Continental Conquest (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Continental Conquest (3)
Count Fabius strolled in without a hint of hesitation.
Though uninvited and entirely unwelcome, he pulled out a chair and sat down as comfortably as if he were in his own home. Every eye in the room tracked his movements. Leaning back in his seat, Count Fabius tilted his chin up arrogantly and spoke without preamble.
"Why is everyone looking at me like that?"
"...Count Fabius. This is a meeting to discuss the future of Valhalla. Not only are you uninvited, but you should also know that stepping into enemy territory during wartime can lead to unpredictable consequences."
The speaker was Count Snodin.
Despite the veiled threat, Count Fabius merely tapped his foot, completely unfazed.
"Yes, yes. Do you really think I wouldn't know something so obvious? I am here because I was formally invited. Led by Baron Airn, twenty-nine noble families of Valhalla expressed their desire to have a serious discussion with Dmitry regarding this matter. Isn't that right, Baron Airn?"
"That is correct."
"See? Honestly, being glared at like that by people who don't even know the full story makes me a bit uncomfortable."
A few days prior, a massive shift had occurred within Valhalla.
The revelation of Emperor Alexander's true identity had sent shockwaves through the empire, prompting nobles who questioned the alliance between Valhalla and Kronos to band together. The focal point of this movement was Baron Airn. After forming a coalition of twenty-nine families, he had contacted Dmitry directly, arranging this surprise meeting and inviting Count Fabius.
They were the core of Valhalla.
No matter how much times had changed, these nobles still had the blood of warriors boiling in their veins. They could not tolerate the current situation.
Count Snodin openly displayed his displeasure.
Though Fabius's words were intentionally grating, Snodin could not outright refuse a dialogue under these circumstances.
"Very well. What is your main point?"
"I wanted to exchange pleasantries and have a light conversation first, but you certainly are impatient. Fine. Let's get straight to the point. As you know, this war has revealed the true identity of Emperor Alexander. A ghost of the past who should have died long ago was still alive, and he has committed countless atrocities through the Kronos Empire. However, according to what my liege discovered in the Southern Tomb, the former emperor, Stern Valhalla, and Duke Vieto were deeply connected to Kronos—"
"That is a lie. No such records exist in the Southern Tomb, and we are not associated with Kronos."
Snodin cut him off sharply.
Count Fabius smirked.
It was exactly as he had expected.
The people of Valhalla possessed immense pride in their empire. If they were to accept the fact that they had been mere lackeys of Kronos, a massive rebellion would break out. Naturally, those like Count Snodin, who were currently leading the alliance with Kronos, would be captured and burned alive. That was why Snodin had interrupted him before he could say more. Wearing an amused smile, Count Fabius continued.
"I understand. Even to me, it is hard to believe that such an ugly truth lies behind a great power like the Valhalla Empire. Actually, there is a very simple way to resolve this issue. Why haven't you made the records in the Southern Tomb public? If you released those records—which cannot be physically destroyed or altered—wouldn't that dispel all doubts? Furthermore, when my liege executed the Emperor of Valhalla... while I understand your anger at the situation, why did Valhalla make absolutely no move to verify the truth?"
"We have no reason to explain such nonsense."
"And that is why we are in this mess. Historically, the relationship between Valhalla and Kronos has many suspicious points. People call the two empires the great pillars of the continent, describing them as obstacles that hinder each other's goals. But if you look closely at history, the truth is quite different. Just as my liege was attacked by Kronos on his way back from the Valhalla Festival, and just as Kronos raised its troops as if they had been waiting for the exact moment Valhalla declared war on Dmitry. The two empires have always aligned their wills when it truly mattered."
"But—"
"Look here, Count Snodin. You know very well that I am not just talking about one or two recent incidents. This has been repeated throughout history. And in a situation like now, where the true identity of Emperor Alexander has been revealed..."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Fabius's gaze swept sharply over his opponent.
He leaned forward, staring intently into Count Snodin's eyes as if peering into his very soul.
"How on earth are we supposed to interpret Valhalla's actions in aiding Kronos?"
* * *
It was a suffocating situation.
In that moment, Count Snodin realized the truth.
This was a trap.
If he made even a slight slip of the tongue, he would be branded a traitor who sold out his country. Yet, executing Count Fabius was too complicated a matter. The twenty-nine families that had formed an alliance under Baron Airn prevented Valhalla from mobilizing its full power. While it would be possible to wipe them out by force, touching a faction backed by public sentiment would inevitably trigger severe consequences.
