301. Return To Their Stations
“So... Otto City, Flask County, the Solious Headquarters, and the Malion Dukedom on the Western Coastline. These are the primary sites where the Witch has summoned dungeons using her puppets,” Ravenna read aloud, her eyes scanning the map. The members of the Humanity Defense Force were gathered once again in her study, the air thick with the weight of impending return to war.
“I have reviewed everyone’s proposals and finalized the initial troop allocations for the HDF,” Prince Landon announced, sliding a copy of the finalized request report across the table to each leader. “Funding, equipment, and personnel have been calculated at roughly twenty percent of each faction’s current total strength. These units will fall under the direct command of the HDF from this moment forward, focused solely on matters pertaining to the Witch.”
The room was silent as the leaders read through the proposal, each eventually offering a solemn nod of agreement. Prince Landon continued, “Furthermore, the headquarters for this organization must reside on neutral ground. To ensure that even once the Imperial throne is claimed, the HDF remains undisturbed, I believe basing our main operations in one of the vassal state regions is the most prudent path.”
“The most immediate concern is subduing the dungeons that have already spawned,” Prince Landon noted, his expression grim. “As soon as the promised troops and the Glass Ball Dust from Kim City are ready, we will depart to begin the cleansing operations.”
Ravenna nodded, her fingers tracing the seal on her own copy of the report. “I will have my allocated troops, funding, and equipment ready for dispatch by this evening. While our current stock of Purple Glass Ball Dust is limited, my craftsmen are scaling production. I expect a steady flow of supply by the week’s end.”
“Very well. I shall depart alongside Landon,” Princess Serena added, standing up and smoothing her gown. “Once I reach the capital, I will personally oversee the transfer of my share of troops and funding to the neutral site.”
“I will also be leaving shortly to begin the process of separating Prince William’s divisions,” Eugene added, his gaze lingering on the map of the Western Coastline.
“Then we are in full agreement,” Ravenna said with a sharp, satisfied smile.
The meeting was shorter than she had anticipated, but given the exhaustive negotiations of the previous days, the brevity felt natural. The time for talk had passed; the gears of the Humanity Defense Force were finally beginning to turn.
“Ah Alice I need to send a letter to Uncle Morgen” as everyone were leaving Ravenna asked Alice
Secret Garden, Imperial Palace, Capital City, Mainland Ancorna Empire
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The Secret Garden usually has been a place of manicured perfection, but tonight, it felt like a tomb of overgrown memories. The air was heavy with the scent of night-blooming jasmine and the sharp, sour tang of spilled wine.
Emperor Andrew Solarius sat alone on a stone bench, his imperial robes disheveled and stained. A half-empty bottle of high-proof alcohol sat on the table beside him, glinting under the pale light of the moon. The anniversary of the Empress Dahila’s passing, the day the light had truly left the palace nearing and it brought him nothing but immersive sorrow.
Frank Eldric, his right-hand man and closest confidant, had betrayed him and was now dead. His eldest son, Nolan, had perished in a futile naval campaign against his own sister. His second son, Landon, was leading a rebellion that threatened to tear the empire apart. And now, the Witch.
“Drinking alone, Andrew? That’s a habit for men who have already given up.”
Andrew didn't turn his head. He knew the voice. Duke Kevin Morgen, his brother-in-law and the only man left in the capital whose sympathy didn't feel like a transaction, stepped out from the shadows of the willow trees.
“Giving up is starting to look like a luxury, Kevin,” the Emperor rasped, his voice gravelly from the alcohol and the silent screaming of his own mind. He poured another glass with a trembling hand. “Frank is gone. The chair of the Minister of Foreign Affairs is cold. I need someone in that seat who doesn't have a dagger hidden in their sleeve.”
Duke Morgen stood tall, his eyes tracing the lines of exhaustion on the Emperor’s face. “You want me to replace Eldric? To be your shield while the world burns?”
“I want you to be more than a shield,” Emperor Andrew said, finally looking up. His eyes were bloodshot, but for a second, a flash of the old, terrifying brilliance returned to them. “I’m thinking of doing something drastic. Something that will make the rebellion and the Witch look like minor inconveniences to the court officials."
The Duke went still. He knew that tone. It was the tone Emperor Andrew used when he was about to set the board on fire.
“The Succession Law,” the Emperor whispered. “The Law of the Golden Silkworm. For centuries, we had to raise our children like parasites in a jar, forcing them to kill one another until only the strongest, most ruthless poison bug remained to lead. It was the only way to ensure the Ancorna line never grew weak under the divinity of the goddess.”
“It is the foundation of the Empire,” Duke Morgen said cautiously. “The Solious Church considers it a divine decree. To change it is to invite a holy purge.”
“The Solious Headquarters is in shambles, Kevin!” Andrew slammed his glass onto the stone table. “The Pope is dead, their cathedrals are bleeding, and the people are beginning to feel that the Church can’t protect them from the Witch’s dungeons. There will never be a better time to strike at this issue than now.”
He leaned in, the smell of wine thick on his breath. “I want to change it. I want a civil succession. A line based on merit, stability and peace, not fratricide. I look at Landon, I look at Serena,I look at William, I look at Ravenna,… and I see the monsters this succession has created. If I die now, they will burn Ancorna to the ground just to see who can stand on the tallest pile of ash just like I did and My Mother did.”
Emperor Andrew grabbed the Duke’s cloak, his voice a desperate plea. “Tell me, Kevin. As a man who knew Dahila, as a man who knows the weight of this crown… do you think I am a madman for wanting to end the cycle? To want the precious children that she cherished become something like me?”