Chapter 321: Prisoners of War (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 321: Prisoners of War (6)
Marquis Memphis’s words could not be denied.
No matter what anyone anticipated, Roman Dmitry had always seized victory through bold maneuvers that shattered all expectations.
The fact that he had attended Valhalla's festival—fully aware that both Valhalla and Kronos were gunning for his life—proved exactly what kind of monster he was. The objective difference in military strength didn't sway him in the slightest. Facing two empires with only the power of Dmitry should have been impossible, yet he had single-handedly turned the situation around through sheer individual prowess.
Marquis Croit acknowledged this as well.
Unless they were prepared to push things to the absolute extreme once again, there was no way to punish Roman Dmitry.
However...
"I know exactly what kind of existence Roman Dmitry is. Unlike the fools who tremble at the mere name of Kronos, Roman Dmitry never backs down. But listen to me. We are the Kronos Empire! Our very identity lies in supreme dominance, and we do not care who our opponent is—just like Roman Dmitry!"
Croit understood the sequence of events in his head.
He wasn't blind to Marquis Memphis's reasoning, but Kronos was not an empire governed by mere common sense.
"When we signed that ceasefire agreement with Dmitry, I could not stomach the decision. I believe most of those present here feel the same way. Since when did we start accepting compromises with our enemies? Kronos is an empire where, even if we struck an enemy simply because we disliked them, they would kneel and beg for forgiveness! No matter how much the rest of the world criticized our unreasonableness, we took pride in the absolute, overwhelming might of the Kronos Empire!"
He despised Kronos's recent actions.
With their glorious history now stained by defeat, Marquis Croit had no intention of sitting idly by.
"Tell us the truth. Why did His Majesty the Emperor enter his rest, and what exactly is he planning for a year from now? If you refuse to give us answers, extraordinary measures will be necessary."
He stood firm.
Glaring at Marquis Memphis, he projected his voice with unwavering conviction.
The atmosphere in the grand conference room turned highly volatile. The gathered nobles held their breath as Marquis Memphis stared silently at Marquis Croit. The silence stretched on. Croit had laid his thoughts bare, but as the seconds ticked by without a response, his face flushed with mounting anger.
"Are you really going to play it this way? Fine. I will return to my territory, gather those who agree with me, and make this a public issue."
He spun on his heel.
His face contorted with rage, he stormed toward the doors of the conference room.
Just a year ago, such a scene would have been unimaginable.
Marquis Memphis was the proxy of the Kronos Emperor. Even if he wasn't the Emperor himself, raising one's voice against him was tantamount to treason. The authority of the Kronos Emperor stemmed from absolute, overwhelming power. Yet, their successive defeats were gradually eroding that seemingly indestructible authority.
It was then.
Shhhk.
The sharp ring of drawn steel echoed through the hall.
The moment Marquis Croit turned his head at the strange sound, a powerful impact slammed into his gut.
Stab!
A blade pierced straight through his abdomen.
His eyes widened in sheer shock.
Through his violently shaking vision, he saw Marquis Memphis's face, twisted with madness.
* * *
Croit coughed up a mouthful of blood.
His strength vanished, sending him crashing to his knees. He stared up at his attacker, his eyes swimming with disbelief.
"...W-Why?"
The Croit family was a major power within the empire.
Even if their influence had waned recently, they were not an entity to be disposed of so casually.
As Marquis Croit weakly grabbed the blade, trying to pull it out, Marquis Memphis thrust it in even deeper and sneered.
"Don't get cocky. The very foundation of the Kronos Empire rests entirely upon His Majesty the Emperor. Why should I let a traitor like you, who questions His Majesty's will, walk out of here alive?"
Squelch.
Memphis wrenched the sword free.
Blood sprayed across the marble floor as Marquis Croit collapsed, the light fading from his eyes.
"Castro."
"Yes."
"As the proxy of His Majesty the Emperor, I command you. Dispatch the troops immediately and slaughter everyone associated with the Croit family. Go beyond mere blood relations; add anyone who shared Croit's sentiments and maintained close ties with him to the purge list. This is to restore discipline to Kronos. Ensure it is handled thoroughly. I want no exceptions."
"Understood."
Castro, the number one ranker of Kronos and the leader of the Royal Knights, turned and walked away with a completely expressionless face.
The atmosphere in the room froze solid.
No one had ever imagined that the mighty Croit family would fall so abruptly and futilely.
Marquis Memphis slowly turned his head.
