“The signal fire incident in Mosat, hmm… So, it happened right after you fell into a coma.”
At Fernandez’s request to summarize the events of the past month, the masked man, Shaksisi, began to speak. Fernandez listened calmly, arms crossed. The events he recounted were well within his expectations.
“The Grand Magic Department on the home front responded almost immediately to Leviathan’s magical attack. It was an attack they hadn’t prepared for.”
As he spoke, Shaksisi glanced at Fernandez. The grand magic that was supposed to rain down on Mosat City was Leviathan’s infamous city-destroying spell.
If this man hadn’t stopped it… No one knows how he did it, but the intelligence teams stationed in Mosat at the time all described it as ‘feeling like they were being judged before a god.’
The Kirzat Grand Magic Department simply attributed the remnants of the massive magic in Mosat to the Conclave’s doing…
But no, Shaksisi knew. According to the report written by Sadia, who witnessed it firsthand, this man single-handedly defeated the Conclave. Therefore, he had to assume that this man was at least a mage capable of standing in for the Grand Magic Department.
‘Does that mean this young man is on the level of Eali Sahir (the Royal Court Grand Magician)…?’
He couldn’t be sure yet, but if that were the case, even if it were one in a thousand or ten thousand, it would mean this young man was an Inquisition Officer of the Temple of the Gods, a Knight of the Round Table of the Dane Kingdom, and a tactical weapon-level grand magician.
‘That’s practically like saying he’s the earthly proxy of the God of War.’
It’s absurd. Shakeshi chuckled inwardly and continued.
“After the bombing spell on Mosat City failed, Leviathan’s magical forces were deemed temporarily incapacitated. A sound judgment.”
Of the spells cast by Kirzat’s magical forces on the frontlines, 15% were countered during casting, and only 10% were countered afterward. Simple arithmetic shows that over 76% of the total magical forces struck the frontlines.
The 50-year war between Leviathan and Kirzat. At that time, the end of the war seemed within sight. The long frontlines, five battlefields, and nearly fifteen thousand troops were on the verge of being wiped out in an instant.
“Leviathan’s frontlines were almost reduced to the edge of the wasteland. Even the homeland couldn’t hide its dismay. The Sultan was preparing to host a victory celebration in the capital.”
“Too hasty, wasn’t it?”
“Indeed.”
Fernandez smirked coldly as he looked at the tangled lines on the operational map. If a banquet had been held, it should have been to honor the souls of the soldiers lost in the multi-front war, not to celebrate victory or the end of the war.
“…Three days after the Mosat City incident, identical signal fires rose from three occupied territories.”
“The Conclave’s revival?”
“Headquarters called it the ‘Signal Fire of the Three Dynasties.’”
“A fancy name, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s quite literal. The Conclave suddenly started proclaiming dynasties, as if they’d eaten something wrong before they went to sleep.”
“…What?”
“Literally, dynasties. Ancient dynasties from the time of Ashit.”
Shaksisi pointed to the three directions on the frontlines: the far west, the far south, and the far east. Each direction on the map bore a different emblem.
It was strange. If it were a large-scale mobilization by the Necropolis, they could have been marked as the same faction.
“Lavirata, Apotazar, Tutankhamun Gartep. All names you’d expect to hear from old papyrus or stone tablets. The representative pharaohs of each dynasty.”
“And they’re the Conclave.”
“Exactly. Clearly, they’re the leaders of the Necropolis… but they’re hostile to each other.”
Fernandez swallowed hard and stared blankly at the map.
-…Did I hear that wrong?
‘That means I heard it wrong too…?’
-No, why? Why would they suddenly decide they don’t want to be puppets anymore?
‘Did their past lives and history change? Was the seal broken too early? Was the timing not right?’
-…Hmm.
The man, noticing Fernandez’s expression, cleared his throat and cautiously continued.
“The homeland immediately withdrew its troops. The three dynasties’ revival caused the area to be overrun with wraiths. According to them, only they are the legitimate dynasty of Ashit. All three pharaohs, simultaneously.”
Shaksisi looked at the battlefield with a troubled expression. Just as the long war was about to end, unexpected ancient guests had arrived.
The ancient wraiths that appeared from three directions quickly organized their legions and began advancing toward the wasteland. Their declared goal was the unification of the western Great Wilderness. They promised to ‘spare’ those who submitted to their royal family.
“The homeland, which held the largest territory, couldn’t withstand the multi-front war and retreated. Leviathan requested support from the Eastern Kingdom Alliance. A large expeditionary force. Dane and Phaeirn immediately dispatched their knight orders.”
Fernandez nodded at that. It made sense. Phaeirn needed an external enemy to prevent internal strife, and since they couldn’t attack the Dane Kingdom, they had to project their power elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the Dane Kingdom, to prove the legitimacy of the suddenly transferred throne and to gain recognition from the Empire for this rapid succession, would have organized a large expedition.
Thus, the Eastern Kingdom Alliance appeared on the eastern front.
“Shortly after, the Temple of the Gods’ Doctrine Defense Corps dispatched paladins to stop the Necropolis’s uprising.”
The Order of the Cross Crusaders of Vaitas. Fanatics of the God of War Vaitas and one of the most powerful religious military groups of the time.
If the Inquisition Officers were the torch illuminating humanity’s darkness, the Order of the Cross Crusaders were the shield and spear defending humanity’s frontlines.
Their dispatch meant that not only Vaitas’s Papacy but also the Temple of the Gods itself was taking this matter seriously.
“So, this is the mess we’re in now. The Doctrine Defense Corps, the Eastern Kingdom Alliance, Leviathan, Kirzat, and the three dynasties of the Necropolis. This many military groups gathered in the Great Wilderness. Historically, this has never happened.”
Thus, the frontlines were now tangled like a spider’s web, and as chaotic as a shattered pottery. Countless military groups, each moving for their own interests, were pointing their swords at each other.
Fernandez stared at the operational map in silence for a while. At this moment, he was engaged in a heated debate with Phaeirn.
-My assumption is this, Fernandez. The Necropolis’s internal strife is Mumto’s strategy.
‘What’s the gain?’
-To incite as many wars as possible simultaneously and harvest more death.
‘If that’s the case, it’d be better for the three pharaohs to join hands and attack together. Look at that.’
He pointed to a corner of the frontline, the border between the Apotazar Dynasty and the Leviathan Empire.
