Chapter 297: A Bloody Battle (1)

An urgent summon.

A command fell towards the entirety of the kingdom from the Capital Castle of Mediasis. It was an urgent call with the seal of the monarch stamped on.

Dududududududu!

Lebbis carriages ran on top of the little holes made on the roads connecting Mediasis to the large cities on the borders. It was a speed much faster than normal carriages and due to it being an urgent situation, the roads dedicated to Lebbis carriages were all emptied out.

Thanks to that, except for Semi Impasse, the Commander of the Southern Armies who was located in the furthermost place, all the commanders were able to reach the Capital in mere 2 days. Amongst the ones that had gathered were Aily Lancephil, Pierce Newman, as well as the castellan of the Rinse Special District, Katy Rinse.

After waiting for the Commander of the Southern Armies, Semi to arrive, Roan started the urgent conference. The attendees were the Commanders of each Provincial Army as well as the Central Army, the Leaders of Special Corps including the Leader of the Defense Army; the Amaranth Trainees and the Rinse Corps, as well as the Knight captains and the Strategist of the Argens and Tenebra, the Administrator and the Legislator.

In other words, all the important personnel that were leading the Amaranth Kingdom had been gathered.

“There’s something to say to all of you.”

Roan heaved out a deep sigh as Kalian who sat himself on a corner of the conference room made a strange smile.

‘I’m curious what their reactions will be in front of this enormous and helpless reality.’

Staring directly into the eyes of his subordinates, Roan started the long story. He naturally did not talk about the fact that he had died once before returning back in time to live the second, or rather, the third life.

‘No-one knows about it so…’

At the start, he thought Pierce knew about the whole thing but all he knew was that Roan had died once before being resurrected by Tempestas. It was because Kalian thought there was no need to tell him the entire truth and had hid some facts around it.

“Around the entire continent, something strange is happening.”

Roan’s first plan was to halt the evil and savage plan which Latio was trying to make. The listeners gulped as they stared at Roan.

“The leader of the Tallian Church, Archbishop Latio is proceeding with a brutal ritual to break down the Middle World.”

As soon as his words ended.

“Sorry?! Latio the Archbishop?”

The Administrator Swift Clock asked back with surprise. Unlike others, he had personally seen and heard about Latio.

‘Such a mannered, kind person? On top of that it’s someone His Majesty had picked personally…’

He couldn’t believe it but Roan nodded his head with a bitter smile.

“I misjudged him.”

Roan quickly admitted his mistake without blaming anyone else.

“Huu.”

Along with a short sigh, he started explaining about the altar found near the Blackburn area as well as Latio’s altar he had seen through the memories of Tempestas – the brutal ritual as well as the large evil truth.

“Impossible!”

“Such a cruel thing!”

“Ah… is that the true form of the Tallian Church…”

The ones that had been listening to the story all flushed their faces and inside their eyes there were rage and disappointment from the betrayal.

“What is the reason they’re doing such a brutal act?”

The Commander of the Northern Armies and the Count of the Kingdom, Austin Fides suppressed the rage that was threatening to erupt and asked carefully. Roan heaved out a short sigh.

“Latio had lost his parents, relatives and friends to the crusaders.”

He then continued shortly and calmly about the unfortunate earlier days of Latio and the cruel things he had been made to go through.

“Mhmm.”

Some of them let out low mutters and admitted the fact that Latio had a cruel fate. However that didn’t mean that the thing he was doing and was about to do could be forgiven or understood.

“We will immediately find out the locations of the altars!”

“If they’re placed throughout the continent, we must let other kingdoms and empires know about it and ask for their help.”

“We must begin immediately!”

The commanders and knight captains all kicked off their seats and shouted. It seemed like they could ravage through the continent any time.

It was then.

“Altars placed throughout the continent and a ritual of sacrifices…”

The Total Strategist, Ian Phillips carefully opened his mouth with a frown.

“What are they for?”

A sharp question. Thanks to that, the flushed generals closed their lips. They discovered that they had been fired up without even knowing why Latio was trying to carry such horrendous rituals.

They sat back down on their seats with embarrassment as Roan nodded towards Ian.

“A good question.”

It was a necessary question to go over. After staring at Aily shortly, he heaved out a deep breath.

“In the Grain Mountain Range, there’s a thing called the Gates of the Boundary.”

Hearing that, several of them frowned and tilted their heads.

“Gates of the Boundary?”

“What gate is that?”

In front of the people that appeared clueless, Roan slowly continued his words.

“The Gates of the Boundary…”

Gulp.

They listened intently.

“Is the entrance that connects the Middle World with the Demon World.”

In that instant,

“Demons!”

“The Demon World!”

A lot of them stood up and screamed from their seats. Even Ian, Swift and Chris who always kept their calm were greatly startled and the only one keeping their calm from them was Aily. As the leader of the elves, she knew a bit about the Gates of the Boundary but even she couldn’t help but be flustered by the next words that came out.

