Chapter 192. Approaching Hope and Despair

After leaving the inn with Rotman Reverk, Evan first had a simple meal.

The sailors and members of the emissaries glanced at him with Rotman, but no one explicitly raised any questions.

“Have you finished eating? If you're done, let's get going.”

“Let's.”

After finishing their meal, Evan immediately headed to Ron’s house with Rotman.

Just then, Ron, with his trident on his back, had finished saying goodbye to Reina and was just stepping out the door.

“Oh! We ran into each other perfectly.”

When they first met, Ron had glared at Evan without hiding his killing intent, but after hunting the Kraken together, he approached with a much softer attitude.

“Is the one next to you the friend you said you’d bring?”

“Yes. This is Rotman Reverk, who was used by the Empire but is now on our side. Rotman, this is Ron…….”

Before Evan could finish the introduction, Ron stepped forward and extended his hand.

“The name’s Ron Witterek. Haha!”

“I am Rotman Reverk.”

Seeing the two shake hands, Evan judged that no further introduction was necessary.

“Let’s get to know each other later, for now, let's leave. We’re in a hurry.”

“I’ve already called for a carriage.”

“A carriage?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of horse hooves approached, and the three of them turned their gazes in that direction.

A moment later, a magnificent carriage fit for royalty stopped before them.

“We should at least travel comfortably. I called for the best carriage in this city. How is it, do you like it?”

“……I didn’t know you were the type to ride in a carriage.”

“I get motion sickness when I ride a horse.”

“A man who was perfectly fine in the depths of the sea gets motion sickness……”

Evan let out a hollow laugh and slowly took out his money pouch.

“Right, we can’t be shabby on our way to escort one of the Seven Stars.”

“Haha! Of course. Well then, shall we get in?”

Ron naturally handed his luggage to the coachman and got on the carriage first.

Rotman also glanced at Evan for a moment before following him into the carriage.

Towards Evan, who was the last one left, the coachman bowed deeply with a kind smile.

“If you have any luggage, please entrust it to me.”

“I don’t have any.”

“Then we will depart…… but you must pay the fare in advance.”

“How much?”

“Where is your destination?”

Evan mentioned the border region between the Manoa Kingdom and the Empire, which had become the allied forces' base.

“Benked Castle.”

“To Benked Castle…… it’s originally five hundred and four gold, but I’ll drop the small change and just take five hundred gold.”

“……Five hundred?”

Evan flinched for a moment and cursed Ron, who had called this carriage, inwardly.

However, he couldn't just send the carriage back, so he silently handed over the entire money pouch.

“I understand……. But it’s really expensive.”

“We will escort you as safely and comfortably for the price. You’ll probably feel like you're riding on a cloud.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes, please get in. We will be departing shortly.”

Upon boarding the carriage, Ron was whistling and eating a lunchbox that Reina had packed for him.

“Mmm~”

When he opened the lid, the contents of the lunchbox, filled with all kinds of meat, were revealed.

Ron picked up a piece of meat as if it were a treasure and took a bite.

“Oom~ Reina is the best.”

“Are you eating a meal now?”

“No? This is a snack.”

Seeing this, Evan shook his head.

At the same time, he was inwardly surprised and stared intently at Ron.

Not even a few hours had passed since the battle with the Kraken ended, but the wounds on Ron’s skin were already healing.

‘Is he really human? Is he some kind of half-breed, like a Dragonkin?’

As he continued to stare at Ron with a suspicious gaze, Ron hurriedly hid the lunchbox towards himself.

“Why? Don't tell me you want some?”

“I don't want any. I'm just confused as to whether you really did kill the Kraken just a few hours ago.”

“What about you? You caught that octopus with me. You look perfectly fine yourself.”

Evan and Ron were inwardly surprised looking at each other's condition.

But the most surprised person was not the two of them, but Rotman, who was in the carriage with them.

“Did you just say…… you caught the Kraken? And just a little while ago? Yet you're sitting here talking so casually?”

From Rotman’s perspective, it was an astonishing sight.

At the same time, he realized.

That the people in this carriage were the right ones to face the Empire.

‘Perhaps they can even stop Robern’s Knight Order. The problem is the man in the iron mask, whose limits even I cannot fathom…….’

Nevertheless, believing that it would be possible with Evan and Ron, Rotman had a hopeful thought for the first time in a long time.

“We are departing!”

Thus, the carriage carrying the three men galloped towards the border where the Empire and the allied forces were in a tense standoff.

‘It really is comfortable. Saying it’s like riding on a cloud wasn't an exaggeration.’

Evan also closed his eyes to rest before what might be his final battle.

* * *

At the same time Evan was bringing the last of the Seven Stars, Ron Witterek, Harashin was also carrying out his part of the deal as promised with Evan.

What he did was to send a signal that the Solaid Kingdom still had the will to continue the war.

As the Seven Stars representing each kingdom fell in battle, Remshait and Manoa wanted a ceasefire, but if the relatively intact Solaid declared its intention to continue the war, at least a ceasefire talk would not be held immediately.

