Chapter 319

Ytakan Scrublands, Archduchy of Rebirth

Darthar-Asaria Trade Route

The King nodded.

"Just so. I was made aware that you had a proposal on that matter?"

"Excuse me, but...are we not getting ahead of ourselves here?" Said one of the officers, a noble, and everyone turned towards him. "My apologies, your majesties, your grace, but...Sunrise is far from vanquished. Are we not selling the bear's hide before we have killed it?"

The king chuckled.

"I would be tempted to start a tangent on speculative trading and the need for the rapid movement of goods for an expanding economy, but I will refrain. Instead allow me a simple, direct answer. We have a plan for victory. A fairly detailed one at that. We need to plan what happens afterwards, so that the peace if both complete and lasting. I will not allow our reconquest of the east to become mired in petty conflicts over land and borders that could drag us into another civil war, or inflict resentment for decades to come." The clear, if unspoken, risk was that if there was to be a second civil war, it would be against Rebirth...and he would have no hope of winning. "Thus, we will make a clear plan of action. Furthermore, having a plan for after our victory distributed amongst the nobility, to make sure everyone is aware of their future overlords and so that they may begin negotiations of fealty and such, is a considerable psychological advantage."

The king got up, and began to pace, seemingly unaware he was constantly moving in and out of the viewing field of the magical mirror that allowed him to communicate, as he continued to speak.

"It will reinforce to all our desire and, indeed, expectation of victory, not to mention the sentiment of...inevitability the archduchess has been building. After all, once those plans are announced, the nobles that remain neutral will have considerable incentive to begin negotiating with their soon to be overlord, breaking their neutrality in the process, or risk considerably angering us in the peace to follow, not to mention being considerably behind their rivals in deepening ties with those above them. Not something many will risk, especially not now that our armies have proven they will not be stopped so easily. This will also considerably undermine the morale of Sunrise's nobility, who will have to compare it with their own plan for victory, which is now a fantasy at best, madness at worst, at very little cost to ourselves. And their nobility is their entire command structure."

The king stopped, and turned back towards the mirror.

"I believe it is, indeed, worth getting the tiniest bit ahead of ourselves, don't you?"

The noble nodded, and the king smiled.

"Good. Now, as I was saying, your grace, I was made aware you had a proposal on the matter of partition?"

"Yes. I have." The archduchess reluctantly let go of her wife as she got up, summoning a hologram before everyone with a simple gesture. One prepared in advance with Alexandra and programmed in, but still. She was rediscovering her ease with technology, and part of her Erisian heritage. "Our proposal is simple. To split the kingdom into two Archduchies, Asaria and Rebirth. Asaria would inherit from its old territories, plus the duchies of Molro and Sunrise." The Queen grunted, but the King didn't react. It was a significant concession, at least from their point of view. Sunrise was the jewel of the kingdom, richer than even the capital by some metrics, and far outshining it in industrial capacity. As far as anyone was concerned, it was the prize to take, and the King had no doubt been terrified Allya would claim it by right of conquest. "While Rebirth would keep its current territories, and gain Kaidan and Lorenz."

"Thus dividing the kingdom in half."

"Yes. I have little interest in lands north. Very little, in fact."

"Are you thinking of expanding south?" Said the Queen, and Allya shook her head.

"No. I intend to rebuild Kaidan, and Lorenz. Once that is done, life will have begun jutting out from Rebirth in earnest, and it will take decades to fully colonize and develop all that is between Erakis and Darthar. When we get to that point...who knows? I doubt there will be need for further expansion."

It was a bald faced lie. Alexandra and Allya both knew this wouldn't stop there. But they also knew that they couldn't tell that to their allies either. So they put forth a reasonable proposal that, for that matter, they would have been delighted in implementing, were they not so sure the world would implode far before then.

"Very well." Said the King. "And what of the Western Baronies?"

"They are very loyal to the crown. I doubt they would appreciate me taking over. But I would like to have...passage through them."

The King smiled mirthlessly.

"Tivaro."

"Exactly. I may not wish for lands up north, but once the inevitable happens, Tivaro will have become the hub that was used for the launch of a dungeon invasion fleet into the Kingdom."

"And you intend to neutralize it."

"I do. Or rather, I intend to make sure the Saphire Kingdom stands aside."

Everyone turned towards Alexandra in expectation, and the dungeon core smiled.

"At that point, I will do what is necessary to knock some sense into my fellow."

"And if it proves impossible?"

"Then Mytaran of the Glacial Palace will find herself a permanent guest under...house arrest." Which would pretty much arrest any further dungeon growth. It would be interesting to see which way the people of Tivaro would jump. Against her, who had stifled their dungeon core, or that idiot, who had brought down the wrath of the most dangerous person on the continent down on them?

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The King let out the breath he had been holding.

"I suppose that is the best that can be hoped for. Very well then, but I can already tell you, the Saphire Kingdom will not acquiesce."

"That's too bad. I suppose we shall have to convince them."

Both of their majesties shivered as they saw the flicker of coldness in the dungeon core's eyes, and Alexandra smiled internally. Perhaps there was something to Machiavelli after all. Feared and loved indeed...

"We have been speaking of our army's status." Said Allya, breaking the silence. "But I am curious of the status of your forces, your majesties."

The Queen sighed.

"We are in no situation to assist, I'm afraid. The enemy outside the walls still outnumbers us, and our forces are...gravely diminished in any case. Even Grant's forces have been almost shattered by the siege."

