Volume 4, Prologue: Hero of the South
Translator: Skythewood
Editor: Hiiro
The location was south of the Dubedirica continent, the Confederation of Sutherland made up of 13 cities. On one hand, each city governed itself independently; on the other hand, the policy of the Confederation of Sutherland was decided by the 「13 Stars Council」 made up by the governors of the 13 cities. If viewed as one nation, its population of 100 million made it on par with the Farnesse Kingdom, Arsbelt Empire, and the three were known as the three great nations.
The 13 cities also had their own armies. In accordance to the 「Sutherland 13 Charters」, they were obligated to form a united army to fight an external army.
(Things are getting problematic……)
This was a city with a vast territory in the confederation—— Third City Bey Grand. A youth from the city’s army headed for the Mayor’s office with a report in hand.
This youth with gentle light in his eyes was Julius Lira Fifus. A general at just age twenty two, he didn’t rise to his status with just the famous Fifus family name alone. A display of extraordinary acumen for strategy, tactics, and a little luck made him the man he was. His gentle demeanour made him a hot topic with the ladies.
After saluting the officers who passed him by, Julius stopped before a set of finely decorated doors at the end of the passageway.
This door was made by the artisan Trois Schiele in the Lunar Calendar year 600, covered in intrinsic flowing designs.
「Is the Mayor in?」
「Sir! The Mayor is in!」
The guard answered with a salute. Julius nodded and steadied his breathing before knocking on the door.
「Pardon my intrusion.」
Lizun Castle was built on top of a conical shaped hill—— this gave the illusion that the beautiful city was floating in midair, and the masses called it 「Sky Castle」. In a glass room on the top floor which had a clear view of the entire city, Bey Grand’s commander-in-chief Rion von Elfried seated behind his large office table stared right at Julius.
「Whenever you show that face, that usually means ill tidings.」
Rion’s first words were beyond Julius’ expectations. He wasn’t planning to show any emotions, but Rion saw right through him, rendering him speechless.
With a wry smile in his heart, Julius stepped forth.
「It seems Lord Rion knows me better than myself.」
Rion sneered.
「What are you saying all of a sudden? The two of us go way back since we were kids, so this much is only natural. Enough, show me the thing in your right hand. That’s the reason for your sour face?」
Rion casually reached out with his left hand as he said that. After Julius handed the report over, he started browsing through it quickly.
His dark green uniform couldn’t hide his well toned body. His shiny blonde hair, pleasant features and unique iridescent eyes were like a work of art. Like a fine sword crafted by a famous artisan, he was emitting a sharp light.
But at this moment, only Julius noticed the seriousness deep within him. No one knew about the grand ambitions hidden inside Rion yet.
「—— There are signs that the Twelfth City is planning to invade Farnesse Kingdom… That’s unexpected, but also none of your concern, just leave them be.」
He thought Rion would be worried, but he was surprisingly unfazed—— Julius looked at him as if he was looking at a rare animal.
「——What, is my face weird? Haven’t you gotten tired of looking at it after so many years?」
Rion said as he stretched his face exaggeratedly.
「No, well… Is this really fine?」
Julius’s question made Rion lean back on his chair with furrowed brows. This wasn’t an approach towards a roundabout attitude.
「No matter what, the 13 cities have equal standings. It will be a different matter if the Twelfth City violated the secret agreement with the Empire, but just invading Farnesse Kingdom won’t be a problem. The Empire didn’t forbid us from getting involved with the war—— In the end, this sort of internal affairs wasn’t something that I should comment on.」
Indeed, the 13 cities formed a relationship of peers with equal standings. However, complete equality was impossible. The difference in scale of the cities would naturally lead to a comparison of their powers.
Julius was a soldier, and wasn’t against wars. However, he didn’t understand the reason behind the Twelfth City’s invasion of the Kingdom. If war broke out, it would have a big effect on the citizens. If Rion advised the Twelfth City against it, they wouldn’t be able to ignore that.
(He refused to speak up despite that, so he really isn’t interested?)
