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63. The Beginning of Destruction (1)

When news came that the 1st Corps of the central army had been annihilated, the ministers in the palace set the hall abuzz.

Of course, the dragonfolk army had also taken some heavy damage, but they had killed the entire 1st Corps, despite the dragonfolk army’s small size. If the enemy forces had been on the same scale as a field army, then it would have seemed more plausible. But the enemy army was not even the size of an entire corps. It meant that they had used troops that were only a bit larger than a division to defeat the 1st Corps.

“Your Majesty!”

The chamberlain hurriedly entered the imperial study.

It had not been long since his coronation, but he was already faced with exasperating situations. Despite that, he calmly waited for the chamberlain to speak. The chamberlain took a few seconds to catch his breath before starting.

“There is trouble, Your Majesty! Even the eastern army has been defeated by the dragonfolk’s army!”

Even after the chamberlain made his report, the emperor remained calm. To him, it was just the onset of a future he had already seen hundreds of times.

“I should head to the Great Hall.”

The emperor hastily made his way out of the study. Over in the Great Hall, all the high ranking nobles of the capitals, including the ministers, were waiting for him, their eyes awash with fear.

They all had sharp minds, and could clearly see how severe the situation was.

The worst case scenario, they would have to run from the Capital.

But if they did that, they would be branded as traitors afterwards, and their families would be destroyed. It may not be the same for other nobles, but at least, the central government officials knew that they could not leave the capital without permission. This was also true for the heads of the capital’s noble families.

While they were all waiting in fear, the emperor was still as cool headed as before. He calmly watched the ministers who had criticized him as the most incompetent of the princes even though it had not been long since he was enthroned.

“I think everyone has heard the report.”

The ministers nodded, as cold sweat flowed down their backs.

“Where are my imperial brothers?”

No one could answer the emperor’s question. Unable to continue watching their silence, the chamberlain whispered the princes’ locations to the emperor.

“The second prince said that some urgent business suddenly came up in the west… Third prince should be in the west too? The fourth prince has gone off to some foreign country.”

The emperor laughed gently, inwardly ridiculing his runaway imperial brothers. He had been scorned as inept and cowardly when he was a crown prince, despite his high status. But here he was now, adamantly guarding the palace, while all those idiots who called themselves royals had run away.

It meant they had run off to save their necks alone, abandoning the emperor to die. Even if he charged them right now with high treason, none of the ministers would object.

The ministers in the Great Hall also wanted to flee immediately too, but if the dragonfolk could be defeated, the ministers would be as good as dead afterwards. That was why they remained in the capital against their will, all of them now looking at the emperor in uncomfortable silence.

The minister of the military could not maintain his silence any longer and stepped forward.

“Your Majesty! You have to immediately call all the armies to the capital! Protecting the capital with the currently available troops will be exceedingly difficult!”

As soon as the minister of the military spoke, the emperor hit the throne’s armrest to silence him. He spoke to the minister of the military who was staring at him.

“The main force units of the eastern army are in Atlantis right now. As for the west, aren’t they out fighting the birdmen? Even the central army has gone to help the west.”

Just like the emperor said, all the commands located close to the Center were entangled in desperate war efforts. The commander of the central army had even personally led troops to help out the western region, as they had been attacked to the point where their frontlines were pushed back. Despite the intervention, things were so difficult for the western region that they were only able to barely maintain their frontlines.

The southern region was in the same situation too. In the south, the commander was directly leading the troops into battle.

“But… but… Your majesty! It is really dangerous…!”

“The southern region cannot even manage to hold off the monsters that are advancing towards them from the great forest, while the northern army has also moved their army to help the northeast region.”

As the emperor interrupted the minister of the military and said those words, all the ministers realized how much more severe things were.

Every one of those regions was important, and each of them was facing an urgent crisis. All this while, they had remained in the capital, safe from harm. But now the things they considered other regions’ problems had arrived at their doorstep.

“All the regions of the empire are facing a crisis. Where do I gather those main force units from?”

The emperor’s questions shut the minister of military’s mouth.

The minister wanted to argue that they should at least order the northern army to come. But if the creatures coming from beyond the mountains were frost giants, things in the north would become a wholly different story. All troops in the northern region were combining their strength because even two armies had not been enough to succeed. Even Leonhardt was preparing to move to the northeast.

All that was left was the southeastern army, but they had also sustained many casualties in their most recent battle. In this situation, they could not call on the Mobile Field Army to come help the capital.

“But… but it is impossible to stop the advance of the dragonfolk with only the troops we currently have.”

The eastern army that had been at their disposal had raked together what was left of their numbers to fight them, but what happened was the wipe out of the entire 1st Corps. The dragonfolk army was so strong that there wasn’t a single survivor.

This was why it was impossible for the yet poorly trained capital guards to counter the dragonfolk.

Besieged. Completely surrounded. Those were the words that came to his mind as he thought of the crisis the capital was facing.[1]

“Send as many people as possible away from the capital, and gather as many troops as each command can afford to send to the capital.”

At the emperor’s order, the central army began gathering all the troops they could muster at that point, with the eastern and northern armies sending some of their troops as well. All these soldiers headed towards the capital, trying to arrive as fast as possible. Now all these regions had left were their reserve forces or troops designated to protect the various commands.

“Your Majesty, that is still not enough! At least, we have to ask the central army or the southeastern army to send their main units here.”

Foreseeing how the situation would worsen based on his evaluation of the dragonfolk army, the minister of the military earnestly implored. At the current level of the capital’s defense troops, their chances of winning would still remain abysmal even if the various armies sent some of their soldiers.

To add to that, the biggest issue was that there was no master-level person being sent. There was no one who had reached at least 6th stage, making their military forces ridiculously inefficient.

