Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Victor's Surrender Plea
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"My soldiers."
Victor's low voice brought the soldiers' cheers to a halt.
He scanned them with a resolute gaze,
"I am Victor."
After briefly introducing himself, he fell silent.
"Waaah!"
In the deathly quiet that followed, someone let out the first cheer.
"Waaaaah!"
"Victor! Victor!"
It erupted into a massive roar in an instant.
Though he had been absent for a time, the soldiers' support for him remained rock-solid.
Recently, he had also gained fame performing duties as the Council Chairman, giving him even greater authority than the king-to-be tomorrow.
The soldiers, remembering Victor from the speeches that had boosted morale during the last war, felt anticipation just seeing him take the podium.
Victor waited for the cheers to subside before continuing.
"First, allow me to thank you all for your hard work."
Before diving into the main point, he praised the soldiers to warm them up.
"Over the past two years of the Northern War, we fought together. The Battle of Serkutsk, the Battle of Angelgorod, the Siege of Zabrinsk... Thanks to your blood and sweat, we survived. Even when Vladimir launched his vile rebellion, you rose up courageously, crushed the traitors, and moved to end the kingdom's chaos. It was your strength that got us through the crisis. However."
Victor paused to catch his breath.
"We now face another difficult decision. Just yesterday, reports came in that the Imperial forces have begun moving again."
"...The Imperials?"
"What...!"
Victor's sudden announcement caused an uproar among the soldiers, who had heard nothing about the Imperials. Even the officers, who hadn't been looped in on any prior discussions, were thrown into confusion, and the chaos spread like wildfire.
"The Imperial troops stationed at the border belong to nobles beyond the Emperor's reach, so there's a high chance they'll invade on their own accord, exploiting Ruth Kingdom's turmoil."
"Those cowards!"
"Is it war?"
"But with the general here!"
The soldiers tried to shake off their fear with their faith in Victor.
"During the Siege of Zabrinsk, by His Majesty's order, I stood here as Ruth Kingdom's Supreme Commander and gave a speech. I spoke to you of hope. That with our strength, we could defeat the Empire and protect Ruth Kingdom. That I needed your help."
Knowing this well, Victor softened his tone bit by bit as he pressed on with his speech.
"Back then, I stood here without a shred of shame. Because I was ready to head to the battlefield with you, to stake my life alongside yours. Because I vowed to advance together. I urged you on with nothing more than a resolve to give my all."
The soldiers nodded, recalling how he had appeared at the podium and on the battlefield.
"But I no longer have the right to send you into the jaws of death. My return to Ruth Kingdom was solely due to the mercy of the Empire's Emperor, Luise Zeinburg. Once the Council is disbanded, I must leave the kingdom. If my failure to return causes negotiations to collapse entirely, even the Emperor's hitherto idle forces will march on Ruth Kingdom."
"What?"
"You're leaving? Didn't you just come back?"
The nobles had received the Empire's letter and held their own meetings without informing others, telling only his closest aides that Victor would return soon.
This news caused even greater murmurs than the report of Imperial movement.
Just like when word of his departure first spread, anxiety rippled through the ranks.
"Since I can't fight alongside you, I can't call on you to join the war. Since I can't stay till the end, I can't promise to take responsibility for you. Therefore, I!"
Instead of elaborating, Victor raised his voice to draw all eyes to him.
"As the man Victor, I say this here and now."
He bowed his head briefly,
"Soldiers. The enemy— the Empire—is strong. What you'll face are not weary foes starved of supplies. They outmatch us in troops, resources, equipment. The kingdom's army can't win against them now."
He shifted to a pleading tone, his voice trembling slightly as he continued.
For the first time on an official stage, his emotional display made the soldiers forget their conversations and focus intently.
"I do not want meaningless sacrifices."
At this point, a few officers sensing something off moved to act, but Anna and the officers loyal to Victor intercepted and restrained them first.
"On my way back to Ruth Kingdom, I had a chance to see the state of our lands now under the Empire."
The soldiers held their breath, awaiting his next words.
