Chapter 76

“Could it… really be true?”

“That’s correct. The damage to our forces is beyond description… General Chel has also sustained severe injuries.”

A record defeat due to Chel Brance’s misjudgment.

After encountering Iren Julieat, they foolishly pressed on with the battle… Time was wasted as much as possible, and before they could retreat, the entire force launched an ambush only to suffer near annihilation.

Parphale, who had rushed to hear all the facts from the messenger about what happened on the battlefield, collapsed right there like she’d been struck by lightning, her legs giving out beneath her.

‘Why… did it end up like this…?’

The strategy was perfect.

Considering the enemy commander Epinal’s ‘intentions for expansion into Central Continent,’ this was supposed to be a guaranteed success ambush… So why did it fail?

Moreover, the scouts confirmed without doubt that preparations for a ritual were being made at the fortress.

The enemy was clearly planning to defend the fortress. If they hadn’t been confident that significant troops would come there, why would they bother with such rituals?

‘Why… WHY!’

At that moment…

For some reason unknown, an image of a silver-haired young man popped into Parphale’s mind.

“I ask if you considered the stratagem of secretly colluding with the Charan Army to simultaneously attack from both sides.”

“Our forces must gather in the north and invade Serpina’s territory.”

No matter how he found out, reflecting now, that man Swoen seemed to see through everything as if he had come back from the future.

The fact that this man was part of the Aishias Army sent shivers down her spine.

‘No way…’

No. It couldn’t be.

It defied logic. Common sense dictated that humans couldn’t reach a level where they could foresee everything.

Though he undoubtedly possessed extraordinary abilities… surely there were still things he couldn’t know… right?

“…Calm yourself.”

Parphale stopped thinking about Swoen.

Even if it was true that he had seen through everything and used them, sitting in the position of national strategist wasn’t for admiring him.

What had happened had happened; she needed to deal with it immediately.

‘If this happens, the southern front will be completely empty…’

If she redirected the organized western forces to the south, then conversely the eastern front would be left open.

And bringing troops from the north was unthinkable – that place simply couldn’t be left unguarded.

Though currently a ceasefire agreement was in place with the southern countries sharing borders, this fragile peace wouldn’t last long enough to replenish their forces.

‘First… calm down. I must inform my lord quickly.’

After organizing the current situation, Parphale immediately ordered the messenger before her to report to Anel Castle.

Understanding the current situation was crucial for her lord Lin.

“Understood! I’ll certainly deliver the message!”

With that, the messenger departed.

Parphale fell back into thought.

‘What should I do? How can I possibly overcome this crisis?’

Honestly…

She herself had devised this operation.

This failure was not solely due to Chel Brance falling for a provocation.

While it was true that Chel deviating from her plan and wasting time led to this situation, assigning blame now wouldn’t solve anything.

‘How… how should I proceed?!’

Thinking over it again and again…

Ultimately, every possibility concluded in a very desperate reality.

Parphale looked up at the darkening sky.

“…Has Lady Lin been abandoned by heaven?”

Despite always warning against attributing everything to the will of heaven…

In this moment, she couldn’t help but think that way.

* * *

A few days later, the messenger Parphale sent arrived at Anel Castle.

Failure of the surprise attack and Chel Brance’s defeat.

Regarding the Aishias Army, they had already lost over 80,000 soldiers so far.

38,000 betrayals. And 45,000 annihilated.

They weren’t even able to deal any meaningful damage to the Aishias Army.

Simply put, they had their soldiers stolen and suffered a meaningless death.

Crack, crackle.

Lin violently bit her nails.

Blood dripped red from the tips of her bitten nails.

“It can’t be, it can’t be, it can’t be…”

The defeat of Chel, the First Sword of Brance, and his injury.

The decisive cause of the defeat was that Chel fell for a provocation.

Worst of all, by that woman.

“Iren Julieat…!!!”

Bang!

Lin slammed her fist hard into the armrest of the throne.

Of all times…

Here again, of all people, they were beaten by that woman whose sight alone was disgusting – the dirty traitor with red hair!

“Damn it, damn it, DAMNITDAMNITDAMNIT!!!!!!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

She pounded the armrest until her fists turned red, but naturally, nothing changed.

And finally, her sanity as a ruler returned.

“Soldiers… what should I do? There are only a few thousand soldiers left on the southern border…”

In a hurry, Lin sent a messenger to instruct her vassals to think of solutions for the current situation.

Several hours later, an old man came to see her.

“My lord, it’s been a while since we last met.”

This old man was Byron, a senior statesman who had served the Brance Army for two generations and the former Lady of Raclaine Castle.

After retiring from his position, he had been quietly passing the time when he came to Anel Royal Palace to advise Lin regarding the current situation.

“Byron, have you heard the story?”

“Yes. In my judgment, it’s a very dangerous situation. You need to make a swift decision.”

“Decision?”

“At this point, offer Raclaine Castle in exchange for a ceasefire agreement lasting more than three years with the Aishias Army. If either the north or south falls, it’s over. If we only have to guard against the Aishias Army in the east, we might find a way out.”

“…”

Lin stared blankly at the air, speechless.

Objectively speaking, offering Raclaine Castle and making a ceasefire agreement lasting over three years was likely the least damaging option.

Then, with the western forces, they might be able to patch up the southern front somehow.

But…

Bowing to the Aishias Army was the same as bowing to that detestable Iren Julieat.

