The Sixty-Ninth Act: The Timing of the Holy War II

In Vonder, Rest Day marked the dividing line of each year, signifying the approach of its end. After this day, commoners and nobles alike gradually reduced their outdoor activities, whether for work or personal travel. It was as if all the year's bustle fell silent during this month. People began holding all kinds of celebrations and banquets to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new one. From Ten-Armed City in the far north to Silman and the Fir Castle region on the southern border of the Kingdom of Eluin, every household began preparing and praying for the coming year, praying that the gods would bless it with calm seas, peaceful skies, and smooth sailing in all things.

Yet ever since the insignificant clash that had erupted on the border between the Kingdom of Eluin and the Cruz Empire at the end of the Year of the Sword, a farce had officially begun at the southern border of the Cruz Empire and was playing out from south to north, shattering the peace that should have prevailed in years past. From the Month of Frostfall onward, people seemed to have gradually grown accustomed to one sensational report after another arriving from the south. First came news that the Eluin people had seized an imperial fortress and that a count from Eluin had attempted to challenge the Empire's dignity. Yet in the rumors that followed, this count had become the one in the right. His actions at Black Sword Bastion had merely been retaliation against certain arrogant nobles. In those days, the pride of the Cruzian people had not yet fallen so low that they needed to flaunt their superiority over a small country. Instead, the magnanimity of a great power made the Empire's citizens place greater importance on moral