“Father...”

Muen’s hand suddenly froze. You could faintly see veins bulging on it, but they quickly calmed again.

“Is he all right?” Muen asked in a calm voice.

Celicia turned back to look at Muen and found that there was no anger or panic on that handsome face of his, but those deep blue eyes were already as profound as a trench in the depths of the ocean, bottomless.

“Don’t worry. For now, his life isn’t in danger.”

Celicia gripped Muen’s hand in return. “Even though things are urgent over there, it still hasn’t reached the point of a total collapse across the entire line. You have to believe in your father. The Lion King has repelled the demon race’s attacks countless times—he won’t fall so easily because of a single defeat like this.”

“So that’s how it is...”

Muen let out a breath of relief so subtle it was hard to notice, and his taut body finally relaxed a great deal.

“So, what exactly happened that could make the entire Empire this tense inside?”

“This time, the demon race made a big move.”

Celicia handed a piece of intelligence over to Muen.

“Five demon Grand Dukes joined forces and forcibly carved open the army formation. Three of them besieged the Lion King, Duke Campbell, and left him severely wounded.”

“Five demon Grand Dukes...”

Muen looked down at that intelligence report.

Even though it was only a somewhat brief description, he could still feel the cruelty of that war.

Forcibly ripping open the formation of several hundred thousand troops, precisely finding the commander-in-chief, then using a numerical advantage to surround and kill him... That kind of operation could only be called terrifying.

And Father, facing an onslaught that was almost certain death, had only ended up “severely wounded.” Even Muen—who up to now had already faced several Evil Gods—couldn’t help but marvel...

Worthy of the name Lion King.

“I remember that the demon race only has eight Grand Dukes in total right now. Right—wasn’t one of them killed not long ago by King Yintuo? The demon race should only have seven Grand Dukes left now.” Muen’s expression was grave.

“Yes, the demon race only has seven Grand Dukes now.”

Celicia rose from the throne and walked to the middle of the Throne Hall, beside a huge map that had long since been set up.

The Empire in the center, the Kingdom to the north, the many small countries and the Holy City to the south, and to the west... that wound that seemed to split the earth apart.

This map didn’t fully display the entire continent, but it already sketched out, in extremely fine detail, all the sides that might fall into turmoil this time.

Among them, the Empire’s northern border with the Kingdom, and the Abyss region to the west, were both densely marked with arrows as key focus points. The vivid red paint looked like bloodstains, stabbing at people’s nerves.

“There are only seven demon Grand Dukes in total, and the demon race isn’t a single iron plate internally either. And on the Kingdom’s western border, there are also places that connect to the Abyss—they’ve stationed troops in that area as well. They attack the Kingdom too. It’s just that because of terrain, the Kingdom isn’t under pressure as great as the Empire’s.”

Celicia extended a finger and slowly traced the entire Abyss from north to south.

“Before I received the news, from every angle, I didn’t think the demon race had enough to directly pull five Grand Dukes away, along with more troops, and attack our side... but it still happened. From the news coming from the west, the demon race’s recent offensive has been extremely ferocious, and our troops have suffered heavy losses because of it.”

“So the demon race and the Kingdom have joined hands?”

Following Celicia’s line of thought, that was the only back-chilling, terrifying idea left in Muen’s mind. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“Unclear. And there’s no way to make something like that clear. The Kingdom definitely won’t admit it.”

Celicia’s palm sweeping across the map slowly clenched. In her cold eyes, anger flared up, impossible to hide.

“But the only thing we can know is that, for the Empire, that worst possibility... has already happened. What we have to face next is the double-front war we least want to face.”

“I see...”

Muen thought of what Sevier had said. “So this is the Kingdom’s confidence?”

“Confidence? That’s right. Making the entire demon race into an important force that restrains the Empire—this really can be called confidence.” Celicia let out a mocking cold laugh. “That’s the only kind of trick they’re worthy of playing.”

“Is the Kingdom not afraid of playing with fire and burning itself?”

Muen asked, puzzled. “The demon race isn’t targeting only the Empire. If they get the chance, they’ll definitely take a bite out of the Kingdom too.”

In a certain sense, the demon race in this world was very much like the nomadic peoples of the ancient world from Muen’s previous life.

In overall strength, they certainly weren’t comparable to a behemoth like the Empire with hundreds of millions of people. Because of the limits of their land, their productive capacity was also far inferior.

