Bad Born Blood - Chapter 152
Only Noblemtl
152
Heilas’s communications weren’t just flowing to the Guards network. He was also sending the same video out to available lines and networks with a time lag.
Many people started watching Heilas’ videos through random networks. Even within the Francek camp, everyone was talking about it.
‘The reason Heilas didn’t come here was because of network recovery.’
Heilas is not an electronic warfare expert. He would have revived the network by physical means. He would know the Akbaran system well.
-The survival of the Guard depends on Crown Prince Frances. Those who share my views should join the Crown Prince. Those who wish to remain loyal to His Majesty the Emperor will not be stopped. The loyalty of the spirit is also a virtue of the Guard. In fact, it would be more like the Guard. You may consider me a traitor.
The guards’ communications were about to be cut off.
– But if we fall today, not only the Guard, but the Imperial Army will have no human left. Those who were once human will pretend to be soldiers while wearing our shells. It’s not that we fight for any reward. But if even the sense of honor and pride disappears, what’s the point of that…?
Heilas’ words were cut off. Only the noise rang out in emptiness.
“It’s up to the guards to decide. Those who are by your father’s side are former guardsmen… … .”
As he spoke, Francis pushed his way through the soldiers and advanced forward. I followed him.
There was chaos at the Arc de Triomphe. Even the heavy guards were chattering like the lower-level city guards. Sometimes they even resorted to verbal swearing. The voices between the senior guards and the centurions, who held the power of decision, were particularly loud.
Clashes of opinions were inevitable.
Francesca’s revolution was founded on the mottos of ‘the Emperor’s duty to protect’ and ‘the protection of the Imperial people’. And Heilas spoke of preventing ‘the dehumanization of the guards’.
‘It is obvious to anyone that Francesque’s promise to maintain the Guard was a hasty one.’
Even without careful consideration of the context, the pieces of the picture do not fit together neatly.
‘If you think about it carefully with enough information, you can feel that Heilas’s instigation is strange. Everything is so opaque and confusing that even the clear-headed guards cannot make a proper judgment.’
That is why the empire and the royal family secretly monopolized information by hiding the truth between lies, and based on this, they created a solid surveillance society. If people do not trust each other and lack information, even the best people cannot perform to their full potential.
‘Before everyone comes to their senses… … .’
It’s propaganda that works only when there’s no time to think long and hard. We can’t give them a chance to cool down.
“… … I will keep my promise to Captain Heilas Custoria. As proof of that alliance, Lucius Custoria is here!”
Francis shouted at me from his side. His voice boomed as if through a loudspeaker.
I am blind and cannot see the light and glare of Francis’ eyes. However, he must have caught the attention of the guards with his extraordinary brightness.
‘A natural actor.’
It was hard to believe that Francis was the man who had been panicking until just a moment ago.
‘A man who exists to manipulate the public.’
He is a charismatic being, with every word and action calculated to the extreme. Even his body is heavily decorated.
For Francis, the empire was a stage and he was the main character.
Thud, thud.
Two guardsmen walked towards Francis and saluted him. This was the beginning of a split in the guard.
The rain temporarily subsided.
The guardsmen who had different opinions shook hands with each other, as if to show that they had differences of opinion and did not hate each other.
There were a total of 102 guardsmen assigned to guard the Arc de Triomphe. Thirty-four of them were attached to Francis. I listened to them to confirm their affiliations and ranks.
‘Although their numbers are small, their strength is almost evenly divided. Four Legions are on our side.’
The guards attached to Francis were more veterans. Five of them were even senior guardsmen from the First Hundred. They did the work of three or four junior guardsmen.
Perhaps some of the higher-ranking guardsmen had a vague idea of what would happen to those who were rendered incapacitated by ‘Legion Overuse’. They were not fools after all.
The peaceful separation has ended.
The two halves of the guard stood at a distance, looking at each other.
“It would be right to leave the command to Your Majesty… … but I don’t think it’s the right time, so we will act at our own discretion. Please forgive our rudeness.”
A senior guard approached Francis and said, He looked at me briefly and nodded briefly.
‘The worst case scenario is the civil war in Akbaran. If it doesn’t end tonight, the entire empire will be engulfed in civil war.’
