Chapter 321: A Story Told. The Prelude to War
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 321: A Story Told. The Prelude to War
Sunderspear Patraxion marched toward the Abyssal Wastelands with the Mage Marshal.
Until just recently, Sunderspear had been gathering troops to drive out the Progenitor of Vampires, Tyrkanzyaka. He had thought the operation was a matter of course.
The Progenitor of Vampires was too significant a presence to be allowed to roam the country, both politically and militarily. Besides, the Military State had plenty to hide.
The Military State was a nation built by dismantling and reassembling every system and technology in the world. That included the methods of the Sanctum.
How would the Progenitor react upon encountering that? He was curious, but it was a test he had absolutely no desire to run.
Quietly driving her out was the rational choice. With that in mind, Sunderspear had committed to the operation.
Of course, that was merely a pretext to fight; the real reason Sunderspear had joined the operation was that he was, in essence, a battle maniac.
That was why he had nearly disobeyed the order to head for the Abyss.
"Good grief. First, they tell me to go to the Abyss out of nowhere."
Sunderspear swept his hair back, perched atop a Cataphract.
He had received the report that the Earth Sage had headed to the Abyss without a word. She had performed a ritual to liberate the Abyss, paying no mind to the fact that the Progenitor and several others were residing inside Tantalus… or so he had been told in a very elaborate explanation from a signaller.
But seeing is believing. No matter how many times you hear about it, can it compare to seeing it with your own two eyes? Faced with the result, Sunderspear was at a loss for words.
An unrealistically massive hole, and next to it, the overturned, desolate form of Tantalus. The concrete ground, buckled under its own weight, formed a slanted slope. It was as if a giant had flipped open the lid that had been sealing the hole and then departed.
The sight alone inspired a natural sense of awe. Sunderspear spoke to the Mage Marshal.
"Looks like that Mother Earth of yours really exists. Right, old timer?"
"All faiths have their reasons. Even if it is not a god, a power comparable to one is no different from a god. In the past, magic, too, was once called the power of a god."
"...I wasn't looking for a lecture on magic from an old woman."
"I participated in the operation to move Tantalus to the Abyss. This is nothing new."
"You're right, it really isn't."
Sunderspear shook his head, looking bored, and stared at Tantalus. Then, he spotted something wandering around the structure and narrowed his eyes.
"What is that?"
A suspicious group was roaming around Tantalus, an asset of the Military State. Their appearance was unlike anything he knew. And for that reason, Patraxion knew exactly who they were. They were the enemy he had encountered most often during his time as the Northern Commander.
"The Dhole have already gathered in a pack? Those bastards have a damn good nose for trouble... Wait."
It was natural for The Dhole to show up for a prize as large as Tantalus. Scattered in all directions, they would have been the first to sense the disturbance. But no matter how he looked at it, there was a colossal form among them that couldn't be dismissed as just 'The Dhole.'
"A Juggernaut?"
Like the sun slowly revealing itself from behind the moon, a massive structure hidden in the shadow of Tantalus gradually came into view as Sunderspear approached.
It was a ship that roamed the land. A vessel the size of a small mountain was inching forward on dozens of auxiliary wheels.
It was the only thing in the ever-moving Fallen Dominion that could be called a 'city.' Though smaller than Tantalus, the fact that a structure rivaling a landmass in size could move was nothing short of marvelous.
Seeing it, the Mage Marshal's expression turned grave.
"A Juggernaut... isn't that one of the big players from the Fallen Dominion? What are they doing here? They never venture beyond their homeland."
"Looks like they're plotting to make this their new homeland," Sunderspear muttered, gazing into the distance.
"Telling us to come to the Abyss out of the blue. I guess this isn't a simple sightseeing trip."
"Indeed. The scale of the army we've gathered was far too large to deal with just a few individuals. Did the Chief Command foresee this from the start...?!"
"A single unit would stand no chance against a Juggernaut."
As the enemy's form loomed larger, Sunderspear's shoulders began to tremble slightly. The Mage Marshal watched his back for a moment before speaking.
"Patraxion."
"What is it, old timer?"
"Are you smiling right now?"
Sunderspear didn't answer, simply nodding his head.
