Sword of Salvation-Chapter 103: - Beginning of the War (2)

Mariel—as he had promised Celinee—returned to Iresvilea after five days. But he was not alone. With him were Julia, Sean, and two Stewart guards: Bernard and Zion. He had successfully convinced them not to return to Denland and to keep Julia’s safety a secret.

They arrived not far from Iresvilea’s gate in a short time by using a dimensional portal. That was also the reason Julia had been pouting the whole time. The princess had realized that Mariel had deceived her that night. However, she couldn’t bring herself to say such an embarrassing thing in front of the others. So, she kept pouting.

Even when they arrived at the palace, the princess occasionally glared at Mariel.

Of course, Mariel pretended not to notice those glares. Perhaps he would have smiled or commented on the princess’s actions if there weren’t an impending danger. However, he couldn’t act freely under Celinee’s sharp watch.

Seeing King Maggio’s arrival, Mariel immediately stood up and approached him. He had already told Julia that he wouldn’t accompany her to speak with the king. The princess had to do it herself. But since he had already sent a message to the king, there was nothing for Julia to worry about.

"King Maggio," Mariel greeted, shaking the king’s hand.

"When Lady C said you would come in five days, I didn’t think you would bring an envoy from the Denland Kingdom. But I shouldn’t be surprised. Empress Lasyana wouldn’t trust you so much if you weren’t highly capable."

"Was the time I gave enough?" Mariel asked. "The situation in Neiracia is also precarious. From what I’ve heard, Urakhna Kingdom has started moving. The same goes for the Perakhsa Kingdom. They haven’t attacked yet, but Lasyana will focus on them. She won’t be able to help. I also won’t be able to help if Mangolla doesn’t take action early."

King Maggio let out a long sigh before continuing, "I’ve heard what happened in Camelot. And with Urakhna and Moskvallha’s actions, it proves that what you feared is indeed real. I understand what will happen if I don’t seize the opportunity." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"I’m glad you reached that conclusion, Your Majesty. This is the perfect chance to destroy Moskvallha. With Denland attacking from the south, Mangolla from the east, and internal weakening by Princess Athenia..."

"The defeat of Moskvallha is inevitable," Maggio finished Mariel’s sentence, which he had deliberately left incomplete.

Mariel nodded. Then he left the king to discuss matters with Julia. This would be the first step in strengthening the relationship between the two kingdoms. After all, Denland and Mangolla were still neighbors. If they could cooperate and crush their enemy, why not?

As King Maggio began speaking with Julia, Mariel went with Celinee to check on the king’s daughter’s condition. Mariel had never spoken to the girl face-to-face. This was a good opportunity. Besides, Celinee wouldn’t be satisfied until he explained in detail how he ended up with Julia and the three guards.

When Mariel returned to Vallhamoza, night had already fallen. He returned alone. Julia and her guards would remain as King Maggio’s guests until the war began. Mariel didn’t want the surprise attack he had planned to be ruined over a trivial matter.

After speaking with Athenia and informing her of a few things, Mariel left the princess’s new residence once again. He needed to meet Oz to begin stealing the city’s logistics. To fulfill his plans for Athenia, he needed a massive supply of resources.

However, before leaving, Mariel first instructed Anzu to deploy several low-level demons to cause chaos. If Zalestino had not yet suspected Levia’s involvement, Anzu’s actions would make the emperor certain of it. This would make him more paranoid.

When Mariel arrived at the inn where he had first met Oz, he was greeted by familiar faces. However, unlike her first visit, the guards no longer demanded an entry fee. Moreover, inside, all the women were fully clothed, and none of them wore collars like pets.

"Lord Mariel, Lord Oz is in his room."

That was all the information Mariel needed. He thanked the receptionist and headed straight to Oz’s room.

--------Norwea, Capital City of Denland Kingdom--------

A week had passed since Stewart returned to Norwea after experiencing mistreatment in Vallhamoza.

During that week, Stewart had requested his father to send letters across the kingdom. The letters contained announcements about the war and the recruitment of additional soldiers. The kingdom would offer 10,000 escal to each soldier who joined—provided they met the required qualifications.

So far, there had been no reports from other cities, but the response from Norwea’s citizens was quite positive. As of last night, a total of 2,412 people had enlisted. Most of them were retired Sterminatore warriors and mercenaries, though a considerable number were ordinary civilians.

Of course, it was a small number, but Stewart prioritized quality over quantity. So, he didn’t wait for the number of recruits to rise significantly. As soon as General Rutherdof reported that the kingdom’s main army was ready to move, Stewart immediately stopped his other activities and joined them.

Stewart led 70,000 main soldiers and 2,412 new recruits as they departed from Norwea. Recruits from various cities joined them along the way. By the time they arrived near the border after two weeks of marching, Stewart’s army had grown to over 100,000 troops.

"Your Highness, aren’t we going to officially declare war?" General Rutherdof asked as the army advanced into enemy territory. "We’ve never started a war in history, let alone launched a surprise attack."

"Zalestino already declared war when he launched that sudden attack. We’ve been at war since he detained Julia. And we are not starting a war, nor are we launching a surprise attack. We are merely responding to the emperor’s actions. Until he returns Julia safely, we won’t stop for any reason."

Hearing the prince’s serious words, General Rutherdof nodded in understanding and immediately ordered the soldiers to advance without hesitation. With Stewart and the general at the front lines, they would eliminate every enemy soldier in sight.

------Vallhamoza, Moskvallha Empire------

A week had passed since Emperor Zalestino ordered Viertino to lead tens of thousands of soldiers to the empire’s southern territory. And today, he sent over forty thousand more troops, led by the former crown prince, to the east.

Mariel watched their departure from one of the palace towers. He was accompanied by Athenia and two of her guards. At the same time, Mariel saw the emperor standing on the palace’s main balcony. He didn’t look pleased at all. The news of Mangolla’s attack had truly caught him off guard.

"Your brother and his army will be crushed by Mangolla’s forces in no time," Mariel whispered.

"How?" Athenia asked. "Mangolla Kingdom has weak military power. They only have 25,000 soldiers. My brother is leading over 40,000. How will they be destroyed?"

Mariel simply smiled at her question and motioned for the princess to follow. "There are two reasons," he said as they walked. "But I won’t tell you what they are. Just consider this: if King Maggio wasn’t certain that his army would win, would he have dared to send them?"

"Julia?"

"Let’s say Julia convinced King Maggio. But would he really send 25,000 of his soldiers to die in vain just to fulfill the princess’s wishes? If he wasn’t certain, he would have convinced her to return to Norwea and call off the war."

"You have a point. But, Mariel, I think you have something to do with King Maggio’s reasoning."

"More importantly," Mariel continued, ignoring her statement, "are you ready to carry out your mission?"

"I have prepared myself for this moment."

Mariel grinned at his response. With that, Emperor Zalestino’s downfall was inevitable. The question was, how long would he last? When would he realize Athenia’s plan? And, more importantly, when would the member of World Order reveal himself?

Mariel couldn’t wait to test his strength. He had fought Doctor Lergen when he was already weakened. This time, he would face another member of World Order at full power. Would he win? Would he lose again?