WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 80

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Before Spring Comes (3)

The suppression of Gennen was an imperial order. The Emperor had personally voiced his concern, and Imperial Army Commander-in-Chief Sebestian passed that will down to headquarters.

Sebestian did not put limits on how the crackdown should be carried out, but one thing still caught him off guard. Maximilian had volunteered for the operation as a knight.

"..."

He quietly scanned the operation report bearing Maximilian's name.

[Suppression Plan]

Core principle: full-spectrum suppression through overwhelming force. Deploy hundreds of tanks to surround and pressure the Gennen Autonomous Territory, and instill in them a sense of total helplessness before military power.

From Sebestian's point of view, it was not bad at all.

It was impressive enough that the new southern factory had already produced this many tanks. More than that, he liked the thinking behind it.

The Empire did not tolerate unrest in autonomous territories. Imperial strength had to be absolute, something no one could dare challenge and no one could counter. So rather than negotiation or compromise, crushing them completely was far more fitting. It would also work as propaganda to show the Empire remained strong, both to neighboring countries that had been talking since the destruction of Gigantes and to subversive elements within the Empire.

Scritch.

Sebestian signed as commander-in-chief with a hard stroke. Colonel Edmund Bwindol received the document.

"Loyalty."

After saluting and stepping into the corridor, Edmund thought over the operation plan.

Maximilian intended to throw enough force at riot control to crush an entire front line. What exactly was he thinking, and what exactly did he intend to do?

"You look worried."

A voice suddenly cut in from beside him. It was Major Goetz.

"About Gennen. Do you think casualties will be severe?"

Goetz arranged his face into a neutral look. Edmund tucked the approved papers under his arm and looked at him quietly.

"Sir Knight Maximilian will handle it."

"Haha... yes. I suppose he will."

Goetz gave an awkward laugh and stepped back. Edmund resumed walking. Goetz watched his back for a moment, then hurried after him.

"Let's go together, Colonel."

Goetz considered himself a good judge of people. More precisely, he prided himself on sensing the invisible aura of those whose views did not align with the Empire.

That was why he suspected Edmund.

More exactly, he felt an inexplicable dissonance in Edmund's "ideology."

* * *

Hermes Province, where red loess and blue grasslands met, held some of the widest plains and mountain ranges in the entire southern Empire.

Wooooooooom...

Imperial mechanized division troops arrived at Hermes Airport one transport ship after another.

In front of them, 200 new-model tanks stood in formation.

"The basic operation is the same as the old models, but this one should feel much more intuitive and smooth. If any of you can handle mana, try feeding mana into the mana stone concentrator. Mobility speed will increase by over 30 percent."

A designer from Kanillan explained it to the tank crews in person. They climbed in with doubts, then quickly cried out in surprise. Unlike the old models, which felt like cramped steam ovens, these interiors were comfortable and the controls had been innovatively simplified.

Woooooo...

The suppression force adapted quickly and rolled out on land that very night.

The vibrations from hundreds of tanks shook the earth...

As for me, I boarded a separate transport craft with Major General Maut, commander of the suppression force, and the other key officers.

"...This is a transport craft?"

Major General Maut's eyes widened.

"Yes."

I had paid a premium to a Kanillan aircraft manufacturer for a custom build, effectively a private plane. Top-grade leather sofas, tables finished in Markana hardwood, even soft ambient lighting.

They said the interior was basically a direct copy of a luxury Kanillan five-star hotel suite.

Once Kanillan collapsed, I planned to acquire this company too.

"Please, everyone, have a seat."

The officers swallowed dryly and sat down. They were clearly fascinated by everything, but they did not show it for the sake of appearances.

Snap.

I flicked my fingers. My private flight attendants set luxurious boxes in front of each guest.

"A welcome gift for distinguished guests boarding my aircraft for the first time."

An attendant opened each box halfway. Through the gap, an amber liquid shimmered in a bottle beside a crystal glass.

"Royal Amber, Vintage 21. Please take it with you when you leave Gennen."

A single bottle went for around 200,000 dollars. Even the crystal glass, if priced, was worth over 50,000.

The corners of the generals' mouths twitched. They fought to keep stern faces, but they could not keep the laughter from leaking out.

Hahahahaha. Hahahaha. Hahahahaha.

Their laughter mixed with the aircraft noise, and before long we landed on the runway at the Gennen garrison base.

"Let's move."

Major General Maut and the other commanders disembarked first. I followed behind.

High-ranking officials from the Gennen Governor-General's Office had come to the runway to greet us.

They stood there smiling.

Thump.

My heart gave a hard jolt.

A familiar sensation.

