Ch.67Rupture

“We need to teach them a lesson right now!”

BANG!

In the conference room of the Fahrenheit Palace, a meeting was being held to counter the trade embargo.

Among the gathered officials, the standard-bearer of Grand Duke Marcus, representing the military might of the nation, slammed his fist on the table, urging immediate military action.

Although his skill level wasn’t that of a Sword Master, he was a martial artist of similar caliber to Ignatz—an Expert-class martial artist. When he raised his voice in anger, the officials in the conference room immediately shrank back.

“We gave them two pieces of the Earth Core, and they repay us with a trade embargo? Where in the world is there such ingratitude? What has Fahrenheit done to Amurtat to deserve such hostility? They’re a city with less than a million people! If we send in one Sword Master with some troops, we could finish this quickly!”

He emphasized the favors Fahrenheit had bestowed upon Amurtat and insisted on punishing Amurtat for repaying kindness with enmity. Not a small number of officials were nodding in agreement with his thoughts.

“Standard-bearer. Please calm yourself.”

However, the leader of those who disagreed with his opinion was Marcus’s advisor.

The man with an impressive, well-groomed beard calmed the fuming standard-bearer and continued speaking.

“While a Sword Master is indeed a powerful force, they are still just one person who cannot fight an entire army alone. Moreover, Amurtat has its own army and city walls. No matter how well an aura can cut through solid rock, one cannot deflect all rocks and arrows while facing numerous troops.”

“That may be true… but we can’t just leave Amurtat like this!”

“That’s the best we can do for now. We made a diplomatic error. We shouldn’t have used a Sword Master as a substitute for a diplomat…”

“Even if we made a diplomatic error, does that justify such a venomous response?”

“Amurtat isn’t the only one harboring resentment over these 300 years. Hasn’t the issue of our citizens’ conduct abroad come up frequently in our meetings?”

There was a recognition within Fahrenheit that they might be doing something wrong.

However, it was practically impossible for a nation to interfere with the individual conscience of its citizens, and since most issues were resolved with a simple warning to the citizens, they had been handling matters ambiguously until now.

“If only one country had issued a trade embargo, we could ignore it. If ten countries had united, we could send troops to display our might. If twenty countries had united, we could sow discord among them. But thirty countries… all of Fahrenheit’s neighboring countries turning their backs on us is unprecedented! This isn’t something to be resolved with military force!”

“But then what is the army for? Isn’t the military meant to fight against external threats?”

“If we raise arms against a trade embargo, Fahrenheit will be branded as an invader in the annals of history for a thousand years! Besides, winter is approaching, and you know how many hands are needed for the harvest season. Isn’t that right?”

“Ugh…”

Fahrenheit critically lacked justification. If they were to wage war against such a mild trade embargo—one that didn’t completely block trade but merely restricted it to individual-level transactions—they would be condemned not by thirty countries but by three hundred.

For Fahrenheit, which depended on the flow of people, they were in what one might call a “checkmate.”

“And what about the route? The roads aren’t even safe. Even if we send 10,000 troops to each of the thirty countries, that’s 300,000 soldiers. If we send 20,000 each, that’s 600,000! Abandon the illusion that we can defeat them one by one. To do that, we’d need to move a large army first, which would surely prompt support from other countries.”

When facing enemies more numerous than oneself, defeating them one by one rather than all at once is called “divide and conquer.”

The problem, however, was that a single Earth Core could cover an area of about 50,000 km².

That’s half the size of South Korea—an enormous area. To send a large army of at least 100,000 troops to thirty countries separated by such distances or even several times that distance, and expect to remain undetected, would be a feat that would make even angels slap their cheeks in disbelief.

Amurtat, now entering its ninth winter, had already consumed two Earth Core fragments, securing a total territory of 150,000 km². They would need to send enough troops to subdue that territory, but would those soldiers work for free?

“Amurtat alone has 20,000 soldiers and the loyalty of elves. And to reach Amurtat, one must pass through the Western Forest. Elves and forests. Am I the only one who sees the obvious outcome?”

“…”

“And what about the other countries? Don’t they have troops? Don’t they have walls? They’ll have at least 10,000 standing troops, and while we’re stuck in a siege, supplies and reinforcements will arrive instantly from other countries. Unlike us, they won’t have to worry about ambushes.”

“…”

“And where will all that food and supplies come from? Even if we gather troops after the harvest, the price of comfort items like meat and alcohol…”

“Enough!”

Just as the advisor was about to crush military might with knowledge, Grand Duke Marcus, who had been quietly listening, stopped him.

The officials’ attention immediately focused on him, and Marcus, who had kept his mouth shut until now, finally spoke.

“Advisor, how long can Fahrenheit’s economy hold out?”

“If we use our reserves, we can last until next year.”

“And if we don’t use the reserves?”

“Then next spring… summer at the latest.”

“Just half a year’s difference…”

Marcus could only sigh.

He had never been in such a crisis in the past 300 years.

He thought he had lived without making many enemies, but he never expected to receive such harsh treatment from those to whom he had shown kindness.

He couldn’t understand why sending a Sword Master as a diplomat was wrong, nor could he comprehend how neighboring countries could turn their backs so easily—as if flipping an egg—just because someone acted a bit arrogantly.

In short, he simply lacked perspective.

Among the rulers of large nations, rather than small or medium-sized ones, Marcus’s type was surprisingly common.

Rulers who attributed their success to luck or good timing and considered it “natural” inevitably became trapped in their own cognitive framework. They tended to be hostile or indifferent to outsiders who didn’t conform to their standards.

If they had remained a small or medium-sized nation, they might have had the opportunity to reflect on their shortcomings. But by luckily becoming a major power, they lost even the chance for self-reflection. Such rulers had only two paths left:

One, to realize and repent their mistakes after suffering a great loss or making a grave error.

Two, to declare “It’s not me who’s wrong, it’s the world!” and commit suicide.

One might think no one would choose the latter, but considering the power wielded by rulers, countless monarchs have directly or indirectly brought about their own downfall due to that wretched issue of “pride.”

The biggest problem with this type was that they failed to recognize that others’ pride was as precious as their own, seeing only the wounds to their own pride.

“For the past decade, I have shown great kindness to Amurtat and various small nations. I did not invade them, did not include poison clauses in contracts, and issued stern warnings to my citizens who acted rashly.”

Yes, just like Marcus.

“And yet… they dare repay such kindness with enmity? Further dialogue is meaningless! Fahrenheit will take military action!”

“Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty…”

The standard-bearer and the advisor had opposite reactions.

The standard-bearer smiled, while the advisor wore an expression of shock.

“Gather the troops! We will punish Amurtat, the source of this trade embargo!”

What he referred to as “kindness” was kindness only from his perspective. From the viewpoint of other nations, he was merely taking credit for what was utterly obvious.

Not invading other countries was neither kindness nor favor but basic common sense. Including poison clauses in contracts was the fault of lower officials who handled contracts carelessly for goods meant for their own citizens’ consumption. And giving “stern warnings” to citizens who caused diplomatic issues with arrogant behavior meant that warnings were “all” they did.

As the saying goes, “put yourself in another’s shoes.” When one loses the ability to think from another’s perspective, objective judgment becomes impossible, and this was the result.

Between acknowledging one’s mistakes and committing suicide surrounded by the barriers of pride…

Marcus chose suicide.