But those monsters who, because of the poisonous aftermath of the Demon God, had no choice but to live in the Abyss, were born and raised in that harsh land of pale mountains and black waters. They struggled to survive through mutual slaughter and competition. Toward fertile land and fresh blood as food, they had the most instinctive craving—a craving that could even make them forget so-called death.

Therefore, once the Empire’s Abyss defense line was torn open, what awaited them was the Empire’s vast fertile lands, and countless ordinary civilians with no strength to bind a chicken, helpless and at others’ mercy.

They would use that as nourishment to rapidly grow, greedily devouring everything they could devour... and when that time came, trying to drive them back would truly become extremely difficult.

“Who knows? Maybe for those idiots in the Kingdom, as long as they can bring down the Empire, sharing with the demon race isn’t something they can’t accept.” Celicia said expressionlessly.

“That’s true too.”

Muen shrugged in self-mockery, feeling like he’d asked a stupid question.

Even before the end of the world arrived, human beings could still fall into internal strife—so how could the Kingdom, whose eyes had long been blinded by hatred for the Empire, possibly see a more distant future?

In their eyes, the Empire was the mortal enemy that had to be brought down immediately.

“Looks like I have to make a trip after all.”

Muen sighed.

Right now Father was severely wounded, the ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) demon race’s offensive was fierce, and what was even more serious was that Father had been struck into severe injury in front of several hundred thousand troops.

Therefore, the urgent issue now was stabilizing the army’s morale.

And for this matter, no one was more suitable than himself—as the Lion King’s son, and the future successor of Duke Campbell.

By emotion and by reason, he had to go.

“This trip of yours is very dangerous, and the most important thing is, I might not be able to support you with much.”

Celicia looked into Muen’s eyes and, rarely, showed a trace of apology. “At least right now, the Empire has no spare strength to draw troops away to help the Abyss defense line.”

“Because of the Kingdom?”

“Not only because of the Kingdom. More importantly, we ourselves are already in a weakened state.”

Celicia lowered her eyes. “Even though the parasites have been cleaned out, what that causes isn’t only a lack of officials. Even among the army’s mid-level officers, there’s a severe shortage right now. After all, many of those posts were previously held by the sons and grandsons of those parasites.”

“Mid- and lower-level officers are the foundation of an army. Right now we’re strongly promoting capable people, but that still takes time. An army lacking grassroots officers—if it’s rashly moved long-distance—not only has no combat power, it only adds chaos. That would instead plunge the Empire into an even greater crisis.”

“And the Kingdom just happened to pinch this exact timing.” Muen let out a long sigh with her.

Seen this way, that Seventeenth Prince’s mission as an envoy felt as if, from the very beginning, it had been acting according to some kind of script.

The person manipulating him from behind might never have expected him to succeed at all—only using him as bait, as a reason, as the fuse to ignite a powder keg...

Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t as an excellent son.

“The western territories will fully mobilize the people and transport everything that can be of use, ensuring the Abyss defense line’s logistics, but the rest... really can only rely on you for the time being.”

Celicia suddenly turned and hugged Muen. Warm breath brushed his shoulder as she said softly, “I’m sorry.”

“You’re the Empire’s emperor. How can you say sorry so many times?”

Muen smiled and stroked Celicia’s head. “Don’t worry. I’ve been through so much. Even though every time I’m always shouting about being unlucky, looking at it now, at least my life is still pretty tough.”

“One year.”

Celicia suddenly said.

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Hold out for one year. In this year, I will personally sit in command at the Empire’s border.”

Celicia raised her head. In those eyes that had just shown tenderness, terrifying ice instantly congealed.

“In one year, I will completely crush those scum in the Kingdom.”

“...”

Worthy of Celicia—still this domineering.

Muen smiled, and the hand resting on Celicia’s head stroked again with gentle warmth.

Celicia didn’t refuse.

“And also.”

She continued. “When you come back, we’ll officially get married.”

“...”

Muen’s hand immediately stiffened, and the farewell melancholy he’d just been brewing vanished without a trace.

“Th-this fast?”

“What, you’re unwilling?”

Celicia narrowed her eyes. That terrifying chill made Muen shudder on the spot. “Or are you thinking about which little thief-cat right now?”

“N-no, that’s not what I mean. I mean, saying this now... doesn’t it kind of feel like planting a flag?”

