Do Your Own Revolution

1#171

The rage burning in his head was momentary.

After observing the situation, Count Reznov easily regained his composure.

‘The negotiations with the Margrave failed. The original goal, Korhonen’s imprint, is already broken. However…’

The surprise operation itself was successful, and he was positioned at the heart of Korhonen territory.

As a seven stroke mage who had reached the core, this war was as good as over.

“Defeat? Don’t make me laugh.”

A faint curve drew across the Count’s lips.

A laugh.

“One dying old man, one crippled halfwit, and a toy that halfwit controls… How absurd.”

“……”

“Even if you caught me from behind, do you think you can win against me with such meager forces?”

“Of course.”

Click.

With Reina’s words, the automaton she controlled assumed a combat stance.

The eerie operational sound of two mana cores resonating.

And the magical power surging within.

It was too dangerous to be dismissed as a mere toy.

“I don’t need to subdue or overwhelm you.”

“What?”

“All I need to do right now is keep you tied down here.”

The doll lowered its stance, ready to pounce at any moment.

“The rest is for the territory’s people fighting at the frontlines to resolve.”

The next instant.

The blade that emerged from the doll’s arm flew toward the Count’s nape.

Clang-!

Sparks flew in the air with the sound of collision.

It was a flawless surprise attack that even the Count himself had to admire.

An attack so swift it would have been impossible to block without prior preparation.

“You wench…!”

Count Reznov raised his sword and gritted his teeth.

This doll’s movements weren’t those of something that had fought for just a day or two.

Clang clang clang—!

In that brief moment, relentless exchanges of blows passed between the doll and the Count.

Though Reznov’s magic imprint wasn’t suited for combat, the magical power within was real.

His blade, enhanced by magical power and honed through years of training, was handling the doll’s attacks without much difficulty.

‘However…’

Despite fending off the doll’s attacks, the Count’s face was filled with dismay.

Reina’s doll relentlessly pressed against him.

While blocking wasn’t difficult, breaking through was equally challenging.

‘I’m getting caught up.’

Even as he crossed blades with the doll, part of the Count’s consciousness was directed toward the territory’s outskirts where battle raged.

The knights of House Reznov who obeyed his commands.

As he realized their numbers were gradually dwindling, Count Reznov gritted his teeth.

‘Why? The magic circuit output and formula precision should be far more advantageous on our side…!’

No, in fact, the Count himself knew the reason better than anyone else.

The Reznov Knight Order was an army that absolutely obeyed his commands.

Living dolls that waited only for orders without making their own judgments.

Machines without emotion that didn’t fear death, didn’t question unjust orders, and carried out commands no matter what.

Therefore, to properly operate this Knight Order, the Count’s consciousness needed to be fully focused on the knights.

Now, distracted by fighting Reina’s doll, he couldn’t issue complex commands like formation changes or flanking maneuvers.

‘In contrast, Korhonen’s automatons…’

If the Margrave’s words were true, the situation at the territory’s outskirts was hopeless.

Unlike the knights who only fought according to his orders, Korhonen’s automatons could continue fighting while making independent judgments.

The dwindling number of knights was proof of this.

Their combat experience and group tactics gained from fighting monsters were overcoming the disadvantages in magical power and formulas.

Clang–!

The Count concentrated magical power at a single point to push away Reina’s doll.

However, he had to finally acknowledge it.

His plan to occupy Korhonen had failed.

‘I don’t have the luxury of persisting in a battle without prospects.’

If he were a hardcore magic noble like Sutherland, he probably wouldn’t have judged it this way.

Claiming that magic nobles cannot be defeated.

Insisting they wouldn’t fall to such cowardly tactics, dragging out a hopeless fight.

But he was different.

His primary concern was practical benefit, not honor.

As long as he survived, there would be a next time.

‘I must retreat to my territory and devise Countermeasures. Then…’

It’s time to use my hidden card.

With that thought, the Count extended his hand with a sinister smile.

Whoosh-!

“…!”

Magical power spread in all directions, gradually taking control of the space.

“Reina.”

As he noticed the strange sensation rising from the magic circuit, Kassel, who had been watching the battle, warned Reina.

