pappabearbooks Chapter 584: I Hit Him. What Are You Going to Do About It?
Chapter 584: I Hit Him. What Are You Going to Do About It?
Lumir, now attacked on three sides, has no idea which side it should defend against.At present, one-third of its army has been transferred to the east.
Another third has been directly disarmed by Ika Kingdom's army, which has turned on them and revealed its fangs.
After all, those hundred thousand plus troops are still inside the allied army, while Ika has nearly four hundred thousand troops on its side.
In addition, Ika deliberately split Lumir's army into three parts. Now those troops do not even have a chance to resist.
As for the remaining third of the army, they have no idea which side they should support.
Peace Haven's army is breaking through like splitting bamboo, capturing cities and seizing land all the way, without an enemy that can withstand a single exchange.
In just over half a month, it rips nearly twenty thousand square kilometers of territory from Lumir's eastern region.
Ogiro's army is even pressing down with a massive force. The border defense line completely collapses, and the Lumir army besieging Ironwood Fort is forced to withdraw.
If they had been any later, they would have been surrounded in return.
Although Ika Kingdom has not openly broken relations and declared war, it suppresses Lumir with sheer force and keeps pushing south with its army.
Every city along the route must hand over its defenses to them, and every noble castle must accept stationed troops.
Ika Kingdom activates the hidden assets it has buried over many years. Even if a city wants to resist, its leaders are immediately assassinated.
They are almost receiving Lumir's land along the road at an ordinary marching pace.
In just over half a month, the territory they occupy is even larger than what Peace Haven has taken.
Now, the supposed saviors from the west finally appear.
Tobias, commander of the Imperial Knights of the Western Federation, and Beirus, commander of the Church Guardian Knights, arrive in Holy Lake City as the envoy representatives.
The two of them invite all three sides to meet in Holy Lake City and mediate this war that, in their view, should never have happened.
All three sides say they will send people over, but their armies do not stop moving.
With no other choice, the two knight commanders can only send their personal guards to the three forces separately and meet their leaders.
By the time the guards bring the formal invitation letter to Henwell, Peace Haven has already captured nearly fifty thousand square kilometers of land.
A little farther south, they would be less than one hundred kilometers from Ironwood Fort.
Still, as the saying goes, now is not yet the time to openly break with the church and the empire.
Henwell gives face to the two Glory Rank professionals. He orders the army to stop advancing and begin urgently constructing fortifications and fortresses.
Henwell himself follows the Western Regions knight guards to Holy Lake City alone.
This is not because Henwell is overconfident. After all, everyone now knows he is at Iron Rank.
There are many people who want him dead, but there are no longer many who truly dare to act.
Lumir does not have the ability to keep him there, and the two Glory Rank professionals from the Western Regions will not attack Henwell either.
He is going into someone else's lair to negotiate. Bringing more people would be useless.
If something really happens, it will be easier for him to escape alone.
Among the three sides, Henwell is the first to arrive in Holy Lake City. He originally wants to take a look at what Holy Lake looks like.
But as soon as he enters the city, he is sent to a guest residence. Around him are the personal guards of the two legion commanders, and outside them are patrolling and vigilant duchy knights.
This is not to monitor or guard against Henwell. On the contrary, it is to protect him.
Although Henwell is powerful, he cannot be attacked here.
It is still the same saying. There are many people who want Henwell dead. They do not show it openly, but there are plenty in the dark.
Especially when they can dump the blame on Lumir's royal family, many people are very willing to do it.
And so, under layer after layer of protection, Henwell rests comfortably for several days.
Only after Ika Kingdom's envoy and Ogiro Kingdom's envoy arrive is Henwell brought to Holy Lake Hall inside the palace.
This hall has a long history and has existed for several hundred years.
Its decorations are extremely luxurious, especially the blue glass dome above.
Under the cleverly arranged lights, it looks like a rippling lake hanging above everyone's heads.
The person from Ogiro is Sixth Prince Sundike, while the person from Ika is Prince Kullen.
After the three sides arrive, King Semson of Lumir is the first to launch an accusation. He says the three sides invaded his territory and started a shameless war of aggression.
Tobias, commander of the Imperial Knights, looks at the three sides. "Does anyone have anything to say about this?"
Prince Kullen is the first to refute him. "We are not invading. We are merely sending troops to help with defense out of our responsibility as an ally."
"Henwell of Peace Haven is very ambitious. It looks as though he has already reached a private agreement with Ogiro and intends to divide up all of Lumir."
"As Lumir's ally since ancient times, we naturally cannot stand by and watch."
"But because there are many inconveniences in fighting inside Lumir, we have remained cautious and merely helped them take over their defenses."
"That way, Lumir can draw out more troops and fight those two greedy wolves."
These words make Semson so angry that he almost jumps up and curses, but Beirus, commander of the Guardian Knights, stops him.
He looks toward Prince Sundike. "What does Ogiro Kingdom say?"
Sundike directly lifts his clothing and reveals the scar on his abdomen. "Lumir's people left this on me."
"Because of the battle against Peace Haven, our two sides had already reached an agreement. They clearly promised they would no longer support the rebels inside our country."
"Yet when we were suppressing the rebellion and the bandit leader fled here, they refused to cooperate and deliberately covered the rebels' retreat."
"That caused our suppression of the rebellion to fail, and that alone already violated the agreement."
"Ultimately, in order to stop us from pursuing the rebels, they even launched a direct attack."
"We had no choice but to hold our position and wait for reinforcements, but Lumir only escalated further and sent large numbers of troops to besiege us."
"Now our reinforcements have only come to rescue us. They are not invading Lumir."
"But this matter cannot be brushed aside, and it certainly cannot be settled with a casual apology."
"Otherwise, how are we supposed to answer to the people in our country who were ravaged by the rebels?"
"Our soldiers who suffered losses, as well as this wound in my abdomen, all require an answer."
Tobias raises his hand and stops King Semson, who has stood up to argue.
Then he looks toward Henwell. "What about you? You are truly invading Lumir. What reason do you have?"
Henwell does not answer immediately. He looks at King Semson. "Your Majesty, you declared war on Peace Haven earlier."
"If I remember correctly, you have never announced an end to the war, and you have been actively preparing to attack Peace Haven again, haven't you?"
"So, we are still enemies in a state of war."
After saying that, Henwell turns to Tobias. "Your Excellency, tell me, should I hit him or not?"
"I do not deny that I attacked into Lumir's territory. After all, we are at war."
Beirus frowns. "Henwell, withdraw your troops. This is the church's will."
Henwell rolls his eyes. "Where were you earlier? When Peace Haven was being besieged, why did you not tell them to withdraw?"
Beirus says, "Impudent! I said this is an order from the church!"
Henwell suddenly rises and kicks his chair apart. "Bullshit order!"
"My home was nearly torn down, and the church did not help me. Now you treat me like one of your own?"
"If you have the ability, kill me right now."
"Otherwise, take the Church Knights and attack Peace Haven together with Lumir!"
"Whatever the result is, I will be waiting!"