A Core Ship From The Start Chapter 622

Chapter 622: Chapter 461: Decision_1 Chapter 622: Chapter 461: Decision_1 Upon hearing the Black Swan's recount, Kriolleiv stayed silent for a long while.

“…Is this the message that man left for me?”

“Correct, he made himself very clear. Speaking is his part, conveying is mine, as for listening–that's up to you.”

Black Swan nodded slightly.

“I understand. That will be all.”

Kriolleiv sighed deeply, waved his hand, and the latter bowed and left. Kriolleiv then turned his gaze outside the tent, a hint of agony surfaced in his eyes.

Escapism…is it?

As the most prestigious general Herman, Kriolleiv of course knew the problems facing the nation. The succession dispute between Princess Hera and Prince Barton had never stopped since the former king's death. At that time, he had remained silent. Deep down, Kriolleiv hoped that Prince Barton could rise and become a competent king.

But to his surprise, the pressure-burdened Prince Barton chose to collude with the Demon Clan, attacked Lisas, and was ultimately defeated and killed.

And thus, Princess Hera naturally became the emperor–a puppet in the hands of those people.

He still remembered the time when he saw both of them earlier. They were very lovely children then. But fate plays tricks on people. No one would have thought that it would come to this today. To be honest, Kriolleiv himself also wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing. He knew some secrets of the royal family. He was aware that the relationship between Queen Dowager Pamela and Chancellor Stisseth was ambiguous. But as a warrior, he thought he should stay out of politics.

In Kriolleiv's opinion, that would be an overreach.

But Duanmu Huai told him that he was only escaping.

Perhaps, the man was right. He had been turning a blind eye to this all along, passively obeying the Congress's orders like a puppet. He was probably subconsciously trying to ignore this fact. But… is it really alright like this?

Isn't this a betrayal of the late emperor's expectation?

Must Herman, as it is now, ultimately face destruction?

Once upon a time, Kriolleiv considered dying with the old Herman as his final act of loyalty.

But now…

“Hmm?”

Just as Kriolleiv was wavering, noises from outside the tent suddenly reached his ears, causing him to frown. At that moment, his aide, Carl, also entered the tent.

“Reporting, sir, the Second Legion has arrived!”

“So soon?”

Upon hearing Carl's report, Kriolleiv was somewhat surprised.

“Who's leading? General Aritras?”

“No, it's …”

“It's me.”

However, before Carl had a chance to finish, a pudgy man with short stature and blond hair strode into the tent. With a sly smile on his face, he directed his gaze at Kriolleiv.

“Hello, General Kriolleiv. Deputy Combart of the Second Legion, I'm reporting with reinforcements. Oh, and here's the Congress's latest directive.”

The Congress's latest directive?

Upon hearing this, Kriolleiv's gaze became even more grave. He reached out for the letter, took it over from Combart, read it carefully, and fell silent.

“… Sir?”

Seemingly sensing a bad omen from Kriolleiv's silence, Carl asked hurriedly. It was then that Combart replied with smug delight.

“According to the Congress's decree, I'll be the commander-in-chief of these Union forces from now on. You don't have a problem with that, do you, General Kriolleiv?”

“What?!”

Upon hearing this response, Carl was stunned. He couldn't believe that Congress would issue such an order.

After all, Combart was only a deputy, not a general. In terms of rank, even if they needed to replace someone, it should be chose from the generals of the Second and Fifth Legions. There shouldn't be any turn for a deputy of the Second Legion to assume command of the entire Union forces!

But… logically speaking, it was a different story.

Carl knew that Kriolleiv and Congress have always been in contention. After several consecutive failures in the past few days, it's clear that Congress no longer trusts General Kriolleiv. Although Combart was a deputy, judging by his triumphant demeanor, it's conceivable that this guy must have made some sort of private deal with Congress. Thinking about it, it did make sense. After all, among the three legions, the generals of the First, Second and Fifth Legion didn't have a good relationship with Congress. Only this deputy of the Second Legion was seen as a cunning opportunist. It wasn't entirely impossible if he colluded with Congress.

