Chapter 815
Episode 204: Declaration of War (Part 2)
Ziphl, Drakka.
“The Imperial Dragonclaw Fortress has been attacked by the Red-Eyed Tribe. Our propaganda efforts will lose their power,” Veradin said as he reviewed the report. Ziphl’s informants hadn’t witnessed the battle firsthand but had confirmed the fortress lay in ruins.
Next to the report were various newsletters. The Luterro Federation’s papers all stirred up fear, claiming that Jin and the Balmel Alliance had awakened the Red-Eyed Tribe to threaten the Federation. Meanwhile, Hupester’s newsletters detailed the Dragonclaw Fortress’s decisive victory.
The contrast was stark. Just comparing losses: Ziphl had lost a second-class magic tower, while the Balmel Alliance lost the Dragonclaw Fortress but managed to rescue most of their reserve knights and dragons, even defeating Drek and the fleet.
“Hupester hasn’t been able to publish a proper rebuttal regarding the claim that the Red-Eyed Tribe was awakened by Jin Runkandel. I suggest we focus our efforts there,” Satlin said.
“Proceed with that, Brother Ronil. That’s the key point to emphasize, especially since we’ll have to rewrite history ourselves later. But this incident will only reinforce the public’s impression that we’re more incompetent than the Balmel Alliance. And that truth stings even more,” Veradin replied.
“…It’s a matter of technology. The Balmel Alliance seems to have secured not only teleportation but also ultra-long-range communication. Our spies inside the Empire confirmed this,” Satlin added.
Veradin nodded.
“If the previous governor had dealt with Valeria Hister in time and protected Tingen Bauer properly, the technological gap wouldn’t have widened this much. Our only chance to leap forward like the Balmel Alliance is to seize technology from the Red-Eyed Tribe. The chaos control tech we invested in right before the Demon God War is now almost useless.”
The problem was that they had no clue where the Red-Eyed Tribe’s stronghold was.
“…It’s frustrating. The Red-Eyed Tribe holds the initiative completely. To analyze their technology, we have no choice but to wait for their invasion. After the battle, we can only examine the wreckage, Governor. Of course, if we manage to capture any of them alive, that would be better.”
“Even then, we’ll be behind the Balmel Alliance. Jin has already obtained a lot of their equipment and debris from the battles at Kinzello’s Third Branch and the Dragonclaw Fortress. Valeria Hister and Tingen Bauer are probably analyzing it thoroughly. And after this defeat, they’ll fear Jin even more. Do you all understand what that means?”
Veradin narrowed his eyes and scanned the officers.
“It means the Red-Eyed Tribe will likely target only us and Kinzello from now on. But since Kinzello found Jin unexpectedly during their invasion, they probably decided it’s safer to strike us.”
The room grew heavy with tension.
“Governor, have you heard anything from the priestess?”
“No, Captain Mangryeong. She’s been fervently praying and says she might soon have some revelation. Discovering the whereabouts of the previous governor and the Red-Eyed Tribe’s base is her responsibility.”
Naturally, Ziphl was still tracking Keliak Ziphl. They had to eliminate Keliak and Shinu completely to accelerate the completion of the Demon Stone.
“If the priestess can accomplish that… then what we need is time. Time until she delivers results.”
Just then, a commotion came from the hallway.
“What’s all the noise about?”
An officer sitting at the back shouted, and a mage entered hurriedly.
“Governor! The Red-Eyed Tribe’s ships are flying over the Federation, scattering these leaflets…!”
“What? Their ships are flying over Federation airspace!?”
“Give it here.”
The mage pressed a note into Veradin’s hand, his face tense. The note read:
(To the people of the Luterro Magic Federation,
The Red-Eyed Tribe hereby declares war on the surface-dwelling Luterro Magic Federation.
The Federation cannot withstand us.
But when this war ends in our victory, what remains will not be only blood, death, and scars.
Before formally beginning the war, we make two promises to ordinary humans not affiliated with the Federation military.
First, we will conduct this war excluding harm to civilians. We are conquerors, not murderers. Soldiers who surrender will be treated as civilians and given proper treatment. Only soldiers will die by our swords and bombardments. Civilians will never be massacred.
Second, after the war, we will dramatically advance the civilization of the Luterro Magic Federation. Using the superior technology and resources of the Red-Eyed Tribe, the entire Federation will be redesigned, and civilians will equally enjoy all benefits.
