Chapter 84 : Into Chaos

Chapter 84: Into Chaos

Peace and growth.

Or war and regression.

The crossroads of that choice.

At first glance, it seemed obvious—choose the former and abandon the latter. But the hearts of the powerful were never that simple.

What they feared most was their power being shaken.

If it came to that, they would gladly burn half the world, fight to the end, and even choose the path of mutual destruction. That was the nature of those in power... and in Roberland, it was even more so.

Cries of wailing and pleading had always been that way. To some, they were heartbreaking agony, but to others, they were nothing more than noisy clamor.

When Ransen seized control of Ilunael City and gripped the gateways of all trade routes, the reactions of the lords of Norberju were almost identical.

The lord of Taros City, west of Kushan City, crushed the paper he was holding and slammed it onto his desk.

Bang!

“And you expect me to believe this scrap of paper?!”

It was the statement Ransen had announced not long ago. That he would allow free trade throughout Norberju, and would not blockade or weaponize the trade routes.

But of course, in lawless Roberland, no one would ever believe such words.

The only thing that mattered was this: ‘What is Ransen capable of?’ Nothing but that possibility.

Ransen could now choke the lifeline of every city belonging to Norberju whenever he pleased.

That was the truth, and that was the problem.

The lord of Tebe City, bordering the Empire, reacted much the same.

“Hah? He says what he desires is the development of all Norberju and the strengthening of mutually beneficial solidarity?”

He tore Ransen’s declaration to shreds right then and there.

“Isn’t he already acting as if he’s king of Norberju?”

The lord of Herepol, northwest of Kushan City—

No, in truth, almost every ruler of the cities north of Ransen’s sphere of influence reacted with fury.

“What? An academy? What? Specialization of labor between cities?!”

Although Ransen had used the word ‘request,’ to them it was ‘interference.’ It was nothing more than Ransen baring his ‘ambition’ to rule all of Norberju himself.

The fire was now at their feet.

Ransen had seized Ilunael far too easily, and to make matters worse, Haarun had declared Ransen his successor and then died....

“At this rate, we won’t be able to stop him.”

“If he crosses into Gellan and Rundna next... there will be no turning back.”

“Our necks will be the next to roll.”

“Send out the dispatch riders at once!”

The lords, who until now had been unable to cooperate because of their own greed, for this one moment moved with one mind and one will.

“Form the Anti-Ransen Alliance!”

“Prepare for war!”

Messengers lashed their whips and spread out across Norberju.

The cities sank into lamentation.

“W-where are we supposed to find that kind of money now?!”

“Always causing trouble, aren’t you? Boys! Go inside and strip everything clean!”

“Wait! Please, wait a moment!”

“You’d make a fine soldier. Come with us!”

“M-me? Wait, wait. Father! Father!”

“My son! No! Take me instead...!”

“You want to keep pushing me? Should I just kill both of you right here?”

To prepare for war, soldiers went door to door, collecting additional taxes and enforcing conscription.

The streets swarmed with vicious mercenaries who followed the scent of money, and with their violence, public order crumbled rapidly.

The tears and wails of the citizens seemed to reach the heavens, yet the rulers of each city did not so much as twitch an eyebrow.

The citizens wept and cursed their own lords.

“Ransen promised he’d guarantee freedom of trade!”

“Wouldn’t it be a good thing to have an academy?! I’d love to send my child there!”

“Honestly, if every city developed their specialties and we traded more actively, we’d all live better lives, right?”

This was because Ransen’s proclamation had spread among the common folk as well.

But the lords twisted the truth.

“This is all because of Ransen!”

“Ransen has blockaded the trade routes!”

“We want peace, but Ransen is already preparing for a war of conquest!”

The falsehoods spread by the lords overflowed through every alleyway, solidifying little by little as though they were truth.

Tears and sighs became fuel, and resentment and rage burned brighter and brighter.

All of Norberju seethed with the atmosphere of imminent explosion.

Thus, after a week had passed, the rulers of twelve cities finally gathered, hastily formed an alliance, and announced a joint declaration.

*         *         *

“Disgusting bastards!”

The westernmost part of the Ailun region.

There lay Gellan City, bordering the Empire.

Kashimir Gulak, the lord who had declared an independent course opposing Ransen, crushed the report in his hand.

