Chapter 186 - 186: Confrontation Within the Alliance
The smell of fresh blood hung in the shipyard warehouse. General Boros slumped lifelessly against his iron chains as Iron-Scale wiped his star-iron dagger clean. Apostle Lucian gripped his unsheathed broadsword tightly.
His face flushed with righteous fury over the cold-blooded execution of a surrendered officer. A few feet away, Jason and Chloe huddled together in absolute terror. The brutal reality of mortal warfare completely shattered their lingering hopes of a peaceful rescue.
Lucian took a heavy step forward to confront the Kobold commander. A crushing, metallic pressure suddenly flooded his mind and forced him to a sudden halt.
[ Sheathe your blade, my Apostle. ] The Iron Arbiter's booming voice resonated directly through Lucian's soul. [ Yield your pride and maintain this alliance. ]
Lucian stiffened under the divine weight of his god's presence. 'They act like rabid beasts, Arbiter. They murder prisoners and mock our laws. Allowing this sets a terrifying precedent for our own soldiers.'
[ Our continent is burning, Lucian. ] The Arbiter replied with absolute, unyielding authority. [ Survival requires grim compromises. The Vanguard possesses the martial strength we desperately lack to repel the invaders. Tolerate their methods and play by their rules until our borders are entirely secure. Stand down immediately. ]
The divine pressure vanished from Lucian's mind. The Apostle ground his teeth together and slowly lowered his broadsword. The tense atmosphere in the warehouse shifted as the Second Continent guards watched their holy champion back down. Lucian slammed his blade back into its scabbard with a sharp, ringing clash.
"The Iron Arbiter decrees we must prioritize the greater war," Lucian announced grimly. He locked eyes with Iron-Scale to ensure the Kobold understood the truce was divinely mandated. "We will overlook this execution for the sake of the continued alliance."
Iron-Scale offered a brief, mock-respectful nod. He happily accepted the concession.
Envoy Cassian stepped in quickly to break the remaining tension. He gestured toward the two weeping mortals chained to the floorboards. "We will transport the surviving prisoners to the Iron Keep. The castle dungeons offer maximum security while we plan our next strategic deployment."
Iron-Scale waved his clawed hand dismissively. The Vanguard had already extracted the necessary intelligence regarding the Third Continent. The Kobold commander happily allowed the local forces to handle the logistical burden of holding the powerless humans.
Cassian signaled his heavily armored guards. They hauled Jason and Chloe up by their chains and dragged the crying pair out of the warehouse. The former Heralds stumbled blindly into the cold evening air, entirely broken and destined for a lightless cell deep beneath the Second Continent's capital.
High above the physical world, the dark void of Red's orbital sanctuary glowed with the ambient light of dozens of holographic monitors. Red sat comfortably on his throne and reviewed the logistics reports from the captured shipyards.
Suddenly, a massive communication request overrode his main display.
[ INCOMING TRANSMISSION: THE IRON ARBITER - RANK 19. SOVEREIGN OF THE SECOND CONTINENT - URGENCY: HIGH ]
The visual feed shifted to reveal the imposing digital avatar of a fellow god. The Iron Arbiter manifested as a colossus of living, deep-earth steel. Giant grinding gears served as his joints, and a roaring furnace burned brightly within his hollow metallic chest.
He gripped a colossal blacksmith's hammer in one hand and stared out from the monitor with glowing molten eyes.
[ I have personally handled my Apostle, ] the Iron Arbiter announced. [ I forcefully suppressed Lucian's insubordination, ensuring you will experience no further interference from my mortal champions regarding your Vanguard's methods. ]
[ I appreciate your swift intervention, ] Red replied smoothly, resting his chin on his knuckles. [ A fractured command structure jeopardizes the entire campaign. ]
The Iron Arbiter slammed the head of his hammer down against a digital anvil. [ The action carried a heavy logistical cost. I forced my followers to tolerate the execution of a surrendered enemy. That decree directly violated the core doctrines of honorable combat I established centuries ago. My faith resources plummeted the moment I issued the command. ]
Red leaned back in his hovering chair and let out a soft sigh.
[ Divine laws must serve primarily as adaptable tools for survival, ] Red explained casually. [ A rigid way of life becomes a fatal liability during an active war. You must keep your religious amendments minimal and strictly focused on practical victory. Absolute survival simply overrides any outdated morality on the battlefield. ]
The Iron Arbiter stared through the digital feed for a long moment while the glowing furnace in his chest flared slightly.
[ Your ruthless pragmatism is truly terrifying, Rubedo, ] the Iron Arbiter finally admitted. [ That specific mindset perfectly explains your rapid ascension to Sovereign of the Seventeenth Continent. ]
Red let out a humorless laugh. He thought back to the agonizing betrayal in the cathedral and the bottomless rage fueling his bloody rise to power.
[ You misunderstand my history, Arbiter, ] Red replied, his eyes narrowing to cold slits. [ I conquered my territory through spite. ]
[ Surely, you jest. ]
Red studied the towering digital colossus on his main monitor. The conversation had shifted, and a lingering question finally needed addressing.
[ Tell me something, Arbiter, ] Red prompted, his tone shifting to cold curiosity. [ Your rank is nineteen. Your followers are incredibly fragile, and your standing army is practically non-existent. How exactly have you managed to survive this long with such a weak military presence? ]
The Iron Arbiter lowered his colossal blacksmith's hammer with a heavy sigh.
[ Constant territorial wars and relentless border disputes decimated my armies over the last century, ] the iron colossus explained. [ The Second Continent originally spanned twice its current size. Once the invading forces reduced our landmass by fifty percent, the other local gods completely abandoned this territory. They gathered their remaining armies and fled across the oceans to find safer lands to settle, leaving me to defend the remnants alone. ]
The glowing furnace in the Arbiter's chest dimmed slightly with remembered defeat.
[ The Sovereign of the Fourth Continent aggressively devoured our borders, ] the Arbiter continued. [ He is highly ambitious. His armies also pushed westward and successfully conquered more than a third of the Third Continent's entire landmass. ]
Red absorbed the strategic intelligence with a slow nod. His dark eyes locked onto the digital projection. A massive empire stretched across multiple continents meant long supply lines and heavily divided forces. King Voranthar had scattered his precious Heralds across the globe to secure those newly acquired territories.
[ He is fighting a massive war on multiple fronts across entire oceans, ] Red noted, a chilling smile creeping across his face. [ An overextended empire always leaves its deepest veins completely exposed. King Voranthar assumes he is conquering the world. We are simply going to follow his own supply lines and bleed his stolen kingdom completely dry. ]