“The Gates of the Boundary are sealed by great magic. However from centuries ago, that seal started to weaken gradually. If that was left alone, there was a high likelihood of the seal breaking and the gates being opened. With one mistake the Middle World could’ve been run over and destroyed in the hands of the demons and to defend against that worst case scenario…”

Roan faced his gaze at Aily.

“The dragons appeared.”

“Ah…”

With a low mutter, Aily quickly turned her head to look towards Kalian as Kalian stared directly into Aily’s eyes and smiled back.

‘Been a long time. The Queen of the Elves, Pisces.’

He too knew very well about Aily.

‘The child that had been taught by Beru, Ligby, and Trelian.’

Although he himself did not teach her directly, he clearly knew of what had happened back then.

‘The previous Pisces, Sylen had become the bait to lure the dark elves while Aily found us in the Grain Mountain Range.’

It was the same story which Roan had heard from Aily.

‘After that, the disciple of the three dragons left for the Forest of the Elves on the year she became an adult.’

That too was the same as what Aily had said to Roan but there was one thing that was different.

‘Pisces. You thought we were in hibernation but we were in fact guarding the Gates of the Boundary.’

At that time, there was no need to talk about it and it was better not spread as there was no need to drive the Middle World into panic.

‘Back then we thought we could defend the Gates of the Boundary easily.’

Kalian made a bitter smile.

The situation had changed now and the power of the dragons was not enough to defend the gates. It needed the help of everyone else.

“The dragons that had disappeared hundreds of years ago were in fact guarding the Gates of the Boundary?”

Swift asked back with surprise and Roan slowly nodded his head.

“Right. It was a great sacrifice for the Middle World.”

Glancing at Kalian he continued with a powerful voice.

“Defending the Gates of the Boundary was not difficult. The dragons could strengthen the seal while taking turns and through sleeps they could refill their power and strength. However, in just a few short years, the situation had changed.”

After he spoke up to that point, Ian who had been listening silently made a bitter smile.

“Latio, that altar and ritual… they were to weaken the seal on the Gates of the Boundary.”

“Ah…”

Mutters left the lips of the surrounding people and Roan gave a slow nod.

“Right. That guy is planning on opening the Gates of the Boundary to have the demons wreaking havoc in the Middle World.”

“Mhmm.”

They gulped and expressions turned rigid.

The Gates of the Boundary, Demon World and demons… things they had never thought about filled and confused their brain.

“If this was to continue, despite the sacrifices of the dragons, the Gates of the Boundary will be opened.”

If they were to be opened, it was obvious that demons would come pouring out.

‘Demons. Those horrible beings are showing in groups!’

Their faces crumpled. Sometimes, demons did appear in this world. When the gaps between the Middle World and the Demon World collided, some of the demons would come across by mistake. Of course, they could show themselves through the summons of the black magicians and sorcerers who had now hidden themselves.

‘One or two demons could destroy three to four knight orders.’

That was how strong those existences called demons were.

‘If the gates were to open…’

Tens, hundreds, thousands, tens and hundreds of thousands of those demons would pour out at the same time.

‘Over! It’ll be over!’

Their faces turned rotten as despair filled their gaze.

‘As expected, this is the reaction.’

Kalian who had been watching over made a bitter smile. If this was the response after just hearing the story, he couldn’t expect too much from them.

‘It has to be a small number of elites.’

He thought that if he could take a few skilled ones out from each country, they could be quite useful. It was then that the people that had been in despair all raised their heads to look at Roan.

Naturally, just like how water would flow from high above to below, they stared and Roan met their gazes calmly. He didn’t show overconfidence and just reflected the same expression and attitude. At once, the faces that had been filled with despair were replaced with bright colours and the eyes that had been coloured with helplessness had changed to a bold light.

‘Right. Even against those demons, if we’re with His Majesty…’

‘The roads we’ve walked with His Majesty so far were not easy either!’

‘If it’s him, if we’re with him, we can definitely make it happen!’

Their hearts were filled up. Seeing Roan who protected them from the front with the same wide shoulders, they found their confidence back. Roan made a faint smile in response as he too had discovered the changes in his subordinates.

“There won’t be a need to ask,”

His smile was made more apparent.

“Whether you’ll be fighting with me or not.”

They lowered their heads silently in response and gave off a bold aura.

“Ohh.”

Even Kalian couldn’t hold back his admiration but the target of his feelings was Roan.

‘Amazing.’

He had pulled up the declining morale in one go. He didn’t show off a heartwarming speech or his strength and his existence itself was a target of faith, and a source of relief and great hope.

It was then,

“But how did Your Majesty find out about all these things?”

The Minister of Argens, Chris asked with a surprised expression. Argens which was the greatest intelligence group in the continent didn’t even know about it so he was extremely curious about the source.

Roan stared at Kalian.

“This is all thanks to Kalian.”

Since they decided to hide his identity, Roan had no way but to treat him casually. Kalian made an awkward smile as he lowered his head slightly.

“He is…”

Roan’s introduction continued.

“A representative sent by the dragons.”

“Ah!”