In all these circumstances, I also realized that the emperor’s restraint was right.
‘The guards were a group that could stab the emperor in the back if given the right reason and opportunity.’
Let’s think about it from the ruler’s perspective. The emperor would have wanted to gradually replace the unstable military group. He would have wanted to fill the gap with perfect soldiers who would not betray like shadows. It was a long process.
… … But a remarkable man named Heilas appeared and took control of the guards.
We can’t just leave Heilas alone when we’re about to go to war with another country. If Heilas wants to, he can lead about 30% of the guards and create his own warlord. That’s 30% at best. If we put more effort and time into controlling the guards, it’s possible to get more than half of them.
‘The problem with Heilas is that he was too good.’
My intervention led to the worst possible outcome: civil war.
‘The worst situation for the entire empire.’
But I decided not to care about that.
‘A vision and judgment that sees far into the distance. And a cause.’
I know that it is right. But I have no intention of accepting it even if it weighs me down. I am not a politician, but a human being who crawls on the floor and lives moment by moment.
I wish Heilas lived and did not die. I wish Giselle did not grieve. I wish the Custoria family, who accepted me as a family, would survive.
That’s why I have to fight.
Kiing, King.
The guardsmen on Frances’ side drew their weapons at the front. As expected of guardsmen, they were all armed with different weapons. They were all armed with melee weapons and firearms to their liking.
Swaaaaaaah!
The rain that was thought to have stopped pouring down. Akbaran, which had been lukewarm due to geothermal power generation, was slowly cooling down during the storm.
Gurrrrrr!
Lightning strikes.
There will probably be divisions throughout Akbaran. One or two of the scattered units will have heard Heilas’ transmission. Of course, there will also be many who will remain silent, watching, or remaining neutral.
The guards guarding the Arc de Triomphe also waited for us, ready for battle. They were disciplined, as if they were having a match rather than a battle.
“Lukaus, you protect His Majesty. You are only a cadet, so you have no need to get involved in the internal strife of the Royal Guard.”
The senior guard stepped forward, leaving me with some words. He was telling me to guard, to wait in the rear.
From here on out, it was a civil war between the guards. Francec’s army was just waiting, without anyone having made any arrangements.
The civil war of the guards, where superhumans gather, becomes a melee battle mixed with close-range and long-range combat. This is due to their characteristics of extremely outstanding individual skills. Even if Francek’s hastily assembled unit intervenes, it will not be of much help.
Thud, thud.
The guardsmen, divided into two camps, walked toward each other.
Ah, this sight is one of the reasons why Heilas surrendered to the Emperor. He would have hated seeing his guards split in half and fighting more than anyone else.
The hundred or so guards gathered here were a microcosm of chaos. The guards scattered throughout Akbaran, and even the guards dispatched to the outskirts of the empire, must also be experiencing chaos.
Too- Woong!
A dull gunshot rang out. The shock bullets that reminded me of Ruina hit the guards in the front line. I could guess the destructive power from the sound waves.
The guardsmen rushed forward at the sound of gunfire. The merciless firearms made in the Imperial workshops belched out flames and energy. Melee weapons, each suited to their fighting style, cut and crushed bodies.
Kang! Thud!
There were no loud shouts or screams typical of battlefields. Only gunshots, the sound of weapons, and the occasional squeals of the rain. It was a quiet battlefield, making it hard to believe that the best of the empire were fighting each other.
But they were obviously killing each other.
The dying man calmly accepted the end, and the one who took his brother’s life with his own hands only moved forward desperately.
I imagined it. It would be repulsive to kill a fellow cadet who had been with me for only a few years. I couldn’t even imagine the guilt they would feel.
My heart was pounding and I wanted to throw up. As my thoughts became faster and deeper, the dark feeling inside me grew.
The feeling of wealth grew and reached a critical point.
Snap.
The vessel inside me is breaking. Blood is flowing out through the cracks. The sticky blood is black and decaying.
I was so sensitive to the stench of others… … but why didn’t I know that I was rotting away?
“Ugh.”
I covered my mouth and swallowed the gag. I was so shocked that I was shocked.
‘This sight is my karma and sin.’
If I hadn’t intervened, the guardsmen wouldn’t have killed each other like that.
