Chapter 93: Means of Obtaining an Army (2)

I’m confident I can win, but I don’t want to waste my country’s power in a war when I should be gaining strength. That’s why I came to this place to get rid of this man beforehand. Of course, that is the reason why I hid my true identity.

“Yes, that…….”

I stepped back, stunned by Kashak’s spirit.

“I’m here to propose an alliance!”

“Alliance, you say? An alliance between an independent nation with only one territory and this Estren? What’s in it for us?”

Kashak raised his voice.

I fell on my buttocks and sat down in a very uncomfortable position.

“Count Kashak, there’s nothing to say there. He just couldn’t save Lunan because the former king of Lunan sent him to Roserun. In the midst of all that, he did a fine job defending the people of Lunan, defeating Narja, and settling in Bridget.”

However, there was a nobleman who was surprisingly supportive of me. I was a little surprised that they knew so much about it so accurately. There are a lot of people who think the rumors are exaggerated.

The system confirmed that it was someone named Count Dufouré. From the looks of it, he seems to be quite friendly towards me, but I don’t know how he really feels. He wasn’t a famous person in the game.

“But isn’t it ridiculous that they want to cooperate with us by forming a military alliance when they can’t even protect themselves? Rather, it seems to me that they want to establish a safeguard in the southeastern part of the continent through an alliance, and then develop themselves to revive the old land of Lunan…….They simply want to take advantage of this Estren, Your Majesty.”

You were exactly right. That was the purpose of proposing the alliance. Of course, I didn’t come here to seriously propose an alliance, so you didn’t guess perfectly.

All the nobles except Count Dufouré nodded at Kashak words. The king seemed to think so as well. He shook his head and said to me,

“My vassals, it is all thanks to the Ancient Kingdom that my Estren has a powerful navy. Therefore, I will discuss it again with the nobles in light of Aintorian’s name. You should stay back for a while. In the meantime, I will prepare a place for you to stay in the royal palace.”

Yes, this is what I wanted in the first place. I don’t care about alliances.

***

Count Kashak Retin, he is the most powerful young warlord in the Kingdom of Estren. He has never revealed his ambition, but he has a strong determination. His ambition was to rule the Kingdom of Estren.

The current king was old, cowardly, and had no desire for war. He only wanted to maintain the status quo. That’s why he’s being pushed around by the nobles and wasting this wonderful time of his life. No matter how much he tried to convince the king that if he didn’t act now, he would only be eliminated, the king would not listen.

The same goes for the duke’s people, who are constantly fighting for their succession. Kashak saw them as incapable of doing anything but undermining the country.

The continent was falling further and further into chaos. In times like these, if they didn’t act properly, they would only head down the path of ruin.

If it hadn’t been for this cowardly king and his political warring nobles, he could have sailed his fleet during the war between Roserun and Bridget to take advantage of them. And by now, they would have occupied a significant portion of Bridget’s territory.

That was their first chance and now, with the destruction of Lunan, they have a second chance. And yet, nothing was being done! Kashak couldn’t take it any longer, the time had come to carry out the coup d’etat he had been planning for ten years.

Now that Narja had lost a large army, it was time to move! Kashak had confidence in himself. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Aintorian or Narja he was confident that he could win.

“The king has lived long enough. I will kill him, set up a puppet king, and change this country! To do that, we have to get rid of everyone who gets in my way.”

Kashak’s ambition, which he had been keeping inside for ten years, came out in front of his right-hand retainer Nelchin, who was loyal to him.

“Sir! We are ready! Eliminate that old defender of the king and Estren will be ours!”

Kashak nodded at Nelchin’s words. The two old men guarding Estren meant the commander of the Grand Fleet, Chesedin, and the captain of the Royal Guard.

For Kashak, the presence of these two men, who were also his childhood friends, was the thing he did not like the most. They were the ones who must be eliminated in order for the coup to succeed.

“We’ll deal with the two old men together. As soon as they are dealt with, you must take control of the palace and replace the king! Everything must be done swiftly. In the end, history belongs to the victors. If we change the king, then we will be righteous and all opponents will be recorded as traitors.”

