127 What the Witch of the West Wants
In the Empire, war is for men. There was no room for a woman to get involved. Women are not even allowed to stand in front of the troops to see them off when they leave.
After saying goodbye inside the imperial palace, Rilisha hurriedly ran outside and got into the carriage. For today, no one nags her even though she jumps around with her skirt on like a farmhand.
The carriage that Rilisha rode headed straight for the outermost part of the imperial palace.
There is a tall tower there. From there, you can see far away.
When the wagon arrived at the tower, it jumped off before it could stop properly.
I think I heard the voices of the baroness and ladies-in-waiting in the carriage that followed, but I didn’t look at them. If you don’t hurry, it will go far.
Lilitha entered the tower’s small door and jumped up the steep stairs.
I was out of breath as I climbed the stairs, which were supposed to go round and round like snails. but don’t rest
As I ran up the stairs for a long time, my heart felt like it would explode. not breathing properly A stream of white breath escaped from his open mouth.
I think I’m going to die now. I can’t do it.
Fifteen such thoughts came to my mind, then they disappeared again, and finally, around the sixteenth, I managed to get to the top.
The windows of the tower are high. Lilitha’s short face did not reach the window. What can I do, I can’t see it
Beside Ririsha, who jumped up in panic and tried to look out the window, she suddenly heard the chieftain’s voice.
“Here is a stepping stone. You can step on it and go up.”
When did you follow me?
When Lilitha opened her eyes wide and looked at her, the chief of staff smiled.
“If we don’t hurry, His Majesty will leave. Now, this way. Be careful.”
Looking down, there was a wooden scaffolding that hadn’t been seen before. It seems that the chamberlain let go.
“thank you.”
When Rilisha put her foot on the platform, the chief chamberlain held her hand.
Climbing onto the scaffolding, I saw the open sky and the city in the distance.
Rudy and the soldier were quickly found.
They had just left the imperial palace and were on their way to the ecliptic.
Riding a black horse, Rudy was advancing forward, receiving cheers from the people. Two phoenixes are flying around Rudi. It seemed as if the sky was blessing them.
The people waved at Rudy and the soldiers. I felt as if inaudible cheers were echoing inside the tower.
[Long live His Majesty! Long live the Empire!]
Although Rudy still had a youthful appearance, the appearance of leading an army and advancing was exactly the same as the proud emperor of the empire.
Normally, seeing that figure makes my heart thump and thump, and I feel happy. But today was just sad.
How many human lives do you carry on your back? How many deaths and dangers lurked on the road ahead of that person.
“Please come back safely. Please, I offer everything in this body. God, please protect our emperor.”
Rilisha prayed reverently and watched Rudi’s back as she walked away.
Rudy, who was as small as an ant, became smaller and smaller, and at some point he was no longer visible.
But still, Lilitha’s gaze was poured as if nailed to the far side of the city.
***
“Forward! March!”
According to the command, tens of thousands of soldiers walked forward.
Slave collars hung around the necks of the soldiers, who were clad in featureless clothes and vest-style leather armor.
The reason why the Emperor of the Putegrin Empire can maintain strong power from generation to generation lies in the slave soldiers.
The empire sometimes requested conscription from nobles during major wars, but basically relied on powerful magic weapons and slave soldiers.
Because of that, the power of the nobility is small compared to other kingdoms.
However, as the royal family’s possession of magical power decreased and their power weakened, the nobles’ right to speak gradually increased.
However, with Rudy becoming emperor, that tendency is quickly fading.
This war is a warning to foreign countries, but at the same time it has the meaning of showing off the power of the emperor and driving a wedge to the nobility within the empire.
Your emperor has more magic and talent than any previous emperor, so don’t think in vain.
In particular, all of the current slave soldiers are wearing necklaces that Rudy has put spells on.
The necklace contained lie detector and stunner spells, so any slaves with a repulsive spirit were weeded out.
The nobles did not even know the contents of such an order. They didn’t receive any help from the Corea Dynasty family and only knew that the emperor had cast a spell.
