Chapter 227

* * *

Inside the meeting room of Falahart Royal Palace.

The five heroes representing the Aishias Army—Yuri, Epinal, Erhandorf, Emma, and Anima—gathered in one place for the first time in a long while.

Emma was the first to speak up.

Since her territories had expanded, she’d mostly been focusing on external activities, so this face-to-face meeting with Yuri was also quite rare from her perspective.

“Yuri. Seeing as you’ve called all of us here, it seems like you’ve finally made a decision?”

“Yeah.”

Upon seeing Yuri nod, Emma grinned as if amused.

“Right. Looking at the map and analyzing the situation, even I can tell that the time has come. But everyone’s been too quiet. What about you, Epinal? Or Anima?”

“So, where should we head?”

At Erhandorf’s question after a prolonged silence, Yuri paused for a moment.

“Before I share my thoughts, how about we hear everyone else’s opinions first?”

“Our goal should be Serpina Army’s territory.”

No sooner had Yuri finished speaking than Epinal raised his hand and offered his opinion.

“Reason?”

“There’s nothing Brance Army would gain by going to war with Serpina Army right now. Actually…”

Epinal leaned back, expressionless.

“Perhaps Chel Army or Kalintz Army could potentially become border threats?”

“The downfall and fragmentation of Brance Army…”

It seemed they hadn’t reached any conclusion yet, wasting time in the process. This was precisely why Epinal suggested targeting Serpina Army now, reasoning that no one would interfere while Brance Army remained divided.

“What about Hesna Army?”

“Hesna? Ha…”

In response to Emma’s query, Epinal shook his head dismissively.

“If they were capable of doing anything, they would’ve done it already. They’re probably just waiting around, checking Ohana Army or Roland Army’s moves. And considering how poorly they manage the territories they took from Brance Army, they won’t do much anyway.”

“Hmm…”

“Do we have any other suggestions?”

This time, Anima responded.

“I think attacking Hesna Army is the right move.”

“…Huh?”

Attack Hesna Army?

Anima’s unexpected suggestion left everyone staring at her curiously.

“Given that Serpina Army hasn’t shown much movement recently, there must be some complicated internal issues going on that we don’t know about… Wouldn’t it be better to start conquering the southern continent now? If we take down Hesna Army, we might also suppress Chel Army and Kalintz Army in the process. That way, dominance over the central continent will fall into our hands.”

While competing with Serpina Army for control over the northern continent, this would give them an opportunity to stabilize the chaos in the south. As Anima, the nation’s strategist, argued, it would be wise to leverage this confusion to seize control over both central and southern continents.

“But what if Serpina Army advances south during this time? After all, ‘complicated internal issues’ are just assumptions, aren’t they?”

“But what if another country takes advantage of the chaos while we’re dealing with Serpina Army? Honestly speaking, with Brance Army split into three factions, this is a golden opportunity where no single nation can rival us across the entire southern region.”

Anima spread out the map and began explaining the situation enthusiastically with her remaining hand.

“Of course, once the four nations in the south are consolidated, they might grow stronger than us. But that’s why we need to act before then.”

“In my opinion, even if we go to war with Serpina Army, the chaos down south won’t resolve itself easily. If it were going to settle, it would’ve happened already. The same goes for the southern continent. They keep fighting among themselves, repeating local skirmishes. Unless some of them team up, I doubt things will clear up quickly.”

“Epinal, I understand what you’re saying… but the south is already fractured.”

“Fractured?”

“Rebel forces. The independent state backed by Kyle von Einhardt after breaking away from Karelia Army.”

“Hmm… well, should we really call that a fracture? To me, it just looks like a lucky survivor trying to make a last stand before dying.”

However, Anima disagreed, shaking her head seriously.

“No. Considering that the rebellion occurred within Karelia Army and that it’s the first major upheaval in the otherwise stable southern continent… these rebel forces might have more impact than we expect.”

“That sounds exaggerated. Your evidence is too weak.”

“…”

Clearly realizing her argument lacked sufficient proof…

Anima closed her mouth and looked toward Yuri.

“Yuri?”

“Yeah?”

