Chapter 008: Faith

“Actually… he didn’t have to die!”
Du Fan sighed and spoke in a low voice.
Prince Fischer, standing to the side, stared at the place where the Crown Prince had died, his expression complex. Hearing Du Fan’s words, he replied indifferently, “What did you say?”
Du Fan forced a wry smile and said, “I mean, the Crown Prince really didn’t have to die… Under these circumstances, if he had united the troops under his command and joined forces with us, he might not have been able to defeat the remnants of the Azalea Dynasty, but at least it would have given us a better chance of winning.”
Prince Fischer shook his head. “No… he had to die… Du Fan, you’re not part of the royal family, so you can’t understand… For the royal family, dignity is even more important than the throne… After Duke Belinger revealed these things, he must have realized that my elder brother would surely choose death, because otherwise, he had no other way out… And I think he also felt some guilt, which is why he died so heroically. He wanted to inspire courage in his troops to give us a better chance…”
After a pause, Prince Fischer smiled bitterly again. “To be honest, I’m quite envious of him… He’s dead, and that’s that… In any case, his final actions have earned respect from both sides. He will surely receive a state funeral in the future, while we… though alive, still have to deal with the mess he left behind… Don’t you think I should envy him?”
Du Fan remained silent. Although the Crown Prince was dead now, the situation wasn’t much better than before. With that thought, he shook his head and said softly, “Your Highness, I want to ask you… I see you calculating every move, always keeping the Crown Prince under control. You must have predicted his coup long ago… So, if you had known the coup would turn out like this, would you still have allowed the Crown Prince to carry it out?”
Prince Fischer glanced at Du Fan coldly and suddenly sneered, “Since you’ve already guessed it, why ask me?”
Du Fan smiled bitterly, realizing in his heart that even at this point, Prince Fischer felt not a hint of regret… Even if he knew such an outcome would result, he would still do it…
Because if the Crown Prince hadn’t staged the coup, how could he justify getting rid of him? And if he didn’t get rid of the Crown Prince, how could he justify taking the throne?
Since ancient times, there has been no family affection in imperial families!

From the moment the Crown Prince and Prince Fischer became brothers, this life-and-death outcome was already destined! Thinking of this, Du Fan couldn’t help but sigh and say, “It seems choosing to be a priest was indeed a good decision…” For a while, both of them were lost in their own thoughts. Though the situation ahead grew increasingly tense, it seemed as though neither of them noticed it. After a while, Prince Fischer calmly said, “Alright, Du Fan. It’s better not to overthink things at the moment. Since the remnants of the Bauhinia Dynasty forced my elder brother to his death, there can only be one reason… That is, if my elder brother had escaped alive, their plan would have failed… So, if my calculations are correct, the troops inside the imperial city are all of their forces… They fear that if my elder brother escapes alive, he might return with his troops, so we still have a chance. After all, though the capital is in chaos, it’s still under our control. For now… our strategy should be to buy time. As long as we hold on until dawn, someone will surely notice something amiss.” Du Fan suddenly took a breath. Under such circumstances, Prince Fischer could still remain so calm… In this regard, he was far inferior to him. Even among the most extraordinary strongmen he had ever met, few could compare to him in terms of cunning. With these thoughts, Du Fan couldn’t help but look back and saw that aside from his father and a few others like Chancellor Kimberly, whose expressions remained unchanged, everyone else had strange looks on their faces. But the composure of these important figures was the result of a lifetime of experience, while this Prince Fischer… was still so young… It seemed true, as Oscar had said, that given him another few decades, the Gavin Empire might once again flourish. While Du Fan was pondering, Prince Fischer already whispered to Bishop Aaron beside him, “My Lord Bishop, does the Church have any other plans?” Bishop Aaron also looked troubled. He shook his head slightly and said, “Your Highness, it’s not that there are no plans, but… there’s no way to communicate at the moment. Moreover, the Mage Guild must also have prepared some plans, but most likely they’re aimed at the Holy Church… Even if we manage to communicate, as soon as our people move, the Mage Guild will likely take advantage of the situation. Given the relationship between our two groups, it’s likely we won’t even finish speaking before fighting breaks out… So…”

Prince Fischer nodded and said, “I see… So that means I can only rely on these people at my disposal to hold on right now?”
With that in mind, he glanced at the troops below. Although both Prince Fischer’s army and the former Crown Prince’s forces were instinctively retreating toward the platform, their total number was less than ten thousand… Moreover, after a whole night of fighting, many were already exhausted…
Exhausted infantry trying to fight against cavalry outnumbering them by many times? The chances of success were practically zero…
As for why the enemy hadn’t attacked yet, Prince Fischer understood perfectly.
They were waiting, waiting until his forces had fully retreated, creating space for the cavalry to charge.
But he knew full well that retreating only served to give the enemy an advantage. If his forces remained united, he might still have a chance, but if they were scattered, and the enemy decided to force a melee with their cavalry, he would have no chance at all.
At this point, everything hinged on time.
It seemed many people understood this. The nobles originally loyal to the Crown Prince, protected by the remaining guards, slowly retreated to the edge of the platform. They still remained firmly separated from the nobles loyal to Prince Fischer. Most of the infantry gathered on the flanks of the platform, while only the Knights of the Temple and Hekks’ black-armored troops stood in front of it.
Since both sides had just been fighting, it was inevitable that friction would arise now that they were gathered together.
Prince Fischer frowned from atop the platform, realizing that the enemy had guessed that if his two factions united, morale would surely waver…
Plus, with no time to comfort his soldiers and generals, those rebels, fearing punishment after the battle, would fight poorly…
But these problems could certainly not be solved in an instant.

Prince Fischer spoke these words softly before sighing and saying, “Du Fan, look… Oscar must have taken all our situations into account. That’s why he’s not afraid of us gathering forces, nor even of us resting… Because what he wants to do is deal with us in one decisive strike… Du Fan, do you think we have any other way to boost morale? To comfort my people? Will the people on my brother’s side be afraid? Will that comfort them? My own people will lose heart… Hmph, if I had a day—no, even just half a day—I could find a solution to this problem. But right now…”

Du Fan suddenly laughed and said, “Your Highness, have you forgotten that besides being a prince—oh, no, an emperor—you also have another identity?”

Prince Fischer frowned and asked, “What?”

Du Fan smiled gently and said, “The Pope’s adopted son… and also the Son of God… Your Highness, you surely know that the vast majority of soldiers are believers, and almost all military leaders are as well. Though it’s inappropriate for me to say this, Your Highness… Faith and blind obedience have always been the easiest things to exploit since ancient times!”

By the time Du Fan said these last words, his voice had been lowered to the lowest level, audible only to Prince Fischer…

This faith and blind obedience…

For the most devout White Robe Priest in history to say such things… it was an utter blasphemy!

…

At the northern gate of the imperial capital, the gates opened once again. The officer guarding them was almost numb. Several guards stood beside him, watching him warily—any sign of unusual behavior from him would likely cost him his head.

A fast horse rushed out through the northern gates, but none of the guards dared to stop it, for the rider on the horse held a large flag—the Eagle Flag of the Green family!

His expression was resolute. Though his face was somewhat pale, it carried a solemn and fervent look. This person was none other than Ferre, who had been released by Oscar not long ago!!!