Volume 4 Chapter 45 Conquer the West
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Ryoma.”
A voice he had known since childhood struck his ears.
At the southern edge of Cyclops Island, in a corner of the military base closest to Azrael, inside a tent for high officers, the warrior monk Ryoma, who had been lost in meditation, slowly opened his eyes.
To sink deeper into himself, Ryoma had been facing the far side of the tent, his back turned completely to the entrance. But without even checking, he had already sensed how many people had come into his tent.
”What is it, Hanami?”
He asked, just in case.
When Ryoma slowly turned around, a beautiful woman with glossy black hair pinned up by a kanzashi hair ornament was standing there. Dressed in the same white and purple kimono as in the days when Ryoma had courted her as a military officer, his wife Hanami Tsai gazed up at him.
”You have guests.”
”Lord Ryoma.”
Before Ryoma could say anything, a group of warrior monks with dark skin came in behind Hanami. Every one of them had wrinkles around their eyes, on their brows, or at their mouths. The colleagues who had always kept a youthful look—in truth, those who had been his colleagues long ago—were already gone.
Demete had not chosen Jibril, but without hesitation had decided to share Umar’s fate. He had served as Umar’s hands and feet while Umar was imprisoned, and a few months ago, they had finally escaped from the old Palace, where Umar had been confined, and fled westward.
Those left behind were people who had once served the Vahid family under Umar, but who had abandoned him and shifted to Jibril’s side.
All of them were seasoned warrior monks.
They were the loyal retainers who had supported the dawn of Vahid.
Ryoma thought Jibril was a fool for not treasuring them.
(So even my wife has gained many more wrinkles. She is still beautiful, but… her age can no longer be hidden by makeup.)
Humans would one day die.
That was why they bore children and passed down their name and fortune to the next generation.
Hanami and Ryoma both understood that.
But—
Both of their children had left the Tsai family.
It had begun to fall apart when Linca failed to win Jibril’s favor.
Linca had once been Jibril’s favorite.
Even if she had made mistakes as a student, she had never used them to blackmail him, and even after being refused entry to the harem, she had still been used at his convenience.
Linca had been a clever child, but it was as if she had not understood politics at all—
”—Lord Ryoma, are you listening!?”
”I hear you. You are talking about what we must do after this war, aren’t you?”
”That’s right.”
An old warrior monk, his stomach sticking out more than in his youth, nodded.
It was not that he had lived carelessly, but aging reduced muscle and made the body fatten. Ryoma and Hanami, in their mid-forties, took great care, but some of the men here could no longer show off their Dance Swordsmanship as they once had.
Umar had feared aging strangely, even from his thirties, but now Ryoma could almost understand.
(No, Umar’s fear of decay came from his mother, perhaps. In any case, his terror was extreme. Even as one of the Twelve Divine Generals, he went so far as to indulge in unethical experiments in the harem [T/N: royal women’s quarters].)
”We have no place if we return. We must conquer Crete, crush Chatillon, and make our own land in Izerland.”
”But what of the land of Azrael? Our homes? Our children?”
”They will all be taken by Lord Jibril in time. As for children, we can simply have more.”
Like Ryoma, everyone here had spent their youth in constant battles under Umar, with neither rank nor wealth.
Naturally, their marriages were with fellow warrior monks or subordinates (Ryoma had married above him, to his superior).
As fighters, all of them had brought wives.
All except Ryoma had more than one.
Some wives had passed menopause, but younger ones could still bear children.
The problem was the Tsai family, which could not have any more.
Ryoma would not let Hanami suffer.
He had to bring back that foolish son—no matter what.
”Ryoma, I still believe we should rely on Umar,” Hanami said with a serious face. She turned to look at the old warrior monks behind her.
”What about all of you? Let us gather once more under Umar and start again. We can help him, and together we can build our land in the west.”
”But Lady Hanami, we betrayed Umar once.”
”That is right. Umar never forgives a traitor. Even if we bow, will he forgive us?”
”No, it does not matter. Umar has only Demete as his piece. He must be desperate for our help. He will let the past go.”
