Chapter 263. This Is Your Karma (3)
The operation was carried out immediately.
"Rejoice, o people! The friends of the Warrior have willingly joined forces to drive out the wicked heretics who seek to divide the Holy Kingdom! The Light is ever merciful. Even if you have temporarily fallen into the hands of heresy, know that true repentance will always lead to forgiveness!"
The Pope had issued yet another proclamation. He rephrased the reality of relying on foreign powers as "the Warrior's friends lending their strength," and reframed surrender as "forgiveness for the truly repentant." Through clever analogies, he sent a clear warning to the people.
The decision to offer surrender terms had been strongly influenced by Caron.
"It's not like everyone on their side is a fanatic," Caron said. "It's the commanders who are fanatics. Most of the soldiers were likely conscripted against their will."
He had learned, through his previous life, how to suppress a rebellion effectively. They had to eliminate the focal point, drain morale, and give people a way out. They had to encourage people to leave the rebel forces of their own accord.
If someone could present proof of having betrayed the rebellion, they would be granted absolution—an incentive that could prove highly effective.
"I don't want to conquer the Holy Kingdom just to plunder it... I mean, I want its national strength preserved as much as possible," Caron added, quickly correcting himself.
After all, in future wars, the Holy Kingdom could become a key ally. It was best to minimize the bloodshed.
Given the circumstances, having Beatrice by his side was more reassuring than ever. As a former member of the Imperial Guards, Beatrice had taken part in countless rebellion suppression campaigns. Even when Caron spoke vaguely, she understood him perfectly.
"This really brings back memories," Beatrice said.
They were currently stationed at the temporary command center of the Papal Army. It had been set up about a day's travel from the eastern border fortress city of Ragheim, where the rebel forces under Elijah had gathered.
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Leo approached Beatrice cautiously, asking, "Um... Dame Uriel?"
Beatrice responded with a gentle smile, then said, "You already know who I am, don't you, Leo? Just call me Dame Beatrice—it's fine."
"Thank you..." Leo replied.
"Honestly, up until a few months ago, I was planning to bring down the Ducal Family of Leston myself. But you kids were too adorable, so I decided to let it slide," Beatrice said. And as she spoke, she reached out and gently patted Caron's head.
Caron grimaced instantly, prompting Beatrice to laugh. She said, "You don't look well, Caron Leston."
"...Why are you suddenly patting my head, Grandma?" Caron grumbled.
"...Grandma?" Beatrice repeated.
"My apologies, Dame Beatrice. Our youngest here just has a bit of a difficult personality," said Leon quickly, trying to smooth things over. "Please understand, O beautiful Dame Beatrice."
Beatrice responded by smacking Caron hard on the back and laughing. She said, "Leon, you always say the sweetest things. You remind me of Sabina back in the day."
"You know Lady Sabina?" Leon asked.
"Back when I served in the Imperial Guards, we crossed swords now and then. I wonder how she's doing these days," Beatrice answered.
"So you were friends—" Leon began, but was cut off.
"She was an insufferable bastard. I should've stabbed her in the back when I had the chance," Beatrice interrupted. Her words had bite.
Leon couldn't help but break into a nervous sweat, thinking that it was like having another Caron around.
"But don't worry," Beatrice added, her tone softening. "I don't believe that the faults of the older generation should be passed down to the next. Adults are adults. You are you."
"...Thank you," Leon said.
It was strange, now that she thought about it. She wondered how Caron managed to win over people like this—people who were nearly impossible to deal with. It had been the same with Kerra, and with Ugo. Even the elven regent, in hindsight, had shown Caron considerable favor.
Since Leon had no idea that Caron was actually Cain Latorre, her confusion was only natural.
Caron, still rubbing the spot on his back where Beatrice had smacked him, casually scratched at it with the hilt of his sword and said, "The Imperial Army, the Pajar Sultanate, and the forces in the Southern Great Forest have all begun moving."
The friends Caron had reached out to responded swiftly, carrying out the plan exactly as he had envisioned. The encirclement was already complete.
Despite having been on the throne for less than a year, Emperor Revelio demonstrated extraordinary diplomatic skill. He had deployed imperial forces across the southern kingdoms bordering the Holy Kingdom, including the Keath Kingdom.
