Trash Prince and Ice Queen 10th Re - Life

The next day, on the peak of one of the hills surrounding the city of Tramund—the very hill where the Ateras Kingdom forces had established their camp—King Leonard sat alone behind a large desk inside the command tent. Before long, a soldier entered and knelt before him.

"Reporting, Your Majesty. They have arrived," the soldier said.

"Send them in," Leonard replied.

"Understood, Your Majesty," the soldier answered.

The soldier hurried out and returned shortly after with Ard, Varvir, Vahn, Cain, and Tatiana. Then, from the eastern side, another soldier entered alongside a high-ranking commander of the royal forces and Eledar. Eledar had brought Rosalind along, who kept her head down, her face pale and her mind clearly elsewhere, despite her status as a future royal knight commander.

As soon as he saw Cain step inside, Leonard immediately stood up and approached him with open arms. When Cain moved to kneel, Leonard quickly stopped him and kept him standing.

"Welcome back, Cain. I have been waiting for your return for a long time," Leonard said.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. I am glad to see you are in good health," Cain replied with a smile and a bow.

"I am glad you are healthy as well. Let us sit," Leonard replied, gesturing for Cain and the others to join him.

Once everyone was seated, Cain introduced Ard, Vahn, Varvir, and Tatiana—who was wearing a helmet since she was a mermaid. Then Eledar, who already knew Leonard, introduced a commander named Julius and Rosalind. Without delay, they got straight to the heart of the meeting: how to attack Tramund, drive out the occupying Orthus Imperial forces, and seize the harbor without unnecessary bloodshed. Leonard listened intently, his eyes fixed on Ard, who sat across from him explaining the plan.

"You... are Arden Larson Fredonia? The third prince of the Fredonia Kingdom?" Leonard asked, interrupting the meeting.

"That is correct, Your Majesty," Ard replied, meeting the King’s gaze and pausing his explanation.

"Is your hair color natural?" Leonard asked.

"It is, Your Majesty. I was born with black hair in the Fredonia royal family, where everyone is supposed to have red hair," Ard answered.

"Forgive me... but may I see your sword? I only want to confirm if you are the one my kingdom has been waiting for since a thousand years ago. I received a report from Cain that you wield Exgrandal as your blade," Leonard said firmly.

Without hesitation, Ard pulled Exgrandal from his dimensional storage and presented it by laying it on the table directly in front of Leonard. Seeing the weapon, Leonard’s eyes widened. The Exgrandal before him wasn’t the black blade wielded by Azroth; instead, it was the gray Exgrandal from three thousand years ago, the one once held by Ashton.

Leonard’s expression shifted instantly. He leaned back in his chair, a look of inexplicable relief washing over his face. He then turned to Cain.

"And the Princess of the Orthus Empire... Evangeline Juliana Orthus also has silver hair and wields Exelion as her weapon?" Leonard asked.

"That is correct, Your Majesty," Cain said, glancing over at Ard.

"She is currently on the southern continent, preparing to conquer the Durnhill Kingdom—the empire’s sole supporter and the third largest kingdom in the world," Ard added.

Leonard fell silent for a moment, deep in thought, but this time a faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth behind his beard. Then, "Wahahahahaha!" Leonard suddenly burst into a loud laugh, leaving everyone in the room confused—even Rosalind lifted her head to stare at him. Once his laughter subsided, Leonard looked at Ard with a completely transformed expression and a wide grin.

"For a thousand years, this kingdom has guarded the gates of hell that imprison Malekh... the prophecy has been fulfilled, and the time has finally come for my kingdom to be freed from this sacred duty. Welcome back, Ashton, the hero from three thousand years ago, and Demon King Azroth from a thousand years ago," Leonard said, bowing his head in respect.

"That is true, Your Majesty, but let me explain first. Before we face Malekh, who is trapped and immobile behind the gates, we must first destroy the source of our problems: the Orthus Empire and the goddess Ophelia who stands behind it. So, I ask for your patience," Ard said.

"Rest assured, Prince Ard. I fully understand your goal. In the future, the Ateras Kingdom will gladly form an alliance... or even merge and become part of the Liberta World Empire that you and Princess Eva will establish," Leonard said cheerfully.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Now, shall we continue our meeting regarding the attack and the takeover of the city of Tramund?" Ard asked.

"Please, Prince Ard," Leonard replied, gesturing for Ard to continue his explanation.