The report contained a raw and detailed account of the atrocities committed by the lords of Norberju as they prepared for war.

Each sentence seemed drenched with tears and blood, and Kashimir threw the report away in disgust.

“I want to kill them all....”

In truth, he was a ruler who cherished and loved his people—a rare type in Roberland.

Though he could not forgive Ransen for killing Haarun and thus had declared his own independent path, that did not mean he desired war.

In fact, even after declaring his stance, he neither increased his troops, nor hired mercenaries, nor levied special taxes to expand military funds.

If Ransen invaded, he had resolved simply to stand and fight alongside his loyal retainers, even if it meant dying.

He even trusted in Ransen’s proclamation.

He even felt deeply grateful for that generous measure—maintaining the abolition of tariffs within the Ailun region and guaranteeing freedom of trade.

Precisely because of that, when he looked at the joint declaration announced by the twelve lords of Norberju, he could not help but feel furious.

—

[Joint Declaration of the Norberju Free Alliance]

We deliver the united will of the twelve cities of Norberju to Ransen.

One, Ilunael shall become a Free City, jointly administered.

Two, in order to protect the Ailun trade route, the lifeline of Norberju, a coalition army shall be stationed there.

Three, Kashu City shall become a Free City, jointly administered.

—

‘Are they insane?’

The more he thought about it, the more absurd it became.

Even if he yielded a hundred steps, he could at least understand Ilunael.

Ilunael, a metropolis of 2.3 million people, had an economy larger than that of five ordinary cities of Norberju combined.

With that much power, and with all the trade routes passing through Norberju under his grip... fine. One could be afraid.

But what was this about ‘stationing a coalition army on the Ailun trade route’?

“Did those stray dogs gain confidence just because they managed to gather in one place?”

It seemed they thought that with such strength, they could finally stab their forks into the Ailun trade route they had long drooled over.

Fine. That, too, was possible.

It was Roberland, after all.

They were robber counts of Roberland.

One could imagine them doing that.

But then....

“Madmen. Why Kashu?”

On what grounds did they dare to declare Kashu City a Free City?

This was nothing more than a brainless declaration of war, without the slightest intention of negotiation.

It was precisely here that Kashimir’s chest tightened.

“No matter how many of you gather... there’s no way you can defeat Ransen....”

Those fools had not seen Ransen that day.

That day, Kashimir himself had stood tall before Ransen, but once he stepped outside, his legs had trembled.

When the warriors who had gathered from all over Ailun passed through the shattered halls and corridors, he had nearly collapsed.

And they thought to challenge that Ransen?

It would end only in a sea of blood and corpses.

But the true problem was this: even after that, the lords of Norberju would not stop.

To steady the power shaken by defeat, they would hurl every reckless move they could, fight among themselves to devour one another, and drag all of Norberju into the mire of hell.

It was as if Kashimir could already see it before his eyes, and he grew dizzy.

Rather than witness such a sight, wouldn’t it be better to throw himself to Ransen and lend him strength?

Even such a thought crept into his mind....

And yet, despite it all,

No matter what....

He could not forgive Ransen.

For Haarun had been his hero, and his benefactor....

To live beneath that enemy and laugh together as if nothing had happened was far too shameless a thing.

Even if that had been the will of the dead Haarun... that alone, he could not follow.

And so, he resolved to die.

‘With the situation as it is... Ransen will hasten to unify Ailun.’

Death would be unavoidable before long.

“I am sorry.”

He bowed his head to his loyal subordinates.

“I shall die fighting Ransen. There is no hope of victory. I have no intention of burdening the citizens by pretending to prepare for such a fight. I will simply... wait until Ransen comes for me.”

At that, his warriors struck their palms against their weapons and shouted.

“We will gladly die with you!”

What was it about a worthless man like him that made them willing to give up their lives? Did such people truly have to die alongside him?

Kashimir’s resolve wavered for a moment, but he soon steeled his heart once more.

“Thank you.”

It was while he was leaving the council and heading to his chamber, his body heavy with exhaustion.

“Father! Father!”

From the direction of the training ground, his thirteen-year-old son came running toward him.

“Father! Look at this! Look! This is Sword Aura, right?”

Bzzzzzz—

The sword in the hands of his mere thirteen-year-old son was faintly dyed with a red Aura.

!!

