The Surrender Scroll
Empire Year 272. Ketlangca Gate.
Seated on the battlement, I looked down. A cool breeze teased through my hair, balancing the warmth of the afternoon sun perfectly enough that I could enjoy it for hours without complaint.
Behind the thick wall of green, the Empire’s army stood in perfect alignment—majestic enough to steal the breath right out of anyone who saw it.
The Empire’s symbol, the black armor of the knights, only magnified their intimidating presence. Even the foot soldiers’ gear and weapons looked too refined; if you’d spotted them from a distance you’d have sworn they belonged to some minor rural lord.
It had been more than a month since the Empire camped right in front of the gate, yet the soldiers never let their morale crack. They stood at attention with flawless discipline, refusing to let the wait turn them soft.
Just watching that mountain of steady, battle-ready knight and elite ranks sent nothing but a sigh through me.
“Shit. It’s hopeless.”
“I keep saying it, Commander, but please don’t let your morale drop.”
I turned my head. Joshua stood beside me, grinning like an idiot.
“You’re praising my army? That’s new.”
“Don’t praise the enemy’s army, either, Commander.”
Joshua laughed, dry and bitter, and leaned over the wall to stare at the Imperial camp.
“Whoa… it’s gotten bigger… man, this is pathetic.”
“See? Pathetic, right?”
The Empire had arrived and done nothing but camp for a month, staring at our gate like it owed them money. The men guarding Ketlangca Gate were us, yet they refused to move an inch. As if the other side were the one holding the line.
Despite the complete lack of activity from the attackers, the soldiers’ morale stayed rock-solid. Were they all golems?
“This quiet… the commander must have been right.”
“Yeah, he’s bait. Edelian’s using him as bait—his pride’s gotta be stinging.”
“Laughing? The whole kingdom is already dead, you idiot.”
“Damn it, you said you wouldn’t come and here you are. Serves you right.”
Nothing had actually been confirmed, but the Empire had sent Edelian as bait to lure me here. A cheap, half-assed kingdom like Kaylen had only one road for a large army to pass: Ketlangca Gate. Everything else meant circling mountains or slogging through swamps—both impossible for an army the size of ours.
So they’d chosen this gate. And somewhere in my worthless kingdom, with its legendary terrain that could stop a demon legion, there were no more heroes left to win with.
The war had dragged on and everyone else had vanished into history’s back pages.
Izek, Tolman… the faces of comrades I’d fought beside flashed through my mind and left me heavy.
I’d told the rear command to scout and wait, but the central nobles and the king had whined me into submission long before I ever set foot at the gate.
“Hey? Now that I think about it, the Empire is actually afraid of me? They had to chop through a filthy swamp just to avoid one guy?”
“Lucky you. The kingdom’s already doomed—aren’t you worried about looking too carefree?”
Joshua scowled and shook his head, but I just leaned against the wall, relaxed as ever.
“There’s nothing left to do. The soldiers’ quality gap is too wide—if I leave the rear, the idiots will just push right through the gate. Once it opens, that army can’t be stopped. Gate falls and the kingdom dies… or it falls because we stood here like idiots.”
“That’s not something a commander should say, but it’s all correct. I can’t argue.”
A commander is the soldiers’ only hope and the only thing keeping him alive. If I’d never come to the gate, maybe it wouldn’t matter, but once the senior commander leaves his post, the men guarding it lose all will.
These troops would be fine with just a few officers left behind.
Complaining that I’d missed out on something wouldn’t change anything. War was decided by how well you played the hand you were dealt.
But now here I sat, watching a game I couldn’t join while banned from the table.
Powerless, sure, but I felt no emotion at all. I’d already expected this outcome.
Then the aides rushed up to me.
“Commander! The messenger has arrived!”
“Eighth one?”
“Eh? Uh… uh…”
Garwin blinked in confusion, his huge frame looking oddly out of place as he stammered.
Melanie, who had followed them, answered instead.
“Eighth messenger. The Empire army has reached the capital—surrender, surrender!”
“Good number.”
I exhaled softly and turned back toward the Empire.
The eighth messenger sent, yet this was the first one received at the gate. We were already surrounded on all sides.
The Imperial troops had formed a ring so tight that even messengers had to fight through it. The fact that they could stretch a cordon this wide across enemy territory meant the kingdom was already completely overrun.
I couldn’t even imagine how many Empire soldiers had poured in. The men in front of the gate were packed like sardines, yet they were fighting a total war against a nation the size of the Empire. It was absurd.
More absurd still: after just a month they could have pushed into the capital by another route. Even if their forces were exhausted, how had they stayed so passive? Who had been guarding the gate—enemies who were welcoming us with open arms?
