Chapter 719

“Longines is digging his own grave.” Emperor Stuttgart smirked as he read the morning report regarding the Proatine Kingdom’s invasion of the Bayerische Kingdom. “Well, I did warn him, didn’t I?”

He let out a low chuckle as he recalled the petition King Longines the Third submitted not long ago. The letter stated that Siegfried van Proa, the King of the Proatine Kingdom, was acting arrogantly all because he had the backing of the emperor.

Emperor Stuttgart responded with advice, warning King Longines the Third to handle the matter as diplomatically as possible, as it would be unwise to start a conflict with the Proatine Kingdom.

However, King Longiness III sent another letter just last night, declaring his intention to wage war and invade the Proatine Kingdom. He stated that the

casus belli

for the war was Siegfried’s recent kidnapping of his subject from within the Bayerische Kingdom.

Once again, Emperor Stuttgart urged him to think carefully and reconsider to avoid escalating the situation. Unfortunately, King Longines the Third, as stubborn as ever, refused to heed the emperor’s advice.

In fact, he insisted that Siegfried van Proa had committed a blatant crime on another kingdom’s sovereign soil and argued that the Marchioni Empire ought not to interfere and protect such a criminal.

Thus, the emperor’s final response was simple.

“Do as you please.”

Ironically, not even a full day had passed, and the Proatine Forces had already smashed through the Bayerische Kingdom’s borders. All the warnings Emperor Stuttgart had given to King Longines the Third had fallen on deaf ears, and it was now too late to heed what now sounded like wise advice.

The damage was done, and it was unknown whether they could recover from it or not.

“Messenger,” Emperor Stuttgart called out.

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty?”

“Send Longines a bottle of Tears of Farewell.”

The Tears of Farewell was a common wine with a distinct sour taste. The name made it sound grand and extravagant, but it was not expensive at all. In fact, it was so cheap that one could buy a bottle for a few coins at any shop on the continent.

It seemed incredibly inappropriate for someone of Emperor Stuttgart’s status to send such a common wine as a gift, but that was only the case when one focused only on its price tag.

The Tears of Farewell carried a symbolic meaning on the continent, and this wine was traditionally shared between those who knew they would never see each other again, which was where the wine’s name had come from.

In other words, Emperor Stuttgart was sending this gift as a message, believing that King Longines the Third’s fate was already sealed and that they would never meet again.

“Send it immediately,” Emperor Stuttgart said nonchalantly.

“Yes, sire.”

Emperor Stuttgart returned to his duties after telling the messenger to send the gift.

A short while later...

“Sire.”

One of his attendants entered the room and knelt, showing respect to the most powerful man on the continent.

“Is there something urgent?” Emperor Stuttgart asked.

“A rebellion has broken out in the northeastern territory, sire.”

Despite reporting such dire news, the attendant seemed quite calm and composed.

“A rebellion, you say...” Emperor Stuttgart muttered without even lifting his eyes from the documents he was reviewing. The way he was calm despite the news made it seem like he was already expecting something like this to happen.

“It was bound to happen eventually," he said with a shrug.

“Yes, sire.”

“Alright, you may return to your duties.”

“Shall I summon the council, sire?”

“I’m not finished here yet. Maybe later.”

With that, Emperor Stuttgart turned his attention back to his documents.

***

At the same time...

“What in the world is happening?! Explain this to me at once! Someone explain it now!”

King Longines the Third was enraged and panicking after hearing reports of the Proatine Forces' invasion of his kingdom. His fury and confusion were understandable, as he was awoken from his sleep in the dead of the night with such shocking news.

“Your Majesty! Please calm yourself!” General Oris exclaimed, trying his best to soothe his liege. Then, he explained, “Based on the reports, it appears the Proatine Kingdom had been preparing for this invasion for at least a week now. Otherwise, they couldn't have launched such a swift invasion in that short period of time.”

“That’s preposterous! Even if they had been preparing for it, how could those pathetic fools not only breach our borders but capture three key strategic positions that quickly?!”

“Your Majesty...”

“Tell me! How far has our soldiers’ discipline fallen that we’ve been defeated by a ragtag bunch of farmers?!”

“They are not farmers, Your Majesty.”

“What did you just say?”

“The Proatine Forces...” General Oris said before hesitating, as if reluctant to deliver the grim news. Then, he steeled his resolve and continued, “The reports indicate that the Proatine Kingdom’s soldiers are well-armed elite soldiers.”

“T-That can’t be!”

“It is the unfortunate truth, sire. We have confirmed it.”

“...”

“Furthermore, there are numerous powerful individuals within their ranks.”

“Powerful individuals?”

“One of them is a silver-haired man wielding a massive axe. Our men report that he is capable of emitting frost, and he is believed to be a Master.”

“A M-Master?!”

“We are unable to fully confirm the matter, but we are certain of one thing... The Proatine Kingdom is not the weak kingdom we thought it was.”

“T-This is absurd...” King Longines the Third muttered. He was dumbfounded by the reports that his mind ended up blanking from disbelief.

It was then.

A servant announced, “Your Majesty! A gift from Emperor Stuttgart of the Marchioni Empire has arrived!”

“What? From Emperor Stuttgart? At a time like this?” King Longines the Third asked, sounding baffled.

“Yes, sire.”

“Bring it at once.”

“As you command, sire.”

King Longines the Third knelt beside the chest sent by the emperor, and he opened it slowly with trembling hands.

Click... Clack...!

The lid opened and fell to the floor.

“This...? W-What is the meaning of this...?” King Longines the Third muttered.

The box contained a bottle of the Tears of Farewell. In that instant, King Longines the Third’s face turned as cold as stone. The fact that the emperor had sent him the Tears of Farewell as a gift at such a moment could only mean one thing.

