Chapter 76. Tectonic Shift (1)
—
“Is that… really true?”
“Yes, it is. The damage to our forces is indescribably devastating… And General Chel has also sustained serious injuries.”
A record defeat due to Chel Brans’ misjudgment.
After discovering Airen Juliette and engaging in combat with her too aggressively… time was excessively dragged out, and in the meantime, our entire force that went on a surprise attack suffered near-annihilation without even a chance to retreat.
Parfalle, having rushed to hear all the facts from a messenger from the battlefield, felt her legs give way as if struck by lightning, collapsing right there.
“Why… did this happen…?”
The strategy was perfect.
Considering the ‘intention to advance into the Central Continent’ of the enemy leader, Epinel, it was thought that the surprise attack would undoubtedly succeed… Why did it fail?
Moreover, the scouts reported that they had clearly confirmed preparations for a ritual at the fortress.
The enemy was clearly intending to defend the fortress. If they weren’t sure that a large force would come, why would they bother preparing for a ritual?
“Why…!”
At that moment.
For some reason, although she didn’t know why – the image of a young man with white hair flashed through Parfalle’s mind.
“Specifically… I’m asking if you thought of conspiring with Charlam’s forces for a simultaneous attack.”
“We need to gather our forces in the north and invade the territory of the Serphina army.”
Somehow figuring it out, but now thinking about it, a man who seemed to see the future and pierced through everything, Swen.
The fact that this man was in the Aishus army… suddenly gave her goosebumps.
“Could it be…”
No. It can’t be.
It doesn’t make sense, does it? It was common sense that humans cannot reach a state of foreseeing everything.
He surely had extraordinary abilities but… it’s not possible to know everything… right?
“…Calm down.”
Parfalle stopped thinking about Swen.
Even if it was true that he had figured everything out and used us in reverse, she wasn’t sitting in the position of a national advisor to marvel at that man.
What’s done is done, and she had to fix the situation right now.
“If this happens, the southern front will be completely empty…”
If the troops from the west, which had been reorganized, were turned to the south, then the eastern front would be empty in return.
And bringing forces from the north was out of the question. That was a place that must not be left unguarded at any cost.
For now, they were in a ceasefire agreement with the nations on the southern border… but to fill it with new soldiers was utterly insufficient, just a momentary gap.
“First… calm down. We must inform the lord as soon as possible.”
After organizing the situation she faced, Parfalle ordered the messenger in front of her to report immediately to Anel Castle.
It was important for Lynn, their lord, to grasp the current situation.
“Understood! I will make sure to deliver the message.”
After sending the messenger.
Parfalle was lost in thought again.
“What to do? How can… How can we overcome this crisis?”
Honestly.
It was Parfalle herself who had devised this operation.
The colossal failure wasn’t solely due to Chel Brans being provoked.
Of course, it turned out this way because Chel did not act according to her plan and dragged on time… But what’s the point of assigning blame now?
“How can… How can this be…!”
No matter how much she thought and thought again-
In the end, all possibilities led to a very despairing reality.
Parfalle thought, looking up at the dim sky.
“…Has the heavens abandoned Lord Lynn?”
Although she was more wary than anyone of blindly attributing things to the will of heaven.
Just for this moment, she couldn’t help but think so.
—
A few days later, the messenger sent by Parfalle arrived at Anel Castle.
The failure of the surprise operation and Chel Brans’ defeat.
Regarding the Aishus army, the number of lost soldiers had far exceeded 80,000.
38,000 traitors. And, 45,000 annihilated.
It wasn’t as if they could inflict any significant damage on the Aishus army either.
Literally, they were robbed of soldiers and met their demise.
Crunch, crunch.
Lynn bit her nails harshly.
Red blood dripped from the tips of her nails.
“It can’t be, it can’t be, it can’t be…”
Chel’s defeat, the top swordsman of the Brans, and his injuries.
The decisive cause of the defeat was Chel being provoked.
And, unfortunately… by that woman whom she didn’t even want to think about.
“Airen Juliette…!!!”
Bang!
Lynn struck the armrest of the throne hard with her fist.
Especially now.
To be outwitted by Airen, of all people.
Not someone else but, to that loathsome red-haired traitor!
“Damn it, damn it, damn damn damn…!!!!!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She kept hitting the armrest until her fists turned red, but, as expected, it solved nothing.
And now, her rationality as a ruler returned to her.
“What about the soldiers…? There are only a few thousand at the southern border…”
Lynn urgently ordered a messenger to have her ministers come up with a solution to the current situation.
A few hours later, an old man came to her.
“Lord. It has been a long time since we last met.”
The identity of this old man was Byron, a central minister who had served the Brans army for two generations and the former lord of Racline Castle.
After stepping down from his position as lord, he had been engaging in minor activities away from the front lines, but had come to Anel Castle to offer advice to Lynn in the current crisis.
“Byron. You’ve heard, right?”
“Yes, I have. In my opinion, it’s a very dangerous situation. You must make a decision soon.”
“A decision?”
“Even now, negotiate a truce with the Aishus army for more than 3 years in exchange for handing over Racline Castle. If either the north or south is breached, it’s over. If we only guard against the Aishus army in the east, somehow a way out will open.”
“…”
Lynn was speechless, just staring into space.
Handing over Racline Castle and negotiating a truce of more than 3 years with the Aishus army, objectively, seemed like the least damaging way out.
That way, the western forces, once reorganized, could somewhat patch up the south.
But.
