Trash Prince and Ice Queen 10th Re - Life

Two days passed. After receiving the intel from the Fredonia Raven forces, Eva—along with Vogir, Murmic, and Elmer—moved toward several key cities that served as the primary military bases for the Durnhill Kingdom. In just two days, four major cities in the realm fell to Eva’s forces. They surrendered without a single fight upon seeing the dwarven and giant armies entering their territory via zeppelins.

Currently, the Durnhill capital was completely surrounded by the dwarven and giant forces. The noble rulers of the four cities, who were also fed up with the King’s attitude, were willing to cooperate and agreed to appoint Geoffrey as the new King of Durnhill.

At the main camp of the dwarves, giants, and dark elves in front of the capital, Eva, Hardim, Elmer, Grethia, Geoffrey, Thorena, Mirea, and Milia held a meeting with Elder Bhadra in the primary command tent. King Murmic and Vogir remained in Whitdale to establish their kingdoms there.

"Now, only the capital remains. We have to move before Nikolai’s rebel forces enter the city," Eva said while looking at the map of the capital.

"Eva, may I ask for something?" Mirea asked.

"What is it?" Eva replied, turning to look at her.

"Well... I know this isn’t exactly appropriate at a time like this... but what if we meet with Nikolai first? I just want to let him know that we’re putting Geoffrey forward as the new King of Durnhill... I don’t want him to feel betrayed and start a rebellion later," Mirea answered haltingly.

"Hmm... you have a point, but we should do that later. We need to secure our position first," Eva said.

"Eva is right, Mirea. We all know Nikolai isn’t reckless and he’s certainly not someone you can’t talk to. I’m sure he’ll understand the situation. This isn’t just about the Durnhill Kingdom anymore... it’s a global issue. Remember our main goal," Geoffrey added.

"Sigh... you’re right, Geoffrey, I understand," Mirea said, looking down.

"Relax, Mirea... we’re all going to build a new empire together... Liberta, right Eva?" Milia asked.

"Yeah... that’s right. Our main objective has changed. We aren’t just trying to stop the war and fight Goddess Ophelia... we’re going to build a world empire that will house every living creature on this planet. You understand, don’t you, Mirea?" Eva said.

"Yeah... it’s just that, as Nikolai’s childhood friend, I felt like I should at least try. Alright... let’s move forward. Forgive me for being difficult. I want to make our new empire a reality as soon as possible... Liberta," Mirea said, her spirit returning, which made Eva smile.

"Wow... I like the sound of that... the Liberta Empire," Elmer muttered.

"This is... incredible. I’m so lucky to be a part of your struggle," Grethia added.

"Let’s make it happen. So, what now?" Hardim asked.

"Elder Bhadra, you surely know the secret path leading directly to the palace. we’ll take control of the capital starting from the palace," Eva answered, turning to look at Bhadra.

"Hmm... very well. Let’s discuss the path my tribe usually uses," Bhadra said.

"Wait, what do you mean we’ll conquer the capital starting from the palace?" Thorena asked, confused.

"Our goal in getting there before Nikolai’s rebels is to seize control from the inside. That way, the rebels won’t have a reason to revolt anymore. If we can... we’ll avoid a massive bloodbath, because our real target after this is taking down and destroying the Orthus Empire," Eva answered.

"Oh... that makes sense. Alright, I get it," Thorena said.

Afterward, Bhadra began to explain the spy routes and escape tunnels leading out from within the palace in great detail. It turned out that beneath the entire territory of the Durnhill Kingdom, there were secret passages dating back to ancient times, connecting the palace to the capital and continuing north toward the port city of Canrad—the hub of Durnhill’s fishing industry typically used to cross the sea to the central continent.

However, in the middle of his explanation, Bhadra suddenly stopped. His face turned deathly serious as he stood up straight once more. Then, he turned his gaze toward Eva, who was sitting next to Geoffrey.

"Hmm... it seems we have a guest," Bhadra remarked suddenly.

At Bhadra’s words, everyone instantly stood up and braced themselves toward the tent entrance, hands gripping their sword hilts. But then—"thud"—something was tossed onto the table from behind Eva.

"Huh... who’s there?" Eva asked, quickly drawing Exelion and spinning around with the blade leveled.

