240 – Before the Fall of the Elain Empire (11)
“You have to conduct politics like an emperor!”
As Count Meter shouted, the knights of the royal guard who were waiting near the emperor pulled out their swords and ran out screaming.
“We must protect His Majesty! Everyone, draw your sword! Kill the traitor!”
“Count Meter you bastard!!! How dare you!”
“You bastard traitor to the Elain Empire! I will kill you first and then I will strike and kill your family members!”
The Duke of Brussels, who had almost lost his presence after being defeated in the last battle, shouted as he moved quickly with the momentum to prevent the assassination of the emperor even by throwing his 60-year-old body.
“Count Meter, you traitor bastard! Can’t you put down the knife right now?!”
As if the other counts did not want to be accused of participating in the assassination, they made a passive gesture to dissuade Count Meter, though not as aggressively as the Duke of Brussels.
The Emperor was so surprised that his aide, Count Meter, was about to kill him, so he twisted his body to avoid him and ran away with all his might, even though a long sword was stuck at his waist. It started.
“Knights, protect me! Kill that damned traitor bastard, the Count!”
The knights sighed inwardly when they saw the emperor running away to try to survive somehow, screaming loudly without thinking about counteracting even though they had means to counter.
It must have been because the lord, whom they had served with pride and self-respect, looked so pitiful when he servilely ran away, even though he couldn’t confidently stand up like a knight.
“Don’t run away anymore, die quietly on the spot! Emperor of the ruined country!!! I, Count Jonathan von Metter, am incompetent, and I will condemn you for abandoning the people and nobles of the Elain Empire!”
Even though the emperor got up and ran away, he was still far closer to Count Meter than the knights, so he was able to approach the emperor before anyone else.
I could have used this momentum to stab the emperor with a dagger, but instead of stabbing, Count Meter attacked the emperor with his whole body and knocked him down.
Because, if it’s a long and heavy sword like a long sword or a bastard sword, you can kill it in one shot by using the running momentum and stabbing a vital point.
The weight of the dagger is light, so the shock when stabbed is that weak, so you can only kill the opponent with one punch.
As if the emperor understood that, he tried to gain time by resisting as much as possible while flapping his arms and legs.
However, Count Meter had the experience of killing enemy knights many times in similar circumstances, so he responded calmly.
After getting on top of his boat, he powerfully lowered the Emperor’s arms with his knees.
“aaagh!”
The emperor’s screams hurt Earl Meter’s ears, but he didn’t care and quickly searched for the exposed vital points.
The vital points on the torso that could be stabbed, such as the heart and the pit of the stomach, were covered with thick silk clothes, so it didn’t look like it would die at once.
However, there was no clothing around the neck that was connected to the airway that would interfere.
Count Metter grabbed the dagger with both hands and with one stroke stabbed the airway in his neck and cut off his arteries.
In the process, the knights and regents rushed at Count Meter, brandishing their own swords and other weapons, desperately trying to stop him.
“Where are the traitors dare to try their Majesty Emperor?”
“Protect the Emperor! A title and a reward will be given to those who rescue His Majesty!”
“What does the Royal Guard do? Kill the traitor and save the Emperor!”
It was a little quicker for Count Meter’s dagger to pierce the Emperor’s throat than for their hastily brandished sword to reach Count Meter.
“Your Majesty, take it easy on your way to Hell! I will send it to you at once.”
It took only a split second for his dagger to pierce the emperor’s throat and slash it.
But Count Meter’s hand and dagger were soaked in red blood, blood gushed from below and splattered down his body and face, and the remaining blood still flowed from the emperor’s neck, throbbing with every pulse. It gushed and gushed like a fountain.
After the emperor was murdered, some of the knights intuited that everything was over and dropped their weapons to the ground.
“The Eline Empire is now over…”
“How could our empire disappear like this?”
“…..This is a dream…It can’t be like this…”
The Duke of Brussels ordered the knights around him to overcome this situation by any means.
“First, arrest that traitor. And we have to bring Empress Mama and resume the war again! We are not defeated So, everyone, go back to your original mission! Also, His Majesty’s death will be hidden for another month!”
