Chapter 118: Chapter 111: The Echo of Defeat

The southern army did not return home victorious.

It actually barely returned at all.

For days after the collapse at Elarion, the mountain roads of the south filled with shattered remnants of the coalition army.

Wounded men limped through snowstorms wrapped in bloodstained cloaks while broken cavalry beasts collapsed beside frozen roads. Burned wagons littered the mountain passes. Entire noble banners had vanished completely from the retreating host.

And everywhere—

The stories spread.

At first people dismissed them as panic.

Then more survivors arrived.

Then more.

And suddenly the entire kingdom realized the same horrifying truth.

Something had changed in the north.

The first rumors reached nearby border towns within two days.

"The coalition army was destroyed."

"Grand Knight Aldric is dead."

"House Valcriox collapsed."

"They have moving fortresses made of steel."

"Their weapons fire endlessly."

"The dragon laughed while the nobles burned."

No one believed the stories initially.

Because they sounded insane.

In one town tavern, a wounded cavalry rider drunkenly swore that Elarion’s landships were giant iron beasts possessed by spirits.

"They moved without horses."

"They screamed fire."

"They tore through mana cavalry like grass."

The townsfolk laughed at him.

Until another survivor arrived the next morning.

Then another.

Then an entire broken supply convoy rolled through town carrying burned soldiers and shattered artillery crews.

And suddenly—

Nobody laughed anymore.

Fear spread with every retreating soldier.

The survivors looked haunted.

Some could barely speak about the battle without trembling.

Others became violent whenever anyone mentioned the machine guns.

Several soldiers reportedly woke screaming in the night hearing phantom echoes of endless gunfire.

RATATATATATATAT.

The sound followed them everywhere.

One infantry captain arriving at a southern fortress reportedly collapsed before the gate while screaming:

"They don’t reload."

"They never stop firing."

The guards assumed he had gone mad.

Then they saw the battlefield wounds.

Bodies torn apart by dozens of impacts.

Mana armor punctured repeatedly.

Cavalry beasts shredded almost beyond recognition.

The officers stopped mocking the survivors after that.

Across the southern territories, noble estates entered panic quietly.

Some lords denied the reports publicly while secretly doubling estate defenses.

Others immediately recalled troops from border patrols.

Several houses began purchasing massive quantities of steel, sulfur, and saltpeter from merchants.

Smithies across the south suddenly worked day and night.

Because no matter how absurd the stories sounded—

The coalition army had still disappeared.

That part was undeniable.

At House Merovan, one elderly noble reportedly smashed a crystal goblet after hearing descriptions of the landships.

"Impossible."

"No machine moves without mana beasts."

Yet before sunrise—

The same lord ordered trenches dug around his estate walls.

At another court, terrified survivors described the artillery bombardment of the coalition camps.

"They targeted the nobles directly."

One younger lord scoffed immediately.

"No artillery reaches that distance."

The survivor simply stared at him hollowly.

"My lord."

"I watched command pavilions disappear."

The room reportedly fell silent afterward.

The stories became worse with every retelling.

Some claimed Lucien possessed hundreds of landships hidden beneath Elarion.

Others insisted the north had rediscovered ancient forbidden weapons from lost civilizations.

A few terrified soldiers even claimed the machine guns were magical relics stolen from dragons.

And through all the chaos—

One detail kept appearing repeatedly.

The golden dragon.

"He sat on the mountain watching us."

"He laughed during the retreat."

"He called the nobles idiots."

One routed officer reportedly swore Aurethar nearly fell from the mountain laughing when the mana cavalry charged the landships.

Most people assumed exaggeration.

Until more survivors repeated the exact same thing.

Within a week—

The entire kingdom knew about Elarion.

And fear followed immediately afterward.

The royal capital of Asterion stood beneath winter skies like a monument to power.

Massive white walls surrounded sprawling districts of marble towers and noble estates. Golden banners bearing the royal crest fluttered above palace spires while the great central citadel overlooked the city from elevated cliffs.

Normally the capital thrived with celebration and political games.

Now—

The atmosphere felt tense.

Rumors filled every district.

Merchants whispered about war.

Nobles held secret meetings.

Military officers moved constantly between palace sectors.

And above all—

Everyone waited for the royal court.

The great throne hall of Asterion had witnessed coronations, treaties, executions, and wars for centuries.

Yet on this day—

The atmosphere felt unusually heavy.

Dozens of nobles stood assembled beneath towering marble pillars and crystal chandeliers. Royal knights lined the walls in polished silver armor while ministers whispered quietly among themselves.

No laughter echoed through the chamber today.

Because everyone already knew the reports were real.

At the center of the hall upon the elevated royal throne sat King Alaric Vaelthorn.

The ruler of the kingdom for nearly thirty years.

Unlike many warrior kings before him, Alaric ruled through intelligence rather than conquest. His black hair had long begun graying near the temples, yet his silver eyes remained sharp enough to silence entire rooms with a glance.