Our next target is one of Ziphl’s first-class magic towers. Within a week, you will lose one.
Prepare yourselves.
The Red-Eyed Tribe will restore this world to perfection.
— Bakalun Yung, Great War King of the Red-Eyed Tribe)
The officers blinked in stunned silence after reading the message.
From the tone, it was clear the Red-Eyed Tribe was already confident of total victory.
“How considerate of them to even reveal their next target,” Veradin said calmly, though the officers barely restrained their anger. In a thousand years, Ziphl had never faced such a provocation.
“What happened to the ships that scattered the leaflets?”
“I only saw them near Pailin. The Federation fleet tried to shoot them down immediately, but they escaped without damage. Our large ships couldn’t even keep up, and the small, fast ships couldn’t break through their defenses to continue the chase.”
“The technological gap in ships is too great, then. There are no superhumans waiting in Pailin either.”
“Yes, Governor.”
“Understood.”
After the mage left, a brief silence fell. Veradin looked at the officers thoughtfully.
“Immediately switch all first-class magic towers across the Federation to full combat readiness. Recall all major ships deployed externally.”
“What about the civilians near the towers?”
“Seal off the area. No evacuations allowed. Let’s see if they really keep their promise not to harm civilians.”
In other words, Veradin planned to use civilians as human shields. He understood why the Red-Eyed Tribe emphasized sparing civilians in their declaration.
“The results so far speak for themselves. We have almost no advantage over the Red-Eyed Tribe in this war. Our fleet’s performance, communication methods, and mobility are all severely lacking. So we must buy time to use what we’ve prepared—using civilians as a shield.”
“…Governor, do you think if they break their promise and massacre civilians, we won’t even get that much time? Ziphl’s forces?”
“That depends on the true strength of the Red-Eyed Tribe, Captain Mangryeong. But even if they massacre civilians, it won’t be all bad for us.”
“Why is that?”
“Because if they do, Jin won’t stand idly by and watch the war between us and the Red-Eyed Tribe.”
Veradin answered with a cold smile.
[The declaration of war shows just how much the Red-Eyed Tribe fears you,] Ameris said.
Tikan was holding a meeting as soon as he got the Red-Eyed Tribe’s declaration.
[They’re certain that if they massacre civilians—even if they belong to the Federation—you won’t stay out of this war. That’s why they emphasized it so much.]
Since the Simat faction was unsealed, the Red-Eyed Tribe had been gathering information about the surface world. Naturally, they studied the records of the Demon God War available to the public and learned from the Bimant royal family how not to provoke Jin.
That was the ironclad rule: never harm civilians.
If the Red-Eyed Tribe massacred civilians, Jin would immediately intervene. It was his duty as a Returner and a dominant figure in the current world.
In other words, even though this was a full-scale war between the largest underground power and the oldest surface faction, civilians were guaranteed an unprecedented level of safety—thanks to one man, Jin Runkandel.
Of course, since it was war, civilians in the Luterro Magic Federation would inevitably suffer in some way. They might lose family members in the military or lose their livelihoods and homes. But mass slaughter was strictly forbidden.
So as long as the Red-Eyed Tribe kept their word, the Balmel Alliance had nothing to lose. It was a war where only the ‘enemies’ would shed blood.
“During the last meeting, I said what we needed most was time. Time to build fleets, distribute communication devices across the region, complete mass-produced Eilos and magic knight units, analyze enemy capabilities, wait for Murakan’s return, and develop ways for my brothers to emerge outside. And now, it seems we’ve been given that chance.”
Jin’s companions looked at him.
“If the Red-Eyed Tribe and Ziphl both keep to their declarations, this war will drag on. The Red-Eyed Tribe can’t indiscriminately bombard civilians, and Ziphl doesn’t know their base, so they have no initiative. The key will be the moment one side finds a breakthrough.”
From the Red-Eyed Tribe’s perspective, the situation where they no longer had to watch Jin’s moves was about to come true.
From Zipple’s perspective, the key was to locate their stronghold and engage with full force to secure a victory.
These two factors were the crux of this war. Until either one was achieved, the Balmel Alliance could continue preparing for the inevitable expansion of the conflict.
“We need to issue a statement immediately. We will never enter this war as long as civilians aren’t massacred. Also, we should make it clear that we won’t spare any material support for the civilians isolated within the Federation. For now, we have to verify the outcome of the first battle ourselves, so start assembling a team and prepare to infiltrate each of the first-class magic towers.”