Time passes quietly in Romanian States's ongoing war.
As winter turns to spring, the ice and snow melt, but the heat of war on the plains does not decrease much as the temperature rises.
New Calendar 346, early February.
In Ribos's royal capital, scattered fine snow is floating in the sky.
The snowflakes were very small and melted as soon as they hit the ground, leaving only a layer of moist traces on the roofs and streets. A thin layer of frost condensed on the spiers and arched windows of the palace complex, glowing white in the dim skylight.
The atmosphere in the palace was colder than the weather.
Since the fall of Quinn Heights the year before last, Lothern Kingdom has been making great progress.
They showed the deep heritage that was once the center of Federation.
Well-trained legions, sophisticated equipment, rich war experience, and high morale. A series of victories brought the Lothern army's confidence to its peak, while Ribos was retreating steadily, losing large areas of territory and several strategic locations.
After defeat after defeat, the atmosphere in Ribos's country has become extremely solemn.
People began to panic, businessmen hoarded supplies, and civilians in some remote cities began to move inland. Above the court, the arguments between the war faction and the peace faction became increasingly fierce, but no matter how they argued, they could not change the unfavorable facts on the front line.
At this moment, in the palace meeting hall.
The king of Ribos, Anto Croan, sits on the throne like a silent iron statue.
He looks about fifty years old, but his actual age is not that, because he himself is also a Legendary Realm existence, but he is not good at fighting and lives in the palace all year round.
The king has a resolute face with clear lines, and his short dark gray hair is meticulously combed.
At this moment, he had a pair of gray eyes embedded in his deep-set eye sockets, staring at the battle report spread out on the long table in front of him.
News of the defeats in each war appeared before his eyes.
"On January 15th, the eastern defense line of Iron Valley was breached. The Third Army suffered more than half of its casualties and retreated thirty miles."
"On January 22, the Blackwater River ferry was lost and the enemy established a bridgehead."
"On January 28, the flanking raiding force was ambushed and suffered heavy losses."
"."
Looking at these messages, King Ribos showed no expression on his face, but his breathing was somewhat suppressed.
"Your Majesty," a general wearing heavy armor stood up from his seat, "Lothern is carrying the power of victory, its morale is at its peak, and its troops are almost unstoppable."
"We must make a decision."
"I suggest that you immediately issue an urgent order to the two major knights in the kingdom, asking them to abandon their original harassment plan and quickly return for reinforcements."
"We need to re-build a line of defense around Iron Valley."
"The terrain there is narrow and easy to defend but difficult to attack. It may be able to slow down the enemy's advance."
Hearing this, a hint of haze and anxiety flashed deep in Anto's eyes.
The Iron Valley defense line... once it is lost, the Lothern army will break through several subsequent defense lines and attack the royal capital without any danger.
But the general is right, this is the better choice at the moment.
"What's the news about the Sack Kingdom and Cambrook Kingdom?"
Anto did not respond directly to the general's suggestion, but instead turned to the foreign secretary.
A minister in civilian attire stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the wars in various countries have now reached a fever pitch. They currently have too much to take care of themselves and cannot allocate their troops to support us."
Anto's fingers tightened and his knuckles turned slightly white.
Among the countries, only Aura and Theo are currently free from war.
And this is because Aura has won, and the negotiations between the two countries have basically come to an end after a series of back and forth.
Theo Kingdom, probably won't raise troops to fight back again.
Lothern's win over Aura Kingdom really had a huge effect at the critical moment.
That Wilderness Kingdom, that Aura that many people secretly ridiculed as a barbarian nation, turned out to be a key chess piece that affects the outcome of the battle!
Damn, if Aura Kingdom hadn't completely contained, or even defeated, Theo's legion, then Ribos, who could get support from Theo, should be able to stabilize Lothern.
The reality is that Red Emperor is simply incredible.
He has obviously just become a Legendary Realm and his level is not high, but he cannot be treated as an ordinary Legendary Realm at all. Moreover, although the number of other Legendary Realms under his kingdom is small, they cannot be underestimated.
The trigger for the fall of Quinn Heights was the support of Aura's Fang.
"When Aura was first established, I should have tried to win over you at all costs."
"No, even before the war really broke out, there was actually a chance to win over Aura. At that time, they had just established a foothold in the wilderness and needed allies and recognition..."
