When the news of the First Legion and the Fifth Legion's defection reached the Council, everyone present—including Prime Minister Stisser—was stunned.
"How could this be… The First Legion… the Fifth Legion… actually standing with those damned rebels? Are you certain?"
Economic Minister Barton, whose face usually resembled a smiling Buddha with two lumps of flesh hanging from his cheeks, now looked cold and sinister. Meanwhile, Commander-in-Chief Kechak appeared utterly dejected.
"The information is confirmed… The Fifth Legion even participated in the assault on Rose City. It is certain that both have already aligned themselves with the Fourth Legion."
"Damn it!"
At that moment, Prime Minister Stisser was furious, glaring at Kechak.
"Kechak, this is the army you led? An army with absolutely no loyalty?!"
"..."
Faced with Stisser's rage, Kechak did not behave as cautiously as before. Instead, he lifted his head and stared at him coldly.
"Stisser, this hardly seems like my fault. You know very well why the First, Fourth, and Fifth Legions rebelled."
"Y-What do you mean? Are you trying to say this is my fault?!"
"Heh."
Kechak did not answer directly, but that single "heh" was more than enough.
"You…!"
Seeing the contempt on Kechak's face, Stisser was nearly driven mad with fury. Sensing the situation turning ugly, Economic Minister Barton hurriedly coughed.
"Enough. Now is not the time to argue about responsibility. The question is what we do next. Retaking Fort Bon is no longer possible. The Inquisition's Iron Giant has already arrived at Fort Bon. Fortunately, they have not advanced further… Shouldn't we be thinking of a solution? Or are we going to keep arguing about trivialities until the rebels are at the gates?"
"..."
Hearing Barton's words, the twisted expression on Stisser's face finally eased slightly. However, he merely cast the two men a cold glance before turning and leaving without another word.
"Hmph!"
Watching Stisser depart, Kechak snorted coldly.
"He's nothing more than a dog wagging its tail to please the Queen Mother. And he really thinks he's someone important?"
"Enough, Kechak. Now isn't the time for that. Do you have any ideas?"
"No."
Kechak shook his head.
"If it were only the rebels, then with the Second and Third Legions, along with the Royal City's defenses, we would still have a fighting chance. But the problem is the Inquisition's steel army…"
"Yes…"
Hearing Kechak's response, Economic Minister Barton narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly.
It seemed he needed to find a way out. After all, this entire mess had been caused by Stisser. If he hadn't insisted on cooperating with the AL Church and angering the Inquisition, provoking their massive offensive, none of this would have happened. As for taking the blame… that would naturally fall on Stisser.
As for himself, it was time to consider his next move.
After leaving the conference chamber, Stisser's face was ashen. He had not failed to notice the contempt in Kechak's eyes, and it filled him with rage.
Damn it… I am no longer the man I once was! Now I possess the power to overturn this entire nation!
Clenching his fists, Stisser ground his teeth and growled in a low voice.
Though he was now Prime Minister, Stisser had originally been nothing more than a low-ranking noble of humble birth. Back then, he had possessed neither power nor status. It was entirely through currying favor with Queen Mother Pamela that he had slowly risen step by step. Not only that—between him and Pamela, there was an unspeakable secret.
That was… the current Emperor, Shira, was not the late Emperor's daughter, but the daughter of himself and Queen Mother Pamela!
Because of this, Stisser had done everything in his power to eliminate the princes so that Shira could inherit the throne. After that, he naturally became Prime Minister.
But that was still not enough!
At this thought, Stisser stopped walking and looked to his side. Standing there was a tall steel guardian. It was not a creation of Herman. Rather, it came from the legendary era that had once unified humanity—the Battle General developed by the Holy-Demon Order!
In fact, the Royal City of Herman had once been the capital of the Holy-Demon Order, one of the twenty-four Sky Cities. When the Holy-Demon Order faced humanity's rebellion, the Sky City fell to the ground. Later, Herman's founding Emperor built the Royal City atop the ruins of that fallen Sky City.
That was why the Royal City of Herman had such a peculiar appearance, resembling an upright groove.
This secret had always been known only to the royal family. Logically, Stisser should never have learned of it. However, during one of his visits accompanying Queen Mother Pamela, he discovered this secret and was led by her into the underground core area of the Holy-Demon Order.
