Battle Race in the Fantasy World

EP.112 Not Enough Effort! Not Enough!!

Mathieu never imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that such a day would come in his lifetime.

To think that he, one of the Three Heroes of the Alliance, would set foot in the Imperial Palace of the Empire.

And not by force, but of his own free will, no less.

‘In the past, I wouldn’t have been able to accept this situation at all.’

But now it was different. Mathieu had accepted it. No, he had to accept it. The Empire’s superiority.

Moreover, he had come to understand what course of action the Alliance must take to survive.

The Empire had many enemies. Being so vast and powerful, it was even more so.

To the west lay the Kingdom Alliance, Mathieu’s homeland.

To the south were dozens of islands and independent lords, largely beyond the Empire’s influence.

Finally, to the east were the nomadic tribes that visited like an annual event.

The number of strong individuals in the Empire far exceeded that of each region.

But because it was so vast, that majority was divided among the regions.

Therefore, while not completely subduing any one place, they aimed to crush it perfectly if given the chance.

And now that they had succeeded in suppressing the Alliance, they wouldn’t let it slip away.

‘I can guess how the Empire will behave. They’ll be suspicious of us.’

Though Mathieu hadn’t stepped into politics before, he wasn’t completely oblivious.

As one becomes stronger and climbs higher, the ways of the world become somewhat visible.

To Mathieu, who saw things this way, the action he needed to take now was clear.

“Your Majesty. Mathieu Philibert, one of the Three Heroes of the Alliance, has arrived.”

“Let him in.”

He must bow. The Emperor is surely suspicious of the Alliance.

Even if he’s not suspicious, it doesn’t matter. One wrong move and it’s over.

Even the breakwater of the Three Heroes has completely crumbled.

If the Empire so chooses, they could raise fierce waves at any time.

The Empire probably won’t do anything to the Alliance right away.

They must know that swallowing us whole could lead to complications.

“Welcome, Lord Mathieu Philibert. I welcome you to the Empire.”

As I enter, the sight of the Emperor seated on his magnificent throne comes into view.

Befitting the ruler of a great nation that commands the continent, the Emperor was solemn and fierce.

“Mathieu Philibert of the Alliance. I stand before Your Imperial Majesty.”

“This is my first time seeing one of the Three Heroes in person. I hear you’re on par with our Empire’s Top 10 strongest.”

There’s no hint of mockery in his expression or voice.

The Emperor seems genuinely interested in meeting his counterpart.

But it was precisely this that made Mathieu feel a faint sense of humiliation.

Such pure admiration is more pitiful than any sneer.

The title of “Three Heroes” has already completely crumbled. Two of the three have become invalids.

They say one can become strong again with effort, but is it really that easy?

All the results achieved through blood, sweat, and tears have vanished. Completely shattered.

They say it’s the price paid, but humans are beings who despair when their struggles come to nothing.

How could those who were once on par with the Top 10 strongest, now inferior even to a common knight,

Possibly live, speak, and act normally?

“Guest, raise your head.”

Only when the Emperor’s command fell did Mathieu dare to lift his head.

His gaze meets those of the Empire’s key figures, the ministers positioned below the throne.

The Empire’s loyal subjects and the Emperor’s faithful dogs.

They were the core forces who, along with the Emperor, effectively ran the Empire.

Suddenly, Mathieu noticed an unexpected figure standing there.

‘…Huh?’

It’s not a mistake. It’s definitely, definitely that young man.

I don’t know why that person is here, but there’s no doubt about it.

‘Kyle Jonathan?’

It’s not a mistake. Without a doubt, the young man standing there was Kyle.

Mathieu had heard Kyle was a son of the Jonathan family with no connection to the Imperial family.

There were even investigation results suggesting he had only been briefly mobilized for war.

But Mathieu couldn’t fathom how that young man was standing in the Imperial Palace like this.

In this most secret and solemn place where only the Emperor and his closest confidants should be present.

Mathieu wondered why a mere noble family’s son was standing there as if he had always belonged.

Gulp-.

Mathieu swallowed dry saliva without realizing it.

He had forgotten, or rather, subconsciously wanted to forget and deliberately erased it from his mind.

But the moment he saw Kyle’s face, the defeat of that day, the nightmare of that moment, came flooding back.

This was the man who had only managed to inflict a mere cut despite Mathieu giving his all.

This opponent had effortlessly countered his trump card, which even the Empire’s Top 10 would be wary of.

Moreover, his brother and sister had crushed Mathieu’s comrades who had used both amplifiers and berserker drugs.

The feeling of awe and fear in the face of that overwhelming power remained vivid.

With Kyle Jonathan right in front of him, sweat began to pour like rain from the tension.

“I heard you have an urgent news, and that’s why you have come to visit like this. Come closer.”

The Emperor is not one to miss Mathieu’s change.

If you can shake someone’s heart, you can rob them of composure, and if you rob them of composure, you can more easily gain the upper hand.

With that, he will thoroughly grasp the current situation and exploit what can be exploited.

“…Yes, Your Majesty. That is correct.”

