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Contrary to the atmosphere, the voice of the Black Sea Empress was innocent, as if she was welcoming a guest.

Longford asked her, trying to regain his composure.

“I want to know why the Eight Lord is supporting Kajor.”

It was the most curious question for him and the key to all current situations.

The Black Sea Empress smiled and answered.

“You’re asking for the obvious. There are only two reasons why a war is waged. Either you hate the opponent, or there is a benefit to be gained from the war.”

“…”

“I personally don’t have any reason to hate the Earth Hill Kingdom. So, what do you think it is?”

“Profit…”

“The King of Kajor has given me what I wanted. Troop support is the price I pay for it. Do you think you can give me what I want?”

Longford bit his lip softly.

If he gave her what he wanted, she could switch sides right away like flipping the palm of her hand. It was clear from her words that she treated this situation of the two kingdoms as a trivial joke.

It was a joke that meant nothing to her in the first place.

Longford couldn’t even fathom what she wanted or what Kajor had given her.

Why would a Lord of Calderic…

“What did Kajor give the Eight Lord?”

As if she had no intention of telling that, the Black Sea Empress just smiled without answering.

“…What can I do to end this war?”

Longford asked in a more subdued tone.

There were no other options. He came here thinking of surrender from the beginning.

If they resisted, it wouldn’t be war, it would only be carnage.

All that’s left was to figure out her intentions as much as possible and end the war with minimal loses. So, their kingdom could still have a future.

“Didn’t Kajor already tell you the condition? Recognize that the rights to Lowalf Plain belonged to Kajor and retreat the border to the Kabaon region.”

“I think the Eight Lord has a reason for calling me here separately.”

If all he had to do was accept the conditions, there would be no way they would arrange this meeting. It shouldn’t have been made just for him to answer the Eight Lord’s question.

The Black Sea Empress stared at Longford, tearing up the corners of her mouth and laughing.

“Aren’t you ignorant? Commenting on things as if you have read my inner thoughts when you’re just a human is kind of unpleasant. To the point that I want to tear your tongue out.”

“……”

“Huh, I’m kidding. Anyway, that’s the correct answer. I have something else to suggest to you.”

The lines of the cocoon stretched, and her body slowly descended.

When she landed on the floor, she took a step. Longford and his aides were utterly daunted by the direct approached of the Eight Lord.

The Black Sea Empress, who stopped right in front of Longford, whispered in his ear.

“Don’t surrender and fight until the end, King of Earth Hill.”

“……!”

“Let the fortress collapse, build a mountain with the corpses of soldiers, and fight foolishly until the blood drenches the entire earth red.”

The king had goosebumps all over his body.

For a moment, Longford didn’t understand what she was talking about.

The Black Sea Empress, who whispered to his ear, continued with a single smile.

“Then, I’ll stop right there.”

“That’s… what…”

“The fortress will be destroyed, and the Lowalf Plain will be taken over by Kajor, but it will all end there. After the war, I will personally stop Kajor from coveting Earth Hill. A promise made in my name and honor.”

If they didn’t surrender and fight until they were annihilated, then she would put an end to the war.

“What the hell are you talking about, Eight Lord?”

Naturally, Longford couldn’t understand it.

Why did the Black Sea Empress make such a bizarre and terrible proposal?

“Didn’t I just tell you the reasons why people waged war?”

“Do you mean it’s more profitable for us to resist than to surrender?”

“Whoops, that’s not it. As I said, I already got the benefit I wanted.”

“Then, why?”

“Actually, there is one more reason.”

The Black Sea Empress laughed.

“Profit is also profit. But there’s a person, a very arrogant person, who I don’t like. I wanted to check his reaction. What will happen if I do something like this?”

Longford could at once guess who she was talking about.

A being related to this war, a human, a person worthy of her doing all this.

Seventh Lord.

During the last meeting, the Seventh Lord defended Earth Hill and prevented Kajor from declaring war.

To interpret her words, it meant that she had bad feelings for the Seventh Lord, so she was trying to provoke him by touching Earth Hill.

It was only for that reason.

For such trivial reasons, she was casually telling him to make this place a mountain of corpses.

“The Seventh Lord, he is an erratic person in many ways. However, if one would look at his actions, there is a strange corner. Like the circumstances of the killing of the Sixth Lord. Does he have a cold-blooded personality? Or does he have useless things like pity in his heart? What would be his reaction once I completely annihilate your forces?”

Longford trembled with a feeling of rage and contempt that was hard to contain.