No matter how powerful the empire was, dispatching troops into foreign territories wasn't something to be done lightly.
Caron suspected Revelio had woven some kind of magic into the arrangement.
"The current Emperor is quite the tactician," Beatrice remarked.
"He's Leon's boyfriend," Caron said. "Of course he has to be competent."
"...We're not like that," Leon retorted sharply. "Keep pushing that angle and you'll regret it."
"Haha. Must be nice to be young," Beatrice said with a grin, turning her attention to the operations board.
Atop the fortress of Ragheim, where Elijah's rebel forces had gathered, a red flag marked their position.
Beatrice began placing new flags around it one by one.
To the east, a golden flag representing the Imperial Army.
To the west, a white flag for the Papal Army.
To the south, a green flag for the Elven Union.
And to the north, a purple flag for the Pajar Sultanate.
Elijah's forces were, in essence, rats trapped in a poisoned jar.
Caron's plan had only recently been finalized, yet here it was, already in motion. The encirclement had been astounding.
The battle hadn't yet begun, but the tides already turned decisively in their favor.
Just a month ago, the Holy Kingdom was dancing in Elijah's palm. The Commander has changed a lot, Beatrice thought, glancing at Caron with a faint smile.
The Cain Latorre she remembered had never taken initiative. He had only ever followed orders. Back then, he had truly been just a knight commander—nothing more.
But the Caron Leston standing before her now was far removed from the Cain Latorre of old.
He's gathered so much influence... Beatrice thought.
Even just looking at the planning board made it clear. Those who had moved at Caron's request were all forces capable of reshaping the fate of the entire continent. And yet, they had willingly lent him their armies.
Beatrice now understood that Caron was sincerely preparing for war against the Demon Realm. Once this rebellion was over, the Holy Kingdom would no doubt join Caron's cause.
"Caron Leston, I have a question," Beatrice said.
With both Leo and Leon present, she avoided calling him Commander.
Caron, who was chewing on jerky, gave a slight nod and said, "Go ahead."
"Once this rebellion is put down, where will you go next?" Beatrice asked.
"Obviously, the southern kingdoms. The Demon Realm isn't going to burn itself down while we keep fighting each other, right?" Caron answered.
"Interesting. I'd like to see how you plan to prevent another war," Beatrice replied.
"I'm thinking of gathering all the kings in one place and warning them: Start fighting and I'll smash your heads in," Caron said.
Some things, it seemed, hadn't changed at all. The Commander was still insane. And in this life, with no one to hold him back, he was running completely wild.
"Sounds like fun. Will you take me with you when that happens?" Beatrice asked.
"If you'd like," Caron answered with a nod.
Beatrice gave a small smile. For the first time in a long while, she felt grateful to be alive, because it meant she could stand at his side once more.
Leaning back in her chair, she said in a relaxed voice, "The encirclement is complete. Time to move on to the next phase, isn't it?"
The key to this operation, the Group Beating, was to utterly break the enemy's morale.
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Caron had already devised a method to do just that. He intended to trap the rebels inside the fortress, making it impossible for them to act freely, and then collapse them from within.
The name of this side operation was "Shock and Fear."
Rising from his seat, Caron stretched as he picked up Guillotine. He said, "I'll head out now."
"Take care," Beatrice said.
Only Caron could carry out Operation Shock and Fear.
As he left the command tent, those remaining behind let out quiet sighs, watching him disappear.
"Dame Beatrice, do you know what the number one thing no one should ever do in this world is?" Leo asked.
"I'm curious. What is it?" Beatrice asked.
"Making that guy your enemy. As far as I know, no one who's crossed Caron has ever come out unscathed. He's vicious. Unrelenting," Leo answered.
Leon nodded in full agreement, and said, "Yes... Honestly, if it were me, I'd never make Caron my enemy."
Beatrice wondered what kind of life the Commander had lived to inspire that kind of fear, but she just gave a quiet laugh and nodded.
"Let's watch and see," she said. She wanted to see what kind of madness her Commander would unleash this time.
***
Lugal, a soldier guarding Ragheim, stared down from the battlements; his face was stiff with tension.