As the gathered nobles flinched and averted their eyes, his lips curled into a bloodstained smile.
"Croit was a fool. Born as a noble of the Kronos Empire, yet he dared to utter reckless words that denied our glorious history. Bear this in mind: the history of the Kronos Empire has never tolerated defeat. It is not because our past opponents were weak. There have been others who wielded considerable majesty, just like Roman Dmitry, but without fail, every single one of them eventually knelt and bowed their heads to Kronos."
He began to pace behind the seated nobles.
Between his fierce voice and the chilling drip, drip of blood hitting the floor, not a single noble dared to turn their head.
"If anyone here doubts Kronos's victory, look back at the history of the continent. Look at how Kronos has conquered time and time again. Look at why Kronos is hailed as the absolute greatest power in this world. The forces Roman Dmitry faced were merely a fraction of our true might. The foolish and pathetic bastards of the world are already cheering, acting as if they have defeated Kronos just by destroying that tiny fraction. But those who know the truth of Kronos do not doubt our victory. Victory was destined from the very beginning. It is simply up to His Majesty the Emperor to decide the scale of that victory—and Roman Dmitry has provoked his absolute wrath."
One year.
The countdown had already begun.
When the Kronos Emperor raised his armies once again, nothing in this world would be able to stop them.
"Place your faith in His Majesty the Emperor. Just as history repeats itself, the history of victory will remain with the Kronos Empire forever."
The nobles silently acknowledged it.
Kronos...
...had never once revealed its full strength.
Because they had overwhelmed the entire continent using only a fraction of their power, no one had ever dared to oppose them.
The nobles deeply bowed their heads.
In that moment, everyone realized exactly how Marquis Memphis had established himself as the man in power.
While he possessed the outstanding ability and sheer cruelty required to rise to the top, it was his blind, fanatical faith in the imperial family that had made him who he was today. He was the Kronos Emperor's favorite imperial hound. Regardless of how future generations might judge him, Marquis Memphis was perfectly faithful to his role as the ultimate enforcer of the throne.
He calmly walked back to the seat of honor and sat down.
"Never again doubt the empire's potential like that foolish Marquis Croit."
With a completely indifferent expression, he roughly wiped the splattered blood from his face.
* * *
Dmitry's actions turned the world upside down.
When the rumors first began to spread, people severely doubted the authenticity of the news.
"Dmitry attacked Kronos?!"
"...Are they seriously trying to nullify the ceasefire agreement just like that?"
"Roman Dmitry is certainly no ordinary man. Just because the Kronos Empire hid Dmitry's prisoners, he led his troops straight across the border without a single moment of hesitation. But the real issue is the Kronos Empire's response. Even if they didn't intend to declare war right now, there's no way the empire is just going to sit back and take this."
The entire continent's attention was hyper-focused on the border.
No one could predict the consequences of Roman Dmitry's incredibly bold move.
But then, more news arrived.
"Holy crap. They say Roman Dmitry slaughtered every single person who tortured his prisoners right there on Kronos territory!"
"And the Kronos Empire just handed over the prisoners without a fight? The world really has changed. If it were the Kronos Empire we used to know, they would have shamelessly raised their banners and marched. But since their opponent is Roman Dmitry, they're actually compromising. Actually, come to think of it, they paid 500,000 gold for that ceasefire. They can't just resume the war over their own mistake."
"So does this mean the ceasefire agreement is still holding?"
A short while later, a second shockwave rocked the continent.
Dmitry's attack.
Upon hearing that Roman Dmitry had burned down the frontline defense position after Kronos had fulfilled their promise, the public lost their minds.
"...In the end, he crossed the line."
"It's over. There's no way to stop the Second Continental War now."
"I don't know if this is ultimately a good thing for Dmitry, but if I were one of his people, my loyalty to Roman Dmitry would skyrocket. Just because they hid and tortured his men, he personally crossed the Kronos border and launched an attack."
The Second Continental War.
The continent was in an absolute uproar.
People were absolutely certain that war was imminent.
They believed that since Kronos had been humiliated like this, there was zero reason for them to uphold the ceasefire agreement.
One day passed. Then two days...
Time continued to tick by.
Yet, contrary to the masses making a fuss and frantically preparing for war, the Kronos Empire showed no reaction whatsoever.
* * *
The world was in a state of panic.
The endless chatter regarding the possibility of war naturally reached the ears of Edwin Hector.
'Just how does Lord Roman Dmitry make such bold decisions?'