As always, to these absolute beings, these little kingdoms were just chess pieces that could be played with and destroyed at will.

“Do you think I will accept such an offer?”

“Ah, it doesn’t really matter if you leave the fort before the war begins. Your life isn’t particularly important, anyway.”

“I’m not saying that I will leave… Eight Lord. I will not leave my subjects behind and run away to save my own life.”

“Is that so? Anyway, I’m not trying to force you.”

The Black Sea Empress turned back and climbed onto the cocoon again and lay down, wiggling her antennae.

“However, if you refused my offer, your kingdom’s future will be even more bleak. Kajor, who occupied Lowalf, will raise an army again after some time. They might ask for reinforcements from me again like this time.”

It was nothing more than a threat to accept her offer despite saying that she had no intention of forcing him.

Since the person who uttered the threat was none other than a Lord of Calderic, it was unknown how much he would pay if he refused the offer, but…

“There’s nothing to think about. I refuse.”

“Huh, is that your immediate answer?”

For an instant, the Black Sea Empress’ expression hardened coldly, then returned to smiling.

“You don’t have to decide here. I’ll give you time to go back and think about it.”

“My answer will not change.”

“I told you to think about it, so do it, worm.”

With the sudden change of tone and murderous spirit emanating from the Black Sea Empress, Longford felt his consciousness go numb.

The Black Sea Empress, who had gathered her energy, waved her hands as if this was the end of the conversation.

“You’ve come this far, so it’s better not to end it in vain. I’ll give you a day’s time. Go and think it through.”

***

Returning, Longford walked on the ramparts and took in the view of the interior of the fort.

Gadfalk Fortress, one of the most important strategic points in the kingdom, had a history of well over half a century.

For a long time, the valiant warriors had defended the frontier by completely blocking external aggression.

It’s not just a place with people who fought with spears and swords.

This was a not only a fortress to block the enemy but also a city at the same time. The difference with other cities was only its good defense. Inside the walls, inside the fort, there were people living ordinary lives.

“……”

A deep wrinkle formed between Longford’s brows.

Because it was a sudden invasion, there was no time or energy to evacuate the people.

To accept the proposal of the Eight Lord was to sacrifice not only the soldiers but also the civilians.

It was to annihilate all life living in this fortress.

It was an absurd choice that didn’t need any thinking, but the last words of the Eight Lord still lingered in his head.

She was a Lord of Calderic. If he ignored her proposal, would they be able to handle the aftermath?

Memories suddenly went back to the distant past.

The war that started with Kajor’s massive invasion, and the battle of Kagosh Castle in the fierce final call.

The previous king gave up on them, who had endured desperately for 15 days and waited only for reinforcements. Instead, the king’s army raided the enemy’s camp.

It was a lethal move that caught Kajor off guard, and in the end Kajor returned with only a heavy blow and the war ended.

…Longford was unable to ask his father, who successfully commanded the war and defended the kingdom.

Did you really have to give them up?

If support was sent to Kagosh Castle, thousands of lives there could have been saved, even if the war was prolonged. The end of the war was the result of sacrificing them.

A king was a being who had compassion, but must constantly know how to adjust that compassion.

He wondered if the former king, who always gave such teachings, had the slightest pity for those people he chose to sacrifice.

Returning to the present, Longford was also put at a crossroad.

What kind of king was he?

Was it a king who would sacrifice tens of thousands of lives for fear of an absolute being, or a king who would bring a greater crisis to the kingdom by failing to make a calm judgment?

If this war could not be ended now, could only disaster wait for them at the end?

After finally understanding his father, the former king, he smiled bitterly.

Another day passed, and Longford summoned Commander Masto and gave orders.

“Send an envoy to surrender to the enemy camp. We do not want war, and we will accept all conditions.”

“……”

“Also, send messengers to the reinforcements coming here. They should have almost arrived by now. Do not enter the fort, and tell them to immediately withdraw from the spot and return to the capital.”

Those words puzzled Masto.

Surrender was a natural decision. There was no way they could do something like resistance in a situation where even the Eight Lord was directly on the battlefield.

What was curious was the order to send back the reinforcements who had come down from the capital following the king and not enter the fortress.

If they were going to surrender anyway, there was no reason to make the reinforcement suffer by not giving them a chance to rest.

“Your Majesty, may I ask why you are issuing the withdrawal order?”

Longford answered.

“Just in case.”

Understanding the meaning of those words, Masto gulped.

