SWNOVELXO Chapter 154
As the Dedorant region was being relentlessly submerged under the flood of the Imperial Army,
the situation in the Southern region, particularly Benito, was also leaning heavily towards the Empire’s guaranteed victory.
“I will rewrite the name of Benito. I must be born not as a disruptor of peace in the South, but as the guardian who first cried out in the name of God.”
Kael’s eyes widened in determination as a member of the Royal Family he had discovered appointed him as King upon the surrender of the Benito nobles.
With the Empire, the Holy Kingdom, and now all the other Southern Kingdoms that had completely turned to their side coming forward to celebrate his coronation, it was clear to anyone that he felt like a true king.
Especially the blessings from the Holy Kingdom were decisive. The South was under their strong influence.
In a place filled with followers of the God of Light, how dare those who dared to attack the Holy Kingdom?
Yet, the fact that the Holy Kingdom forgave and bestowed blessings upon them made their justification undeniable.
Of course, there were political dealings behind the scenes that ordinary people were unaware of.
Naturally, the Holy Kingdom was extremely displeased with Benito itself.
How could they easily forgive those who dared to attack their sanctum?
The one who pacified the Holy Kingdom was the Crown Prince, Gnaius, who had descended southward previously.
For him, who valued diplomacy and negotiations for the Empire above all else, it was an excellent stage to shine.
“In your grace. If you would only forgive their sins, wouldn’t Lunen look upon everyone with affection? Surely all believers would praise the Holy Kingdom’s mercy.”
In summary, it was an image painted that if you forgive them, we the Empire will also accommodate.
It was a promise that the power of the Holy Kingdom would in no way weaken because of this war.
This was not just a statement from some foreign affairs official but rather from the Crown Prince of the Empire himself.
Ultimately, the Holy Kingdom accepted this intention and announced that they would directly forgive Benito, specifically Southern Benito.
When this news spread, Gnaius, who traveled once again to the Holy Kingdom, said:
“To those who follow the name of God, luck shall follow; to those who defile it, misfortune shall follow. O Lunen, grant light to your lambs!”
The Southern Benito, which had surrendered to the Empire and received the Holy Kingdom’s forgiveness, would now see everything improve.
Those like Andrea II, who still resisted, or Northern Benito would suffer until the end.
No one was unaware of the true intentions of Gnaius, or rather, of the Empire.
Though the plague had subsided, the damage was already beyond self-recovery.
The Southern forces, which should have been the backbone of royal protection, had almost all surrendered.
Not to mention the arrival of yet another new king blessed by the Holy Kingdom.
“Damn it. Are we all going to end up dead like this?”
“It’s the first time I feel envy towards those southerners.”
Although Andrea II had gained quite a bit of public sentiment in the North,
there was no way to distinguish between the place to die and the place to live.
Especially since Andrea II had even given up the Royal Capital of Benito.
“Your Majesty! Where are you going?”
“Did you not say you would fight alongside us until the end!”
The plague once again, the offensive from the Imperial Army once again, and then the news from the southern traitors was the final straw.
Andrea II had also decided that this place was no longer safe and left for a northern fortress.
With the King abandoning the Royal Capital, chaos reached its peak, and the Imperial Army seized the opportunity.
Finally, an agreement was reached in the heart of Benito’s royal stronghold between high-ranking officials of the Empire and the new King of Benito.
The ones up North were those who had usurped the Royal Family and had defiled Benito.
No one in the South would call any of them king based on the standards of this Royal Capital.
Going forward, Southern Benito would cooperate fully in the conduct of war for the Empire.
Upon hearing such news, the fleeing Andrea II was, at first, filled with madness,
but later fell into a sense of failure, frustration, and despair, unable to even steady himself with alcohol.
It was hard to believe this was the same king who once aspired for dominance in the South.
Meanwhile, Gnaius, having finished his tasks, visited the Chief of Staff of the Empire.
To be precise, he went to see his younger sister and someone who would one day be his brother-in-law.
“Thank you for your hard work, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Hard work? It was just a light poke, and they went down immediately, Chief of Staff.”
“See? Kael, what was difficult about that? The one struggling the most now is you.”
“Oh come on, Bel. Even if a wife supports her husband, it’s hurtful to hear from family.”
“Shut up!”
With Isabel’s shout, Gnaius burst into laughter, returning to his demeanor as the Crown Prince.
Then he asked Kael, not as his brother-in-law, but as the Chief of Staff of the Empire.
“What’s going to happen now?”
“It won’t be long. Benito, Atria, and Dedorant. Before this winter arrives, it will all be settled. And we will send all our soldiers home.”
“I trust you, Chief of Staff. And I believe in you, brother-in-law.”