"Grant the Giant still lives? There had been...rumors."

"We did not quell them outside of the capital, in the hope that it would goad the enemy into overconfidence. Which it might have. A great deal many factors have to have gone into the duchess' decision after all. He lives still, though he has been wounded, defending the final layer of walls protecting the inner city." The Queen grimaced. "He has more than earned his paycheck, him and his men. What remains of them anyway."

"Let us hope they'll be able to collect it then. So you will not be able to break out?"

"Even if we had the numbers, our troops are too exhausted and worn down. Even our equipment is falling apart. Without the pressure of the siege, there's a fair chance most of our units would fall apart as they are."

Allya nodded.

"I see. Most unfortunate. The city liberating itself would have been a catastrophic blow to Sunrise for the battles to come, even if their duchess was still in the field."

"Unless you can figure out to teleport your army past the duchess, I doubt that will come to be, I'm afraid."

"Someday, perhaps." The archduchess smiled at their expressions. "Alright then. If we have a plan of action, time to get our subordinates to put it into motion." Something which now actually applied to Alexandra as well, which was weird, to say the least. Everyone was used to dungeon cores acting more or less alone, and she wondered how many suspected the extent of the support structure the Earth-born had been busy building around herself. One she was keen on expanding too. "Let's send those bastards back to hell!"

*****

Rook looked grimly at the bodies strewn about him.

"My lord...are you alright?" Said one of the mages he had been protecting, and he nodded.

"I am. But we will need to change to another location, for the ritual's preparations."

"I don't know how they found us my lord, we took every precaution-"

"I know you did." The archon knelt by one of the bodies, cleanly cut in half by his sword, Falling Sun. It was only a short search before he pulled out a medallion, emblazoned with an aurora and a chain. "But the duchess is no one's fool, and her slave hunters are good. Very good." The leader of New Raleigh sat up again, and gazed at the clearing, now a slaughterhouse. "They will return. It is imperative that they find nothing when they do. Am I understood?"

"Yes my lord!"

The archon watched as the mage scampered off, rallying his fellows and directing them to the various crates of equipment. Luckily, they had not begun using the ingredients, but the ritual would be delayed nonetheless.

At least the other ritual sites were still undisturbed. They would finish on schedule. He had picked the most dangerous one for himself of course, while the rest of the Seven took the safer sites. They're protested, of course, Wonsnot especially vehemently, but they all knew there would be no changing his mind.

So, another delay...and every second lost would have to be bought with blood. The blood of slaves, and the blood of the soldiers valiantly fighting Sunrise and its legions.

There was some rustling in the woods, and the archon calmly watched as one of his agents flowed out of the shadows, almost seeming to gaining substance the further they went into the light.

"My lord." Said the agent, as she bowed.

"Porai." Answered the archon with a slightly chiding tone, and the agent smiled as he said her name.

"Rook." She corrected, and he nodded. "I bring news. I was forced to delay my arrival because..." She glanced at the slaughter, and shrugged.

"Of course. Report."

"The other ritual sites are untouched, but you already knew that." He nodded. Any other site being hit...would have warranted using his communication crystal immediately, no matter the risks of someone tapping into it. Just like he had reported the attack here to the others. "Our agents are in place for what is to follow, though some areas are a bit...thin."

"There are only so many we can spare." Rook closed his eyes. "Like it or not, we must focus on the areas where they will do the most good."

Porai nodded.

"Of course. There have also been...troubling reports of guerillas, perpetrating horrific attacks, many of them suicidal, onto Sunrise's forces. The response has been equally brutal, and ever escalating." She cleared her throat. "There have been some rumors that the Brigadier in charge of the southern army has been killed."

"Crap." Rook opened his eyes. "I was afraid of that." He grimaced. "If the Brigadier was killed, then he was resurrected. But without him to leash his officers in..."

"Should we...intervene?"

"We are stretched too thin as it is. But...but we can try to avoid things getting out of hand. Take a team, and deliver a medical package. Get that Brigadier back on his feet."

The agent's eyes widened.

"But, my lord-"

"I know! I know. He's a slaver bastard that deserve to be put on a pillar of torment. But he's also keeping the worst of his army in line. If he's out of action for too long..." Rook sighed. "It is better to get him back on his feet ASAP. Besides which, we'll get him once we are finished."

"Yes my lord. As you say."

The archon glanced at the agent, and sighed once more.

"It goes against the grain. Just like helping the crown here. After all, the Asarian royal family has always had links to slavery. Only Sunrise's dominance has pushed them against it, to try and curb their power, and thus preserve their own. But we live in the real world. Sometimes, hard decisions have to be made."

"Yes my lord."

He saw comprehension in her eyes, and finally nodded.

"Now go. There is no time to lose."

The agent answered his nod in kind, and vanished back into the shadows, as the archon turned back to the bodies all around him.

He'd done a slave uprising on such a scale, once. And he had brought down an Empire. Bathed an entire continent in blood.

And he would do anything to never cause it again. If it meant saving one of his foes, to limit the damage his subordinates would cause if they were left to their own devices, then so be it.

Most of his people would understand. Hopefully. Besides which...justice would come soon enough for the Brigadier regardless. Him and all his ilk. There was comfort in that.

It would be cold comfort for those who would die at their hands however. But he would make sure that this would never come to be again.

Ever.