“I will follow Your Majesty’s will.”

“I will remain here until everything is sorted out. Now go and lead the troops.”

In this way, the envoy that would deliver their decision to surrender rode to the enemy camp.

About half a day had passed, and the sun was about to rise in the middle of the sky.

Woo woo woo.

A huge horn echoed through the fort several times.

Climbing up the rampart with the commander in confusion, Longford saw the scenery unfolding before his eyes.

“That, the enemy…”

Kajor’s army was slowly advancing towards the fortress, led by the Black Sea Empress’ insect army.

Longford closed his eyes tightly.

….At last.

It was not the case when Kajor’s attacked the fort directly. Doing that was a considerable burden for Kajor as well.

The existence of the hero who they never knew would break her seclusion, and the declaration made by the Seventh Lord during the last meeting.

Besides, it was unknown if Santea knew about this in advance, but Kajor would have to bear a considerable burden for purposely attracting the Eight Lord.

This could have been just a bloodless war by accepting Earth Hill’s surrender, but directly attacking the fortress like this was a cost Kajor had to bear later in many ways.

But in the end, it was their choice.

Was this Kajor’s will, or was Kajor merely a puppet of the Black Sea Empress?

“Unleash the amplification magic.”

Longford, who opened his eyes again, ordered the mage preparing for battle.

“Listen, all soldiers! This is the last message from Longford Bamon, the king of Eath Hill, to you!”

“What the Eight Lord of Calderic wants is the annihilation of this fortress! Currently, the Eight Lord is sitting directly behind enemy lines with her forces and have no intention of accepting surrender.”

“So, open the back gate, and get as many people out of the fort as possible before the enemy arrives! The same goes for the soldiers! Those who risk their lives escort them and get out together! It’s not dishonorable! This is not war. It’s one-sided massacre!”

When he said this, everyone had blank faces.

Abandon the fort and run away? Those were the words that came straight from the mouth of their king and no one else.

“But those who remain must remain! To gain even a little time to evacuate, those who will die and fight to the end, prepare for battle right away! It is not a meaningless death! I will also remain in the fortress and fight until the end!”

In the midst of the quiet desolation, after a while, a huge shout erupted from the soldiers.

“Fight to the end with His Majesty! We are the warriors of Gadfalk!”

No one got scared and ran away as if this was only natural.

Only the minimum number of people to lead the civilians moved to the dwelling.

Commander Masto and the other aides looked at Longford with dark eyes.

It seemed that their king had already designated this spot as his tomb.

But they couldn’t say anything.

What could they say? Please reconsider? From now on, leave the soldiers who were ready to fight to the death and run away?

As long as the situation was like this, they wouldn’t be able to stop the king.

Coo coo coo.

As the rumble of the ground grew louder, a huge army approached as if it were about to devour the fortress.

Soon, the advance stopped with the fort in front.

Among them, the king of Kajor stepped forward with his escorts.

“King Longford! Did you choose to fight until the end, despite us giving you a chance to surrender?”

Longford glared at him and stood on top of the castle wall to answer.

“It’s disgusting to say that when you already received our letter to surrender.”

“Are you not completely sane? I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s already too late. Gadfalk Fortress will perish because of your stubborness.”

Longford replied coldly, without raising an eyebrow.

“We will fight and die here today, but your choice of involving a Lord of Calderic will one day lead Kajor to destruction.”

The king of Kajor snorted and raised his hand.

Black waves rushed towards the fortress.

***

When he heard the news of Kajor’s invasion, Tair was in a city outside of the capital.

It was not a simple invasion, but a slaughter involving the Eight Lord.

The first thing that came to Tair’s mind after hearing the news was the words of the Seventh Lord before they parted.

He said that if one day Tair faced a crisis he could not handle, he should ask him for help.

But it was too late. The enemy had already invaded the kingdom.

If he sent a messenger to the Seventh Lord to ask for help, it would have already been over by the time it arrived. The Seventh Lord would have heard the news anyway, so it was meaningless.

After moving straight to the capital, Tair found out that his father had already left for Gadfalk Fortress, followed by the first prince, Lucas, with reinforcements.

Tair also followed them to the fort.

On the fifth day after leaving the capital, just before reaching the fort, Tair was able to catch up with the reinforcements.

“…Tair? Why did you come all the way here?”

“Why are you in command of the army?”

“Of course, it’s His Majesty’s order. Didn’t you hear the situation at Gadfalk Fortress?”

