201fury
201The Wheel of Fortune (1)
Dmitry's reception room.
As I entered, I saw a familiar face..
Edwin Hector, who was drinking tea, welcomed Roman Dmitry with a natural expression..
“Long time no see.”
“Why did you want to see me??”
“You're in a hurry. Please take a seat first..”
It was unexpected.
The last memories of Roman Dmitry and Edwin Hector were not so pleasant..
Edwin Hector showed hatred in his eyes as if he was about to shed bloody tears as he saw the castle walls being torn down and Hector's soldiers being slaughtered..
The relationship between the two could clearly be said to be evil..
No matter how much personal feelings must be excluded for the sake of the national interest, it was not a relationship where people asked each other so peacefully..
sat down.
Edwin Hector, perhaps to ease the tension, lightly brought up the topic of conversation..
“First of all, congratulations on the opening of the Principality of Dmitry. I knew that Roman Dmitry was a great person, but I had no idea that he would immediately put an end to the civil war in Cairo and even defeat the Kronos Empire. Even in Hector, many people were surprised by Roman Dmitry's actions. Everyone is angry at the Empire's atrocities, but no one puts them into action like Roman Dmitry..”
“Let’s get straight to the point. Aren't we so close that we praise each other without shame?.”
“……That is correct. Actually, I also had no idea that we would meet somewhere other than the battlefield..”
The atmosphere became cold..
what happened at that time.
Edwin Hector still hasn't forgotten.
Although he was forced to smile for a special purpose now, Roman Dmitry presented absolutely overwhelming fear on the battlefield..
When I crossed the border for my country.
Hector's soldiers were unilaterally massacred, and the remnants who gained nothing had no choice but to spend a very cold and difficult winter..
and.
Butler suffered serious internal injuries and needed a year of rehabilitation before he could hold a sword again..
My heart heated up..
Hearing the news of Butler's despair and frustration every night, Edwin Hector, who was living in the sky, fell into a sense of guilt that his choice was wrong..
Hector was in decline..
If he hadn't instigated the war, he wouldn't have experienced the pain of defeat, even though it might have been difficult right now..
I caught my breath..
past bad relationship.
Having experienced Roman Dmitry on the battlefield, I was even more convinced that I had to meet Roman Dmitry..
Edwin Hector said.
“Let me tell you straight. War between Cairo and Hector. Behind the scenes, there was a dark side that incited the war..”
* * *
Roman Dmitry's expression did not change much..
Seeing Edwin Hector calmly accepting the shocking news, he uttered the words he had organized in his head..
“As Roman Dmitri knows, Hector's kingdom decided to go to war due to the continued poor harvests every year. I'm not making excuses for that. We attacked Cairo to save our lives, and that is inexcusable. But right after the war ended. We have confirmed that the poor harvest may have been artificially created..”
The timing was unfortunate..
The village, which had no abnormalities at first, showed signs of abnormalities as soon as the war ended, as if there was no longer any need to hide it..
“It started from a village in Hector. It was a village where crops were strangely poor, but as soon as the war ended, the land became dry, crumbly, and black, and there were reports that excessive numbers of animal carcasses were found nearby. And that was just the beginning. As abnormal signs suddenly spread throughout Hector, we learned that there was another reason for the poor harvest that was afflicting Hector. It was clearly the necromancer's curse. The beings who worked hard for a long time to dry out the land, once they achieved their goal, no longer hid the true nature of the curse..”
It takes a lot of effort to maintain the curse..
I saw the situation.
Hector thought that God had abandoned his country because of the continued poor harvests, but in fact, the real reason was different..
When doubt turns into certainty.
Edwin Hector could not hold back his boiling anger..
war with cairo.
how many people died.
Those who went to the battlefield to try to feed Hector, met the monster named Roman Dmitry and achieved nothing..
I didn't want to place the blame on the other person..
The fact that he was fooled by a dark plan, and that he was defeated in the war, happened because there were not enough leaders in charge of Hector..
but.
I needed to find out the truth.
He joined the Magic Tower through a deal with Heaven and had a really tough time over the past year..
“Which force benefited the most from the war between Cairo and Hector? To think simply, we can assert that that force is the Kronos Empire. If they were trying to use Cairo as a bridgehead for conquest of the continent, it would be beneficial for them to win regardless of whether Cairo or Hector won, so they began their investigation focusing on them. At first I didn't want to believe it. Although the Empire's ambitions have reached their peak, black magic is an area that humanity should not touch..”
exactly one year.
I recently discovered a fact.
And that fact led Edwin Hector to Dmitry.
“10 years ago from now. We discovered that there was a phenomenon like Hector in the Kronos Empire. It was an intentionally created crop failure, but the Kronos Empire did not actively try to solve it, but instead hid the truth. And when we looked for clues about the person involved, we learned that their poor harvest was the result of an 'experiment'.”
It wasn't perfect evidence.
The person who knew about the poor harvest was only an errand boy and had no power to use as evidence..
but.
Edwin Hector was convinced.
Roman looked at Dmitry and revealed the purpose of his visit to Dmitry..
“It was as we expected. The identity of the dark side was the Kronos Empire..”
* * *
war of two kingdoms.
The benefits to be gained from it were obvious..
It's a joke.
