Chapter 80: Before Spring Comes (3) The suppression of Genen was an imperial mandate. The Emperor himself had voiced his concerns, and Zebestian, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Military, had relayed that will to headquarters.
While Zebestian placed no restrictions on the methods of suppression, the fact that Maximilian had volunteered for the operation as a Knight was unexpected.
"······."
He quietly scanned the mission report containing Maximilian's name.
[Suppression Plan]
The core of the plan was all-out suppression through overwhelming force. By mobilizing hundreds of tanks to surround and pressure the Genen Autonomous Region, they would instill a sense of insurmountable helplessness in the populace.
In Zebestian's eyes, it wasn't a bad plan at all.
The fact that the new factories in the south had already produced such a quantity of tanks was surprising, but more than anything, he liked the underlying concept.
The Empire does not tolerate unrest in its autonomous regions. The Empire's strength must be absolute—something that cannot be challenged or even countered. Therefore, crushing them completely was far more appropriate than negotiation or compromise. It would also serve as an excellent propaganda tool to flaunt the Empire's vitality to neighboring countries and internal subversives who had been whispering ever since the destruction of the Gigantes.
Scritch—
Zebestian scrawled his signature. Colonel Edmond Brwindol received the document.
"Loyalty."
After saluting and stepping out into the hallway, Edmond thought about the contents of the operation plan.
Maximilian intended to deploy enough force to grind an entire front line to dust just to suppress a protest. What on earth was he thinking? What was he planning?
"You seem worried."
A voice suddenly cut in from the side. It was Major Goetz.
"About Genen, I mean. Are you worried there might be heavy casualties?"
Goetz feigned concern. Edmond stared at him silently, the approved documents tucked under his arm.
"Sir Maximilian will handle it well on his own."
"Haha······ yes. I suppose he will."
Goetz stepped back with an awkward laugh. Edmond resumed his stride. Goetz watched his retreating back for a moment before scurrying after him.
"Let's go together, Colonel."
Goetz considered himself a good judge of character. More accurately, he took pride in his ability to catch the invisible aura of those whose hearts were not aligned with the Empire.
And so, he suspected Edmond.
Specifically, he felt an indefinable sense of dissonance regarding the man's 'ideology.'
* * *
Hermes Province—a land of red clay and green meadows, home to some of the most vast plains and mountain ranges in the southern Empire.
Vrooooooooom——
Via transport ships, units of the Imperial Mechanized Division arrived at Hermes Airport one after another.
Before their eyes stood two hundred brand-new tanks lined up in formation.
"The basic framework of operation is the same as the older models, but it will feel much more intuitive and smooth. If there are any soldiers among you capable of handling mana, try channeling it into this Mana Stone Condenser. Your maneuvering speed will increase by over thirty percent."
A designer from Kanilan explained the features directly to the tank crews. Boarding with half-skeptical looks, the soldiers soon let out exclamations of awe. Unlike the cramped, sweltering interiors of the old models, the inside was comfortable, and the control systems had been innovatively simplified.
Rumbleeeeeee——
The suppression force, having quickly adapted, set out onto the roads under the cover of night.
The vibrations caused by hundreds of tanks shook the very earth······.
Meanwhile, I boarded a separate transport ship along with Major General Maut, the commander of the suppression force, and other key officers.
"······Is this really a transport ship?"
Major General Maut's eyes widened.
"Yes."
It was a custom-made aircraft ordered from a Kanilan aerospace company at a significant premium—essentially a private jet. It featured plush, high-end leather sofas, tables finished in Marcana wood, and soft, ambient lighting.
They claimed the interior was a direct recreation of a suite from Kanilan's finest five-star hotel.
I planned to acquire this company as well if Kanilan ever went bankrupt.
"Please, everyone, take a seat."
The commanders swallowed hard as they sat down. They seemed fascinated by everything they saw but refrained from showing it to maintain their dignity.
Snap.
I flicked my fingers. Private flight attendants placed luxurious boxes in front of the guests.
"A welcome gift for the distinguished guests boarding my private craft for the first time."
An attendant partially opened a box. Through the gap, a bottle filled with amber liquid and a crystal glass were revealed.
"It's 'Royal Amber 21-Year-Old.' Please take it with you when you leave Genen."
It was a fine liquor worth over $200,000 a bottle. Even the crystal glass was worth more than $50,000.
The generals' lips twitched. They tried their best to maintain a solemn expression, but they couldn't stop the smiles from leaking out.
Hahaha. Hahaha. Hahahaha.
Their laughter mingled with the hum of the engines, and before long, we landed on the runway of the Genen garrison base.
"Let us go."
Major General Maut and the other commanders disembarked first, and I followed behind them.
At the end of the runway, high-ranking officials from the Governor-General's office were waiting to greet us. They stood there with smiles on their faces.
Thump.