Furthermore, the presence of Kevin, the Evil Ghost of Dmitry, weighed heavily on his mind.
Kevin stood silently behind Count Fabius. As the atmosphere grew tense, he calmly scanned his surroundings with a flat, dead gaze, as if calculating exactly how many enemies he would have to slaughter. Despite being in the heart of Valhalla, Fabius and Kevin acted as if they were completely devoid of fear.
Their demeanor was no bluff.
The political deeds Fabius had accomplished.
The rumors that Kevin had recently struck down Ares.
The mountain of achievements accumulated by Dmitry forced Count Snodin to swallow his rising anger.
He endured it.
Now was the time to take a step back.
"...All of that is mere speculation. If there were situations that invited misunderstanding, they can only be explained as coincidences. Furthermore, the records kept in the Southern Tomb cannot be carelessly disclosed. It is not that we refuse to explain, but rather that it is a matter we cannot explain. Frankly, we find it frustrating that you question our motives for war. The Emperor of Valhalla is dead. Whatever the truth may be, is it not the most natural choice for us, as his subjects, to seek vengeance?"
It was a logical excuse within the bounds of common sense.
And it was exactly what Fabius had expected.
Count Fabius's lips twitched into a smirk.
From the moment Snodin took even a single step back, the initiative in this war of words belonged entirely to Fabius.
"I understand. My liege's actions were indeed a bit extreme. He should have gone through a process of persuasion before killing the Emperor of Valhalla, but to execute him the very moment he learned the truth... Well, we can clear up our misunderstandings over time. But shouldn't we resolve the immediate issue first?"
It was a masterful stroke of rhetoric.
With the single word "extreme," the monumental act of executing the Emperor of Valhalla was reduced to a trivial faux pas.
"I will trust Valhalla. I will trust you, Count Snodin. I will believe that Alexander had no hand in Valhalla's history, and that this issue arose solely because Duke Vieto acted on his own to collude with Kronos. Since Valhalla was unaware of such truths, you had no choice but to start a war. So, from now on, simply stand by and watch. Now that the Kronos Empire has been revealed as a force of absolute evil, shouldn't dealing with them be our priority? I won't ask you to help us in the war. Just step back so we do not misunderstand Valhalla's intentions, at least until we clear up our mutual doubts."
He smiled.
It was a classic display of bearing down on the weak.
Seeing the terrified, defensive stance of his opponent, Count Fabius felt a rush of sadistic pleasure.
"If you show any signs of aligning with Kronos now, then we will have no choice but to believe that Valhalla is indeed connected to Kronos and Emperor Alexander."
* * *
The conversation came to an end.
Count Snodin nodded, his face grim.
His logic had been completely dismantled. To survive the immediate crisis, he had no choice but to accept Fabius's proposal.
As they stepped outside, Kevin, walking closely behind, asked Count Fabius a question.
"I don't quite understand. The circumstances clearly indicate that Count Snodin has some sort of deal with Kronos. We have even secured actual evidence, so why aren't we eliminating him?"
It was a genuine question.
On this trip to Valhalla, Kevin had been mentally preparing for battle, fully expecting a fight to break out. However, things had gone much smoother than anticipated. Once Count Fabius seized control of the conversation, Count Snodin merely nodded submissively, unable to show any open hostility.
Count Fabius replied.
"Sir Kevin, everything has a priority. What is important for Dmitry right now is the total war with Kronos. Once we achieve our primary goal, dealing with an isolated Valhalla will not be a problem. That is why I have shackled Valhalla's ankles. After today, Valhalla cannot move recklessly. My visit through Baron Airn was to foster another faction to keep Count Snodin's forces in check. From now on, if Valhalla decides to continue the war, they will have to deal with internal backlash as well as external pressure."
Valhalla.
They were now split in two.
Just as Cairo had been, a power structure that had lost its center would fail to move toward a single, unified goal.
"Even if Baron Airn betrays Dmitry, or Count Snodin instigates a civil war to seize complete control of Valhalla, it won't be bad for us. They will eat away at themselves from within to unify their power structure. When that happens, I plan to ignite the public sentiment of Valhalla. Then, the enemy they will have to face won't be Dmitry and the Kingdom Alliance, but their own furious citizens."
The catalyst for Baron Airn's movement had originated from the Hao Sect.
They had spread rumors that stirred public sentiment, and Baron Airn, empowered by the people's support, had been able to build his faction.
Every single step had been calculated.