Even if the Kronos Empire does not exert much effort, it can force Cairo into a corner by attracting external forces..
In fact, the war on the southern front directly led to Kronos' gains..
The Kingdom of Hector tried to attract the Kronos Empire to resolve the unfavorable situation, and regardless of the outcome, the Kingdom of Cairo had no choice but to focus on the southern front rather than the western front for a while..
so slowly.
Cairo was suffocating..
Just as Hector was withered by a poor harvest, internal and external strife gradually weakened Cairo..
Edwin Hector said.
“People only focus on the atrocities that the Kronos Empire is carrying out right before their eyes. Since they have openly talked about conquering the continent, they think it is fortunate that they do not directly invade the border. But the truth is different. The Kronos Empire is cleverly destroying all obstacles one by one. The first priority is Cairo. Unlike the Alliance of Kingdoms, where the four kingdoms joined forces, they want to use Cairo as a bridgehead for war, as they can defeat it with relatively little effort. Cairo, Hector. If we destroy the two kingdoms and completely take over the northern part of the continent, then we will split the continent in half and begin a full-fledged conquest..”
“If that is true, why did you come to me instead of making it public? Black magic is a sensitive topic, so even the Kronos Empire would not have been able to completely avoid responsibility..”
“I agree. But that alone cannot bring down the empire. no. Maybe it could be the starting point of a continental war. The Kronos Empire is suppressing its ambitions due to the existence of the Valhalla Empire, but in fact, it would not be surprising at all if war were to break out right now. And there is currently no confidence that the combined might of the kingdoms alone, excluding the Empire, can meet the Empire's ambitions..”
The evidence was weak..
Kronos knew well that it was enough to just deny it, and that claims that were not backed up by force were meaningless..
so that.
Edwin Hector thought of Roman Dmitry first..
“Our relationship was wrong from the start. The responsibility lies entirely with Hector, and if you ask me to take responsibility for this, I will gladly accept it. However, in order to stop Kronos' ambitions, Dmitri and Hector need to join forces..”
It was the real purpose.
alliance.
I hoped for the power of Roman Dmitry.
“For years, Hector's people starved to death. Every time I think about how their dry faces come from the Kronos Empire, I feel that I cannot live under the same sky as them. My heart is still hot. I'm so angry I feel like I'm going crazy. This is not just Hector's problem. So, please join me in my plan to take down the Kronos Empire..”
It was a somewhat one-sided conversation..
Edwin Hector vented out his accumulated resentment, and his words were quite persuasive..
however.
It was strange.
Even after hearing all the truth.
Roman Dmitry's expression was so calm..
* * *
It was a strange atmosphere..
Roman Dmitry took a sip of tea, put down the tea cup, and looked at Edwin Hector..
“I knew it.”
“……what is that?”
“After fighting on the southern front. I spread my people across the continent. In fact, the war between Hector and Cairo was something no one wanted, and I thought maybe it was created artificially. As Edwin Hector said. It was very clear that both countries benefited from the shedding of blood..”
Haomun.
People from the Information Guild permeated every corner of the continent..
They gathered all kinds of information, and through the pieces of information they put together into puzzles, they got clues about black magic..
Hector's Crop Failure.
It had an artificial smell..
As Edwin Hector investigated, he could not clearly find evidence that it was the work of the Kronos Empire, but at least it was possible to infer that there was someone's conspiracy..
Actually, it wasn't that surprising..
Edwin Hector seemed to vent his anger at how humans used black magic, but in Murim, he often experienced something worse than that..
A poem made from a corpse.
Monsters that suck people's energy.
There were quite a few people who gave up living as human beings in order to achieve their goals..
Roman Dmitry said.
“We are already preparing for war with Kronos. They will certainly carry out their ambition to conquer the continent, and will do whatever they can to bring down Dmitri, just like they did with Hector's kingdom. By the way. Aside from that fact, why should Dmitry join the plan led by Hector??”
“……Does this mean you will reject my offer??”
“Let's get it straight. More precisely, I am asking whether Hector would be in a position to make such a suggestion..”
The look in his eyes changed..
Appearance on the battlefield.
Roman Dmitry looked like he was going to eat Edwin Hector..
“Hector's kingdom was driven into a corner by Kronos' intentions. And even though they attacked the Kingdom of Cairo by surprise, they failed to achieve their goal at all. It signifies Hector’s weakness. Due to a long period of poor harvest, Hector was festering from within, and those who could not eat and enjoy properly were bound to lose their meaning as soldiers as time went by. That's not all.”
It was the cruel truth.
Roman Dmitry cruelly revealed what was being ignored..
“The war with Cairo was over and the intentional crop failures were over. However, it takes time to restore the already dry land, and the people of Hector's Kingdom are still complaining of hunger due to unresolved problems. I heard that Prince Edwin Hector received extensive support as he entered the sky. But does that completely solve Hector's problem? If war breaks out right away, does Hector have ample supplies and the perfect environment to arm them? Prince. I don't know your sincerity. He thinks about his people and has a desire for revenge that feels like his heart will explode, so he wants to destroy the Kronos Empire at all costs. but…….”
this meeting.
The conversation, which was expected to go smoothly, turned out to be wrong from the start, just like the relationship between the two men..
“Instead of saying the obvious things I know, please tell me why Dmitri should join hands with you..”
Comments