He viewed the situation from a completely different angle.
If he had been in Roman Dmitry's shoes... would he have been able to retrieve the prisoners in the same manner?
It was impossible.
Since escalating into an all-out war wouldn't benefit Dmitry either, Edwin would have tried to find a diplomatic way to retrieve the prisoners by heavily leveraging the terms of the 'ceasefire negotiation.' That was the common-sense approach. Because it was a highly sensitive issue, the rules of international politics dictated that one should reasonably compromise, even with an enemy, to avoid further bloodshed.
However...
Roman Dmitry completely shattered those conventions.
He crossed the border.
He executed everyone involved with the prisoners.
And as if that weren't enough, he burned their frontline defense position to the ground. Yet, shockingly, the Kronos Empire did not respond.
It came down to a difference in power.
Because Roman Dmitry had consistently produced overwhelming results, even the mighty empire knew that provoking him would lead to consequences they couldn't easily handle. It was astonishing. Kronos—an entity that had never considered anyone other than another empire as an equal—had actively taken a step back following the ceasefire.
Edwin was in awe.
Roman Dmitry's actions exceeded his expectations every single time.
'But this isn't necessarily a good thing for Dmitry. From the initial ceasefire negotiations to this current incident, Kronos—an empire that has never tolerated compromise—is suppressing its anger to the absolute limit. This is no simple matter. It means that instead of blindly repeating their mistakes in the face of continuous defeats, they are reflecting on their own weaknesses. They are swallowing their pride to ensure a definitive victory later. If the Kronos Empire reveals its ambition for continental conquest once again... Dmitry and Kronos, two entities like raging infernos, will clash head-on without backing down. That battle will decide the fate of the entire continent.'
It was a terrifying conviction.
The news of the masses praising Dmitry's boldness didn't sound pleasant to him at all; it sounded like a prelude to a storm.
The world was changing far too rapidly.
While the previous era allowed a small place for the weak to survive, in the coming future, the very fate of a nation would be in jeopardy unless they proved their worth and chose a side.
'At my current level, I cannot protect Hector. I must become stronger. I have to become strong enough to assist Dmitry and stop the Kronos Empire's ambitions. No matter the cost, I must grow stronger.'
He turned and walked away.
Not as Prince Edwin Hector...
...but as a mage who needed to spend his days training more fiercely than ever before.
* * *
The same topic.
The same information.
Yet, the conclusions drawn from it were vastly different.
While Edwin Hector's worries about Kronos grew by the day, the King of Frank focused on a completely different point.
"Ehehehe! The Frank Kingdom is entering a golden age, all thanks to its wise king!"
At the crossroads of destiny, the King of Frank had chosen Dmitry.
At the time, his decision had sparked endless debate and concern within the kingdom. But now, not only had they won the war, but Dmitry's recent feat of overwhelming the Kronos Empire filled him with absolute sheer delight.
A massive shift in power was taking place.
Originally, Kronos and Valhalla—the two undisputed giants of the continent—dictated everything. But now, Dmitry stood firmly between them.
A new supreme power.
Dmitry's status had completely transformed.
Considering that the future of the continent would inevitably revolve around them, it was necessary to quickly lay the groundwork to curry favor starting right now.
"So, how do we get on Dmitry's good side?"
The King asked his interlocutor, Count Samir.
The Count was an individual deeply trusted by the King of Frank. He had given him a special order, and now it was time to check the results.
"As it happens, Your Majesty, a special event is scheduled to take place regarding Dmitry."
"...A special event?"
"Yes. Isn't Roman Dmitry famous for fiercely protecting and doting on his own people? Well, Lauren Dmitry, the third son of the Dmitry family, was recently promoted to Class A at the Cairo Royal Academy. The promotion ceremony is scheduled for five days from now, and there is a very high probability that Duke Dmitry will attend."
"Is that so?"
The King's eyes widened, his interest thoroughly piqued.
Indeed, someone of Lauren Dmitry's standing was an incredibly important figure within the Dmitry family.
The King of Frank slammed his hand on his armrest.
"Convene a royal meeting immediately! We will brainstorm and decide exactly what kind of gift the Dmitry family would like!"
Eyes burning with intense desire and political ambition.
That was not something...
...unique to the Frank Kingdom.
D-Day: 5 days.
In the wake of the shocking prisoner rescue incident, the attention of the entire Salamander Continent rapidly began to shift toward the Cairo Royal Academy.