The Quick Cut
The two groups sat facing each other, openly displaying their discomfort. In this moment, their faces clearly showed how much they disliked the current situation, yet none of them dared voice that sentiment out loud.
Achilles Decliment, representative of the Falcon Empire. Scipio Afnus, representative of the Elf Theocracy.
The two men and their subordinates, each representing their respective nations, maintained a heavy silence within this awkward and chilly atmosphere for quite some time.
‘I could have used this chance to thoroughly educate those arrogant elf bastards…’
‘To think that we noble elves, who carry out the will of the gods, must bow our heads to the likes of these humans…’
Just days ago, these two had been sharpening their blades with every intention of cutting each other’s throats. Yet at this point, they had no choice but to sheathe those freshly honed blades and engage in conversation.
The Racial Alliance Army had suffered an unprecedented catastrophic defeat. Their main force of forty thousand had been annihilated, and they had lost over seventy percent of their occupied territories in a single blow. Before they could even begin preparations to recover from the damage at Lop, the losses they suffered in mere weeks were devastating beyond measure.
Because of this war, they had lost every major territory starting from Antioch—Galatia, Dimothe, Ephesus, Philippi, and more. Their military strength had been reduced to a pitiful level. The achievements of years of war had turned to foam in an instant. It was, quite literally, the worst possible crisis on top of the worst possible situation.
Regarding this matter, the Falcon Empire and Elf Theocracy—which had previously been split into two opposing factions—had no choice but to hastily resume talks like this.
However, since they had already drawn their blades against each other, any past sense of camaraderie between them had completely vanished. They were now simply “enemies” engaging in negotiations out of necessity.
In this tense standoff where they continued to probe each other, it was the Elf Theocracy—which was at a geographical and national power disadvantage—that spoke first.
“Well then, shall we begin? Since we’ve come all the way here, it would be best to resolve what needs resolving as quickly as possible, wouldn’t you agree?”
“...Indeed. In that case, I’m sure your side is already aware of how the situation is developing. Let’s skip the formalities and get straight to the main topic.”
Achilles answered Scipio’s words in a calm voice. At this moment, even if they would have to fight again someday, both men knew they had to put out the most urgent fire first.
The Racial Alliance Army was in a state where its very existence was now threatened due to the previous defeat. Although they hadn’t lost every occupied territory, the severity of the loss made it nearly impossible for them to maintain the front lines on their own any longer.
In this situation, the Falcon Empire and Elf Theocracy—the de facto largest investors in this war—had to make a swift decision to prevent any further losses.
Would they provide massive support from their homelands to regroup and continue the war? Or would they abandon all the gains they had made so far and order a retreat to salvage whatever troops and resources remained?
‘In normal circumstances, the answer would obviously be the former… Losing the landing base we obtained after countless sacrifices would be far too painful a loss.’
‘Under normal conditions, His Holiness the Pope would have chosen to continue the war as well. The price in blood our elves have paid until now has simply been too great.’
From a purely strategic standpoint, the value of a landing base in war was enormous. Normally, even if they didn’t resume a large-scale invasion, they should at least provide enough support to protect the occupied territories.
However, at this moment, the Emperor and the Pope—their respective masters—had already decided on an answer.
“We will retreat.”
“I agree. Let us launch the ships immediately and withdraw all forces currently stationed in the Demon King’s territory.”
The declaration from both nations’ representatives that they would abandon every achievement built over the past several years. At first glance, it might seem like a foolish choice. The damage from a single failure was significant, but throwing away everything because of it was idiotic.
Yet… at this moment, they both understood. What was urgent right now was not the Demon Kingdom, which had been exhausted by years of war and would need to focus entirely on internal affairs for the foreseeable future. No—the urgent matter was the “enemy” sitting right before their eyes.
‘In the end, the country that suffered the most damage from the war up until now is the Demon Kingdom. They won’t have the capacity to leave their territory and scheme anything for quite some time.’