And, although I don’t know why, the loyalty of the slave soldiers is unprecedentedly strong.
‘It’s funny. I, who have been taught that people are equal more than anyone else in the world, oppresses the same people the most.’
This is the side of the dirty emperor that Lilitha can’t tell.
It was the transport unit that followed the soldiers past.
Lines of carts loaded with food and various items follow the soldiers. There were about ten people clinging to one cart. Transport units also have many slaves.
A bitter smile appeared on Rudy’s face.
Maintaining an army in the Middle Ages, as well as in modern times, costs money. I heard a lot. To the extent that even myself, who was resistant to the use of battle slaves, tolerated it. No matter how much I thought about it, there was no way to maintain an army except for slave soldiers.
For a while, Rudy weighed his past as an emperor and his past as an earthling, but the result was the expansion and reorganization of the slave soldiers.
Among the combat slaves, the most capable are combat slaves who handle magic weapons, and those who stand out in manipulating people are slave soldiers, but raising them to the rank of the decree is at least atonement and self-justification.
Regular slave soldiers are not paid a salary. But even a slave soldier can get his hands on some money when he becomes a december. This promotion system was a good incentive for slave soldiers.
No slave soldiers have become fifty seals yet, but if they do well in this war, fifty seals from slave soldiers might come out.
The army had already left the imperial ecliptic for a long time. The voices of the people who greeted them at every corner of the road were now completely distant, leaving only sparsely standing trees and dirt roads.
Rudy slowly rode his horse back through the soldiers.
The morale of the soldiers is high. No one was anxious. Food was also sufficient. The empire had an unprecedentedly rich harvest for several years.
I heard that there was a strange rumor going around among the people that the gods were happy because Rudy became emperor.
The actions of the Kingdom of Crete were as predicted in advance. The king of that country was so greedy that it was strange that he hadn’t acted sooner.
There are no signs of anxiety anywhere. But Rudy’s heart was not bright. I couldn’t tell anyone, but there was something that bothered me for some reason.
‘Why is it winter?’
Wars are seldom waged in the middle of winter or in the cold season. A major war that lasts several years will inevitably have a cold season in the middle, but it is safe to say that there are very few wars that start in winter like this. But why did the kingdom of Crete choose this period?
It might have been thought that Dicoquaria’s situation had worsened and that it would be easy to take if touched now. The situation in Cania was also the worst, and now Dicoquaria was almost empty.
Other countries were hesitating because of the Empire, but there was a possibility that he was impatient that someone would get his hands on it first when time passed.
Perhaps, there is a possibility that it is a problem in the Kingdom of Crete itself. The kingdom of Crete was the exact opposite of the empire. In addition, there was an intelligence that the political situation was also messed up because of the grown-up prince and warlike princes.
The king of Crete may have felt a sense of crisis and wanted to turn people’s attention abroad.
In the rock salt region of Dicoquaria, only a little bit of salt comes out because there is no money or technology to sell the mine. But that alone can bring huge benefits.
That was the reason why Kania couldn’t let go of Dicoquaria even though the situation in her country was difficult.
The head of the chamberlain and the figures in the military also expected that.
Rudy thought so too. If you look at it one by one, it can be enough. But a corner of his heart kept whispering that something was strange. It wasn’t for that reason, my intuition was warning me.
“…”
Rudy hid his anxiety and smiled brightly at the soldiers. Talk to each one, encourage them, and pass by.
As I rode my horse toward the center, I saw some familiar faces.
Before becoming emperor, they were magical soldiers who were trained together by Boris.
Now, each of them was in the position of 50 or 100 people in charge of the sorcerers.
Now that he has gained some respect, he has lost his mischievous side.
As Rudy rode his horse toward them, he bent over with a restrained look.
One of them was so nervous in the past that he didn’t even know he was pooping in the middle of a fight. At that time, his nickname was sh*t Mange. But in my current decent form, I don’t think I would have imagined that such a thing had ever happened.
I felt strange for some reason, so I smiled and spoke.