"Forgive me, my lady. I was asked to deliver a message from Prince Alexis. He and his forces are currently heading toward your camp... I was told to inform you that King Gregorius isn’t the only one; he has doubles, and his current location is unknown. That thing on the table is the head of one of those doubles," a Raven soldier stated.

"Oh... so the Raven forces were already planning to assassinate King Gregorius in secret?" Geoffrey asked.

"Exactly, Your Highness. Now, if you’ll excuse me," the Raven replied.

Without another word, the Raven vanished instantly. Everyone turned to look at the table—a sack clearly containing a head, with blood soaking through and staining the map beneath it.

"Hmm... the Fredonia Ravens... they’ve already used the secret path I was about to tell you about," Bhadra said, stroking his chin.

"Now... we’ve got a new problem. We need to find King Gregorius the moment we take the palace. We have to win over the trust of the people and the soldiers, and that’s going to be tough if Gregorius is still out there somewhere," Eva muttered.

"I understand, Princess Eva. Allow me and the dark elf forces to coordinate once more with the Fredonia Ravens to track him down—and, if necessary, take King Gregorius out quietly once he’s found," Bhadra offered.

"Hmm... alright. Get in touch with them as soon as possible. In the meantime, we’ll wait for the main Fredonia army to link up with us," Eva said.

"Understood, Princess Eva. I’ll take my leave," Bhadra replied.

Bhadra stood up and instantly vanished from his seat. Naturally, Elmer, Grethia, and Thorena gasped in surprise.

"I’m telling you, everyone on the surface can just disappear like that," Elmer remarked.

"Really... I want to be able to disappear like that too," Thorena added.

"Hmm... the surface is definitely strange... there is so much I still don’t understand at all," Grethia muttered.

"No, no... the surface is just like the underground. Drop it already. We have much more important things to discuss," said Hardim, who was already accustomed to the surface.

Finally, while waiting for the main Fredonia army and the vampire forces accompanying them, they discussed other matters, such as the process of seizing the throne, winning over the citizens, and restoring the soldiers’ loyalty. They also deliberated on how to handle the nobles allied with King Gregorius without any unnecessary bloodshed.

***

Meanwhile, at the eastern border fortress on the northern continent, the Rellios Kingdom forces—having already seized control of the fort—began their march toward the city of Tramund. Walking behind Eledar, who was accompanied by Beatrice and Adeline—both of whom seemed as enthusiastic and high-spirited as ever—Rosalind suddenly felt a chill. "Brr," she shivered, rubbing both of her arms.

"Huh... what is this... for the past two days... I feel like I’m freezing and there’s this really bad feeling... why me... I’m not even sick, how strange," Rosalind muttered, shivering to herself.

Then she thought hard and something clicked in her head. Her face instantly turned pale as the Rellios Kingdom and elf forces were about to rendezvous with the demon, merman, and bandit armies led by Ard. Ard had already sent a letter to Eledar stating he would attack the port city of Tramund—which was currently occupied by the Orthus Empire—alongside the Ateras Kingdom forces led by King Leonard, who had successfully pushed the main Orthus army all the way back to Tramund.

"Oh... right... I’m definitely going to get chewed out by Ard... that explains the chills. But... if it’s just Ard, maybe it’ll be fine... I’m just truly grateful Eva isn’t here," Rosalind muttered to herself.

Rosalind watched the two princesses, who looked incredibly relaxed, as if they didn’t have a single care for anything happening in the world around them. She clenched her jaw, watching Beatrice and Adeline act like they were just taking a stroll in the park rather than marching toward the next battlefield.

"Grr... it’s all because of these two spoiled princesses... they’re completely out of control... and idiots," Rosalind cursed to herself, glaring sharply at the two of them from behind.

"Brr," suddenly, Beatrice and Adeline, who were walking in front of Rosalind, both shivered. They immediately rubbed their arms. Eledar, noticing them, asked right away.

"What’s wrong with you two?" Eledar asked.

"I don’t know... I just suddenly got the chills," Beatrice answered.

"Yeah... me too," Adeline added.

Eledar glanced back and could clearly feel the aura radiating from Rosalind behind them, who obviously looked furious and was questioning in her head why she had accepted such an assignment. Eledar simply smiled and shook his head, then continued walking as if nothing was wrong.