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OPI Chapter 301: Echoes of War
🕑 Added 2025-03-08 22:49:34 +0000 UTCMore than a month had passed since Biba and his group arrived in this world of magic.
At first, everyone thought that Prince Wales would quickly defeat the leaderless rebel army. But to everyone's surprise, not only did they not surrender, but their resistance became even fiercer.
Waves of troops emerged incessantly from the north and east, like an unstoppable tide.
Even the common soldiers had completely forgotten the centuries of benevolence of the royal family and, in a hysterical frenzy, mercilessly attacked the prince's soldiers and even his knights.
Now, Prince Wales's forces were cornered in the south-east corner. If they retreated any further, they would fall off the floating island.
Inside the large hall that served as the command room, the tension was suffocating.
Biba was leaning against the wall, calmly watching the heated discussion between the knights surrounding Prince Wales.
For him, the rebels' resistance was no surprise.
It did not matter whether they had been controlled by Cromwell, the rebellion was already a fact.
In this situation, even if Prince Wales promised not to retaliate, the rebellious nobles would never believe him.
Therefore, they could only press on to the end, make one mistake after another, assassinate the prince and completely eradicate the royal bloodline, and then elect a new king from among the great nobles.
This type of revolt, motivated by survival, self-interest and ambition, was much more active than when they were simple manipulated puppets.
If Prince Wales wanted to regain the Kingdom of Albion, he had only one option: eliminate all the nobles in the kingdom, reorganize the political order, and place a new, loyal nobility in power.
To achieve this, he needed one of two things: a large army or overwhelming high-level power.
Unfortunately, he did not possess either of them.
"We have information." At that moment, Tucker entered the room alongside Tengen. "The current leader of the rebels is a woman named Sheffield. She was previously Cromwell's secretary, but somehow managed to rise to power."
Earlier, on Biba's orders, Tengen had captured a rebel leader, and Tucker used his Teigu to read the prisoner's mind and gain information about the enemy.
It was his way of helping Prince Wales.
"I see..." Prince Wales muttered, "It must be the new leader of the Reconquista sect who has manipulated the rebel soldiers."
He knew very well the power that religion could exert over the masses.
It was then that Biba came up and said, "Your Highness, I suggest you withdraw from this kingdom and request military aid from the Kingdom of Tristain to combat the rebels."
"This..." The prince was startled. He had never considered the possibility of leaving his homeland.
The knights around him looked at each other. Retreating was a viable strategy, but none of them dared to support the idea right away. They all waited for the prince's decision.
"If I ask Tristain for help, I'll be bringing war to Henrietta's kingdom. I can't do that!"
Biba sighed at the prince's naivety and asked, "Tell me, what other kingdom would be willing to lend you an army?"
"I..." The prince was speechless.
"Furthermore, a fanatical religious organization like this will not stop after conquering this kingdom. Its expansion is inevitable."
With a calm tone, Biba continued, "You should prepare Tristain for a future invasion."
The prince did not reply. He just stared at the map of the Kingdom of Albion on the table, lost in silence.
...
That night, as he watched the knights pack their belongings and board the magic airship, Biba smiled lightly. His goal was accomplished.
Ever since he discovered that this kingdom was just a floating island, he had wanted to explore the continent below.
"Biba, what are you up to?"
"You said you wanted to use Prince Wales and the power of Albion to gain more information about this world."
"But now you're suggesting that he ask another country for help. We could defeat the rebel nobles with ease!"
At this moment, Horobi appeared behind him, with a serious expression. She always felt that this guy was planning something terrible again.
Because the people of this world could not understand what she said, she did not hide or suppress her words.
"I told you, war is the best way to measure the true strength of this world~" Amidst the hustle and bustle, Biba looked at her with a kind smile.
"You want to spread war across the continent to see what kind of powers emerge in the conflict!" Horobi shook her head and sighed. She couldn't believe that Biba was planning a war between entire nations.
"It's really your style of doing things. As long as you can achieve your goal, you can sacrifice a large number of people at any time. It's just that before you would sacrifice the people of a city at most, but now you have to sacrifice the people of a nation, or even a world."