After silently listening without contributing to the discussion, Erhandorf once again prompted Yuri for a decision.

“What will you do, Yuri? I’ll follow whatever you decide.”

“…”

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone turned their gaze toward Yuri simultaneously.

Even though everyone’s opinions differed, there was a unanimous understanding: as long as the decision-maker made a choice, they would all follow through. And that decision-maker was Yuri, the monarch of the Aishias Army.

“I…”

Yuri stared at the map for a long time, lost in thought, then carefully spoke…

* * *

An unforgettable memory, one that could never fade.

Months had passed since the literal “deletion” of the Pivola Academy.

“Yuri.”

As Yuri blankly recalled the corpses of friends before her eyes, Anima, who had lost an arm, approached her.

“Anima…”

At the sight of Anima’s face, tears Yuri thought were dried up welled up again.

“Haa…”

Anima sighed deeply, cutting off Yuri’s attempt to speak.

“That’s enough talk. It’s not important right now.”

“B-but, but…”

“Don’t cry, Yuri!”

“Hiiik.”

“You’re supposed to become a ruler! What are you planning to do if you’re this shaken?”

“G-g-but…”

“We’re infiltrating Falaharte Castle tonight.”

“!!!”

“Epinal… no, Epinal managed to scrape together all our capital to hire mercenaries successfully. If we can only get rid of the wandering bandits currently occupying the castle, we’ll truly be able to establish our own nation.”

With the empire fragmenting, proper management of territories had deteriorated.

Most territories had fallen under the control of wandering bandits, leading them to choose Falaharte Castle as their base.

“So brace yourself. Someday, we’ll take revenge on the imperial family… got it?”

“Can I… really do this?”

“Of course.”

Anima grabbed Yuri’s trembling hand with her remaining one.

Her hand was warm; blood still flowed strongly through it.

“You… you can do this. Understand?”

* * *

Why did that scene flash through her mind right now?

No, Yuri already knew why.

She couldn’t sit idly by anymore while tyrants who monopolized everything related to the Einhardt Imperial Family spilled countless amounts of blood.

“…We’re going to invade Serpina Army.”

Yuri said this while looking at Anima and continued.

“Your point is valid, Anima. Perhaps this timing is indeed our chance to consolidate central and southern continents. However, I don’t think Serpina Army will remain idle. With our forces mobilized, if Serpina Army starts attacking our territories, we won’t be able to withstand them. Conversely, if Hesna Army attacks us while we’re fighting Serpina Army, stopping them would be far easier than countering Serpina Army.”

“…”

“And… I haven’t forgotten the conversation we had back then. So, this time, I intend to follow Epinal’s advice. Actually, my opinion was the same from the start.”

Upon hearing Yuri’s words, Anima slowly bowed her head and replied.

“…I’m just the nation’s strategist. There’s no place above the ruler. If you decide to act, I’ll simply follow your lead.”

“Yeah. Thanks for understanding.”

Yuri thanked her, then turned to Epinal.

“Let’s gather every available troop. We’re invading Serpina Army’s territory immediately.”

“It’s all ready.”

“Emma, please mobilize all the troops stationed at the rear. Got it?”

“Leave it to me!”

“Good. Everyone… this time, let’s properly take revenge on that hateful woman. I’ve never forgotten the moment at the academy when blood was spilled, or the sight of our comrades falling. This is the perfect opportunity to show that wicked witch exactly what she’s done.”

Her determined voice no longer wavered.

Reflecting on why the Aishias Army originally raised its banner… at this very moment, aiming a massive strike against Serpina felt almost fated.

“If we can subdue Serpina Army, unifying the continent under our Aishias Army won’t just be a dream. Understand?”

At Yuri’s words, the four founding ministers knelt down in unison.

The five of us…

We’ve never forgotten the moment when Pivola Academy bled under the military boots of the Einhardt Imperial Family.

Yuri approached them, drew her sword from her waist, raised it high toward the sky, and declared:

“After winning this war, we’ll gradually organize central and southern continents… and paint this sky red with our blood, yours and mine, with our deep and vivid crimson!”

Long after the perilous battle where they nearly lost Anima…

The Aishias Army once again bared its fangs toward Serpina Army.