“That, along with the Princess and I, isn’t even an engagement yet…”
“If you’ve fought passionately before His Majesty the Emperor, isn’t that an engagement?”
Kael and Isabel, wanting to argue but unable to, just hung their heads.
*
There was a moment when a figure paused as the battle against the enemies shifted from open combat to siege warfare.
Her name was none other than Kaya Clausewitz. A monster among monsters who had already devoured hundreds of Atria knights on the battlefield.
Every time she descended onto the battlefield, the enemies were annihilated as if caught in a storm.
In the face of a single merciless might, the Atria Knight Order ultimately gave up fighting in the field.
They threw pride and all aside, wanting to fight while leaning against the castle walls alongside their soldiers.
Even as they were provoked by the nobogord side whom Atria had looked down upon, they wouldn’t budge.
As a result, Kaya, who could no longer achieve any great feats to report to Kael, was quietly growling.
“When the heck can we topple that castle?”
“Just a bit longer. Soon that will arrive, and both the gates and walls will be breached.”
Comforting the impatient Kaya, Charlua quietly gazed at Atria’s massive fortress.
Once they bring that down, they would seize the path towards Atria’s central road.
Knowing this, even they fought desperately, leading to nearly two weeks of siege warfare.
It was a harrowing battle. Even the powerful nobogord army had no counter against the castle.
They hammered away with siege weapons, but their defense was quite sturdy, and they were fighting desperately as well.
However, that resistance wouldn’t last much longer.
The Emperor’s blessing from the Empire would soon arrive on the battlefield.
‘Will it really be okay later, Kael? You seem to be pushing yourself too hard.’
I heard there had been some trouble involving the Ministry of Finance regarding that.
Isn’t it obvious that even using the previous weapons would eventually lead to their downfall?
But how much tax were they consuming to create and transport those?
Kaya fumed at this news, but honestly, Charlua understood the Empire’s Ministry of Finance.
If the existing siege weapon costs a unit, the new one would likely consume nearly ten.
The production costs were a problem, but especially the transportation and maintenance required an exorbitant amount.
Is it just a cost problem? Apparently, it requires ten times the effort to move compared to the existing siege weapons.
Moving just one of those to fire once is equal to transporting existing siege weapons ten days in advance and firing a hundred rounds!
This isn’t right at all. It’s wasteful even for money! Let’s just do as we were!
The opinion from the Ministry of Finance of the Empire wasn’t absurd or exaggerative in the least.
Even Charlua had once hesitated about Kael’s opinion.
“Dear Ministry of Finance.”
Before them, Kael uttered words that would strike the hearts of men.
“Large weapons are the best weapons.”
Having observed its performance, the Ministry of War, completely convinced, popped up.
Let’s try it once and then talk. We went ahead and checked it out, and wow, it’s quite the item!
They couldn’t believe they hadn’t thought of such a simple idea until now.
‘Just how powerful must this weapon be for the Empire’s Ministry of War to react that way?’
Curiosity about the weapon that Kael had proposed, which had led the Ministry of War to rave in praise, grew within Charlua.
Then a developing curiosity arose from the nobogord demon soldiers who had seen the transport process first.
“Damn it! The Empire bastards can make something like that? I thought they were soulless creatures without romance!”
“Oh, be careful. It’s not just any place. It’s the homeland of Kaya Clausewitz. If it’s her homeland, then it can certainly be made. Wow, I still remember the magnificence of that weapon.”
“I’ll definitely be beside it when it fires. I want to see the reaction of the Atria bastards the moment they see it. I want to witness the screams that will follow as that stone crosses over the castle walls!”
Finally, the Emperor’s blessing that everyone had been waiting for arrived on the battlefield.
The deployment by the Empire’s engineering and technicians took a full three days.
As it began to take shape, the soldiers of Atria beyond the castle walls fell into panic.
What on earth is that? Its size is incomparable to anything we’ve seen so far.
How in the world was it even made? What method did they employ to bring it?
Just looking at it was terrifying; was that their future fate the moment it fires?
“Deployment is complete. What shall we do? Shall we first propose surrender as we always do before attacking?”
In response to that question, Charlua briefly glanced at his kin. The nobogord demon soldiers.
Everyone shook their heads with their expressions. After all the effort to bring it here and assemble it,
if the enemies surrendered before they could fire, it’d be the most deflating experience of all.
They must at least fire once as it was part of being a demon. No, doesn’t it carry a form of romance as a living creature?
“…Let’s fire once and rethink it.”
“Ha ha ha! Understood!! Kids! Get ready!”
“Whoaahh!!”
The demon soldiers, filled with excitement, charged out.
The ultra-large trebuchet. Kael had named it War Wolf.
The monster set to ravage every castle of Atria finally let out a furious roar.