âA messenger huh? If youâre someone from the Ortomea Empire, then⌠I guess youâre a new face? Iâve never seen you before⌠Your name is Sudou, am I right?â
Heavy silence dominated the office room.
Julianus the first sit deeply into his chair while turning his line of sight towards the man kneeling in front of him with pity and ridicule.
For someone who was in the position of disadvantage all this time, this scene was the best.
A reversed situation.
A sense of superiority dominated Julianus the first sensation.
âYes, your majesty. Thank you for granting me this audienceâŚâ
âSo, what do you want by coming to my place? Is it to surrender?â
A sarcastic tone leaked from Julianus the firstâs mouth.
It was only a few days ago that a report that the Ortomeaâs rear supply base, the Notiz Fort, had been destroyed by Mikoshiba Ryouma.
As a result of that, the Ortomeaâs imperial army, which was locked in a battlefield around Ushias basin ended up getting isolated inside the enemyâs territory, with their supplies line cut off.
With that, the Ortomea Empire invading strength of nearly 60,000 men ended up becoming like rats inside a bag.
Even if they were a big army, the fact that they were separated from their home countries was devastating.
The commanding officers aside, the unscrupulously drafted citizens and mercenaries would definitely become upset with the situation.
Under such circumstances, the Ortomea Empireâs army could not do anything else but send their messenger to Julianus the first to negotiate for surrender.
An unconditional surrender.
Although what Julianus said was indeed the truth, Sudou felt the words he had heard were very ironic.
But because Sudou understood Julianusâ feelings, Chapter didnât feel angry from such ironic words.
Sudou raised his face slowly and opened his mouth towards the pathetic clown sitting in front of him.
âThere is no such a thing⌠An unconditional surrender negotiation, I didnât come for thatâŚâ
Sudou shook his head.
âThen, why did you come here? It canât be, but did you come here for a cup of a tea? But then I guess you cannot afford such a thing now, huh?â
Arrogance came out from both menâs mouth.
Toward Julianus words, Sudou smiled bitterly.
With just a single victory.
However, no one really understood the meaning of this victory.
Up until now, it was always the Ortomea Empire that took the initiative.
When and where to attack. They completely controlled the flow of the war.
In that sense, now with Notiz fort fallen, Ortomea and Zalda-led allied forces changed roles.
Towards the figure of Julianus who desperately held back his happy expression, Sudou desperately tried to suppress his laughter.
(Such a stupid man⌠As expected of a clown. Despite the victory he had, it was not something he obtained with his powerâŚ)
Certainly, one existence had lit the light of hope towards the Zalda Kingdom.
Considering the current state of the Zalda Kingdom who had been always on the defeated side, this rear-blocking strategy could be said as their hope of resuscitation.
But, that didnât mean it solved all the problems.
While there were some problems solved because of such event, it also created other issues that were harder to solve.
Furthermore, it had the potential to become fatal unless the Zalda Kingdom solved it by themselves.
(Now then, just how far does the Zalda Kingdom knows where they are standingâŚ)
Indeed the situation was greatly reversed, and now the Ortomea Empireâs army was being cornered.
However, that was only a temporary situation.
âThe reason why Iâve come here is to end this unfortunate warâŚâ
Sudou slowly opened his mouth.
He had used a tone that was befitting of a young child pulling a prank.
âWhat did you say?â
Being unable to understand Sudouâs unexpected words, Julianus knitted his eyebrows.
âTo put it simply, Ortomea Empire wishes for a harmonious relationship with the Zalda Kingdom.â
Thirst for blood surged from Grahart Henschelâs body who stood by Julianus side after he heard Sudouâs words.
Murderous intentions start to leak out like a snowstorm towards Sudou.
(I guess they are not stupid enough to show anger at this place, huh? SplendidâŚ)
Sudou had gathered information regarding Henschel and Julianus beforehand, but both of the men were calmer than he had thought.
But that was natural, after all, if one was trying to win in a diplomacy battle, one should hide oneâs feelings.
(Julianus aside, that Henschel man, he is far better than I had thought⌠Looking at this, there seems to be some room for negotiations.)
A reconciliation negotiation proposal comes from the Ortomea Empire side who was the one that started everything.
Thus it was natural for Henschel to feel anger since his nation had been overrun by them all this time.
But thanks to his strong discipline, he had managed to show a deadpan face despite Sudouâs remarks.
It was evident that he understood that it wonât mean anything if he gets emotional here.
But it also meant that there was a room for negotiations.
(Because there wonât be any if the other side was already spewing anger before talks beginsâŚ)
As long he was being given a chance to talk, Sudou was convinced that he would be able to obtain victory.
âPardon me, but I donât understand your words. What do you mean by that, I wonder?â
âThe meaning is the same as I had said, your majesty. The Ortomea empire wants a temporary harmony between our nations.â
After invading another nation, they had shamelessly proposed a reconciliation, Julianus felt amazed.
âDo you realize that it was your nation that triggered this war?â
âOf course, your majesty. It was all started the moment my country attacked yours.â
Towards Julianusâ question, Sudou answered back smoothly.
It was an anticipated question.
In diplomacy, it was important to have both confidence and some slight arrogance.
âIf you understand that, then why do you think we would accept reconciliation proposed by your side?â
Hearing that, Sudouâs eyes glinted.
The situation had thrown Julianus the first into confusion.
He also felt anxiety from Sudouâs attitude.