“Hey, did you pack your sh*t beforehand?”
The soldiers around me laughed loudly wahahahahaha. The poopy scratched his head awkwardly.
“Is that even your Majesty? Everyone who sees me asks if I came here after pooping, so now everyone knows. When the hell are you still talking about the enemy? Everyone is too much.”
The poop wrapper was crying, but everyone was laughing and saying it was fun.
After a few more jokes with them, Rudy moved on to the other soldiers.
All is well. There was no place to be anxious.
‘I wish it was my base.’
Under the clear sky, Rudy smiled at the soldiers. As if he was aware of the anxiety he was hiding, two phoenixes flew to his side and danced around the air.
***
I thought that witches were different from humans, but it seems that they are not. The Witch of the West was a much more vulnerable person than I thought. Perhaps her body was weaker than any other woman, and she could not endure the wagon trip well.
William knocked on the door of the carriage that had stopped for a moment.
“Witch, are you okay?”
“…yes.”
A weak sound came from within. People who are not familiar with carriages often get motion sickness. The same goes for the Witch of the West, and she has already vomited several times.
“We are leaving now. If you are in trouble, please tell us again.”
“…yes.”
At William’s signal, the wagon started moving again.
How many days have you been walking the distance you could go in a day or two? I got a little pathetic.
Now, in an hour, we arrive at the city where the king is waiting. Bona Mana Fire Command will fall on him. A sigh came out spontaneously.
Carriage rolls along with a bunch of crows on the roof, leading a flock of crows that follow from the sky like dark clouds.
After going for a while, they arrived at a small town where the king was staying.
A guide was waiting at the entrance to the city, having sent someone an hour or so in advance to inform them of their arrival.
The guide is startled when he sees a crow floating on top of the carriage and in the sky. A look of fear filled his face. Well, yes, of course it is.
Still, he is an official next to His Majesty. He quickly regained his composure and returned to his normal state.
“Your Majesty has been irritable for several days.”
As we entered the city, the guide hinted a little. I said thank you for letting me know, but it’s useless to know in advance. Dark clouds of crows were floating in the sky, but they were also in full swing in William’s mind.
When I arrived at Yeongju Hall, people were out in front of the building. together with the king The king’s surroundings were tightly guarded by soldiers.
No matter how great the witch is, it’s unlikely that the king intended to greet her on purpose, and he was probably just curious.
‘Someone must have told the story of the witch’s crow.’
When the wagon stopped, the crow that flew in the sky made a great turn and gradually descended.
As the place became full of crows, fearful voices leaked out from among the people.
William opened the carriage door, and the Witch of the West came out slowly.
Usually a woman escorts her when she gets out of the carriage, but William did not extend a hand.
Sure enough, several crows jumped out and approached the Witch of the West.
One was still sitting on the shoulder of the Witch of the West.
Several crows approached the Witch of the West, waddled and stood in front of her. And it moves like a tok tok. It seemed to indicate that this side was the way.
The Witch of the West stood still for a while, but the crow sitting on her shoulder cawed and cawed a few times and started walking.
Just as the crow had walked before, it moves slowly, one step at a time.
When the crow in front took footprints like crossing a stepping stone, a bird perched on the shoulder seemed to inform them.
People are buzzing. As the Witch of the West drew closer, several of them backed away in fright.
Only the King of Crete was watching the Witch of the West as if to swallow it.
The Witch of the West wasn’t wearing a normal dress, but a dress that flowed over her body. It is a garment that reveals all the curves of the body. Her attractive breasts and narrow waist were exposed to people’s gaze.
When the Witch of the West tribe went to stand before the king, the King opened his mouth while scanning the Witch of the West with a greedy gaze.
“Witch, welcome to our country. We expect you to play a big role in the war against the Putegrin Empire, so if you have any wishes, you can tell us here.”
When the King’s words fell out, the Witch of the West answered.
“Generous King of Crete, I only wish for one thing.”
“Tell me.”
“I want the Emperor of the Empire.”
