Merchant Noble is out (1/4 chapters for today)
Before the Battle
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With the death of King Rudolf, the previously small skirmishes between the Casablanca and Arc factions had now ignited a fuse. The royal capital of Laplace. The royal palace’s grand hall.
“Jeanne-sama, Renoir-sama, enter!” (Minister)
Casablanca, along with her second unit commander Jeanne and the soldiers leading the invasion, had summoned Renoir back to the royal palace to hold a grand ceremony. In time with the voice of the minister, Jeanne, dressed in dazzling armor, and Renoir knelt before Casablanca, who sat on the throne.
“We greet Your Majesty the Queen.” (Jeanne)
“Raise your faces.” (Casablanca)
Today, Casablanca also wore heavy and stuffy formal attire, a sign of the importance of this ceremony.
“First, Jeanne. The recent defeat of Rudolf was a noble deed. Through your actions, you were able to prevent the merging of Rudolf and Arc, and it can be said that the safety of Laplace was preserved because of it.” (Casablanca)
“Yes. Thank you very much.” (Jeanne)
Casablanca praised Jeanne for her role in dealing with Rudolf.
Having prepared for an invasion of Kali, she was able to predict to some extent how Rudolf would escape.
“However, there remains the greatest and final threat. Yanna Warden, who remains in Mikanda, and Arc Warden, who is in Kali. By destroying these two and eradicating the Warden Household, the Laplace Kingdom will be truly unified and will usher in eternal prosperity.” (Casablanca)
“Indeed, Your Majesty.” (Ministers)
It seemed as if the ministers had rehearsed this beforehand, as they all immediately agreed with Casablanca’s statement. Casablanca nodded with satisfaction and continued her speech.
“Among these, the one we must be most wary of is Arc, who is in Kali. He conspired with Rudolf to directly target my life. As long as he lives, this danger will never cease. We must destroy Arc Warden in Kali as soon as possible.” (Casablanca)
Casablanca declared forcefully.
At the conclusion of her speech, Fran respectfully approached with a decree in hand and stood beside Casablanca.
“I bring the Queen’s command.” (Fran)
The ministers all knelt and lowered their heads. Once Fran confirmed that everyone had assumed a posture of respect, he took a deep breath and began reading.
“With this declaration, we hereby declare war on the Kali Kingdom. Jeanne and Renoir are appointed as the commanders of this invasion, each to be given 20,000 soldiers.” (Fran)
“Yes!” (Jeanne/Renoir)
The two, now formally appointed as generals, replied with enthusiasm. But this was not the end.
“Furthermore… The highest commander of this invasion will be none other than Queen Casablanca herself. Her Majesty will lead 30,000 troops and establish the main camp.” (Fran)
“Oh!” (Ministers)
“What a surprise!” (Ministers)
A wave of astonishment spread through the grand hall, like a ripple in the water. Casablanca herself would be leading the invasion. She would personally lead the troops to support Jeanne and Renoir.
“We are deeply moved that we can entrust our backs to Her Majesty herself as a warrior.” (Jeanne/Renoir)
Jeanne and the others bowed in both pressure and emotion.
Having the Queen herself march into battle would significantly raise the morale of the soldiers, but on the other hand, it also meant that she would bear all the responsibility. Even the smallest defeat would not be forgiven. Although it was extremely risky for Casablanca to personally face Arc in battle, this showed how serious she was about this fight.
“This battle will settle everything.” (Casablanca)
Royal forces, noble factions, and religious powers. The kingdom’s history had never seen such a chaotic period. Various factions had been fighting, but now the final players were only Arc and Casablanca. This battle would end it all. In this battle, either one of them would die, and the ultimate victor would be decided. Casablanca and her ministers were certain of this.
“Everyone, work tirelessly.” (Casablanca)
“We will fight with unwavering resolve to crush Arc and restore the kingdom’s peace.” (Casablanca)
In response to Casablanca’s words of encouragement, everyone pledged with a unified heart.
—
The news of Casablanca’s declaration of war on Kali reached Arc’s ears three days later.
“It’s a report from Laplace. Casablanca is invading Kali.” (Minister)
“So, it begins!” (Arc)
The ministers were stirred up. The ongoing confusion in the situation would soon come to an end, whether they laughed or cried. Mikanda was cornered, and in the panic, they had taken over Kali and were continuing the fight. In unfamiliar territory, with no clear outlook on what tomorrow might bring, Arc and everyone were exhausted.
“Rishu. Are we ready to repel them?” (Arc)
“We’re running out of time. The soldiers’ training and fortifications aren’t finished yet, but we’ll do what we can until the last moment.” (Rishu)
Rishu spoke with a tired face.
She was desperately training the inexperienced soldiers provided by the Kali nobles. If Tyr, who had always valued quality over quantity, were alive, he would probably faint from the situation. It was that dire.
“Our enemy is said to be an army of tens of thousands. We must stand our ground in this difficult terrain and use the advantage of the land to counter them.” (Rishu)
“Understood.” (Rishu)
Analyzing the terrain was one of Rishu’s strengths as an adventurer. They had to find a way to stop Casablanca’s army.
“Continue with Rishu as the overall commander.” (Arc)
Even now, Rishu remained the commander. Arc seemed intent on never replacing her with Randal. The soldiers could vaguely sense it.
“Is this adventurer really going to continue commanding?” they wondered.
Even the general soldiers were thinking this, so it wasn’t surprising that Randal felt distrustful.
“All military officers must obey her orders.” (Arc)
Arc’s words were met with scattered responses from the military officers, but Randal said nothing. In fact, he refused to make eye contact with Arc.
“Randal. Listen.” (Arc)
“…” (Randal)
Arc addressed him directly, but Randal ignored him. The other ministers watched in apprehension, glancing nervously at the two.
“Randal.” (Arc)
“Understood.” (Randal)
When Arc repeated himself a little more firmly, Randal finally raised his face, looked Arc in the eye, and gave a flat, lifeless response.
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