“That’s not true. Father had already headed for the fortress, there was no way he would sent Brother to bring reinforcement.”

Lucas couldn’t answer and just frowned.

“It’s just Brother’s own decision.”

“It’s none of your business.”

“That’s right. I’m not in a position to tell my brother what to do.”

It was when the two brothers were in the middle of arguing…

“Your Highness, the messenger!”

A soldier on horseback reached them and delivered Longford’s message.

After reading the message, Lucas let out a small groan.

“Immediately withdrawing and returning to the capital… what is this?”

I felt something unusual about this message.

The remaining distance to Gadfalk Fortress was only half a day.

What the hell was going on in the fort right now?

“Your Highness, this is…”

Turning to Lucas, who was immersed in his thoughts, Tair said.

“Brother, please return to the capital. I will go to the fortress.”

“Don’t speak nonsense.”

“You read the message, so you should understand. If something goes wrong with you, what will the royal family do?”

“Ragmas and Seri are there, and Uncle Durak is also at the castle. Now I should worry about Father’s safety, not the royal family. Are you still asking me to go back?”

“Why are you twisting my words like that again?”

“Stop talking. I’ll have to see the situation in the fortress with my own eyes.”

Looking at Lucas, who seemed to have made up his mind, Tair let out a small sigh and mounted his horse again.

“I’ll go too.”

“You don’t have to go to the fort. Go back to the capital.”

“I won’t. Brother can’t interfere with my actions either.”

Lucas sighed and said nothing more. Because even if they left the other here, he would probably just keep on chasing them anyway.

He looked back at the soldiers around him and shouted.

“…I will take responsibility! Continue to advance towards Gadfalk Fortress!”

***

Acrid smoke, red blood. Desperate shouts and screams.

“Stop them! Enemies are trying to focus their attack on the North Gate!”

“Open the defense barrier! If the inner wall is pierced, everything will be over!”

In that chaos and frenzy, everyone fought desperately.

The soldiers stabbed the insects that came up to the wall with spears, and the knights took charge of the strong enemies while going around the wall. The mages lined up in the rear and used defensive and offensive magic alternately.

While the insects climbed the walls, the Kajor’s forces tried to break through the gates, and water-based weapons bombarded them without a break.

However, it was a battle that could not be won in the first place, both quantitatively and qualitatively.

In an instant, the battle line was destroyed and was put on the defense by the army coming from all sides – a mixture of insects and humans.

Chow!

After cutting off an insect that was chewing on a soldier’s head, Longford wiped the body fluids from his eyes.

Poisonous ingredients seemed to stiffen the facial muscles, and the field of vision in one eye gradually darkened.

He immediately used healing magic and let out a tired breath.

He looked around. The sight that welcomed him were the knights surrounding a giant mantis monster being cut in half.

He saw a mage who collapsed with a spear thrown into his neck while casting magic, and he saw soldiers falling down when the castle wall collapsed by bombardment.

He saw people getting eating by some insects that had broken through the defense and intruded into the fort. They were civilians who could not get out and fled far away from the wall. He saw a woman torn to death trying to protect her child from the insects.

…It was a long-forgotten sight, tainted by false peace.

The armies of the Black Sea Empress in the distance were still so vast that they seemed to cover the whole land.

Longford knew. He knew that if she had launched an attack properly, the fortress would have been destroyed long before.

Perhaps she wanted them to try as hard as possible. They were only able to survive up to this point because she only sent a portion of her army.

Of course, that didn’t change the fact that the situation was the worst. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the fortress fell.

A shout rang in Longford’s ears as he tried to move his creaking body again.

“…The reinforcements are here!”

The reinforcements breaking through the enemies through the western wall and entering the fortress.

Longford muttered in a voice mixed with a sigh as he watched the scene.

“Why…?”

He must have told them to retreat and not set foot on the fort.

With the arrival of the reinforcements, the morale of the soldiers rose instantly.

They tore through the enemies and soon fully entered the fortress. They participated in the battle in earnest.

“Where is His Majesty?”

“He’s in the northern wall!”

“Clear the way! Go ahead and protect His Majesty!”

Lucas and Tair advanced to the northern wall, cutting through the swarm of insects as they moved.

Several giant insects came towards them. The knights who were covering them split up and dealt with the insects.

“…Ugh!”

At that moment, the tentacles wielded by the insects wrapped around Lucas’ body.

Tair immediately jumped in and swung his sword to cut off the tentacle.

Lucas, who fell and rolled on the ground, suddenly raised his head and shouted.

