EP.1 Prologue
Prologue
The plains before Kamadan Castle, the capital of the Kingdom of Teseito.
Facing the invading army of the Balkan Empire, the Teseito Royal Cavalry steadied their trembling breaths as they checked their arms.
Then, a nobleman who appeared to be of high rank stepped forward and began to address the cavalry.
"Attention, everyone! As you all know, the imperial army has invaded all the way to our capital. That means our entire homeland has been trampled under the boots of that vile imperial army! Our fathers and brothers in our invaded homeland have probably already been killed, and our mothers and sisters have likely been raped! Are we just going to let those wicked imperial bastards get away with this?!"
"Kill them!!"
"Let's kill every last one of those evil imperial bastards!!"
"That's the spirit! Of course, the imperial army is strong! But those wicked imperial bastards are so crazed with looting that they've left their legions scattered all over the kingdom, and only the emperor's personal corps of 30,000 have come this far! That means all that's left is for us to defeat them one by one! Let's go! Let's show them the might of the strongest Teseito cavalry!!"
"Uwaaaaaaaaah!"
The Emperor of the Balkan Empire stood at the front, watching the charging Teseito cavalry.
"Their momentum is no joke, Your Majesty. Perhaps you should return to the main camp for now..."
"Hahaha, all the more reason for me to be here, don't you think? What would the soldiers think if the emperor hid himself deep inside the main camp? What do you think? You answer me!"
When the emperor grabbed the shoulder of a frozen soldier next to him and asked, the soldier shouted out a nonsensical answer.
"Don't worry! We will protect Your Majesty no matter what!!"
"What is he saying... I asked, what would they think of me if I hid back there~"
The emperor tapped the soldier's shoulder and asked again, but the soldier was so frozen by the enemy's momentum that he couldn't even reply.
"Hey~ Your Majesty, stop tormenting the poor recruits and just get back there. It's dangerous here."
"Macmorin, you crazy bastard!! How dare you talk to His Majesty like that..."
The captain of the imperial guard, who was standing by the emperor, tried to scold the man called Macmorin, but the emperor stopped him and asked something else.
"Ah~ Master~ Enough, enough. When have I ever cared about manners with my retainers? By the way, hey!! Captain Macmorin! Is that guy a recruit? Didn't I tell you not to put recruits on the front line?"
"Then why the hell didn't you bring more troops!! Who was the madman who left all the healthy legions behind to rescue enemy civilians and came to the enemy capital with only three corps!!! They have 30,000 cavalry! Just cavalry!! Whether they're recruits or not, I can only put them on the front line!!"
"Hey!! Macmorin, even so!! Watch your mouth with His Majesty!!!"
The captain of the guard was furious, but the emperor ignored him and continued to give orders to Macmorin.
"Macmorin, you bastard! Have you ever seen me drag you guys into a battle we're going to lose? So just shut up and hold the line no matter what!"
"Sigh~ Got it. If the infantry's told to hold, we hold, what else can we do. Especially when it's His Majesty telling us... How long do we have to hold?"
"Just think you're dead and hold for exactly two hours."
Snap!
"I accept your command, Your Majesty!"
Finally, the man called Macmorin straightened up and saluted the emperor, then began to whip his soldiers into formation.
"Form up!! If there's even a single gap, they'll break through!! First line, get ready!!"
The imperial infantry quickly formed a defensive line with their rectangular shields, slanting their long spears against the ground to await the enemy cavalry's charge.
Thud thud thud thud thud
As the sound of the Teseito cavalry's hooves drew closer, the archery commander gave the order to fire.
"First archers, volley fire! As soon as the first finishes, second archers, volley fire!! After the third archers finish, all archers fire at will!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh
A tremendous rain of arrows poured down on the Teseito cavalry, but their momentum did not die.
Even as arrows struck their arms and legs, the Teseito cavalry advanced, blocking only their bodies and heads with the small shields strapped to their arms. When they were about 300 meters from the imperial army, they split into three groups and charged the imperial left, right, and center.
The first clash was between the Teseito Royal Cavalry at the front and the Balkan Emperor's personal heavy infantry guard, marking the start of the Second Battle of the Kamadan Plains.
True to their reputation as an iron wall, the imperial heavy guard blocked the Teseito cavalry's repeated charges with their dense shields. The weight of the warhorses pressed against the shields, and the cavalry's lances stabbed from above, but the shield-bearers and paired swordsmen blocked the lances with auxiliary shields and cut down the cavalry with their swords.
Some Teseito cavalry managed to slip through gaps in the extended lances where the recruits were placed, but the second line of infantry closed the breach with their shields, completely stopping the cavalry charge.