“Was I supposed to ignore the royal order?”
“Then they would’ve thrown you in jail for treason. Actually, the Empire would’ve liked that even more.”
Joshua gave a calm, bitter laugh.
As we talked, the Empire’s war horns blared from the other side—routine practice that had started days ago.
“Ah, here we go again. These guys are so boring.”
“Edelian seems to be enjoying it.”
I looked down at the camp, still chuckling.
Soldiers marched in perfect formation, carving a straight line from the main camp straight to the gate. Between the marching ranks walked a gaunt man carrying a signboard.
He stopped right in front of our gate—perfect sniper territory—yet showed zero fear of our arrows.
“Elliot Trayer! Stop useless resistance and open the gate! Can’t you see the Empire’s soldiers? The moment I give the order, your neck will be hanging from the wall before tonight! Even the generous General Edelian Shane Aideria has his patience limit!! Open the damn gate!!”
I wanted to laugh at the pompous bastard, but I couldn’t.
Why? Because the idiot was the second prince of Kaylen Kingdom, and insulting him meant at least a beheading.
“How the hell does someone become a prisoner on the opposite side of the border?”
“Don’t try to understand his incompetence.”
“It’s impossible to understand. How does a guy trapped in the capital end up as a prisoner?”
Even someone who didn’t care about anything else would have sent warm blankets to his son, yet this guy was captured on the opposite side of the border. It made no sense.
That alone was absurd, but the guy offering surrender was the one being captured. And he was royalty.
“They always said this country was hopeless, but I never imagined it could sink this low.”
“A commander always has to imagine the worst case. You still have a long way to go.”
“Thanks for the advice. You really are the best vice-commander.”
Joshua grinned and brushed me off with a wink. He just watched the second prince rant.
“Elliot!! Do you dare ignore my words?! A dirty bloodline like the Trayer baron’s—how low! If you still have even a shred of noble pride, come forward and kneel before me!!”
The second prince was so furious at my silence that he was screaming at the top of his lungs.
He wanted me to kneel? Did he not understand he was a prisoner? Or did he actually think he was leading the Empire army?
“I’m getting pissed.”
“Then let’s fight.”
“Huh?”
Melanie, who had been watching quietly, raised her spear and took a throwing stance. Her golden eyes burned with real killing intent—no joke.
“Hey, stop! If you kill him, we’re gonna be fighting until one side is wiped out!”
Other aides rushed to pin her down as she tried to drag herself forward despite the awkward angle.
“Let go! I’ll kill the bastard!”
She kept pulling the huge men on her arms toward the wall like they weighed nothing.
Even if I couldn’t throw a spear like this, it was fine.
The situation looked ridiculous to me, yet the second prince’s surrender offer was working. When the king’s own son begged for surrender, soldier morale would inevitably collapse.
Melanie was already raging, but even the other aides looked shaken. Except for the first day, Edelian had been locked in his tent with his face hidden. By now he was probably laughing his ass off.
“What will you do? If you reject surrender, the second prince will be executed. That’s two pieces of luck stacked on top of each other—kingdom wins and the commander still gets executed.”
“My crime is not mine to bear.”
“This is the sum of irrationality and injustice—Kaylen Kingdom. You’ve seen enough.”
“Ah, my stupid country… I even worked hard there. Stupid me.”
“Hey! Ninety-three wins!! A hundred is right around the corner!! Because of this trash!!”
“Stay calm, Melanie. And unfortunately, because you’re an officer, the victory record can only belong to me.”
She stopped struggling when I corrected her. Surrounded by her huge aides, she looked straight at me.
“That’s why… that’s why I’m even angrier.”
Her golden hair, lifted in that beautiful, easy-to-fight way, and her eyes brighter than the gold itself, looked at me with sorrow.
The tense atmosphere around us gradually quieted. Only Joshua, oblivious as always, elbowed my ribs while snickering.
I didn’t like this mood, but thanks to Melanie I finally understood what I had to do.
The reason I’d stayed alive this long—fighting only battlefields while my kingdom and my estates rotted behind me—was the men who had followed me.
The kingdom could disappear for all I cared. The men who had stayed with me until the end had to survive.
“Call all the officers in your sectors. And the scribes too.”
“… … Understood.”
Joshua, still calm, began issuing orders. He collected everyone without a word.
I quietly watched the Empire’s impressive formation and then caught the second prince’s eye. He’d been watching me the whole time. Something in his gaze had changed—now he looked furious, as if he were the one leading the Empire army, and he started ranting even louder.
I just smiled faintly and gave a small thumbs-down to my throat.
The second prince’s face drained of color. He kept babbling, still spewing raw insults unrelated to surrender, but his voice had lost all dignity and become pathetic. He wanted to strut around like a big shot, yet here he was begging for mercy.
