies, with the power of the protesting people, climbed up and pressured the Center. If things continued on like this, the Central politics would definitely collapse.
That was when the Imperial Palace made the worst possible choice.
“Martial law will take effect as of today. We cannot tolerate anymore confusion and chaos especially with the Death Corps just right around the corner. All protests in the future will be prohibited. In addition, all able men in the capital will be conscripted as soldiers. We will also confiscate some of our citizens’ properties if necessary. This is His Majesty, the Emperor’s strict order. Abide by them to overcome the crisis that we are facing.”
Martial law.
This was the Emperor’s unique and special authority that could only be invoked when the Empire was in crisis.
This authority was finally issued.
The martial law, that they had postponed time and again as they denied the crisis that had befallen the Empire, was finally brought up in the worst possible situation.
Because of this, the confusion and chaos in the capital grew out of control. And it was not only the capital, the entire Empire was in chaos.
Since martial law was issued during this difficult situation, all of the regions, except for the North, and their armies had to send reinforcements to the Center. Whether they liked it or not. This was what the Emperor wanted. And as long as martial law was in effect, the authority of the current Emperor would remain absolute.
“Did you finally use your final card?”
Iron smiled. It was as if he was waiting for this moment for a long time. He began his preparations to move with his troops.
The Central Army that was in the southwest of the Central region as well as the coalition of other-worlders began their preparations to move.
Even the Death Corps, who seemed to have been waiting for martial law, also began to move. All of the Death Corps that kept Iron’s troops and the other-worlders in check left and headed for the capital at once. Even the Death Corps targeting the West and the South as well as their forces scattered all over the Center began to gather in the capital.
Everyone moved for the final war in the Center.
The Capital Defense Force and the Death Corps faced each other as they waited silently for the upcoming large-scale war. The Death Corps was waiting for the best time that was in their favor to attack while the Capital Defense Force was making final adjustments to their preparations as they decided to hold out until reinforcement troops from other regions arrived to aid them.
Days filled with constant tension and nervousness continued.
And finally…
Bang!
“It started!”
Ariel slammed the door to Iron’s office open and urgently said her report.
Iron stood up as if he was waiting for this moment.
“We’re moving too.”