Normally, if a cavalry charge is blocked, they would retreat and try again, but the Teseito cavalry threw away their broken lances and bravely drew their swords to resume the fight against the imperial army.
As the fierce cavalry began to push the first line back slightly, the commanders advanced the second and third lines of infantry.
"Second line, focus on unhorsing the enemy cavalry with flails! Ignore those who fall!! Trust your comrades!"
"Third line, axe soldiers, move out quickly! Target only the unhorsed cavalry!!"
"First line, fall back and conserve your strength! The battle will continue, so check your equipment quickly!"
"Archers, reload quickly! Prepare for another volley!"
As befits the emperor's personal guard, the commanders shouted themselves hoarse, giving precise orders to their troops.
Under the commanders' orders, the imperial heavy infantry worked in strict division of labor to unhorse and massacre the enemy cavalry. The number of cavalry remaining on horseback dwindled, and hope began to rise among the imperial troops.
But before long, another despair swept over them.
While the Teseito cavalry fought desperately even as they were slaughtered, the second wave of Teseito infantry charged at them.
As expected from an army whose main force was cavalry, the Teseito infantry were not as well armed, but their morale was sky-high with the determination to defend their homeland, and so another bloody battle began, with blood flowing and flesh torn.
As the full-scale infantry-on-infantry battle began, the Teseito army, seeking to avenge their previous defeats and the shame of being pushed back to their capital, fiercely pressed the Balkan imperial army.
With overwhelming numerical superiority, the Teseito army pushed their reserves of recruits and volunteers into the imperial guard and heavy infantry, and concentrated all surviving elite and reserve cavalry, as well as palace guards, on the left flank to strike the right of the imperial army.
Although the cavalry had been reduced, the imperial guard led by Count Lichtenauer and the emperor's personal corps led by Baron Macmorin struggled due to being vastly outnumbered.
Still, thanks to the efforts of swordmaster Count Lichtenauer and the guard, and the sense of duty to protect the emperor, they barely held the line, but soon began to reach their limits.
"Huff, huff, getting old makes slaughtering the enemy tough! Macmorin, how's it on your side?"
"Just barely hanging on!! But these bastards, there's a lot of them, but they're all pushovers!"
"The ones circling around earlier must be the real elites. By now, Baron Saad's side is probably getting slaughtered... By the way, where's His Majesty?"
"Huh? He was here a moment ago? Oh! Wait! Isn't that His Majesty and the empresses charging toward the Kamadan gate?"
At Macmorin's words, Count Lichtenauer turned his gaze forward, and he too saw the emperor breaking down the gate and storming into Kamadan Castle.
"Damn it!! That crazy bastard!! Send a messenger to the main camp!! Imperial guard!! Follow His Majesty!! Macmorin!! Hold the line here as best you can. We'll go after His Majesty!!"
"Yes, sir!! Damn it! Us heavy infantry always get stuck doing the dirty work!! Guys, hold out!! We must defend this place until that damned emperor takes the castle!! Wait, why does he only yell at me and not at His Majesty?"
Macmorin felt it was unfair that he'd been beaten by Count Lichtenauer for his speech and manners, but as the Teseito army's waves crashed in, he soon forgot such idle thoughts and kept swinging his sword, commanding his troops.
At that moment, the Balkan Empire's Teseito Expeditionary Force commander, Marquis Meyer, was so busy issuing orders in response to urgent reports from all over that he didn't even realize the emperor had charged into enemy lines with only two empresses.
"Enemy infantry corps and mercenaries ambushed and hit our left! The 3rd corps can hold, but enemy numbers are too high, we need reinforcements!"
"Urgent report from the 1st Heavy Infantry Guard! Enemy cavalry breakthrough stopped, but enemy infantry 2nd and 3rd waves are charging, we're outnumbered! Need ranged support!"
"Damn it! Where on the line are we not outnumbered!! Just hold! Wait, 1st corps? Damn it!! Send all 3rd corps archers to the front! If they break through, His Majesty will be in danger!"
"The Teseito Royal Cavalry has broken through the right! The 2nd corps is holding as best they can, but the line is too wide to cover!"
"What reserves are left?"
"1st corps 2nd Heavy Infantry Guard, armored cavalry, 3rd corps 10th and 11th infantry, 3rd mercenaries, 3rd cavalry are at the main camp. I'll send them to reinforce the right immediately!"
As a staff officer tried to leave to deliver the reinforcement order, Marquis Meyer grabbed his shoulder.