”Yes. By the time Umar tries to remove us, he will be too old. They say it was a miracle he escaped the Palace at all, since he was so ill.”
”But can we rely on such a sick man…?”
”What if we rely on Lady Sarah instead? I heard she is the new Head Magician of Izerland.”
”She is alive!? Then Lady Sarah—”
”Fool, have you forgotten Lady Sarah’s feud with Vahid!”
”Everyone, the only one who can oppose Lord Jibril is General Umar.”
Hanami’s face was firm.
”When he was young, he was as wise and strong a warrior monk as Lord Jibril. If he recalls his prime—and if we, who know the prime of Vahid, give our strength—the way will surely open.”
”――――”
”…”
”――――”
”First, we must win this battle. If we cannot defeat Crete, our western expedition will vanish like foam on the sea.”
Ryoma looked around at the group as he spoke.
”If possible, we should take Crete ourselves. General Mansoor, General Li, and General Flora… whether they are dead or not, I will raise the matter at the war council today.”
”We leave it to you.”
The veteran warrior monks gave the warrior monk salute.
Ryoma nodded, then left the tent with Hanami.
As he had said, the war council of the expedition leaders would soon begin.
With the Malc family’s Flora and her daughters all killed, a new representative had to be chosen. Their introduction would be held today. But everyone knew who would succeed Flora. Ryoma thought the Malc family was finished.
”Hanami.”
As they walked north along the paved path toward the farthest part of the southern base, Ryoma called to his wife, who walked one step behind him, without looking back.
”Yes, my husband.”
”I… am not mistaken, am I?”
”―――― Yes. You are not mistaken.”
”General Umar was already falling. If we had sided with him, we would likely have been purged. Especially you, once the Head Magician, would surely have been killed.”
”Yes.”
Demete had been spared only because he was incompetent.
He had magic power and knowledge of magic, but in all other ways he was a fool.
Umar had no choice but to use him, and because of careless Demete, most information leaked out.
By the way, one of those watchers who had still been outwitted by Umar had been among those who came to the tent earlier. It was painful to admit, but Jibril was ruthless and efficient in getting rid of useless things.
”Ryoma, this expedition is not a decoy. It is a real invasion.”
Hanami touched his arm to calm him.
”Whatever Lord Jibril plans, right now we only have to win. Beyond victory lies our paradise. There we will bring back Ryu, and build Linca’s grave.”
”Damn that failure.”
The old intonation came back to him.
In his youth, he had thought Umar too harsh with his eldest son, but now he understood. Unlike his daughter, his son was so worthless and strange that Ryoma could hardly believe he was his own blood.
Parental love was free, but not infinite.
Ryoma’s love for Ryu had already ended before his son became an adult.
But with Linca dead and Hanami past menopause, only that strange son could now leave a true heir for the Tsai family.
”Hanami, when we find Ryu, I leave the scolding to you. I can never bring myself to like him.”
”Yes, I understand.”
Hanami nodded with a look that showed mixed feelings.
Ryoma grew annoyed at that moment of hesitation, but before he could speak, Hanami’s hand touched him again. Compared to her youth, her skin had lost its firmness, her flesh had grown thin, but it was still the hand of his beloved wife.
Ryoma calmed his heart and walked into the largest strategy tent, built against the mountain.
* * *
Mansoor Shakerdoust.
He had inherited the family at twenty from his father, Abbas Shakerdoust (his son bore the same name, so the boy had been given the middle name Hashmalik). For more than forty years, Mansoor had fought on the northern front against the black panther tribe and the nomadic horsemen who were allied with Shin, the great nation to the east. He was a great hero.
When Ryoma entered the wide tent, he bowed to the white-bearded old general sitting heavily on a grand red carpet.
The old general—Mansoor—was said to have fallen ill a few years ago, like Umar, but now he looked as if nothing had ever happened. In fact, his cat-like eyes shone even brighter than in Ryoma’s youth, making him seem younger than before.
