Chapter 129
Chapter 129
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: Albad's Betrayal
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The war situation began to settle down bit by bit.
The Vulang forces that had invaded our territory had all retreated.
Just as we had discussed, the royal family—alarmed by the formation of the Central Alliance—issued an order prohibiting any further battles.
It was only a matter of days before the full withdrawal order would come down.
In my lodging room, I was compiling the intelligence reports that Juras had sent.
Wars breaking out in various places.
First, the clash between Eurofe and Tunkai was locked in a stalemate with no notable gains on either side.
Unlike this southern region, the northern area where Tunkai and Eurofe were located endured harsh winters, so even now in early winter, cold snaps battered the land.
Thus, Tunkai was employing a strategy of hunkering down in key strongholds, wearing down Eurofe through prolonged defense.
The unexpected gains came from Bekavia.
Bekavia's 30,000-strong army, led by General Vali Austin, invaded Tunkai's eastern territories. They swiftly captured two cities and two fortresses, seizing lands near the border.
Tunkai felt humiliated at being bested by the likes of Bekavia but had no choice but to watch helplessly due to their standoff with Eurofe.
‘The northern war will probably end like this.’
The weather made aggressive campaigning impossible, after all.
Sparks flew in the south.
The first came from the Svenner forces attacking Eurofe's rear to support Tunkai.
Svenner invaded Eurofe's south with 60,000 troops under Third General Ryanbell. Deeming their numbers small, Eurofe countered with 30,000 hastily conscripted soldiers and 30,000 regulars.
The fighting produced over 10,000 casualties.
But that was nothing compared to what followed.
The real issue was the Western forces and Svenner attacking Vulang.
They struck Vulang's west with 80,000 Western troops led by Tetora Anistri and 70,000 Svenner troops commanded by Chief of Staff Hashikuran—the Second General and right-hand man of Jemuto. A total of 150,000.
The south's mild early winter temperatures, hovering between 7 and 10 degrees Celsius above freezing, made it ideal for warfare.
‘Tetora Anistri... the woman Guderian warned me about.’
I was curious about her prowess as a commander.
That was why I had prioritized gathering intel on this front.
‘Finally, Albad transiting through Eurofe to invade Svenner...’
Strangely, there was zero information on this. It was as if Albad's army had been annihilated in an instant—the intel cut off the moment they entered Svenner territory.
The continent's situation had devolved into total chaos.
In this mess, Crossing now held the dagger.
Depending on which side Crossing intervened for, the balance of power would shift dramatically.
They could attack Tunkai, Eurofe and Albad, or even Vulang.
‘No way Juras planned this whole situation, right?’
Even that guy couldn't have schemed this far ahead.
I wanted to believe that.
Two days later, a shocking report arrived.
Albad's betrayal. And the Western tribes' massacre of civilians.
*
*
*
The shocking news naturally led to an immediate convocation of the military council.
The meeting hall buzzed with chaos. With Duke Helian back in the capital for postwar matters, General Ironheart took the lead instead.
“As you’ve heard. Albad, who seemed to be invading Svenner in support of Eurofe, suddenly betrayed them. The army that had entered Svenner territory changed course and invaded Eurofe instead. Meanwhile, on Albad's mainland, 60,000 troops led by Strategist Kaien have risen in revolt. They’ll likely invade Eurofe soon as well.”
The meeting hall murmured.
Altiore spoke up.
“At this rate, the Central Alliance is dead in the water.”
“Indeed. We can forget about a Vulang-Eurofe-Albad tripartite alliance for the foreseeable future.”
This opened the door for us to move again.
With the Central Alliance threat gone, we could strike Vulang's territory at will.
“But why would Albad make that choice...? Even aiding Svenner brings them no real gain...”
Thanks to my game knowledge, I knew the reason.
And knowing it sent chills down my spine.
Because that reason wouldn't surface until long after the Tail War.
It happened alongside the Tail War itself—which had already erupted about eight months early.
‘The game’s story is rushing in fast.’
Like a dam with a hole punched in it. An unstoppable torrent was about to crash down all at once.
“...Ilrain? Do you have some insight? If so, speak up.”
Altiore urged me with a piercing gaze.
I hesitated but spoke—Albad's intentions would be revealed soon anyway.
“Probably... to absorb Ballast.”
“Ballast!? How do they intend to absorb that neutral nation?”
Ballast was an absolute neutral state that hadn't fought a single war since the fall of the Pensilon Empire. It was also home to the great city of Platon, site of the Pensilon Academy.
“Albad has long coveted Ballast. They simply couldn't attack due to diplomatic repercussions.”
“Of course. Attacking Ballast would draw fire from every other nation.”
“Exactly. So they saw this tangle of conflicting interests as their chance.”
“I see...!”
If Svenner and Tunkai turned a blind eye, destroying Ballast wouldn't be hard. Vulang was too busy with internal strife, and Bekavia lacked the power.
“That makes Crossing's stance the most critical factor here. We can set it aside for now, right?”
“Hmm...”
Next issue.
The Western tribes' massacre of civilians.
The Western army invading Vulang's western territories didn't take civilians prisoner—they beheaded them all.
The toll: 200,000. An entire region wiped out.
“Those barbarians! I knew they had no manners, but this...!”
“How could something like this happen?!”
Massacring enemy civilians to weaken them was common historically.
Qin general Bai Qi's massacre at Changping was the classic example.
He executed 400,000 prisoners.
The records claimed they were all soldiers, but in that era, no army consisted solely of 400,000 troops.
Civilians were surely mixed in.
In that sense, this Western massacre was different.