âPardon me for interjectingâŚâ
Henschelâs voice echoed.
âDo you really think that our country would listen to that?â
A few months ago, Julianus wouldâve definitely jumped into the negotiation.
However, the scale of the war was leaning towards the Zalda side right now.
Thus Julianus didnât feel it necessary to take Sudouâs proposal by this time.
However, Sudou who didnât feel shaken by Julianus words opened his mouth with a smile on his face.
âIndeed, if your Majesty understands the position your majestyâs country is in, I think your majesty will definitely accept our proposal.â
âWhat do you meant?â
âIt is simple, really. I come here as a friend who wishes to help you out from the predicament you find yourself in.â
Towards Sudouâs arrogant attitude, Julianus even forgot to shout.
There were indeed people who would show such arrogant attitude before the ruler and get punishedâŚ
Yet, Julianus could not shout such order against the smiling man in front of him.
If one were to ask why, it was because he felt a premonition, a gut-feeling, a survival instinctâŚ
âIn the first place, does your majesty realize? That your majesty has been dominated all this timeâŚâ
Sudou lifted his lips into a smirk.
He was sneering.
He was sneering towards the fools who didnât realize the position they were in.
âWhen was it ? Ortomea Empireâs army 60,000-strong men are trapped like rats inside a bag. Not only that, they should be in the position of lacking supplies due to the surprise attacks, and should soon runs out of reserve.â
Although he felt uneasy, Julianus kept his calm expression towards Sudouâs bullish attitude.
âYou will run out of supplies, and replacement for armor, then no matter how big an army, it will only turn into a paper tiger, no?â
âCertainly, that is a fact. As your Majesty said, our army is being cornered. However, if your majesty thought that your majesty is in a superior position then that is nothing more than an illusion.â
(Here comes the critical momentâŚ)
Just as Sudou thought of that. His body trembled with excitement.
âWell then, how about this⌠How does your majesty intend to end our army? Does your majesty really think your majesty could destroy our Empire entirely?â
âWhat did you say?â
Julianus knitted his eyebrows unable to understand Sudouâs words.
âJust like I said, your majesty. There were three ways to end the war. One of them is to destroy the enemy completely, lose against the enemy, or negotiate for a ceasefire and reconcile during the war⌠With that being the case, which kind of way does your majesty wish to end the war?â
Win, lose or a draw.
Each of them had its own variation, but to put it briefly that were the three choices that existed.
âThat isâŚâ
Hearing Sudouâs words, Julianus was at a loss for words.
He realized that Sudou had pointed out his lack of vision.
The other day, right after the Notiz Fort fell, Elena while leading the Zalda army inflicted significant damage to the retreating Ortomea Empireâs army.
The trend of the war indeed began to tilt toward the Zaldaâs side.
However, that was only limited to this war.
In the Zalda Kingdom, it was the aristocrats who held the real power. The Royal Order and the Royal Guard had also suffered a lot of damage to their war potential in men right now, and the reinforcements from the other countries will not help in the invasion of the Ortomea Empire going forward.
Under such circumstance, it would be impossible to make a reverse invasion strategy against Ortomea Empire.
Unless Julianus managed to direct the entire alliance army to invade the Ortomea territory, he wonât be able to do anything.
If that was the case, only two options were left.
Continue the unfortunate war until the day the Zalda Kingdom is getting destroyed, or negotiate a peace agreement.
In that view, it was a huge improvement that a peace request had come, compared to the previous messenger who advised surrender.
âLet me ask your majesty once again who seems to understand the current situation. Would you like to keep this unfortunate war going?â
He sounded like a devilish temptation.
Towards Sudou who said those words with a smile on his face, Julianus had no other options but to agree with Sudouâs proposal.
-
On that day, the capital city of the Zalda Kingdom Periveria was being covered with wild enthusiasm.
Or rather, it was not just Periveria. It was likely that the entire Zalda Kingdom felt the same atmosphere.
It was a proof that the dark cloud that had covered the Zalda Kingdom until the other day had been cleared up.
On both sides of the main street, a lot of people gathered.
It was full of young and old people, even an old man holding a cane continued to wave at the soldiers marching the road.
âHurray! Zalda Kingdom, Hurray!â
âGod Bless the King! Glory for our country!â
People line up on the sides of the main street and shouted words of victories.
Just the other day, the war against the Ortomea Empire which lasted more than a year had come to an end with a peace negotiation.
That mean, the various taxes that were being imposed due to the wartime emergency had been lifted, and the men who had wife and child finally can go back home.
The news had brought them the hope of returning back to their former calm life.
However, there were some people who didnât share the same sentiment.
One of the men was the king of the country who had made the decision to proceed with the peace talks.
He was sitting deeply in his chair inside his office while looking at the ceiling.
âI wonder if what I did was the right decision?â
It was a deep voice filled with anxiety.
It was proof that he was not confident with the decision he made.
âI donât knowâŚâ
In Julianus response, Henschel slowly shook his head.
âAt least, we managed to earn some time, that was a factâŚâ
âTime, huhâŚâ
The Ortomea Imperial army had begun their full retreat.
Although temporary, depending on the future, it was possible for them to gain a few years of time.
Thus it was possible to gain the time to rebuild the war-torn Kingdom.
âI cannot waste the little time we have nowâŚâ
âBy your will, sireâŚâ
Grahart Henschel nodded his head deeply, confirming Julianus words.
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