Глава 14

You once told me that you encountered the former 'Leader' of Dublinn, and let her go.

Aye.

I met our enemy too. The Dublinn commander who killed Cello. I buried her by the walls of Londinium with my own hands.

I couldn't stop myself from hating her, but I know she's far from the only one responsible for this tragedy.

Why did our comrades, the most loyal soldiers of Victoria, die at County Hillock, while Hill and more traitors live?

Captain, we...

I know what I'm doing.

If we fire at the duke's tents now, we risk bringing down the alliance... even the dream of the Exemplars.

That's the saddest thing, isn't it?

We can't even take revenge.

Because they've put on their bloody Victorian uniforms, and once again become our 'allies'.

Captain... permission to speak freely?

Granted.

...I don' trust 'em.

Would the men who killed our friends, the ones who fired on innocent civilians, really stand with us when we charge against the Sarkaz?

Even we cannae set aside our hatred and trust our lives tae our former enemies wi'oot reservation...

Could they?

There you are.

Vina and I inspected this forward base.

The troops are disciplined, and morale is high. The dukes are taking this seriously.

They seem to have reached a united front, allowing their troops to be organized according to function rather than faction.

At least, that's what it looks like on the surface.

We saw Caster's elites standing guard near all the Wellington tents.

And at least two or three groups of Caster's men stationed further away.

A faked unity is unity nonetheless.

At least, in a time of crisis, the dukes know who their true enemy is.

One more piece of bad news. I checked out the field hospital. It's sparkling clean. There isn't a single wounded inside.

They’re abandoning the wounded? That's impossible. Morale would collapse.

Or maybe there are no wounded.

Also impossible. We saw how fierce the fighting is on our way here. Things could only be worse at Silverrock Bluffs—

Wait, you don't mean...?

None of the wounded made it back.

We need to put an end to this tragedy as soon as we can.

The Exemplars' strength might be insignificant compared to the all-consuming war, but creating miracles, that's what we do.

An inspiring pep talk. Repairs on your tanks are complete.

There you are at last.

Wait, why's the ground red? It is your blood? Or...?

That's not important.

My orders are to ensure that the Sighs of Kings finds its pedestal. Should I fail, another will put on this hat and continue the work.

I bring a message from the Duke of Caster, Your Royal Highness. 'Caster forever honors her commitments.'

Enough pleasantries. Where is this pedestal, this Stone of the Sword?

You've seen the camp. You have an idea of what the front is like.

This is hardly the best time to tell you the truth, but we have no choice.

The pedestal is on the Gloriana, flagship of the Duke of Caster.

What...?

...You planned this all along.

You guided our path, gave us a place to rest, so you could lead us onto your home field.

What's next? Will Caster's troops turn their weapons on us if we say no?

Please, no need to get excited. Facts are facts, no matter how you choose to interpret them.

My orders were always to bring the Realmblade to the Stone of the Sword, with or without Exemplars.

Please, consider it an act of good faith that I am telling you the truth now, rather than simply taking the sword from you during your darkest hour.

...Continue.

Like I said, the history around the sword and the pedestal is a complex one. One that ought to be known only by a selected few royals and nobles.

In the distant past, even before the Shah of Past and Future, an explorer discovered an artifact deep in the sands in the south of Sargon.

It was by no means a sword, but it was able to repress the spread of Originium crystals within a certain area

The treasure allowed the explorer to survive a Catastrophe that should have engulfed the entire team.

The legend of the Catastrophe cleaver...

The survivors forged a sword out of the artifact and presented it to the Shahanshah at the time, as a symbol of valor.

In the Year 737, the Aslan Padishah Lugalszamszi brought the Sighs of Kings to Victoria.

Decades later, his grandson became Victoria's first Lord of Lions.

The sword has severed the head of a red dragon, witnessed the reconciliation between Aslan and Draco, and became the symbol of Victoria's royal authority.

It has been damaged and reforged several times, and many have tried to uncover the secret behind its ability to fend off Catastrophe.

Scholars have yet to understand the principles behind the sword's power, but they did discover how to make the most of it.

The pedestal, dubbed Stone of the Sword, at the Mausoleum of Kings is the result of research by House Caster.

The Duke of Caster at the time kept a backup.

After the original pedestal in the Mausoleum of Kings was destroyed in that battle, the only working replica is kept on the Gloriana.

For a century, Caster has coveted the Realmblade. The chance has finally arrived.

Countless soldiers and civilians will die in the war. But Caster gets to reap the fruit of victory and become the hero who saves Victoria?

Judge it as you will, but this is what little chance, if not the only chance at victory Victoria has in the present crisis.

Our trump card in this dangerous game.

Sugarcoat it all you want, but you can't convince us that the despicable scheming never happened.

The choice is yours, Your Royal Highness.

Enough.

I refuse to engage in arguments over power, while we denounce the dukes for being calculative.

There is no Princess Alexandrina, only Siege, leader of the Exemplars.

There is no symbol of royal authority. The Sighs of Kings is just a weapon, one that can win the war for Victoria.

We go to war.

Thank you, on behalf of Victoria.

The spy takes half a step back and bows.

I'll lead the way. However...

You should prepare yourselves.

'East vanguard reports retaking three villages by Duskglow River. Sarkaz forces continue to staunchly defend Silverrock Bluffs pass.'

'All resistance on the southern front of the Redmane Mountains has been neutralized, however, Command expressly forbids crossing the mountains to flank the Sarkaz.'

'All gunboats and dreadnoughts in position. Support gunboats have also arrived at their destination.'

The ground continues to tremble. The weary travelers can no longer distinguish the quakes from bombardments or the clusters of Originium erupting from the earth.

The earth is scarred by deep, crisscrossing battleship tread marks. The stench of blood and sludge hangs heavily in the air.

The Exemplars' tanks lumber through the rugged terrain.

We're almost in the hot zone.

How far until Duke Caster's flagship?

A moment please. I'm searching for the signal.

Keep heading north, and we'll soon—

Witchcraft guns!

The lead tank has been destroyed! We've taken damage too.

We can't move. Is it the engine or the wheel?

Possibly both.

Fix it ASAP.

We can't stay here. We need to deliver the Realmblade to the Stone of the Sword.

Wait... what's that mountain? I don't recall any mountain like that outside Londinium.

That's no mountain...

It's Originium.