Chapter 46: A Pyrrhic Victory

The arrival of Alexandros and his forces spelled the reversal of the South Aislan Empire's fortunes.

Not stopping for a moment's rest, the Emperor and his troops directly engaged the camped enemy forces in a direct head-on confrontation. With the enemy being caught blindsided and the morale of the Emperor's troops being at an all-time high, the result of their first contact was an overwhelming victory for the South Aislan Empire.

Alexandros and his troop of three-thousand men tore through the initial defenses of the Duke's forces with barely any effort. Upon entry, the large force immediately split into smaller contingents and separated; each going off in a different direction to cause death and chaos.

The Duke's forces, being the elites that they were, quickly regrouped in the shortest time possible and mounted a hasty defense. Unfortunately, the troop brought over by Alexandros consisted of the best of the best amongst the massive army that he had accrued over the last few months' campaign.

Additionally, each of Alexandros' troops was outfitted with the latest and greatest of armaments which they had gathered from raiding and occupying Ferdinand's lands. In other words, all of the armaments and munitions sent over by the Central Commonwealth for the sake of supporting their pawn, Ferdinand, in completing their operations had now ended up in the boy emperor's hands.

In short, this was no battle. It was a massacre.

Alexandros' troop of three thousand defeated the thirty-thousand-strong opposition in a mere twenty minutes. More than ten thousand men died on the enemy's side while the Emperor himself lost a pathetic two-hundred and thirty-four men. The rest of the enemy forces quickly surrendered.

After settling the matter of the surrendered enemies and making proper arrangements, the boy emperor allowed his flying squad to take an hour's break. While he was burning with impatience and anxiety on the inside the boy emperor had learned to prioritize. He knew better than to let such feelings affect his mind, therefore ruining the overall picture.

It could be seen just how much Alexandros had grown and progressed over this campaign. He had almost entirely shed his boyish innocence and youthful impulses and had grown much more mature and steady. Underneath his small and beautiful self, the making of a great emperor could be seen.

Time passed and soon an hour had passed. With the break-time coming to an end, Alexandros instructed the remaining two thousand and five hundred men to mount their horses and rush towards the ruined city. The sight of the broken walls and smoldering buildings filled the boy with so much heartache that he could not help but bite his lips to the point of drawing blood.

"Quick! Quick! We must hurry!" The only other person who seemed to be more anxious than the boy emperor was General Arlo, the loyal confidant of Regent Rodriguez Centinni. "We must immediately reinforce the Regent! Heavens! Please allow this servant to save his lord!"

As they had already gathered information about the force distribution, events, routes, and other related information from the surrendered soldiers outside, the Emperor and his troops wasted no time in scouting or familiarizing themselves with the situation inside the city. Splitting their troops into three branches, they systemically made their way toward the center while slaughtering any soldiers that they came across.

The Duke's forces, owing to the fact that they had received no information regarding the arrival of the Empire's reinforcements, fell pathetically and helplessly. They simply weren't expecting the enemy to stab them from the back and were therefore caught completely unaware.

Sounds of battle and gunshots rose once more as the Emperor's troops made short work of the enemy. They managed to make it almost halfway through the enemy troops before they faced a properly mounted resistance by the Duke's soldiers. As surprising as their arrival was it was only a matter of time before the effect of their surprise arrival wore off. The instant that it did, the Duke had managed to organize a proper resistance to meet the enemy.

With their enemies no longer caught off-guard, the momentum of the Emperor and his troops immediately fell drastically. Still, the power of their forces largely outclassed that of the Dukes; for while every single soldier on Alexandros' side was equipped with at least two firearms, only 1 in every 4 soldiers on the Duke's side was equipped with a firearm. It went without saying that while the resistance was strong, it was brief.

Meanwhile, on the other front, the Regent and other higher-ups seemed to have noticed the change in fortune. After confirming that the Auberville Duke was facing trouble in his back, Rodriguez ordered a full frontal assault to be launched.

Soldiers, swordsmen, riflemen, practitioners, civilians wearing black-power vests... the Capital City's residents gathered every ounce of their strength and faced the Duke's forces. Even the Regent, Rodriguez Centinni, joined the attack and staked his all in slaughtering the enemy.

Shots were fired. Blades were felled. Screams echoed. And heads rolled. An absolute bloody carnage that was void of any sort of beauty, order, and elegance played out. Every single person's eyes went completely red from the amount of blood and slaughter that they witnessed around them.

The only outliers within this madness were the boy emperor, Alexandros, and his faithful bodyguard, Matthias. The boy emperor was exempt from participation owing to his small and feeble physique while Matthias stayed away to protect the emperor.

Standing atop a vantage point some distance away, the emperor and his bodyguard witnessed the slaughter take place. Alexandros' milky-white face took on a sickly-white sheen as he observed the madness. His small clenched fists repeatedly shook while his throat continuously swallowed.

Worried for his liege, Matthias advised, "Your Royal Eminence, why not look away? Such scenes are ill-advisable to be viewed by anyone."

Alexandros did not reply. And he did not look away.