The realm of a Low-grade Expert.

Kashimir’s pupils trembled violently.

His proud son.

Perhaps the greatest genius in the entire history of the House of Gulak.

And yet, toward such a son...

He felt unbearably sorry.

“I’m sorry, my son... I’m truly sorry... for your father being so worthless... for you....”

In the end, Kashimir collapsed, clutching his young son in his arms as he sobbed.

“Dad? Are you okay? You’re not sick, right?”

Seeing his son, who even cast aside the polite speech he usually used and instead worried for him, hugging him tightly—Kashimir’s heart shattered all over again.

*         *         *

Children needed to learn.

That was my conviction, and so founding an academy had been my long-cherished dream.

I had simply indulged in such an imagination.

After all, what Seah’s Three-War Strategy required were the Ailun and Shamalun regions.

All of Norberju? That was unnecessary.

So I imagined it.

A future where all of Norberju formed mutually beneficial ties.

A future where the talents of each city gathered at Ilunael’s academy to hone their abilities, and each city specialized in its own specialties to grow more prosperous....

A future where professionally trained warriors brought stability to this lawless land.

A future where it would not merely survive on intermediary trade and tariffs, but become a stronger land with its own industrial strength.

That was all I had imagined.

‘Of course, I knew it would come to this.’

Damn robber counts.

And yet, I had wanted to hold onto hope....

Because,

‘If possible... I wanted to create more of those kinds of scenes.’

The scene unfolding before my eyes was enough to bring a satisfied smile to my face just by looking at it.

Ilunael, the greatest city of Norberju.

In the Central Plaza, surrounded by tall buildings five to seven stories high, children had gathered to attend lessons.

“Hey! Sir Riri! Can you call yourself a knight if you move like that?!”

“Ugh...! I’ll try again!”

Mika’s face beamed with joy as she taught the little children swordsmanship,

while Seah, expressionless yet meticulous, taught them arithmetic.

“You mustn’t use your fingers when you calculate. Mental arithmetic is faster. You need to train now so you’ll get used to it.”

The citizens of Ilunael gathered around the plaza, watching the scene.

“Looks like he really means to build an academy.”

“Like the Empire’s academy, you mean?”

“It’s different though... doesn’t it seem better than during Lord Haarun’s time?”

“I’ll admit that... for one, the taxes have already gone down.”

Yes. Conversations like these.

This kind of peace.

This was what I had wanted.

‘But if you reject it, then there’s nothing I can do.’

The urgent situation in Norberju made it impossible to fully savor even this brief peace.

Even now, Kalserik and Rivera clung at my side, voicing constant worries about the recent state of affairs.

“Boss. We must hasten to unify Ailun. Of course, we’d still win if we fought now, but if we gather all of Ailun’s strength into one, it’ll be far easier.”

“You are correct, My Lord. Both Gellan and Rundna must be brought under control swiftly. Especially Rundna, to avoid creating a two-front line.”

Right.

Gellan and Rundna. Especially Rundna—those must be annexed, no matter what.

“I know. It’s not as though I didn’t foresee this.”

This had all been anticipated when I discussed strategies with Seah.

The Stratagem of Moral Influence.

I had offered the carrot first.

But Gellan and Rundna had only held it in their mouths in silence. Now it was time to swing the sword.

The method was already in my mind.

Bzzzzzz—

Suddenly, the Book of Fate in my hand trembled.

When I opened it....

‘It’s increased again.’

The Twisted Timeline.

Ever since Burson had slain it, those red dots had vanished—but lately, they had begun multiplying again here and there.

‘Monsters that surpass the natural order are increasing....’

Though it was a worrying situation, at least for now, it worked in my favor.

“Good. I’ve made up my mind.”

“Huh? Boss, what did you say?”

“I’m stepping out for a bit.”

“My Lord!? Where on earth—”

I glanced at Kalserik and Rivera, then turned my back.

“Gellan City! Have the troops ready before I return. Didn’t you say there’ve been strange numbers of Demonic Beasts lately? We’ll be doing a subjugation.”

“Ah, understood, My Lord. But why Gellan—!”

I gave Rivera, who hurried after me with his question, a short reply.

“Dialogue.”

Once again,

The time had come for an honest conversation.

<Current Situation of Norberju – Gellan and Rundna are resisting>

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