SHK CH 540 (Patreon)

The war was raging.

People were dying.

It had only been nearly three weeks since the war started but the casualties were sky-high and while Wratharis was the one mainly bearing the losses, Lustburg wasn’t spared either.

It had been nearly 16 years since the last truly great war. Children were now adults and adults were middle-aged or old.

This was a world used to war and skirmishes.

This was a world where people were used to losing those dears to them at any moment for any reason.

Even so. This did not mean that they were desensitized to death and the feeling of loss.

Looking at the report of all the people who died, Sol once again felt that being a king was something bothersome.

It was painful to know that all those people died because of him.

Children were orphaned, parents lost their children, and so on.

Death and death. All around all those deaths were on him without a shadow of a doubt. Even though Lupus was the one who started the war, Sol was the one who decided to change this war into his own play, manipulating everything for his own advantage even if it would cost the lives of many innocent people.

It would be hypocritical of him to act as if his hands were clean and free from stains.

“Do you regret it?”

“No. I am not hypocritical enough to start bawling and shaking and I realize the weight of my folly or whatever.”

He placed the document aside. He seemed like he was spending his life in the office nowadays but there was not much he could do about that.

“Prepare the documents for the noble title conferment of the White Knight’s descendant. Same for the soldiers who made great merits.”

Obviously, not everyone would receive a reward as big as the Knight. But they wouldn’t be left with nothing either. After all — Soon there would be much land of lustburg that would be free.

“How is the advancement of the armies?”

Clara, who was standing next to Milia, passed him a new document. We managed to steer the army of Wratahris toward a few noble territories that refused to comply and did not send all the soldiers required for diverse reasons.

“Hum… So they are currently besieged, right?”

“Yes. Our soldiers are giving support. But soon, a few of the olds nobles will face an accident and die honorably on the battlefield.”

“How magnificent. I guess they will be remembered as heroes.”

He let out a harsh laugh. Some of those nobles were bastards acting like kings in their own territories. Those at least were slightly acceptable but some others were literally traitors. They had allegiance with Wratharis and were promised some rewards.

Now though…They would die soon and new blood would be injected into the system of his country.

Using war to wipe out one own political opponent was a timeless strategy that worked 9/10. This was even more so since in this case, they had absolutely no chance of escaping.

“Milia, make sure the civilians are not affected too much.”

It was one thing for soldiers to die. This was war after all. But he had to be careful about civilian losses. Once this happened, the hatred between the two kingdoms would climb in crescendo and this would be detrimental to his future plans of unification.

He knew this was a cold way of looking at things. But if did not do so, he would never be able to rise.

Looking at his tired face, Clara and Milia hesitated about what to say. Sol was a Half Dragon. A powerful being with matchless stamina. Even fighting for a week would not be a problem for him.

It was clear that the current situation was more mental anguish than anything else. There were many things Milia wanted to say to comfort him.

But they would all sound hollow.

Sol was the King and in the future, he would become an Emperor.

His decisions affect millions of people and might affect billions later on. This was the burden of the crown.

Only Tyrants or Idiots admired the power that was given without dreading the weight and responsibilities that followed it.

Sol though was not as afflicted as they were thinking.

The main reason for his tiredness was the way the world was slowly changing in his eyes.

He was not just looking at the world but something beyond. He was observing the rules of the world.

As if he was trying to gaze at the codes behind the functioning of a software. The stronger he grew, the closer he became to a King, the more detailed those visions became.

It seemed like he would soon find the secret of the world and if he had to be honest. This both scared and excited him.

Fighting a headache, Sol tapped his fingers on the table,

“Setsuna and Lilin can now step on the field. It’s time to start the main act. Once they play their roles, close the nets. Kill the nobles and pacify the battlefield. Christmas is approaching and I wish to be at the gate of Wratharis’ capital by the time new Year starts.”

“Yes!”

“Once more than 60% of Wratharis’ territory was taken, the King will be able to act. By then the true war will start. All the arrangements have already been made. But just in case, I will take the witches with me.”

“Understood.”

“Finally…Prepare a reward for Aurora. She may be the Holy Daughter but she still has the right to be rewarded for her hard work like anyone else.”

Aurora was still moving on the battlefield. While she was an unexpected asset, she was one of the reasons why the losses on Lustburg were so small. Not only was her blessing powerful but it seemed that she was able to share a small part of it with the other nuns.

Sol was seriously starting to wonder if Aurora was truly a demigod in her last life or something more.

Speaking of it. He had been the one to deduce and decide that she was one. He had never really received a straight answer from her.

“Well…I think it’s good enough. Remind Setsuna that we do not want war. We want peace. Her goal isn’t to fight. Even if indeed she has to show her might. Her goal is to show them all the difference between her and Lupus.”

His finger traced the map until it stopped at a certain point, “As for Lilin. The place she is in charge of is filled with loyal fighters of Lupus who cannot be won over. As such they are useless to us. I want her to take complete control of the battlefield and annihilate any Dukes and higher-ups. Ground soldiers can be spared or killed at her discretion.”

Sol was not too worried. As long as a King didn’t somehow come out, there was no way in hell a Duke outside of him and those from the Astral realm could actually hope to even wound them.

(AN: What do you think of the war arc, yet? The big fights didn’t happen yet but I am trying to give all the girls their time to shine. I feel like I want to show a little more gritty side. But at the same time, this isn’t really the theme of this story.)