Chapter 202: Confrontation 2
Zenobia, a city at the eastern end of the Western Continent.
It was also a place where the empire’s fleet was stationed, and the only port city that could contact the Eastern Continent.
This place, which should have been filled with noisy sounds like a port city, was extremely quiet today.
“Evacuate all the citizens out of the city!”
“Prepare to launch the ships! What on earth is going on!”
In the city, the empire’s soldiers were running around, helping the citizens evacuate.
At the same time, they boarded the ships and hastily prepared for battle.
But their faces were grim.
The scale of the enemy that appeared on the eastern coast was not normal.
‘How could there be a naval battle at this time when Duke Kornel of the 1st Fleet is away! What is going on?’
Count Helmen, the commander of the empire’s 2nd Fleet, looked at the ships in the distance with despair in his eyes.
One of his staff members cautiously opened his mouth.
“The difference in power is too great. What should we do?”
“What do you think?”
“There is no chance of winning, even by a fluke. First of all, the number of ships is more than ten times different.”
“I think so too.”
Count Helmen waited for the invaders who were slowly approaching with a resigned expression.
There were more than a dozen warships in this port, but the scale of the enemy fleet was literally different.
‘Hundreds of ships… Why did the Eastern Continent invade the empire? What kind of wind blew them here?’
It was impossible to identify them precisely because they were too far away, but they were undoubtedly warships of the Eastern Continent by their appearance. Their size was a whopping hundreds!
Even if all the empire’s ships were scraped together, they would not be that much. Count Helmen had no idea what was going on.
Soon, the ships began to approach near the empire’s fleet. In a little while, they would reach a position where cannon fire was possible.
Count Helmen closed his eyes tightly.
“Prepare for battle! We have to hold out as much as we can.”
It would be a one-sided fight, but he was determined to die bravely as a soldier. But then his staff members made a strange noise.
“Huh!”
“Count! Doesn’t that flag look familiar?”
“What?”
Count Helmen stared at the enemy’s flag with a bewildered expression.
It was too far away to see clearly, but it was definitely a symbol he had seen somewhere.
His staff members also noticed the flag and gasped.
“…!?”
“Isn’t that the imperial crest of Sharnos?”
“Why is that flag on an enemy ship?”
Surprisingly, the flag flying from the enemy fleet was the imperial crest of Sharnos Empire.
And one ship started to approach quickly towards where Count Helmen was.
“Should we fire?”
“No. Something is strange.”
Count Helmen shook his head and stared intently at the approaching enemy ship. Come to think of it, the shape of the ship also looked familiar.
“That looks like a ship from the 1st Fleet, doesn’t it?”
“Huh?”
He blinked his eyes at his staff’s words. He didn’t understand what was going on.
And as soon as the ship got closer. He fainted.
“The Crown Prince!”
“…!?”
“Are you the leader of this fleet?”
Thud!
Eurius swiftly jumped off his ship and landed on Count Helmen’s ship.
“What is this… how…”
Seeing him walking towards them, Count Helmen and his staff were speechless and confused about how to respond. The reason was obvious. Eurius was currently wanted in the capital.
But Eurius himself was calm.
“I don’t have time to explain everything. You only have to choose one thing.”
“…!?”
“Will you follow me? Or will you believe in that ridiculous propaganda of Holy Kingdom?”
***
The Hwan Empire of Eastern Continent had given him a great favor.
Based on that trust, Eurius led a large fleet from Eastern Continent and attacked eastern part of Sharnos Empire.
The north was occupied by immigrant tribes including Nuada and forces loyal to Eurius!
The south was controlled by Desert Kingdom and even Heimdal Cult and nobles who used to be Eurius’ enemies!
And Eurius himself led forces from Eastern Continent that were bigger and stronger than those two combined.
Eurius himself didn’t need to say anything, but he also brought many masters from martial arts world.
They had to cross the sea so they arrived late, but their advance was much faster.
The so-called three-sided siege!
Sharnos Empire was surrounded by mountainous immigrant tribes in north, desert in south, coast in east, and Holy Kingdom and other small kingdoms in west.