Anto felt a surge of regret in his heart. This was not the first time he felt this way.
At the beginning, based on the intelligence information returned by diplomat Aaron and the mapping analysis of Red Emperor's character by our own commissioner, they could actually conclude.
As long as Ribos pays enough benefits, even if it cannot make Aura a firm ally, it can at least make it stand in a neutral position and not favor Lothern at critical moments.
But, in the final analysis, Ribos somewhat looks down on Aura, this Wilderness Kingdom.
Including the king himself, the upper-class nobles of Ribos generally felt that it was just a ragtag group of barbarians and monsters.
Dragonkin is certainly powerful, but a country composed of different monsters? It sounds like a joke.
It would be great if they could keep things internally stable. What key role can they play?
The result exceeded everyone's expectations.
When the news that Red Emperor destroyed Satellite in space first came back to Ribos, Anto felt a little regretful.
Then, there was news that Red Emperor transformed into an evil star and broke through the pass, counterattacked powerful enemies under tight siege, and showed his immortality. Anto's regret reached its peak.
However, it is too late to regret now.
Aura has firmly stood on the same front as Lothern, giving Ribos a heavy blow on the battlefield.
"Darrick."
Anto suddenly spoke and looked at the Legendary Realm standing in the corner of the hall.
It was an Transmuter wearing a dark Blue Dragon robe. He looked very young, but he might actually be over a hundred years old.
He participated in the battle that besieged Red Emperor, and was the only Ribos Legendary Realm who had seen Garos's fighting style with his own eyes.
"If you had taken action at any cost, was it possible to kill Red Emperor?"
Anto asked.
Transmuter raised his head and recalled that battle.
His eyes became complicated, and he finally shook his head slowly.
"Your Majesty, there is a high probability that I will die there, and after paying a serious price, Red Emperor will finally win with his incredible resurrection skills. It is just that the process will be more troublesome and time-consuming."
He whispered, with lingering fear.
Anto narrowed his eyes slightly and changed the question, "If we knew in advance that Red Emperor could be resurrected, and assuming that he could only be resurrected once, with your lineup at the time and fully prepared, what would be the winning rate?"
Darrick thought carefully for a few seconds.
"If Red Emperor has no other trump card, regardless of the subsequent impact of his legion, if we make careful arrangements in advance, then there is a 70% chance of encircling and killing him."
He paused and added, "But, Your Majesty, this is just a theoretical deduction."
"I suspect he has more skills that he hasn't used yet."
"The judgment of Theo's Shield, Rodrigo is very correct. Red Emperor is a dragon who seems arrogant but is actually very cautious and possesses extraordinary wisdom."
"The fact that he dared to break through alone probably meant that he had absolute confidence in his heart and had a trump card that we didn't know about."
Anto frowned slightly.
He trusts the judgment of Darrick. This Transmuter is experienced and cautious, and his assessments are often close to reality.
Because of this, the king regretted not being able to make up his mind to win over Aura Kingdom.
Finally, Anto waved his hand to stop other ministers who still wanted to speak.
"Today's meeting ends here. According to the emergency plan, all ministries will give priority to stabilizing the rear, mobilizing supplies, and strengthening the defense of the royal capital and major cities. Then, everyone should retreat."
The ministers and generals looked at each other in confusion. Some of them opened their mouths to say something, but in the end they all swallowed it back.
They stood up one after another, bowed and bowed, filed out silently, and disappeared at the end of the corridor.
In the huge conference hall, only Anto is left at this moment.
He sat on the throne, motionless, as if he had really become an iron statue.
Outside the window, fine snow was still falling, soundlessly.
After a long time, the king slowly stood up.
He walked down the throne steps and came to an ordinary wall on the inside of the meeting hall.
The walls are made of dark materials, with portraits of successive kings hanging on them. They look nothing special.
Anto stretched out his hand and pressed his fingertips on several inconspicuous wood knobs.
The third, the seventh, the second, the fifth. The order is the birthday of the first king.
A magical light flashed past, and the wall slid inward silently, revealing the deep downward stone stairs behind it.
Anto walked in, and the wall closed silently behind him.
The stairs are not long. After about thirty steps, we reach the end.
It was a small secret room. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of some kind of dark, light-absorbing metal. The surface was engraved with dense protective runes, blocking out all prophecies, prying eyes, transmissions, etc.
