“Out of the way! It’s an emergency!”

“Huh? It’s Sir Erwin from the Central Intelligence!”

“Sir Erwin?”

Everyone moved out of the way as Erwin ran through the corridor. He then stopped at a large balcony outside a large office. There was an old man with white hair leisurely drinking tea.

“Sir! The Dentrion Kingdom army has crossed the border! They are led by Commander Melrit Oakrion, nicknamed Young Lion. There are a total of two hundred thousand troops coming from four directions in groups of fifty thousand, sir! Our forces are defending, but it was an ambush and some have already lost! And it has been reported that other countries at the border are moving their forces too!”

“Erwin! Come have some tea, will you?”

“…Huh?”

Erwin, who was panting heavily, was shocked. The man, Chancellor Jackson, calmly fixed his tie.

‘Did the Emperor’s absence look like a chance to them?’ Jackson thought. He poured a cup of tea for Erwin and looked back out the window. The city was now much larger and had tall buildings. There were countless horse carriages moving through the streets. Khalodian City was now the largest city in the world. It would take an entire day on a horse to even get out of the city now. Other more distant cities had grown larger too, and the Empire was the strongest country in the entire world. However, with the absence of the Emperor, problems began to show.

It started during the second year after the Emperor left. There were many incidents of secrets being leaked and small incidents grew larger. Also, many talented individuals mysteriously disappeared, or were caught up in accidents and died. Those were organized and planned murders. Many merchants suddenly went bankrupt and new merchant groups immediately took over.

It had been five years since the Emperor and other powerful or high-ranked figures had left.

“Well,” Jackson sighed, “others will come too, of course.”

Jackson was calm but deep in thought. Erwin was about to give an opinion but stopped as Jackson began to cackle.

“Hehe…hehehe…heeheeeheeee!”

It was a terrifying sight to see such a man laughing maniacally.

“So… they think I’m a fool? I’ll show them. Hehehehe…”

Jackson laughed coldly. Many powerful individuals had gone through the Gate, but the Khalodian Empire still had many who were still powerful. It was time for them to shine.

“Good. Let the people of the Empire know that we are going to war.”

“Huh? B-but sir…”

Jackson shook his head and continued.

“Erwin, people will know soon. We cannot keep it a secret forever. And the Empire isn’t weak. Our Emperor is absent, and Commander Jinpok is not here, but we are still the Khalodian Empire without them. We’ll show these insects who we are and what we are made of!”

-War! War has started against the Dentrion Kingdom and other countries!-

The declaration of war was announced in every city and village. As the news spread, unlike the concerns of Sir Erwin, the people of Khalodian began to join the military to fight for their country.

End of Chapter