Chapter 591

Chapter 591: Interwoven Cold Stars

In the new alliance of Vergha, Hope Lane.

Under the bright sunlight, soldiers clad in deep blue cloaks and scale armor entered the ruined city under the cover of towering golems.

The walls still bore traces of scorch marks, and many places had collapsed; scattered stones and debris lay about, with a few tender green blades of grass poking out from the crevices.

The streets within the city were quiet, devoid of garrison or traps, and no pedestrians could be seen.

The Frost Union soldiers continued to advance cautiously, holding their shields and spears closely as they marched toward their destination. They had secured several important buildings and regions within the city, while the golem legion had arrived at the port by the sea.

“Lord Jenkins,” several messengers rode out of the city on horseback and galloped directly into the main tent for their report.

“Our troops have taken control of Hope Lane, but there are no guards from Clancia, and even the personnel from the major guilds have evacuated.”

“What about the port?” Jenkins asked from his seat.

“There are only a few ships left at the port.”

After listening, Jenkins remained silent for a few seconds before raising his hand. “I see. Arrange for the follow-up forces to enter the city.”

“Yes, sir.”

Once the officers left the tent, only Jenkins and his daughter, Eda, the ‘heroic’ knight of the Frost Union, remained inside.

“Has Clancia abandoned Hope Lane?” The red-haired female knight knelt beside him, her knees resting on a long silver sword.

“It seems so.” Jenkins slowly traced his fingers over the map’s cities and names.

“The walls are broken, and in terms of manpower, combat power, and firepower, we far surpass them. If they continue to hold on, they will be completely annihilated by us. Perhaps the commander there has realized this too.”

“Maybe it’s a miracle that they’ve lasted this long. Even if I were in command, I couldn’t do better than this.” Jenkins analyzed slowly.

Eda closed her eyes, recalling the fierce battles over the past period. The enemy’s fearless spirit and terrifying discipline left a deep impression on her.

“They are formidable opponents,” she sighed softly, feeling sorrowful because their different stances forced them to aim to kill each other.

“Yes, but that’s inevitable,” Jenkins knew what his daughter was thinking.

“The Snowflower Seven Nations are too fragmented, each suspecting and hindering one another. Only unification can truly make us strong enough to stand against Cui Cui.”

“I am almost certain that most of us soldiers will die in this war. Even if we survive, the outcome may not be much better. Likely, those in power will use us as scapegoats to appease the people after unification.”

Jenkins stood up and looked at the rose emblem hanging in the tent.

“Why then, Father, do you take on this position?” Eda looked at this elderly man with some gray hair.

“Why? Probably to ensure that our grandchildren’s grandchildren can live in a powerful nation.”

“I suffered a lot when I was young and was bullied, but I don’t hate those people. Because being weak is a sin.”

“It doesn’t mean that because you’re weak, others should let you off. Even if they do, it’s merely the victor’s benevolence.”

“So, even though we might be condemned by future generations…”

Spatting, but as long as at the end, the seven nations of Snowflower can unite and become strong, then our sacrifices will also be worth it.”

Ida slowly stroked the longsword on her knees, looking at the neat grooves and few serrations under the sparse light.

“But no one will understand, nor appreciate this forcibly imposed happiness,” Ida said.

“Yes, but what of it? At least I don’t regret it,” Jenkins said to his daughter from behind.

“We start wars, we cause killings, we eliminate dissenters, we do all sorts of evil deeds,” his voice was low and calm.

“But we will also establish a new, integrated nation on this scarred land.”

“The darkness before dawn, some things always need to be done by someone.”

“People always have their own words, their own thoughts. Words are weak and powerless. Without such violent means, how could we gather this scattered sand?”

He slowly turned around to look at his daughter, his gaze soft as he spoke.

“We can never satisfy everyone’s thoughts, and in the end, we can only do what we believe is right.”

—

Third Age, Year 1688, the year of intertwined cold stars.

On the Ivar West Continent, a great war broke out, one unseen in a hundred years. The Starlight Alliance and the Frost Union engaged in full-scale combat. Both sides fought in deserts, mountains, wild fields, seas, and skies. The total number of troops mobilized by both sides eventually exceeded three million, outnumbering even those of the ‘Battle of Broken Bows.’

At the beginning of the year, six golem legions of the Frost Union advanced north along the Black Pine River, assaulting the fortress with cannon fire at Swordpine City. After capturing the fortress, they were ambushed by the Starlight Alliance. The mage ‘Iris Book’ Tu Ge from the Southern Archipelago used fairy magic to submerge many golems underground, burying and crushing them.

However, ‘Poison Flame Beauty’ Hedley of the Frost Union escaped the bindings using her ‘Frost Carving’ golem and severely injured the determined Tu Ge, continuing to lead the army north afterward.

