Monarch Chapter 199 (Patreon)

Chapter 199

Ludwig froze as soon as General Raul mentioned such a possibility.

Could there really be a way to reach the inner city through the sewers?

The thought seemed absurd at first, but the more Ludwig considered it, the more sense it began to make.

The underground network beneath the Godless Ruins was enormous, and considering how old the city was, there was no reason to assume it was only used for sewage.

If the city had once stretched across the entire region, then the underground passages should have spread with it. Some of those passages might have connected the outer city to the inner city, perhaps even providing a route that had been forgotten by everyone except those who had discovered it long ago.

And if the Valerians were trying to use such a route, then they might be in the inner city sooner than Raul had expected.

Ludwig's expression hardened.

If that was the case, then the possibility that they were also searching for the Lost Sanctum could no longer be ignored.

There was no reason for a small group of soldiers to spend an entire day inside an abandoned sewer unless they had a reason to be there, and if they had somehow learned about a route leading into the inner city, then their objective suddenly became much clearer.

Thinking about it, Ludwig immediately spoke.

"Then we need to block their paths, General. I'm sure we can set up an ambush. Although they have scouts, they aren't better than us, other than that one soldier. We can avoid him."

Raul didn't answer immediately.

He continued smoking, his eyes fixed on the broken window in front of him.

Ludwig could tell from his expression that the general had already been thinking along the same lines, but there was something holding him back.

After a few moments, Raul finally spoke.

"But it won't change the outcome, will it?" Ludwig remained silent. "If we kill this warband and the prince, there's no saying that more won't come. In fact, they might send even more."

Ludwig lowered his eyes. "We would only be buying ourselves time."

"Exactly."

The single word was enough to confirm that Raul had reached the same conclusion.

Ludwig understood the problem. They had no idea whether there was a larger Valerian force somewhere nearby.

The warband inside the ruins was relatively small, but that didn't mean it represented the entirety of Valeria's forces in the region.

If they killed the third prince, the situation would become even worse. A prince dying inside the Godless Ruins could easily become the spark that started a full-blown war between the two powers, something the empire had no desire to provoke without a reason.

Capturing him would create its own problems.

A prince wasn't the sort of prisoner they could simply lock away and forget about.

His existence would become a political issue the moment word reached Valeria, and keeping him alive would mean maintaining a force capable of guarding him while negotiations took place.

None of those outcomes were particularly appealing.

Ludwig nodded slowly and said, "But if we reach the sanctum first, none of that might matter."

Raul's eyes narrowed slightly.

The Lost Sanctum wasn't merely another ruin filled with forgotten artifacts. The empire had spent considerable resources finding it because of what was believed to be hidden inside.

The information they had obtained suggested that the treasures left behind by the Sage could change the balance of power between nations.

If they obtained them, the empire would have the strength to deal with whatever followed.

Even a war with Valeria would become a far less frightening prospect.

At least, that was the confidence everyone involved in the expedition had been operating under.

They had come this far because they believed the treasures of the sanctum were worth the risks they were taking.

But if the Valerians were already moving toward the same objective, then dealing with them couldn't be delayed for long.

Thinking about it, Ludwig asked the question he was certain Raul had already considered.

"Do you think they have more information than us, General?"

Raul snorted. That was as good as a confirmation.

"They might have gotten it from the same source as us," Raul said. "Though in the end, we got ours through more forceful means."

Ludwig didn't react, but in his mind, he wondered if that had been the wrong choice.

Their information about the Lost Sanctum had not been obtained peacefully.

The empire had gone to considerable lengths to acquire it, and the methods used to obtain it were not something Ludwig wanted to think about.

"If they know a way through the sewers," Raul continued, "then they might know the exact location of the sanctum too." Ludwig's expression became more serious. "In the end, we only know the way to get inside of it."

Ludwig nodded, thinking over the implications.

That was certainly true. They had information regarding how the Lost Sanctum could be entered, but knowing the entrance and knowing how to reach it were two very different things.

If the Valerians had obtained information from the same source, then perhaps they knew just as much as the empire did.

And if their information was different, they might know even more.

"Then what are we going to do with them?" Ludwig asked.

Raul didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he stood and walked toward the broken window. From there, he could see the temporary camp outside.

Soldiers were scattered throughout the area, some resting against damaged walls while others sat together and ate. A few were checking their weapons, while others simply lay on the ground with their eyes closed.

They looked exhausted.

The inner city had taken a massive toll on them.

Raul stared at them for several seconds before finally speaking.

"We need to get both their information and finish their fighting force at the same time."

Ludwig's eyes narrowed. "Then we would have to get our forces back to the outer city, General."

Raul immediately shook his head. "That's not possible."

Ludwig waited for him to continue.

"I want my men used to the mana pressure," Raul said. "If we send them back, they'll have to familiarise themselves with this environment again when they return. Their bodies have already begun adapting to it even if it's just a little. Sending them away now would only waste that progress."

Ludwig understood the reasoning.

The pressure of the inner city wasn't something a person could simply ignore.

Even with the protective artifacts and potions, their bodies had needed time to adjust to moving and fighting under those conditions. The longer they remained, the easier it became to endure.

Returning to the outer city would mean losing some of that adaptation.

"There needs to be something else," Raul said.

After that, he fell silent. Ludwig didn't say anything.