“It’s a [Domain].”

“…!”

House Reznov’s magic imprint, [Wandering Troupe of the Gray Castle]

The domain unleashed by that imprint began to envelope the entire castle.

And the effect of this domain was…

Step. Step.

“?!”

Sensing a presence behind her, Reina’s shoulders jolted.

The footsteps echoing through the mansion floor were all too familiar ones of her comrades.

However, hearing them made Reina clench her teeth.

“Ah… Aah…”

The figures approaching slowly with raised swords.

They were the Korhonen knights the Count had killed when he infiltrated the castle.

“I processed the dead knights’ bodies into dolls.”

They’ll collapse within an hour, but they should be enough to tie down that automaton.

“You…!”

“From what I observed, the Margrave seems quite attached to his subordinates.”

You soft-hearted hypocrites.

The Count spoke with a sinister smile.

“Surely you can’t carelessly handle the knights you cherished so…”

However, just as the Count’s words reached that point.

Crunch-!

Reina’s automaton rushed forward without hesitation and smashed the knights’ heads.

Thud!

The knights’ bodies fell, losing balance.

“…Huh?”

Seeing this, Count Reznov frowned in disbelief.

“While you conducted your pathetic research from the safety of your rear, we fought against monster invasions for decades.”

The one who spoke to the Count was Margrave Kassel, seated behind.

Beyond his mask, the Margrave’s eyes were filled with undisguised anger.

“Those infected by monsters become new monsters, and these transformed monsters climb the walls to spread contamination throughout the territory.”

“……”

“Among them, many retained their consciousness to distract the knights guarding the walls.”

It was a sight both Reina and Kassel had seen until they were sick of it.

Soldiers crying out, begging to be killed.

Swollen backs with monster larvae writhing inside.

A horrific sight that every knight guarding the Korhonen wall had witnessed at least once.

Yet paradoxically, those terrible days had severely tempered the minds and bodies of Korhonen’s people.

To destroy their comrades’ corpses without hesitation.

To give them the courage to free their monster-infected family and friends from their suffering.

“In Korhonen, destroying the corpses of friends, subordinates, and family is nothing out of the ordinary.”

“But it created a momentary opening.”

In that instant when the automaton’s attention turned to the knights.

The Count, not missing this gap, immediately rushed toward Reina who was guarding the mansion entrance.

“If I can’t break through the doll, killing its controller will solve everything!”

“…!”

The Count’s desperate strike aimed at Reina’s face, and.

Clang-!

What the blade struck was a worn automaton that appeared before Reina.

With its crude, unfinished structure.

This thing, closer to scrap metal than a doll, creakily blocked the Count’s attack.

“Doll control?”

The Count’s face filled with shock.

Was Lady Reina controlling another doll?

No, that wasn’t it.

The old doll stumbling as if about to fall at any moment.

The magical power controlling this doll wasn’t flowing from Princess Reina, but from Margrave Kassel.

‘But how? The Margrave’s imprint surely…!’

Before the frustration of failing his surprise attack, a mage’s curiosity blocked his path.

“This is why young people these days are problematic…”

The one who answered such doubts was Kassel himself, who was controlling the doll.

“Neglecting the fundamentals and chasing only immediate benefits, that’s why you don’t even know this much.”

“What did you say?”

Hearing Kassel’s voice, the Count’s gaze slowly turned to where the Margrave sat.

The Margrave wearing a bitter smile beneath his mask.

Where he sat, a magic circle drawn with chalk was glowing.

“An imprint is merely a tool to use magic more conveniently.”

“…!”

“Originally, this is how magic is used.”

Doll control formula.

The most basic formula stored in a one stroke imprint.

“Even I, the head of a distinguished magic house, am just a halfwit who can barely move even this doll properly. Without the tool called an imprint, humans are merely beings capable of this much.”

Muttering thus, the Margrave spoke to Count Reznov.

It was a continuation of their conversation before the battle began.

“And what? Chosen ones? Noble bloodline? Don’t make me laugh.”

“……”

“Our power is merely the result amplified by the tool called an imprint. You and I, in essence, are no different from any other human.”