A long time passed and the slaughter still went on when the boy emperor slowly spoke. His steady eyes continued to view the bloody madness as his lips uttered steady words.

He spoke with a steady, unshaken tone. "Just because We do not look at it, doesn't mean that it did not happen, Matthias. We, must precisely look at it today so that We do not witness such madness in the future."

"Look," he pointed at the massacre, "one soldier shot an enemy only to be hacked to death by two more. A life utterly has no value down there on that battlefield. Kill, be killed. Shoot, be shot. All for what? So that their respective side can prevail? Why should it matter to them? They would already be dead at that point."

"They fight because they have no choice, your majesty," replied Matthias. The look in his eyes was forlorn and distant. "If they don't kill, they will be killed. And even though each of them knows, deep in the depths of their heart, that such killing is meaningless; that they would be unable to enjoy the fruits of their killing, they still do it."

"Why?" asked Alexandros.

"Because it is the only thing that they can do." Matthias despondently laughed.

While Matthias' words seemed to be incomplete and cryptic, Alexandros seemed to understand the meaning within them. "Ah, I see," said the boy emperor. "Because it is the only thing that they can do."

Just then, a sudden lull seemed to overtake the battlefield. Just as the boy emperor wondered about the cause of it, a ringing shout echoed amidst the silent battlefield.

"THE DUKE OF AUBERVILLE HAS BEEN SLAIN!! THE EMPIRE IS VICTORIOUS!!!"

"Glory to the Empire!"

"Glory to the Empire!!"

"Glory to the Empire!!!"

The war had concluded. The South Aislan Empire had prevailed.

---

It was almost an hour later when Alexandros finally managed to meet up with his Royal Uncle. While he could have met up earlier, the boy emperor received news that his uncle wanted to wash himself of the blood and filth and make himself presentable before meeting the emperor.

Seeing no problem with his request, Alexandros agreed to wait. While waiting, he met up with his men, at least with those who were fortunate enough to survive that bloody madness. Together, and with the other survivors, they performed a preliminary cleanup of the battlefield. The scene was simply too gory and it did not sit right with Alexandros to leave it as such.

It was during this clean-up that Alexandros discovered incomplete corpses of unarmed civilians. While initially confused and horrified, some investigation with the survivors that were from the city's side, revealed to the boy emperor the truth of human bombings.

Alexandros felt his entire body grow chilled.

Unable to accept this horrible truth, he continued to investigate. And the more he did, the more twisted the truth revealed. When he came across the news that even children were used, Alexandros almost passed out from the shock.

'The fact that adults blew themselves amidst the enemy groups is horrifying enough. But to think even children were used...!! Who came up with such a twisted idea!? Who thought that it was alright to put it into practice!?!'

A small corner of his mind provided him with the answer. Yet, Alexandros could not believe that thought. No, to say that he refused to believe that thought was far more accurate.

In the boy emperor's mind, the most suspicious person was also the person whom he believed would never do something like this!

And yet, his rational thoughts continued to sinisterly whisper the truth into his ears. An enormous sense of unease filled his heart.

It was with such an anxious mind and uneasy heart that Alexandros finally met with his uncle in the Royal Palace. And their meeting went as such.

"Alexandros! My dear boy! Thank you! Thank you for rushing over and saving this poor uncle of yours!!" Rodriguez rushed forth and enveloped the boy emperor in a hug.

Feeling the warm hug surround him, Alexandros conversely felt his body grow cold and stiff.

"Had it not been for you, my boy, the capital city would have fallen into that despicable traitor's hands and the end of the Empire would have come swiftly! You, little Alexandros, are a hero!!" Rodriguez continued to heap praises onto the boy.

Alexandros, however, reacted strangely. Unlike before, when he usually found himself becoming joyous after hearing his dear uncle praise him, the boy emperor now found no such joy in his words. Every word of praise that his uncle spoke towards him only served to increase the unease and caution within his heart.

"Ah! Look at me! Off rambling once again," Rodriguez comically slapped his forehead. He then rose to his feet and grabbed Alexandros' hand. Showing him a smile, he spoke, "Come, my boy. Bask in the glory of your achievements!"

He then pulled the hand and led Alexandros towards the Palace's main balcony. The instant they arrived, Alexandros found himself drowning in an endless wave of praise.

"Lord Regent! Our Savior!"

"Lord Regent! Our Savior!!"

"Alexandros the Hero!"

"Alexandros the Hero!!"

An endless crowd of citizens poured out their heartfelt emotions toward the duo overlooking them from the balcony. Rodriguez smiled politely and waved his hands, further igniting the crowd's fervor.

"LORD REGENT! OUR SAVIOUR!"

"ALEXANDROS THE HERO!!!"

The screams grew deafening to the point that they overshadowed the heavens!

Alexandros, who bore the brunt of these praises, only felt his heart grow infinitely cold. At this instant, he had finally understood.

Royal Uncle Rodriguez Centinni, who stood next to him holding his hand and waving his arms, wanted the throne of the Empire.

He wanted to become the Emperor.