Their attention returned to the map. Since Tramund had three gates—south as seen from the Ateras Kingdom, east, and west—Ard proposed attacking all three simultaneously. The Rellios Kingdom forces would attack from the east and destroy the fortress walls, the Ateras Kingdom forces would strike from the front or south to concentrate their main strength, and Ard himself would lead the demon army from the west.

"Hmm, it’s a good idea, but there is one thing we must account for... the Tramund sea fortress cannot be ignored. In fact, the center of the imperial naval fleet is located there. Even if they lose within the city, they could strike back and destroy the city along with our forces using their naval fleet," Leonard noted.

"That is true, Your Majesty. That is why Tatiana will lead 5,000 merman troops to seize the fortress, and Vahn will lead 10 galleons to launch a surprise attack on the fleet. We plan to take control of that sea fortress first before launching the assault on the city. As for reinforcements from the central continent, there is no need to worry; the 5,000 merman troops will be in the water to cut off their reinforcement routes at sea," Ard replied, pointing to the map where the sea fortress sat and the strait leading to the central continent.

"Ah... I see how it is," Eledar muttered, studying the map.

"That’s right, Your Majesty. Oh, but excuse me—Ard meant eleven galleons, not ten. My ship is coming along too, and it will be leading the others. We’re setting out tonight with Tatiana to hit them with a surprise attack," Vahn added.

"It’s true, Your Majesty. We mermen are ready to help take that fortress," Tatiana chimed in.

"It seems you’ve already planned everything out. I am truly grateful to all of you. In that case, I’ll get my troops organized and ready immediately," Leonard said.

"Very well, Your Majesty. We attack tomorrow," Ard replied.

"I understand. Let us fight for world peace, Prince Ard," Leonard said, standing up and extending his hand.

"Let us fight, King Leonard," Ard said, shaking Leonard’s hand.

Ard and Leonard sat back down after their handshake. Ard turned to look at Rosalind, who was still looking down next to Eledar.

"Rosalind, you’ll be leading the demon army with me tomorrow," Ard said.

"Huh... me?" Rosalind asked.

"That’s right. You agree, don’t you, Varvir?" Ard asked Varvir beside him.

"I couldn’t agree more, Your Majesty," Varvir answered with a smile.

"Good. This is your big chance, Rosalind," Eledar said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"But... what about Princess Beatrice and Princess Adeline?" Rosalind asked.

"Don’t worry. They’re currently with the forces from the Fredonia Kingdom. Isn’t that right, Elder Eledar?" Ard asked.

"Exactly right, Prince Ard," Eledar replied with a smile.

"Huh?" Rosalind looked confused; she hadn’t seen either of them all night, having spent the entire time holed up in her tent brooding over her life.

***

Meanwhile, in the tent of the dwarf and giant forces on the southern continent, right before the capital of the Durnhill Kingdom, a dwarf soldier entered to find Eva, Milia, Mirea, Geoffrey, Elmer, Thorena, and Grethia in the middle of a meeting.

"Reporting, Your Majesties. The leaders of the Fredonia Kingdom forces and the vampires are here to see you all," the soldier said.

"Send them in," Eva replied.

"Understood."

The soldier left and returned shortly after with Alexis, Alicia, Pyria, and Dimitri. However, next to Alexis, Adeline could be seen hiding behind his legs, with Beatrice hovering behind her. Eva immediately broke into a wide grin and stood up to welcome them. Alicia, Pyria, Mirea, and Milia all shared a group hug, then Alicia and Pyria embraced Eva as well. After that, Eva greeted Prince Alexis and introduced Geoffrey as the Prince of Durnhill. She also spoke with Dimitri and introduced him to Elmer, Grethia, and Thorena.

Meanwhile, Beatrice and Adeline stood silently at the edge of the tent.

"Let’s just get out of here, quietly," Beatrice whispered.

"Yeah... let’s go," Adeline whispered back.

The two of them turned and started sneaking toward the tent flap, but suddenly—"clap"—two hands landed on their shoulders from behind. They both jumped in shock.

"Where do you think you’re going?" Eva asked in a calm voice.

They turned around and instantly went pale at the sight of Eva’s face. She was smiling, but it was a smile so cold it could freeze the air around them. Adeline glanced toward Alexis, who was standing next to Eva with a wide grin of his own.

"Um... Brother?" Adeline asked tentatively.

"Go right ahead, Eva. Give them the punishment they deserve," Alexis said, his smile broadening.

"You got it, Brother Alexis. Leave them to me," Eva replied with a chilling smile, her eyes sharp as she stared them down.

"Huh," Beatrice and Adeline’s faces went instantly pale. They grabbed each other’s hands, realizing that this time, no one was coming to their rescue.