Chapter 23

What Was the Price?

Winning the Battle of Brittany had been anything but easy.

From a macro perspective, it was perfectly normal that the Kingdom of Fontaine couldn’t crush the Albion Empire in one sweeping blow. Winning the Battle of Brittany made sense. But from a micro perspective—down to every individual on the battlefield—it had been an unbearable burden.

All who survived were awarded for their merits.

For example, General Asfled had been promoted to Army Marshal; General Allenby, the Quartermaster Director, had been promoted to Army General; and Stewart had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Each of them was also decorated with medals.

However—

Ning Luo’s case was rather difficult to handle.

After all—

In the Battle of Brittany, Ning Luo had unquestionably been the key figure. With General Asfled now promoted to Marshal, it was his duty to recognize everyone’s contributions as a way of giving closure. The only problem was that Ning Luo’s achievements had been far too significant. No one in history had ever played such a critical role in a single campaign.

To the point that Marshal Asfled had no precedent to follow.

Of course—

Before the Battle of Brittany ended, all of the authority Ning Luo wielded had been granted by Marshal Asfled and by the war itself.

But once the campaign was over, the entire Western Brittany Army Corps became part of Ning Luo’s power structure. They would pledge loyalty to the Tyrant of Brittany. Just like Lieutenant Colonel Stewart—before, if he had been ordered to burn General Sussex alive, he might have hesitated.

Now, Lieutenant Colonel Stewart wouldn’t hesitate in the slightest.

The battlefield truly was a place of purity.

Love and hate were starkly divided.

In normal times—

Marshal Asfled might have worried whether Ning Luo would sideline him in Brittany. But in the midst of this war, the so-called power struggle seemed like a joke. All Marshal Asfled hoped for was that Ning Luo wouldn’t come looking for trouble.

The weather looked like it might finally clear up. Perhaps they’d have a bright and peaceful Christmas.

However—

The more you didn’t want something to happen—

The more likely it would happen.

Thankfully, it wasn’t something bad on the battlefield.

...

Albion Empire.

Brittany.

Brittany Fortress.

Office of the Chief of General Staff.

As soon as Ning Luo appeared in Marshal Asfled’s office, Marshal Asfled knew it wasn’t good. Ning Luo would never usually come to his office—he would have someone summon the Chief of General Staff, Marshal Asfled, to come to his office.

And Ning Luo wasn’t alone. Isabella was with him.

Ning Luo sat upright in the chair, while Isabella stood at his side, dressed in a long black gown resembling a nun’s habit. This was the battlefield—a place where every inch of land was soaked in blood—so naturally, Isabella could not wear anything too bright or eye-catching.

With grace, Isabella stood beside Ning Luo. Such a stance was tacit acknowledgment of her identity as Ning Luo’s wife or fiancée, effectively overshadowing her own identity as a princess.

Seeing Isabella, Marshal Asfled wasn’t surprised. He finally understood why Priscilla had followed Ning Luo.

In truth, anyone who had spent time around Ning Luo and Priscilla would have seen that they were clearly not romantically involved.

It was a pity that Marshal Asfled had never had a lover in his lifetime.

He lowered his head and bowed toward Isabella.

“Your Highness, I apologize for not being able to properly receive you in Brittany.”

“It is I who should apologize, Marshal, for suddenly coming to the front line and disturbing you.”

After the brief formalities—

Marshal Asfled took a seat across from Ning Luo, rubbing his forehead with his coarse fingers. Ning Luo bringing Isabella along to see him absolutely couldn’t be good news. He certainly couldn’t be expecting Asfled to officiate their wedding, could he?

“I don’t want to waste time either. Let’s get to the point, Lieutenant!”

Ning Luo spoke directly.

“Marshal, I truly dislike having to bring up this topic with you—but to win the war, I must.”

“I didn’t know you were even capable of subtlety.”

Marshal Asfled was amused by Ning Luo.

Under normal circumstances—

Ning Luo would simply issue an order. He never cared whether others could accept it. If they couldn’t, he would just replace them. The title ‘Tyrant of Brittany’ hadn’t been earned for nothing.

But then again—

With Isabella now by his side, Ning Luo seemed a bit more human. He was actually considering Marshal Asfled’s feelings.

Faced with the Marshal’s sarcasm—

Ning Luo paid it no mind and continued speaking.

“Do you remember what I told you? That from a tactical standpoint, there’s no way to achieve a meaningful breakthrough. This is a war of national strength. One side has to collapse completely. But we cannot allow the situation to drag on to that point. We must achieve a breakthrough at the strategic level.”

