Chapter 396: Alexander (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 396: Alexander (1)
When Kronos first declared war, what was happening in Cairo?
Step, step.
A group of people strode down the palace corridor.
As they approached the conference room, the guards saluted and threw the doors wide open.
"His Majesty, the King of Cairo, is entering!"
Creeeak.
Inside the conference room, the gathered high-ranking officials stood in unison and bowed to Daniel Cairo. Daniel accepted their reverent gazes with practiced ease. Acknowledging the greeting with a light nod, he took his seat at the head of the table and gestured for them to sit.
Once everyone was seated, Daniel Cairo got straight to the point.
"I have received reports that the Kronos Empire has violated the ceasefire negotiations and crossed our borders. This is not what we wished for, but it is something we anticipated and prepared for. Norbert, report on the enemy's current status."
Norbert was the man in charge of intelligence. During the recent restructuring, Daniel Cairo had recognized the vital importance of information and appointed him to this key position.
"We estimate that the Kronos Empire has mobilized approximately 500,000 troops for this invasion," Norbert began. "This is a larger force than in the last war, and we have also confirmed reports that they have dispatched troops to the Umberto Kingdom. But the issue is not just their numbers. As if determined to settle the score once and for all, they have mobilized all of the Kronos Knights and the empire's mages. If they deploy special units utilizing 'Teleport' as they did in the last war, no corner of Cairo will be safe."
"Knight Commander Simon. What is the status of Cairo's forces?"
Daniel passed the floor to him. Following the death of Count Nicholas, Simon—formerly the vice-commander of the Royal Knights—had taken charge of the military.
"A mobilization order has been issued to the nobles of Cairo. Since we secured their cooperation beforehand, we expect to complete the organization of our forces within the next three days, just as we trained. As for the Western Front, our preparations are complete. In addition to magic defenses, we have secured transit routes to allow immediate reinforcement via Warp Gates."
"And the mages?"
"We have hired as many war mages as possible. They have been undergoing military training in Cairo for several months now and will be deployed to the Western Front immediately. Furthermore, we have summoned all the mercenary groups operating across the Salamander Continent. Because they are facing the Kronos Empire, their hazard pay is substantial, but thanks to that, we have been able to deploy an additional 100,000 troops to the Western Front."
Following Simon, the financial officer took the baton.
"Thanks to our advance preparation of war funds, the inventory of magic consumables and the payment of the mercenaries pose no issue whatsoever. This is all thanks to the full support of Cairo's nobility. Our food supplies are also abundant; even if this turns into a war of attrition, we can easily hold out."
This scene proved that Cairo had not been idle over the past year. Looking at the leaders who were proving their worth one after another, Daniel Cairo's expression turned solemn.
"The history of Cairo has always been one of suffering under foreign invasion. Just a few years ago, our power structure was torn to shreds by foreign interference, and Marquis Benedict even staged a rebellion with Kronos backing him. Cairo was weak back then. But not anymore. We have tasted freedom, and we know that we must become strong to protect our rights."
His voice was heavy. The young, naive king was gone. He commanded the room, his eyes burning with fierce determination.
"Kronos's betrayal is something we all anticipated. We have prepared tirelessly for this day, and because of that, we will not crumble easily. Prove to our enemies that the Cairo Kingdom is not a pushover they can invade whenever they please. Show them that if they set foot on our territory, they will pay a devastating price. We will share our future with Dmitry, and we will no longer be a nation that bows to raw power."
Blood boiled.
Daniel Cairo stood up. As everyone rose with him, he met the eyes of his leaders and spoke with powerful conviction.
"Fight. Crush the enemy. In the chaos to come, on the hellish battlefields ahead, I will stand right there with you."
* * *
The past week had been a brutal ordeal.
With the Kronos Empire launching daily assaults, the Western Front echoed with endless screams of agony.
"Aaaargh!"
"Do not retreat! If we fall back, everything is over!"
Atop the castle walls, Cairo's soldiers swung their weapons with desperate fury. Portions of the ramparts had already crumbled under relentless magical bombardment, and the waves of Kronos soldiers slaughtered everything in their path. Piles of corpses littered the ground. No matter how fierce their resolve, they could not block every attack perfectly. The blood-stained walls bore testament to just how brutal the past week had been.