He looked tired today.

Because the destruction of the coalition threatened far more than military embarrassment.

It threatened the balance of the entire kingdom.

Standing beside the throne was Crown Prince Cassian.

Where the king appeared thoughtful—

The prince looked interested.

That unsettled several nobles far more than the battle reports themselves.

Before the throne knelt the surviving officers of the coalition army.

Exhausted,wounded and broken.

One commander still carried burn scars across half his face from the artillery bombardment.

Another leaned visibly upon his sword simply to remain standing.

The throne hall remained silent until King Alaric finally spoke.

"Begin."

The lead officer swallowed hard.

Then slowly began recounting the battle.

The trenches.

The artillery.

The failed assaults.

The destruction of the heavy infantry.

The death of thousands beneath fragmentation shells.

And gradually—

The throne hall grew quieter.

At first some nobles remained skeptical.

One older lord openly scoffed hearing descriptions of trench warfare.

"Static defenses mean nothing once cavalry closes."

Then the officer described the razor wire.

The machine guns had not yet appeared in the story.

Yet already several nobles frowned uneasily hearing how coalition cavalry became trapped under rifle fire and artillery.

Another officer described the shoulder-fired rockets.

"They carried portable explosive weapons capable of killing master knights."

Murmurs erupted immediately.

"That’s absurd."

"No ordinary soldiers carry siege weapons."

The wounded officer slowly looked upward.

"My lords."

"I watched elite knight detachments vanish."

Silence followed.

Because no matter how impossible the stories sounded—

These men had survived the battle personally.

Then the reports reached Grand Knight Aldric.

The throne hall became still again.

Even the ministers stopped whispering.

King Alaric himself leaned slightly forward.

"How did Aldric fall?"

The wounded commander hesitated.

Then answered carefully.

"At first... we believed he might actually break through."

Several nobles nodded slightly.

That sounded reasonable.

A grand knight was still a grand knight.

The officer continued.

"He crossed artillery fire."

"He survived direct explosions."

"He nearly reached the trenches."

Hope briefly returned to several faces around the court.

Then the commander finished the sentence.

"Then the landships appeared."

Silence.

Prince Cassian smiled faintly.

The king noticed immediately.

One noble frowned deeply.

"...Landships?"

The officer nodded slowly.

"Armored steel vehicles."

"No horses?"

"No beasts?"

"No, my lord."

The hall grew visibly uneasy now.

Another survivor stepped forward shakily.

"They rolled from hidden bunkers behind the trenches."

His breathing became uneven remembering the battlefield.

"Steel armored."

"Massive."

"And then..."

"...And then my lord the nightmare began"

The man stopped speaking briefly.

His hands visibly trembled.

King Alaric noticed.

"...Continue."

The soldier swallowed hard.

"Their weapons started firing."

For a moment—

Nobody understood.

Then the survivor described the sound.

RATATATATATATATATATAT.

Several nobles frowned in confusion.

The soldier continued.

"The guns never stopped."

"They kept firing continuously."

Now even the royal knights exchanged glances.

One older military lord scoffed sharply.

"No weapon sustains uninterrupted fire."

The survivor slowly turned toward him.

"My lord."

"I watched entire cavalry formations disappear within seconds."

That answer killed the chamber’s skepticism immediately.

Another officer stepped forward desperately.

"The mana cavalry never reached the trenches."

"Impossible."

"They died before crossing half the valley."

The officer’s voice became strained.

"Those guns tore through beasts and riders together."

He stared downward afterward.

"There was nowhere safe."

The throne hall slowly descended into silence again.

Because the court finally understood something terrifying.

The coalition had not simply lost.

It had encountered a new kind of warfare entirely.

Then came the worst part.

The artillery bombardment of the coalition camps.

"They redirected the cannons toward the rear sectors."

Several nobles immediately frowned.

"That distance shouldn’t—"

"They reached us."

The officer interrupted quietly.

The hall became silent once more.

The survivors described burning supply camps.

Exploding command pavilions.

Dead nobles.

Broken retreat routes.

And finally—

Kassian Valcriox.

"...Killed during the bombardment, Your Majesty."

The words echoed across the hall heavily.

Several nobles visibly paled.

House Valcriox was not minor nobility.

It was one of the kingdom’s most powerful ducal houses.

And now its heir was dead alongside countless allied nobles and officers.

One minister quietly asked:

"How many survived?"

The answer came slowly.

"...Less than half."

Murmurs erupted instantly.

Several nobles began whispering furiously among themselves.

Others looked openly fearful now.

Because if Elarion could destroy a coalition army this thoroughly—

Then every military assumption within the kingdom had become uncertain.

Then unexpectedly—

Prince Cassian laughed softly.

The entire throne hall froze.

Not because the laugh was cruel.

But because it sounded genuine.

Several nobles turned toward him in disbelief.

Cassian shook his head slightly with faint amusement.