At that moment, my heart gave a heavy thud.
A familiar sensation.
It was the evidence of Izenheim.
"A pleasure to meet you. I am Erio, Chief of Internal Affairs for the Governor-General's office."
A man with a greasy face offered his hand to Major General Maut, then approached me and extended it again.
I stared at him, swallowing a smile.
"It is an honor, Sir Maximilian."
I found him.
So, you were hiding here after all.
"Let's head to the situation room first. We have everything prepared."
The chiefs from the Governor-General's office naturally led us toward the interior of the garrison base. They intended to join the meeting as if it were a matter of course.
"Ah."
I blocked them at the door of the conference room.
"From this point on, military secrets will be discussed. As civilians, please excuse yourselves."
Erio's expression stiffened.
"Sir Knight. We are from the Governor-General's—"
"It is wartime, Chief."
There was no need to hear more.
Thud.
I shut the door in their faces.
Afterward, Major General Maut took the seat of honor, but the air in the conference room was subtle.
The chain of command had naturally become entangled.
"Ahem······."
Major General Maut, the commander of the suppression force, was glancing at me, gauging my mood.
He had no choice. Zebestian, the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Military, was my father, and all the tanks arriving soon belonged to me—
"······."
And I had remained silent with an expressionless face since the moment I sat down.
The generals waited for me without a word, and the silence stretched on.
"······Sir Maximilian? Is there a problem?"
Major General Maut finally asked cautiously.
I neatly straightened my sleeves and gestured toward the door.
"They were smiling."
"Hmm? Who are you talking about?"
There was no need to flash a glare on purpose. No need to raise my voice.
I already knew the perfect textbook example for leading others in a situation like this.
"Those people from the Governor-General's office."
A man who overwhelmed a space just by existing, who evoked an indefinable fear in me.
He never made grand gestures. He never used an unnecessarily harsh tone. He never contorted his face into a terrifying scowl.
Rather, he was always consistent, yet every word and action carried the weight of a mountain.
Because of that, he was an uncertainty, and from that uncertainty bloomed the greatest terror.
"Despite the fact that this situation erupted because their control was unstable."
My father, Zebestian, was like that.
"Despite the fact that the Empire's prestige has been shaken due to their incompetence."
Recalling the image of Zebestian that still remained like a trauma within me, I spoke in a low murmur.
The lower I dropped my voice, the more the generals leaned forward to catch my words.
"They were smiling."
I spat out a cold fragment of speech.
"As if it were someone else's business."
Major General Maut's face hardened. The other generals were the same. My thoughts and the atmosphere spread like a contagion.
"······It seems the targets we must suppress here······."
I looked around at the assembly and reached a conclusion.
"······will not be limited to the rioters."
They all nodded heavily.
From now on, it was wartime.
As a Knight of the Empire, I held the authority for summary judgment. However, that blade was not only for the enemy. It applied equally to incompetent and corrupt allies—or enemies wearing the mask of an ally.
I would pacify Genen and overturn the Governor-General's office.
Then, I would install a new figure to re-arm the ideology of Genen.
That was my plan.
* * *
Rumble, rumble, rumble——
A thunderous roar echoed through the streets. A wave of steel, countless tanks, crossed from Hermes into Genen. The sight of them pouring in endlessly was beyond words. It was as if destruction itself had taken form······.
The protesters who had occupied the roads froze before such eerie majesty.
—By Imperial Decree. Disperse all protests and gatherings immediately.
The tanks rolled through the city. The barricades the students had spent all night building were crushed effortlessly, and cracks formed in the roads where the monstrosities passed.
—By Imperial Decree. Disperse all protests and gatherings immediately.
However, they did not fire recklessly. They simply stood before the reckless few who refused to retreat.
"Target confirmed."
The rules of engagement they had received were clear. The goal was not slaughter.
"Fire."
BOOM——!
The cannons spat fire. The shells struck the exterior walls of empty buildings or the asphalt right next to the protesters. Blasts and shrapnel flew in all directions. Statues in the square collapsed, and glass and stone from buildings shattered into the air.
Only then did the citizens realize the reality of the situation, scattering with screams.
—By Imperial Decree. Disperse all protests and gatherings immediately.
As the tanks seized key points in Genen, agents from the Secret Police Bureau and soldiers slipped through the shadows. It was the beginning of a full-scale hunt for the wanted ringleaders.
—By Imperial Decree. Disperse all protests and gatherings immediately······.
Genen Central University.
"······Maximilian is a madman."
Kasim, one of the leaders, muttered with a face full of rage. Their meeting was focused on only one person.
The Knight Maximilian, who had brought hundreds of tanks into Genen.
Elias spoke in a voice like a sigh.
"We have no choice but to stop. This was too impulsive from the start—"
"You're saying we should just lose like this?!"
Kasim shouted, practically convulsing. Elias snapped back in frustration.