The general had advisors, people whose entire purpose was to help him think through situations like this, but Raul himself was more than capable of creating plans.

More often than not, his plans worked, and Ludwig had learned long ago that interrupting him while he was thinking rarely accomplished anything.

So he simply remained where he was.

The silence inside the ruined building stretched on.

Outside, the soldiers continued resting. Smoke from Raul's pipe slowly drifted toward the broken roof.

Ludwig didn't know how long it had been when Raul suddenly straightened.

The frustrated expression that had remained on his face for most of their conversation disappeared.

Instead, a rare smile appeared.

Ludwig immediately knew that the general had thought of something.

"I have a plan."

Ludwig straightened. "What is it, General?"

Raul looked toward him. "We will get the warband to the inner city, then destroy them.”

***

As it turned out, the bathhouses in Blackstone City were some of the best in the kingdom.

Not that Rayne had experienced enough bathhouses to make much of a comparison in the first place.

His life had never exactly given him many opportunities to visit places where bathing could be considered a service rather than a necessity. Still, even he had to admit that the one he had visited was impressive.

The moment he had entered, someone had taken his clothes, another had prepared the water, and before long, he had found himself sitting in a large bath while someone scrubbed away the dirt and grime that had accumulated on him after spending hours inside the sewers.

There had even been a woman who came over to put soap on his back.

Rayne had initially been confused by the service, but apparently, this sort of thing was normal in Blackstone City.

Adventurers were everywhere here, and since most of them had considerably more coin than ordinary soldiers, the businesses catering to them had learned to provide services that would make them willing to spend even more.

If someone had enough money, apparently, they could have almost anything done for them.

Rayne certainly had enough.

He wasn't going to pretend that spending a few silver coins to get properly cleaned after crawling through filthy water and fighting monsters was a bad use of money.

By the time he left, he felt like an entirely different person.

His clothes were clean, his hair had been washed, and most importantly, he no longer smelled like the sewer.

Unfortunately, the comfort didn't last long.

Rayne found himself sitting in another meeting with Prince Caelan before he could properly enjoy it.

This meeting, however, was different from the usual ones. Not all of Caelan's retainers were present.

In fact, several people Rayne hadn't expected to see were sitting in the room.

His own party was here, including Bran, Lyra, Andrew, Nate, Jason, Kesh, and Heins.

But they weren't the only ones.

Weskins was sitting nearby, looking considerably less comfortable than Rayne had ever seen him, while the dwarf Dorin was seated beside him.

Rayne had only seen Dorin occasionally since they had entered Blackstone City.

The dwarf had spent most of his time in a workshop Caelan had arranged for him, repairing weapons and armor whenever necessary.

Rayne had seen the results of his work more than once on other soldiers, but the dwarf himself was usually out of sight.

Other than Prince Caelan himself, they were the only two people in the room who hadn't gone underground with Rayne's group.

Rayne looked at them for a moment before turning toward Caelan.

Before he could ask why they were here, the prince smiled. "You're wondering why these two are here."

Rayne nodded. "I'm also wondering why my party is here."

Bran answered from the side. "We were called here while you were in the bathhouse. We were briefing His Highness on what happened today."

Rayne nodded. That was actually a relief.

He had been expecting to have to explain everything himself again, and while it wasn't exactly difficult to describe what had happened, explaining an entire day's worth of events was surprisingly tiring.

Especially when there were so many details to remember. At least now he wouldn't have to go through the entire thing again.

Caelan waited until Rayne had settled properly before speaking.

"As for why they are here, the reason is simple. We have entered the final phase of our search for the Lost Sanctum."

Rayne's expression became slightly more serious.

Caelan continued. "You have found the way into the inner city. That is half the work." He paused for a moment. "But the other half will be the most important."

His gaze moved across the people gathered in the room.

"Each of you will have to pull your weight."

Rayne didn't find that surprising.

The journey into the inner city would be considerably more dangerous than anything they had experienced so far.

The pressure alone had nearly crushed him when he had tried to climb out of the sewer, and they had no idea what kind of monsters waited beyond the ruined streets.

Caelan had clearly understood the same thing.

"I have given the rest of my retainers other responsibilities," the prince said. "They won't be taking part in this unless you actually locate the sanctum. Until then, they have been lent to Captain Edran."

Rayne nodded.

He had already heard about what the warband was doing.

Apparently, they had discovered a monster nest somewhere in the ruins and were planning to clear it out.

The materials obtained from the monsters would be worth a considerable amount of money, and while they weren't nearly as valuable as the ancient artifacts they had been searching for, there was no reason to leave such a profitable opportunity untouched.

Especially when the warband needed supplies and money regardless of what happened with the sanctum.

Just then, Nate, who was sitting somewhat awkwardly, looking as though he wanted to say something but wasn't entirely sure whether he should, raised his hand slightly.

"Your Highness, if I may speak."

Caelan looked toward him. "Go ahead."

Nate nodded before continuing. "Does this mean Weskins and Dorin will be going with us to the inner city?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Weskins' expression twisted.

For a brief moment, he looked as though someone had just forced him to eat something particularly disgusting.

Dorin, on the other hand, simply snorted.

The prince, however, didn't seem concerned.

"Yes." His answer was immediate. "Both of them will be entering the inner city with you."

At once, everyone froze.