All roads except west leading to Holy Kingdom were blocked.
The only part that Holy Kingdom occupied was near the capital and west of the empire.
They were now completely cornered.
***
“It seems that the east has also been breached, following the north and the south.”
“In a few days, this capital will be exposed to the enemy’s attack.”
“Let’s gather all the power of the Holy Kingdom in one place and defend it! We have the Godly One with us, so it should be possible!”
The popes were still in a daze. They believed that they could somehow recover if they held on to the capital. But the heart of Lee Cheongmun, who looked down on them, was cold as ice.
‘The problem is not stopping them. It’s already impossible for me to conquer the continent by normal means.’
The situation was already hopeless as he thought. What was the point of holding out in the capital like this?
And finally, the news that shattered the last hope of the popes arrived.
“Your Holiness! The knights from our homeland cannot come.”
“What?”
The popes were all shocked.
The Holy Kingdom was their own country, but their orders were not obeyed.
“What are you talking about? Explain it in detail.”
“Well… The Duke of Dios, who has the command authority…”
The messenger could not continue his words, as he was too dumbfounded.
“The Duke?”
“He planned a large-scale pilgrimage with the knights who were entrusted with training. He already left a few days ago and it will take time to come back…”
“…”
The popes lost their words.
A pilgrimage meant that priests or holy knights spent a certain period of time in a quiet monastery or a secluded valley to refine their body and mind.
But why would he do that at this time?
***
Deep in the mountains.
The Duke of Dios was leisurely walking with his knights.
“Hehe… The air is very good here.”
“Your Grace, are you sure we can stay here? The outside is noisy with war and all…”
A middle-aged knight who assisted the Duke cautiously asked. But the Duke answered nonchalantly.
“Huh? This is also part of the duty of the knights of the Holy Kingdom. Since the Godly One has come, we should also cleanse our body and mind and worship him, shouldn’t we?”
“…You are right.”
The Duke silenced the knight with an answer that sounded like clear water. He looked at the direction where the empire was.
‘This is all I can do for you. I wish you good luck, Your Majesty.’
Yes. The Duke had taken most of the knights of the Holy Kingdom and fled to a deep place in the mountains.
***
The capital of the empire was already surrounded on three sides. It was hard to expect any support from the Holy Kingdom.
The faces of the popes turned dark and they looked at Lee Cheongmun with desperate eyes.
‘I have no choice but to trust in the Godly One’s ability.’
“…”
Lee Cheongmun was also not feeling very comfortable at this moment. He had fallen into a serious dilemma for the first time since he revived in Leon’s body. Of course, with his power, he could still turn things around.
‘But it would be troublesome for me if the Holy Kingdom falls apart…’
No matter how transcendent his power was, he had only one body. He could erase the enemy army, but Emperor Scharnos and Eurius would not sit still in the meantime.
And if he dealt with his opponents too oppressively, there would be too much noise.
“Hmm…”
As he thought up to this point, he came up with another question.
‘And I don’t understand why he did this?’
His real question was why Eurius had done this. Even if he had an advantage in military force, if he couldn’t do anything to him, this war was as good as his victory.
‘There must be some intention behind this…’
“You seem curious about something.”
Swoosh.
“Hm?”
“Gah!”
The people inside the war room were startled by the sudden appearance of a figure.
A person appeared like a ghost without any sign.
Lee Cheongmun was also briefly flustered, but soon regained his composure.
“You are that guy from before, huh? Well, are you feeling better?”
It was a remark that hit many sore spots for Eurius, who had been brutally defeated before, but he did not care and chuckled.
“Haha! I really thought I was going to die then. It would have been nice if you were a little gentler.”
“Hooh…”
Lee Cheongmun seemed interested by his calm answer and stroked his chin.
He looked young and fresh in Leon’s body, but his current owner had lived so long that he seemed experienced.
But the popes who were with him in the war room were terrified.
“The apostle of evil is here!”
“We have to capture him right away!”
They shouted and tried to act immediately, but Lee Cheongmun stopped them.