However, there was a variable.

That was Robern's Knight Order on the Empire's side.

The imperial army, with them at the forefront, had already broken the morale of the allied forces by driving them out of imperial territory.

That shock was the main reason why the three kingdoms did not attempt to advance again.

Eventually, the commanders of the three kingdoms gathered at Benked Castle to decide their future course of action.

“I’m sorry, but our Remshait has no more strength. Not only Lady Karin, but our elite troops have been wiped out. What more can we do in this situation?”

The first to express the intention for a ceasefire was Luise, the commander and a mage of Remshait.

Hearing this, Solaid’s commander, Omar, frowned and showed his displeasure.

“Who told you to act on your own? At least if you hadn't done anything suspicious behind our backs, the Great Mage wouldn't have fallen so easily.”

“What did you just say?”

“Why? Did I say something wrong?”

Omar leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, while she scowled and leaned forward in response.

“Then what about you? If you had sent Prince Harashin to join us earlier, we would have already pushed into the imperial capital!”

“Have you already forgotten? If the Prince hadn't stopped Varkanon and his army, the allied forces wouldn't have even set foot on imperial land. So watch your mouth.”

“Hmph! Why hasn't that great prince of yours shown himself yet? Do you think just increasing the headcount will change this situation?”

“At least it’s better than pulling back troops like you.”

While the argument between the two commanders, who were like oil and water, continued, William, the commander of the Manoa Kingdom, silently tapped on the table.

Then finally, as if he had made a decision, he slammed his palm on the table, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Enough. We must not be divided among ourselves. What’s important is that things that were going well have suddenly hit a wall, and now we must make a choice.”

The Manoa Kingdom was effectively the core of this alliance and the force most sharply confronting the Empire.

As the commander of that kingdom spoke, all eyes in the conference room turned to William.

“Commander Luise advocates for a ceasefire, and Commander Omar wants to keep pushing. Moreover, since Solaid sent reinforcements along with news of victory, we……”

William paused for a moment, thought deeply, and then made a decision.

“For now, let’s try to break through the Empire once more, with Solaid’s reinforcements at the lead.”

“Good!”

“Tch.”

Looking at the two commanders showing opposite reactions, William hid his true thoughts.

‘But as Luise said, this isn't a problem that can be solved just by increasing the headcount. At the very least, someone of Harashin's caliber needs to come to prevent this spark from dying out.’

However, the situation unfolded completely differently from his calculations.

The Empire moved first and appeared before Benked Castle.

“It's an enemy attack!”

It was unexpected news.

As if it were a warning about the three nations postponing their conclusion, and as if to show it wasn't just a warning, the ones who appeared were none other than Robern’s Knight Order.

“They have appeared!”

“What?”

The three commanders who were in the middle of the meeting shot up from their seats simultaneously.

They shared the situation with a brief glance and immediately went out to command their respective troops.

William headed to the battlefield with swift steps, accompanied by the soldier who delivered the report.

“Speak in more detail. What does that mean? What is the scale of the enemy?”

“Including the knight order, approximately several thousand imperial troops have gathered just a few hundred meters away from Benked Castle.”

“Several thousand, you say……?”

William was momentarily dumbfounded.

No matter how notorious the knight order was, this was a place where the combined allied forces of the three nations amounted to a large army of nearly a hundred thousand.

The difference in troop numbers was more than tenfold, and besides, they were protected by sturdy castle walls.

‘To capture a castle, the besieging army's numbers must be at least three times greater. On the contrary, they came to pressure us in a state of overwhelming inferiority?’

He had heard enough of the Empire’s arrogance to make his ears ring, and he had experienced it directly many times.

But this action was a recklessness that went far beyond that arrogance.

Feeling suspicious, William headed to the watchtower first to check if the Empire was plotting something behind the scenes.

“Commander!”

“Yes.”

After briefly encouraging the soldiers on guard duty at the watchtower, he immediately turned his gaze outside the castle.

In the distance, he could see a point where the Empire's flag was fluttering in the wind.

As reported, only a force of about several thousand was gathered there.

“Tell the reconnaissance team to search the surrounding area thoroughly. It wouldn't be strange for the Empire to use any kind of trick.”

“Yes!”

While the soldiers moved quickly, William’s gaze never left the imperial army.

But they just stood there looking at the castle, taking no action.

‘What on earth are they planning……?’

In the meantime, Benked Castle entered a state of all-around defense.

The troops of Remshait and Solaid also climbed onto the castle walls to prepare for a possible siege.

The commanders of the two nations who had also ascended the watchtower watched the movements of the imperial army with serious expressions.

“I have no idea what they’re thinking……”

“Fine, bring it on. The warriors of our Solaid will never fall.”

Just then, the reconnaissance team that had received William's order came up to the watchtower.

“Commander, we mobilized the mages to search the area, but there are no suspicious signs at all.”

“That means……”

The imperial army had truly come here trusting only in their own strength.

And that was confidence.

It was the conviction that with Robern's Knight Order, a place like Benked Castle could definitely be captured.