--Some of the Kazan soldiers who had surrendered to Zhongshan had risen in revolt, led by the orphaned son of the late King Gien.

　When Doga heard about this from Hakuro, he tilted his head suspiciously.


Did you just say "orphans"?　I thought all of King Gien's sons were killed in the last battle.


　Doga himself had killed King Gien's eldest son, who was the crown prince of Kazan, and his second son, who was known as a brave general, on the battlefield. Both of the boys were warriors more than ten years older than Degas, but aside from that, all of the men of the Kazan royal family were supposed to have ended up on the battlefield at the hands of the Zhongshan army.

　In response to Doga's question, Hakuro shook his head slowly.


I was thinking the same thing as my second brother, but there was one man who survived. I was thinking the same thing as my second brother, but there was one person who survived. He was an eight-year-old boy named Yamato, and because of his young age, he did not participate in the war.


　This sister's name is Ran, Hakuro added.

　This sister's name is Ran," Hakuro added. Ran and Yamato's birth mother was of low status, and Yamato was not given the right to inherit the throne. As a result, he had been omitted from Hakuro's intelligence network.

　Perhaps Guillén did not want to cause quarrels among the siblings by deliberately giving the right of succession to an infant. As mentioned above, Guillén had a number of mature sons, and the possibility of the young Yamato succeeding to the throne was close to zero. It is no wonder that Gien thought it was unnecessary to give him the right of succession.

　However, the situation changed drastically when all the sons of the Kazan family fell in the last battle. Now, Yamato was the only male of the Kazan family with legitimate blood.


The remnants of the Kazan clan who are dissatisfied with Nakayama are gathering under the leadership of this boy. The place is Taixing Mountain.

"Taikouzan?


　Degas and Cagalli shouted in surprise at the same time.

　Mt. Taiko is the name of a remote mountain far from Seito, known to be inhabited by many ferocious demons. The terrain is rugged, and the surrounding area is a rotten land that constantly spews out miasma, making it uninhabitable. As a matter of course, there were no towns or villages nearby.

　It was natural for them to be surprised as to why the Dogas had raised an army in such a remote place.

　The reason why Doga and his men knew the name of such a distant mountain was because Dahingshan was a famous ancient battlefield.

　In the past, fierce battles were fought between demons and humans, the guardians of the gates.

　The gatekeepers basically guarded the gates and did not move, but when the demon tribe wanted to go out from the war to unify and even to free themselves from the demon world, they would sometimes invade the inside of the demon world. Such a battle took place fifty years ago, and Daxing Mountain was the place where it took place.

　One of the reasons why Nakayama, after swallowing Kazan, immediately set about attacking the gates was to stop the invasion of the gatekeepers who had sensed Nakayama's intention to unite the demon world.

　--Could it be that the remnants of Kazan had risen up in his land in a nod to the past?

　Doga thought so, but he quickly denied it. The battle of Daxing Mountain had been a crushing defeat for the demons, and any prediction of good or bad would undoubtedly turn out to be wrong. There are many demons, it is uninhabitable, it is far away from the Western Capital, and it has bad luck.

　If I had to give it an advantage, it would be that it was so remote that it was not worth sending troops from the Zhongshan side.

　Thinking that the enemy was planning to take advantage of the time when the main force of Zhongshan's army was out of the city to make a heroic uprising and retake the western capital, Degas rubbed his beard with his right hand as if he was disappointed.


He rubbed his beard with his right hand. It seems to me that you have become desperate, unable to follow us and unable to find a way to revive Kazan. If you leave him alone, won't he wither away on his own?

"I understand what you are saying, Second Brother. But we have to go outside the gate now. We should eliminate as many enemies as we can. There have been cases of little snakes turning into dragons.

"Mm.


　Doga growled at Hakuro's words.

　In the past, Gien, the king of the mountains, killed the fathers of the four brothers and once destroyed Zhongshan. But after that, he underestimated the remaining brothers, and they ended up being destroyed.

　Hakuro insists that he and his brother will not follow in their footsteps. And Degas understood exactly what his brother was saying.


"I see, even children should not be forgiven. But--


　Degas broke off and looked at Cagalli.

　As mentioned earlier, the Zhongshan army killed all the boys from the Kazan family except for Yamato, but that was only on the battlefield. After the battle was over, not a single drop of blood from the Kazan family was shed.

　Gien's wives, concubines, and children are still carefully protected in a section of the royal palace. This was due to Azuma's generous nature, but it was also largely due to Kagari's entreaties. In response to those who argued that the blood of the Kazan royal family should be extinguished, Cagalli wished to spare the lives of these women even in exchange for his own merits.

　Kagari may have a grudge against the Kazan royal family, but he owes them nothing. Even so, he wished for their lives because, as he had said when he defeated Gien, "We do not touch those who surrender. That is the military rule of Nakayama.

　In that sense, there was nothing wrong with killing Yamato and Ran who refused to surrender and ran away, but the image of Kazan King who realized his defeat and snapped his horns came back to Kagari's mind.

　Cagalli didn't feel good about killing the King's children, even the youngest ones, just because they might become a source of disaster in the future.

　She didn't mind letting them live. If Yamato and the others who have grown up rise up against him, then he should crush them again. If that is the end of Nakayama, then the fate of Nakayama has come to an end.

　This was Kagari's true intention, but at the same time, he was aware that his idea was irresponsible for a royal brother to support Nakayama.

　Cagalli opened his mouth with determination.


"Brother Hakuro, I'll go to Daxing Mountain.