"...Wait! No reinforcements to the right! Send every last reserve to the left. Raise the assault flag for the 3rd corps! Tell the armored cavalry commander to break through at one point!"
"But then the right will collapse!! The 2nd corps formation is about to break!!"
"Tell them to grit their teeth and hold!! Even if they die, tell them to grab the Teseito bastards by the pants and hold on!! Arm all non-combat personnel in the main camp and send them all to the left!! And raise the flag for His Majesty at the front to advance left!"
"But!!"
"We abandon the right!! The enemy outnumbers us three to one! No matter how strong our guard corps is, if we just keep holding, we'll be surrounded and annihilated!! We have to create a front where we can have temporary numerical superiority!!"
At that moment, a report came in from the front.
"Urgent! His Majesty has broken through the enemy main line and stormed into Kamadan Castle with the two empresses!! The guard is following, but they're too slow to keep up! Please give orders!"
Crash!
The table and the map of the theater were overturned as Marquis Meyer roared.
"Goddamn crazy emperor!!! If you're going to put me in charge, follow my orders on the battlefield!!! Aaaaargh!!"
Many nobles in the command heard his disloyal outburst, but since they felt the same way, they said nothing.
"His Majesty told Baron Macmorin to hold for just two hours!"
"Does he mean to take the enemy capital in two hours? That bastard's really lost it! He could at least say something!! Aaaaargh!!"
But even Marquis Meyer now had to make a choice: abandon the emperor and escape Kamadan, or obey the emperor's orders and somehow hold the line.
"Damn it!! Break the encirclement on the left and wheel forward to hit the enemy main line!! Tell the guard to reverse and hit the enemy rear!! Create a favorable front on the left and annihilate the enemy main line in one blow, then reorganize the situation!"
"What about His Majesty?"
"That crazy monster bastard will handle himself!! If he fights a guerrilla war inside the castle, not even the entire enemy guard corps can beat him! Even if we all die here, that bastard will survive, so don't worry!"
'Since we're facing all of Teseito's forces, only a few palace guards will be left inside Kamadan Castle! This could really be an opportunity!! If we can capture the king... But there must be a secret passage, how does His Majesty plan to capture the Teseito king? If we miss him, we're doomed here.'
Marquis Meyer worried inwardly so as not to lower morale, but the situation was becoming increasingly desperate for the imperial army.
"Urgent! Duke Tiruen's guard has joined the enemy left!! The 2nd corps has broken!! They're advancing rapidly on the main camp!!"
'Those Teseito bastards must have their backs to the wall too! Actually, this is good! If the enemy commander personally leads the guard, it means they're out of reserves too!'
"In that case, cancel the previous orders! All troops, join the 1st corps! Tell Baron Saad on the right to gather the remnants of the 2nd corps and join the 1st corps! Form a circle and just hold out! At this point, we have no choice but to trust His Majesty!!"
The imperial army concentrated all its forces at one point and began to hold out.
"All troops! Focus only on defense! Show the Teseito bastards why the imperial corps is called the best at defense!"
The Teseito army surrounded the imperial army, which had formed a circle in the center of the plains, and charged in for annihilation.
But even among the imperial army, where every corps was considered elite, the emperor's personal 1st, 2nd, and 3rd corps, considered the best of the best, banded together and withstood the siege of the Teseito army, which was three times their number.
The heavy infantry's shields blocked all the enemy's arrows, their spears shattered the Teseito cavalry charges, the archers fired until their hands broke, and the mages squeezed out their mana until their hearts burst, relaying the commander's orders to each unit in real time.
The Teseito guard even charged to break through the organically moving imperial army, but even they needed considerable time to break through the dense shields of the defending heavy infantry.
In the end, Duke Tiruen himself slashed through the imperial heavy infantry with sword energy, tearing through shields and all to open a path. But Count Lichtenauer, the imperial guard commander, rushed out to stop him, and two hours later, a white flag was raised over Kamadan Castle.
"Uwaaaaaaah! The white flag is up!! His Majesty did it!!! Long live the emperor!!"
"That crazy bastard... He really did it? With just two empresses?"
"Keuk keuk keuk, I believed in him. Damn emperor. I really thought I was going to die today."
Within the imperial army, both praise and irreverent words about the emperor burst out together. Still, all those voices were filled with faith in the emperor.
Meanwhile, the Teseito army, seeing the white flag rise over their capital, began to drop their weapons one by one in despair. Duke Tiruen, who had led the Teseito guard, also bit back tears, broke his sword that had been emanating a chilling aura, and howled at the sky.
"Aaaaaaah!! If only we had one more hour!! No, even just 30 more minutes!!! We could have annihilated those hateful imperial troops!! Aaaaaaah!!"
