Richard had always considered himself a sinner.
For Liberl Kingdom, Richard had once committed the mistake of attempting to use Ouroboros's power to overthrow the queen by force. Yet his reason for doing so, much like President Dieter of Crossbell, had merely been to make Liberl strong—strong enough to stand on its own among the nations of the world.
On the Zemuria Continent, Liberl was nothing more than a small country. Aside from its orbment technology and the widespread use of airships, which gave Liberl a slight advantage over many other nations, it lagged far behind the other countries of the continent in almost every other respect.
Especially its dangerous neighbor, the Erebonian Empire. Under the leadership of the Ironblood Chancellor, Giliath Osborne, it had vigorously expanded its military strength, built the most powerful land army on the Zemuria Continent, forcibly annexed several autonomous states, and laid orbment railways across the entire Empire. Its ambition to swallow the world was plain for all to see.
And how could Giliath Osborne possibly not want to devour such a juicy prize as Liberl to the Empire's south? Eleven years ago, he had launched the Hundred Days War in an attempt to annex Liberl. Had it not been for Cassius Bright's efforts, Liberl might long since have become a colony of the Erebonian Empire.
But in his excessive pursuit of power, he had ultimately been wrong.
Wrong beyond all measure. Like a true war criminal, he had caused countless people to pay for an illusory scheme with their lives. And all of it had become a nightmare he could never shake for the rest of his life.
Richard arrived before Ruan Fortress.
There was not a single guard at the entrance, yet when Richard approached the gate, it opened by itself.
Startled,