After Ryoma, Hanami also bowed and said, “Good day, General Mansoor.” The general’s stern face softened into a gentle smile. When he smiled, the angle of his mustache shifted, and Ryoma noticed that part of the beard under his chin had changed from white to red.
(Even his beard is younger… what!?)
”Oh! Tsai couple! I am glad you have come!”
”We have arrived, General. And you as well, Lord of Shidarkan, I humbly ask for your favor today.”
Standing at the upper seat to Ryoma’s right was a dull-looking, bearded Azraelian. Ryoma inclined his head politely.
”We have come, General. Lord Shidarkan, please favor us today as well.”
Ryoma bowed toward the Azraelian man with a dull beard seated at the upper right.
Shidarkan Malc.
A man without features, who had married one of the Malc daughters.
Flora had been his mother-in-law.
He had once served as Malc’s magician, but compared to the Head Magician of Shajar, he was painfully ordinary.
Or rather, Shajar had too many talents.
As an agricultural empire, its land had many people and thus many gifted ones.
Its daughters too were far more brilliant.
Flora’s daughters had been fine, but compared with Sarah, Almeisa, and Natra, they were like the moon and a mud turtle [T/N: Japanese proverb meaning “not even close in comparison”].
But enough of that.
Shidarkan only nodded gloomily and said, “I ask the same.”
Having lost his wife, mother-in-law, and all his sisters-in-law, such a dark reaction was natural.
In fact, it was strange that he could even attend this council, only days after the northern base’s destruction.
The tent was like a palace, with tall ceilings shaped by Earth magic and filled with light.
Mansoor rose from his seat and stepped into the sunlit space.
”A letter came saying my son Abbas is held in Crete.”
He held a white letter in his rough hands and gave it first to Hanami.
”It seems the northern base attack was their doing. Flora and her daughters are dead. The base was burned. Even the two Inspectors Lord Jibril sent are missing. My mother-in-law was killed by having her head crushed.”
Shidarkan’s voice trembled.
”Two sisters-in-law had their necks broken. Two more were cut to pieces by ‘threads.’ My wife… her head was blown off by stones or something. Her legs were also crushed… We suspect the Death Sword User of Azrael. The ‘threads’ were too clean. The cuts had no damage at all. A skill that could dice ripe Castile tomatoes without losing their shape.”
”Is it the same killer Lord Shajar hunted?”
Hanami passed the ransom letter from Crete along to Ryoma.
After reading quickly, he lifted his face.
”An impostor of the Death Sword User of Azrael serving Crete? Could it not be chance?”
”No. If it were only chance, they would not free the princess or capture my son. They would have burned everything.”
”Some survivors said, ‘The dead rose and ate their comrades.’”
Shidarkan’s gloomy eyes wrinkled.
”The same happened during the serial murders in Azrael. But that time, it was not corpses but local villagers who turned violent and bit warrior monks.”
”That killer hates Azrael. And rumor says Azrael meddles in Crete. It is very possible the killer found out and joined Crete.”
So Mansoor said, but Hanami tilted her head.
”But the killer has not acted for a long time. Did not Lord Shajar’s people kill him? If Lady Sarah still lives, perhaps she did it.”
”Hmmm. Perhaps. If we could ask Lord Shajar’s daughter, we would know.”
”Could Lady Sarah herself be the killer?”
Ryoma returned the letter to Mansoor as he asked.
The ransom was ten thousand Azrael gold coins. Abbas was finished.
”It is only a possibility. But the skill with ‘threads,’ the power to wipe out trained warrior monks including Lady Flora, and the strength to crush heads and throw stones with such force. If it were her, it would make sense. But would warrior monks like Flora fall to a mere Death Sword User? No, never.”
”Hmm…”
Mansoor frowned.
Shidarkan muttered, “That reminds me.”
”Lady Sarah often broke dishes in public.”
”Hanami, was she not strong enough to pull out great trees?”
”Yes. Linca said so. Called her a gorilla. But such a slim and graceful girl, strong? I cannot believe it.”
”Linca would not lie about such things.”
”…Yes, true.”
Hanami nodded while still doubtful.
