Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Two Choices (3)
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Alliance Leader Kelloha did his utmost.
Even though it was an inevitable choice dictated by necessity and circumstance...
Still, once they had been accepted as a member of the alliance, they deserved the proper treatment—and had to shoulder the corresponding responsibility.
The name of the alliance was no mere signboard to flaunt. It came with obligations that had to be borne together.
For instance, if the kingdom launched a preemptive strike on the empire, the fallout would inevitably fall on the alliance to handle.
Even if the alliance swiftly cut ties with the kingdom and offered explanations to the empire, nothing would change.
On the contrary, the empire would use it as a pretext to invade the alliance itself. That was why Kelloha devoted himself fully to management.
"Congratulations on ascending the throne. I look forward to you and your nation contributing to peace alongside the alliance from here on."
"Alliance Leader, how can you believe this peace will last? Rusted chains cannot hold a beast forever."
"Then forge new chains. But provoke the beast, and no chain will bind it."
The alliance leader himself had visited the kingdom's king, showered him with useless trinkets, and soothed him endlessly.
He mediated between great powers and minor nations in conferences, proposing compromises—doing everything in his power.
Yet a small anxiety lingered in one corner of his heart like an indelible stain.
'It feels like being swept up in a massive wave. No matter how desperately I struggle, I can't do a thing but drift helplessly...'
Like a small ember meeting the wind and igniting into a wildfire that consumes mountains and fields, the alliance's atmosphere was far from normal.
Those who had been at odds day in and day out were suddenly uniting their forces and bolstering their armies overnight.
No one but a fool would call that normal. Unless some transcendent force had intervened.
But Kelloha steeled his resolve even further. This was the alliance he had founded with his comrades.
Though the companions who had joined hands for the greater good back then had all passed from the world for various reasons...
As alliance leader—and to carry on their will—he would fight to the very end.
"[If even one finger remains and you can twitch it even a little, you fight to the bitter end. That's a true warrior.]" 'Who would have thought the day would come when I'd agree with that crude dwarf runt. Maybe it's time for me to join my comrades at last.'
Caw! Caaaaw!!
Kelloha's heart sank coldly as he worked late into the night. It wasn't just the chill in the air.
He forced his stiff neck to turn, and there it was—a crow flapping its purple wings.
Crows. Symbols of death and misfortune. True to their name, the tidings they brought were rarely good.
"...Ha, that damned brat finally went and blew it all up."
He tried to wrap it in kinder words, but rough language spilled out anyway. It was closer to an outburst.
A hundred years. Over a hundred years spent for the alliance... to honor those who had gone before.
Of course, there were times he wanted to quit from exhaustion. Plenty of tribes and nations he couldn't stand.
Yet Kelloha embraced them all for one reason alone: to preserve the very concept of the alliance.
An near-eternal span where the flow of time couldn't be reversed. Companions reduced to mere memories...
To leave even a trace of them behind. To carry their will forward—that was why he had upheld the alliance until now.
"All my efforts and my comrades' legacy, gone to waste. Because of one wretched brat!"
The message the crow bore was a single line, but its weight was anything but light...
The kingdom had attacked the empire.
Unable to hold back, Kelloha spewed his molten rage aloud.
But once the fury was vented, he regained his senses without delay. He needed to respond calmly now.
"It's not too late yet. If we urgently send envoys to the empire and draw a clear line that it was the kingdom's solo act, we can still salvage this..."
Caw! Caaaaw!!
The ominous cries didn't stop. The sturdy old tree that had supported the alliance for a century finally looked up at the sky.
And so he saw it. Flocks of crows flying straight toward him...
He thought:
What in the world has happened?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The scenario of the kingdom launching a preemptive attack was highly improbable. Physically, it was nearly impossible to begin with.
Even peacefully inheriting the throne would have been a stretch, let alone Crown Prince Andre seizing it via coup.
Naturally, there would be no shortage of nobles and commoners doubting his legitimacy. Stabilizing that in a mere year?
Only two possibilities: a saintly ruler of absurd competence... or brainwashing.
Both had exceedingly low odds. The latter would be more efficient used on enemies if such power existed.
The former needed no explanation. And yet, against all odds, that slim chance had come to pass.
"So, you're saying the kingdom's army of fifty thousand is marching on the empire right now?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Impressive that they recovered from the damage and built such a force in two years... but it doesn't seem worth worrying over."
Emperor Leonis responded coolly to the report from Second Prince Oren. He wasn't wrong.
Fifty thousand was no small number. Given the kingdom's state, it was practically an all-out effort.
Which made it less threatening. Most would be conscripts, by the kingdom's standards.
"The kingdom lacks the skill or strength to train fifty thousand elites in two years. Yet their army advances on us."
"Your Majesty, our empire's warriors bravely swung their swords at the kingdom's forces. They charged on horseback with all their might. But..."
"But?"
"Even slashing throats and shattering bones... they wouldn't die. Like a lie, they recovered from wounds unscathed."
Emperor Leonis doubted his ears. Recovered unscathed? The entire fifty-thousand-strong army??
Instant wound healing wasn't unheard of. Priests wielded holy power, after all.
And magic if circumstances demanded. But no holy power revived the dead.
Let alone Crown Prince Andre having such ability. Which pointed to trickery as the likeliest explanation...
"My valiant legions wouldn't fall for mere trickery. Which means... it's no trick."
"Indeed. And in response to the kingdom's movements, some alliance nations have begun mobilizing their own forces."
"Ha! Since when do those alliance cowards take the initiative?"
"Your Majesty, please give the order..."
At Oren's urging, Leonis regained some composure. It was utterly unforeseen, true.
But they weren't unprepared. They had made full preparations and awaited the moment.
Though it arrived sooner than expected. Especially the kingdom's strike, which surprised even the emperor.
Emperor Leonis pondered. An immortal army that revives even from death... only one candidate fit.
"I have someone else in mind as the perfect fit... What do you think?"
"I share your view, Your Majesty."
"Then it's decided. Entrust the kingdom's front to Lord Blackguard. Deploy the rest against the alliance army."
Handing even a single kingdom to Blackguard stung the emperor's pride...
But war allowed no room for pride or face. Especially when the kingdom wielded some unnatural power.
To minimize losses, it was wisest to swallow pride early and delegate to the right man.
"Imperial decree: It seems Andre's kingdom army is making a swift advance into the empire."
"No way the imperial army loses to the kingdom... Looks like some absurd variable cropped up."
"We'll confirm it on the battlefield."
Thus, Cain Blackguard—receiving the emperor's orders—led his forces to block the kingdom's army, shifting to the front lines.
After two years of being branded a traitor and cast out miserably by the kingdom, Cain faced Andre once more.