To no one else could she afford to lose, especially not to her.

She absolutely couldn’t show weakness to her!

“Are there other options?”

“There’s also the method of sowing discord among the southern nations to incite war… But honestly, I don’t know if it will work. We may not even have enough time.”

“Whatever the Aishias bastards want, I can’t agree to it… Think of another solution.”

“…”

Byron left the palace without saying much more after that.

The subsequent ministers who visited were similar.

They all presented seemingly plausible opinions, but none felt decisively satisfying.

Indeed.

Each and every one of those who had long served our army lacked confidence in their own words compared to the newcomer Swoen.

Looking back now, Swoen always spoke with conviction.

When he said to send forces to the north, or when he claimed the Aishias Army was colluding with the Alepel Army and Charan Army to deceive us.

His words were wrong only once – the final time when he suggested building a fortress and attacking the Aishias Army.

Upon reflection, that wasn’t his opinion anyway.

It was obviously Iren’s.

After all, they betrayed together.

Ultimately, it comes back to Iren.

Thinking that Iren Julieat was mocking and insulting her caused Lin’s anger to boil again.

“…AAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

Shouting at the top of her lungs didn’t change anything.

Never again.

She would never be led around by that cursed red-haired wretch.

“Miss Lin. My name is Iren Julieat. I will endeavor to become a shield protecting Miss Lin and the young masters of the Brance family.”

From the moment they first met…

Everything about her annoyed Lin.

She did everything better than Lin, whose bloodline was far more noble.

Achieved better results than Lin, whose bloodline was far more noble.

Received admiration from people more than Lin, whose bloodline was far more noble.

Still, it didn’t matter.

Because eventually, Lin would reign above her.

However, even after ascending the throne and establishing a master-servant relationship…

The thirst from childhood remained unresolved, deeply buried within her heart.

‘So it was bound to end up like this…!’

Looking back now, perhaps she instinctively sensed and rejected the fate of becoming a traitor.

She quickly accepted and rationalized it.

If only she hadn’t held the position of ruler, she might have eventually revealed that everything was due to that woman’s doing…

But tragically for her, she was the ruler.

In the Brance Army, there was no one who could challenge Lin Brance’s authority.

“…Hey.”

“Y-yes, yes!”

Lin spoke to the soldier standing guard.

“Bring Kalintz Brance who’s under house arrest.”

“T-the Lord Kalintz you speak of?”

“…Why aren’t you bringing him quickly?!”

Lin yelled nervously while drawing the sword placed beside her.

The soldier answered fearfully.

“A, a, alright!”

“…Haa, haa.”

Kalintz Brance.

Though he had committed grave errors, with Chel injured, Kalintz was the most reliable general available.

If she ordered him to defend Raclaine Castle, he could probably hold off the Aishias Army.

As for the southern nations… Yes. Instead of giving them a castle for peace, it would be better to give it to one of the southern nations.

Since the price was territory, they might even agree to fight each other.

That would complicate Brance’s borders somewhat, but she absolutely refused to compromise with the Aishias Army where Iren existed.

‘It’s fine. Taking it step by step will work. I am Lin Brance, chosen to unify this continent… Ultimately, I can’t lose…’

Thinking that way, surprisingly, her angry heart calmed slightly.

Yes. Step by step again.

Even if we lose a little, even if we lose a few castles, isn’t it the central region we’ve already conquered once?

Some time later,

Kalintz approached, kneeling and speaking.

“My lord. Kalintz Brance arrives upon your command.”

“…Oh, good timing. Big Brother Kalintz.”

Lin explained her plan calmly to Kalintz.

In summary: she would assign him all the western forces to defend Raclain Castle.

Though the number of troops was somewhat insufficient, Raclain Castle was renowned as a natural fortress with extremely high defensive capabilities.

A capable commander like Kalintz should surely be able to repel the Aishias Army’s offensive.

Meanwhile, recruit as many soldiers as possible.

Draft civilians from the territories indiscriminately, and hire mercenaries if necessary, offering whatever rewards needed.

Though public sentiment might decline somewhat during this period, it would become meaningless if everything collapses anyway.

“If you successfully complete this mission, I’ll restore your honor. I’ll consider your past mistakes non-existent.”

Kalintz spoke with unusual solemnity.

“I, Kalintz Brance, have been waiting for this moment. This time, I will certainly not disappoint my lord.”

Today, Kalintz’s words felt unusually reassuring.

Lin thought: the Brance family would overcome this crisis.

She imagined inflicting such pain on Iren, who dared to betray the Brance family, that living itself would feel like suffering…

“Good. Nice job. I’m counting on you?”

After roughly issuing orders to Kalintz and dismissing him, she sat back on the throne and began biting her nails again.

‘It’s fine… Nothing serious will happen, we can overcome it…!’

And at that moment,

“Mi, my lord…!”

A soldier rushed into the audience chamber.

Already on edge, Lin almost snapped in irritation, but seeing the distinct red badge tied around the soldier’s arm, she froze stiff, unable to speak.

“Se… Seriously…?”

“Lord. The Serpina Army…!”

Fate, which had already gone awry, wouldn’t wait for a leader who had made several consecutive bad judgments.

“Is advancing towards Kelshtain Castle with 98,000 troops…!”

Though Lin didn’t want to admit it…

Ever since the moment she truly intended to kill Iren Julieat –

The conqueror of the central region, the Brance Army, began its rapid decline.