SWNOVELXO Chapter 139
Almost all of Paelus’ troops have surrendered to the Empire.
With the injured included, an entire army of 40,000 had vanished without a trace.
“Surrender? Surrender!? It’s a disgrace to the Deo Ethnicity!!”
“You fool! We need to secure the families of those traitors immediately!”
In the Dedorant Command, shouts and curses engulfed the atmosphere.
Everything was directed at Commander Paelus.
There were cries for retaliation against all those who had surrendered.
Madness. Madness. And more madness. That’s all that filled the place.
Perhaps it was only natural. They were all individuals who had ridden the tide of that madness.
Now, pretending to be awake and rational was about as helpful as hanging oneself.
For the sake of maintaining the present. For their own survival. They had no other options.
“….”
But their tempestuous outcries did not last long.
The person who needed to make a decision had been silent all this time.
The one who was both the beginning and the apex of all this was now silent.
“Your Highness the Third Prince?”
Gruber, who was nearby, cautiously called out to Prince Georg Sistania.
But he remained dazed, as though his mind was lost elsewhere.
As they observed his condition, the expressions of those in the Dedorant Command gradually stiffened.
At that moment, Gruber, the aide, leaned in and whispered carefully in Georg’s ear.
“Your Highness, you must speak up. If you stay silent any longer, they might waver too.”
Georg finally began to move at the urgent tone of Gruber’s words.
He took a moment to survey the room, examining each face before finally speaking.
“All of you present here know well. When I rose, who supported me? And how much glory and rewards I received by their side.”
“Doubting Dedorant’s victory is tantamount to doubting the Deo Ethnicity. It’s also an act of doubting me and all of you. This is a serious act of betrayal that cannot be tolerated.”
“If there are those who wish to surrender to the Empire even now, step forward. Don’t come later saying your mind has changed. I’ll forgive you now, so depart quickly if that’s what you want. I won’t hold you back.”
The Dedorant Command personnel exchanged glances.
Deep down, many must still yearn to surrender.
The Imperial Army, or those who had allied with them, were rapidly closing in from all directions.
They could feel the tightening noose around their necks; how could they not be afraid?
But no one dared to speak first. It simply couldn’t be done.
As Prince Georg had said, they were not mere bystanders; they were accomplices.
Switching sides now did not guarantee a secure future.
More importantly, if they truly decided to go that route, it was questionable whether they could escape alive.
“Your Highness, General Leonite has returned just now.”
As tensions brewed, Leonite, who had miraculously survived, entered the command room.
He had lost all of his subordinates, all gone when breaking through the siege.
Only he returned, having sacrificed himself to ensure his survival.
“Your Highness!!”
Upon seeing Prince Georg, Leonite immediately knelt down.
He began to sob uncontrollably while recounting everything that had transpired.
“I was betrayed. Paelus, that scoundrel betrayed Dedorant, the Deo Ethnicity, Your Highness the Prince, and all those here. Please punish me for failing to prevent this calamity!”
“Paelus betrayed us?”
“He succumbed to the Empire’s seduction. He dared to declare a truce against the Empire on his own, accepting food and drink while maintaining a friendly atmosphere with them. What else could this be but betrayal?!”
The perspectives of those fighting on the battlefield and those observing from afar can’t help but differ.
Leonite exploited this to cleverly twist the narrative against Paelus.
“It’s true that the comrades inside the siege were struggling. However, we could have held on. Our Dedorant Army’s spirit was still alive. But Paelus, he uniquely managed to shatter that and turned us into an army that could fight no longer! Sniff!”
If Paelus were present, he would have surely shouted back, telling him to stop speaking nonsense.
But he was not there. He was now in the Empire’s realm.
Leonite was the sole person left who knew of Paelus’ actions.
Of course, his faults were overshadowed, and only Paelus’ mistakes were magnified.
The problem was that the Dedorant Command was already on high alert for finding culprits.
There absolutely could be no problem with Dedorant.
That was their justification and the power that allowed them to maintain their hold.
The moment that fell apart, their authority and even their lives would be at stake.
“Indeed! Paelus was the problem!”
“Your Highness, we must immediately capture the families of all those who surrendered!”
“That’s right! When might those traitors’ bloodlines strike again?!”
External shocks are counted among the threats from within.