“Yes, sir!”

“We must be careful. Only with caution will success follow.”

Kashak urged Nelchin to be exceptionally careful, he had to succeed. His plan was perfect, no matter how he thought about it there was nothing unexpected.

***

Marquis Ramel Chesedin, was the commander of the First Fleet of the Estren Kingdom. Virtually no other country could overlook Estren because this First Fleet was in good shape. Estren was surrounded by an ocean in between and a huge river that flowed from that ocean. With his naval skills that could be used not only in the ocean but also in the river, he was quite an important presence in Estren.

The First Fleet’s troops were naval, but the moment they landed, they became land forces. So, it also meant that if he left Chesedin alone, he would have to fight the perfect First Fleet in a coup.

It would not be difficult to take control of the First Fleet, which had fallen into chaos after losing its captain.

Chesedin was on his way to the SS barracks in the royal palace for the retirement ceremony of his friend, the SS captain Shaq but Kashak held him back.

“Your Excellency, the Marquis, I need to speak with you.”

“I have an appointment. We’ll talk later.”

“I have urgent news concerning the Narja Kingdom. I need you to come with me to see His Majesty.”

“What urgent news? I was told the Narja Kingdom has lost that army.”

“The king’s troops are still there. This is very important information that could bring disaster to Estren!”

“Understood.”

He had no choice but to go along with Kashak if he said so much. No matter how many troops they lost, Narja was still Narja. There was no one who could ignore the most powerful country on the continent.

Furthermore, Chesedin friend and SS captain, Shaq, was not even allowed to go to work at the barracks today. This was because Shaq had already lost his life to Kashak sword.

As Kashak shouted to the soldiers, one of the several deputies who had assumed a cautionary posture reported to Chesedin.

“This is exactly the spy I planted in Narja. I’ve brought him here directly to get new information!”

Chesedin could only nod at the serious look on his face. In the end, he followed Kashak. He had never dreamed that Kashak had any ambition.

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you the details in front of His Majesty.”

After being told that, he couldn’t ask any more questions.

Once inside the palace, he was disarmed as a matter of course. Kashak, of course, was disarmed, as were his soldiers, and also his confidant, who was quietly standing behind Chesedin.

Once disarmed, Kashak took the lead. The audience chamber of the magnificent royal palace, the largest building in the Estren Kingdom, reflected the sun’s rays. The gold color was even more majestic in its splendor when illuminated by the sun.

Kashak, who was leading the way, stopped in front of the court of the queen, the king’s favorite. The king was over eighty years old and his new queen was only twenty-two years old. The age difference between the queen and the king is common in dynasties with a long history.

The king, who had been unable to fulfill his role as a man for quite some time, was unable to have children, but he loved the queen and was still staying in her room.

When Kashak stood in front of the room, the SS soldiers blocked his way with spears.

The soldiers who noticed Kashak and Chesedin bowed their heads one after another. But of course, the spears blocking their way remained in place.

“I have urgent intelligence to convey to Your Majesty. Make way.”

When Kashak glared at the spear and said, the soldiers showed some difficulty. The chief attendant of the imperial palace soon appeared, as he had heard them talking.

“His Majesty says he will not see anyone now.”

Kashak furrowed as he shook his head resolutely.

“It concerns the Narja Kingdom, the enemy may invade.”

Although they do not share a border with the Narja Kingdom, the rumors about them that have been circulating on the continent lately have been incredible. The chief attendant’s face turned pale.

“Oh, is that true?”

Kashak nodded strongly and the chamberlain hurried inside.

A few moments later.

“Please come in.”

The chief attendant hurriedly guided Kashak and Chesedin, while Kashak secretly signaled Nelchin with his eyes so that Chesedin would not notice.

It was the day he had been aiming for a long time. This was the very day he had been planning for ten years. Of course, for Kashak, a coup d’etat was a last resort. That’s why it took him ten years to reach this point.

Today was the day he would take power to pursue his dream. Kashak followed the chamberlain, thinking that the blue sky was blessing him.

Only high-ranking nobles were allowed to meet the king. Naturally, neither Kashak soldiers nor Chesedin followers could come with them.