NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: 10. Departure.
"Put down the gun, let them go! Do you want him to kill me?"
Seeing the bone spike that Leon was once again driving towards his neck, Angelo screamed in fear, shouting at the planetary defense army soldiers who were hesitating at the door.
The officer outside the door had been a little hesitant upon hearing Angelo's order.
But upon seeing the fountain-like blood spurting from Angelo's neck, the son of the governor, their nominal leader, he gritted his teeth and asked his soldiers.
"How many elders are still left to be executed?"
"Thirty-seven."
The soldier quickly counted the number and replied.
More than two-thirds.
He felt a sinking feeling in his heart, a number that made him deeply uneasy.
This meant that once these people were released, the elders still loyal to the governor would quickly assemble their forces and march toward the governor's mansion.
But—
"Let them go!"
Hearing the agonizing screams of the acting governor, who sounded like a pig being slaughtered, the officer looked at the soldiers beside him, whose expressions were starting to waver, and gave the order.
Neither he nor the soldiers beside him could afford the consequences of Angelo dying in front of them.
And as the officer had anticipated, after the elders, who had just barely escaped death and witnessed the rebellion, were freed, the first thing they did was contact their loyal military factions outside the capital, ordering them to assemble any available troops and march into the city to suppress the rebellion.
Meanwhile, the officers who had already sensed something was wrong in the city but had been waiting for orders, quickly surrounded the governor's mansion after contacting the elders. They successfully used their numerical advantage to drive the rebels out.
And because the bandit leader had been swiftly dealt with by the spirit accompanying Leon, even Angelo had fallen into Leon's hands.
Many of the elders still loyal to the planetary governor had the feeling that—
"Don't panic, gather the army, secure the capital, contact the governor, hold steady! We can counterattack!"
For example, at this very moment, the fierce gunfire from two opposing forces outside the governor's mansion could be heard.
Standing in front of Leon, trying to persuade him to join them in setting things right, was an elder from the Aurelian family.
"Have you really not considered it?"
Looking at Leon, who had almost immediately turned to leave after politely declining, the seventh elder, who had ascended to his position thanks to inheriting his father's title, twitched the corner of his mouth.
Well, well, even the planetary governor's position isn't enough to attract someone these days?
"Although I cannot participate in your actions, I can leave Angelo for you."
Leon turned his head and glanced at Brino, who was holding two laser guns that she had picked up from the bodies of the fallen guards.
Angelo, covered in blood, was thrown to the ground, bound with ropes. The part of his forehead that had been burned by the barrel of the explosive gun was just starting to scab over with black scars, looking ghastly and terrifying.
"Thank you—"
Leon raised his hand, and the female warrior, who had been teleported here through some sorcery or unknown technology, departed.
The seventh elder noticed the skull pattern on the white linen robes worn by Brino, interwoven with a cross-shaped sword. His pupils suddenly contracted.
This was an ancient attire, worn only by those fanatically loyal to the Divine Emperor before the Imperial Cult had become the official faith.
He looked at Leon with even more caution.
Could it be that the Imperial Cult had been quietly watching the events in the Aurelian family and had used Leon to intervene?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little relieved.
Fortunately, he hadn't immediately turned against this potential agent of the Imperial Cult, the second son of the Aurelian family.
After all, the Aurelian family's attitude toward Leon had always been:
Use any means to make Leon useless and firmly prevent him from getting involved in the family's power.
The family had not yet decided whether to amass strength and continue executing their centuries-old policy of completely conquering the northern barbarians through military force, or to accept the mediation of the Imperial Cult and peacefully assimilate the northern barbarians through marriage and trade.
The Aurelian family's attitude toward Leon was quite contradictory.
But now, it seemed that no matter the outcome of the unrest, the rebellion of the first heir and many of the family's vassals would inevitably plunge the family's rule into long-term turmoil.
This meant that—
Even if Leon were to remain under house arrest within the family, used as a puppet to control the northern barbarians, this had now lost its meaning.
Because the Aurelian family had already lost the power to make their enemies fear them, revealing their weakness.
Hopefully, when Leon returned to his territory, he would rationally reconsider the treatment he had received in the family.
The northern barbarians, once the Aurelian family's greatest threat, would now find Leon, the last remnant of the old empire, increasingly troublesome.
"According to the information just received, the only gateway to the Snowfields, Leitwinter, is still under the control of the rebels—"
The seventh elder, whom Leon didn't remember clearly, but who thus didn't harbor much animosity toward Leon, said this.
"If you don't want to risk crossing the dangerous and cold northern mountains on foot, then the railway to Leitwinter is your best option."
Looking at Leon, who didn't even blink an eye and took the map from his hands without hesitation, the seventh elder could only inwardly sigh.
As for why Leon was leaving so urgently—
He didn't think the loyalists of the Aurelian family had any real chance of victory.
The Holy Covenant Sect—
Leon walked out of the governor's mansion and heard the engine growls of transport vessels in the sky.
The tactical airships speeding overhead still bore the white deer flag of the Aurelian family, without any odd symbols like three circles or the supreme heavenly sigil.
Luckily, the loyalists still seemed to hold air superiority, at least for now.
This meant Leon still had time.
He didn't believe that these optimistic elders of the Aurelian family were any more capable of dealing with the terrifying cults that had once corrupted an entire strong interstellar army and triggered the unprecedented rebellion.
Brino, the warrior at his side, calmly followed behind Leon. She didn't question why Leon had chosen to leave at this moment when the situation appeared so favorable.
As a servant of the Divine Emperor, the moment she was resurrected by Leon, she had automatically regarded him as the earthly embodiment of the Divine Emperor's will.
What she needed wasn't to question, but to unconditionally obey.
"What is your command?"
Seeing Leon stop in the middle of the street, where the fierce crossfire lit up the area, Brino replaced the energy cell in her laser gun, successfully picking off two rebel soldiers trying to sneak up from behind, and asked.
"Go pick up a friend—also, we can get a vehicle and other supplies from her."
Leon looked at the chaotic street and frowned.
The friend Leon referred to was Mireille, whom he had just sent back home.
As Leon's adjutant, Mireille was in charge of managing most of the allowances from his uncles and the Aurelian family.
Unlike Leon, the pampered son, Mireille used her scholarship to buy weapons and equipment for her own training.
And most importantly—
The two holy relics Leon had painstakingly acquired were still stored with Mireille.
.....
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11. The Nun of San Leor.
12. You Really Take Any Job!
13. The Rebels Are Too Cunning!
14. The Sisters.
15. Before the Battle.