“So?”

“War bonds.”

Isabella handed a document to Marshal Asfled.

It was the same war bond proposal that Ning Luo had discussed with her before.

During this time, Isabella had hardly been idle. While Ning Luo was dealing with the crisis in Brittany, Isabella had been handling the war bond issue in the rear. One could say it was a dual-layered contingency plan.

Even if Ning Luo had lost the Battle of Brittany, Isabella could have safeguarded him—elevating him as a hero of the Empire.

Marshal Asfled flipped through the pages casually.

To him, this proposal was certainly good news. War bonds could help the Empire raise a vast amount of funds. More importantly, it could save many lives—and bring an end to this damned war.

“I’ll make a public statement in support of this proposal.”

“That’s not enough, Marshal.”

“So you want me to do whatever you say now?”

Marshal Asfled sounded as if he had given up. Even if Ning Luo demanded his life, Marshal Asfled wouldn’t care anymore.

But Ning Luo’s tone was far too cold.

“I want you to convert to the Orthodox Church.”

Marshal Asfled had expected Ning Luo to push the limits—just not to this extent.

He took a deep breath.

Then slowly said, “You do know I’m part of the Universal Church, right?”

“I do.”

The so-called Universal Church, with its headquarters in the Grand See, was the largest religious institution in the world—the High Catholic Church. The Orthodox Church had splintered off from it.

In fact, even Ning Luo technically belonged to the Universal Church.

The schools he had attended, and the scholarships he received, had all come from the Universal Church. But the Church was extremely conservative. They opposed any lending that involved interest—which meant they would absolutely not permit the issuance of war bonds.

So, this would inevitably escalate into a Church-wide schism involving the entire Empire.

As the Chief of General Staff of the Imperial Army, and the Marshal entrusted with saving the Empire in its hour of need, Marshal Asfled’s position held enormous weight.

He had thought Ning Luo merely needed his public support.

He hadn’t expected Ning Luo to demand his conversion.

Marshal Asfled lowered his head, hands clasped together. It was a gesture steeped in helpless, painful resignation.

He asked, “I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“I don’t want to say it like this, but yes—you don’t.”

Marshal Asfled truly had no choice.

The war had now entered its thirty-fourth year.

Thirty-four years.

What an unbearably long number.

It was a war that had begun before Ning Luo and Isabella were even born—long enough for countless people to live and die in a single breathless lifetime.

Marshal Asfled had no choice.

With a tone bordering on pleading, he said, “Could we... change the condition? Anything else—anything at all. Just not this...”

“I’m sorry, Marshal.”

The voice that responded to Marshal Asfled still carried a trace of Ning Luo’s humanity.

But no matter how human the voice sounded, it couldn’t soften the weight of that soul-crushing demand.

Suddenly—

Bang—

With a deafening crash, Marshal Asfled slammed his fist onto the table, shattering the solid wooden surface with sheer force.

Then came his roar.

“Stop making demands of me! You’ve already taken enough! Everything I had—you’ve taken it all! What more do you want?! Do you want to crush the last shred of my soul too?!!”

...

It was the first time Ning Luo had felt the full force of Marshal Asfled’s fury head-on. The temperature in the room seemed to rise by several degrees.

But even so—

Marshal Asfled hadn’t truly been yelling at Ning Luo.

He didn’t even know who he was yelling at.

Perhaps it was the war.

Perhaps it was fate.

To describe Marshal Asfled as having “nothing left” was no exaggeration. His parents had long since died. He had no wife, no children, no friends. All his comrades from earlier days had fallen, one by one.

In truth, the Universal Church no longer held real meaning for him. What could be important anymore, in the face of a war like this?

Maybe—

It was that last fragile memory, worn thin by time, still clinging to his soul.

It was his mother, when he was just a child, taking him to the church for a charity meal. He could barely remember her face anymore. It was the one truly beautiful memory he still had.

And now—

Even that.

Even that final precious thing Marshal Asfled still possessed—

Was about to be taken away.

...

There was only silence in response.

Whether it was Isabella, Ning Luo, or Marshal Asfled himself, they all knew—he had no choice. He just needed to scream, to let it out, so he could feel a little less suffocated.

Family.

The past.

Even faith had been utterly stripped away by this war.

The war was nearing its end.

It had to end.

What remained—

Would have to wait for next year.

For the thirty-fourth year of this war.

Let the Empire launch one more war—

To finally bring an end to all the others.