Once they were somewhat closer, a small shadow shot out from the Juggernaut. The four-legged beast landed and pounded across the earth, approaching at an extraordinary speed.
A rider on horseback came to a halt before the Cataphract carrying Sunderspear and the Mage Marshal. Keeping a slight distance, the rider shouted to the Mage Marshal.
"The Military State sure makes things easy. It's obvious who the commander is at a glance. You there, are you in charge?"
"I am Prelvior, a general of the Military State."
The Mage Marshal nodded in reply. The rider feigned surprise, apparently recognizing the name of one of the Six Generals.
"Hoh! One of the renowned Six Generals! We've got a big shot here!"
"Are you an envoy of the Juggernaut?"
"You could say that. More importantly, what is a legion of the Military State doing near the border?"
The Mage Marshal answered with her arms crossed.
"...That is a question we should be asking. For what reason has a Juggernaut approached the territory of the Military State?"
"Hahaha! Why else would scavengers like us be here? We heard there was a commotion, so we came to see if there was anything to pick up!"
"With a Juggernaut?"
"It looks like there's more than enough to go around! To move loot you can't carry in two hands, you need a cart. For loot a cart can't hold, you need a bigger cart! It seemed like a Dhole's small mouth couldn't take a big enough bite, so we brought the Juggernaut along! But... wait a minute."
The rider's expression shifted completely.
"Besides, isn't this strange? We're known for being like this, but there's no war going on. So why has the Military State dragged its slow-moving legion all the way out here?"
The Mage Marshal replied calmly.
"This is the territory of the Military State. The forces of the Military State can come to the territory of the Military State."
"No, this is the border. Since when were the uninhabitable Abyssal Wastelands your territory?"
"Since the era of the kingdom, this place has been under the kingdom's administration."
"Puhaha! That's hilarious. You're the Military State, not the kingdom, right? So why bring up the kingdom? Has the Military State finally decided to serve a new king? After killing the last one with your own hands?"
For those who had lived since the kingdom era, the topic of the king was always an uncomfortable one. Those who had been loyal to the king felt a vague sense of revulsion for failing to protect him, while those who had rebelled felt it for having killed him with their own hands. No matter how tyrannical he had been, a king was still a king.
The Mage Marshal, if she had to choose a side, was one of those who had rebelled. But even she, one of the Six Generals, had not wished for the king's death.
Like most who participated in the coup, the Mage Marshal had intended to take the king hostage and change the country. It was easier to fix what was already there than to tear everything down and start anew.
But the king had died in an accident. Swept up by an angry mob, he had been trampled to death. Because no one had intended it, the king who paradoxically could not be killed had died. The end of a king against whom no one could harbor enmity was an empty one.
The Mage Marshal's brow furrowed further, her mood soured. The rider grinned, provoking her more.
"It wasn't your territory back then, either. And now traitors who killed their great king with their own hands claim to inherit the kingdom's borders? Puhahahaha! What a spectacle!"
"Cease your sophistry! Tantalus is an asset of the Military State. It was the Military State that conquered the Abyss. Whatever your reasons, you have no justification to plunder Tantalus with a Juggernaut! To invade without notice—are you trying to start a war?!"
"Invasion? What nonsense! If this land were truly your territory, you wouldn't have brought a legion here! Who invades their own land with an army? You brought a legion because you have something to hide, don't you?!"
The rider glanced around as he pressed his point.
"If anything, you're the suspicious ones. The Juggernaut was already on the move, so it could get here quickly. But how did the Military State manage to gather a legion and arrive at almost the same time? You're the ones who were planning to start a war from the beginning!"
"Now you're just spouting delusions."
"Delusions? We only arrived an hour ago! And even then, it's just one Juggernaut that was already in motion! In contrast, you've gathered a legion that would normally never move, and so many of them! Your forces are twice the size of ours. Tell me, who's the real invader?"
Even as one of the Six Generals, the Mage Marshal found it difficult to respond. In truth, she hadn't known the situation here until just before arriving. She had simply been following orders from the Chief Command.
At this point, she was almost impressed by the Chief Command for predicting this entire situation and assembling the troops. It probably wasn't a simple prediction, but a judgment made after gathering intelligence from the signallers' reports.