Proof of Izenheim.

"Welcome. I am Erio, Director of Internal Affairs at the Gennen Governor-General's Office."

The greasy-faced man offered his hand to Major General Maut, then walked toward me and held it out.

I stared at him and swallowed my smile.

"Welcome, Sir Knight Maximilian."

Found you.

So you really had been hiding here.

"Please come to the situation room first. We have it prepared."

The bureau directors from the Gennen Governor-General's Office naturally guided us into the garrison base. As if it were only natural, they tried to join the meeting as well.

"Ah."

I stopped them in front of the meeting room door.

"From this point onward, military secrets will be discussed. Civilians, please step aside."

Director Erio's expression hardened.

"Sir Knight. We are from the Gennen Governor-General's Office-"

"This is wartime, Director."

I had no need to hear more.

Thud.

I shut the door.

Major General Maut took the head seat after that, but the atmosphere in the room was strange.

The command structure had become tangled on its own.

"Hm..."

Maut, commander of the suppression force, kept checking my reaction before moving.

He had no choice. Sebestian, commander-in-chief of the Imperial Army, was my father. All incoming tanks belonged to me, and...

"..."

The moment I sat down, I stayed silent with a blank expression.

The generals waited for me without a word. The silence dragged on.

"...Sir Knight Maximilian? Is there a problem?"

Maut finally asked carefully.

I straightened my sleeve and gestured outside with my eyes.

"They were smiling."

"Hm? Who are you talking about?"

There was no need to sharpen my gaze. No need to raise my voice.

I already knew the perfect lesson for pulling people to my side in a moment like this.

"The men from the Gennen Governor-General's Office."

A man who could dominate a room simply by existing, and stir an unexplainable fear in me.

He never made grand gestures. He never used unnecessarily harsh tones. He never twisted his face into something frightening.

He was always steady, yet every word and action carried mountain-like weight.

That was why he felt uncertain, and from that uncertainty the greatest fear bloomed.

"Even though this happened because their control was unstable."

My father, Sebestian, was exactly like that.

"Even though the Empire's prestige was shaken because of their incompetence."

Recalling that image of Sebestian, still lodged in me like trauma, I spoke in a low voice.

The lower my voice dropped, the more the generals leaned in to hear me.

"They were smiling."

I delivered one cold sentence.

"As if it were someone else's problem."

Major General Maut's face hardened. The others did too. My mood and interpretation spread through the room like an infection.

"...No matter what, the targets we must suppress here..."

I looked around the table and gave the conclusion.

"...may not be only the rioters."

Every one of them nodded heavily.

From this point on, it was wartime.

As an imperial knight, I held authority for summary judgment. But that blade was not aimed only at enemies. It also applied to incompetent and corrupt allies, or enemies wearing allied faces.

I would stabilize Gennen and turn the Gennen Governor-General's Office upside down.

Then I would seat a new figure there, someone who could rearm Gennen ideologically.

That was my plan.

* * *

Rrrrrrrumble...

A vast roar thundered through the streets. Countless tanks, a wave of steel, crossed Hermes and entered Gennen. The sight of them pouring in was beyond words. It was like ruin itself had taken shape...

The protesters occupying the roads froze before that monstrous display.

“Imperial order. Disperse all protests and assemblies immediately.”

Tanks rolled through the city. Barricades students had built overnight crumbled easily, and cracks split the roads where those hulks passed.

“Imperial order. Disperse all protests and assemblies immediately.”

They did not fire recklessly. They simply stood before those foolish enough to refuse retreat and keep resisting.

"Target confirmed."

The rules of engagement were clear. The objective was not slaughter.

"Fire."

Kwoooooom!

The guns spat fire. Shells slammed into empty building walls or asphalt right beside the protesters. Shockwaves and fragments blasted in every direction. A statue in the square collapsed, and glass and chunks of stone burst from nearby buildings.

Only then did civilians understand. Screaming, they scattered.

“Imperial order. Disperse all protests and assemblies immediately.”

As tanks secured Gennen's key points, Secret Police Bureau agents and soldiers slipped through the shadows. The full-scale hunt for named ringleaders had begun.

“Imperial order. Disperse all protests and assemblies immediately...”

Gennen Central University.

"...Maximilian is insane."

Student council officer Kasim muttered with a furious expression. Their meeting was focused on one person only.

Sir Knight Maximilian, the man who had dragged hundreds of tanks into Gennen.

Elias let out something like a sigh.

"We have to stop now. This started too impulsively-"

"So we just lose like this?!"

Kasim shouted, nearly convulsing. Elias shot back in frustration.

"Then what do we do? At this rate thousands, no, tens of thousands could die!"

