The Overlord of Blood and Iron

Chapter 152: The March of Apocalypse (pt. 3)

D-Dammit! What in hell is going on!

Sheville Polansky started to blink his eyes, confused at what was happening.

From the South, Kang Chul-In’s army.

From the North, Baruk Al-Yusuf's.

If he just waited as this went on, he would definitely die. 

What could he do when he was stuck in the middle of a fight between the current top-ranked Lords?

“Milord!”

The soldier continued to give his report.

“The Lords of the Iago and Chermart territory are both requesting help… they both said that the battle will start tomorrow morning at the very latest…”

“Stop, stop!”

Sheville Polansky shouted at the soldier giving the report.

“I understand, so shut up! You’re making me anxious enough, so stop saying that. What am I supposed to do if from above me Baruk Al-Yusuf is coming, and from below me, Kang Chul-In?”

Sheville Polansky started to scream, terrified at this abrupt turn of events.

It made sense.

If he were to send reinforcements to the south, the north would be insecure, and the same vice versa. It was impossible for him to support one side.

“What do I do… What do I do…”

As the situation got worse, he had to think of a plan quickly.

But the problem was that he couldn’t think of anything.

“M-Milord….”

Hesitating, his secretary, Octanus, spoke.

“I think… you need to quickly make a decision.”

“Decision? What decision do I make! These crazy bastards are coming from both sides! I can’t help anyone!”

“T-That’s true. Both the Iago and Chermart territories aren’t enough to deal with the two powerful Overlords… I think that it’s all over.”

Octanus was right.

According to their scouts, both territories would be conquered by tomorrow morning if it was quick, or the day after tomorrow at the very latest. 

“Milord… At this point, I think that you will have to decide between trusting either Baruk Al-Yusuf, or Kang Chul-In.”

“Decide? Do you want me to surrender to those two?”

“N-No, sire.”

It seemed that no matter what the situation was, Sheville didn’t want to surrender.

“Then what is it?”

“Rather than surrendering… offering a truce would be better.”

“Truce…?”

“If this situation continues, it’s obvious that Baruk Al-Yusuf and Kang Chul-In will clash in our territory.”

“Yeah…”

“If that happens, wouldn’t Kang Chul-In and Baruk Al-Yusuf simply take our territory? To them, we can be conquered at any time.”

“What?! You… No, no. Ehem… Continue on.”

Though Sheville Polansky was extremely annoyed hearing that, he urged Octanus to continue on.

“Then what if we ask either Kang Chul-In or Baruk Al-Yusuf for a truce? If we ask Lord Kang Chul-In for a truce, and then ask him to help defend our territory when Baruk Al-Yusuf strikes…”

“Ho… So you’re saying that Kang Chul-In will recognize the threat that is Baruk Al-Yusuf, and ally with us?”

“Yes, Milord. After all, it’s true that for both Kang Chul-In and Baruk Al-Yusuf, they feel threatened by each other. The fight between the 1st and 2nd ranked Lords... wouldn’t it be easier for the Lord that uses our territory in the fight to win?”

“Oh! Exactly! Perfect!”

As this was quite a believable idea, Sheville Polansky nodded.

“However… we still need to be cautious.”

“Hmm…”

“Even if one of the two Overlords decide to ally with us, we don’t know what will happen at the end of the war. What if they turn on us after? And not only that…”

“Not only that?”

“We also can’t be sure of who will win anyway. If the Overlord we ally with loses, then our territory…”

“...!”

“That’s why we need to be cautious in our decision, Milord.”

“I-Is that so.”

This was also a difficult decision.

If he made the slightest mistake here, it would mean the end of Sheville Polansky’s life as a Lord.

“Kuhum… Such a difficult choice…”

Sheville Polansky moaned, his head starting to ache from overthinking.

“How about if we put a leg on each of them then? If we ally with the one that gets to our territory first…”

“M-Milord…”

But, Octanus disagreed.

“If both of the Lords are trustworthy, then we should definitely do that. However…”

“Hm?”

“Milord will prioritize taking care of our territory, right?”

“Exactly.”

“Then, we should ally with whichever Overlord seems more trustworthy. If the two Overlords find out that Milord was weighing the pros and cons of allying with them… I’m afraid that Milord will be hunted down.”

“Hm… You’re right.”

Sheville Polansky nodded.

“Please think of just keeping our territory, Milord. That will be the easiest way.”

“You’re right! I don’t want to lose my position as Lord.”

Sheville Polansky clenched his fists.

How could I ever give up my enjoyment of playing with those cute little children… Hehe…

Even though he looked like an ordinary man, the real reason that Sheville Polansky wanted to keep his position as Lord was so that he could continue his little ‘hobby’. 

