Ch.323Chapter 323. Red-Eyed Dragon of the South (11)

* * *

“M-My lord… My lord…!!!!”

“Aaaargh! My lord!!!!”

The Rolland army, suddenly having lost their commander-in-chief, fell into panic.

This wasn’t just about losing a battle commander. Even that alone would have sent the soldiers’ morale plummeting, but what they had lost this time was… their absolute ruler, their sovereign.

“Strategist! H-how could this…!”

“W-wait… just wait a moment! This situation, this situation…!!”

Unfortunately, the Rolland army had no one who could respond quickly and deal with such an unexpected situation.

And while they were in disarray, trying to figure out what had just happened—quite naturally, the Lunarian army wasn’t simply standing by watching.

“Now! Go in!”

“Follow our lord!!! Earn your glory!!!”

Charlotte on the right, Francis on the left.

Led by these two young talents, the wave of the Lunarian army instantly engulfed the Rolland forces.

Luna, after finishing her duel, immediately mounted her horse and charged straight into the heart of enemy lines, wielding the Adina Sword.

“R-run away!!”

“She’s coming!! That woman… that m-monster…!!”

The Rolland soldiers were cut down like autumn leaves as the red-eyed woman, Luna, swung her sword.

The Rolland army, having enjoyed an excessively peaceful period compared to the rest of the continent, could not possibly defeat Luna, who overwhelmed them with murderous intent and superior combat prowess.

No, it wasn’t just that they couldn’t win. Simply looking into her eyes emptied their minds. And what quickly filled that empty space was—fear.

“S-save me!!”

There were few things as simple and easy as pursuing and finishing off a disorganized enemy with no proper command.

Luna shouted loudly, as if determined not to give the enemy a chance to escape.

“Follow me! We must not let even one of them return! The Rolland army still has many operational soldiers left! Everyone, don’t miss this opportunity!!!”

Waaaaaah!!!

At Luna’s call, each soldier pursued the Rolland army with all their might.

The Rolland army, having unexpectedly lost their sovereign, could do nothing in this situation.

“Hiiik…!!”

A fallen soldier looked up at the grim reaper who had come to collect his life as he sat back on the ground.

A woman with red eyes, holding a blood-soaked sword.

The woman who had severed Lord Rolland’s head with a single strike.

On the surface, she appeared to be just an ordinary woman… but her aura was so overwhelming that a mere soldier couldn’t move, couldn’t even think of running away.

What is this?

This is clearly a battle. It should be a battlefield where both sides face each other as equals with swords… but I can’t do anything, just meeting her eyes fills me with terror and I can’t even make a sound.

This isn’t a battle between humans.

It’s the helplessness and terror of being pursued by some unknown, monstrous being, with no choice but to be slaughtered!

Like—an overwhelmingly powerful creature from legend, a dragon.

Everyone on the battlefield shared this same impression.

We can’t win. Against that red-eyed, dragon-like, impossible woman… absolutely not!!!

“I, I am…!”

—Thunk

Before the soldier could finish his dying words, the Adina Sword pierced through his body.

Luna, with an expressionless face, moved her sword a few more times… carefully checking that he was definitely dead. Because that was the most efficient method.

She knew that this pursuit would soon end.

On the escape route, the Chilean mercenary corps lay in ambush. She had deployed Francis and Charlotte on the left and right to drive the enemy toward them, naturally forcing all enemies into the encirclement.

This operation, based on Ginor’s proposal with Luna’s bold ideas added, was a great success starting from the moment Luna beheaded Rolland, and as a result—

“We’ve won!!!!”

“Long live Lunarian!!!”

“Now begins the era of the Lunarian army!!!!”

Friendly forces: Lunarian army 80,000 vs Enemy forces: Rolland army 100,000.

Enemy casualties: 86,000.

And friendly casualties—13,000.

An overwhelming exchange ratio approaching 8:1!

In many ways, it was a greater victory than even the battle for Tepel Castle, which had been led by mages.

With this battle, Lunarian could clearly engrave its name across the entire southern continent.

The soldiers who barely survived the battlefield, and those who fought alongside her, created a new title to describe her—the Red-Eyed Dragon.

It was the moment of birth for the Red-Eyed Dragon of the South.