The moment Roman Dmitry realized that Alexander's identity could be used as a weapon, he mobilized his people to rapidly eat away at Valhalla from the inside. The Hao Sect and Count Fabius had perfectly brought the picture Roman Dmitry envisioned into reality. Even if it was intended, executing it so flawlessly was an entirely different matter.
Kevin was struck with a renewed sense of admiration.
"...To have planned so far ahead. That is amazing."
In truth, Kevin did not like Count Fabius.
Possessing a blind, fanatical loyalty toward Roman Dmitry, he could not trust a bat-like opportunist who had once been loyal to Marquis Benedict.
For any man, the first betrayal is always the hardest. Believing that Fabius could betray them a second time at any moment, Kevin had not been pleased to see him entrusted with such a critical mission.
However, as time went on, his thoughts began to change.
Dmitry will become an empire in the future. To manage such a vast territory, a figure like Count Fabius will be absolutely necessary.
He had to acknowledge it.
Count Fabius was, without a doubt, a man Dmitry needed.
* * *
The tide of war turned in an instant.
The following morning, the Valhalla Empire released an official statement.
"Alexander is an undeniable evil. We have determined that we cannot align with the Kronos Empire, and we will step back until the clear truth is verified. If circumstances reveal that the leadership of Kronos is directly connected to and colluded with Alexander, the Valhalla Empire will declare Kronos an enemy of humanity."
It was the perfect response.
The statement calmed the furious citizens of Valhalla, and thanks to this, the Hector Kingdom managed to overcome its crisis.
That was not all.
At that very hour, Frank and Redford began to suppress the rioters in earnest.
While Alexander was alive, the mysterious power the rioters wielded had been formidable. But once they lost their strength and withered away, cleaning up the situation was not difficult. The alliance between Kronos and Valhalla, and the riots in the Lawless Zone—two of the major problems that had pushed the Kingdom Alliance to the brink of crisis—were now resolved.
For the Kingdom Alliance, the stage was set to focus entirely on the Kronos Empire. The army led by Roman Dmitry advanced with an irresistible, overwhelming force.
At the forefront was Herman.
Herman walked without hesitation into bowshot range, risking his life to prove his worth.
"I am Herman, a former soldier of the Kronos Empire! The war is already over. Valhalla has abandoned its alliance with Kronos, and the entire Kingdom Alliance is gathering its forces to bring down the Kronos Empire. Why on earth are you still fighting for Kronos? Some may call me a traitor for standing here representing Dmitry, but I do not consider my actions treason. The rulers of the Kronos Empire hid the existence of Alexander and deceived innocent citizens. We did nothing wrong, yet we have been branded enemies of humanity and face death. This is not simply a matter of sharing the nation's peril. Kronos—this country is clearly in the wrong! If you truly care for your nation, you must correct its course so it moves in the right direction. And only Lord Roman Dmitry can achieve that. It is Dmitry's history, which has always operated on precise laws rather than judging everything in simple black-and-white terms, that has brought me to this spot!"
Herman's speech was masterful.
After forcing them to accept their despairing reality, it alleviated their guilt over betraying Kronos.
We are doing the right thing.
We are not traitors.
The words Herman shouted, combined with Dmitry's track record of accepting former enemies and granting them wealth and glory based on their abilities, lent immense weight to his logic. His speech worked perfectly. People who were already shocked by the existence of Emperor Alexander willingly opened the castle gates. As for the few who stubbornly insisted on fighting to the end for Kronos, Dmitry set a bloody precedent by slaughtering every last one of them.
The consequences of their choices were crystal clear.
Fight or surrender.
Live or die.
Having lost its pride as an empire, Kronos collapsed continuously like a row of dominoes.
About fifteen days into the march, when they captured another fortress, its commander raised a white flag and requested a dialogue.
"Lord Roman Dmitry. Marquis Memphis wishes to speak with you."
Marquis Memphis.
He had finally made his move.
* * *
On the communication screen, Marquis Memphis's face appeared.
His gaze, which had once brimmed with imperial pride and looked down arrogantly upon others, had now softened.
[I will get straight to the point.]
Over the past fortnight, he had been incredibly busy.
He had needed time to prepare before establishing contact with Roman Dmitry, and he had finally set the perfect stage for today.
[I have successfully taken control of the imperial court in secret. I will hand over the Emperor of Kronos. Why don't we conclude this matter by having you execute him, claiming Dmitry's victory, and returning home?]
It was a declaration of surrender.
After agonizing over his options in his office, he had chosen the only path that would allow him to survive.