Soon after, the gates of Kamadan Castle opened, and the emperor appeared, dragging the Teseito king by the collar with three women.
"Wahahahaha, well done!! You held out well!! Didn't I tell you to trust only me? I said if you trust this emperor, I'll take care of everything. Hahahaha!"
When the soldiers saw the emperor, a rookie in the guard who had been shouting himself hoarse caught his breath and asked the veteran next to him.
"Didn't His Majesty go in with just the two empresses?"
"Yeah... It was three people going in, but four coming out... Did one of the empresses give birth in there or something—urk!!"
At that moment, Baron Macmorin smacked the veteran on the back of the head.
"Hey you!! You can badmouth the emperor, but if you say anything disloyal about the empresses and I catch you, I'll beat you like a dog, got it?"
He said that, but perhaps because the battle had been so fierce, Baron Macmorin didn't hit the soldier any further.
"Sorry... But who is that other woman? Wow~ she's almost as pretty as our empresses."
"How should I know, idiot? Our great emperor, who boasts the greatest virility in the continent's history, probably picked her up while capturing the Teseito king."
Unaware that his soldiers were gossiping behind his back, the emperor, together with Marquis Meyer, took the captured Teseito king to Duke Tiruen. In the end, the Teseito king only handed over his body after signing the surrender document, and he wept as he gazed at Duke Tiruen's broken sword.
Meanwhile, the emperor approached Duke Tiruen, who was staring at the surrender document, and whispered something in his ear. Whatever he said, Duke Tiruen spat blood in rage and collapsed. The guard supported the fallen duke and returned to the capital with the king, and that day, the Kingdom of Teseito became a vassal state of the empire.
Watching this, Marquis Meyer asked the emperor,
"What did you say to make Tiruen act like that?"
"Nothing much. Just told him, 'Your wife's pussy tasted fucking amazing.'"
"You crazy, horny, dog-like emperor!!! If you're going to rule Teseito, you'll need the cooperation of the existing nobles, so what the hell have you done!!!"
In the end, Emperor Yuno had to be half-forcibly teleported back to the imperial capital by Marquis Meyer, who scolded him endlessly.
Since he was no help in maintaining the occupied territory, he was told to just stay in the palace and make heirs to his heart's content.
When the emperor returned to the palace with news of victory, instead of the grand triumphal ceremony he had hoped for, he was swarmed by countless women who bombarded him with nagging.
"Ah! Why are you all nagging me when I won~ If not for me, we wouldn't have won with such few casualties..."
As Yuno tried to make excuses to them, a slender but commanding female voice reached his ears.
"Yuno! Come here!!"
Even the emperor, the most powerful person in the empire, couldn't resist the voice, and he bowed his head like a cow being led to slaughter and followed its owner to the inner chamber.
"Yuno! You are the emperor of the empire. And you are also my child!! Why do you always act so recklessly! Do you want this mother's heart to break as she watches the battle through magic projection?"
"Mom! I had it all planned, so why are you so worried..."
"Yuno!! Promise me here and now that you'll never do something like this again."
The empress dowager pleaded with tears, but the emperor ultimately did not promise. Instead, he kissed the empress dowager on the lips.
After a deep kiss that could not be called a mother-son kiss, the emperor took the empress dowager's chin and spoke.
"Mom... no, Yuria? Do you think I'd die and leave you behind? Do you think I'd die and leave my daughter in your belly? That will never happen, so trust me!"
"Yuno..."
The empress dowager, who was both the emperor's mother and his lover, embraced Yuno. And Yuno began to undress Yuria, who was both his mother and his lover.
"Just the thought of not being able to hold your beautiful body anymore makes me so resentful I could never die, so don't worry. Look. My cock is already hard because I want to be inside your pussy so badly, can't you see?"
The empress dowager gazed ecstatically at her son's huge cock, then knelt before him and kissed the tip.
"Ah, Yuno... I love you... My love will always be only for you..."
"Yeah, Yuria. You're the person I love most... my beloved mom. I'll love you forever too."
"Tch, but you still won't say you'll only love me?"
"If I did, the daughters-in-law would raise hell, you know? Hehe, smooch!"
In the inner chamber of the palace, where only the two of them were, the forbidden love between mother and son began to burn, and soon the room was filled with whispered words of love and vulgar moans.
Thus, the emperor who achieved the long-cherished conquest of Teseito for the empire enjoyed sex with his beloved mother and recalled his previous life.
*Balkan Empire Emperor: Yuno Alexander Windrage von Balkan