* * *

“……”

In the middle of the horrific battlefield where enemy corpses formed mountains, Luna looked at her outstretched hands.

Blood. Bright red blood covered both hands as if it would devour them.

The Adina Sword in her grip was completely painted red with blood.

What was contained in Luna’s dead eyes was not the lives of those she had killed.

She had decided to stop bearing excessive weight for others’ lives, as it was inefficient for a ruler living in chaotic times.

Since facing Karelia’s severed head with its smile, Luna had resolved to no longer hesitate to get blood on her hands.

At that moment.

“My lord!!”

In the distance, someone was approaching on horseback.

It was the female general Charlotte, who had led the vanguard with her.

“So this is where you were. Everyone is waiting. It’s a victory! Our army has won overwhelmingly!”

Charlotte said with sparkling eyes.

The first battle as a proper official nation, not as rebels in a civil war, and a victory at that.

It couldn’t help but be exciting for the young general.

“Can you hear it, my lord? Everyone is calling your name. This is just the beginning! As your uncle said, this is the moment when our Lunarian army takes its first step toward unifying the continent!”

Luna looked at Charlotte.

In her eyes, the image of the young female general purely rejoicing in victory did not register. No, it would be more accurate to say there was no place for it to register.

She merely opened her mouth with a benevolent smile, as if to soothe her.

“Charlotte. Please tell everyone that we will prepare for the next battle immediately upon our return.”

“What…? I think it would be better to give the tired soldiers time to rest after distributing rewards for merit…”

“No.”

Luna shook her head.

“We can’t keep the strategist waiting any longer.”

“Pardon…?”

“The Rolland army is just the beginning. We must unify the southern continent as quickly as possible, then deal with Lynn Brans… and face Serpina’s army.”

After saying this, Luna looked up at the sky and murmured.

“I can’t… make him wait any longer.”

I can’t make him wait.

Swen. My strategist.

She had to rescue him from being deceived and manipulated under Serpina.

Just as he had thrown himself to save her, wasn’t it now her turn to save Swen?

“I can’t let you… suffer in agony under that witch any longer…”

In her empty red eyes, which contained neither her comrades including Charlotte who had fought alongside her, nor any of the lives she had taken, there was only the white-haired man.

Only Swen filled her eyes so completely that no one else could intrude.

Everything is for you.

Getting blood on my hands, no longer hesitating to kill people—all of it, all of it is to quickly save you from Serpina.

Luna, looking at the sky, asks questions that will never reach him, over and over.

When we meet again, will you…

Like that time, like that moment when we won against the Brans army… will you hug me tightly?

If that’s possible, I… I could do even worse things.

At that moment, a terrible situation she didn’t want to think about flashed through Luna’s mind.

What if.

When they met, if Swen were to say something like “I’ve decided to serve Serpina as my lord, not you.”

Then—

“My lord…?”

Charlotte had no choice but to close her mouth that was about to speak.

Because Luna’s expression, seen from the side, was too sad and empty for a ruler who had just won a great victory in battle.

* * *

The one who succeeded Seta Rolland as sovereign was Miel, the national strategist of the Rolland army.

Rolland had neither a wife nor children to succeed him. So naturally, the highest-ranking national strategist took over, and the Rolland army became the Miel army, which was fine—

But of course, an ordinary commoner who had never thought he would become sovereign, who had only exercised his mind within the Rolland army, could not properly handle the situation.

After the interception battle, the Miel army essentially surrendered three territories near the border to the Lunarian army at an unprecedented speed.

Miel was trying his best to use his numerical advantage, but as if it were destined from the beginning, he suffered one defeat after another against the Lunarian army without achieving even a minor victory.

Before long, the new sovereign Miel died from overwork and stress, and another general who had some influence took over—

But by that point, only three territories remained, including those near the border.

By now, everyone could see that the former Rolland army was already as good as destroyed.

While the Aeshus army was finally erased from the central continent—

In the southern continent, the balance between the four nations that had seemed unbreakable was finally shattered by the Lunarian army.

Now what remained on the continent were a total of 5 nations, excluding the hollow shell of the former Rolland army.

The Serpina army, the Lunarian army, the Hesna army, the Ohana army, and the Brans army.

The era of competing lords was coming to an end.