All 200,000 were civilians.
Vulang had organized guerrillas in this war and plundered civilians, but they avoided indiscriminate slaughter.
Factoring in starvation and disease from the plundering, Vulang's potential civilian losses were around 100,000.
Still a huge number, but the West outdid them with a straight-up slaughter of 200,000.
Grit! Altiore ground his teeth.
“That massacre... the beastkin did it, right?”
“Witness accounts confirm a lot of beastkin were involved.”
“As expected...! Filthy beasts!”
Altiore showed open hostility toward beastkin.
‘Come to think of it, Duke Helian mentioned before that Duke Altiore has painful memories tied to the West.’
Perhaps related to the beastkin settlement of Dielrum.
“Those scum aren't worth dealing with. They're not even human. Just repulsive beasts. In a way, it's only natural.”
Altiore's enmity had shifted from Vulang to the West.
Reading a strange intent in his eyes, I reflexively said,
“An alliance with Vulang would be a mistake.”
“...!”
Caught off guard, Altiore's eyes widened, then he smirked.
“Why? With Albad siding with Svenner and the West, allying with Vulang would create the strongest bloc. We could use that power to sweep away Albad and Svenner, seizing dominance for ourselves.”
“It's not that simple. Vulang would grab hegemony too, creating an even bigger headache.”
If chaotic Vulang suddenly swelled in power, it might splinter into dozens of states upon fracturing.
The continent would descend into even greater turmoil.
“Besides, Crossing won't accept such a proposal in the first place.”
“So Crossing holds the dagger here too...”
Altiore shook his head in dissatisfaction.
Crossing's moves weren't just our concern.
Every nation was watching Crossing—or rather, Juras—closely.
Finally, as if the time was ripe, Juras sent word to each nation via diplomats.
‘Stop.’
And just like that, the wars raging across the continent ground to a pseudo-ceasefire.
*
*
*
Crossing declared mediation, not intervention.
After demanding each nation halt hostilities, they proposed joint talks for a truce.
Svenner was lukewarm, but invaded Tunkai eagerly accepted, Eurofe grudgingly followed suit, Bekavia—which had already profited—agreed, and we Calipers, as Crossing allies, consented too.
Vulang, Svenner, and Albad had no choice but to accept.
The talks were set for five days later.
The venue: neutral Ballast Kingdom.
With the immediate truce, our army withdrew to Alpenseld.
The royals were already assembling a diplomatic delegation for the talks.
Gilbert Salleon and Duke Helian were selected as joint representatives, with the rest of the delegation organized below them.
Apparently, someone had recommended me in the process.
I politely declined. I planned to attend the talks, but not as Als.
Because Albad's general, Gillias Melburn, might be there. He'd recognize my face, exposing my identity to all.
So I decided to go to the talks as Wade, alongside Juras.
Returning briefly to Rainpole, I headed to Karsten with Anton in tow.
Juras was waiting alone.
“Why are you by yourself? Where's the delegation?”
At my question, Juras laughed as if I'd said something foolish.
“You're here, aren't you?”
“You mean I'm the delegation? Good grief...”
Just in case, I pulled a hundred capable men from Crossing's military as escort troops.
In the carriage heading to the talks in Ballast Kingdom, I asked Juras,
“This series of events... did you plan it all?”
I secretly hoped he'd deny it, but he ambiguously nodded.
“The fundamentals, yes. The details, no.”
“The fundamentals?”
“This overall flow was my intention. But even so, it's unfolding too quickly.”
“...!”
He was thinking the same as me.
I felt the upcoming story events were coming too fast. Juras said his blueprint was advancing faster than expected.
It felt like Juras had his hand in the entire game story, which was eerie.
“So I applied the brakes. Otherwise, it'd just spiral into disorderly chaos.”
“Intervening on one side to seize hegemony... was impossible, huh.”
He couldn't side with Svenner, nor with Vulang—the obstacle to continental unification.
The only option was Eurofe, but that wouldn't yield much.
Thump! The carriage jolted.
Soon Juras spoke.
“More importantly... you used the hornet.”
“You told me to.”
“True. But you used it too casually. The hornet was one of my spies deeply embedded in their core. From what the hornet reported... you used it to save your subordinate.”
Juras gazed at me meaningfully.
His look seemed to mock me.
Like asking if I'd thrown away such a key piece just to save one underling.
“Als, how do you play chess? Don't you boldly sacrifice any piece for victory?”
“I judged that not using it there could cause the front to collapse chain-reaction style. I might've died too. My opponent, that Krans guy, was incredibly skilled in martial arts.”
“That's on you for not bringing Anton.”
“...”
No retort to that.
“If you're going to play it that way, leave internal affairs to your subordinates. I'll assign you capable officers—disposable ones—as your men. Use them. Then incidents like this won't happen.”
“I'll handle my own subordinate management. Butt out.”
I sounded a bit snappish, but Juras just laughed.
“Heh, fine by me. Maybe this is our ideal dynamic.”
“Ideal dynamic?”
“You're the light. I'm the shadow. Ultimately, your nation will unify the continent, so it's fitting you take that role.”
“Didn't expect you to volunteer as the shadow.”
“That's who I am, Als. I can no longer face the light directly. If I did, the shadow behind me would grow too dark, swallowing me—and you—whole.”
“...”
“But you're different. You can still face the light. Not talking justice or grand causes. Be a king with a cause that convinces the people of conquered nations. A king with no dirty secrets.”
He was saying he'd handle all the dirty work.
‘Sounds touching in words...’
But coming from this guy, I couldn't buy it.