I almost wanted to put an arrow in his forehead, but as the one offering surrender, the Empire’s army wouldn’t accept it.
While I teased the second prince, every major figure guarding the gate gathered. The scribes stood ready beside me to record the surrender terms.
“You all know by now—we’re surrendering. The Empire army has already crossed the swamp and is inside our territory. The kingdom will fall within the month. Waiting at the gate is useless. We can’t abandon the gate either. You don’t want to meet that army on the plain, do you?”
Behind the gate the Empire had already set up camp. No home-field advantage. A battlefield we were guaranteed to lose. The officers who had fought beside me all understood the situation and lowered their eyes in silence.
“We’ll surrender… but it’s a shame to just give away Ketlangca Gate, which has such a reputation. So we’re adding a few conditions.”
“The surrendering side is the one who sets conditions?”
“What can I do? If we keep the gate and fight, the Empire loses. We need time to occupy and stabilize the territory, but keeping the gate means sending reinforcements through the swamp—the Empire will take a huge loss. You have to pay toll to pass through.”
“Even after all the nonsense I pulled with the commander, I never knew bandits could do this.”
One officer joked. Thankfully the mood stayed light since we were surrendering.
“Everyone, say what you want. The scribes will listen.”
“… …”
The officers stayed silent. The cold atmosphere made me watch quietly until one finally asked.
“… … What we want…?”
“Yeah. Everyone say one thing. With numbers, nothing too big, but… oh, by the way, I already added that you prisoners won’t be executed. Of course you’ll be locked up during the war, but after it ends you’ll be free.”
“… … That’s… acceptable?”
“What else can you do? The longer we hold the gate, the bigger the loss for you. It’s hilarious that we’re the ones being surrounded, isn’t it? And you can enjoy watching Edelian’s disgusted face in the happy little fantasy he’s spinning.”
Some of the officers chuckled.
“Good. You dare try to eat the commander’s gate for free. Let’s shake the toll well.”
“Edelian’s disgusted face is already familiar, so it’s not worth much, but we’ll take whatever we can.”
Each officer voiced one demand. The scribes, stunned, began writing the surrender letter.
Melanie’s face looked heavy, like she still hadn’t given up on her hundred-win dream.
“Stop. Say what you want.”
“… … The second prince’s head?”
“Of course not. Stop talking nonsense. And this defeat isn’t his fault anyway.”
“… … Then just a small knife in the side… I can do it… no, a punch to the face…”
“You’re really stubborn.”
I cut her off and let the scribes continue.
After a long time the surrender scroll was finished—far too long to unroll at once.
“I don’t know who’s surrendering,”
“My goal is to make the other side as angry as possible.”
“Not much to brag about.”
“Why? Ninety-two wins? Ninety-three? That’s something to be proud of! And here—”
I rolled the scroll and handed it to Joshua. He read it, then looked up.
“I’m not suited for errands. And I haven’t written the conditions yet.”
“No close friends of Edelian’s.”
“You’re doing it on purpose? Last time you kicked Edelian in the back—I’d have my head turned inside out.”
“You’re the closest anyway. And you shouldn’t have asked for conditions. The Empire will give a lot—don’t be greedy or you’ll regret it.”
“… … You knew?”
Joshua’s smile vanished. When he stopped grinning, his sharp gaze made him look like an entirely different person.
“Roughly.”
“… … I watched you the whole time. You’re even scarier than I thought. Hah… under-stood. I’m grateful in many ways, but above all for keeping my life.”
“I used you plenty. No need to thank me, but thank Edelian for me.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Joshua, the Empire’s spy, bowed respectfully, turned without looking back, and left.
Melanie, who had been watching us in confusion, stared at Joshua’s back in a daze after hearing his true identity.
I gave her a bitter smile, shrugged, and called the officers over.
“Listen up. We made a few demands, but we’re surrendering. The kingdom is gone… or at least it’s still standing. Anyway, it’s over. Don’t raise a sword against the Empire—not even for revenge or rebuilding. That’s respect for the Empire and Edelian who accepted our surrender. Open the rear gate for anyone who can’t stay. Understood?”
“Yes, we understand!”
The officers answered in unison. I exhaled softly and looked at them one by one.
“Thanks for everything so far. Live well.”
Empire Year 272.
King Julius II’s strategy—binding Elliot Trayer at Ketlangca Gate and completely removing him from the war—had become a legend told and retold by historians. In passing, it was said that the Empire’s dazzling history, authored by Guide Powell, could only be obtained by collectors willing to pay a fortune for a single copy of Elliot Trayer’s audacious, unending surrender scroll.