Biba looked up at the night sky, unfazed. Above his head, two moons shone brightly: one blue and one red.
"We were sent to this completely unknown world, knowing that the world government was prepared to sacrifice us at any moment." He said calmly. "That's how this world is... There must always be someone who will sacrifice themselves."
Around him, Levi, Tengen, and Tucker listened to his words with impassive faces. They didn't need explanations, they already understood this cruel reality all too well.
A few minutes later, Knight Ander arrived to inform them that the magic airship was ready and would officially fly to the Kingdom of Tristain in thirty minutes.
As for the troops that were on the outskirts, resisting the rebel attack...
Nobody expected them. Nobody mentioned them.
They had clearly been sacrificed.
"I guess this is where we say goodbye," Tengen said with his signature beaming smile.
"Fine. Then, I'll leave this to you, Uzui Jonin."
Biba felt that he had to leave someone to receive the World Government's reinforcements when the Dimensional Gate reopened, and Tengen was the perfect candidate.
...
Days later, three magical airships arrived safely at the port town of La Rochelle in the Kingdom of Tristain.
There was a gigantic tree there designated for landing aircraft. However, unlike the leafy tree at the Kingdom of Albion's airport, this one was nothing more than a dry, bare trunk, a truly dead tree.
In fact, it harmonized with the village landscape.
La Rochelle was located in the middle of a mountain range where no vegetation grew. Its surroundings were dominated by greyish mountains with irregular reliefs.
What most caught the attention of Biba, and his group was Knight Ander's explanation.
According to him, the entire town, which housed nearly one hundred thousand inhabitants and covered an area of approximately 700,000 to 800,000 square meters, had been built by a powerful earth mage, who had transformed an entire mountain into buildings.
If this was true, perhaps they had underestimated the power of magic.
...
Meanwhile, at Starfish World...
Rapid and constant development transformed the lives of citizens.
Under the implementation of the Basic Living Conditions Guarantee Act, countless poor maritime residents received housing and jobs suited to their skills.
Medical services were established, and children were enrolled in new public schools. In addition, aid was distributed in the form of clothing, food, medicine and even financial subsidies.
Thanks to these measures, the world government won the hearts of the people at an astonishing speed, quickly forgetting any misgivings they might have had in the past.
Taking advantage of the situation, the Propaganda Department launched a campaign to extol the benefits of conquering other worlds and to make the population understand that this was the reason why they could enjoy a better life.
Support for the war of conquest grew exponentially as a result, generating an atmosphere of fervor throughout all the nations of the Starfish World.
Those who stood up for morality and justice had two options: remain silent and enjoy the improvements or speak out and face the scorn and insults of society.
...
Magical World.
Prince Wales and his entourage, after disembarking in the city of La Rochelle, made a journey on horseback to the capital of the Kingdom of Tristain, Tristania.
Two days later they arrived at the capital, however, their arrival was not received with enthusiasm by the nobility.
Everyone knew that the Kingdom of Albion had completely fallen under the control of the Reconquista sect. As a result, the title of prince no longer meant anything.
And when Prince Wales presented his request for military aid to Cardinal Regent Mazarin and the high command of the army and administration, he met with almost unanimous opposition.
The reasons they gave were obvious: the Kingdom of Albion had a fleet of magical airships, while Tristain did not even have one. The difference in military power was abysmal.
There were even those who suggested capturing Prince Wales and handing him over to the new Albion government in exchange for benefits and resources.
However, Princess Henrietta was firmly opposed to this idea and managed to stifle any intention of betrayal. Nevertheless, the possibility of obtaining reinforcements was ruled out.
Meanwhile, Biba and his group seemed completely oblivious to these political disputes. At the moment, they were visiting the Tristain Magic Academy under the pretext of being a group of foreign scholars.
Although the visit was officially a group visit, only Tucker was participating in the talks with Principal Osmond. Meanwhile, Biba, Horobi, and Levi searched for Louise.
Biba asked her to cast the 'silence spell' on Horobi and Levi as well.