Bowing to the Aishus army meant –
To her, it was as good as bowing to Airen Juliette, the one person she could never lose to.
Not to anyone else, but to her, she could never show weakness!
“Is there another way?”
“…We could try to sow discord among the southern nations to incite war, but… frankly, it’s uncertain if that would work. We might not even have the time for it.”
“I can’t give the Aishus army what they want. …Think of another way.”
“…”
Byron, having no other suggestions, left the castle without saying much more.
The several ministers who visited afterward were similar.
They all brought seemingly plausible opinions, but none felt decisively satisfactory.
Indeed.
All of them had been serving our army for a long time, yet none seemed as confident in their words as Swen had been when he was new.
Thinking back, Swen always spoke with conviction.
When he said we should send forces to the north, when he said the Aishus army was conspiring with the Alephel and Charlam armies to deceive us.
He was never wrong except once. Only when he said we should build a fortress and attack the Aishus army was he incorrect.
And even then, thinking about it now, that opinion probably wasn’t his.
It was likely Airen’s, wasn’t it?
After all, they betrayed us together.
In the end, it always comes back to Airen.
The thought of Airen Juliette mocking and despising her made her blood boil again.
“…Aaaaaaah!!!”
Screaming with all her might solved nothing.
Never again.
She would never be dragged around by that cursed red-haired woman.
“Miss Lynn. My name is Airen Juliette. I will strive to be a shield protecting Miss Lynn and the young masters of the Brans family.”
From the first moment they met.
Lynn disliked everything about her.
No matter what, she always performed better than me, who was of far nobler blood.
No matter what, she achieved better results than me, who was of far nobler blood.
No matter what, she, not I, received people’s admiration, despite my far nobler blood.
But it didn’t matter.
Because in the end, I would reign supreme over her.
However, even after ascending the throne and establishing a master-servant relationship –
The thirst from her childhood remained unquenched, continuing to lurk deep within her heart.
“It was bound to end this way…!”
Looking back, she must have instinctively sensed the destiny of betrayal and felt repulsion.
She quickly rationalized it.
If she had not been in the position of monarch, eventually everyone would have pointed out that she was the cause of the disaster –
Tragically for her, she was the monarch.
And there was not a single person in the Brans army who could challenge the authority of Lynn Brans.
“…Hey.”
“Yes, Yes!”
Lynn spoke to a soldier standing guard.
“Bring me Karlintz Brans, who is under house arrest.”
“That… Karlintz Sir, do you mean?”
“…Why aren’t you fetching him quickly?!”
Lynn drew a sword lying beside her and shouted irritably.
The soldier, terrified, barely managed to respond.
“A, Alright! Immediately!”
“…Ha, ha.”
Karlintz Brans.
Although he had committed a grave mistake, now that Chel was injured, there was no more reliable general than him.
By commanding him to defend Racline Castle, they might withstand the Aishus army.
As for the southern nations… Yes. It might be better to offer a castle in exchange for alliance with one of them.
Given the stakes, they might even agree to wage war among themselves.
It would complicate the Brans army’s borders a bit, but she couldn’t bear to concede anything to the Aishus army, where Airen existed.
“It’s okay. Just take it step by step. I am Lynn Brans. The one destined to unify this continent… In the end, I have to win…!”
With that thought, surprisingly, her boiling anger began to subside.
Right. Just start over, step by step.
Even if some losses occur, even if a few castles are lost, wasn’t it the central region she had once conquered?
Shortly after.
Karlintz approached, knelt, and spoke.
“Lord. Karlintz Brans, at your command.”
“…Ah, you’ve come at a good time, Brother Karlintz.”
Lynn calmly explained her plan to Karlintz.
The essence was this: take command of the entire reorganized western forces and defend Racline Castle.
Although the forces were somewhat lacking, Racline Castle was considered a natural fortress with very high defensive capabilities.
A general like Karlintz should certainly be able to withstand the Aishus army’s onslaught.
In the meantime, let’s gather as many troops as possible.
Conscript the local population as much as possible, and if mercenaries can be found, pay whatever it takes to bring them over.
The public sentiment might erode a bit, but if everything collapses, it would all be meaningless anyway.
“If you successfully complete this mission, I will restore your honor. I’ll consider it as if you never made a mistake.”
Karlintz spoke with a profoundly serious tone.
“I, Karlintz Brans, have been waiting for this moment. This time, I will make sure not to disappoint you, my lord.”
Today, Karlintz’s words felt particularly reassuring.
Lynn thought to herself that the Brans family would overcome this crisis.
That they could inflict such pain on Airen, who betrayed the Brans, making her regret her existence –
Such thoughts crossed her mind.
“Good. I like that. I’m looking forward to it.”
After giving Karlintz his orders and sending him off, she sat back on the throne and began to bite her nails again.
“It’s okay… It won’t be a big deal, we can overcome this…!”
At that moment.
“Lo, Lord…!”
A soldier rushed into the audience chamber.
Lynn, already on edge and highly irritable, was about to snap at him but… seeing the distinctive red armband tied around the soldier’s arm, she froze, speechless.
“Could it be…”
“Lord. The Serphina army…!”
The already misaligned fate did not wait for a leader who had made several consecutive judgment errors.
“Is leading an army of 98,000 towards Kelstein Castle…!”
Lynn might not have wanted to admit it, but.
From the moment she truly intended to kill Airen Juliette –
The Brans army, once victors of the central region, began to fall apart all too quickly.
