Chapter 263: The First Continental War (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 263: The First Continental War (1)
This was already their third meeting.
With only the representatives of the three kingdoms remaining, the King of Odelia was making a great fuss.
"I could hardly believe my ears when I heard the news this morning. Is it really true? No, how on earth did he infiltrate Rascal and wipe out that many troops in just an hour? I knew Roman Dmitry was no ordinary man, but this goes far beyond the bounds of common sense."
"I can't believe it either," the King of Umberto chimed in. "Ten thousand troops—ten thousand! Invading Kronos territory first is unprecedented in itself, but Roman Dmitry has proven that Dmitry wants war, and not just with a declaration, but with action. They truly intend to face Kronos without the help of the Kingdom Alliance!"
The annihilation of Rascal was shocking news.
Everyone had been certain that Dmitry, like Cairo, would focus on defense in the west. The events that unfolded overnight delivered a brutal shock. It was astonishing enough that a small force had slaughtered ten thousand men, but the very decision to invade Kronos territory first defied all conventional wisdom.
Just who... who was Roman Dmitry?
Against Kronos, a superpower others dared not even look up to, he—a mere native of a weak nation—refused to back down.
The King of Frank spoke up.
"...But you know, this incident makes me think that perhaps the Kronos Empire is not as absolute as we thought. Roman Dmitry excluded the involvement of the Kingdom Alliance. Why do you think he did that? Wasn't it to show that Dmitry can face the Kronos Empire with its own strength alone, and to test our sincerity? By annihilating Rascal, he proved that Kronos is no longer invincible."
His face flushed with excitement.
As he grasped the details of the incident, the King of Frank—who had previously failed to understand Roman Dmitry—finally saw the possibility that they might actually stand a chance.
The other two kings reacted with shock, practically throwing a fit.
"What on earth are you saying?! Absolutely not! Our opponent is Kronos! Do you really think losing a mere ten thousand troops will dramatically change the situation? The forces at Rascal were only a tiny fraction of their power."
"Indeed, King of Frank. Roman Dmitry has certainly shown us a shocking result unlike anything before. But looking at it differently, it could also mean that without taking such extreme risks, he had no chance of winning in the first place. Look back at the history of the continent. There have always been those who rose up and voiced their discontent with the Kronos Empire's system, but not a single one of them died a natural death."
It was an excessively violent reaction.
The King of Frank's words certainly made sense, but the two kings could not bring themselves to accept them. After the Second International Conference ended, the two of them had already secretly contacted the Kronos Empire. For them, the option of allying with Dmitry no longer existed.
However, the King of Frank did not back down.
"No. I disagree. As you all know, the Phoenix Magic Tower, which originally belonged to Frank, transferred its allegiance to Dmitry. At the time, it was a bitter pill to swallow. But after sending someone to investigate, I found that the Phoenix Magic Tower is developing at an incredibly rapid pace. Only then did I realize: Frank and Dmitry are of entirely different calibers. If they can produce such different results under the exact same conditions, they might just turn the seemingly impossible downfall of Kronos into reality. Furthermore..."
He thought of the rumors circulating the world. The most important reason that moved the King of Frank was the justification Roman Dmitry had declared for the war.
"Once Roman Dmitry defines someone as his own, he never lets go of their hand. Rather than trembling in fear every day under the Kronos Empire, I would rather follow Dmitry if there is even a sliver of a chance."
"You mustn't, King of Frank!"
An uproar ensued.
What had initially been a meeting to exchange opinions turned into a tearful, desperate effort by the two kings to persuade the King of Frank. Neither side yielded an inch. Frank wanted to move the entire Kingdom Alliance, but seeing their excessive opposition, he ultimately had no choice but to storm out of his seat, just as Redford had done before.
"I am sorry, but I must at least have a conversation with Dmitry."
With that, the King of Frank left.
The Third International Conference had also ended in catastrophe.
* * *
We are doomed.
This was the thought that flashed through the King of Odelia's mind after the meeting ended.
The international conference had lost all meaning. Its membership had dwindled to a mere two-nation alliance, making it embarrassing to even call it an international conference. What on earth were they to do? If even the Kingdom of Frank sided with Dmitry, the issue would no longer end with the simple destruction of Dmitry.
The moment the Dmitry Alliance is defeated, the Kronos Empire will realize its ambition of Continental Conquest.
Even though he knew the consequences, there was no other choice. To survive, the King of Odelia contacted the Kronos Empire.
"...This is how things have turned out. Dmitry now has the support of Cairo, Redford, Hector, and the Kingdom of Frank. The scale of a total war with Dmitry has grown so large that it wouldn't be wrong to call it a Continental War. Furthermore, I heard that the ten thousand troops in Rascal were annihilated in a surprise attack. Please tell us the answer. What must Odelia do from now on to survive?"
It was a desperate plea.
On the other side of the communication screen, Baron Charlton spoke with a relaxed expression.
"King of Odelia. Your concern is based on a flawed premise to begin with."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"Even if the entire Kingdom Alliance supports Dmitry, the Kronos Empire will push forward with this war. His Majesty the Emperor was infuriated by the incident at Rascal. A Summons has been declared across the entire empire, on a scale unprecedented in history. Do you know what that means? It means we do not intend to merely punish Dmitry; we plan to erase them completely from the map of the continent."
The King of Odelia's eyes widened.
If Kronos was staking everything on this war, the tide of battle would not change no matter how much the Kingdom Alliance struggled. What he had worried about most was Kronos's resolve. If the Empire approached this war with an ambiguous attitude, only the Kingdom of Odelia—which had betrayed the Kingdom Alliance—would be left in an awkward position.