Louise naturally did not refuse and agreed without hesitation, easily solving the communication problem for the two of them with a bang.
They were both amazed.
...
In a corner of the campus, on the grass, a group of people gathered around a fighter aircraft.
"Mr. Hiraga, I understand that this aircraft fighter comes from your world," Biba said, with a kind smile. "Could you tell us what your world is like?"
Then he added: "It would be even better if we could talk in private. I have many questions I would like to ask you."
Saito nodded calmly. "In fact, I'm also curious to know more about this Hinomoto you guys talk about."
"Oh, otherworldly affairs? That sounds fascinating!" Kirche chimed in with a smile. "Can we listen in too?"
"Saito's home…" Louise murmured softly. Then, with determination, she said, "I want to listen too."
"It's okay, there's no problem on my end."
Although Biba would prefer to talk to Saito alone, he can only accept it in this situation, but he needs to pay attention to the words when he talks later.
Chelsea suggested a new place: "Let's go to the library. It's quieter and has private reading rooms."
...
Soon after, Biba, Horobi, Chelsea, Louise, Saito, Tabitha, Kirche, and the maid Siesta gathered in a reading room.
"In my world, there is no such thing as magic or magical creatures, and there is no distinction between nobles and commoners. It is a world that has developed around science and in which equality between all people has been achieved," Saito explained as everyone listened attentively.
During his story, Biba asked him several key questions about the political structure, the technological level, and the existence of beings with extraordinary abilities.
At the same time, the group discovered that the items from this magic-less world were not limited to the fighter aircraft. There were also other artifacts, such as the laptop, which Saito had brought with him when he was transported, and a weapon known as the Staff of Destruction, which was actually a rocket launcher kept in the academy's treasure storehouse.
The rocket launcher was not particularly impressive to Biba, as the World Government also possessed similar weapons. However, what really surprised him was the laptop. Despite having worked for the World Government for almost five years, he had never heard of such a device, or even the concept of a computer.
When Saito took out his laptop, which could no longer turn on due to lack of battery, Biba examined it carefully. Its compact and sophisticated design allowed him to quickly deduce the technological level of Saito's world. Although the political structure seemed similar to that of the Demon Slayer World, the technological development was clearly far superior.
"As for how to return to my world…" Saito paused and looked at Siesta.
She somewhat hesitantly explained, "According to Professor Colbert's hypothesis, we might need to wait for a solar eclipse and, at that time, use the fighter aircraft to fly towards the sun."
Louise was tangled up hearing that. She didn't want Saito to leave, but at the same time, what right did she have to stop him from returning home?
"I see…" Biba murmured thoughtfully.
If that was the only way to get back, that was a big problem. Solar eclipses didn't last long, which meant that once someone crossed over, they would be completely isolated in the other world.
Then, Saito asked a question: "Well, I've already told you about my world. Could you tell me what the Hinomoto you come from is like?"
Horobi and Chelsea exchanged glances.
Biba gave a slight smile and calmly replied, "Of course. Our nation, Hinomoto, is ruled by a Shogun, and I… am the son of the former Shogun."
"Former?" Louise looked at him curiously.
Saito was stunned to hear the word Shogun. As a high school student, he knew perfectly well which historical period that term belonged to.
"Yes. My father, the previous shogun, died in a coup. To save my life, I had to flee abroad," Biba explained his 'misery' with apparent calm.
His words aroused the compassion of Louise and the other girls.
Kirche, moved, stared at him and murmured, "I see... So, that's why they decided to help Prince Wales, who has been through something similar."
However, Horobi, who knew the truth, showed a strange expression.
Because he had led the coup himself and had also assassinated the shogun with his own hands, and he was the one who helped the world government overthrow the old Hinomoto regime.
Saito asked cautiously, "So… you guys can read and speak Japanese too?"
Biba was about to reply when suddenly the door to the reading room was flung open.
The crash made everyone jump. Before Louise or Kirche could even be bothered by the interruption, they saw Guiche rush in with a pale face and shout in despair, "It's a disaster! Albion... no, now called the Kingdom of Reconquista, has declared war on Tristain!"