Get through this battle and go home and get married—ninety-nine percent you’re not coming back, okay. Muen complained inwardly.

“You actually believe in that kind of thing?” Celicia let out a cold laugh, fully displaying her contempt for fate.

“Don’t worry.”

As if soothing him, she held Muen even tighter. “After we get married, our first child in the future will become the next emperor.”

“The first?”

“The royal family is weak right now. Don’t tell me you think having only one child is enough.” Celicia went cold again.

“N-no, you misunderstood again.”

Muen wrapped an arm around Celicia’s slender waist and said gently:

“You’re just worried you’ll be too tired...”

...

...

After leaving the palace, Muen thought for a while and didn’t go back to his residence.

Instead, while the sky had just turned bright, he rode a cheap carriage all the way to a remote area on the outskirts of the city.

Deep in the alleyways that were already somewhat run-down, but whose weeds had been cleared very cleanly, a wooden sign hung on a door.

“Dawn Orphanage.”

After that crisis in Belrand before, many more children had become homeless, so Muen paid out of his own pocket and, in the empress’s name, built several orphanages.

This was one of them.

In the early morning, there was still a bit of drifting mist, but in the yard you could already faintly hear children’s laughter.

Muen knocked on the door.

Creak—

The old wooden door was pushed open. A gaunt old man pressed his hands together and waited in silence.

“Get ready. Come with me.”

“Where to.”

“The Abyss.”

“Okay.”

He didn’t even ask the reason. King Yintuo directly nodded.

“Give me some time. I still have things to take care of.”

Muen looked past King Yintuo’s back. A little girl who looked a bit slow-witted but very cute was sitting on a wooden chair, one foot swinging a shoe that was only half on, humming a blurry little tune like a lullaby.

“No rush.”

Muen smiled. For the Empire, that most ominous possibility... had already happened. What we have to face next is the double-front war we least want to face.

“I see...”

Muen thought of what Sevier had said. “So this is the Kingdom’s confidence?”

“Confidence? That’s right. Making the entire demon race into an important force that restrains the Empire—this really can be called confidence.” Celicia let out a mocking cold laugh. “That’s the only kind of trick they’re worthy of playing.”

“Is the Kingdom not afraid of playing with fire and burning itself?”

Muen asked, puzzled. “The demon race isn’t targeting only the Empire. If they get the chance, they’ll definitely take a bite out of the Kingdom too.”

In a certain sense, the demon race in this world was very much like the nomadic peoples of the ancient world from Muen’s previous life.

In overall strength, they certainly weren’t comparable to a behemoth like the Empire with hundreds of millions of people. Because of the limits of their land, their productive capacity was also far inferior.

But those monsters who, because of the poisonous aftermath of the Demon God, had no choice but to live in the Abyss, were born and raised in that harsh land of pale mountains and black waters. They struggled to survive through mutual slaughter and competition. Toward fertile land and fresh blood as food, they had the most instinctive craving—a craving that could even make them forget so-called death.

Therefore, once the Empire’s Abyss defense line was torn open, what awaited them was the Empire’s vast fertile lands, and countless ordinary civilians with no strength to bind a chicken, helpless and at others’ mercy.

They would use that as nourishment to rapidly grow, greedily devouring everything they could devour... and when that time came, trying to drive them back would truly become extremely difficult.

“Who knows? Maybe for those idiots in the Kingdom, as long as they can bring down the Empire, sharing with the demon race isn’t something they can’t accept.” Celicia said expressionlessly.

“That’s true too.”

Muen shrugged in self-mockery, feeling like he’d asked a stupid question.

Even before the end of the world arrived, human beings could still fall into internal strife—so how could the Kingdom, whose eyes had long been blinded by hatred for the Empire, possibly see a more distant future?

In their eyes, the Empire was the mortal enemy that had to be brought down immediately.

“Looks like I have to make a trip after all.”

Muen sighed.

Right now Father was severely wounded, the demon race’s offensive was fierce, and what was even more serious was that Father had been struck into severe injury in front of several hundred thousand troops.

Therefore, the urgent issue now was stabilizing the army’s morale.

And for this matter, no one was more suitable than himself—as the Lion King’s son, and the future successor of Duke Campbell.

By emotion and by reason, he had to go.

“This trip of yours is very dangerous, and the most important thing is, I might not be able to support you with much.”