“It seems... the Proatine Kingdom has been hiding their true strength...” King Longines the Third muttered the only conclusion he could come to.

In hindsight, Emperor Stuttgart’s advice to resolve the situation as peacefully and diplomatically as possible made perfect sense. He didn't want to heed it back then, but now, it was too late to do otherwise.

“Your Majesty, please calm yourself. We are in the process of coming up with a defensive strategy while looking for an opportunity to strike back,” General Oris said, attempting to confront his distraught liege.

“The Proatine Kingdom may possess military might beyond what we expected, but our kingdom’s military is still formidable. We have our own elite forces as well.”

“Yes... Yes, you’re right!” King Longines exclaimed in agreement.

“Please place your trust in us, sire. Even if the Proatine Kingdom has grown stronger, their growth must have limits.”

“I place my trust in you, General Oris. Rid us of those wretched invaders daring to step foot into our kingdom!”

“Your grace is immeasurable, sire!”

With that, the Bayerische Kingdom began focusing all of its efforts on fortifying their defenses, preparing for an inevitable full-scale war with the Proatine Kingdom.

They had already lost their borders and three crucial strategic fortresses, but they had no intention of surrendering at all. The Bayerische Kingdom was prepared to fight until the very bitter end against the invaders.

***

“Allow me to report on the current situation, Your Majesty.”

Siegfried listened to Oscar’s report from the Bayerische territories that they had just occupied.

The report sounded pretty favorable with the Proatine Kingdom’s army occupying the highly advantageous positions, allowing them to attack wherever they pleased. Their surprise attack was so successful that they had seized complete control of the war.

“Good,” Siegfried said with a smile. Then, he looked at the map and said, “But it seems tricky to continue attacking. It looks like this war will drag on from now.”

His reasoning was simple—the numbers.

The Proatine Forces numbered only thirty thousand. Each and every one of the thirty thousand men were not only elite warriors but were also fully armed with gear crafted by the Autonika Workshop and Bavarian Workshop.

However, the Bayerische Kingdom boasted a staggering one hundred fifty thousand troops.

The Proatine Forces could end up getting surrounded and crushed by the overwhelming enemy numbers if they were to advance carelessly. Even worse, there was no way they could easily siege a fortress down if the Bayerische Forces were to turtle down and focus on defending.

“What do you think, Oscar?”

“In my humble opinion, while difficult, it would be wise to advance carefully while chipping away at their forces bit by bit.”

“

Hmm...

That sounds like a good plan.”

Siegfried listened to Oscar’s advice and slowed their advance. His instincts screamed at him to press forward and crush the enemy swiftly, but the risk of unnecessary casualties held him back.

After all, there was no need to rush when they had already conquered the border and strategically advantageous positions. Thus, it made no sense to gamble away the lives of his precious elite soldiers just to end the war swiftly.

All they had to do now was squeeze the Bayerische Kingdom slowly as if tightening a noose around their neck with each passing day.

“Alright, let’s starve them out bit by bit.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

One week later, at a fortress located deep in the central region of the Bayerische Kingdom...

“

Aaaah!”

“A demon! He’s a demon!”

“Run! A demon has appeared!”

The soldiers of the Bayerische Kingdom fled desperately at the sight of Siegfried. He was walking casually while unleashing a deadly green mist, and this image of him had already come to symbolize death itself to the Bayerische soldiers over the past week.

Word had already spread among the troops that anyone caught in the green fog unleashed by Siegfried would die almost instantaneously, and the news caused the morale of the Bayerische soldiers to plummet to the abyss.

The kingdom tried distributing artifacts boosting one’s resistance to poison, but it was all useless. The radiation energy Siegfried emitted was so powerful that one measly resistance artifact was nowhere enough to save the user.

“Too easy,” Siegfried said smugly after wiping out the enemies with Eraser Swarm and seizing control of the fortress.

“Congratulations on the victory, Your Majesty!”

“I sincerely congratulate you, sire!”

Siegfried received congratulations from his subjects as he sat on the seat of honor deep inside the keep of the fortress that he had just conquered.

Carrell knelt before him and reported, “I bring reports of the war, sire.”

“Go ahead.”

“The other fronts are also victorious in their battles. Congratulations on your triumph, Your Majesty!”

“Good, good.”

“Oh, and although it is not directly related to our war, we have received reports that there are strange occurrences happening currently.”

“What is it?”

“There are troubling signs of rebellion in the Marchioni Empire. Apparently, the rebel forces are much stronger than the empire anticipated.”

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

“Is that so? That’s unexpected...?” Siegfried replied. Then, he began to sense that something was amiss in the broader political landscape of the continent. The fact that the Marchioni Empire, the most powerful nation in the world, was struggling against a bunch of rebels, meant that these rebels were no ordinary rebels.

But that was not the end of the report...

“There are also strange anomalies happening around the dimensional rifts within the empire’s borders, and this is causing the empire to be unable to focus on quelling the rebellion.”

“Really?”

“There are even rumors among the people that the Marchioni Empire might fall.”

“

Huh?

What?”

“That is how bad the situation is, sire. Even the empire’s neighboring countries are discreetly mobilizing their forces, sensing the empire’s weakness.”

“

Hmm...

”

Siegfried was surprised by the report.

‘

What in the world is happening...?’

he wondered. It seemed that the rest of the continent had been thrown into turmoil while he was busy focusing on the war against the Bayerische Kingdom.

‘

This sounds like—’

It was then.

A messenger rushed in and knelt before Siegfried.

“Your Majesty! I bring urgent news!”

“What is it this time?”

“The Bayerische Kingdom has requested for negotiations!”