Just ordinary people who happened to be lucky enough to hold tools beyond their station.

Which part of those words struck a nerve with the Count?

Forgetting even the immediate situation before him, Count Reznov raised his voice in objection.

“The history of creating and maintaining imprints is real!”

“Then, was the creation of that imprint solely your ancestors’ achievement?”

Looking at the Count who was at a loss for words, the Margrave’s smile deepened.

“I doubt it.”

Speaking thus, the Margrave looked at the young mage with complicated eyes.

“Crossing generations and classes. A tool born through the intellect and techniques of countless people. That is what a magic imprint is.”

“…!”

“Then what exactly are magic nobles?”

“Humans who can use magic imprints most efficiently. Nothing more, nothing less.”

A tool to select those born with magical power and have them protect people from threats.

That’s why he inherited the magic imprint and protected Korhonen for so long.

To fulfill his mission as a tool.

“You received your noble title not because you were noble, but simply because you were useful.”

“…!”

“And now the Empire is where these tools are devouring their masters.”

Is it the fault of tools given power beyond their worth?

Or is it the fault of humans who have long relied on these convenient tools?

He doesn’t know the answer.

However, one thing.

He knows what he must do here and now.

“……”

Kassel looked at Reina’s face, who would carry on the next generation.

Thousands of automatons protecting Korhonen.

Controlling them alone to protect the territory had been the lord’s duty passed down from ancestors.

‘But that duty must end with my generation.’

He rejected that.

Instead of entrusting all burdens to his daughter, he passed the automatons and imprints to the territory’s people.

So they could choose Korhonen’s future without him themselves.

And this is likely no different from what his friend, Emperor Friedrich, wanted.

Just as he placed Korhonen in their hands.

The Emperor too tried to place Kalhyram in the hands of the Imperial people.

For a world where people grasp their flames and pioneer their own future.

“Therefore…”

For such a world.

“Outdated tools that have served their purpose must be broken quickly.”

“…!”

Those words spoken toward the magic noble.

With them, Reznov opened his imprint to maximum output and rushed at Kassel.

The Count charged at him, having forgotten even his original purpose of escape.

“Father!”

Reina’s automaton following behind.

But the timing was too late.

Having deployed his Domain, the Count’s magical power must be nearly depleted.

While Reina’s automaton could easily catch Reznov, it couldn’t protect him.

‘Is this as far as I go.’

He had no regrets.

Having succeeded in luring the Count with his words, he had fulfilled his role.

‘The flame of the era has been passed on. Now what I must do is…’

Just as the Margrave thought this and slowly closed his eyes.

Boom—!

The right outer wall of the mansion exploded entirely, and the view was dyed red with flames amid the explosion.

Dense smoke, heat, and pressure.

Opening his tightly closed eyes, there appeared a familiar uniformed back.

“Whew-!”

Special Magical Power Unit Assault Battalion Commander, Ortega Han.

Breaking in from outside the mansion, he had sent the charging Count flying.

“Cough… Cough…!”

The Count, his body in tatters from the surprise attack from the side.

Seeing this, the Margrave asked Ortega who had appeared before him.

“Weren’t you supposed to have returned?”

“With the Knight Order pushing into the territory? If I returned ignoring that, Eugene would probably have me shot. And…”

Speaking in a tone devoid of any trace of formality or courtesy.

Ortega dusted off his hands to clear the smoke and added one more thing to the Margrave.

“I had remaining orders from the commander. I had something to tell you, but I forgot about it.”

“Something to tell me?”

“Yes.”

Answering thus, Ortega turned his head and delivered Eugene’s message.

“His Majesty wishes for both Margraves to survive.”

“…!”

“He says he needs someone to tell him about the changed Empire.”

Eugene’s message flowing from Ortega’s lips.

The Emperor’s words to him, delivered through Eugene’s mouth.

“Ha… Hahaha…!”

With a light-hearted laugh, Kassel was lost in thought for a moment.

“Freddie.”

That brilliant time.

That day when they resolved to change the Empire.

He felt as if he had returned to that day right now.

“You stupid fool.”

After laughing for a while, Margrave Kassel said thus.

A petty farewell to his friend who had departed first.

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