Chapter 612: 612:Nobles Assemble
Whether it was paranoia or not, only time would reveal the truth, but one thing was certain. The sudden dungeon outbreaks had given the Arcadia Empire a precious moment of respite during the middle of the brutal war.
The monstrous disaster continued for several days while the allied armies of the Four Great Empires struggled desperately against the endless monster tides, and although they eventually managed to stabilize the situation little by little, the damage they suffered was already severe enough to shake the morale of the entire coalition army.
However, just when everyone thought Arcadia would use this opportunity to recover quietly behind their borders...
The Empire struck again.
And this time, their attacks were even more troublesome than before.
Instead of engaging in a direct full-scale war, the Arcadian forces suddenly changed their tactics completely while launching repeated surprise attacks across different regions before immediately retreating afterward, and every time the allied armies prepared themselves for a large siege battle, the Arcadian soldiers would simply disappear before the fight could properly begin.
The coalition forces were slowly dragged around like fools.One day the Arcadian army would attack a supply route.Another day they would ambush a fortress.And before the enemy could retaliate properly...
They would vanish once again.
This frustrating situation continued for several more days until the commanders of the allied armies finally lost their patience and decided to march aggressively deeper into Arcadian territory in order to completely crush the retreating forces once and for all.
But the moment they advanced further...
Another wave of dungeon gates erupted directly in the middle of their marching formations.
The same horrifying nightmare repeated itself once again.
Monster tides exploded outward violently while chaos instantly spread throughout the marching armies, and while the coalition forces struggled desperately against the dungeon outbreaks, the Arcadian army suddenly launched brutal surprise attacks from every direction.
This time the losses were catastrophic.
After the dungeon gate incidents weakened the enemy once again, the Arcadian forces moved swiftly while cutting through the exhausted allied armies mercilessly, and by the end of the battle, the coalition forces had suffered nearly two million casualties while Arcadia itself barely lost a fraction of that amount.
The entire world was shocked.
No one had expected Arcadia to strike back this fiercely after already suffering such devastating losses earlier in the war.
Many nobles and officials believed the Empire would immediately send envoys for peace negotiations after gaining such an advantage.
But strangely...
They did not.
That silence only confused everyone further.
As the nobles continued wondering what kind of madness was happening inside the Imperial Palace, another imperial order finally arrived firmly across the entire Empire.
All heads of noble families were required to personally make a move and help suppress the invading forces.
This time there was no room left for refusal.
The Emperor had already shown everyone what he was capable of.
Originally, almost everyone had believed Arcadia would collapse completely after the earlier defeats, and many thought the allied armies would eventually grind the Empire into dust.
But surprisingly...
Arcadia not only survived...
It even managed to deal deafening blows to the enemy repeatedly.
And now...
The Crown Prince himself would personally lead the troops onto the battlefield.
The sudden announcement completely shocked the Empire.
Upon receiving this news, many nobles who had originally felt resentment toward the mandatory conscription orders slowly quieted down instead.
After all, if the future ruler of the Empire was personally heading toward the battlefield, then what excuse did the other nobles have left to refuse?
Because of that, noble families throughout Arcadia immediately began preparing their forces while rushing toward the Imperial Capital as quickly as possible.
Inside the Blanks Manor, the atmosphere felt tense and uneasy after the latest order arrived.
Sophia slammed the report against the table angrily while glaring toward Ethan.
"He blamed you for the previous defeat in the war, and now he wants to conscript you to the battlefield again," she said irritably.
"What if the same situation happens again?"
Julia crossed her arms tightly while frowning deeply.
"You worked your ass off last time and still ended up taking the blame," she muttered coldly.
Amber also looked worried while gently rubbing her stomach.
"This time feels even more dangerous," she said quietly.
Claire nodded slightly while staring toward Ethan seriously.
"I don’t trust the Imperial Family anymore either," she added.
Hearing all of them speak at once, Ethan could only sigh inwardly.
"For that, the Empire first needs to exist," Ethan suddenly chuckled lightly.
The moment those words left his mouth, Sophia immediately pinched his arm hard.
"Ouchhh!"
Ethan instantly winced while forcing out a painful smile.
His wives were pregnant now, so he could not exactly retaliate against them even if he wanted to.
Still...
The relaxed expression on his face slowly disappeared afterward.
"I have to go," Ethan finally said calmly.
This time he was not acting impulsively.He understood the situation very clearly.
Unless he wanted both himself and the entire Blanks family to lose their place within the Empire completely, he absolutely could not openly disobey the Emperor’s orders right now.
The current Emperor Alaster was like a ferocious beast that had already been forced to the edge of a cliff.His situation had become desperate.And desperate rulers were the most dangerous kind.
Anyone who dared openly go against him now would undoubtedly face the Emperor’s wrath directly.
More importantly...
No one truly knew how many hidden cards the Arcadian Imperial Family still possessed after surviving for so many centuries.
Ethan himself was confident enough in his own strength that he did not fear facing the Emperor directly if things truly reached that point.
But the problem was not himself.
It was his family.
The Blanks family had already grown too large.
Too many wives.
Too many children.
Too many people depended on him now.
Even if Ethan could survive an assassination attempt or direct confrontation from the Empire...
The Blanks family itself would definitely suffer terrible casualties afterward.
And that was something Ethan absolutely did not want to happen.