"Contrary to the nobles' claims of hell on earth, it was peaceful. The flags had changed, but people lived ordinary lives. Captured soldiers mingled among them without discrimination, and I, handed over by negotiation, was treated with respect."
This description clashed utterly with the Empire painted by noble propaganda during the war, yet no soldier doubted Victor's words.
"Greedy nobles hid that fact, sacrificing us to protect their wealth and the facade of Ruth Kingdom. I hoped the new nobles would be different, but they were the same. When I informed them of the Imperial movement, they immediately demanded resistance."
Victor smoothly distanced himself from the nobles.
The nobles had long had poor relations with the soldiers, their image worsened by the execution of most for treason.
As Victor pinned them as the war's instigators, the soldiers empathized rather than doubted, growing indignant toward the nobles.
"If asked whether I'm just fleeing in fear of war, I can proudly say yes. Not because I fear the Imperials or defeat. I fear the needless sacrifices we'll make, the lives that will fade without meaning. I fear wasting those who left so we could survive."
Hearing the ever-confident Victor admit fear made the soldiers ponder deeply.
With him leaving, they couldn't help recalling the Ruth Kingdom army before he became Supreme Commander.
"We have no reason to fight them. The nobles who provoked war and those forcing desperate resistance are gone."
The soldiers quickly leaned toward surrender over suicidal resistance.
"Soldiers. I know this is a hard choice. Some of you may hold noble intentions to defend Ruth Kingdom. That's why, not as Supreme Commander, but as the man Victor, I make this request."
Pausing to gather all eyes, Victor said,
"I'll stake my life to protect those who choose surrender, so don't throw yours away for the nobles—surrender. If you wish to give your life, do so for something meaningful. If you want to protect your families, return to them."
He urged surrender in a grave voice.
Sensing the anguish in his lowered tone, the soldiers swallowed hard.
"Tomorrow at 9 a.m., I'll leave Zabrinsk Castle for the Empire. If you share my will, prepare white flags, lay down your arms, and gather at the main gate. I'll respect those who choose to stay, but I hope all can preserve your lives. Surrender is not cowardice—it's courageous resolve for a greater future."
Victor finished speaking and was about to set down the magic amplifier when,
"As Supreme Commander, I issue my final order. My soldiers, survive at all costs."
With those last words, he left the podium.
The soldiers lingered in the speech's afterglow, lost in thought, before returning to barracks under the officers' lead.
As long as I convince the soldiers, the opinions of the nobles filling the court or the would-be king don't matter.
With the Council not yet disbanded, the nobles—lacking base or fame—are powerless against my influence as the real power.
The king not even crowned goes without saying.
Since the nobles can't overturn this anyway, I set departure for the next day to give the soldiers time to calm.
Thus, while preparing the speech, I focused on two things.
Justifying my surrender declaration and stirring the soldiers' anxiety and emotions.
Nothing difficult.
I heightened their unease with a touch of fabrication, portraying the current nobles as kin to the executed ones.
The Imperial movement and nobles' resistance demands were lies, but truth didn't matter.
They were plausible, and from the most trusted man in Ruth Kingdom, Victor.
Once the soldiers bought it, retraction was near impossible.
Verifying facts would require cross-checking with the Empire—impossible.
By expressing disappointment in them, I secured justification to prioritize soldiers' safety over the nation.
The 'Victor' who strove for the nation even after betrayal needed this to change heart.
Recalling the hopeless Northern War without me, the soldiers won't refuse surrender.
I had to grit my teeth to convince them against it before; now I'm the one proposing.
In this hopeless situation, can they defy the Supreme Commander's call to surrender?
"We'll follow your will, General."
"...Thank you."
No chance.
After the speech, I spoke with soldiers visiting my tent.
Most agreed to follow, and the hesitant were swayed by dialogue to accept surrender.
The few with lingering attachments were noble-born officers, but they'd cut most noble ties to survive traitor purges.
They won't cling enough to oppose a decision backed by the Supreme Commander and most soldiers.
"General Victor."
"Yes."
After dispatching a messenger to the Imperial garrison to explain, I spent the night talking with soldiers.
The next day, 9 a.m.
Gratefully, the area before Zabrinsk Castle's main gate was packed solid with green dots.