“Speak. What is this urgent news?”

Mathieu had intended to either stall for time or secure at least a minimal status for the Alliance.

After all, what he was about to say was by no means good news for the Alliance.

However, from the moment the Emperor brought out Kyle, he had already lost all initiative.

No, forget initiative – even uttering a single word felt burdensome now.

At the time, given the circumstances and the chaos, he had let it slide.

But if he were to lose to Kyle again, he felt he might end up in a similar state as his two comrades.

“…”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Mathieu ultimately abandoned everything he had been thinking.

Thud!-

The ministers are startled by what happens next.

A person from the Alliance, even Mathieu Philibert, who is said to be on par with the Top 10,

Voluntarily kneels before the Emperor of the Empire and bows his head.

This man is not the Emperor’s subject. He came as a representative envoy from another country.

He has no need to kneel unless the Emperor demands it.

Moreover, given his strength, his pride must be immense.

For such a man to show this kind of behavior, it’s only natural to be surprised.

“First, I would like to offer my apologies, Your Imperial Majesty.”

“What on earth could make me, the one receiving an envoy, witness him kneeling?”

“…The arrest of the hardliners I promised earlier, and the retrieval of that vile substance. All of it has been compromised.”

“Compromised?”

The Emperor’s eyebrows slightly raise.

It’s impossible to tell if he’s surprised or intrigued.

“Yes. In fact, traitors within the Alliance aided the escape of key hardliners. In the process, those influential figures fled with their research data and results.”

Twitch-.

Fled with the research data and results.

At those words, Kyle glances subtly at Mathieu.

Hey, Mr. Mathieu? This isn’t what we agreed on.

“Strange indeed.”

The Emperor, not yet noticing Kyle’s change, speaks again.

“There were traitors inside. That’s quite troublesome. But couldn’t you have stopped them if you had set your mind to it? Don’t you also have knights under your command? Your claim that they escaped sounds quite odd to me.”

The implication being, did you perhaps let them go on purpose? Did you show leniency because they’re from the same Alliance?

From the Emperor’s perspective, it was a quite reasonable doubt.

To this, Mathieu shook his head and explained why the Alliance had no choice.

“Actually, the hardliners in the Alliance were conducting another research.”

“Another research?”

“Yes. It’s…”

Mathieu hesitates, unable to speak immediately.

What he’s about to say could be taken as extremely unpleasant and threatening by the Empire.

If he’s not careful, it might create a justification for the Empire to invade the Alliance right away.

“Speak, envoy of the Alliance.”

But he has already entered the Imperial court. He stands before the Emperor.

Even if he hides it, it will come to light soon enough. Perhaps it’s better to reveal it first and ask for help.

“…Actually, they modified the mana rampage drug to develop something that makes monsters more ferocious. And before fleeing, they released these, causing monsters in the area to go berserk.”

“Made monsters go berserk? Within your own territory, you say?”

“To be precise, near the border between the Alliance and the Empire.”

The moment he hears Mathieu’s words, the Emperor’s expression contorts.

Seeing this, all the ministers tense up and watch the Emperor’s reaction closely.

It’s no ordinary matter for the Emperor to frown.

Moreover, the news is extremely unpleasant, making it all the more frightening.

Something happened between the Empire and Alliance borders? What could this mean?

It means that besides the mana rampage drug, those hardline bastards were trying to use monsters to attack the Empire.

That plan went awry, and now they’re using it to keep the moderates in check within their own country.

“It seems I’ve heard some very concerning news. Don’t you think?”

The Emperor says this while looking at the Ministers of War and Special Affairs.

The question “Shall we raise the army and just wipe out the Alliance?” that can be felt in his words is surely not a mere misunderstanding.

“Lord Mathieu Philibert. Is this true? About trying to use monsters, I mean.”

“There should be ethics! There should be at least a minimum standard! No matter how uncomfortable the relationship between the Empire and the Alliance, to think of using those terrible creatures!!”

Long ago, there were attempts to use monsters in war.

But soon, they all disappeared. The expected results were too cruel.

Monsters indiscriminately slaughter without distinguishing friend from foe.

It’s not that they only kill enemy forces and leave civilians alone.

They don’t even follow orders. They just repeat the slaughter until their life ends.

Thus, implicitly, no country ever used monsters.

For ethical reasons, and because if one crossed that line, everyone would.

If that happened, it would literally be ‘hell’ unfolding.

“If such a thing happened, you should have informed your country first, Lord Philibert!”

“Or were you trying to hide it for fear it might harm the Alliance?!”

As the Emperor’s discomfort becomes apparent, the ministers raise their voices.

If they don’t quickly align with this atmosphere, they might find themselves in an awkward position.

For this reason, as the court becomes noisy with voices condemning the Alliance.

“So.”

Jonathan, who had been quietly observing the situation until now, opens his mouth.

“You’re saying you couldn’t catch all those bastards? Those damn drug dealers?”

While some are denouncing the use of monsters,

Kyle was angry only about the failure to capture Raider, not caring about anything else.