After entering Elysium, his authority almost fell to the floor, but…
After the death of the emperor, he had the highest rank in the field, and the order itself was reasonable when the knights thought of it.
The knights sighed and obeyed the order.
“From now until the Empress arrives, I will follow Her Highness, the Duke of Brussels! Hawkins, you and the others go and bring the Empress, and Wayl calls her heavy-mouthed servants to take Her Majesty’s body to a secret place. Drown, you have to gather all the guys who are currently resting and stand on duty as if nothing happened.”
After completing the instructions, the knights quickly arrested Count Meter, who had murdered the emperor.
It was then.
Count Farius spoke up on behalf of the other nobles.
“We lost this war anyway. Even if we endured and resisted like this, eventually we would all die in the castle. Don’t you know? What does it mean that the first wall has already been breached and only soldiers are allowed inside the second wall? Whether the people die or not, sending only soldiers means that we have already admitted defeat.”
The Duke of Brussels replied with a frustrated and dumbfounded expression.
“Does it look like you’re doing this because you don’t know that? But until the very end, we are nobles of the Elain Empire, and you must fulfill your duties accordingly. So do the soldiers.”
“I cannot allow my vassals and soldiers, no, the people of the territories who have no home to return to, to die in a no-win fight. The family of Earl Farius has already rewarded their Majesty with more than enough loyalty. So now I want to fulfill my last duty as a lord.”
Although Farius said this, he had been in contact with the king of the Kingdom of Creutel for quite some time.
Also, when he calmly analyzed the current situation, he thought that opening the gates on his own would be an opportunity to raise his value in negotiations with King Kreutel.
With that said, the Duke of Brussels somehow rolled his head to catch the flow towards the sit-in.
Count Ferius didn’t miss the opportunity right now, when he judged that the atmosphere among the nobles in the meeting room was leaning toward him, and continued his words as if he was fed up with the useless battles.
“What are you especially thinking of the royal knights here? Keep going like this, Your Royal Highness, Duke of Brussels, no, if the Duke manages to defend the castle and win, some of your royal knights will be hanged or beheaded for failing to protect the Emperor. Also, since the rest of them will be stripped of their titles and kicked out, where are they going to become thief knights with their families? If you don’t think so, think again. The situation is already over, and Count Meter is just someone who knew it well.”
The Duke of Brussels, probably thinking that he couldn’t let Count Farius speak any longer, pointed the drawn knife at him as if threatening.
But this time Count Alas sympathized with Count Farius and began to speak.
“Now that this has happened, there is no chance of winning. No, any further resistance will only force soldiers and civilians to die. Let us open the gates and surrender with honor. Even if it means death, as a noble of Elaine, the people who have followed until now cannot be driven to death. His Majesty the Emperor will surely understand.”
If the emperor were still alive, he would have shouted, ‘Not even the last one, even in death, must not kneel to that Kreutel!!’
The other counts agreed, as if the emperor would say that.
“Yes. Although King Creutel reigns like an evil god in war, he mercilessly kills his enemies. After the war, don’t the people, as well as the defeated nobles, treat them well?”
“I will preserve the lives of the Empress Mama and her other concubines, as well as the young members of the imperial family. Saving them is our last loyalty.”
“Opening the castle gates is the last way to decorate the end of the Emperor, the royal family, and the Elain Empire beautifully. How is it? Do you all agree with this opinion?”
With the exception of the Duke of Brussels, the rest of the counts concluded the agreement, and Count Farius, who opened the door to a conversation among them, said.
“Guardian knights, what will you do? I and the other counts will soon lead the soldiers to open the gates. If you have confidence in defeating 40,000 of our soldiers and citizens, prepare to fight now. However, even if you win, you will forever remain as a disgrace to the Elaine Empire, and the empire will only continue to live on for a little while longer. I want you to make the most honorable choice in this situation.”
The Duke of Brussels sat down when he heard that, and the knights of the Royal Guard spoke with tears in their eyes as if they really thought everything was over.
“We will serve the members of the royal family. Your Excellency the Count… Please prepare to open the door.”