It was precarious. Yet, they held.
Cairo had not given up thanks to two pillars of support.
First:
"The left wall is in danger! Send the reserve unit to reinforce them!"
Amidst the chaotic battlefield, Daniel Cairo was there. His promise to share the danger had been no empty boast. He had personally come to the Western Front to inspire courage in his soldiers. He did not play a major strategic role—Marquis Vandenberg actually commanded the troops—but the King's mere presence set the soldiers' resolve ablaze.
"Die!"
"His Majesty the King is watching us! Fight to the end!"
"Never yield to the enemy!"
Everyone fought with venom in their veins. Tears welled in their eyes.
In the past, Cairo had barely been a proper nation. Though Daniel Cairo sat on the throne, the fractured power structure meant the people of Cairo were always pushed to the bottom of the priority list. The empires always came first. The moment Kronos or Valhalla demanded something, Cairo had no choice but to cast everything aside and comply.
Now, it was different. Daniel Cairo put his own country first. He looked after the well-being of his people, and through his alliance with Dmitry, he was building a proper nation.
Therefore, they could not retreat. They had fought so hard to win this freedom; they could not simply hand it back.
And second:
Flash!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Chris tore through the battlefield.
A few days ago, Cairo had been on the brink of collapse, but the arrival of Dmitry's reinforcements turned the tide once more. Chris and the Dmitry soldiers displayed outstanding martial prowess. They slaughtered the advancing imperial troops the moment they crossed paths, while the Phoenix mages unleashed explosive mana, each fighting with the strength of a hundred men.
It was a razor-thin margin. Teetering on the edge of collapse, Cairo held on. Some might say it had only been a week, but that week was the hard-won result of Cairo's meticulous preparations.
'The war is not over yet.'
Daniel Cairo clenched his fists tight. Of course, the Western Front was still in a precarious state. However, according to reports, Roman Dmitry had broken through Valhalla's encirclement and was moving to aid the Umberto Kingdom. The situation was shifting. Once Roman Dmitry joined them, they could launch a counteroffensive. He believed they could bring down the behemoth that was the Kronos Empire.
Truly. Just maybe...
"Fight to the bitter end! Show the enemy exactly what kind of nation Cairo is!"
He felt a spark of hope that they might actually win this war.
* * *
In a space of darkness, Alexander stared coldly at several screens.
The first screen showed Dmitry. He had deployed Mystic and the Shadows to crush the territory in Roman Dmitry's absence, only for them to be utterly annihilated. The details of that failure grated on Alexander's nerves. Mystic, who specialized in spatial teleportation magic, had been killed by Chris, and Ares had been defeated by Kevin and captured alive.
The second screen showed Hector. In truth, Hector was a weak nation he hadn't even considered a variable. The Master of the Sky Magic Tower had promised to consume Edwin Hector and crush them as planned. Yet, the unexpected had occurred. Edwin Hector had instead absorbed the Master of the Sky Magic Tower and reached the 7th Circle. After securing the loyalty of the Sky Mages, he had managed to hold out against Valhalla for an entire week.
Irritation flared within him.
It had been a perfect plan. Failure was unacceptable, yet absurd anomalies had occurred on both battlefields where he had planted traitors.
That was not all. Valhalla had failed to pursue Roman Dmitry. The moment Alexander heard the report that the encirclement had been breached, he had instantly obliterated the messenger.
"Struggling until the very end, are we?"
One by one. Just like that, one by one. His plans were crumbling.
It was a flawless plan forged over many years, yet the changes wrought by Roman Dmitry were causing cracks across the entire continent. To make matters worse, Roman Dmitry had appeared in Umberto. With the plan to crush Umberto ending in failure and reports arriving that Roman had crossed the border, Alexander could no longer laugh it off.
He was furious. Irritation surged. If things became this convoluted, the entity he served might begin to question his competence.
"Roman Dmitry. You have finally forced my hand."
Rumble.
He rose from his seat. He had intended to conceal his existence until the very last moment, but Roman Dmitry had made that impossible. He would tear Roman to shreds. For provoking his wrath, he would ensure Roman suffered even in death.
