NEW TL 80 SS
【The next emperor’s perspective: Day 80】
For the sake of curing Diana from the "Creciendo Disease" eating into her, I searched for a remedy using everything I could. She was the person I was arranged to marry with, my fiance and my loved one, the crown princess of the Sternbelt Kingdom. After seaching continuously, I finally learned of the existence of a remedy through a【Divine Revelation】from the【Demigod of Healing】.
I tried again and again to negotiate with the elves, who had inherited the technique to purify the remedy, to trade it for large sums of money.
However, despite my propositions, the elves were bound by their ancient laws and couldn’t hand over the remedy, so I led troops to the forest in order to take it by force.
It wasn’t supposed to drag on for so long, but the elves’ resistance was more violent than expected, and the casualties we received were not to be sneezed at.
The forest was filled with traps which decreased our marching speed, the monsters that frequently appeared were a burden, the hidden elves constantly shot arrows at us from the trees' shadows and the dark night was troublesome.
Even when they ran, we couldn't even give chase since this was their forest which they knew much better than us. There were also some units that I couldn’t contact so I assumed that they had been wiped out.
However, I just couldn't believe that all these casualties were caused by the elves.
My intuition led me to sense that there was a troublesome existence besides the elves.
I couldn’t tell exactly what kind of existence I was feeling. I could only sense that it was something similar to the 【Eight Heroic Armored Knights Brigade】, one of the strongest forces that the empire boasted about.
--And my intuition was correct.
There was a surprise attack from the elves on the headquarters, where I was currently stationed. Shrouded by the dark of night, they came from the side with the slave troops and advanced while freeing the slaves.
While I was surprised that they came so close without me noticing their presence, I was glad that I was able to detect them thanks to the Chimera going on rampage. What made it even better was that the rampaging Chimera was killing and wounding the enemy and the freed mixed-breed slaves.
I could clearly see the situation, even from afar. The Chimera was a synthetic monster, created by combining many techniques the Empire could boast of. There were still problems, such as gathering the raw materials, so increasing the production wasn’t possible, but they had enough concealed strength to play an active role in wars against other countries in the near future.
However, even though the Chimera, with a larger frame than an armored War Elephant, the limbs of a Emperor Tiger, the venomous fangs of a Many-headed Snake, and the pincers of a Blue Shelled Crab, possessed a raw power that easily surpassed that of any common monsters.
It was killed off way too quickly.
In the distance, although I couldn’t confirm the appearance of the enemy since the sun hadn’t risen yet, the Chimera had definitely been finished off. I was dumbfounded at the sight, but the enemy’s attack was so fierce that I was only taken aback for a moment.
I was able to confirm the appearance of Elves, Ogres, Half Lords, and such among the attacking army of the black colored Skeletons.
As I thought, the enemy was not just Elves.
It was likely that the Ogres, who lived in this forest, had conspired with the elves and their mixed army was now on a violent rampage.
The damage in the area around an Ogre subspecies was especially great, and one after another, our elites were being defeated.
While looking at the situation from afar, I relayed orders to my subordinates and devoted myself to commanding them.
This was because the sparks from the battle hadn’t reached here yet due to the distance. That was probably also the reason why I had let my guard down.
I trembled at the enemy, who had approached my back without my associates around me noticing its presence.
If it wanted to kill me, I could’ve been killed.
However, the enemy whispered something into my ears and put a small bottle of liquid into my breast pocket.
It said that the remedy was inside of it.
The condition for receiving it was for us to retreat from the forest. That was the only condition.
And I accepted that condition. It was regrettable to not obtain the profit we could’ve gotten from the Elves, but when the enemy was gripping your life, there was no choice but to man up and fall back.
I had lost to the elves ... no, to this unknown enemy.
It was an existence that could sneak into enemy headquarters without being noticed. Although it could’ve easily robbed me of my life, it offered me an exchange.
If the enemy wasn’t aware that I was the emperor, I would be dead.
Grinding my teeth in frustation at how easily my new arch enemy got one over on me, I vowed to kill this unidentified fiend with my own hands. Withholding my anger for another time, I ordered a retreat even though it almost hurt to do so.
If this remedy turned out to be a fake, I would immedietly come back for revenge and slaughter the enemy even if my body were to crumble to dust.
It was a bitter experience to leave without crushing my enemy, but I vowed to make the Empire stronger. Since I already completed my objective, I left the forest to increase the Empire's might, and also, my own.
