Finally, the Empire’s 4th Legion has marched into the Holy Kingdom.
The Southern Kingdoms, which had been blocking the way, stepped aside in response to the Empire’s heartfelt gestures.
Meanwhile, Benito’s forces had already retreated, so no significant clashes took place.
BOOM! BOOM!
At the heart of the Holy Kingdom, the residence of the Pope, resounding bell chimes filled the air.
Simultaneously, the people of the Holy Kingdom flooded the main roads, showering flowers on the legion’s path in welcome.
And Isabel, leading a small entourage, met the Pope along this route.
“Welcome, Princess. The Holy Kingdom welcomes you.”
Normally, the Archbishop would greet first before leading to the Pope, but given the situation, the Pope personally came out to meet Isabel.
It was only natural for the Empire’s dignitaries to smile at the Pope’s humble greeting.
“I must first convey endless gratitude to the Emperor of the Empire. It was almost devastating—this wicked Benito nearly trampled and defiled all of the Holy Kingdom.”
“The Emperor will undoubtedly be pleased by Your Holiness’ words.”
“I also wish to express my gratitude to Princess and the members of the Legion here. You are truly the saviors of our Holy Kingdom.”
“Not at all, Your Holiness. As followers of the same light doctrine, this was our duty. Please don’t feel the need to say such flattering words.”
In reality, the relationship between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom could hardly be called good.
The Empire had been the one to first strip religious orders of their privileges on the continent.
Even now, in the Empire, an Archbishop is clearly ranked lower than the nobility. The only reason they receive any respect is due to their social standing.
But that aside, both nations are stepping back for now.
One side is doing it for immediate security and future stability; the other, for legitimacy going forward.
In matters of state, this is all part of the game, after all.
“The 4th and the 15th Legions of the Empire will be stationed here in the Holy Kingdom for the time being. This is not permanent. Once the Holy Kingdom and its surroundings, and even the southern situation, stabilize, we will promptly return to the Empire, so please rest assured.”
“Ah, I sincerely hope so. The Holy Kingdom may have been liberated, but unrest and confusion continue. Prayers alone cannot solve this crisis. The help of the Empire is desperately needed.”
At the Pope’s words, Isabel smiled inwardly.
Despite all the polite phrases, the Pope’s true feelings came down to one thing:
They feared the Empire might hastily leave the Holy Kingdom.
‘Understandable. Even without Benito, other Southern Kingdoms could swallow up the Holy Kingdom entirely.’
The Holy Kingdom’s military incompetence had already been exposed to the world.
Their dominance over the south wasn’t due to might, like the Empire’s—it was entirely based on the prestige of religion.
Now that the world knows this, the Holy Kingdom must worry about its future.
Thus, the Empire’s legions staying in the Holy Kingdom were even more necessary.
To avoid sending any wrong signals to other kingdoms.
The Empire doesn’t want the order in the south to change, so everyone is advised to behave.
And as for those who sided with Benito? We won’t dig too deep, but moving forward, beware.
“In the future, the Holy Kingdom will assist the Empire in punishing those wicked factions.”
“Hehehe. Your Holiness, just hearing that is appreciated. But for now, isn’t the stability of the Holy Kingdom more important? Given how close the Holy Kingdom came to being trampled by Benito, I believe it’s best to focus first on internal matters.”
”Even by asking, you can make a bigger cry for a Holy War—and provide greater justification. What do you say? Shall I do that for you?”
”Enough. Don’t try to inflate your bargaining power now. You know the Holy Kingdom’s reputation has already been damaged, so you’re using the Empire’s might to cover it up? Wake up. Just stay still like you’re dead.”
In the midst of this, cleverly concealed conversations about each other’s inner workings continued.
The Pope, seeing this as an opportunity, wants to use the Empire’s influence to take control of the south.
Isabel and the Emperor, while having technically saved the Holy Kingdom, don’t want to give them any more justification or power.
If Kael saw this, he’d probably panic, muttering something like, “Politics is such a drag!”
Isabel had already discussed the Empire’s grand strategy directly with the Emperor.
The existing order in the south must be maintained, but absolutely no additional strength should be given to the Holy Kingdom.
They must always remain a thorn in the Southern Kingdoms’ sides.
This way, the Empire can maintain a delicate balance between the Holy Kingdom and the other Southern Kingdoms.
“Your Highness Princess, dispatches from the Imperial Palace administration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Finance have arrived.”
These are for negotiations with the Southern Kingdoms—what Kael would call “friendship fees.”
Wrapping up her meeting with the Pope, Isabel proceeded to meet with these representatives.
It goes without saying that the Empire has no intention of empty promises.
If they committed to giving friendship fees, they will honor it.
However, due to multiple issues, they’ll pay half upfront and the rest later.
This is both a guarantee and a form of intimidation—if they take this much and then turn against the Empire, consequences will follow.
