***Seven days later.Things were much better in Valestria than before. The chaos had subsided, and people were returning to the city. Not only did Valestria fall to the Jiyu Army, but the city of Sarastrea as well.The two cities were indeed close to each other, so Sarastrea could easily fall to Jiyu's forces."Make sure the food supply line from the west is not cut off until it reaches Valestria. We need to make sure that the entire city does not starve," Adrian said."Yes, Commander Adrian," replied a soldier, his subordinate."Renovations must continue. Speed up the construction with the help of the Jiyu soldiers. We must get the city's economy back to normal," Adrian said."Companies one and three have been deployed to help with security there, Sir Adrian," said the man, the squad captain leader in charge of companies one to five.Companies one and three in his troop usually worked on setting up tents and other constructio
***"Is that so?" asked Tobias.Leonora and Karin were still sitting to the right and left of Tobias lying on the bed. No one else was in the place except the three; Leonora had ordered her personal guard to wait outside Tobias' treatment room.The room's door opened, revealing a man in armor with a black cloak on the back of his armor. He came alone with nothing, just an important piece of information in his head.Adrian watched with wide eyes as Tobias regained consciousness, even though the man had been unconscious for a week due to excessive use of divine power."Y-You're awake? Well done, Karin," Adrian said."Actually, it wasn't me who cured him, but Lady Leonora," Karin replied.The woman stretched her right hand forward, pointing at Leonora. Adrian's attention was completely distracted, now staring at the Leader of the House of Adelard."Thank you very much. The Jiyu Kingdom is deeply indebted to you," Adrian said, knee
The door to Giselle's mortuary opened, revealing Tobias coming out of it with puffy eyes. Leonora had been waiting outside the room for fifteen minutes when she walked up to Tobias.Seeing Tobias' blank expression made Leonora feel sorry for him. She immediately embraced Tobias' body tightly, letting him get comfortable in her arms."I won't forgive them," Tobias whispered.His tears had stopped flowing, but his heart was still burning to avenge Giselle's death. Leonora realized Tobias' heart was different from before, it felt cold and indifferent."We will avenge what they did to Giselle. You don't have to worry," Leonora said.Tobias cleared his throat. He walked with his right arm wrapped around Leonora's shoulder. The two stepped out of the place to return to Tobias' treatment room, where the man had to return to intensive care in order for his condition to fully recover.Just as Tobias was about to enter the room where he was resting, h
***A week later.Adrian had sent a message to Valcke and Norman. The contents of the letter explained that King Tobias Archibald had asked them to come, of course, to discuss matters related to a potential war against the Mythological Kingdom.The letter would arrive soon, given the long travel route and Tobias asking the kings to come to Valestria, not Stratham.While awaiting the arrival of the delegation of kings from neighboring kingdoms, Tobias worked together to restore the city. The sky has turned back to normal right from yesterday. The reddening of the sky only lasted for one day.Leonora said goodbye. She needed to discuss many things with the city representatives. After seeing that Equestria no longer had power, it was time for Leonora to convince the people there to come with her, joining the Jiyu Kingdom.Tobias himself was still focused on restoring the white palace that had been destroyed by the attack of his divine ability. Now, the soldiers shifted their work focus t
***The next day.Tobias gathered all the captains of the army for a discussion, one of which concerned Tobias' plan to attack three cities in eastern Valestria. Gunnar, Edgar, and Laura had already arrived and saw Tobias sitting together with Karin and Adrian."Welcome," said Tobias, welcoming his three captains."Are we late?" asked Gunnar.Adrian shook his head. The three were not late at all for this meeting in the meeting room of the temporary city government building. Adrian and Karin had deliberately arrived early because they had some matters to discuss with Tobias about the city's improvement."Ignore Adrian and Karin. They came earlier than scheduled because they have something to discuss with me about city restoration," Tobias said.Gunnar smiled broadly, pleased that he hadn't broken any rules. The three immediately sat down in the seats provided, deliberately left empty so that they could sit there."Alright. We'll open the discussion this time by discussing the three cit
***One week later.The troops from the southern region came sooner than expected. They came through Sarastrea City until they reached Valestria. The number was as Tobias had expected, around 20,000 troops.Gunnar and the other two captains were ready. They had gone to reconnoiter the three cities, only Leafvile was under extra guard, while Rachdale and Edinburgh were not so much.Valestria's white palace was halfway through the repair process, some parts of the room were usable, some were not. Now, Tobias and the other captains were able to use Valestria's white palace as the place where they ran the city government.Currently, Tobias was standing alone on the third floor balcony of the palace, a place where the royal family of Equestria used to greet their citizens. The young man's eyes clearly saw the 20,000-man army march in from the southern gate of the city.In line with the troops, Tobias saw three horse-drawn carriages running simultaneously, no one ahead of the other.Adrian
***Three days later.All preparations had been made, from the availability of weapons to the readiness of soldiers for battle. Gunnar, Laura, and Edgar led their own troops, Gunnar in charge of Leafvile, Edgar in charge of Rachdale, and Laura the rest.Just before leaving, the three captains were briefed by Tobias and Leonora in the meeting room of Valestria's white palace. This was important so that the three of them knew the priority that must be prioritized: the safety of the citizens of the city."You still have to prioritize the safety of the townspeople. Give them a chance to surrender," Tobias said.He sat next to Leonora. Their presence was important to show the existence of the King and Queen of the Jiyu Kingdom, even though the two were still engaged and not yet organizing an official wedding."As always, negotiations must be done at the beginning. If it doesn't work, then make sure the townspeople have a safe evacuation route," T
Tobias and Leonora were still sitting on their horses. Tobias told Adrian alone to ride up to the people before him because none of them intended to ride up to Tobias.Just as Adrian rode up on his horse, several Norman Royal Army archers appeared to be preparing. They were holding bows with arrows stored in the centre, ready to unleash an attack as ordered by their squad leader."They seem to be preparing with their arrows," Leonora explained. Both of the woman's eyes could watch the movements of the enemy troops from a distance.The atmosphere grew more tense as the wind grew stronger, blowing leaves down on the spot, even tossing Leonora's long hair to the side.Even though they had taken such a stand, Tobias committed that none of Jiyu's troops should retaliate by taking up arms.Aside from the tense moment, Tobias was also quite fed up with fighting with humans just to satisfy their power. He only wants to create a safe peace for his people an