I knew you would say that. "I knew you would say that. Just so you know, I cannot show you mercy this time like I did in the last war. The first time had the significance of showing Zhongshan's generosity, but the second time, mercy will only lead to contempt.


　If such a reputation were to spread that rebellion was tolerated in Nakayama, it would be difficult to fight against the gatekeepers.

　Nakayama is generous, but it is not unlimited. Those who take advantage of this generosity will be overrun by the mighty and incomparable Zhongshan army. In order to make this known to the entire demon world, this rebellion must be thoroughly crushed. Even if it is against an insignificant eight-year-old child.

　In a sense, Kazan's forces in Daxing Mountain rose up at the perfect time.

　Nakayama will now begin the full-scale attack on the gate. Not only Doga and Kagari, but also Hakuro and Azuma will have to leave the west city.

　There will always be those who ostensibly follow Nakayama, but are willing to take advantage of him. The people of Da Xing Shan were supposed to be a good example of how to restrain such people.



　Kagari understood her brother's intention and nodded with a hard expression.

　As if to relieve his brother's tension, Nakayama's third son continued with a clear face.


Yes, thoroughly. Crush the rebels, stain the flag of Kazan with mud, and burn the ringleaders to the bone. Do it so thoroughly that not a single corpse remains.

...... "Burn to the bone?　Don't you want the heads of the enemy, Brother Hakuro?

No need. It's too much trouble to expose them one by one. Besides, if we expose the heads of eight-year-old children and girls, there will be people who will hold a grudge against Nakayama for his needless cruelty.


　You have to know the right way to do everything, Hakuro said, and Doga, who had been silent until then, slapped his knee.


I'm convinced of that, Hakuro. The reason you sent me and Cagalli out of the western city to the gates was to flush out the disgruntled old vassals of Kazan, right?


　Degas and Cagalli are two of the best warriors in Zhongshan and a force to be reckoned with. The two of them went into battle with the gatekeepers. If they face them, they won't be able to turn back immediately, even if there is a disturbance in the rear.

　For those who had something on their minds, this must have seemed like the perfect opportunity to overturn Nakayama by defeating Azuma. Or, more to the point, there must have been someone who incited the malcontents against him.

　Hakuro smiled mischievously at Doga's question.


"That's my second brother. You know what I mean.


　Seeing his younger brother's nonchalant response, Degas scratched his head.


You used my brother as bait, didn't you? Of course, it wasn't Hakuro's decision, was it, brother?


　This time, he looked at his brother, who also shook his head calmly.


"Yes. I'm aware of that. I'm sorry I didn't tell you two.

"No. It is said that the first step in plotting against an enemy is to find a friend. There's no need for you to apologize. But why did the enemy rise up in Daxing Mountain, far from the capital?


　This makes no sense for us to have taken the trouble to thin the defenses of the Western Capital. The location of the uprising is inexplicable, even if he had read Nakayama's intentions and was on the lookout for traps. Zhongshan did not feel the slightest itch when the rebellion broke out in Daxing Mountain. This was evidenced by the unchanging scene in the city.

　In response to Doga's question, Hakuro summarized the situation with a mixture of facts and speculation.

　Perhaps those who had started the rebellion had initially planned to take the Western City and take Azuma's head. However, the number of those who responded was smaller than expected, and they were forced to run to the frontier.

　Although Hakuro was disappointed, the fact that most of Kazan's former vassals who had surrendered did not join the rebellion was proof that the rule of Zhongshan was recognized by them. They would not rebel against Kazan in the future. The fact that this was confirmed was a blessing in disguise.

　The only thing left to do was to sacrifice those who had raised the army.

　Hakuro thought so, and he was going to lead his own army. Of course, he had no intention of showing mercy to his opponents, whether they were girls or eight-year-olds.

　In the past, Nakayama had been destroyed by Kazan. Of the four brothers, Hakuro is probably the one who carries that grudge the most heavily.

　However, if Hakuro were to kill Yamato and the others without informing them of his intentions, it would leave a sore spot between him and Kagari, who wished to save the Kazan royal family. While Azuma is a drinker of both purity and turbidity, Kagari retains a boyish innocence in his s*xuality.

　Hakuro wanted to avoid a confrontation with his brother, so after consulting with Azuma, he summoned Cagalli to the Western Capital and explained the situation.

　As expected, Cagalli asked for his own defeat, but he gave him the option of letting him go because he knew that Cagalli's character would not allow him to kill Yamato and the others.

　It may seem naive of her brother, but considering the threat of Yamato and the others who escaped, it is an acceptable naivete. That was Hakuro's judgment.

　Then, what was the purpose of calling the other Doga back at the same time? Hakuro began to explain what he meant by the main question.


I have already explained the circumstances that led to the rebellion of the remnants of Kazan. They have neither forethought nor far-sightedness and can be easily defeated by sending one or two hundred chiefs (commanders who control a hundred soldiers). They are not the kind of people that the royal family of Zhongshan should be fighting.


　However, there was one thing that bothered Hakuro about the rebels. But Hakuro was curious about one thing about the rebels: why did they choose Daxing Mountain as the place to raise their troops?

　Perhaps Doga was right in saying that they had become desperate. However, Hakuro does not like the fact that the abandoned people chose Da Xing Shan by chance.

　Da Xing Shan is a place where demons and humans once fought.

　In other words, it is a land known to humans. It is a land within reach of humans.

　There are human gatekeepers behind the remnants of Kazan. Hakuro thought it was necessary to share this possibility with his brothers, so he called not only Kagari but also Doga back from the front.