They gave off exclamations immediately.

“That’s why he had such amazing magic skills.”

Swift who had seen Kalian’s teleportation magic before shook his head and clicked his tongue while Aily and Pierce who knew about Kalian’s real identity made awkward smiles. Roan quickly gave off several orders to change the topic.

“First off, each Provincial Army should focus on searching for the altars in their region.”

He gave orders to the Central Army, Special Corps, the Defense Army as well as the Knight Orders on top of that. Also, the Administrator and the Legislator were told to look out and prepare for the horrible war that may happen shortly while backing up the armies in their search.

“Yes sir! We have received the command.”

They lowered their heads after a short salute and Roan breathed in deeply.

“First, I am planning on heading over to the Devesis Church to discuss this.”

It was an extremely dangerous decision but was also something that had to be done once.

‘It’s better to get the hard things done first.’

It was then,

“Your Majesty. I have something to report regarding the Devesis Church.”

Swift walked forward and carefully started talking.

“I didn’t know where you were so I sent messengers all around the Kingdom but…”

He took out a letter from his inner pocket.

“It’s a letter sent by Duke Voisa. Please do read it personally.”

“Duke Voisa?”

With a frown, Roan carefully opened and read the letter. It was a fairly long letter but not a single word could be skimmed through.

“Mhmm.”

The contents of the letter were outrageous. Roan folded the letter again neatly before returning it to Swift.

“It seems I must visit Duke Voisa before the Church.”

Others couldn’t understand it but Swift nodded his head without saying a word. It was then,

“Your Majesty. We also have something we must report.”

Ian and Chris walked forward and spoke with urgent expressions to which Roan responded with a slight tilt of his head.

“What’s wrong?”

Ian stared at Chris in the face of the light question and Chris quickly gave the report in one breath.

“A mishap has happened in the Persion Kingdom.”

“The Persion Kingdom?”

Roan asked back with slight surprise and Chris gave a nod.

“The First Prince, Reitas Persion who had been sent on exile to Teloi Island had escaped…”

He then quickly talked about the recent happenings of the Persion Kingdom.

“Then the current whereabouts of Prince Manus?”

Roan understood the situation in a blink and asked the key question. Chris took out a letter and handed it over.

“It’s a report we had just received.”

Rapidly Roan received the letter. When he opened it, a cluster of dense words greeted him.

“This…”

After reading through the whole thing, Roan shook his head with a frown. After some contemplation, he turned his head towards Swift.

“Administrator. I think you and Kalian should go to Duke Voisa.”

It wasn’t an easy decision.

“Sorry? But then Your Majesty…?”

Swift asked back with a surprised expression while Roan turned his head once again to look at Kalian.

“I must go to the Persion Kingdom.”

Restlessness was evident from his gaze. Meeting those eyes, Kalian nodded his head slightly.

‘He wants to be teleported huh.’

After reading his thoughts, Kalian walked towards Roan.

“Where should I send you to sir?”

His calm voice shook the conference room.

“Persion Kingdom’s Eviance district.”

A short reply came back and Kalian made a strange smile.

“Quite far.”

“But I still must go.”

Roan breathed in deeply and Kalian nodded without saying anything else.

“Aily.”

Roan grabbed onto the two hands of Aily who suppressed her boiling emotions to make a faint smile.

“Have a safe trip. Leave this place to us.”

“Thanks always.”

After some short words, Roan gave a kiss. It created a beautiful scene that made one forget the atrocities of reality even for a short moment.

“It is ready.”

Kalian’s voice entered his ears. Roan let go of Aily’s hands and took a step back.

“All of you…”

Staring at Austin, Swift and a lot of others, Roan spoke with a clear voice.

“I’m counting on you.”

His eyes were clear and honest.

“Do not worry.”

The people lowered their heads and,

Paat!

A white pillar of light enveloped Roan as it reached into the skies. It was the teleportation magic and when the pillar disappeared, Roan could no longer be seen.

But then,

“Oh no!”

Kalian gave a clap with a surprised expression. He then scratched the back of his neck and heaved out a short sigh. The eyes of others were gathered on him but Kalian did not seem to care a single bit.

‘I forgot the gift of Europas.’

Since there were too many things happening at once, he had forgotten the last gift which Europas had left for Roan.

‘Do I go after him?’

He thought but soon shook his head.

‘Even if he got it now, it would be useless…’

It wasn’t an excuse and was the truth.

‘First off, let’s head over to Duke Voisa as Roan had ordered.’

Kalian turned his head to stare at Swift.

“Let us go as well.”

A short, curt sentence left his mouth and it was definitely not a tone one should use towards the Administrator of a nation. However, including Swift and even Austin and Semi who had fierce personalities, no-one showed any reaction in response. Instead it seemed more like that they were making a somewhat polite and mannered expression.

“Yes, I understand.”

Swift even lowered his head slightly as he grabbed onto Kalian’s hand. And then,

Paat!

A pillar of light reached to the skies once again. It was another teleportation magic.

<A Bloody Battle (1)> End.

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