Chapter 255: Nothing But War
When it was first discovered on the floating continent, Zigarion was weak.
Here, weak did not mean its physical or magical abilities, but its passive attitude.
It only observed the surface world and did not experience it directly, so it had no idea how strong it was.
It also had a natural personality.
Zigarion, as many people pointed out, hated fighting.
But it enjoyed trampling on the weak, so it had been scolded by Valgard.
Are you just strong against the weak and weak against the strong? Are you really a dragon?
It was enough to make it angry, but the opponent was a being who received power from Altima.
Except for Leobold and the mysterious Arma, it was estimated to be the strongest in Astera, so it could not rashly attack.
That did not mean their relationship was bad.
Zigarion was a fool, but it knew how to read the mood, so it did not provoke Valgard.
Valgard also showed the minimum courtesy to the dragon.
And there was Leobold who overwhelmed them both, and they had different jobs, so they did not clash much.
Except for days like today, that is.
Kwaaaa
A vivid blue lightning shot up into the sky.
Zigarion used the power of the enhanced dragon heart to fire lightning breaths without limit.
Dozens of lightning bolts contained the power to destroy all kinds of defensive magic and towers.
The command center that could direct the defense was completely killed by the surprise attack, so everyone was in chaos.
Goliath! We need Goliath! Contact the mercenaries!
The mercenaries say they wont fight the dragon because its not in the contract!
Most of the battles in Astera were Goliath vs Goliath, so there was no one who was familiar with fighting a dragon.
Maybe they had a chance if they used Goliaths excellent magic defense and engaged in close combat, but that dragon did not intend to come down from the sky.
Hahaha! The one who goes down is a fool!
All kinds of magic poured down from the sky along with lightning breaths.
The towers of the lords castle collapsed and the foundation shook as if there was an earthquake.
The lords castle that Duke Townsend had built with a lot of money was shattered.
In less than an hour, Zigarion confirmed that there was no more resistance and laughed.
Huhuhu Im strong after all.
A small device installed in its ear heard Armas sarcastic voice.
Youre noisy and hurry to another territory. I have a lot of work to do.
Didnt you say I just had to crush that Townsend guy?
You have to go around all day today. The whole west is your target.
Damn, I picked the wrong one.
Strictly speaking, Zigarions role was over if it killed four people including Duke Townsend.
The lesser nobles would surrender as soon as they were scared a little bit.
It would have been impossible in normal times, but Bagran was now under Count Vanduss rule.
It was not a big deal to crush a territory with a little pretext.
Zigarion left Duke Townsends territory after causing trouble for a while.
A few bureaucrats and knights lost their minds wondering what was going on, but it was not over yet.
A few airships approached and Valgards royal guard knights stormed in.
When several new Black Knights appeared, the few knights lost their will to fight.
The dukes aides scolded them for not fighting, but the knights scoffed at them.
You want us to fight Black Knights? Monsters that treat even imperial Bephar-class like children?
Fighting royal guards is not a good idea. And no offense, but isnt the count dead?
They still had their family and retainers, but they were skeptical that they could succeed the count normally.
It did not seem like Count Vandus would leave them alone.
Some nobles suggested running away first and asking for outside support, but everyone shook their heads nervously.
There is no place to ask for support. The other territories are being attacked by dragons and foreign countries are not interested.
Maybe Pangral Archduke or Northwind Union would help us, but they are too far away By the time reinforcements arrive, we will be dead.
Most of their troops were Goliaths, so rapid deployment was almost impossible.
The only place that could do that right now was Leobold.
He had airships and now he had dragons too, so it was like giving wings to Goliaths.
The nobles decided to get out of there first and then discuss later.
They hid in a half-destroyed ruin and moved cautiously when a bald man with a greatsword appeared.
Two knights stepped forward nervously.
Who are you?
Oh, you were here. I dont know how Arma finds these guys
Who are you, I asked!
Are you a weed of Count Vandus!
Valgard chuckled and pointed his greatsword at them.
Are you not going to surrender quietly? He told me not to kill you, but he didnt say anything about cutting off your arms and legs. You can just run away a little bit. Im annoyed, so come at me all at once.
You have a bad mouth.
I dont know where you came from, but you should at least have some manners!
The knights shouted bravely, but they looked ridiculous to Valgard.
If you wont come, Ill go.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew and the bald giant disappeared from his place.
The rough wind lifted the jaws of the two knights and arrived in front of the nobles in an instant.