Mansoor snapped his fingers.
”Good. We will send secret letters to Lady Sarah. Ask her about the Death Sword User, and also about Izerland. If possible, we will meet her.”
The old general went on.
”If she is not in Izerland now, then maybe she has already come here in secret.”
”——”
No one said Sarah had no motive.
While she was away, likely on a mission to assassinate the killer, she had lost her home.
But the Twelve Divine Generals Council had not sent help to the Nakash family. Instead, they gave recognition to the Lee family who stole the seat.
Jibril even aided the Lees in driving out the Nakash remnants.
The Nakash had always been isolated, but from Sarah’s view, the council’s betrayal was unforgivable.
She might want to destroy both the council and Azrael, along with the Lee family.
As a move for that plan, she could have entered the Frontier princess’s circle.
It was just like something her master Umar would think.
”Still, saying Lady Sarah is the killer feels too forced.”
Shidarkan still spoke.
”Better to think some other person pretends to be Kian Vahid.”
”The hero of Ramsey, the hero of Izerland?”
Hanami whispered.
No one believed the boy exiled sixteen years ago was the same ‘Kian’ who rose so suddenly in half a year.
He was probably long dead.
The monster who broke the Sword Saint of the Sun in June and buried the Thorn Demon in July could not be that weak boy.
But he might be the Death Sword User.
Maybe he used the name of exiled Kian because he too had vengeance.
Perhaps Shajar thought so too, and sent his daughters west.
But if so, was the ‘Sarah Nakash’ in Izerland truly the same girl?
They said the new Head Magician of Izerland was ‘Sarah,’ under Kian’s command.
It could be a fake.
Perhaps Sarah had been killed, and her name stolen.
It was hard to believe even Linca could be killed, but then again, Fiend with the Tiger’s Beard Nizaam had been slain.
Impossible things had happened again and again this year.
”In any case, by sending Sarah a secret letter, we will solve some questions.”
Mansoor spoke quietly.
”We will see if she answers or not. If she answers, if it is really her. We will also ask about Kian.”
”We beg this of you, General Mansoor.”
The worst case was that this mysterious Kian was the Death Sword User, working with Umar and Sarah. If those three joined hands to strike Azrael, it would be a grave threat.
For now, they could only hope that was not true.
* * *
”Excuse me.”
As the talk calmed, a young clear voice rang at the entrance.
Though Mansoor had not given permission, the speaker stepped inside at once.
A young Wolfman entered, wearing cloudy-crystal glasses.
They knew him well.
He was Jibril’s right hand, a man with no rank on the surface, called only “Shadow.”
Those who knew him called him “Prince.”
”Well, well, Prince.”
Shidarkan’s gloomy face brightened a little.
Beside Ryoma, Hanami put on her polite smile.
Ryoma also greeted him formally, though he did not like him.
How could he? This man was Jibril’s inspector, placed here to watch their every move.
Oji had a strange magician following behind him.
He was also a Wolfman, his shaved designs and tattoos standing out clearly.
”Hey, hey, looks like everyone’s here. I thought I was a little late, but Gensou isn’t here yet. Maybe he’s still playing with the Three Beauties? Ufufufufu.”
”Inspector.”
Ryoma gave Oji a smile.
”Whatever you say to us, show respect to General Mansoor. He is the hero of today’s Azrael.”
”My apologies, General.”
”It’s fine.”
Unlike Oji, Mansoor’s face stayed stern. The old general spoke in a businesslike tone.
”So then, what is the message from Lord Jibril?”
”Recently, Jibril received a letter of protest from Crete. They said the pirate ship was from Azrael. They confirmed it at the Cyclops Island base, and they even have Abbas’s testimony that Azrael was behind it.”
”I’m sorry my son caused trouble.”
”There’s no need to apologize. If we can’t cover for you, we’ll just cut you off.”
”Prince, we have two thousand magicians. You know what would happen if you cut us off, don’t you?”
”Of course, Ms. Hanami.”
Oji smiled.
”Then Crete and I will crush you from both sides. You’ll become nothing but wreckage at sea.”