There, Stisser discovered a powerful weapon, as well as… this invincible steel Battle General, and awakened it.
Ordinarily, an awakened Battle General would obey only the commands of its creator. But perhaps by fate's cruel joke, Stisser happened to be a descendant of the artisan clan that had originally forged the Battle General Bastet. Because it sensed the craftsman bloodline within him, Battle General Bastet chose to swear loyalty to him.
It was then that Stisser finally learned of his true heritage.
He was not merely an obscure minor noble, but the descendant of the most powerful artisans of the once-glorious Holy-Demon Order!
After learning the truth, the flames of ambition ignited deep within Stisser's heart.
He was no longer content to be a mere pretty boy currying favor with the Queen Mother. He wanted more power—to rule this nation, even to rule the world! Because he had the right! Because he was a descendant of the survivors of the Holy-Demon Order!
Like his ancestors, he would once again unify the human world and become King of Humanity!
After that, Stisser worked tirelessly. Of course, he knew that given his position, assassination attempts were inevitable. And indeed, countless people had sought to kill him and restore the nation. However, with the invincible Battle General Bastet at his side, every assassin met defeat and death.
But that was still not enough. The Battle General could protect his life, but it could not help him conquer the world. Fortunately, there was something else discovered beneath the Royal City of Herman that could fulfill his dream!
However…
Thinking of this, Stisser nearly wanted to kill someone in rage.
He had only himself to blame. On one occasion, when visiting Shira, he could not resist boasting about his power. But to his shock, that seemingly obedient, caged-bird-like girl had secretly slipped into his chambers, stolen the key required to activate that thing, and swapped identities with her maid using cosmetic magic before fleeing!
By the time he discovered the key was missing and sought Shira for answers, the puppet had already left the Royal City. What remained was merely a maid magically altered to resemble Shira!
Stisser had to admit that he had been careless. He had never imagined that the puppet-like girl who always acted so obedient would possess such initiative. But now the problem was that with Shira's disappearance, the key to activate that thing had vanished as well. If anything went wrong…
Forget it. There was no point dwelling on it now.
Stisser shook his head, collecting his thoughts, his expression dark.
The fools in the Council were useless. Even Kechak could see that the tide had turned. But Stisser had not given up! Though he could not fully activate that thing, he had not wasted his time! To realize his dream of world domination, he had prepared long ago.
Strictly speaking, this was not the right time to reveal it, but… there seemed to be no other choice.
"Follow me."
Having made his decision, Stisser did not hesitate. He gave the order to the Battle General at his side and walked to the end of the corridor, returning to his chambers. Then he pulled down a lever beside him, opening a hidden door, and stepped inside.
Beyond the hidden door was darkness. Under dim lighting, one could see a vast space resembling a manufacturing plant. Beneath the lights stood thousands upon thousands of steel warriors similar to the Battle General. They stood motionless, like corpses.
In fact, they were corpses.
Flesh puppets.
This was the technology Stisser had obtained from that place after learning of his identity—techniques of the magi-artisans. It was a method that fused corpses with machinery to create entirely new steel warriors. To Stisser, this army—fearless of death, unafraid of injury—was his true trump card for ruling humanity. But now, it was clear that if he did not deploy this measure, then… he would never have another chance!
"Have you made your decision, Master?"
Sensing Stisser's agitation, the Battle General asked in a low voice. Stisser nodded forcefully.
"Yes. This is not the end… I will let them know that my power—the power of the Holy-Demon Order—is no weaker than the Inquisition!"
As he spoke, Stisser reached out and yanked down the lever on the wall.
"Beep… Beep… Beep…!"
Soon, accompanied by alarm sounds, the wall ahead slowly rose. Stisser raised both hands, almost mad with frenzy, staring at the flesh puppets below.
"Deploy! Slaughter! Your time has come! Eliminate my obstacles! Let this world fall into my grasp!"
"...!!!"
There was no response.
The flesh puppets raised their weapons and slammed them down in unison. Then, like machines, they marched out of the manufacturing chamber.
Stisser stared coldly at the scene before him, a frigid, twisted, manic grin spreading across his face.
"No one can stop me… No one!!!"
(End of Chapter)