“His Majesty the King has passed away.”
A confidant of Cassius II, an aide who had followed him since his days as a prince.
After Gruber returned from the king’s chambers, the words that came out of his mouth were shocking.
“His Majesty has passed away?! What kind of talk is this?!”
“For some time, he seemed lost in deep anguish, which gave me great worry. So, when I visited him today, I found he had already left this world.”
At the news, all the people of Dedolant were thrown into shock.
What nonsense is this? Why has our king suddenly left us? Without a king, what will become of Dedolant? Of the glory of the Deo people? Having followed only his commands until now, what are we supposed to do?
“How shall we proceed? Until now, we’ve only followed His Majesty! His sudden and meaningless departure leaves us as lost sheep!”
“If this news gets out, there will be tremendous chaos. The barely holding fortresses and cities will surrender one after another to the Empire!”
How long can this resistance last before their defense lines collapse entirely?
This will be the doom of everyone gathered here.
As everyone panicked at this reality, Gruber shouted loudly.
“Everyone, calm yourselves. Though His Majesty has departed, his will endures. Even if his body has left us, his soul remains with us!”
At first, it seemed like the people didn’t understand what Gruber was saying.
While still panicking and unsure of what to do,
Gruber’s next words made everyone suddenly look up.
“I’ve followed His Majesty since his days as a prince. Through countless exchanges, I’ve heard more of his opinions earlier and more deeply than anyone.”
“He entrusted me repeatedly with his wishes, saying that even if anything should happen to him, his intentions must be carried forward. This is not just a fight for survival but a crusade for the future!”
Though King Cassius II of Dedolant may be gone, his will lives on through these words.
This means the legitimacy of all their actions. It’s not their judgment but the obligation bestowed by our king to carry out until the end.
Even if they lose, even if the Deo people all fall,
it isn’t their fault. Their only duty is to follow orders faithfully.
Our king has left us with a testament: he’ll carry the后果 on his own.
“The Empire approaches ever nearer! They’re so confident of their victory they’ve even dared the foolhardy move of relocating their general staff to detestable Setongrad!”
“We cannot allow this to pass!”
“Even if we all perish, we must impose the worst damage possible on the Empire!”
If they’re doomed either way, they might as well take others with them.
As madness seizes them, primal instincts take over, pushing them deeper into despair.
If there were any reasonable people here, they might have tried to stop this. But not here—normalcy is abnormal now.
Once people have reached their breaking point, they cannot stop. Their ruined reasoning convinces them that their current decisions are the most rational.
“For King Cassius!”
“For King Cassius!!”
“For Dedolant!”
“For Dedolant!!”
“For the eternal glory of the Deo people!”
“For the eternal glory of the Deo people!!”
Listening to their cries, Gruber closed his eyes involuntarily.
Ah, yes. This is the emotion. This is why I’ve followed my lord until now.
The cheers and approval of countless souls bring an indescribable sense of pleasure.
Now that pleasure comes solely to me, even though the ship has already begun to sink.
What is this if not glory? This is exactly what my king desired.
Oh, worry not, Your Majesty. I shall carry on your legacy.
When they see your weakened state, they’d tear you apart. I will protect you like this.
We seek no victory. I just wish to burn everything with this flame.
“Um, Gruber. If I may ask, what do we do about the news of His Majesty’s passing? Shall we keep it hidden?”
While we carry on the will of the king, how do we handle the empty throne now?
Gruber shook his head multiple times.
“The king didn’t pass away.”
“What are you talking about? You just said he passed away moments ago…”
“His Majesty, our eternal sovereign and pride of the Deo people, was assassinated by the Empire!”
“??? ”
No matter how insane they already were, this was hard to swallow.
What’s with this absurd lie now? That the Empire was responsible for the assassination?
Then who was the assassin, and how did they manage to pull it off?
“Looking at your faces, I can see your questions. But! You’re wrong! That’s not important!”
“His Majesty was assassinated by the Empire! That alone matters! This is the new direction of this war! We may fail, but we will not fall officially! Revenge! We must avenge our king!”
