Plain Girl Hero of Darkness
Southern Heroes - (2)

In the Year of the Lunar Calendar 997, one month after the famous impenetrable Kiel Fortress fell, the Confederacy of Sutherland and the Arsbelt Empire held many secret talks. His agenda was to stop the export of food to the Kingdom of Farnesse until its destruction. In exchange, the Empire would never start a war against Sutherland.

Back then, Sutherland was eager not to become hostile to the rising Empire. And the 13-Star Council passed the proposal unanimously.

(But it will only last until the Kingdom of Farnesse falls. What will happen next remains unclear.)

Emperor Ramza declared his intention to unite the entire continent. That clearly meant he wanted to bring the continent under his control, and the deal was easily broken.

The man known as the Good-natured Emperor would not retract his words easily — but there might be a way for him to gain the support of his citizens in an unimaginable way. Their time as observers is taken into account.

「Let me guess what you think, Julius.」

Rion put his chin on his arm, with an elbow on the armrest, showing a sly smile. Julius frowned and advised the young ruler.

「Lord Rion, please stop imitating Satori.」

「Monster mind reader it, yes ... There is nothing more strange than the human mind. If I can emulate Satori—— 」

「If you can do...?」

「Then not only this City, Sutherland and the entire continent of Dubedirica are already in my hands. And of course, Julius will be by my side. 」

Rion's innocent laughter was similar to the one he had as a child. Julius' expression softened upon seeing that.

(He never changes ..).

After laughing for a while, Rion switched to serious mode.

「I understand your concern, Julius, but take it easy. I'm not an incompetent mayor. Since this war will not last long, then we should consider the future as well. In addition to the Twelfth City, the other Mayors should also keep an eye on future developments. 」

「I understand that very well. I, Julius Lira Fifus, have full confidence in Lord Rion. 」

Julius bowed respectfully and Rion laughed.

「Enough with that action. By the way, the Twelfth City did not conduct espionage properly. In this new era, those with more information will have the initiative. 」

「As you said, Mr. Rion, the situation has changed drastically. Attacking the Kingdom of Farnesse now would be unwise, and would instead put the attacker's hand down. 」

「Hmmp, it would be nice if they could be finished just by blistering.」

「It will be worse than that?」

「True, one wrong step, the scythe of the God of Death will come for them.」

Rion patted his neck with two fingers, and Julius nodded calmly.

Its scale is much smaller than the Empire's 『Heat Haze』, but Bey Grand also has its own intel unit known as 『Wolf Pack』, which reports directly to Rion. By the way, they are called 『Wolf Pack』 because of the wolf tattoo on their shoulder.

According to the intel of 『Wolf Pack』, starting with the defeat of the southern army, Crimson Knight and Sun Knight, both famous elites of the Empire, have been defeated. Interestingly, the girl known as the God of Death fought in all those battles.

The girl known as 「Dark Reaper」 had claimed the lives of famous Imperial Generals like the God of Death, there were even rumors that the soldiers retreated in fear when she attacked them alone. Stories about courage are often exaggerated, but this girl seems to be the exception—— that's the conclusion made by 『Wolf Pack』.

「Why don't we give this information to Twelfth City?」

Rion scoffs at Julius' advice.

「How do we do that? The kingdom has a Death God so stop because it is dangerous? They will never trust us, and most importantly, we are talking about the woman. 」

「... That guy wouldn't believe it.」

Julius thought of a seductive face that had a hint of insanity.

The two agreed that Cassandra would ignore their warnings.

「We may be the same country as the name, but we are still an independent country in fact. Give them the hard-earned info of 『Wolf Pack』 —— I am not a generous person, and will expect a return for our problems. Besides, isn't this a good opportunity? 」

「... You want to understand the greatness of Farnesse Kingdom?」

Rion nodded happily.

「This is not poker, I don't think the Crimson Knight or Sun Knight are opponents they can beat just by luck. With that in mind, the battle between the Twelfth City and the Kingdom of Farnesse would be a good test. 」

With that, Rion tapped the golden scale on his desk.

(Scale can mean scale, scales, balance sheet, scales, etc. Which one, not TLin.)

「Depending on the result, our plan needs to be changed, right?」

「Indeed.」

「What do you plan to do if the Kingdom of Farnesse shows signs of turning things around?」

「If they show such signs ....」.

Rion turned his gaze to the ceiling.

「Accurate once. We can leave the Empire and side with the Kingdom of Farnesse. If Sutherland wanted to make a profit, other mayors would support the decision. Calculating profit and loss is our specialty. 」

Rion said as he turned his chair around, then looked out the window with condescending eyes.

The Sutherland economic blockade achieved dramatic results, accelerating the decline of the Farnesse Kingdom. Even if they lifted the blockade and offered friendly assistance, King Alphonse would not trust them—— Julius explained.

「He is an extraordinary King who makes the brand of the Kingdom of Farnesse worthless. But in the end, he still had to hold the hand of our friendship. 」

Rion flicked his hair back as he mocked King Farnesse and slowly got up from his seat. His slender legs stopped in front of a large map hanging on the wall.

「……」

Just what was he planning to do as he stared at the map with his shining eyes? Julius who was beside him studied the map as well.

Arsbelt Empire in the north.

The Kingdom of Farnesse in the east.

The Sutherland Confederation in the south.

The balance between the major powers has long been overthrown, no one knows when the flames of war will stop. Meaningless fighting that was merely a reenactment of the war era had led many countries towards their destruction.

For Julius, war was like stacking blocks. One wrong move, then the entire beam tower will collapse.

(In this war, will the Arsbelt Empire pile up blocks until the end, or will the Kingdom of Farnesse. Or maybe——)

At the cloud-covered Lizun Castle, Julius looked to the handsome profile of the city lord.

Lunar Calendar Year 1000.

In this new era where chaos spreads rampantly, the curtains are covered with fresh blood that spills——

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...To Be Continue's...