Chapter 26. The End of the Rus Kingdom (1)

Vladimir stabbed the king.

Although it was a completely unexpected situation, it was by no means a bad situation for me.

"General?"

"Vladimir!"

Instead of being flustered, I immediately snatched the sword Anna was wearing, shouted Vladimir's name as if my eyes had rolled back in anger, and moved as if I was about to rush towards the throne.

Not being angry in this situation would be strange in itself.

I could be coldly angry rationally, but then to someone who doesn't know the circumstances, it might look like I'm not very angry.

"...You can't, General!"

"Let go, let go! That bastard right now!"

There's the disadvantage of having to act as if I can't control my emotions, but with Anna there to hold me back, the risk was very low.

Forcibly taking Anna's sword was also to guide her movements.

If I had calmly asked to borrow her sword, given Anna's usual attitude, she might have just handed it over.

However, if I act as if I've lost my reason?

Anna is quick-witted and sharp-minded.

She probably knows that rather than immediately killing the nobles who committed treason, it's better to capture them as prisoners, take their testimonies, and then execute them publicly.

"Come and grab him!"

After the soldiers approached close enough to sufficiently stop me, I tried to shake off the soldiers with all my might as if I was about to kill Vladimir right away.

"We must kill them all, every last one!"

"Not now! Those traitors, capture and tie them up!"

"Yes!"

"Let me go!"

While I was expressing my anger, Anna directed the soldiers to bind Vladimir and the nobles beside him who were flustered, not knowing what to do.

As they were people without even the courage to choose suicide, they were easily neutralized without significant resistance.

After struggling for a while, thinking it was enough by now, I relaxed my body.

"Have you calmed down?"

Seeing that I seemed to have calmed down, Anna, who had been giving instructions to the soldiers, approached and quietly asked.

Looking now, there were four soldiers who rushed at me.

Although I moved carefully so they wouldn't get hurt, the soldiers were drenched in sweat from restraining my struggles.

"I'm sorry. I showed an unsightly appearance."

"...They will all be publicly executed in front of everyone anyway. There's no need to stain your hands with their dirty blood, General."

"That's right. For what they've done, we shouldn't give them a clean death. Thank you, Anna."

"...Yes."

I watched for a moment as Vladimir, the biggest contributor to this situation, was dragged away tied with ropes.

The end of the man who was closest to being the real power in the kingdom was treason.

The sight of him, the symbol of noble power, being captured by soldiers gave a strange feeling.

Unlike the other nobles who were making excuses saying they had no intention of committing treason, he quietly followed the soldiers' guidance with a relieved expression.

I suppose there's no room for excuses since his whole body is soaked in the king's blood.

Some soldiers, along with servants, were retrieving the king's body that had fallen below the throne.

Since our justification was rooting out and punishing traitors, we needed to treat that body properly.

"Hah..."

Thanks to Vladimir, the king who bound me disappeared, and the justification for purging the nobles I didn't like became certain.

Now all that's left is cleaning up.

I just need to resolve this situation, select appropriate forces, and depart for the empire.

Just then, on the mini-map, several huge groups mixed with red, gray, and green were approaching the palace.

"I should talk with the other corps commanders."

"...Understood."

The justification is clear, and we've finished taking control of the palace.

Now I just need to secure authority in a legal way and wield it appropriately.

---

Since Anna was still the 1st Corps commander, Viktor moved troops in the form of advising Anna.

The Royal Guard was completely disarmed, herded into barracks, and placed under surveillance.

Although they came out cooperatively, this was following Viktor's opinion that they could betray at any time.

Afterwards, to avoid provoking the approaching 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Corps, the 1st Corps left only a small force in the palace and pulled back their army to a certain distance.

In response, the other corps seemed to want to observe the situation, stopping their forces at a place slightly apart from where the 1st Corps was positioned and sending messengers to the palace.

The messengers conveyed that they had received orders to suppress the 1st Corps for rebellion, and Anna persuaded them by showing the assassinated king and Vladimir.

The messengers were easily convinced, and after explaining the situation in detail, Anna proposed a meeting with the corps commanders.

To avoid feeling threatening to the corps commanders, the meeting place was set as the square in front of the palace, which was at a distance from where the main force of the 1st Corps was located.

Anna and Viktor waited for them in the square with only a few officers.

Viktor kept watching the mini-map, thinking of immediately joining with the main body of the 1st Corps if troops from other corps moved, but fortunately, the corps commanders responded to the meeting proposal and departed.

Shortly after, the corps commanders arrived at the meeting place with a small force.

"...Viktor. I heard you had returned to Zabinsk, but I didn't expect you to be here."

"It's been a while, Alexandrov Kalichin. Coincidentally, I was staying with the 1st Corps when we were attacked, so I asked the 1st Corps commander for permission to accompany them. It's treason, they say, so I couldn't just sit still."

"I see..."

The 4th Corps commander, who had been friendly to Viktor from before, briefly conversed with him and dismissed his suspicions.

Other corps commanders also knew that Viktor was staying with the 1st Corps, so they didn't find it strange that he was here with Anna, the 1st Corps commander.