The interior furnishings are very simple.
There is a metal square table and two chairs of the same material. There is nothing on the table except a fist-sized dark gold crystal ball.
Anto sat down at the table and did not take any immediate action to calm down his inner emotions.
After a few seconds, he stretched out his right hand, and his palm completely covered the crystal ball.
The crystal ball shook slightly, and the light came out from inside, getting brighter and brighter.
Anto released his palm and looked at it.
The halo gradually spreads, and finally, about a foot high above the sphere, a clear light and shadow is projected, showing the outline of a person's upper body.
It was a middle-aged man wearing a dark civil service dress. The material looked to be fine silk, and there were complex emblems embroidered with silver thread on the collar and cuffs.
He has a pale face, slightly high cheekbones, and a pair of delicate monocles on the bridge of his nose.
The eyes behind the lenses are narrow and long, with calm and gentle gaze.
His background seems to be a study room, with tall bookshelves looming and the gilded titles on the spines of the books blurred.
"Anto Your Majesty."
The man in the light and shadow spoke first, his voice steady and polite.
"It seems that not long has passed since our last contact. It seems that the war situation on your front line is not optimistic, otherwise you would not activate this channel at this time."
"Winston Minister."
Anto said in a deep voice, telling the other party's identity.
A minister in charge of foreign affairs in Winston, Holden Empire, an important figure in charge of relations with neighboring countries.
Anto skipped the unnecessary pleasantries and went straight to the point. "After the fall of Quinn Heights, Lothern won consecutive battles. Now we have advanced to the periphery of Iron Valley. I need more support from the empire."
When First Civil War, Rybos Kingdom was able to gain the upper hand, largely due to the secret support of the Holden Empire.
Those secret weapons, even strategic-level weapons, are derived from the Holden Empire.
Winston Minister listened quietly without any change in expression on his face.
After Anto finished speaking, he was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.
"Anto Your Majesty, the empire expresses regret for the setbacks your country has suffered. War always has its ups and downs, and a temporary defeat does not mean the final outcome."
"However, regarding the support you requested, please forgive me. At this stage, the empire may not be able to meet it."
Anto's heart suddenly sank.
He controlled his tone, not letting his disappointment show, and asked, "Why?"
"Our original agreement was based on jointly curbing the expansion of Lothern and protecting the empire from the influence of Romanian Plains."
"Now Lothern's offensive is fierce. If Ribos's national power is greatly damaged or even... destroyed, it will no longer be possible to effectively check and balance Lothern."
"Is a Lothern Kingdom that unifies Romanian Plains in line with the interests of the empire?"
Winston Minister gently pushed the monocle on the bridge of his nose.
"Anto Your Majesty, please understand that the empire's strategic considerations are dynamic and not static."
"One of the important reasons for supporting your country in the first place was the existence of the Lothern Kingdom, Saint King."
"We can't tell whether he's dead or alive."
"Moreover, Lothern Federation was quite large at that time and had high potential."
"In the empire's risk assessment, Lothern Federation is marked as an unstable factor that needs to be contained in advance. Therefore, for you Rybos Kingdom, the empire is willing to invest resources in support to balance the balance of power on the plains."
"But," Winston changed the subject, "Now the situation has changed."
"We can already confirm that Lothern Saint-King is dead, completely dead. He has indeed transformed into Holy Spirit, but that is an irreversible transformation, which is equivalent to declaring that he will never return as a human being, let alone become Immortal Realm."
"A Legendary Realm that has no chance to achieve Immortal Realm's threat level will naturally drop significantly."
Winston continued, "As for you Romanian States Federation, you also disintegrated and fell apart in the previous war."
"Currently, no kingdom has the potential, prestige, and power to reintegrate it. This place has been downgraded several levels in the empire's overall evaluation system."
He looked at Anto, whose expression was changing in the light and shadow, and said, "Therefore, the support for your country naturally needs to be adjusted accordingly."
"The Empire will not invest too many resources in meaningless things."
"Actually, our vision is never limited to Romania."
"Atlant Continent, even the entire Bernardo Planet, and even Outer Planes, is where we really focus. There are more opportunities and more challenges there."
Hearing these words, Anto felt a burst of anger boiling in his chest, but more of it was powerlessness.
He knows that what Winston said is the truth.