‘Helas didn’t want to see that, so he figured out a way to end it with only a few sacrifices. I ruined that.’
This is all my doing. They are killing each other because of me.
The debt and guilt inside me snowballed.
I am a short-sighted person, and I only grieve over the deaths of those close to me.
But the Royal Guard is the only organization I feel a sense of belonging to. They were dying in vain because of me. I know better than anyone how much difficult training and process they went through to get to that position.
‘This is… …the heart of an ordinary person.’
The emotions I had kept shut were slowly awakening. The aversion to murder that I had forgotten was also raising its head.
I wasn’t strong. My hormones were just out of whack from the chemotherapy. It’s natural for humans to have an aversion to killing.
I didn’t feel guilty about killing because I only thought of those in the Royal Guard as human beings like me. I was able to be insensitive to murder because I considered everyone else to be inhumane.
Guilt is a terrible emotional punishment. It cannot be defeated or eliminated.
Woooooooooo!
The legions clashed. A mournful roar mixed with mechanical sounds spread out. The weapons of the same kind clashed and shattered. Soon, they aimed for each other’s heads with their fists.
The legion shattered. The shrapnel from the loud noise struck my brain like a piercing wound.
If I close my ears, I won’t be able to see their despair and sadness. But I have to see them. It’s my responsibility.
“Wow!”
I stumbled and vomited through my fingers. Francesque was flustered, but pretended not to see me.
‘Until just now, I thought Francesque was weak because she was in despair over her family’s betrayal.’
But I was no different. I was a fool who didn’t even have the courage to face my sins.
You’ve been acting like you know everything, Luca.
It was so funny. I was just this much of a human being.
‘I’m sorry…….’
I too was a terrible human being, deserving of contempt.
Kiiing!
A sharp sound echoed through the sky. I, whose hearing is extremely sensitive, was the first to hear the sound and raised my head.
The others’ eyes also turned to the sky. The sound of tearing was becoming clearer. But there was nothing visible.
‘Perhaps beyond the clouds and the typhoon… … .’
What could have happened at such a high altitude that it was not even affected by the storm?
Kiiiiiiiiing-!!
The thunderous roar sounded like it would tear apart even a thunderstorm. I temporarily covered my ears because I thought I would lose my auditory vision. But the sound was not completely buried.
Kiiiiiing!
The sound of tearing echoed. Something was falling from the sky above Akbaran.
Kwaaaaaang!
It felt like a meteor had fallen around the Arc de Triomphe. The impact of the fall was so loud that it caused a lot of vibration.
The irregular falls occurred more than twenty times.
Ugh, ugh.
I opened my blocked ears and widened my auditory field of vision to the maximum. Something was moving from the impact site.
The only thing that could withstand this level of impact was a Legion-class armored vehicle. And even that required a special design for high-altitude assaults.
Ss …
A cool mechanical sound was heard from all directions.
The armored body captured by the auditory vision resembled the Legion, but was subtly different. Above all, the Royal Guard did not have any high-altitude assault units. No, no unit in the Imperial Army could use such high-altitude assault tactics.
A special elite unit that does not exist in terms of organization. If you think about it through the method of elimination, it is nothing more than the shadow of the emperor.
Cheeeeeee.
The fallen armor was hot from the friction heat of the air. The rainwater evaporated as soon as it touched the outer armor.
The armored corps approached the Franciscan troops as if they were surrounding them, ignoring the fighting of the Royal Guards that was in full swing.
“I, I will protect you first!”
The officers who belatedly realized the appearance of the hostile armored body shouted and commanded the soldiers. However, even before they started fighting, the soldiers were overwhelmed by the overwhelming power of the armored body.
“Phew… … .”
I took a deep breath and prepared for battle. They were clearly after Frances. Even if I tried my best, there was little chance of successfully escorting her. But somehow… … .
Beep.
In the meantime, my terminal rang. I don’t know who sent it because the network and communication were in shambles.
Since I have no vision, I couldn’t see the words, so I played them back to me. The contents of the message came out through the communicator mounted on the back of my protective gear.
-Your crazy strategy worked, Luca.
It was a neutral, mechanical sound. But the content alone reminded me of a man.
‘Kinuan… … .’
Kinuan gently pushed the last piece in.