”Oh my, but maybe Old Beirut will fall first.”
”Lady Hanami, enough.”
”…Yes. I’m sorry, General Mansoor.”
”For now, Jibril denies any link between Azrael and the privateers [T/N: government-approved pirates]. But he cannot deny it forever. In time, Izerland, Chatillon, and the Western Church will all complain about the Twelve Divine Generals Council’s response. When that happens, it will be over. Jibril may hand you over to them, and then crush you to atone. But no need to worry.”
Mansoor said.
”Our invasion is already revealed. If Asterios comes out, we will crush him. If he does not, then like Nizaam did ten years ago, we will twist Crete aside. The war will be decided in less than a month.”
”I hope so. Neither I nor Jibril want your destruction. We plan to support you so you can achieve victory.”
”And what can you do, when two of your Inspectors have already been killed?”
”We’ll let the spies we placed among them do their work. And when the two come back, we’ll also lend our own force.”
”Come back? They were blown apart by blast bombs, weren’t they?”
Ryoma asked this, but before Oji could answer, the tent’s entrance was thrown open.
”Sorry I’m late! One of my men back home messed up, and I had to deal with it!”
”Oh, General Li. Welcome.”
”Hello, Gensou.”
Both Mansoor and Oji greeted the intruder with smiles.
On the other hand, Ryoma, Hanami, and Shidarkan all frowned at the sight of the young man in a loose robe like a bathrobe.
The young man from the East—Li Gensou—had his chest open, smiling brightly.
He had fine features, in a different way than Ryoma’s son Ryu.
His eyebrows were thick, his slicked-back hair shone, his lips were full.
His earlobes were large, and his eyes sparkled with ambition.
Behind Li Gensou followed three female warrior monks.
Seishi.
Oushoukun.
Yougyokukan.
In the Eastern common script, their names were 西施, 王昭君, and 楊玉環.
Each of them was both Li Gensou’s close aide and his wife.
Yougyokukan was his first wife, and also the Head Magician.
All of Gensou’s women wore masks.
Ryoma would have preferred them to show their faces at a war council, but Oji himself wore sunglasses, and Gensou, who lived as if rules were nothing, would never listen.
”Gensou. From Jibril—”
”You mean the protest letter from Crete, right?”
”Yes, that’s it.”
”The grace period is half a year?”
”Yes, probably about that.”
”Then once that period ends, Lord Jibril will get rid of us.”
”It only looks that way for now, but fight with that in mind.”
”Got it! Everyone, things are as bad as they can get! Ahahahaha!”
Gensou pushed back his still-wet hair.
Behind him, Seishi brought a towel and roughly dried his head.
”But it’s fine. The real fight starts now. Actually, it has only just begun.”
”B-but our strength was cut at the start. Our army is still gathering. Especially the hastily made warrior monks for the front wall are not yet ready.”
Shidarkan said this, but Gensou only nodded vaguely, then looked at Oji.
”You’ll lend us a hand, won’t you, Prince?”
”Of course. Our traitors inside will do their job.”
”Our side is ready too. —General Mansoor, everyone, let’s fight in true Azrael style, even if our army is not complete!”
Gensou spread his arms wide and smiled.
His trained chest muscles were bare, and Hanami quickly turned her face away.
”Let’s take out the enemy leaders and magicians one by one. It’s time for Operation Assassination!”
Notes:
• Demete – A male dark elf shaman and a servant in the Umar household.
• Linca – Jibril’s favorite girl. High-ranking warrior monk woman from Shin, with strong abilities like ignoring attacks and poisons.
• Mag – The wolfwoman under Yelmar—the one who was caught by Kian’s group earlier.
• Ryu – Linca’s little brother.
• Abbas – The heir of the Shakerdoust family, a prominent clan within the Twelve Divine Generals.
• Nizaam – A former member of Azrael’s Twelve Divine Generals and the current head of the Malc family, though he has passed both titles to his daughter to return to the battlefield. He is a prominent warrior noble in Azrael, known for his love of beautiful boys and fierce battles.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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