What other job was there where he could do this so freely?

Who is more trustworthy…

Just like Octanus had said, rather than thinking of whoever was stronger, Sheville Polansky decided to ally with the more trustworthy lord.

Is it Kang Chul-In… or Baruk Al-Yusuf…

The decision wasn’t easy.

The first Lord meetings had just finished, and he hadn’t had an opportunity to get closer to them, since Kang Chul-In had cut the meeting short.

He knew nothing other than the fact that both Kang Chul-In and Baruk Al-Yusuf had extremely bad tempers.

Ring! Ring!

As Sheville Polansky continued to think, requests for reinforcements came from both Lords.

Of course, they was useless to Sheville, since he had already decided to discard both of them.

Baruk Al-Yusuf is a psychopath that’s famous on Earth, so rather than trusting him…

That’s right! I think Kang Chul-In would be better.

Sheville Polansky would choose Kang Chul-In, who had showed off his incredible charisma during the Lord meetings.

“Octanus.”

Sheville Polansky opened his mouth.

“Yes, Milord.”

“Go send a messenger to Kang Chul-In, telling him what’s happening, and that I want to ally with him.”

Of course, Sheville Polansky didn’t realize his mistakes.

He didn’t know two things.

First, the reason Kang Chul-In was heading North was in order to kill him. And second, that Kang Chul-In had almost a third of the troops that Baruk Al-Yusuf had.

“Huhu! Kang Chul-In, I’ll trust you!”

--------

Inside the Chermart territory, the Lord’s hall---

“Why… what’s the reason you’re doing this? Shouldn’t there at least be a declaration of war, or a reason for starting this war?”

The Lord of the Chermart territory, Orlean looked at Kang Chul-In in hatred.

“If you asked for a surrender in the beginning? Maybe I could have said yes. Then we could have at least reduced the casualties. Why did you have to come into our territory without a single warning, to kill these people? Why?! I’m curious. Why in hell are you trying to start these terrible wars? Were you a war maniac? Is that the reason? Are you a psychopath that enjoys slaughter?”

Orlean said, despairing.

“How dare you!?”

“How dare you scream at our Lord!?”

The officials of the Laputa territory started to curse at Orlean.

Did the soldiers of Laputa want to do this too?

Of course not.

The reason they had started this war was so that they could save Arshelly. There were no other viable options otherwise.

“Ao!!!”

The one who got pissed off the most was none other than Kwak-Jung.

“You bastard… No. Ehem… Orlean, was it? Talk after you know our circumstances… Do you really think that our Lord enjoys this slaughter? Even though you say that he’s a psychopathic murderer… Do you know what’s happened? If not, then shut up!”

“Enough.”

But Kang Chul-In stopped Kwak-Jung. 

“M-Milord…”

“I said enough, Kwak-Jung.”

“...”

“Orlean.”

Sitting on Orlean’s throne, Kang Chul-In spoke in a low voice.

“What do you want?”

“W-What?”

“Will you die here, or go back to Earth?”

“W-What do you mean by that? Are you saying you will save me?”

“Of course.”

Kang Chul-In nodded.

“I have won, and your territory has lost. There’s no reason to shed more blood.”

At this, Orlean’s face became complicated.

The man who had just come into their territory and slaughtered their people was saying he didn’t want to shed more blood? What was this?

“I don’t get what you’re thinking. If there are some unspeakable circumstances…”

“No. Don’t ask me, and don’t try to figure it out. Just answer me. Will you get out of here alive, or die?"

“I-Isn’t that obvious? I’m a person. No one wants to die.”

“Then throw away your position as Lord, and go back to Earth. That’s the only way you can live.”

“Hu….”

But unexpectedly, Orlean sighed.

“I want to live. I want to live, but…”

“...?”

“If I go back to Earth alive, how much will my dead soldiers hate me? Even though I am a weak Lord, I know how heavy this position is. Victory can be mine, but so can failure. I have failed as a Lord. I have no qualifications to be alive. Kill me.”

Saying this, Orlean closed his eyes.

Dammit.

At this, Kang Chul-In’s face stiffened.

To think he was this kind of man…

If Orlean was scum, Kang Chul-In wouldn’t have hesitated in killing him, but hearing this made him hesitate.

“I will do it.”

At that moment, Kwak-Jung stepped forward.

“Haven’t you killed enough already? This time, I…”

“No. I will do it.”

But Kang Chul-In declined.

“Any last words?”

“None.”

Orlean answered coolly.

“Then rest in peace…”

Just as Kang Chul-In had opened his mouth---

“Milord!!”

A messenger came in quickly, and kneeled before Kang Chul-In.

“A messenger has come from the Lord of the Bittermoon territory, Sheville Polansky!”