Although the capital was the place with the highest number of core weapons, including mana stones, those weapons were not enough to help them win against the dragonfolk.

“Moreover, if the person leading the dragonfolk troops is really a dragon, then we must have a master on our side too, Your Majesty!”

Hearing the military minister’s words, all the other officials turned to look at the emperor. But instead the emperor chuckled.

“You also know how bad the situation is at all the commands, so by what means are you thinking of ordering them to come here? You think the Center is still in the same position as before?”

The military minister shut up at the emperor’s question.

“In… in Your Majesty’s name……”

The minister stammered as he spoke, unable to form a complete sentence. He was well aware the Center was nothing like it was before, and that the emperor’s authority had been shot to pieces.

He knew it so clearly because they had been the ones who made it so.

He was also clear on the reality of what each command was facing. But the state of affairs had worsened so much that they had to have at least one master in the capital, even if it was by force. It didn’t matter how it was done. A master and a main unit had to be called.

The emperor understood what was going through the military minister’s mind, but he pretended not to know.

It was at that moment that a commissioned officer opened the doors to the hall and rushed in. The officer hurried to the chamberlain who was standing next to the throne, and whispered the news that had just arrived to him.

“Your Majesty.”

As the chamberlain conveyed the news to the emperor, the emperor frowned slightly. Watching the emperor’s expression, the military minister spoke in a scarcely audible voice.

“How about ordering the northern army’s commander to come, just for a short while? There is still some time before the frost giants……”

“Sorry to disappoint you. It seems the frost giants have just reached the mountains in the northeast.”

“Huh……”

The military stared vacantly. To drive the point home, the emperor continued.

“The report says everyone at corps commander level and above, including the two commanders, have already gone to battle.”

“How… how could……”

“The commander of the western army and the central commander are facing the birdmen, and the southern command is fighting to stop the advance from the great forest. The eastern army is fine, but wouldn’t it take time for them to get here?”

The minister lowered his head at the emperor’s words.

Even though they possessed the most masters on the continent, none of those masters could come to the capital right now. And most of the main units were tied up in battle. As for the Mobile Field Army, they had ended the battle, but they still had to take care of the remaining monsters.

Now, the emperor was the only one they could count on. But it seemed the emperor had no plans of making the main units or masters come to the capital against their will.

“Hoo……”

The emperor took in a deep breath, and calmly considered the situation at hand. With Iron’s help, the lifespan of God’s Orb had just barely been increased. But it seemed the gods did not plan to just wait and see.

In order to actualize the long-predicted End, they were driving the empire into a corner, pushing the empire to its limits and trying to isolate them.

‘If I make the wrong choice, the lifespan of the Orb might even be extended…’

The emperor recalled God’s Orb, and thought on it for a while, before shaking his head lightly. This was the resolution he’d come to several times, after that dream.

The emperor himself was prepared for this development, but the same could not be said for the ministers. They would never accept that the end had already been predicted. So the emperor decided to take a step back in order to persuade the ministers.

“Contact all the commanders. Tell them to come to the capital if they are not facing an urgent situation.”

The military minister’s expression, as well as those of the other ministers, relaxed a little upon hearing this. The emperor had added the condition ‘if they are not facing an urgent situation’, but that was enough as long as it could bring some masters to the capital. Immediately, the ministers sent off dispatches to the commanders to let them know the emperor’s commands.

Even before the meeting ended, a few commanders sent replies, saying that they definitely make time to come, no matter what, if the dragonfolk advanced to the capital.

“Was it the central and southern commanders?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The official from the military department who had come to make the report nodded his head.

“They said sending the main force would be difficult… but the commanders would come to help the capital?”

“Yes, Your Majesty! The eastern army too said they will make time to come!”

The official’s words gave the ministers hope, briefly lightening their expressions. Although the main forces could not come, the commanders’ promises to come were sufficient.

‘This is good!’

The ministers smiled, their anxiety seeming to roll off their shoulders. Right away, they spread this news all over the capital, causing the worry that had pervaded the capital after the previous consecutive defeats to subside. However, the emperor continued to evacuate people from the capital to central command, while the troops coming from all over the empire filled the empty space that was left in the capital.

But the speed at which the capital was preparing was the same speed at which the dragonfolk army advanced towards the capital. Finally, they reached the capital after two days.

“Have you contacted the commanders?!”

“Yes! But things have been critical on the side of the western army, so the central commander cannot leave immediately to come here. As for the south, monsters suddenly gathered there, so they need some time before they can get here.”

An official from the Center replied to the military minister’s question.

“Damn it! Why now…”

“But they said they will certainly come when the battle starts!”

“Understood. Pay attention to how things unfold, and at the first sign of battle, immediately contact each of the commands.”

“Yes!”

Whispering to himself how unlucky things were, the military minister gave the order to contact the commanders as soon as possible, and then left the room.

“Please… please…

He prayed earnestly that the dragonfolk army would begin their attack just a little later, and began thinking of how they could hold on until the commanders arrived. But not even a few minutes later, his hopes were dashed to pieces.

Crash!

“What… what is that…”

The covering that firmly protected the top of the building was hit by something, almost shattering it and startling the military minister. He looked up in fright, only to see a gigantic dragon up in the sky.

“Oh… oh no! No!”

As the military minister shook his head and wailed, the dragon opened its mouth and breathed a bright red flame onto the palace.

Notes:

[1] “Besieged. Completely surrounded”: The word used here is a four character idiom 사면초가 (四面楚歌), which means to be surrounded by enemies on all sides. The sentence following translates to “the capital’s crisis brought to his mind a four character idiom from the eastern continent”. Since there is no four-word combo in English that sounds as fitting for that sentence, it was changed in translation.