The two knights fell to the ground before their swords could reach Valgard.
Valgards greatsword was aimed at them.
Thud
He told me not to kill the lord, but he didnt say anything about cutting off one arm and leg. Now its your choice. Will you give me the documents and property and live comfortably for the rest of your life?
W-what are you talking about
Do you think well fall for such a shallow threat!
The nobles shouted defiantly and Valgard nodded.
I see. Then Ill cut off one arm and leg and ask again.
Papapapat
In an instant, the greatsword swung and blood splashed with precisely one arm and leg floating in the air.
The nobles realized too late that it was one of their limbs.
The severe pain also came too late.
Aaaah!
My arm!
Ill ask again. Will you give me the documents and property and live for the rest of your life, or will you donate one more arm and leg?
There was no choice.
The nobles clutched their severed parts and screamed, but they nodded their heads.
W-we surrender! We surrender!
Just spare us!
Valgard then called in the royal guards.
Everyone turned their heads away from the horrific scene in front of them.
The Townsend Dukedom had fallen.
It was the largest territory in Bagran and had amassed a huge fortune, but it was shattered by two blows from the dragon and Valgard, beings beyond the norm.
There were some sporadic resistance from some of the troops, but as always, it was meaningless.
The royal knights patrolled around and maintained order.
From now on, this place will be under the rule of His Excellency Vandus!
Nothing will change! Do everything as usual!
Among the bureaucrats and mercenaries who followed the royal knights, there were androids controlled by Arma.
They went around the territory and reassured the people that it was just a change of owner.
They also announced that the tax burden and corvee would be reduced, which elicited cheers.
Thanks to that, there was no major chaos in the Townsend Dukedom.
The same fate befell the other territories in the west.
Zigarion carried out an air raid and annihilated the command structure, then Valgard followed up with a rampage and forced them to surrender.
There were some casualties in the process, but it was much better than a large-scale battle.
There were still many difficulties left to rule over the entire west, where there were small nobles and thousands of slaves who had not surrendered yet, but it was only a matter of time once Arma stepped in.
With this, the whole of Bagran was under Leobolds control.
He was the ruler of Bagran, who could not be defied by anyone except the royal family.
But that was just the beginning.
The actions that he and Arma would show in the future would shake up the entire Astera continent.
Leobold looked at the floating continent fleet that was approaching from beyond the sky.
The princess of Elvrande had arrived.
***
Master, I have scanned the princesss airship and found something.
What did you find?
I found a bomb made of etherium.
I thought etherium was a stable energy source that was hard to use like that.
Maybe Elvrande can do it. Anyway, this device has enough power to blow up the entire airship. It also has a detonator.
Its not a timer, is it? Is it triggered by external input?
Yes. It seems that one of the princesss attendants is a mole for the Elder Council.
A terrorist elf.
Shocking, but not surprising in Astera.
The Elder Council wanted to kill the princess.
There could be many reasons, but they probably wanted to pin the blame on Leobold.
It would be perfect to reverse all the criticism they received from the Kairos incident that shook up the whole continent.
The fact that they didnt get along with the princess could also be a reason.
According to Armas observation, Princess Margareta was one of the few reformists among elves.
Her argument is that we should stop fighting with Ains and talk to them to achieve peace.
She must have been called a radical among elves.
Thats why they might want her to die by your hand this time. She must be a thorn in their side.
Leobold didnt care about right or wrong, he just wanted to know the truth.
He knew it would be hard to find the truth from the documents held by elves, but he could cross-check them with those from other kingdoms.
Thats what he could do if he could secure the princess, who had finally arrived in Bagrans airspace.
Despite her arrival, there was no grand ceremony.
The citizens were used to seeing floating continent fleets, so they didnt make a fuss about who came.
They only noticed that the person who came down from the airship was not an ordinary human.
Huh? An elf
That outfit She doesnt look like an ordinary person.
Elvrande was such a closed country that few people recognized her as a princess.
On the other hand, Margareta seemed to find everything fascinating as it was her first time in a human world.
It was somewhat noisy compared to Medea, but she felt something lively from the streets.
She saw beastmen carrying loads on carts, goblins sitting on wooden barrels and drinking heavily, and dwarves smoking pipes and having serious conversations.
They were all different kinds of people.
This place doesnt discriminate against beastmen
What surprised her was that no one thought this scene was strange.
It was completely different from what other elves had claimed.
Humans dont treat anyone well unless they are human. Severe discrimination is commonplace.
