185: Entering the game

The progress of the conflict was far more intense and dramatic than Linn had anticipated.

Leveraging geographic advantages and preemptive strikes, the Second Prince in the south gained a significant advantage in the Early Stage of the war. His army surged northward, taking the lead in capturing Macedonia Province, which bordered the four southern provinces but had a wavering stance. This victory not only expanded his controlled territory to five provinces, greatly boosting the rebels' morale, but also secured abundant supplies and population reinforcements from Macedonia Province, significantly increasing his strength.

The new king, Atos, was furious upon hearing the news. The fall of Macedonia Province meant the gateway to the kingdom's central region was wide open, with the rebel forces pointing directly at Holy Radiance Province, where the royal capital, Holy Radiance City, was located! He could no longer sit back and instead personally took command of the central army. In the name of the King, he ordered all northern and eastern nobles loyal to the royal family to mobilize their forces fully. Utilizing the kingdom's treasury and years of reserves, he assembled an unprecedentedly massive army of two million soldiers on the northern border of Macedonia Province within just a few months!

Although this army was of mixed quality, containing a large number of temporary conscripts and private noble armies, its absolute numerical advantage, combined with the royal heritage Atos could mobilize through the late king's final decree, still gave the new king immense confidence. He vowed to lead the campaign personally, retake Macedonia Province in one fell swoop, and drive the rebels back to their southern home.

The following year became the most tragic and costly civil war year in the history of the Aolai Kingdom. Both sides engaged in countless bloody battles across the plains, hills, and river valleys of Macedonia Province. Relying on the terrain and early morale, the Second Prince withstood several fierce assaults from the royal army and even pushed back at one point. However, Atos, with his superior ability to replenish troops and the steady command of the Kingdom's Grand Marshal Monk, gradually stabilized his position and began to use his numerical advantage to continuously squeeze the rebels' space.

The turning point of the war occurred during a decisive plain battle. At any cost, Atos deployed his trump cards! A 'Royal Guard Legion' and a 'Royal Magic Corps' entirely composed of Silver-rank Professionals. The Second Prince's elite units suffered heavy losses under the strikes of the Guard Legion and devastating magic, and the front lines were torn apart. Despite the desperate resistance of the Second Prince himself and the Legendary Experts under his command, they could not reverse the decline. They were forced to abandon large areas of occupied territory and retreat to the final defensive line in the southern mountainous region of Macedonia Province.

Atos successfully retook most of Macedonia Province. Although he paid the price of a hundred thousand casualties, the strategic initiative seemed to be in his hands. Full of pride, he began planning a new round of southward offensives, intending to crush the Second Prince's main force in one go and recover the four southern provinces.

However, just as Atos was brimming with confidence and the Second Prince was in a precarious position, an unexpected turn of events occurred that no one had anticipated.

Leonardo, the Marquis Golden Peacock—a great eastern noble who had remained inactive and was even seen by Atos as someone to be appeased and won over—suddenly raised the banner of rebellion in Laixi Deep Province!

Marquis Golden Peacock publicly accused Atos of 'gaining the throne illegitimately, being harsh and ungrateful, and exhausting military resources to the point where the people cannot live.' He declared that the Second Prince was the successor intended by the late king and announced that Laixi Deep Province would break away from Atos's rule to pledge loyalty to the Second Prince. Utilizing the power he had cultivated over many years, he quickly purged officials loyal to the royal family within the province and urgently conscripted over two hundred thousand troops. Although mostly new recruits and private soldiers, the numbers were staggering.

Even more lethal was that Marquis Golden Peacock's rebellion was not about holding Laixi Deep. Leaving a portion of his forces for defense, he personally led an army of one hundred and fifty thousand, brazenly marching westward under the banner of 'clearing the king's side and aiding the Prince,' aiming straight for Holy Radiance Province where the capital was located! His chosen route cleverly avoided the Macedonia front where the kingdom's main forces were stationed, intending to strike directly into the kingdom's heart from the flank and rear!

This sudden backstab sent Atos and the entire royal capital into a state of massive panic. The number of defenders in Holy Radiance City was limited, as most elites had been deployed to the front. If Marquis Golden Peacock's army of over a hundred thousand were to arrive at the city gates, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Atos was forced to make a painful decision: he urgently ordered the Kingdom's Grand Marshal Monk to draw fifty thousand of the most elite and mobile troops from the front. Monk was to lead them personally and rush back to reinforce the capital, ensuring the rebels were intercepted and crushed before they arrived.

Monk's division of troops to return for support significantly reduced the pressure on the southern front against the Second Prince. In his desperate situation, the Second Prince seized this lifeline and immediately gathered all remaining forces to launch a fierce counterattack on the royal coalition's southern line, which had developed defensive gaps due to the troop withdrawal. The battle situation fell into a stalemate once again. Atos's side lost the opportunity to quickly pacify the south and instead fell into the predicament of fighting on both northern and southern fronts.

At the same time, Atos dispatched two hundred thousand troops, led by the Legendary Expert Usachi, to capture Bandel Province. This resulted in a link-up with Marquis Golden Peacock, completing the encirclement of the royal capital.

In the midst of his distress, Atos once again turned his gaze toward the east. He remembered the Duke of Star Sea Linn, who had always been 'commendably loyal' and whose naval forces were deployed nearby.

A royal decree, urgently worded and even carrying a hint of a commanding tone, was sent post-haste to Star Sea Island.

In the royal decree, Atos, in his capacity as king, strictly ordered Duke of Star Sea Linn to immediately command his main naval forces stationed in the Saru Archipelago and the Storm Sea Region to launch an attack from the sea. They were to land in the coastal areas of Laixi Deep Province and perform a pincer attack with Grand Marshal Monk's returning reinforcements. They were to capture the Golden Peacock Family's ancestral home—Peacock City—in the shortest time possible, destroy their logistics base, and force Marquis Golden Peacock to return his troops for self-preservation, thereby removing the threat to the capital's flank!

...Star Sea Hall.

Linn looked at the sternly worded yet implicitly promising royal decree in his hand, a playful smile playing on his lips. He passed the decree down for Clay, Payson, Ocean Jack, and the others to read.

"Everyone, our 'good king' has finally set his sights on us, and with such 'righteousness,'" Linn's voice betrayed no emotion.

Clay finished reading and gave a cold snort. "He wants us to bash our heads against the Golden Peacock Family's long-established stronghold?"

Payson stroked his beard and said, "This is a plan to drive the tiger to swallow the wolf, killing two birds with one stone. His Majesty Atos is indeed well-versed in the arts of power."

Ocean Jack looked at Linn, his eyes flashing with a sharp light. "My Lord, how should we respond? Should we continue to stall, or... take this opportunity to truly make a move?"

The eyes of everyone in the hall were focused on Linn.

Linn slowly stood up and walked to the map, his finger landing precisely on the location of Laixi Deep Province, specifically its several important coastal ports and Peacock City.

"Since Atos has given us this royal decree, he has personally handed us a 'legal' excuse to intervene in the land war." Linn's voice gradually turned cold. "Haven't all our previous preparations and all our waiting been for this very day?"