"Treason, what on earth happened?"

"Vladimir Savinkov raised a rebellion and assassinated His Majesty the King."

After all the other corps commanders arrived, Anna explained in detail the process of the rebellion that started with the Royal Guard's attack.

"...It can't be."

To ensure they could dismiss even the slightest doubt, she brought and showed the nobles including Vladimir as evidence of the rebellion.

"Vladimir, did you really...?"

"..."

Even Yuri Igorev, the 2nd Corps commander who had been doubting until the end, gave up his suspicions when he saw Vladimir, whose clothes were soaked in blood, just bowing his head silently.

"Well, really..."

"This is shocking. And we don't even have a suitable successor."

While the other corps commanders were flustered by this unprecedented situation of treason, Anna stepped forward.

"The reason I called you to this negotiation table is to propose the formation of a temporary council to suppress additional confusion and root out all traitors."

"...A council."

"If it's a council, how will the members be composed?"

"According to Vladimir's confession, most of the nobles staying in the capital are involved in this rebellion. For now, we who are certainly not involved in the rebellion need to resolve the situation."

Although they had suppressed Vladimir's rebellion, the king was dead and the nobles were not in a position to govern.

According to the law, Anna argued that until a suitable leader was selected, a council composed of corps commanders should lead the Rus Kingdom.

"Once the court stabilizes, this temporary council will also be dissolved."

Following Viktor's advice, Anna continued the meeting in a manner befitting a corps commander, even if temporary.

"I understand."

"I agree."

Although the 1st Corps had pulled back some of their forces, since they were the first to respond to the rebellion.

When the commander of the 1st Corps, currently the most powerful, proposed forming a council, the other corps commanders who were worried that the 1st Corps might monopolize power immediately agreed.

After everyone agreed, Yuri Igorev, the 2nd Corps commander, raised his hand.

"Who would be good as the head of the council?"

At his words, all the corps commanders focused their attention.

The head of the council.

Given that the council members are the corps commanders of each corps, the head of the council they follow becomes a position that can move the main force of the Rus Kingdom.

Depending on who is appointed to that position, it could determine the civilian or military support for the council, and the future direction of the Rus Kingdom, so it's an important position.

Even Yuri and Pavel, who had desires for power, couldn't carelessly recommend themselves for that position.

"...I have a person to nominate."

When everyone was lost in thought, Alexandrov was the first to stand up.

"There is a person who can become the focal point of the army and whom all the people of the Rus Kingdom would support."

"...It can't be."

He nodded once at Anna's gaze and opened his mouth.

"I recommend Viktor, who was the interim commander-in-chief, as the head of the council."

"Viktor?"

"I agree."

As soon as the name came out, Anna expressed her agreement, and none of the officers who followed them objected to this opinion.

Although it was possible due to the special situation of wartime, he was a person who had commanded all corps as the commander-in-chief.

His leadership, ability, and reputation should be considered already proven, so it would be difficult for there to be a better candidate than Viktor.

Yuri and Pavel fell into deep thought.

They didn't want to stop at just temporarily resolving the confusion.

As they were ambitious and constantly looking for opportunities to grasp power, they had to think even beyond the stabilization of the Rus Kingdom.

"I agree as well."

"Let's reinstate him with the council's authority and select him as the head of the council."

The corps commanders who had been thinking deeply finally agreed to select Viktor as the chairman.

Although it's called a temporary council, given that many nobles were involved in the treason, the council will fill those vacancies for a while.

As there are no forces that can voice different opinions, the head of the council will exercise authority almost as great as a king.

The important point was that Viktor was a person who would eventually return to the empire in the near future.

The Rus Kingdom is in an unprecedentedly chaotic situation.

If he doesn't return, the empire could immediately attack using the breach of negotiations as a reason, and everyone knows this danger.

With high probability, Viktor will return to the empire on his own, and even if he doesn't, they can forcibly send him back using the empire's threat as justification.

Yuri and Pavel thought they could use his name to roughly stabilize the kingdom for now, and then ascend to the chairman position after he leaves.

They also lacked confidence in persuading other corps right away.

There was also the calculation that Anna, the 1st Corps commander who is currently in an advantageous position, is ultimately a commoner, so it wouldn't be difficult for them, as one of the few remaining high-ranking nobles, to ascend to the chairman position.

Not knowing what thoughts Viktor harbored inside, they decided on Viktor as the chairman.

"Since everyone has agreed, we will reinstate General Viktor to the position of commander-in-chief and then recommend him as the chairman of the council."

"Very well."

Without saying a single direct word, Viktor became the chairman of the temporary council, and the nearly 30,000 troops of the Rus Kingdom fell into his hands.

Hiding the laughter that was about to burst out, he humbly said he wasn't suitable for such a position, but eventually took the baton of command, unable to resist the pleas of the corps commanders and officers.

"I will declare a state of emergency and release soldiers within Zabinsk to find any remaining traitors."

He began to take the final steps towards the destruction of the Rus Kingdom.