Skeleton Knight, in Another World (LN) - Volume 10 - Chapter Pr

Prologue

THE SIANA MOUNTAIN RANGE ran along to the northwest, its peaks obscured beneath a thick layer of dark gray rain clouds and the heavy rainfall pouring from them. A densely wooded forest stretched from the base of the mountains, the trees graciously accepting the oncoming rain as it streamed across their leaves and branches, forming tiny waterfalls that fell to the forest floor below.

A massive city sat in the midst of this orchestral forest: Tisheng.

This city had once belonged to the Great Revlon Empire, the imperial power located on the western side of the continent, before falling to its eastern neighbor, the Holy Revlon Empire, a month prior. Things had settled down slightly since the anxious days shortly after the new power took hold, and the city now sat mostly silent, thanks in no small part to the steady rainfall over the past few days.

Despite the heavy rains, armed eastern imperial soldiers continued to stand watch around the city and keep an eye out for any suspicious changes. Not only was this newly subjugated territory, but there was also an important dignitary present.

Little was heard, other than the echoes of rainfall, at the center of Tisheng, where the estate of the previous lord was located. The buildings had since been taken over and given to the commanders in charge of planning the invasion into the west. The young man currently sitting in an intricately carved chair in what had once been the previous owner’s study, gazing up at the thick dark clouds, was none other than Emperor Domitianus Revlon Valtiafelbe.

He had a stark face topped with mussy reddish-brown hair haphazardly tied back into a loose ponytail. With his lanky frame draped in military attire, the man hardly looked like a typical emperor. However, the glimmer in his gray eyes hinted at an inner strength capable of boring straight through those in his presence. That, combined with the oppressive atmosphere he created within the room, made it clear this man was none other than the emperor himself.

Emperor Domitianus slowly turned his gaze from the window to the ceiling, a small sigh escaping his sharply curled lips. The commander in charge of dispensing orders to all subordinate forces stood stock-still behind the young man, a chill running down his spine as the air blew past his lips. Cold rivulets of sweat ran down his neck as he cleared his throat.

“It’s been a month since Tisheng fell. Though you’ve managed to bring the surrounding domains under our control, we find ourselves making no progress toward subjugating Port Bulgoh down to the south. What pray tell, have my Monster Corps been doing with our armies since the fall of Tisheng?”

Though he spoke calmly, the white-hot anger contained within the emperor’s words caused the commander to immediately drop down into a deep bow. His voice shook as he began to speak.

“Please allow me to offer my apologies. The Monster Corps that were added to supplement our attacking forces were of immense help during the initial attack and contributed greatly to the downfall of the surrounding lands. However, we’ve been seeing gaps form in our frontlines as we continue to press forward, with each of the different monsters under our control progressing at different speeds, breaking down from a large battalion into individual squads. What’s more, supplying these monster squads is becoming a great burden, and the constant drain further hinders the progress of our troops.”

The commander swallowed hard and paused after making his report, if it could be called as much. It was more an indictment of the Monster Corps, which the emperor himself had insisted on adding to their forces, than of the current war situation .

Were his report to upset the emperor and invite his bad graces, the commander knew his very life could be in danger. Unfair as it might seem, this was the fate that befell any commoner who stood before royalty in this world. The man’s expression was neutral, as if he had accepted his fate.

However, despite the commander’s concerns, Emperor Domitianus merely raised an eyebrow, re-crossed his legs, and stroked his chin in thought.

“Hmm, I see. We conducted many trial runs prior to inserting the Monster Corps into actual combat. The issue was raised that we hadn’t observed them during long marches, which is what we were putting them into. I suppose trials are ultimately just that, and nothing more.”

The messenger relaxed at the emperor’s demeanor. At the same time, he was reminded that the young emperor had not attained his role merely through status, and felt a surge of excitement for the future progress of the empire.

“If we continue to press on, we might fight ourselves on shaky ground. In that case, we may be best served by having the Monster Corps fall back to Tisheng and reform the groups to ensure they can produce results on the battlefield in the future. We prioritized sheer numbers in the past, but going forward, we may want to evaluate restricting which types of monsters are assigned to a given task.”

As Domitianus reached his conclusion, he once again focused his sharp, gray eyes on the commander before him.

“You hear me? Have the Monster Corps retreat to the rear. Order their leaders to evaluate the suitability of each monster, and give me their thoughts on combat tactics based on their observations on the field. I also want you to tell them to call up the troops who served under these regional lords, and look into ways to reinforce our front lines after the retreat.”

The commander tensed up, clicked his heels together, and brought his fist to his chest upon hearing his orders.

“Understood! I will disseminate your message to all regions without delay!”