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【次期皇帝視点：八十日目】
私は許嫁であり婚約者にして最愛の人――シュテルンベルト王国の第一王女――であるディアーナを蝕む憎き“クリシンド病”を消し去るため、ありとあらゆる術を使って治療法を探し、ようやく【癒しの亜神】の【天啓】によってその存在を知る事ができた治療薬。
その治療薬を精製する技法を受け継いでいるエルフと度重なる交渉をし、多額の金貨と引き換えに得ようとした。
しかし交渉してもエルフの古き掟に阻まれて治療薬は得られず、こうして力尽くで得るために兵を率いて森にまでやってきる。
当初ではここまで手古摺るはずではなかったが、予想以上にエルフの抵抗が激しく、こちらの被害も馬鹿にならない。
森の中は罠だらけで進行速度が遅く、出没するモンスターは障害になり、木陰や夜闇に紛れて射かけられるエルフの矢が厄介だ。
流石に彼らの森だけあって、一度逃げられれば追う事すらままならない。連絡が取れない部隊も幾つかあり、既に全滅していると思われる。
ただこの被害が全てエルフだけによるもの、だとは私には思えなかった。
私の勘ではエルフの他に、厄介な存在が居る、と感じていた。
それがどのような存在なのかはハッキリとしない。ただ、帝国が誇る最高戦力の一つである【八英傑騎甲団】に近い何かを感じるのだ。
――そして私の勘は当たっていた。
私が居る本陣に、エルフ達の奇襲があった。夜闇に紛れ、奴隷部隊が居る方面から奴隷を解放しながら向かって来ていた。
ここまで気配を気取らせずに近づいて来ていた事に驚きつつ、キメラの暴走によってその存在が発覚したのは都合がよかった。暴走するキメラが敵と、解放された奴隷の亜人達もまとめて殺傷したからだ。
その様子は遠くから見てもハッキリと見えた。キメラは帝国が誇る技術を集めて生み出した人造のモンスターであり、増産はまだ素材などの課題があるのでできていないが、近いうちに他国との戦場で活躍するだけの力は秘めている。
戦鎧象と同等以上の巨躯に、帝虎の四肢、多頭蛇の毒牙、蒼殻蟹の鋏といった、一般的なモンスターを軽く凌駕した暴力を持ったキメラは、しかし呆気なく殺された。
遠く、朝日が昇るまえだったのでそれを行った敵の姿は確認できなかったが、キメラは確かに殺された。私はそれに呆気にとられたが、敵の攻勢が激しく、呆けたのも数秒だけだ。
襲いかかってくる黒きスケルトンの軍勢の中に、エルフの他にオーガや半鬼人などの姿が確認できた。
やはり、敵はエルフだけではなかったのだ。
恐らくこの森に住んでいたオーガ達がエルフと結託したのだろう混合軍は、暴れに暴れた。
特に一匹のオーガ亜種を中心とした一帯の被害は甚大で、精鋭達が次々と討ち取られていく。
私は遠くからその様子をみながら、指示を出し、部下達を動かす事に専念していた。
距離はあり、こちらまで戦火が届いていなかったからだ。
だから油断、があったのだろう。
私は、周囲にいる側近達にすら気づかれる事なく背後にまでやってきた敵に、戦慄したのである。
殺そうと思えば、私は殺されていた。
だが敵は耳元でとある事を囁き、私の胸元に液体の入った小瓶を入れた。
中に入っているのは治療薬だという。
得る条件は私達がこの森から撤退する事。ただそれだけだ。
そして、私はその条件を飲んだ。エルフ達から得るべき益は確かに惜しいが、敵に命を握られてしまっては、潔く引き下がる以外に選択肢はなかった。
私はエルフに、否、この正体不明の敵に負けたのである。
本陣に、誰にも気取られずに忍び込むような存在だ。私の命などその気になれば簡単に奪えただろうに、敵は交換条件を出した。
もし私が次期皇帝でなければ、もし敵がその事を知っていなければ、私は死んでいた。
それに歯噛みし、いつの日かこの手でこの正体不明の、しかし現時点から私の宿敵となった敵を斃すため、怒りを堪えて撤退の命を下す。
もしこの治療薬が偽物ならば例えこの身朽ち果てようとも屠ると心に決めながら、私は森を去った。
苦い経験であり、しかし目標を同時に得た私は、強き帝国を築くと同時に、自己を強める事を誓った。