The day before the declaration of war, Roman Dmitry was concentrating on the treatment and was looking at the two men who were still lying down like corpses.
‘Now all I can do is end it.’
It was innate energy. He used the source of his life to revive them, but his technique wasn’t able to bring the dead back, and they had to survive on their own. If they accepted death and let go, his efforts would be in vain.
Death was such a familiar word. In the process of ascending to the top, it wasn’t just the Crazy Demon who died for him.
There were so many. From the cold and dirty bottom, he stepped on the corpses of his colleagues, and he had no time to mourn their deaths because he lived a life that didn’t allow him even an inch of freedom.
Was that why?
After unifying Murim and living the same repeated life, his memories of those intense days would come back to him.
So why didn’t he look around enough? Even when people evaluated Baek Joong-hyuk as a person who truly cared about them, when he thought about it, that wasn’t really the case.
The fierceness of life always left him with regret. It might have been the reason he rejected God’s call when he had the chance to end his life.
He wanted to die as a human, like the people who followed him. And now that he had a new life, he didn’t want to have such regrets when walking the path of the Heavenly Demon.
So his efforts to cure them weren’t a big deal.
It was said that the innate energy that had been consumed would assimilate with nature and fill the exhausted amount with more energy when one reached the state of the natural realm.
But what was different from the past was that he sacrificed himself for his subordinates now. Even in front of the enemy called the Kronos Empire, he chose to take care of his subordinates first. That was his way of life.
As soon as Roman Dmitry left the room, he found people waiting for him.
“You worked hard, sir.”
Chris was in the lead, and Dmitry’s soldiers were waiting. Seeing them wait all day for Roman to come out showed how he lived his life.
“From now on, summon all the Lords in the Duchy.”
“Yes.”
The Heavenly Demon doesn’t forget his grudges. He only took care of his subordinates first, but there would be no mercy in the hands of the Heavenly Demon.
Just three hours. That was the time it took for the Lords to gather. They stopped everything they were doing the moment the order fell and showed up in Dmitry.
In the meeting room, the nobles sat first.
Regarding the topic of the coming meeting, Viscount Conrad, who once led the Northeastern Alliance, said in a low voice,
“Even if Roman Dmitry is strong, he probably won’t declare war against Kronos, right? The fort is getting scared, and the Kronos Empire is a monster that we can’t guarantee of winning against, even if all the kingdoms of the continent join forces, and the Lord we serve never once showed the signs of stepping down.”
“Right. Even if a war breaks out like this, there is no turning back.”
The ones who followed Conrad also looked worried. Then Viscount Lawrence, who heard their conversation, responded with a distorted expression.
“The Kronos Empire attacked Dmitry. This is a matter that they should be clearly held accountable for, and if there is war, I would gladly risk my life out there. Everyone should be careful with their words. Dmitry’s future is a matter that our Lord decides.”
“No, we aren’t talking about not following his words. Like Viscount Lawrence, we are all going to leap into the pits of flame if the Lord commands us. But that doesn’t change the fact that a war with Kronos is reckless. Those who keep their heads down, saying that the Lord is right at all costs, are loyal people of this nation.”
“Are you talking about me?’
“Do think how you feel! No matter what Viscount Lawrence thinks, the war against Kronos isn’t an easy matter!”
The opinions were divided into those following Lawrence and Conrad. Dmitry now had two factions.
The forces following Lawrence said that Roman was right in everything and they would jump into flames at any time without a question, while those following Conrad said they should have their doubts.
First, they hoped to choose a reasonable method. And so the two forces were bound to clash in a discussion about the war with Kronos.
But they had one thing in common, and that was their loyalty to Dmitry. It was just that the way they thought about loyalty was different, but they had no doubt about Roman Dmitry.
Last month, Roman Dmitry’s actions were a series of shocks. It was great for him to return alive despite the threat of Valhalla and Kronos, and the people were moved by the fact that he personally sat beside Kevin and Henderson’s treatment.
Just like Chris, who witnessed Roman grow. All those who followed Roman Dmitry were convinced that if they lived for him, they wouldn’t be abandoned.
The nobles were those who lost their romance. In this world where one becomes useless in a second’s span, Roman Dmitry showed loyalty to his subordinates.
Some might say it wasn’t a huge deal, but since most thought so, Roman Dmitry’s appearance was bound to stand out.
And all of them followed Roman Dmitry. Despite the differences in their thoughts and opinions, all of them arrived in just three hours.
And it was then…
“Young Master Roman Dmitry is entering the room.”
Came the voice of a servant.
And those who were discussing all showed a polite bow to him.
Roman Dmitry sat at the head of the table. In a picture that was now natural, Romn Dmitry got to the point right away.
“The Kronos Empire did something they shouldn’t have. However, I heard that not just Dmitry, but those in the International Conference have different opinions on how to handle the issue. Since Kronos’s actions are considered normal, people seem to forget how to get angry. And I’m not like them.”
