Chapter 492.1: Spoils Of War

"... On behalf of the Falcon Kingdom’s Royal Family, I hereby declare that the Falcon Kingdom’s land and air forces shall, effective immediately, surrender to the New Alliance, the Enterprise Expeditionary Forces, and all warring nations including the Lion Kingdom, Honey Badger Kingdom, Gold Lizard Kingdom, and Camel Kingdom."

"From the date the surrender agreement is signed, all combat units loyal to the Falcon Kingdom must immediately abandon their current positions and proceed to New Alliance or Enterprise army garrisons to surrender their weapons and ammunition. The New Alliance and the Enterprise guarantee your safety."

"To my subjects, know that the kingdom’s declaration of war on the nations of the Sunset Province was due to the steadily diminishing blessings of the Spirit of the Desert, the mounting expenses of the garrison, the royal family, and the industrial sector, these were matters of necessity, not my intent..."

"... I hope you can understand my position."

In the holographic image, King Morgott of the Falcon Kingdom, crowned and robed, sat in his castle office reading the royal decree of surrender.

Just five minutes prior, he had already signed the formal written agreement of surrender and handed it to the New Alliance’s Burning Corps stationed within the castle.

The hologram would be broadcast via audio throughout the entire Falcon Kingdom and simultaneously sent through the command system to all divisions.

Predictably, the players stationed at Bist Town were about to get very busy.

Having finally reached the end of the decree, Morgott paused and looked toward the holographic projection before him.

The man in the image was none other than the New Alliance’s administrator.

That man was even younger than Morgott had imagined, completely different from the portraits his staff had collected from within the Honey Badger Kingdom.

Especially those eyes. They bore endless depth, and they shone like the stars overhead.

Though they lacked sharpness or hostility, the sheer depth of those black pupils gave them a penetrating, soul-stirring power. Morgott dared not meet his gaze and he felt that just one second of eye contact would allow the man to steal all his secrets.

"Do you think any changes are needed?" King Morgott asked humbly.

Chu Guang was fairly satisfied with the surrender decree, especially the part where the important information was said first and the fluff was left at the end.

As for the Falcon Kingdom, he already had his plans, though it wasn’t necessary to disclose them for the time being. His next priority, after foiling Griffin's mad plan, was to disarm the frontline forces.

Staring at the old man, Chu Guang replied simply, "No need. This will do."

Morgott gave a slight nod, sighed quietly, and after murmuring a farewell, disappeared from the holographic projection.

Gazing at the now-empty screen, Chu Guang turned to Little Seven, who was perched atop a penholder.

"Did you get their comms interface?"

The Army hadn’t just helped the Falcon Kingdom build a modernized command system. They also provided a full set of information technology services. After all, the Army inherited pre-war military technologies. Their expertise in information security and cryptography was enough to challenge even the Academy and the Enterprise.

To put it in perspective, the Army's cyber defense might be rated at 4, with their ability to hack into others’ systems gradually rising to around a rating of 3.

The Enterprise should have cyber defense rating of around 3 and the ability to attach others’ through their web at a rating of 4.

The Academy, who had great advancement or inheritance in technology possessed a rating of 5 on their cyber defense. However, they lacked the ability to attack others, putting them at around a 2 in terms of offensive capabilities.

The Shelters, which maxed out on defenses, had their cyber defense rating a solid 6, with offensive capabilities of around 0.5 to 1...

As for the kingdoms in Sunset Province, all signs suggested the only thing they inherited from pre-war civilization was Levees, and even that was shrouded in religious significance due to their inability to understand it.

Unless the Falcon Kingdom communicated like the Lion Kingdom via pigeons or relay riders instead of radios, the war wouldn’t have dragged on so long. Even a cyberattack from a Shelter with low offensive rating would have crippled them. Without Army encryption, Little Seven could’ve crashed their network like flattening modern internet infrastructure.

However, it was no longer necessary.

The New Alliance’s army had physically obtained the key to their systems, the signal repeater already mounted on the castle’s tower.

“... Interface confirmed. Signal is stable, Master. Shall I send the hologram to the Falcon Kingdom’s command headquarters?”

“

Mm

,” Chu Guang nodded in approval at Little Seven, whose eyes were shining bright at the moment. “Not just their command headquarters. Send it to all units if possible.”

Little Seven playfully saluted with a fist to its chest. “Understood.”

...

The hologram first played in Falcon City. It blasted through the radio, or any other avenue possible for the message to be played.

After hearing the declaration of surrender from their king, those who had been resisting desperately in the castle or whatever pocket it was left finally threw down their arms and emerged. They came out of random lofts, kitchens, or even cabinets.

Of course... Not everyone could accept their fate so simply.

“Long life His Majesty!”

Some roared as their facial muscles twitched in frenzy before they pulled the safety pin out of the grenade they were holding. Along with a huge blast, they were blown to bits.

Some, without saying a word, put the barrel of a gun in their mouths, closed their eyes, and pulled the trigger, choosing to die as warriors.

But no matter what, the reality of their defeat couldn’t be changed. It was over.

Their kingdom had already lost long before their king surrendered...

Rifles were stacked in the royal palace’s great hall, and the ammunition stored separately in a storeroom. Royal guards held their hands on their heads as they walked out of the castle in lines under New Alliance supervision.

One soldier paused in front of Midal. Looking at his bandaged commander, he hesitated, then saluted. “Sir, what... what do we do now?”

Midal looked at him with his emotions in a mess. “Go be with your family.”

The soldier stood frozen until his comrade walked over and pulled him aside.

That bearded man patted his shoulder. “Come on... You can stay with me.”

Watching the two leave, Midal suddenly recalled... He vaguely recognized that young man... He had enlisted in place of his brother who had previously filled in for their father.

That young man no longer had a home to return to.

Midal closed his eyes in anguish, facing the long line in silence.

...

Elsewhere, by the dungeon entrance, Old Six approached Old White. “The royal family members have been secured, along with the nobles loyal to them... Should we let them stay in the dungeon or return to their rooms?”

Old White thought for a moment before responding. “Let them stay in the dungeon for the night. We’ll hand them over to the NPCs taking over tomorrow.”

Old Six gave him a thumbs up. “Roger that.”

Until the airship flew in, they needed to help the First Corps stand guard for a bit.

It was actually easy for players, they could just take shifts by logging off.

Besides securing the castle, Gale had also assigned Quit Smoking a company of men. He was to escort Boff and his deputy to the south gate of Falcon City to disarm the remaining garrison and militia. The Levee still held a dozen anti-aircraft guns. They had to be destroyed before the airship arrived.

On their way south, Quit Smoking’s squad happened to encounter a militia unit en route to reinforce the castle.

Among them were elderly men, children, even women, over a hundred people with only 20-odd guns. The rest carried pitchforks and flails.

Clearly, they didn’t want to be there. Otherwise it wouldn’t have taken them so long to cover 10 kilometers.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Before Quit Smoking could even speak, Boff’s deputy jogged ahead, waving his arms and yelled, "The war is over! Drop your weapons and you can go home!"

No one moved.

Finally, a man in his fifties squeezed to the front and stared at the deputy. “Can we trust you? If we drop our weapons... Will His Majesty have us hanged?”

The deputy gave him a bitter smile. “Relax! He’s already surrendered!”

Once they were sure it wasn’t an enemy ruse and that their king had truly surrendered, the militia broke down in relief. They dropped their weapons and tools, scattered with a mix of laughter and tears.