"Then what do you want to do?! At this rate, thousands—no, tens of thousands of people could die!"
"Since they brought tanks, we should ask the Independence Faction or the Revolutionary Group for help! The world only changes when people die!"
"Don't talk crazy."
Elias pointed a finger at Kasim, his face pale.
"If I could die and change things, I would. But that's not it. We're going to run away. And yet, you're saying innocent people have to die for the world to change?"
"······."
Kasim fell silent for a moment.
Everyone already knew. With hundreds of tanks flooding Genen, resistance or negotiation was impossible.
"······Then, even if we surrender, will Maximilian stop? Will he just pat us on the head and let us go?"
No one could answer.
That much was true. Casualties from the shelling were already mounting throughout the city, and agents, police, and soldiers were taking advantage of the chaos to run wild.
—By Imperial Decree. Disperse all protests and gatherings immediately.
The faint voice of the tanks still echoed.
"Everyone, disperse for today. If you have letters to write to your family or friends, do it now."
Elias stood up from the conference room and returned to his dormitory.
"Fuck······."
He spat out a curse to vent his frustration and sat at his desk, only to find a note lying there.
"······?"
[ I have urgent information to deliver. Many people might die. Come to meeting point 3 as soon as possible. ]
It was the handwriting of a trusted informant.
"Many people might die······."
It was a dangerous situation, but the news was even more dangerous. After a moment of hesitation, Elias quietly slipped out of the dormitory.
The moment he arrived at the back alley of meeting point 3 and looked around—
"Ah~ so here you are."
With a slimy voice, black shadows pounced on him.
Thud—!
A heavy blow struck the back of his head.
His consciousness cut out.
······.
When he opened his eyes, he was in an unfamiliar basement. The scent of blood hung at the tip of his nose, and his hands and feet were tied tightly to a chair.
"Well, well~ a Revolutionary Group rat. We finally caught a big fish."
A sinister-looking man looked down at Elias and smirked. He grabbed Elias's hair roughly and yanked his head back.
"Don't worry. I'll send you off as painlessly as possible."
Agents from the Secret Police Bureau were lined up beside him. The man took out a syringe and plunged it into Elias's neck.
"······Ugh."
"Bear with it. It's a painkiller and an anesthetic. It'd be a problem if you died of shock from the pain, wouldn't it? You need to be alive while I beat you so the marks on your body look pretty."
His mind gradually grew hazy. His vision blurred and swayed, and the man slammed Elias's torso onto the floor.
Thud.
Just as the merciless beating was about to begin—
"—Stop right there."
Someone entered Elias's half-closed field of vision. The agents' movements flinched to a halt.
Everyone turned toward the source.
"Ah~ this fucking anteater-looking bastard."
The agent cracked his neck irritably.
Zendo, the investigator from the Genen Police Department who looked like an anteater, stood there with a grim face.
"Have you lost your mind? Can't you see I'm performing my duties?"
The agent asked, tapping a blood-stained club against his palm. Zendo replied quietly.
"Agent. What is your name?"
"Huh? Ah~ right. Come to think of it, we haven't introduced ourselves."
He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair.
"Listen up, Anteater. I'm Billy. Billy Prejul. Remember it on your way to the afterlife."
Billy gestured to the other agents.
"Hey. Just kill this guy too. A Genen local who doesn't know his place. No one will care if a guy like this dies in all this chaos."
The agents drew their guns, but Zendo did not back down. Instead, a smile touched his lips.
Step. Step.
Another set of footsteps echoed from the basement passage behind him.
Step. Step.
The stride was perfectly steady and rhythmic.
Step. Step.
The darkness slowly parted, and a silver current rose like a haze.
In that place, where swaying mana lingered like moonlight······.
"······Huh?"
Billy's eyes widened.
"Secret Police Bureau."
The blonde Knight, Maximilian.
"You've been doing something quite useless."
The air froze at his appearance. The agents' hands trembled as they gripped their guns and stepped back.
"K-Knight? How are you here······"
"Zendo."
Maximilian gestured to Zendo.
"Kill him."
At those words, a chilling smile spread across Zendo's face. Conversely, Billy's face twisted in horror.
"K-Knight! I'm from the Central Branch—"
"No one will care if one person like you dies in all this chaos."
Thump.
The virus in my heart throbbed. Billy was the target it was pointing to.
"Because you are a Sub-species."
The moment Maximilian smiled—a submachine gun sprang into Zendo's hands.
"Oh, you motherfuck—"
Billy hurriedly tried to raise his gun, but it was too late.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat——!
Loud gunfire erupted in the cramped basement. Billy's body danced and jerked before collapsing to the floor. Fresh blood trickled from his riddled corpse. Amidst the stench of blood, the other agents fell to their knees.
"······."
Without even glancing at them, Maximilian simply walked toward the student council president of Genen Central University.
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