Baron Charlton's words gave him absolute certainty.
Relieved, he asked in a calmer voice, "Please tell me what Odelia must do."
Baron Charlton smiled, speaking as if he had been waiting for this exact moment.
"As it happens, there is something the Kingdom of Odelia must do for us."
The sages were right.
In this world, peace never came without a price.
* * *
A few days later.
The 1st Defense Position.
At the front line bordering Cairo, a massive procession poured in. Baron Boras, who was in charge of the defense position, rushed over in a hurry at the sight of the figure entering the castle gates.
"Thank you for making such a long journey."
"What is the current situation?"
"We sent soldiers to clean up the aftermath in Rascal and capture Roman Dmitry, but we couldn't find a single trace of where he went. So, for now, we have regrouped our forces. If Dmitry is attacked, Roman Dmitry will have no choice but to show himself eventually."
"The rat-like bastard. Well done. No matter where he is, he cannot change the tide of events."
The speaker was the commander of the Kronos Empire: Duke Bamford.
A battle-hardened veteran who had led countless wars to victory, he was hailed as the symbol of the Kronos Empire's military. His personal involvement alone was a testament to Kronos's resolve. Led by him, a vanguard of approximately thirty thousand troops had reached the 1st Defense Position, and the troops yet to arrive were more than double that number.
He walked inside.
Summoning the command staff, he received a detailed briefing.
"Currently, Dmitry has allied with Cairo and is concentrating its forces on the Western Front. Judging by their securing of supplies and focus on magic defense, we suspect they are preparing for a siege defense while plotting some sort of scheme. We have not yet grasped Roman Dmitry's exact intentions. As for the other kingdoms, Redford, Hector, and Frank have issued Summons to aid Dmitry, while Odelia and Umberto seem poised to align with us."
"The world has certainly changed. To think so many kingdoms would dare to rebel against Kronos."
"Roman Dmitry is the problem. Once he annihilated the forces at Rascal, the Kingdom of Frank seems to have judged that they could actually face the Empire."
Duke Bamford chuckled.
It was laughable.
A siege defense could only be sustained if the opposing forces were somewhat comparable in strength, but Dmitry and the Kingdom Alliance were living in a fantasy. Kronos had mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops for this war. Aside from the sheer, overwhelming numbers, this was the first time all of Kronos's knights and mages were being fully mobilized for a single battle. The history of the continent that people spoke of was usually decided by Kronos revealing only a fraction of its power.
But this time, the Emperor had made his decision.
Even if Roman Dmitry were a monster capable of slaughtering tens of thousands alone, he was about to learn what a war on a national scale truly meant. Having been a part of the long, accumulated history of the Kronos Empire, Duke Bamford issued his orders with absolute confidence.
"Approximately ten days from now, as soon as we are ready, the all-out assault on Dmitry will begin. This war is the starting point of our Continental Conquest, and we do not merely need a victory over Dmitry—we need an overwhelming result."
"We will keep that in mind."
From this very moment, war was no longer an avoidable prospect, but an inescapable reality.
* * *
Exactly three days later, a problem arose at the 1st Defense Position.
"Ugh..."
"Cough, cough."
At first, they thought it was a simple illness.
However, as the number of people vomiting and coughing grew, the sickness spread through the entire army in an instant.
Baron Boras urgently reported the situation.
"Since this morning, the soldiers' condition has been strange. Those showing symptoms like vomiting, fever, and coughing are collapsing one after another. The number of afflicted soldiers has already reached ten thousand, and about three hundred of them passed away almost immediately. It is highly likely that Roman Dmitry has played some sort of trick."
Looking at the series of events, Duke Bamford intuitively grasped the source of the problem.
"He used a deadly poison. Order the soldiers immediately to identify and shut down all potential sources where a poison could easily be dispersed, such as the wells. And summon the mages of Behemoth. With their skills, they should be able to neutralize the toxin spreading through the troops."
"Understood."
Bamford's face contorted.
Poison! When on earth had he used poison?!
Having experienced similar situations on the battlefield, Duke Bamford immediately judged that the wells were the most likely vector. To poison a large number of soldiers—since humans ultimately had to consume food and water—wells were the perfect target. That was exactly why they kept a strict guard over them, making it incomprehensible how anyone could have bypassed the sentries.
But for now, they had to solve the immediate problem.
Duke Bamford hurried over and pressed the mage examining the patients.
"Well? Can you cure them?"
The mage of Behemoth was named Mateo.
He was an expert in poisons, and Duke Bamford had brought him along specifically to handle situations like this.
Mateo spoke with a confident expression.
"Do not worry. Poison is my specialty."
"As expected!"
Everyone trusted him.
Basking in their faith, Mateo focused his mind and proceeded with the detoxification.
"Cure Poison."
Flash.
A light flared up.
Channeling his mana, Mateo skillfully infused the detoxifying energy into the patient's body. The one who used the poison was highly likely Roman Dmitry. However, ever since they had received an incurable poison through Baron Charlton, the mages of Behemoth had passionately dedicated themselves to studying detoxification. Thanks to that, they had made massive progress. Their newly developed Cure Poison gave them the confidence that they could now neutralize any toxin.
However, ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
Even after thirty minutes, there was no sign of the detoxification succeeding.
After struggling with the patient for a long time, Mateo finally looked up at Duke Bamford, his face painted with despair.
"...With my current skills, I do not think I can neutralize this. To solve this problem, we will need the help of the Tower Master."
His face looked as though he might burst into tears at any moment.
It was a despairing realization.
The poison Roman Dmitry had used was completely different from the last one in every single way—a deadly conundrum that could not be solved with the knowledge of this world.