"They brought tanks, so we ask for help, from the independence camp or the Revolutionary Faction, anyone! The world only changes when people die!"

"Stop talking crazy."

Elias pointed at Kasim, face hard.

"If my death would solve this, I'd die. But it won't. We're going to run, right? And then we say innocent people need to die for the world to change?"

"..."

Kasim quieted for a moment.

Everyone already knew it. With hundreds of tanks flooding Gennen, both resistance and negotiation were impossible.

"...Then if we surrender, will Maximilian stop? Will he pat our heads and let us go?"

No one answered.

That part was true. People wounded by shelling were already piling up across the city, and agents, police, and soldiers were running wild through the chaos.

“Imperial order. Disperse all protests and assemblies immediately.”

The tank broadcasts still echoed faintly.

"For now, everyone disperse tonight. If you have letters to write to family or friends, write them now."

Elias rose from the meeting room and returned to his dorm.

"Fuck..."

He spat out a curse, sat at his desk, and saw a single note lying there.

"...?"

[There is urgent information to pass on. A lot of people may die. Come to Contact Point 3 as quickly as possible.]

It was the handwriting of an informant he trusted.

"A lot of people may die..."

The situation was dangerous, but this warning was even more dangerous. After hesitating, Elias quietly slipped out of the dorm.

The moment he reached the alley used as Contact Point 3 and began scanning the area.

"Ah, there you are."

Black shadows rushed him with a rancid voice.

Thud.

A heavy blow crashed into the back of his head.

His consciousness cut out.

...

When he opened his eyes, he was in an unfamiliar basement. Blood hung in the air, and his hands and feet were tied tightly to a chair.

"Hey, Revolutionary Faction bastard. Finally caught the big one."

A sinister-looking man stared down at Elias and grinned. He grabbed Elias by the hair and yanked his head back hard.

"Don't worry. I'll send you off with as little pain as possible."

Secret Police Bureau agents stood lined up beside him. The man took out a syringe and drove it into Elias's neck.

"...Ugh."

"Bear with it. Painkiller and anesthetic. If you go into shock and die too soon, that gets inconvenient. Better to beat you while you're still alive. Leaves prettier marks on the body."

His mind slowly blurred. His vision shook on its own, and the man slammed Elias's torso onto the floor.

Thud.

Just as the merciless beating was about to begin.

“Stop.”

Someone entered Elias's half-closed sight. The agents froze too.

Everyone turned.

"Ah, fuck, it's that anteater-looking piece of shit."

An agent cracked his neck in irritation.

Zendo, the Gennen Police Bureau investigator, stood there with a rigid expression.

"Are you crazy? Can't you see I'm on duty here?"

The agent smacked a bloodstained baton against his palm as he spoke. Zendo replied in a low voice.

"Agent. What's your name?"

"Huh? Ah, right. Come to think of it, we never introduced ourselves."

He chuckled and swept his hair back.

"Anteater, my name's Billy. Billy Frejul. Remember it when you're heading to the afterlife."

Billy jerked his chin at the other agents.

"Hey. Kill that bastard too. Gennen trash getting mouthy above his station. In this kind of chaos, nobody gives a damn if someone like him dies."

The agents drew their guns, but Zendo did not step back.

He smiled instead.

Step. Step.

Another set of footsteps came from the underground passage behind him.

Step. Step.

Steady, perfectly regular heel strikes.

Step. Step.

Darkness slowly split, and silver currents rose like heat haze.

In that place where swaying mana gathered like moonlight...

"...Huh?"

Billy's eyes hollowed.

"Secret Police Bureau."

Blond knight, Maximilian.

"You've pulled a pointless stunt."

His appearance froze the air. The agents trembled and backed away, hands shaking around their guns.

"K-Knight... how did you get here..."

"Zendo."

Maximilian signaled with his eyes.

"Kill him."

A cold smile spread over Zendo's mouth. Billy's face twisted with shock.

"K-Knight! I'm Central Bureau-"

"In this chaos, nobody cares if one piece of trash like you dies."

Thump.

The virus in Maximilian's heart convulsed. Billy was the one it pointed to.

"Because you're a subspecies."

The moment Maximilian smiled, a submachine gun rose from Zendo's arms.

"Ah, fuck-"

Billy yanked his barrel up in panic, but he was already too late.

Ratatatatata!

Gunfire exploded through the cramped underground room. Billy's body jerked like it was dancing, then collapsed to the floor. Blood streamed from the body riddled with holes. In the thick stench, the other agents dropped to their knees.

"..."

Without even looking at them, Maximilian only walked toward the student council president of Gennen Central University.

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