“Wait a moment. Don’t we have to hear his reason?”
“…!?”
The popes flinched and backed away, and Eurius smiled again.
“As expected of someone who has lived for a long time, you are reasonable.”
“I’m a little interested in you. And you must have something to say to me, that’s why you came here.”
Lee Cheongmun’s words were sincere.
When Eurius had risen like a ghost just now, he had also missed his movement for a moment. It was unbelievable considering his level.
‘I’ve succeeded in piquing his interest for now.’
Eurius smiled inwardly and opened his mouth again.
“Wouldn’t you like to negotiate with us?”
“Negotiate?”
Lee Cheongmun looked puzzled and Eurius began to explain.
“The current situation is favorable for us. Do you agree?”
“Hmm?”
“But I also know that if I can’t beat you, the victories so far mean nothing. So I thought we needed another way to end this fight.”
Eurius was repeating exactly what Lee Cheongmun had wondered earlier. And what he proposed was!
“You and me. Let’s settle it one-on-one.”
“…!?”
At this unexpected offer, Lee Cheongmun stared at Eurius for a moment.
“…You want to fight me again?”
“Yes.”
“Huh… Do you really think you have a chance against me?”
Lee Cheongmun looked incredulous. He had observed Eurius and the result was as follows.
‘He’s improved a lot since before. But he’s no match for me.’
What he observed was not wrong. Even if Eurius had reached a new level, there was a big difference in their training periods.
And Lee Cheongmun had become even stronger after obtaining Leon’s body, which had an excellent player aptitude!
In fact, even if the Emperor fought him, it would not be easy to guarantee a victory this time. But to him, Eurius, who was still a chick, challenged him to a duel, so he was naturally bewildered.
But Eurius’s answer was simple.
“Don’t you have to try it to find out? And even if you don’t accept the negotiation, we’ll have to clash anyway.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Lee Cheongmun nodded his head.
He had to fight Eurius anyway.
Since he was losing a lot in the current situation, the condition of fighting one-on-one cleanly was also beneficial for him.
‘There is no chance of me losing. nd even if he tries some trick, I just need to find another body to switch.’
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t find a reason to refuse this offer. And he was also a fearless person who liked Eurius’s bold challenge.
‘Yeah, young friends should have this much spirit.’
He finally made up his mind and opened his mouth.
“Fine, you decide the time and place.”
‘He took the bait.’
As soon as he heard that answer, Eurius smiled triumphantly inside.
‘It was worth the trouble to bring him here!’
His trap was just beginning.
***
“He agreed?”
“Yes, surprisingly he accepted easily.”
“Well… He probably thinks he has insurance on his life, so I guess it makes sense.”
The Emperor looked at Eurius with a nodding head.
‘Honestly, I thought he had less than half a chance even if I helped him. Is he really going to pull this off?’
He admired him honestly.
In fact, his plan had gone awry since he was hit by the Holy Kingdom from behind, and Eurius’s chances of winning had decreased a lot.
But unexpectedly, Eurius had created an equal or better situation than Lee Cheongmun with almost his own power.
This was proof that Eurius’s relationship with his allies and subordinates was stronger than the Holy Kingdom’s prestige that had been playing god for two hundred years with the system’s power!
‘Yeah, maybe he can do it.’
“So how are you going to prepare for the fight with him? Do you have a chance?”
The Emperor looked at Eurius with a lot of expectation in his eyes.
One of the two conditions that Eurius had mentioned earlier remained.
The first condition was to bring Lee Cheongmun to the negotiation table as it is now.
The second was victory! It would be meaningless if he brought him one-on-one but couldn’t win.
‘He acted like he had something up his sleeve and challenged him, so he must have some brilliant plan, right?’
The Emperor felt his heart pounding for once. It was like wondering what the protagonist of the game he was playing would do next.
“…”
But Eurius suddenly looked dumbfounded and met the Emperor’s eyes.
“Why are you asking me that?”
“What?”
“It’s your fault that this started, so you should tell me something.”
“…!?”
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