The mood changed. Roman Dmitry looked at the nobles with a cold expression.
“The fact that the Kronos Empire attacked Dmitry and broke the law of the nations isn’t some small issue. They believed they could capture Dmitry with just 10,000 men and went ahead with their plan, not caring about what would happen. This is the reality of the continent. The reason they were able to act like this is because, apart from their troops, we gave them enough proof in the past to do it.”
The kingdoms of the continent. Their history had been plagued by the huge evil of the Kronos Empire, but there had never been a clear retaliation that would have alerted them.
The fights on the border were nothing. So they continuously attacked their enemy, and no one attacked them back.
It was like that, and the years of history could prove it. Now one couldn’t even remember when such bad ties began, as they were used to them.
“I will make them pay for attacking Dmitry from now on.”
“…you are really talking about war?”
Viscount Conrad asked, to which he said,
“From the moment the assassins of Kronos attacked me, the war with the empire had begun. After I dealt with the assassination guild that day, I sent them a warning to prepare to pay the price if they were going to continue with the assassination. And their answer was another attempt in the land of Valhalla and an attack on Dmitry. Viscount Conrad. Those who believed in me and followed me are now bleeding to death in this unannounced attack. You think I should step back and compromise? If they apologize, do you think we should accept a few words of apology from the strong for the sake of peace?”
“No.”
“Right. From now on, this issue isn’t important to Kronos’s intentions. We will not accept any compromises with them, and we will go to war with them until they pay for hurting us. Even if Kronos wishes for peace, I will not give them peace.”
The more he spoke, the more his will burned.
Heavenly Demon Baek Joong-hyuk. He was an existence who didn’t allow anyone to look down on him, despite living at the bottom of life.
Things changed. So far, he has been fighting back, but now he would lead the fight first.
Roman Dmitry said,
“As of now, the Dmitry Duchy will declare war against the Kronos Empire. All Lords, assemble the troops and announce a state of alert to prepare for war. Keep this in mind. This war will leave a clear example to the lands on the continent that we do not follow the past.”
A swift command fell. It was Viscount Conrad who questioned his intentions, but now that the order fell…
“We take the orders.”
“We take the orders.”
Dmitry’s orders. To them, they were absolute.
A sudden declaration of war. It was something neither Redford nor Hector had discussed. As they were waiting to meet Roman Dmitry, they couldn’t help but be surprised by his move.
‘To declare war.’
It was disconcerting. It was clearly Kronos’s responsibility this time, but considering the strength the empire held, war was a problem.
Which was why Edwin had no choice but to be confused. He had figured out a lot about Roman, but he didn’t expect him to make a decision without his consent.
‘Dmitry refused to attend the meeting. At first, I thought it was because of Roman Dmitry’s schedule, but if he had been planning this, did he not want help from the start? Is that possible? To fight the war with just Dmitry’s strength.’
In a nutshell, it was impossible. Even if Redford and Hector helped, the chances of them winning the war were less than 1%.
So on that day, Edwin Hector contacted him right away. He wanted to change the situation through the meeting with Roman Dmitry, and if the war with Kronos turned into reality, the Hector Kingdom should also be prepared.
As time passed, Kronos no longer hid their intention to conquer the continent. And there was this belief that if Roman Dmitry collapsed, then all the kingdoms would be under Kronos’s feet.
And the tower master said,
“Edwin. People, including you, don’t know the truth. The reason why the Heavenly Tower is located in the Kronos Empire isn’t to develop magic, but because only beings loyal to Kronos have a future. I am telling you this because I personally want you to be my disciple. If you plan to take revenge on Kronos, stop now.”
The mage was strong. He was a mage who had gone past the supreme stage, yet he was saying such words, looking at Edwin.
That was why he couldn’t let Roman Dmitry step into the war. When faced with unknown variables, Roman Dmitry was the only one who could overcome them.
However, during the war on the Southern Front, having personally experienced Roman Dmitry, Edwin Hector gained a strong conviction towards Roman.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t meet with Roman Dmitry. Instead, in the presence of the King of Redford and him, Count Fabius arrived on behalf of Dmitry.
“I am Count Fabius.”
“I will get straight to the point. What are the intentions of Mr. Roman Dmitry?”
It was a question of requesting the truth. And knowing that Redford and Hector were on Dmitry’s side, Count Fabius held a wry smile.
“It is as you see.”
For the declaration of war, Roman Dmitry had already taken action.
“The Lord only wants revenge with the strength of Dmitry alone. So, please attend the conference and inform the kingdoms right now. Redford and Hector will not intervene. What will happen from now on is the result of the pure union of the Cairo Kingdom and Dmitry alone.”
They were taken aback by Fabius’s words. It was something they couldn’t accept.
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