Most races live in hardship under their harsh treatment. What about us? Didnt we create autonomous regions and guarantee their rights?
The words sounded plausible, but Margareta knew that reality was not like that after visiting an autonomous region herself.
The autonomous region was only good in appearance, and Ains and beastmen were completely exposed to violence and starvation.
One of the training courses for Elven Knights was to sneak into an autonomous region and kill a few people and come out.
Thats how bad it was.
They would be punished if they were caught, but it was not meant to punish the crime, but to tell them to work harder because they were incompetent.
Thats why Kairos was not properly punished even after he massacred them overnight.
It was the elves who discriminated against other races.
Margareta felt this scene was very fresh because she knew these things.
Was it always like this? Or did it change after he took over?
It was unlikely that it was the latter, since he hadnt been in charge for long.
But it was clear that this scene did not conflict much with his ideology.
This was the capital, the face of Bagran, and the place where the governor worked.
I wonder what kind of person he is
Margareta entered the palace with a sense of anticipation for Leobold.
***
I greet Your Highness the princess.
He bent his knee slightly and kissed Margaretas hand.
Leobold was much taller and bigger than she had expected.
He looked more like a mercenary who had been fighting on the battlefield for a long time than a governor.
Indeed, he had been a real mercenary until two years ago.
Margareta put down her teacup and said.
The reason I came here is to urge dialogue and reconciliation between elves and humans, beyond the two countries. I trust that you, as the governor, will appreciate and support this point.
Reconciliation between humans and elves, is that possible?
It is possible. We can talk to each other. We can understand and feel each others emotions.
Sometimes, the ability to talk only amplifies the conflict. We know all the insults we hurl at each other.
You are quite pessimistic, Governor
Leobold gave a faint smile at her words.
I have lived a twisted life, so my personality is like this.
You are not even 30 years old, are you? What made you like this?
It was meaningless to explain his long and twisted life to this naive elf girl.
You seem to be in trouble with the Elder Council because of the Black Knight incident. They must be desperate to send you, Your Highness.
Margareta snapped at him.
I came here of my own will. The Elder Council tried to stop me.
Then its a pity. You will end up going back without gaining anything.
You sound just like the council members. Did I misjudge you? Where is the Count Vandus who was warm to the commoners and fair to other races?
Leobold grinned.
Thats also part of me. Fighting with elves is also part of me.
Dont you care about dialogue and peace? We can still reach out to each other and talk.
Thats almost impossible.
Why?
Because the history of conflict is too deep. Ains, including humans, and elves have been in fierce conflict for hundreds of years. Its very hard to overcome this long time in a breath. But there is one way to do that.
Curiosity shone in Margaretas eyes.
What is it?
War. To be precise, unification by force.
Disappointment filled her eyes.
You are no different from Drizden
Drizden? Who is that?
He is an old man who practically controls the Assembly and the Elder Council. Your words are just like what he spits out habitually.
Old people tend to be stubborn. Does he also use the garden analogy?
What is that?
Since you are the princess who protects Yggdrasil, I assume you have a personal garden or farm.
She nodded silently.
There was not much fun in Elvrande.
The 200-year peace had dragged the culture into decadence, but the elven solemnity had prevented that.
The most interesting news in the newspapers supplied to Medea was that a squirrel ran away from someones house.
Living in such an environment, she needed some breathing space and had carefully cultivated her own garden and farm.
A gentle smile appeared on her face as she thought of that.
I hope you will visit Elvrande someday and see my garden.
There will be a chance. Anyway, you must have done a lot of weeding in your garden.
Its a necessary process for the crops to grow strong, even with Yggdrasils blessing.
Thats right. Humans and elves also need weeding. So that the remaining ones can grow stronger.
The smile disappeared from her face.
Do you think of elves humans as plants?
They are no different, are they? They are living beings that root in the earth, absorb nutrients, and eventually die. The only advantage we have over plants is that we can curse.
Thats why wars happen when you look at others with such a twisted perspective.
You are right. As long as we are living beings who can curse, war is inevitable. Thats why we have to do it efficiently.
Thats sophistry. You have no right to measure everything.
Well, Lasa didnt seem to think so.
Now you are even blaspheming
She got up with anger on her face.
Her small fist clenched and trembled.
This is the end of the meeting.
I dont like prophecies much, but I want to make one. You will come back soon enough.
That will never happen.
She turned her body with a snap and left the meeting room.
Leobold yawned and counted numbers.
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