But not just yet. First, there was one final thing he needed to verify.
'I will send Castro to test my methods. I must see if he truly cannot be defeated by my way. If Roman Dmitry falls, I will resurrect his soul and peer into his past life. Uncovering the life Roman Dmitry lived is as important to me as the conquest of the continent.'
That was a personal desire. A burning ambition harbored deep within the man named Alexander, entirely separate from the entity he served.
In that case, his next target was decided. Alexander's gaze shifted to one of the screens.
'Cairo.'
The Western Front. Just as Castro had shouted, Alexander's target was the Cairo Kingdom.
* * *
Dawn broke.
Cairo and Kronos. Like a repeating routine, they engaged in a deadly struggle before the castle walls.
"Die!"
"Kill every last one of them!"
It was a bloodbath. As men covered in blood unleashed their murderous intent upon one another, Alexander walked slowly toward the castle walls. It was a surreal sight. Even as a soldier collapsed right beside him with an arrow through his head, he strolled forward as if taking a leisurely walk in a park.
Then, he stopped.
Standing at a considerable distance, Alexander looked up at the castle walls with indifferent eyes.
"This is the end."
Whoosh.
Mana surged. Alexander pointed his fingertip toward the wall.
"Lightning Punishment."
Flash!
The world turned blindingly white. A brilliant flash from the heavens dyed the entire world, momentarily deafening everyone.
Then—
Boom!
Rumble, crash, crash, crash!
A colossal explosion reverberated through their ears. Soldiers screamed, clutching their bleeding ears, but such pain was the least of their concerns. The area struck by the lightning had been utterly obliterated. A section of the wall—heavily fortified with layers of magic and desperately defended by thousands of soldiers—was destroyed in an instant, claiming countless lives.
The survivors stood dazed. Their minds went blank. Before they could even process whether this was reality, the wrath of the heavens struck again and again, as if unsatisfied.
Flash!
Rumble!
Crash, crash, crash!
The world was painted in pure white.
Allies and enemies alike were swept away by the overwhelming power, and the Cairo Kingdom had no way to stop it. The Phoenix mages cast defensive spells. The barriers manifested in an instant and managed to block a bolt of lightning, but with another flash of light, the barriers shattered. The lightning pierced straight through the mages' heads.
It was overwhelming. With a single spell, they had lost a massive portion of their forces.
"...Ah."
Atop the castle wall, Daniel Cairo stood amidst the ruins.
Suddenly, a memory surfaced.
"The entity that destroyed Odelia. He wields the magic of a god. Otherwise, it would be impossible to wipe out an entire capital with magic."
The memory of that day... Goosebumps broke out all over his body.
Mages had dared to whisper of the 9th Circle, but back then, people had debated it, dismissing it as unrealistic. It was only natural. When even Shepir's 8th Circle magic was difficult to comprehend, accepting that the Kronos Empire possessed a 9th Circle mage was simply impossible.
No. They could not accept it. To face a 9th Circle mage meant confronting a despair that no amount of struggling could overcome.
And now, right before his eyes, Alexander had appeared.
Watching the man walk slowly toward the wall, Daniel Cairo shouted in a panic.
"All forces, retreat! Fall back and regroup!"
It was a swift decision. No matter how much he thought about it, there was no way to fight that monster. This was not the time for stubbornness; it was a situation where they had to retreat. The soldiers of Cairo and Dmitry fled the battlefield in terror. It was a moment that rendered all their past efforts meaningless. They had struggled so desperately to defend this place, yet their retreating figures looked utterly helpless and pathetic.
"Keke."
Alexander chuckled. He walked across the battlefield. Watching the people flee as if their heels were on fire, he playfully unleashed bursts of mana from his fingertips.
"Die."
Boom!
Rumble!
The space he pointed at exploded. Countless soldiers were caught in the blast.
It was amusing. Looking at the enemies who had abandoned their resistance, Alexander infused his voice with mana so that everyone could hear.
"Yes! Scream like that! Fall into despair! Flee like the cowards you are, and spread the word of my existence to the world! Tell them that I, Alexander, have descended upon this world! That I shall become the ruler of this continent!"
Finally.
Emperor Alexander.
He had revealed himself.