Julius knew it was futile, but he tried persuading Rion from a different angle.
「But if the Confederation of Sutherland has an oath of neutrality against wars, won’t the Twelfth City’s action violate that oath?」
「A violation, huh… Julius, you seriously don’t get it?」
In response to Rion who had a faint smile on his face, Julius shook his head slightly.
—— The end of the warring era.
At its peak, there were sixty odd nations, and when the strife was over in the Lunar Calendar Year 950, that number had dropped by half. The small nations facing extinction enacted non-aggression treaties to survive. In the Lunar Calendar Year 952, they formed the Confederation of Sutherland.
At almost the same time, they declared an oath of non-interference in wars. Half a century had passed since the declaration of absolute neutrality. When the unrest started again, Sutherland had always watched from the sidelines. The non-interference and absolute neutrality declaration didn’t mean they gave up on the idea of wars.
If another nation invaded, Sutherland would naturally strike back. However, that hadn’t happened yet.
Aside from the great nations of Farnesse Kingdom and Arsbelt Empire, the rest were small countries. For example, the Adorina Kingdom and Rure Magic Kingdom which shared a border with Bey Grand were always feuding over their tiny territory.
For the great nation of Sutherland that had a solid foundation in the south, it was impossible for any minor nations to show hostility against it. In the end, there weren't any expectations for the Mayor of each city to keep that oath. The declaration half a century ago was just an empty promise now.
He didn’t say it out loud, but Rion was no exception. So it was expected that this question made him laugh.
「The other countries won’t believe this old declaration either. No country would protest if the Twelfth City attacked the Farnesse Kingdom, since it’s just a declaration.」
「That’s true……」
「If there is a country who believes that declaration, it just means that nation is careless. Right now, Sutherland just need to maintain the secret agreement with the Empire.」
Rion concluded and tossed the documents on the table disinterestedly.
In the Lunar Calendar Year 997, one month after the famed impregnable Fort Kiel fell, the Confederation of Sutherland and Arsbelt Empire conducted multiple secret talks. The agenda was to stop the export of food to the Farnesse Kingdom until its demise. In return, the Empire would never start a war against Sutherland.
Back then, Sutherland was quite eager to not make enemies with the up and rising Empire. And the 13 Stars Council passed that proposal unanimously.
(But that would just last until Farnesse Kingdom falls. What will happen next is still up in the air.)
Emperor Ramza declared his intentions to unite the entire continent. That obviously meant he wanted to bring the continent under his rule, and agreements were easily broken.
The man known as the Benevolent Emperor would not go back on his word easily— but there might be a way for him to get the support of his citizens in an unimaginable way. Their time as observers was numbered.
「Let me guess what you are thinking, Julius.」
Rion rested his chin on his arm, with his elbow on the armrest, showing a devious smile. Julius frowned and advised the young ruler.
「Lord Rion, please stop mimicking a Satori.」
「That mind reading monster, huh… There’s nothing more whimsical than the human mind. If I can mimic a Satori——」
「If you can do that…?」
「Then not just this City, Sutherland and the whole Dubedirica continent would already be in my hands. And of course, Julius would be right there by my side.」
Rion’s innocent laugh was similar to the one he had as a child. Julius’ expression softened at that sight.
(He never changed……)
After laughing for a while, Rion switched to serious mode.
「I understand your worries, Julius, but relax. I’m not an incompetent Mayor. Since this war won’t last much longer, then we should consider the future too. Aside from the Twelfth City, the other Mayors must be keeping a close watch on future development too.」
「I understand that very well. I, Julius Lira Fifus, have complete trust in Lord Rion.」
Julius bowed respectfully and Rion laughed.
「Enough with that act. Speaking of which, the Twelfth City isn’t conducting espionage properly. In this new age, the ones with more information will have the initiative.」
「It is as you say, Lord Rion, the situation has changed drastically. Attacking the Farnesse Kingdom now would be unwise, and would scald the hands of the attacker instead.」
「Hmmp, it will be great if they can get off with just a scalding.」
「It will be worse than that?」
「That’s right, one wrong move and the scythe of the Death God will come for them.」
Rion tapped his neck with two fingers, and Julius nodded silently.