Below stood a lone figure, a young man clad in black armor. It wasn't difficult to guess who he was.
"...The Warrior?" Lugal muttered.
It was Caron Leston. According to the saint who led them, he was the incarnation of a demon sent to destroy the Holy Kingdom.
But whether he was a demon or a real Warrior, none of this made any sense. Lugal wondered why Caron Leston had appeared alone before the fortress walls.
"Greetings, unfortunate soldiers," the young man said, his voice calm and proud. "I'm Caron Leston, the Warrior. As you may already know, I'm the one who orchestrated the encirclement of this fortress. How have you been holding up?"
Even in a situation where death was a real possibility, the Warrior spoke with absolute composure.
"Starting today, I plan to visit you twice a day like this," Caron continued. "Because I believe you are the true future of the Holy Kingdom."
He didn't stop talking for even a moment.
Some of the startled soldiers scrambled to call for their commanding officers.
"T-The Warrior has appeared!"
"All troops, prepare for battle!"
The Warrior was the strongest force they could deploy. There was no need to mobilize their full strength when the enemy was already surrounded.
Caron thought that would be enough to just slowly wear them down to death.
Shiing!
He drew his sword, revealing a blade that shimmered with an eerie, dark blue light.
"You are completely surrounded," he said. "As His Holiness the Pope himself has declared, I give you my word on one thing."
Whoosh!
Enormous quantities of mana began to surge from the blade. The air around it rippled, like a mirage rising off scorching ground.
"Wicked heretics have blinded you. They say all within the Holy Kingdom are brothers and sisters. Then, is it right to raise your swords against your brothers and sisters? Elijah has joined hands with demons and uses their power under the guise of the holy power. It's madness," Caron continued.
"Don't be deceived by that serpent's tongue! Aim your arrows at that wicked one!" someone yelled.
The soldiers atop the wall followed the command, drawing their bows and taking aim at Caron.
It was a tense moment, but Caron didn't stop speaking.
Lugal too aimed his bow at Caron as ordered, but his fingers trembled.
He knew. He knew there was a good chance Caron was telling the truth. And he knew that most of the soldiers gathered here at Ragheim probably agreed with him.
But they couldn't leave the fortress. If they tried to escape and were caught, they would be executed. They thought it was better to cling to life behind these walls.
"Proud brothers and sisters of the Holy Kingdom!" Caron called out. "Remember me! I will rescue you from the grip of these wicked heretics!"
His voice, laced with mana, thundered through the air and shook the fortress walls. That alone seemed threatening enough for the officers to lose control.
"Loose your arrows! Kill the wicked demon!" someone yelled.
And at that moment...
Swish!
Thousands of arrows rained down on the Warrior.
How do they expect ordinary arrows to bring down the monster who defeated Dame Uriel...? Lugal thought.
But what happened next made his eyes go wide.
The Warrior didn't even try to block the arrows. They pierced his body like a pincushion, sticking out of him.
Time passed slowly. Then, finally, the Warrior collapsed.
Several fanatics burst into cheers.
"We've slain the demon!"
"Glory to the Light!"
It was a pitiful death—nothing like how an 8-Star knight was supposed to fall.
Lugal stared at the Warrior's body, his hands trembling.
What have I done...? he thought. He had helped slay the Warrior sent by the Light itself. He was certain divine punishment would follow.
But only moments later...
Fsshhh...
Caron's body disintegrated into dust. And from that fading haze...
Another Caron appeared, completely unscathed.
"Did you see that, everyone?" Caron shouted, arms wide. "I cannot die! The Light has resurrected me to save the Holy Kingdom! This is proof that the Light watches over me!"
Gasps rippled across the battlements.
"He... He came back to life?"
"O Light above..."
None of the soldiers could possibly know the truth. This was nothing more than a brilliant performance—an illusion orchestrated through Caron's doppelganger ability.
Caron turned again to the wall, raising his voice like a preacher in full fervor. He shouted, "Go back and tell your comrades in the fortress! The Warrior has not given up on you! I swear on the name of the Light—I will lead you to the path of glory!"
And so began the greatest con of the age, led by Caron Leston, the so-called Warrior.
The ravings of the Mad Dog were far from over.