“Ah!”
Indeed, to carry on the departed king’s will, mere glory wasn’t enough. The magic word that could unsettle even the most steadfast soul—Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!
“The Empire assassinated His Majesty! Out of jealousy for the Deo people, they stole our glory and now taken away the person who was to fulfill our dreams!”
“But despair not, people of Deo! We will fight eternally! Even without our king, his spirit is with us—trust us and follow!”
The king might be gone, but the name of the king who can bear our responsibility remains.
That’s enough. Believing in that, we can rage forward, and even when the end comes, it’ll be okay.
We’d rather d*e like kings than survive as slaves!
“Let’s declare total mobilization! Not just the young men, but the boys must be conscripted too.”
“Right. Teenagers can also wield weapons! Training them now will turn them into elite soldiers in no time!”
“Let’s recall the veterans who have retired too. The sacred battle for the glory of the Deo people can’t happen without them!”
Benito has surrendered, and Artria has fallen. Now it’s Dedolant’s turn.
The Empire is like a huge wave. You may hold it back temporarily, but it’s impossible to stop it forever.
It doesn’t matter. We will gather everything to resist the wave.
At least if we do this, even if it all crashes down, we’ll have nothing left to lose!
*
I’ve barely slept this whole week while being consumed by my work, and just now, I heard a piece of news that made me feel like I was dreaming.
“Um, what did you just say?”
“We’ve received news from Dedolant. They’re conscripting every fighting man they have.”
“No, I meant before that.”
“The Dedolant command has officially announced King Cassius II’s d*ath. They’re shouting that our Empire assassinated him.”
Suddenly, it felt like someone slammed a hammer into my brain.
What? Assassination? Who? We assassinated the king of a kingdom we’re already about to take over?
What profit could we possibly earn from that? Why would we k*ll the most important figure who would take responsibility?
“By any chance, did those bastards—the Dedolant command team, in particular—start using drugs collectively?”
“They haven’t used drugs, but they’ve certainly fallen into a drug-like madness.”
The king of the Deo people, who always spoke of the Deo’s glory, is gone.
I thought the situation might bring back some sanity, that their insanity might fade a bit.
Instead, they’ve gone completely mad, spouting absurdities.
Of course, the claim that the Empire assassinated him holds no water.
Not just the Empire, but the neighboring countries, even Benito and Artria, won’t believe it.
Why would we assassinate a king when we are already close to winning? It’s a key person we would want to surrender!
‘The problem isn’t with us—it’s with those insane Dedolant brats. They’re using this as an excuse to make trouble until the end.’
By now, this news must have reached the capital.
I wonder how His Majesty the Emperor would react to such rumors—
“—Speak, and the tiger comes.”
The nearby communication device begins to glow. The color indicates a direct line to the Imperial Palace.
I clear my throat, tidy up my uniform, and activate the device.
The person who appeared wasn’t the Emperor but the Crown Princess. To be exact, the Crown Princess with an even colder aura than usual.
“Imperial Chief of Staff Kael Klauwitz, reporting to Your Highness.”
[Chief of Staff. Have you heard the news?]
No formalities, straight to the point. That alone shows how angry she is.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
[Even I expected them at least to retain some minimal sense of reason and surrender. Yet this madness continues to exceed my expectations.]
“Desperate people are bound to act this way, aren’t they?”
[Thanks to them, our Empire can relax as well.]
The words “to relax” made me involuntarily flinch.
[When Dedolant and we were locked in fierce battle, you presented a secret proposal. Though it consumed too many national resources and left us short on immediate necessities, the implementation continued gradually.]
“I’ve heard bits and pieces.”
[We’ll now fully commit to it. The Ministry of Finance, the Arcane Ministry, and the War Ministry have already agreed and submitted a proposal to His Majesty.]
I vaguely recall the plan I’ve been suggesting for two years—it had been put on the back burner.
Yet it got approval in just two days. The royal family must be truly livid.
[We’re restarting the Manhattan Project.]
