Ch.315Chapter 315. Red-Eyed Dragon of the South (5)

Hesna looked at Terra’s shocked expression and laughed again.

A seductive laugh, but by no means light enough to be considered a joke.

“A law saying not to take Serpina’s hand… I really don’t know where such a thing exists.”

“My lord. Have you forgotten that your… no, the lords’ cause was originally ‘we cannot stand with the corrupt Einhart Imperial Family’? Have you not seen what the Brans army suffered after breaking that implicit rule and joining hands with them?”

“I’ll be honest. I just think Lynn had bad luck.”

“Pardon…?”

“She happened to be in the central continent. Plus, she received twice the criticism for hastily joining hands when Aeshus was still intact. And they were directly crossing blades with Serpina. But we’re different. The four southern nations have been able to spend a frighteningly peaceful time without a single war despite this complicated situation. So relatively speaking, the southern territory’s people have less hatred toward Serpina. Time tends to cover everything.”

“Even so…”

“Well, what do you think is another reason we’ve been able to spend peaceful times?”

“Is it not because we’re separated from the central continent, which is the origin of the continent, and the north where the capital is located?”

“By that logic, it doesn’t explain why the Brans army didn’t come down here when they were conquering the central continent.”

“Well, I suppose we were a lower priority.”

“Then why do you think we were a lower priority?”

“…!!”

Only after this exchange did Terra seem to realize something, slowly nodding.

“Because there’s not much to gain by invading us… is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes. The south is just an unremarkable countryside.”

Her words, coming from someone of southern origin, were accurate.

The reason the southern continent was safe? Certainly, the peace wasn’t built on just one or two reasons.

First, to get from the central continent to the south, one had to cross rugged mountains and a massive river. Either obstacle alone would create various problems for an advance, but in this case, both obstacles were present.

While individual movement wasn’t impossible—after all, they had been one country before the division—securing stable supply routes and moving large armies was an entirely different matter.

Additionally, there wasn’t much to gain from such a difficult invasion.

There were few fertile plains where crops grew well. No iron or gold mines, and no major cities that needed to be secured.

From the imperial era, the only major city in the southern continent was Mertian Castle, the capital of Hesna.

A remote, peripheral region farthest from Einhart Castle. A neglected territory that would only rebel if ignored.

That was the southern region during the imperial era.

“So let’s be cold about this. Yes, everyone did step up with the pretext of stopping Serpina. I don’t think anyone established their country with any other justification, right? She was conveniently the perfect villain. But can we really defeat Serpina’s army now? No, even with her weakened state, do you think we could win in an all-out war against the Brans army? Let’s be even more honest. Assuming the rebel lady has devoured the Rolland army—”

—do you think we could defeat the Lunarian army?

“…”

“I don’t want your loyal answer, I want your honest feelings.”

“Because of my loyalty, I will speak frankly. We cannot win.”

“Right?”

“I’m not suggesting the Rolland army is superior to ours. It’s just… if you consider why a ‘balance’ was achieved, and which way the scales would naturally tip if that balance broke, it’s simple.”

Hesna shook her head at Terra’s words.

“No, Terra. That’s not entirely true.”

“Pardon…?”

“Let’s say we devoured the Ohana army. And somehow, the Rolland army successfully held off the Lunarian army. Could we then defeat the Lunarian army?”

“With that difference in national power, wouldn’t we be able to win?”

“That’s not necessarily true.”

“Pardon…?”

“Think about it. When the Lunarian army first rose at Tefel Castle, what do you think was the difference in national power compared to the Karelia army?”

“…!”

“It must have been at least three times greater, right? But that lady crushed even that scale of national power difference and took Karelia’s head. Can you be certain she couldn’t defeat our army, which has a smaller difference?”

“What do you want to do, my lord?”

Hesna nodded with a serious expression, resting her chin on her hand.

“Hmm… this is probably the first time I’m telling even you, Terra. It’s a plan I’ve been thinking about alone.”

Then, slowly rising from her seat and walking forward—

“Whether it’s Serpina or Lynn—I plan to propose an alliance. Not just an alliance, but I’ll offer to invest all of Hesna’s financial resources and troops to help conquer the central continent.”