Even nearby Southern Kingdoms near the Holy Kingdom will cooperate for this reason—since they’ve already gotten half of the promised amount, they’ll want the other half as well.
To avoid letting friendship fees turn into funeral fees.
‘It looks like the situation with the Holy Kingdom and its surroundings is roughly sorted out.’
As Isabel was moving along, she suddenly turned her head as if something occurred to her.
Without Kael always by her side, it felt strange.
Sometimes curiosity bubbled up, and at other times, it felt a little scary.
‘I’m doing my best, Kael.’
‘And you’re surely doing fine, right? Of course, you are. You, the genius strategist of the Empire, would never fall behind me.’
‘…’
Suddenly, Isabel found herself smiling sheepishly.
*
Meanwhile, in the command tent of the 6th Legion.
“Sir Legion Commander?”
“Is this really the right call?”
Gathered were the Legion’s strategic officers and the on-site commanders leading the Legion Soldiers.
All were shocked after seeing the map and hearing about the upcoming Legion deployment.
“Sir, please reconsider.”
“Even though they are Benito’s forces, we’re talking about a force of over 50,000 soldiers.”
“Yes, and they’ve been reported to be well-trained as well. This has already been cross-checked, so it should be taken seriously.”
Everyone voiced their objections to the operation in unison.
The usually confident Legion members now shared an air of worry.
And for good reason—the deployment the 6th Legion was about to take on was highly problematic.
“Having our backs to the river? That’s something we absolutely shouldn’t do.”
The “back-to-the-river” deployment, or the “Battle of No Retreat.”
Anybody with even a passing knowledge of tactics would never consider it.
Yet, here it was, proposed not by anyone else but the Legion Commander himself.
It’s no wonder they were all looking at the Commander with confusion and concern.
“This is not my personal decision.”
This statement caused a slight change in the officers and commanders’ responses.
“It’s the plan proposed by Counselor Kael. And after reviewing this strategy, I believe that this deployment has more gains than initially thought.”
“But… facing the river is…”
“Ugh…”
The Battle of No Retreat—anchoring the army with its back to a river—is not entirely without advantage. In this situation, it has merit.
The 6th Legion stands in the way of Benito’s forces returning home.
They must pass through the Legion no matter what to get back safely.
Thus, a fight is inevitable—they must face at least one major battle.
But the enemy numbers over 50,000, while the 6th Legion only has slightly under 20,000.
Even with elite training and discipline on their side, the numerical disadvantage is significant—anywhere between two to three times the Legion’s size, which isn’t an easy hurdle to overcome.
Thus, the Legion will have its back to the river, removing any possibility that the enemy outflanks or attacks from the rear.
Facing the front alone, the well-trained 6th Legion could hold its own, potentially even winning.
But what if the enemy avoids the fight and surrounds them, waiting patiently?
Absolutely impossible. The urgent ones are Benito’s forces. The 13th Legion has already reached their borders.
The remaining Benito forces are far from battle-ready second-tier troops.
Thus, those who remain—this group—must return home as quickly as possible.
‘Positioning the army with its back to the river. While it has merits in parts, there is still…’
‘If, by some misfortune, things go wrong, there will be no way to retreat.’
The disadvantages are clear: no retreat route. If things escalate, they all d*e or get captured.
It’s also impossible to deploy reserves since there’s simply no room.
In large-scale battles, the ‘space’ is critical.
Requiring troops to maintain a certain distance isn’t merely cosmetic—it ensures that during combat, there’s enough room to fight without hindrance.
With this formation, maintaining such space would be extraordinarily difficult.
“Don’t worry, everyone.”
At that moment, Kael entered the command tent.
After greeting the Legion Commander and his subordinates, he stepped forward toward the map.
“Positioning the army with its back to the river. It has more drawbacks than advantages, right? Am I correct?”
“…”
“Feel free to speak your minds candidly. I’m here as a counselor. The purpose of my role is to listen to your opinions, reconsider my own advice, and then together we can find the best conclusion for the battle.”
Kael’s words caused several people to tentatively nod in agreement.
Still, even so, having the army’s back to the river will increase the soldiers’ unease. It’s natural with no way out for anyone.
“Exactly.”
But Kael just shrugged it off as expected.
“What we know, the Benito army’s commanders and field officers will also know.”
“…”
“Now, let’s think about this. They need to return fast, their route is blocked, and just ahead, there’s an enemy legion positioned with their backs to the river. So, what do you think they’ll do?”
The eerie smile deepened as he continued.
“Would they leave just a small force here and retreat? With a dagger poised at their backs? Or would they throw everything they have into eliminating the Empire legion entirely?”
Pointing toward the map, Kael moved a figurine representing the 6th Legion forward. And with another figurine representing Benito’s forces, he swept them off the board in one smooth motion.
And with that, the room fell silent.