He turned on his heel and walked swiftly from the room, the sound of his footsteps only increasing in speed the moment he was out of sight.

Domitianus listened to the echoes of the footfalls as he leaned back into his chair and gazed up at the ceiling. He spoke aloud to himself as he considered his strategy going forward.

“I wanted to put additional pressure on the domains between us and Port Bulgoh, but spending a little time reinforcing our base is the better strategy. Fortunately, time is on our side. It will be a nearly impossible task to get all of the nobles to the west to move in concert, what with the issues in Aspania at their back and the chaos in the home of the Hilk church to the south.”

As he glanced toward the doorway, he suddenly became aware of the sound of footfalls as someone approached the room. The sounds stopped at the doorway and Domitianus responded before the visitor had a chance to speak.

“Enter.”

A chamberlain opened the door in response.

Emperor Domitianus glanced at the papers in the man’s hands and guessed at the contents of the report awaiting him. He gave a nod to the servant to begin his report before resting his chin in his hand.

The servant looked down at the papers and began to read.

“I am here to report on the supply route between Kaysehk and Tisheng that we are carving through the forests at the base of the Siana mountains. Your recommendation to send troops of monsters to support the deforestation efforts has shown great success, and the route is now 20 percent complete.”

Upon hearing the report, Domitianus narrowed his eyes.

The Siana mountain range, and the monster-infested forests that surrounded its base, served as both a giant wall separating the dual empires as well as the demarcation line for their national borders. But now, with the invasion into the Great Revlon Empire and subsequent fall of Tisheng, those very forests were now getting in his way. In order to solidify the beachhead that Tisheng was to become, Domitianus planned to cut a route through the forest to link up with the city of Kaysehk back in his own empire. However, due to all the monsters lurking in the woods, it required a large amount of manpower, money, and time to clear the way. It had been Domitianus’ suggestion, subsequently implemented, to dispatch some of the monster corps to the task in order to greatly reduce the time needed.

Judging by the look on the emperor’s face, the servant’s report did not meet his superior’s expectations.

“Twenty percent is a resounding success? That’s hardly what I’d been hoping to hear. I assume my order—countermanding the original directive of making a route wide enough for two lanes of horse-drawn carts, to make it wide enough only for a single horse-drawn cart—has already been passed along, yes?”

The servant nodded.

“Of course. Were it not for the man-eating ogres assigned to the task, we would likely only be around 10 percent of the way through the task. When the ogres were first assigned, the people overseeing the monster corps were not accustomed to this kind of preparatory work. We’ve received reports that it took them a bit of trial and error, but they are now slowly improving and showing results. We should hit the 30 percent mark any day now. From what I’ve heard from those in charge, they anticipate being able to pick up speed going forward.”

This report elicited a wry laugh from the emperor, his lips contorting into a smile.

The man-eating ogres were humanoid monsters that stood a little over two meters tall. They were known for being well-muscled—several times stronger than a normal human—and marked by their ruddy brown skin, single horns growing from knobs on their foreheads, and large fangs sprouting from their lower jaws. They were just barely intelligent enough to make simple tools out of stone.

Even with the ‘employ ring’ developed by the empire to give them control over monsters, this kind of deforestation work was likely quite a struggle for creatures with such low intelligence.

Domitianus chuckled and shook his head in annoyance as he considered his own imprudence, imagining the soldiers working tirelessly on the construction site to train the beasts.

“Sounds like I’ve put them through a lot. Give the men working on the route clearing a celebratory drink in my name. Based on the current improvements in speed, how long will it take us to break through?”

The servant flipped through his papers once again.

“We only have rough estimates, but we should be able to open a simple transportation route within the next six months. It will likely take around a year to expand it to match the city roads, but we estimate that we may be able to halve that time in light of current progress.”

Domitianus beamed at this.

“That’s perfectly fine. Once we’ve secured a route between Kaysehk and Tisheng, we’ll be able to put pressure on the southern territories from here. The only issue is whether the west will make a move prior to us breaking through the forest. It would certainly be to our benefit for Aspania to cause some kind of trouble.”

The servant nodded in agreement with the emperor’s assessment.

“We’ve received no reports from our spies in the west about any notable movement from Aspania. Even if they were attempting to act in secret, we would certainly have heard something.”

Domitianus spun his chair around to look back out the window, narrowing his gaze as he focused on something in the distance.

“All that’s left to do is let things happen as they may and bide our time. Keep me abreast of all reports from our spies.”

The servant confirmed his master’s order and bowed his head once before hurriedly leaving the room. Emperor Domitianus listened to the fading footfalls, silvery glare trained on the thick, dark rain clouds traversing overhead.