"Why no answer? What, did you see the future? Are you a Saintess or something? 'A war will happen later, so we'll prepare for it now,' is that it?"
But she couldn't reveal the Military State's secrets regarding its command structure to the enemy. Just as the Mage Marshal was struggling for a reply, a new voice cut in.
"Alright, alright. Let's both stop."
Sunderspear, who had been sitting on the edge of the Cataphract, joined the conversation.
"No matter how you dress it up with words, the conclusion is the same, isn't it? The curse of Mother Earth has been lifted from this land. With the all-consuming Abyss gone, it'll become fertile again. Naturally, neither side has any intention of giving it up."
The Military State had negotiated directly with the Earth Sage to build Tantalus and sink it into the Abyss. Although it was what the Earth Sage had demanded in exchange for creating the Meta Conveyor Belt, there was no doubt that the Military State had a significant stake in it.
And the Fallen Dominion wanted land where they could settle.
The Abyss was a hole that swallowed everything. In the Fallen Dominion, where weight was value, dropping something into the Abyss meant a permanent loss. Gripped by fear, they had never dared to venture near... but now that it was gone, if they didn't establish a foothold here, they would have nowhere else to expand.
A land that neither could concede. Two nations eyeing it.
"In that case, there's only one way forward."
Sunderspear slung his spear over his shoulder, saying the words that no one had dared to utter.
"—War."
Words have a strange power. Everyone had surely thought it, but no one had formed a clear picture. But the moment Sunderspear spoke the word, it was as if something had been unleashed, and the matter was decided.
The rider was the first to react.
"...Finally showing your true colors! You started this!"
A cloud of sand and dust erupted behind the Mage Marshal.
The Mage Marshal's Cataphract was slightly ahead as she spoke with the rider, so those following behind neither noticed nor stopped the approach. In that gap, three assailants burst from the ground and flew toward the Mage Marshal in a single bound.
The rider shouted in ecstasy.
"I love how simple the Military State is! It's so obvious who the commander is!"
The Fallen Dominion was a nation of alchemy. Transmuting any material they touched was a basic skill. Combat alchemists had dug through the earth, using Instant Alchemy to create a tunnel and approach.
It was a completely unexpected ambush from beneath the ground. However.
"Foolish."
Before they could even climb onto the Cataphract, round holes appeared in the assailants' chests.
A red mist spread behind them. Blood-soaked sand clumped together and fell. They were chosen warriors, well-equipped as was typical for the Fallen Dominion. But they didn't last a single exchange before returning to the earth.
It was obvious who had done it. The man responsible was still sitting, his spear extended.
"Yes. This is it. I'd forgotten for so long... but this was it."
"A spear, don't tell me..."
Sunderspear wore no coat and no insignia of rank. But a spear master standing beside the Mage Marshal was hard to mistake for anyone else.
The rider's voice trembled as he spoke the name.
"Patraxion? The Knight of Treason?"
Sunderspear didn't bother to affirm the obvious. Instead, he raised his spear and pointed it forward. Aiming at both the panicked rider and the Juggernaut beyond, he gave a smile he had suppressed for a long time.
"A duel really does need an opponent. An opponent who stakes their body and soul on their desire for something. The Progenitor... she was a good fight, but the resonance of her soul was lacking. This is far more enjoyable than forcing a fight on someone who has no will to battle."
The word 'war' contains countless tragedies. Fearing its sorrow, people tremble in terror at the mere mention of the word.
But Sunderspear was smiling. His trembling was born of pure ecstasy.
Sunderspear Patraxion, the man who had challenged an entire nation to a duel and actually succeeded.
The rider recalled his story and spat out a curse.
"...You madman."
"This is a duel. Raise your weapons. Victory itself is justice, so the victor will take this land. The Sky God... no, this time, Mother Earth will surely grant her blessing."
But there was no retreat. Backing down now that the enemy was willing to go to war would only lead to greater losses.
This is why war never disappears, even when everyone abhors it. The rider yelled.
"We will not back down without a fight!"
"Hahahahahaha! That's what I wanted to hear!"
The war between the Military State and the Fallen Dominion began with the cry of a single man.