The scale was far smaller than the Empire’s 『Heat Haze』, but Bey Grand also had its own intel unit known as 『Wolf Pack』, which reported directly to Rion. By the way, they were called 『Wolf Pack』 because of the wolf tattoo on their shoulder.
According to the intel from the 『Wolf Pack』, starting with the defeat of the south army, the Crimson Knights and Sun Knights, both renowned elites of the Empire, had been defeated. Interestingly, the girl known as Death God fought in all these battles.
The girl known as the 「Dark Reaper」 had taken the lives of famous Imperial Generals like a God of Death, there were even rumours that an army retreated in fear when she attacked them alone. Stories of valor were often exaggerated, but this girl appeared to be an exception—— that was the conclusion made by the 『Wolf Pack』.
「Why don’t we give this information to the Twelfth City?」
Rion scoffed at Julius’ suggestion.
「How will we do that? “The Kingdom has a Death God so stop because it’s dangerous?” They will never believe us, and on top of that, we are talking about that woman.」
「… That person won’t believe that.」
Julius thought about that seductive face that had a hint of madness.
The ruler of the Twelfth City Nozan Persilla, Mayor Cassandra Zum Sherry, was an arrogant person who would execute a chef just because she didn’t like the taste of her meals. Julius deduced that the invasion of the Farnesse Kingdom was probably forced through by Cassandra.
Both of them agreed that Cassandra would ignore their warning.
「We might be the same country in name, but we are still independent nations in practice. Giving them the hard-earned intel from the 『Wolf Pack』—— I’m not that charitable of a person, and will expect some returns for our troubles. Besides, isn’t this a good chance?」
「… You want to get a good grasp of Farnesse Kingdom’s prowess?」
Rion nodded happily.
「This isn’t poker, I don’t think the Crimson Knights or the Sun knights are opponents they could defeat with luck alone. With that in mind, the battle between the Twelfth City and the Farnesse Kingdom will be a good test.」
With that, Rion tapped the golden scale on his table.
「Depending on the results, our plans will need to be amended, correct?」
「Indeed.」
「What do you plan to do if the Farnesse Kingdom showed signs of turning the tables?」 f reeweb novel.com
「If they showed such signs……」
Rion shifted his gaze to the ceiling.
「That’s right. We can abandon the Empire and side with the Farnesse Kingdom then. If Sutherland stands to gain, the other Mayors will support that decision. Calculating our gains and losses are our specialty after all.」 freewe bnovel .com
Rion said as he swivelled his chair, then looked out the window with condescending eyes.
Sutherland’s economical blockade achieved dramatic results, accelerating the deterioration of the Farnesse Kingdom. Even if they lift the blockade and offer them a hand of friendship, King Alphonse wouldn’t trust them—— Julius explained.
「He is an outstanding King that made the great Farnesse Kingdom brand worthless. But in the end, he still had to take our hand of friendship.」
Rion flicked his hair back as he mocked King Farnesse and slowly rose from his chair. His slender legs stopped before the big map hanging on the wall.
「……」
Just what was he scheming as he stared at the map with his shining iridescent eyes? Julius who was beside him studied the map too.
The Arsbelt Empire to the north.
The Farnesse Kingdom to the east.
The Confederation of Sutherland to the south.
The balance between the great nations had long been toppled, there was no telling when the fire of war would cease. Meaningless battles that were just a reenactment of the warring era were leading many nations to their demise.
For Julius, war was like stacking blocks. One wrong move and the entire tower of blocks would fall over.
(In this war, will the Arsbelt Empire stack the blocks until the end, or will it be the Farnesse Kingdom. Or maybe——)
In the Lizun Castle shrouded in the clouds, Julius looked at the handsome profile of the city’s ruler.
Lunar Calendar Year 1000.
In this new era where chaos spread rampantly, the curtain was drawn with fresh blood being spilled——
Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at (f)re𝒆we(b)novel.com Only