On the other side, the Blackrock Duchy invaded the border of Clancia. In the siege of Iron Anvil City, their elite forces were defeated by the southern Gufia orc reinforcements. Subsequently, many hastily recruited soldiers fled, surrendered, or deserted. The Gufia warriors then counterattacked Blackrock, advancing all the way to the capital city of Beacon Smoke.

In the siege, the chieftain of the Tigerhead Clan, ranked 8 in the War Sequence, ‘Fierce Claw,’ led the charge, breaking through the city gates and entering the fortress, but was blocked by the giant airship ‘Blood Whale.’

During the battle, Fierce Claw used the terrain to bring down the airship and surrounded the reinforcements, massacring the high-ranking mages aboard. After the battle, he succumbed to repressed injuries and died that very night.

In the southwestern border, the armies of Clancia and Falcon Kingdom clashed in the desert. As swords and lances crossed, winged reinforcements appeared from the sky, while on the Starlight Alliance side, nearly a hundred high-ranking angel sequences rose.

Both sides clashed fiercely in the sky. When the white feathers began to falter, a special ‘angel’ rose from the ground. With the appearance of this silver-haired, blue-eyed girl, the air currents in the sky halted. Then, countless winged warriors lost their ability to fly and fell like black hail from the sky.

Finally, moved by compassion, the young lady in the sky raised a gentle current, allowing those

The fallen enemy was spared death.

After this battle, the Winged Clan lost all will to fight. As a winged race, they submitted under the wings of this angel of the sky, vowing not to be enemies with her. Consequently, the Falcon Kingdom halted its offensive and began resolving internal issues. Months later, they sent messages to both sides, stating that they would no longer participate in the war and were willing to submit to the ultimate victor.

While the continent was fiercely engaged in combat, the naval battle was also intensively ongoing.

The Frost Union’s ironclad warships, leveraging their military equipment and weaponry advantages, overwhelmingly defeated the wind-powered warships from the Wild Strawberry Kingdom. Later, they ambushed and defeated the divine-winged bird forces of the Wild Strawberry Kingdom through special means, then sent messages to seek a ceasefire with the Southern Islands.

Under the insistence of Urielis, one of the three major figures behind the scenes of the Wild Strawberry Parliament, the Wild Strawberry Kingdom refused to negotiate and continued to mobilize domestic forces.

Not long after, three new warships of Karithes encountered the ironclad fleet of the Frost Union while on their way south. After exchanging fire, the ironclad fleet suffered heavy losses and had to call for support from the airship fleet. Then, nearly 200 ‘Gray Gull’ airships pierced through the clouds, surrounding these three new warships.

However, just as the Frost Union was about to succeed, Urielis of the Wild Strawberry Parliament’s Magic Sequence 9 arrived in the sky and clashed with Clark, the Magic Sequence 9 of the Frost Union.

This was also the first time since the “Battle of Broken Bows” that Extraordinary Sequence 9 had been seen in intense combat before the eyes of the world. The aftermath of their battle directly shattered the airships in the sky, causing damage to both sides’ warships at sea. Only two of the three new warships reached their intended destination.

As the fighting between the two sides escalated, the sages in the central part of the continent finally intervened, stopping the two Sequence 9 combatants. Finally, both sides made another agreement: Extraordinary Sequence 9 could not participate in the battles between the two sides.

Each Sequence 9 was a precious force, and now the seals of chaos around the world were unstable. To prevent potential crises, such mutual destruction and exhaustion would be unbearable for the entire wise race.

Even though both sides were dissatisfied, under the will of many Sequence 9s within the Sage Council, these two Sequence 9s eventually stopped.

In New Vergha, after reinforcements from Clancia, about 600,000 Starlight Alliance troops gathered around Hope Lane, while in the wilderness, the Frost Union’s main force of nearly 800,000 troops faced them.

Dark clouds loomed, and the artillery fire continued endlessly. During the initial industrialization process in Clancia, heavy industries related to war were the first to develop, and Hope Lane gathered a large number of cannons.

Although these early cannons were still far from the standards of World War II in Lolan Hill’s memory, their firepower coverage could pose a threat to some golems.

Initially, both sides engaged in maneuvering and open-field battles in the wilderness. Later, as the Starlight Alliance retreated into the city, a city defense battle began, with repeated back-and-forth sieges near the city walls.

During the siege, the Frost Union, with the protection of golems and high-intensity firepower, had the upper hand. However, once inside the city, the Starlight Alliance gained the advantage. After several rounds of fighting, considering that continuing the battle would only harm the residents in the city and cause the whole city to be destroyed by artillery fire, the Starlight Alliance launched several feigned attacks outside the city to delay the enemy while gradually withdrawing their main force from Hope Lane.

One part withdrew northward by land, while another left by sea along the coast to the west. After they left, the Frost Union peacefully took over this somewhat ruined coastal stronghold.

Thus, the battles between the two sides gradually entered a new phase.

(The chapter ends)