“Avoid…!”

Waaa!

A huge magic bombardment that flew in from somewhere hit the spot where they were.

Tair’s body, which was bounced off by the shock wave, floated to the outside of the castle wall.

Tuuk!

Lucas barely caught him as he fell.

Insects flocked towards them as they straddled the edge of the wall. The surrounding soldiers who tried to stop it exploded along with the insects in the bombardment that flew in again.

“Stop…”

Tinnitus rang in his head. His eardrums ruptured, leaving his left ear deaf.

After barely getting out of range, Lucas managed to regain balance and pulled Tair up.

The two brothers sat down for a while, took a breath, and looked around the battlefield.

Amid piles of broken wreckage and corpses, insects and humans mixed and killed each other again and again.

It was a real mountain of hell. They wondered if the demon attacks they only heard would be similar to this.

Even with the arrival of the reinforcements, the situation was only slightly alleviated.

Clutching the hilt of his sword, Lucas opened his mouth softly.

“If not now, I won’t have time to apologize to you anymore.”

Tair turned to Lucas.

“What are you saying all of a sudden?”

“What change would it do now, and how can I expect you to trust me… I’m sorry, Tair. I really didn’t know anything.”

At those words, Tair was silent.

A story from the past that no one had tried to talk about until now.

Lucas and Tair were siblings from different mothers.

But bloodlines didn’t matter.

They had been good friends since they were children, they sincerely cared for each other. They were brothers with a deep friendship more than anyone else.

Until the day when Lucas’ mother, the first queen, tried to poison Tair.

Tair was a genius.

He’s good at swordsmanship, magic, and academics.

Originally, it was common for Lucas, the eldest son, to inherit the throne, but Tair’s talent was enough to make the first queen feel a sense of crisis that Tair could become the successor, overcoming such convention.

She was the first queen who had extraordinary greed for power.

She treated Tair kindly, telling him to regard her as his mother, as someone who had lost his mother early on. But behind the scenes, she planned to assassinate him.

After drinking the poisoned tea and collapsing, Tair was fortunately found by a servant and his life was saved.

The first queen’s thorough poisoning attempt was eventually caught.

She was dethroned by the enraged King Longford. However, starting from that incident, the relationship between brothers could not go back to the way it was before.

After some time, Tair left the castle without saying anything, leaving only a letter.

“…I never thought that you’re not my brother just because we have different mothers. Ragmas treated you bluntly, but his heart probably wasn’t different.”

“I know. Why wouldn’t I know that?”

Lucas smiled bitterly.

“On that day, with what feelings did you leave the palace? I want to hear your honest answer at least once. Did you doubt me and our younger siblings? Or did you resent us?”

Tair, who was silent, shook his head.

“Brother, I never doubted or resented anyone.”

“……”

“Rather, it was the opposite. I thought my older brother and younger siblings would resent me for dethroning your mother. That’s why I left. No matter what, we won’t be able to go back to the way it was. So, it’s better to let time solve everything.”

“…You had an outrageous idea.”

“I did. If I had any regrets now, it was that I realized too late that my decision was wrong and I returned too late.”

Tair raised his broken body.

Lucas, who had been staring at the scene happening in front of them, stood up as well, stepping on the ground with his sword.

“I wish I could have properly apologized to our younger siblings as well.”

“That’s why I told you to go back to the capital. From before, your stubbornness couldn’t be broken.”

“Haha… isn’t it the same for my brother?”

Tair, with a bitter smile on his darkly shaded face, muttered.

“If we can return alive, I would like to sit down and talk on the garden at the back of the palace, just like before.”

Lucas nodded with a similar expression.

“…Yes, if we can return alive.”

It was just empty talk. The two knew each other well.

Unless a miracle happened, there was no way they would survive this hell.

It was the moment when the insects started climbing the wall again and rushed towards the two brothers…

Flash!

A dazzling white light suddenly covered the sky.

The huge glow soon split into dozens of branches and rained down towards the outskirts of the fortress.

Kwangwagwagwagwak!

Earth-shaking vibrations shook the fortress.

More than half of the insects that were rushing towards the fortress exploded in that blow.

“……!”

Slicing down the bugs, Tair and Lucas looked up at the sky.

Before they knew it, they saw something flying over the fort. It was a huge black wyvern.

Tair, who spotted those riding on the back of the black wyvern, stood blankly and muttered involuntarily.

“…Seventh Lord.”

In the darkest moment, a miracle really came.