Celicia looked into Muen’s eyes and, rarely, showed a trace of apology. “At least right now, the Empire has no spare strength to draw troops away to help the Abyss defense line.”

“Because of the Kingdom?”

“Not only because of the Kingdom. More importantly, we ourselves are already in a weakened state.”

Celicia lowered her eyes. “Even though the parasites have been cleaned out, what that causes isn’t only a lack of officials. Even among the army’s mid-level officers, there’s a severe shortage right now. After all, many of those posts were previously held by the sons and grandsons of those parasites.”

“Mid- and lower-level officers are the foundation of an army. Right now we’re strongly promoting capable people, but that still takes time. An army lacking grassroots officers—if it’s rashly moved long-distance—not only has no combat power, it only adds chaos. That would instead plunge the Empire into an even greater crisis.”

“And the Kingdom just happened to pinch this exact timing.” Muen let out a long sigh with her.

Seen this way, that Seventeenth Prince’s mission as an envoy felt as if, from the very beginning, it had been acting according to some kind of script.

The person manipulating him from behind might never have expected him to succeed at all—only using him as bait, as a reason, as the fuse to ignite a powder keg...

Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t as an excellent son.

“The western territories will fully mobilize the people and transport everything that can be of use, ensuring the Abyss defense line’s logistics, but the rest... really can only rely on you for the time being.”

Celicia suddenly turned and hugged Muen. Warm breath brushed his shoulder as she said softly, “I’m sorry.”

“You’re the Empire’s emperor. How can you say sorry so many times?”

Muen smiled and stroked Celicia’s head. “Don’t worry. I’ve been through so much. Even though every time I’m always shouting about being unlucky, looking at it now, at least my life is still pretty tough.”

“One year.”

Celicia suddenly said.

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Hold out for one year. In this year, I will personally sit in command at the Empire’s border.”

Celicia raised her head. In those eyes that had just shown tenderness, terrifying ice instantly congealed.

“In one year, I will completely crush those scum in the Kingdom.”

“...”

Worthy of Celicia—still this domineering.

Muen smiled, and the hand resting on Celicia’s head stroked again with gentle warmth.

Celicia didn’t refuse.

“And also.”

She continued. “When you come back, we’ll officially get married.”

“...”

Muen’s hand immediately stiffened, and the farewell melancholy he’d just been brewing vanished without a trace.

“Th-this fast?”

“What, you’re unwilling?”

Celicia narrowed her eyes. That terrifying chill made Muen shudder on the spot. “Or are you thinking about which little thief-cat right now?”

“N-no, that’s not what I mean. I mean, saying this now... doesn’t it kind of feel like planting a flag?”

Get through this battle and go home and get married—ninety-nine percent you’re not coming back, okay. Muen complained inwardly.

“You actually believe in that kind of thing?” Celicia let out a cold laugh, fully displaying her contempt for fate.

“Don’t worry.”

As if soothing him, she held Muen even tighter. “After we get married, our first child in the future will become the next emperor.”

“The first?”

“The royal family is weak right now. Don’t tell me you think having only one child is enough.” Celicia went cold again.

“N-no, you misunderstood again.”

Muen wrapped an arm around Celicia’s slender waist and said gently:

“You’re just worried you’ll be too tired...”

...

...

After leaving the palace, Muen thought for a while and didn’t go back to his residence.

Instead, while the sky had just turned bright, he rode a cheap carriage all the way to a remote area on the outskirts of the city.

Deep in the alleyways that were already somewhat run-down, but whose weeds had been cleared very cleanly, a wooden sign hung on a door.

“Dawn Orphanage.”

After that crisis in Belrand before, many more children had become homeless, so Muen paid out of his own pocket and, in the empress’s name, built several orphanages.

This was one of them.

In the early morning, there was still a bit of drifting mist, but in the yard you could already faintly hear children’s laughter.

Muen knocked on the door.

Creak—

The old wooden door was pushed open. A gaunt old man pressed his hands together and waited in silence.

“Get ready. Come with me.”

“Where to.”

“The Abyss.”

“Okay.”

He didn’t even ask the reason. King Yintuo directly nodded.

“Give me some time. I still have things to take care of.”

Muen looked past King Yintuo’s back. A little girl who looked a bit slow-witted but very cute was sitting on a wooden chair, one foot swinging a shoe that was only half on, humming a blurry little tune like a lullaby.

“No rush.”

Muen smiled. “There’s still time to say goodbye.”