The news William brought had a profound impact on the conference. By the next morning, before the dew had dried, the Grand Commander of the Fanzan Knight Order had bid farewell to the representatives of the participating nations and set out north for the Fanzan Empire. If the northern defensive line fell, the entire Fanzan region would have no natural defenses in the war that followed. The worst-case scenario might force them to flee with the Cruz Empire to Saint Osore. Since that possibility was extremely high, the envoys from the Ten Cities Region and Ailanta also took their leave one after another. Everyone had to prepare for the disaster in advance.
After a large number of representatives departed, the atmosphere in Manktor grew tense, but the people drew closer together. The quarrels between different races that had occasionally been seen before had now vanished without a trace. Perhaps they no longer had the heart to argue. Perhaps the latent feeling of sharing the same fate had helped them discover more common ground. In any case, before the inevitable catastrophe arrived, the people had become strangely silent and united.
There were fewer people boasting, and more people getting things done.
People began discussing Vonder's future pragmatically. Someone pointed out that the Wilds of the Four Borders had already accepted too many refugees from Cruz, Toquenin, and the Hazel people, far beyond its carrying capacity. Many civilians lacked clothing and food, and countless people had died during the previous winter. Even more would find it difficult to survive the increasingly cold winter of this year. Even in summer, the spreading diseases claimed many lives.
Many nobles were willing to donate their wealth to support the war, but wealth had already lost its meaning at this point. The Wind Spirits could not