For an empire of the level of Holden, Romanian Plains is indeed just a small corner.
Unless what happens here involves major interests, it will be difficult to attract the continued attention of the empire's top brass.
But he was still unwilling.
"After this war is over, if Lothern wins, they will inevitably usher in great development. Their national strength will be enhanced, their prestige will be enhanced, and they may even rebuild Federation. Isn't this a threat?"
Winston shook his head slightly.
"That is what will happen in the future, Your Majesty Anto."
"Maybe a hundred years, maybe a thousand years, maybe even longer, and the empire currently has more important things to deal with."
After speaking, the minister pondered for a few seconds.
He was making some kind of tradeoff, and finally decided to reveal some information in order to make King Ribos completely give up his fantasy and accept reality.
"Since you insist on an explanation..."
"Then I can tell you that the empire's Abyss Development Project has had some unexpected minor problems recently."
Anto frowned. "Small question?"
There was doubt in his voice.
It is unlikely to be a small problem that can make Holden Empire adjust its strategic layout.
"Yes, by the Empire's standards, it's a minor problem."
Winston's tone was still calm and he said, "In order to solve this problem and ensure that the development plan is not interfered with, a considerable number of the Legendary Realm exist and have been dispatched to Abyssal Front, so there is no time for him to take care of it now."
"The empire's current main focus is on handling the Abyss matter."
This doesn't sound like a small problem at all.
Anto felt a slight tremor in his heart.
Of course he knows Holden Empire's ambitious Abyss Development Project.
It was a rather grand project, aiming to establish a stable channel between Material Plane and Abyss, and grab endless resources and power from it to compete with the Nausir Elven Empire.
The empire invested massive resources, top experts and countless manpower in this effort.
If something goes wrong there...
Ribos King suddenly felt a palpitation in his heart and did not dare to think about it further.
Abyss is one of the most dangerous and chaotic places in Multiverse, connected to countless planes, filled with Demon, Devil and all kinds of indescribable horrors.
Once the Abyss channel gets out of control, the consequences will be disastrous.
However, Holden Empire is so powerful, it should be able to solve the problem... Anto thought to himself.
On the other side, Winston made a summary.
"So, that's the situation."
"Time may bring new variables, maybe Lothern will make mistakes after victory, maybe there will be a new balance of power on the plains, but at least in the foreseeable future, at least until the empire completely solves the problem of Abyss, please don't have too much expectations for the empire's support."
His words were polite but clear in meaning.
--Ribos You can only rely on yourself.
Anto was silent.
After a long time, the voice of Winston sounded again, breaking the silence.
"May you and your kingdom be able to overcome the current difficulties."
He nodded slightly, and the light and shadow began to blur, "Your Majesty Anto, please take care of yourself. The empire looks forward to seeing a tough Ribos continue to exist on the plains as an important part of regional stability."
As soon as the words fell, the light and shadow completely disappeared.
Inside the secret room, there was deathly silence.
Anto sat alone on the cold metal chair and did not get up immediately.
He stared at the crystal ball with empty eyes.
"Tough Ribos..."
He repeated the last sentence of Winston in a low voice, showing a bitter smile.
What the other party meant was actually quite obvious.
I hope that Ribos will continue to fight Lothern until the last soldier, and consume Lothern's power to the maximum extent.
In this way, no matter who wins in the end, the victor will be severely weakened and unable to pose a threat to the empire.
As for whether Ribos will be destroyed because of this?
That is not within the empire's consideration.
There is not much difference to the empire between a destroyed Ribos and a weak but existing Ribos.
Anyway, it's not a threat.
But Anto felt deeply tired.
It's not physical fatigue, it's mental fatigue.
This war was fought twice, draining the kingdom's financial resources, sacrificing the lives of countless soldiers, and turning much of the land into scorched earth.
But in front of him, he saw no hope of victory.
He no longer wants to waste the lives of Ribos people in vain.
Not out of mercy, but because reason told him that continuing to fight would not have any good results except draining the kingdom of its last drop of blood.
"Failure cannot be changed..."
"In this case, let's swallow this bitter pill first, try to preserve our strength and wait for the future."
Ribos King sighed and decided to negotiate peace.
Proposing peace talks now will undoubtedly cost a huge price, but it is better than asking for peace talks when Lothern attacks the royal capital and approaches the city.
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