Elsewhere, in the Land of the Divine Remains.
"Have you heard? The royal capital was destroyed in a great fire—even the Great King died in the flames!"
"More than that! Not only did the Great King die, I heard even the Wang family's inherited treasure was lost."
"Yes, I heard that too. And because the inherited treasure was gone, the royal house had already lost its status and was jointly overthrown by many ministers and nobles!"
Ten days had passed since the Barbarians invaded the royal city, and all manner of news had spread across the land. Some was true, some false, and much of it was sensational beyond belief.
At times like this in the past, the clerks responsible for maintaining order in the city would surely have come out to rebuke such talk. But now, even the nobles and officials did not know the precise situation in the royal capital. With no certainty in their hearts, how could they spare any thought for the discussions of city folk and field folk?
Moreover, in Great Fall's era, transportation was poor and news traveled slowly. Not long after word of the Barbarians' movements arrived, news came that the royal capital had been destroyed. Then came all manner of rumors, true and false, real and illusory, rising and falling against one another, so many chose simply to wait and watch.
The feudal lords in the surrounding regions were even more tightly wound. They dispatched their own spies, seeking to discover the royal capital's true circumstances. In truth, the destruction of a royal capital was not rare in history. Even Great Fall had experienced two such events before, and one Great Fall King had chosen to move the capital—to the site of the present royal capital.
Yet in those instances, the