“Then our army…?”

“Just helping to organize the southern continent? That would be enough.”

“What do you plan to do after that? If only our Hesna army and the unified northern and central state remain on the continent?”

Hearing those words, Hesna smiled and said:

“I plan to surrender.”

“…Pardon?”

“More precisely, rather than surrender, I plan to propose becoming a vassal state from the beginning. Receiving a suitable title, becoming a duchy under the new unified empire would be perfect.”

Terra finally understood her ruler’s true intentions and said:

“So you mean…!”

“Yes. In all these alliance relationships, I only demand one thing.”

“Autonomy for the south.”

“On the condition of gaining autonomy for the southern continent—whether it’s Lynn or Serpina, I’m willing to become the new emperor’s dog.”

“…So that’s why you argued it doesn’t matter if we join hands with Serpina.”

“Right. If Aeshus was still functioning properly as a nation, it might be different, but now it’s just an empty shell. At this point, it might be possible for Serpina to unify the continent—no, it would be wise to consider Serpina as having the highest possibility of unifying the continent.”

The two greatest pillars preventing Serpina from running wild—the Brans army and the Aeshus army.

Both nations had collapsed in their own ways. The Brans army had barely managed to survive, but the Aeshus army was essentially a living corpse, a situation where nothing could be expected from them anymore.

No matter how many times she thought about it, Hesna could only reach the same conclusion.

The probability of Serpina’s army unifying the continent exceeded 70 percent.

“There’s no reason one must become the ruler of a unified nation, right? It’s wise to choose the most realistic option from our position. Don’t you agree?”

“…Well, since I decided to serve you, I will support whatever decision you make. However, I do have something to say.”

“Go ahead.”

“If that’s truly what you think, I believe it would be better to avoid Serpina’s army.”

“Why? I honestly prefer joining hands with Serpina over Brans. She has a much higher chance of success.”

“That’s precisely the point, my lord. The fact that an alliance with Serpina’s army seems attractive from our position means, conversely, that an alliance with our army might not seem particularly attractive from Serpina’s perspective, doesn’t it?”

“So you’re saying our proposal wouldn’t be attractive to Serpina, and it would be an unnecessary agreement she doesn’t need to make?”

“I didn’t go that far, but seeing how you put it, it seems you’ve been thinking along those lines as well.”

Hesna nodded as if conceding defeat.

“That’s true. Honestly, if I were Serpina, I’d probably think ‘what nonsense is this’ and just push straight into the southern continent. I don’t think someone descended from the Einhart Imperial bloodline would allow vassalization anyway.”

“But it’s alright, my lord. There’s still one place left, isn’t there?”

“…!”

At Terra’s words, Hesna’s eyes lit up.

The only nation they could join hands with in this situation. That is—

* * *

Anel Castle, the capital of the Brans army.

There, several armed officers were kneeling before Lynn.

“So, you want to work under us again?”

“Yes.”

“Despite our shamelessness, please allow us one more chance to work for the Brans family.”

After the successful integration with the Kalintz army—

The Brans army had been receiving a flood of commission requests over the past few days.

Most of them were commanders who had originally been with the Brans army before following Chel to independence with the Chel army.

“Interesting. You’ve really come all this way to see me. You do understand your position as traitors, right?”

“Yes. We know we deserve to have our heads cut off right here. However, if you grant us mercy just once, we will certainly repay that grace.”

“…”

Lynn twisted her head for a moment, then nodded as if bored and said:

“Fine. I’m tired of these power struggles now.”

“My lord…?”

“Alright. Anyway, you’ve chosen the Brans army again, right? I’ll show you that your choice was correct.”

—In this way, Lynn prioritized practicality over principle and accepted all the remaining officers from the former Chel army who had been traitors.

It was a deal that wasn’t bad for either Lynn, who lacked officers, or the officers who wanted revenge against Serpina.

Unlike before, by listening to her subordinates, rumors were spreading that “Lynn Brans has changed into a different person.”

‘I don’t care what others think of me. What matters is the revival of the Brans army. Even if we fall, I won’t let all those sacrifices be meaningless…!’

With only that thought in mind as she moved forward, news from the southern continent naturally reached Lynn as well.