Mob No. 89 [Well, well. That saves us the trouble of one trial. Now, what will the rest of you do? From our perspective, it’s preferable if we can avoid the hassle of a trial.]
☆ ☆ ☆
【Side: Third-Person Perspective – Continued】
At the Duke’s words, Count Reviltos Barlenton’s face twisted in shock and disbelief.
Marquess Vastog had said, “We have His Grace the Duke on our side, so our reforms are certain to succeed.”
So why? Why was the Duke now staring at him with such cold, detached eyes?
“Your Grace! What do you mean by this?! You were our supporter—no, our leader!”
The Duke calmly responded to the words that had slipped out in the heat of the moment.
[I listened to your leader, Marquess Fieldel Vastog, and indeed, I agreed that the situation was dire. However, that was because there were far too many of you holding ideologies that hinder the nation’s progress and taking actions that weaken its strength. I never intended to become your leader, nor did I give you any orders. Yet, you rallied your forces and came this far, driven by Marquess Vastog’s words. All to depose the current Empress and seize even greater power for yourselves.]
At the Duke’s response, Barrenton could only tremble, unable to react.
Then, a young nobleman in his late twenties who shared Barrenton’s ideals—Count Scud—bravely attempted to argue with the Duke.
[But we can no longer maintain a noble lifestyle! The taxes from our subjects decrease month by month, and now some of them are even fleeing our lands behind our backs! Didn’t Your Grace just say, “It is only natural that the citizens and colonists of the Empire work diligently, respect their superiors, and gladly offer their wealth”? Are you now denying your own words?]
Count Scud wore a triumphant expression as he stared at the Duke.
However, the response came from someone else.
[You insolent brat who can’t even understand the meaning of Duke O’Vourl’s words!]
The figure who appeared in the hologram was Marshal Thorok Mauston, the commander of the Planetary Defense Fleet, with a stern face and a thick beard.
[It is only natural that the citizens and subjects work diligently, respect their rulers, and pay their taxes properly. This means that if the rulers ensure the citizens and subjects live in prosperity and safety, they will naturally be respected. But you! You’ve done nothing to enrich the lives of your subjects. Instead, you’ve drained the wealth of their lands to indulge in luxury and casually killed them over trivial matters or personal whims! Who would respect such lords? You’re nothing but pests! Bloodsucking mosquitoes!]
Marshal Mauston roared with a furious expression, berating Count Scud and the rebels.
Then, the Duke, with a calm expression in stark contrast to Mauston, intervened.
[Thorok, that’s an impolite remark. Mosquitoes primarily feed on flower nectar and fruit juice. Only female mosquitoes suck blood before laying eggs. Besides, thanks to them, some dangerous creatures are kept in check, and there are creatures that feed on mosquitoes. They play a role in maintaining the balance of the food chain and nature. Unlike those here, who fail to fulfill even their given roles and do nothing but suck the wealth others have built through sweat and toil.]
[Ah, I see. It seems I’ve been rude to the mosquitoes. I’ll have to apologize to them later.]
The Duke’s words were a gentle admonishment to his longtime friend Mauston for his impolite metaphor about mosquitoes.
Then, the Duke continued.
[However, among those who have come this far today, there are undoubtedly those who came against their will, unable to defy their higher-ranking nobles. To those, I say this: Surrender now. Raise your surrender flags and bring all ships under your command to a complete halt. If you do, I promise leniency. At this moment, you have no obligation to obey the orders of those who have exploited you and forced you into unwanted actions. Prove that you are not beneath even mosquitoes.]
At the Duke’s words, about 60% of the rebel forces raised their surrender flags and brought all their ships to a halt.
[Hmm. It seems quite a number of them were unwilling participants in this affair.]
The Duke stroked his chin, seemingly satisfied with the outcome.
Meanwhile, Count Barrenton, shocked by the fact that their lower-ranked noble subordinates had betrayed them, collapsed to his knees.
In contrast, one person’s anger was palpable.
“Leave the traitors who lack even a shred of loyalty and the cowards who cower in fear! In this state, they’ll serve as shields! And there’s nothing ahead of us! We’ll advance and bombard the capital planet, Hein!”
It was the young nobleman, Count Scud.
With a fearless smile, he ordered his troops to advance.
As his fleet began to move forward and the ship’s turrets adjusted their aim, a series of small explosions erupted on Count Scud’s flagship. Finally, a massive explosion occurred on the bridge, and the young Count Scud vanished from the displays of the other ships, accompanied by screams.
Amid the chaos, no one in the rebel forces noticed the red and blue fighter craft departing from the ship, now reduced to massive space debris.
[Well, well. That saves us the trouble of one trial. Now, what will the rest of you do? From our perspective, it’s preferable if we can avoid the hassle of a trial.]
The Duke spoke nonchalantly, as if asking for a refill of tea, and awaited a response from the nobles who had sought to “restore the Emperor’s throne to the hands of the rightful nobility.”
“We… surrender…”
Led by Count Barrenton, who remained on his knees, the rebel forces meekly surrendered.
★ ★ ★
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
About an hour after the battle began.
Honestly, the rebels’ morale wasn’t particularly high.
Perhaps because they mistook their status for actual ability and were too busy eyeing others’ achievements to mount a strong offensive.
Additionally, some units seemed to be waiting for something.
Still, we were clearly gaining the upper hand, and as long as we maintained the frontlines, we wouldn’t lose.
But that didn’t mean we could afford to let our guard down, so we had to stay sharp.
Major General Earlyhenge seemed to understand this well, issuing orders to the troops and mercenaries to remain vigilant.
In light novels, something dramatic would always happen at times like these, but in reality, such things rarely occur.
Still, at that moment, I couldn’t help but recall the proverb, “Good fortune rarely comes unaccompanied by misfortune.”
Whether it was because of that or not, the danger alarm I had set to sound if there was any movement near the unmarked satellite-like mobile fortress located about 1.8 billion kilometers from planet Gatohaga began to blare.
TLNOTE:
This novel series is already licensed in English. Please purchase the official version when available! Because of it, this English translation will be removed from this website in the near future
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