‘By forming the Racial Alliance and beating them down, the Demon Kingdom is no longer the great power it once was. Moreover, since we’ve made them the true axis of evil, they can no longer pose a threat to us.’
From the beginning, the biggest reason they had labeled the Demon Kingdom and the demon race as forces of evil and formed the Racial Alliance was to divert domestic discontent outward. To correct the public sentiment that had grown ugly due to successive poor harvests, plagues, and noble corruption, they had declared what they called a holy war and continued it until now.
However, now that the domestic situation had stabilized and national power had returned to normal levels, the necessity for such a war had relatively decreased. In a situation where there was no longer any political need to continue the war, they had even begun to suffer losses.
In this situation, what they needed was not some half-hearted attempt to muddy the waters, but a quick cut.
And crucially, what stood before them now was not the weakened Demon Kingdom, which could no longer be considered a threat. Instead, there existed a far larger, more powerful, and genuinely dangerous entity.
‘If we continue the war and send reinforcements here, there’s no way these elf bastards wouldn’t take advantage of the opportunity…’
‘What stands before us now is not the illusion called the Demon Kingdom, but the real enemy called the Falcon Empire. The moment we pull troops under the pretense of sending reinforcements, they will undoubtedly launch a full-scale offensive.’
The two powers had already resolved to draw their swords against each other. In particular, the Emperor of the Falcon Empire had decided to use this opportunity to completely erase the Elf Theocracy, their longtime rival.
With a massive war looming right before their eyes, there was no reason to cling to something as useless as the now-exhausted Racial Alliance and suffer further losses.
“Then, since we have already received approval from the Magic Nation and the Beastman Nation, let us proceed immediately.”
“I agree. Let us send the soldiers who have endured so much back to their families’ embrace as soon as possible, even if it’s just one day sooner.”
Thus, while inwardly pointing their blades at each other, Achilles and Scipio shook hands with smiles on their faces. All the while thinking that if the chance arose, they would definitely cut this bastard’s throat themselves…
A few days after the situation in Antioch had been settled.
The thirty thousand strong Demon King’s Army stationed there now had to make a choice.
“Your Majesty, at this opportunity, shall we completely sweep away the remaining enemy remnants as well?”
“I am in full agreement. Our army’s morale is piercing the heavens, while the enemy has shrunk back as much as possible. I believe it is right to ride this momentum and eradicate every last enemy in this country without leaving a single one behind.”
Samson and his faction asserted in firm voices that they should continue the battle. On the other hand, Ilios and Belzebeuty maintained the position that they needed to remain somewhat cautious regarding this matter.
“Your Majesty, although we have achieved a great victory, our soldiers are still quite exhausted from the intense fighting.”
“Moreover, the enemy is now cornered and filled with venom. If we attack recklessly at a time like this, we may instead suffer a setback. It would be better to induce the enemy’s carelessness, give our troops some rest, and withdraw for now. That is what I believe is right.”
“Ilios, what are you saying! War is all about momentum! If we don’t finish the job while riding this wave, who knows how things will unfold from here on!”
“Don’t you understand that if we get swept up in that momentum incorrectly, we could instead fall straight off a waterfall to our doom?”
Once again, Samson and Ilios were showing a scene strangely similar to what I had seen before. Regarding this, I began to get the feeling that something I really didn’t want to happen was about to occur again…
“Hero! What is your opinion?”
Unfortunately, that ominous feeling did not deviate from my expectations.
“You must have something you wish to say. Please speak a word.”
‘No… I really don’t have anything I want to say.’
“You are the hero who previously accomplished remarkable feats. I’m sure you have a good idea this time as well, so please share it with us.”
‘I don’t have anything like that. Don’t pass the arrow to me like this.’
Not only Samson, but even Ilios had stepped forward to demand an answer from me. At the same time, the Demon King was also looking at me and giving me a signal that I should say something…
Regarding this, I could only sigh inwardly and rack my brain to come up with the most appropriate answer possible.
I felt a great burden from the fact that I had somehow become the one who naturally decided the course of events…
“Your Majesty, in this servant’s humble opinion…”