“Congress is very dissatisfied with the First Legion's battle results.”

As expected, Combart soon started to act smug.

“The council demanded that we capture the target at all cost, yet you, the First Legion of forty thousand, cannot seize the mere Bonn Fortress, greatly disappointing the council. Therefore, Chancellor Stisseth has commanded me to command both the First and Second Legions, and seize Bonn Fortress before the arrival of the enemy's Steel Giant!”

Energized, Combart clenched his fist.

“This time, I will command personally!”

In a less polite way, Combart did indeed qualify to scorn Kriolleiv.

Yes, the First Legion is the pride of the Herman nation, but in terms of combat experience, the Second Legion, fighting year-round at the border against the Demon Clan, was clearly more seasoned. For the Second Legion, any means could be tolerated as long as victory was secured. This was why Combart disdained Kriolleiv, thinking him too rigid, too old-fashioned in this era where chivalry and combat rules no longer mattered, just winning mattered!

Quickly, the next morning, Combart excitedly launched another attack on Bonn Fortress.

The one who took the lead this time was…

“It's time for you to witness the true power of genius Elsa!”

Standing on the city walls, facing the army in front of her, the blonde girl in her noble's attire showed no sign of faltering.

“You are fortunate to witness my magic in person. Now, let's begin!”

As she spoke, Elsa extended her hand, drawing a crystal chessboard from her bag and holding it aloft. She gently brushed her hand across it and in the next moment, enormous chess pieces fell from the sky, landing in front of the Herman army, seeming to form a chess piece array ready for battle!

“Go, Fantasy Soldiers!”

At Elsa's command, the soldier chess pieces, almost as tall as the city walls, wielding longswords, leaped forward and charged at the enemy.

“What on Earth is this?!”

At the sight of these odd chess pieces, Combart was taken aback, but quickly regained his composure and swiftly issued an order.

“Hurry, attack! Smash these pieces to pieces!”

Following Combart's command, the soldiers of the Herman Corps drew their longswords and charged at the towering chess pieces. Soldier chess pieces managed to ward off the attacks by swinging their longswords, sending Herman's soldiers flying after every swing.

However, just as the Herman soldiers were ready to attack, their sight blurred and walking fortress-like chess pieces blocked their path.

“Protect my soldiers, Fantasy Castle!”

Taking another step forward, Elsa raised her hand.

“Summon the soldiers, Mysterious Queen!”

Following Elsa's command, a chess piece in the back holding a scepter raised its hand. Next, Fantasy Soldier chess pieces started falling from the sky, landing on the ground, picking up their weapons, and charging at the enemy!

“Don't stop, keep smashing! Smash these damned chess pieces!!”

Combart at this moment was furious. Fortunately, although these pieces were quite powerful, they were few in number. After sacrificing hundreds of men, the Herman army finally managed to destroy most of the chess pieces.

“Boom!!”

With the fall of the last piece and subsequent explosion, the barricade in front seemed to have completely vanished. Seeing this, Combart's eyes were bloodshot and he could almost see the hope of victory.

“Good, charge———-!!”

“How foolish.”

Watching the charging Herman soldiers again, Elsa laughed.

“No one can match my perfect strategies. You are not on par with me, the ultimate king of the chess board! Descend here, seize victory!”

“Boom!!!”

Following Elsa's call, a king chess piece, taller than even Bonn Fortress, wearing a crown, suddenly fell from the sky, standing right in front of the Herman army. Along with it, dozens of soldier and knight chess pieces also fell behind it, once again entering the battlefield.

How could this be?

Seeing even more soldier chess pieces than before, Herman soldiers and Combart were stunned. They had never imagined the opponent's magic to be so eerie, so terrifying! Those pieces were not easy to deal with, even Herman's seasoned Second Legion expended a lot of effort and losses to eliminate the previous chess soldiers.

It seems… was all that just a prelude?

“With this, it's checkmate!”

Looking at the pale-faced Herman soldiers in front of her, Elsa raised her hand with a triumphant look.

“Prepare for a complete defeat! None of you have the slightest chance of escape in front of this genius!”

Chapter end

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