However, occasionally, they can compel extreme unity internally.
And right now, sadly, it leaned towards the latter.
*
Since Commander Paelus’ surrender, Dedorant has changed.
More specifically, the approach towards Atria and DeGale’s territories shifted.
Until now, they’d maintained a stance of cooperation seeking to keep boundaries intact.
From this point on, that façade would vanish, leaving only threats and intimidation.
“Recruit men of fighting age newly from Atria.”
“10,000? Are you joking? It has to be at least 50,000. Prepare accordingly.”
Upon hearing the news, Atria was left aghast.
Until now, Atria had not possessed more than 100,000 troops.
Most of them had joined the Dedorant Army, and more than half had become casualties.
They believed they had done enough; as fellow Deo Ethnicities, they thought they had spilled sufficient blood.
It was Dedorant that started the war, and they saw themselves merely as Atria, with no reason to interfere further.
But that was a misconception. Dedorant was now roaring that it had truly just begun.
“50,000 is impossible? Are you really saying it’s impossible? Should we Dedorant give it a shot?”
“If we do it ourselves, that could turn 50,000 into 100,000, you know?”
“If you really don’t want us to, then say so. What do you think will happen?”
Continuous defeats, and Paelus’ surrender was the final blow.
Now, Dedorant, with its mindset completely gone, could be poised to do anything.
Atria had been thoroughly overpowered by Dedorant’s strength.
Even if they wished to break free now, they were far beyond that stage.
Moreover, the domestic atmosphere still leaned toward Dedorant over the Empire.
Those who had bled alongside them were Dedorant. What was battering the border was Nobogord.
And the Empire was aiding Nobogord, so naturally, they would despise the Empire.
The royal family had already vanished, leaving only the nobles in Atria.
Though they still bore the name Atria, half of them had been consumed by Dedorant, leaving them without grounds for rebellion.
In the end, they had no choice but to show a willingness to cooperate.
But Atria wasn’t populated by fools. They could read the currents.
They sensed something chilling creeping up their spines.
What they had expected, a world for the Deo Ethnicity, felt disturbingly different.
If Atria’s situation was thus, the condition in DeGale’s territory couldn’t possibly be better.
Especially since this area was rife with resistance, amplifying their struggles.
“Take everything, and drag all the men away.”
“If being kind is of no use, then let’s completely clear them out. We offered them the chance to be honorable Deo Ethnicities, but they continued to refuse! Why should we treat them as people?!”
Despite being a conqueror, they had shown mercy, yet the return was organized rebellion.
Having grown weary, the Dedorant Command decided to seize everything instead.
They believed that by doing this, at least the resistance forces would hesitate.
Next was Benito, whom they had decided to leave as an ally.
“Your Majesty of Benito, we have shown goodwill until now, but we can no longer do so. I strongly request that you immediately increase Benito’s military strength.”
“I won’t pull out the 5th Army. In return, provide me with an equivalent amount of military resources.”
Atria, DeGale, and Benito.
As they scraped together from each country, the total rose above 100,000.
They would arm all those who had been pillaged and those who had bravely created this force.
Thus, they were swiftly generating fodder to take the place of Dedorant’s elite troops.
“The Empire’s forces will soon be upon us. When they arrive, we’ll use these guys as bait and, at the perfect moment, our elites will turn the situation around.”
“We can do this. Our Deo Ethnicity is still strong. We lost due to a foolish commander and a cowardly leader!”
In such a scenario, the Dedorant command pushed one step further.
“This is all because Your Highness the Third Prince has not ascended to kingship.”
“We endured under our father alive, but for the victory of Dedorant, now the Prince must become the King of this land.”
“If God witnesses your representative becoming king, Dedorant will be favored!”
Though it sounded absurd, the mood in Dedorant was different.
Everyone shouted that it was the right move, and ultimately, the Dedorant King was ousted and relinquished authority to his son.
“Huzzah! Huzzah!! Long live King Cassius II!!”
Cassius I had been the first king of the Deo Ethnicity.
Out of respect for him, they had not followed that name until now.
But this time, that unspoken rule was broken, and Cassius II ascended to the throne.
As if to declare that Dedorant’s glory was beginning from this point onward.
And the Chief of Staff of the Empire, upon receiving the news, uttered a single remark.
“…Did everyone collectively take some bad medicine?”