"...Remarkable."

One furious noble immediately stepped forward.

"Your Highness, a coalition army has just been annihilated."

"Yes."

"And you sound entertained."

The prince folded his arms calmly.

"I am."

That answer nearly caused outrage across the chamber.

A military lord glared openly now.

"Tens of thousands are dead."

Cassian’s eyes shifted toward him.

"And why did they die?"

The noble frowned.

"Because Elarion possesses monstrous weapons."

"No."

Cassian’s voice sharpened slightly.

"They died because arrogance marched against innovation."

Silence struck the hall again.

The prince slowly descended several steps from beside the throne while speaking.

"For generations the nobility repeated the same doctrines."

"The same formations."

"The same cavalry charges."

"The same political games."

His eyes moved across the assembled court.

"And then one northern lord shattered all of it."

Several nobles looked furious hearing admiration in his voice.

Cassian ignored them completely.

"He built trenches."

"He turned artillery into battlefield execution."

"He weaponized logistics."

"And then he created moving steel fortresses armed with weapons no one here even imagined possible."

The prince smiled faintly afterward.

"How could I not be interested?"

One older noble stepped forward angrily.

"You speak as though this man should be praised."

Cassian answered instantly.

"He should."

The hall erupted into furious murmurs immediately afterward.

King Alaric finally raised one hand.

Silence returned instantly.

The king’s silver eyes slowly moved across the throne hall.

Then finally—

He spoke.

"This war changes the kingdom."

Every noble listened carefully now.

Because unlike the prince—

Alaric spoke without excitement and only cold understanding.

"The southern coalition marched believing numbers, titles, and tradition guaranteed victory."

The king’s gaze hardened slightly.

"Instead... they encountered warfare they did not understand."

Several military lords lowered their eyes quietly.

Because deep down—

They already knew the king was correct.

Alaric slowly rose from the throne.

Despite his age, his presence still dominated the chamber effortlessly.

"The destruction at Elarion is not merely a military defeat."

His voice echoed through the throne hall clearly.

"It is proof that the balance of power inside this kingdom is changing."

Nobody interrupted him nobody dared to either,those who did disappeared forever.

The king continued calmly.

"If Lucien possesses the ability to produce such weapons consistently... then every noble house in the kingdom must reconsider its military assumptions."

That statement unsettled nearly everyone present.

Because they all understood its implications.

Castles,Knight orders,mana cavalry.

Everything could become obsolete.

One minister spoke carefully.

"Your Majesty... should the crown prepare military action before Elarion grows stronger?"

Prince Cassian immediately looked amused hearing that.

King Alaric remained thoughtful for several moments.

Then answered calmly:

"No."

Several nobles looked shocked.

The king slowly returned his gaze toward the surviving officers.

"An army already attempted that approach."

Silence followed instantly.

Then Alaric turned toward the ministers.

"Send an official royal invitation north."

The hall erupted into murmurs again.

One noble protested immediately:

"You would invite the man responsible for this disaster into the capital?"

The king’s silver eyes shifted toward him coldly.

"No."

His voice remained calm.

"I would invite the man who changed warfare."

That sentence silenced the chamber completely.

Because everyone present understood history had shifted.

And the crown intended speaking directly with the man responsible.

Finally—

King Alaric raised one hand again.

"The court is dismissed."

The royal guards struck spear butts against marble flooring immediately.

Nobles slowly began leaving the throne hall in clusters while whispering anxiously among themselves.

Some looked furious,others fearful and A few thoughtful.

But none remained calm anymore.

Because the kingdom they understood yesterday no longer existed today.

Eventually the massive throne hall emptied.

Only a handful of royal guards remained near distant pillars.

King Alaric slowly sat back upon the throne while staring silently toward the enormous windows overlooking the capital beyond.

Snow drifted outside beneath fading evening light.

For several moments—

Neither the king nor prince spoke.

Then finally—

Alaric looked toward his son.

"What do you think of Lucien?"

Prince Cassian smiled faintly afterward.

"I think," the prince said quietly, "that the nobles were fools for trying to crush him before understanding him."

The king remained silent.

Cassian continued calmly.

"Every report says the same thing."

"He adapts faster than everyone around him."

"And while the south obsessed over pride... he built weapons capable of rewriting battle itself."

The prince’s eyes gleamed slightly.

"He isn’t dangerous because of the landships."

Alaric watched his son carefully.

"Then why is he dangerous?"

Cassian’s faint smile widened.

"Because he thinks differently."

Silence settled briefly across the throne hall.

Then the prince added one final sentence.

"And people like that either reshape kingdoms..."

His gaze shifted toward the snow-covered capital outside.

"...or destroy them."

Silence returned to hall after that

Finally the king spoke"I remember he had some entanglements with little elena"

The prince nodded at this.

"If he proves worthy,i don’t mind it"

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Here is your extra Chapter.

I will soon add characters descriptions. Thank you for your support:)