Martyr's Fortress.

It is a hastily built fortress located in an oasis on the south bank of the Wusu River in the south of Dexia.

This oasis is the gateway between the city of Toba and Narda, and is the fiercest battlefield for Descha against the Bacchus Empire for the past two years.

This is the fortress built by Sarah's father, Shalafan Sheikh, and where he committed suicide.

Shalafan, the rebel leader who once betrayed Bahad Khan Kadan, resolutely defended Desha's last dignity with blood and sword in the last days of his life.

He spent his life building up at the Martyr's Fortress, and the expeditionary force of Emperor Marius stayed under the fortress for an entire year, until the Bacchus army was exhausted.

Xerxes, the emir who was besieged in Toba at the time, and Kadan, who had fled to Narda, were given a respite and, with the help of Shalafan, left behind their mutual hatred and formed an alliance.

As a result, the last of the southern borders of the Duchy of Dexia were preserved.

But unfortunately, after the alliance of the two 'Bahad Khans', they have no intention of recovering the lost territory.

At the same time, the two brothers sent an agreement to the Fortress of the Martyrs admitting defeat, hoping that Shah Ravan Sheikh would negotiate peace with the Bacchus Empire on their behalf and accept the Bacchus Empire's occupation of most of its northern territories.

The two brothers, Cardin and Emir Xerxes, probably did not have the bloodiness to fight to the end, nor did they have the courage to admit defeat in person......

Perhaps Sharafan had been right all along—the brave Templars in the desert could indeed become weak if they lived in the city for too long.

So weak that he didn't even have the courage to admit defeat in person.

So Shalafan Sheikh signed a pact of defeat with the Bacchus Empire on behalf of the two 'Bahad Khans', and then - he committed suicide.

Sarah can now understand her father's obsession, though she still disagrees with his father's abandonment of his wife and daughter.

Shalafan Sheikh is a man who truly loves Desha, and he can give everything for Desha...... Whether it's his family or himself.

He committed suicide also because he could no longer see Descha's future......

The holy mountain of Gazi was burned, the god Vata was 'killed', none of the noble monks were martyred, and nobles like Cardin and Emir Xerxes did not have the consciousness to sacrifice for Desha......

For Shalafan Sheikh, his Descha is dead.

Therefore, this fortress is not called a 'holy fortress', but a 'martyr's fortress'.

Shalafan was the last martyr of Desha.

But this martyr did not gain the respect of the Descha people - because he was the one who admitted the defeat on Dexia's behalf, and he was the one who signed the contract of defeat......

Most people are ignorant.

The young Dexia who still had some blood, and even some of Shalafan's subordinates, were gritting their teeth and cursing Shalafan, the 'coward' who admitted defeat, but Cardin and Emile Xerxes did not suffer any blame......

They would only look down at the signature on the back of the black cauldron, but they would never look up at the instructing king.

In other words, they will only follow the trend and scold the people who everyone else is scolding, and ask those who dare to speak the truth to keep their mouths shut.

Probably, this is because cursing Shalafan will not have any consequences, while cursing Cardin is likely to hit the ground.

Only Sarah could shout at Martyrdom and Emile Xerxes - and in front of both of them.

Sarah, in her capacity as Foreign Minister of the New Pande, met with two 'Bahad Khans' at the Fortress of the Martyrs.

The two brothers had been waiting for a long time to get to the Martyr's Fortress, and each had a lot of guards with them......

Probably for fear of being assassinated.

But Sarah was actually waiting for them at the fortress alone.

Neither Cardin nor Emile Xerxes dared to speak loudly to Sarah......

They may feel a little guilty about Shalafan Sheikh.

Cardin had met Sarah as a child, and some of Shalafan's subordinates who had left in the Martyr's Fortress still knew Sarah, and they didn't have the confidence to embarrass Sarafan's daughter - of course, they didn't dare to embarrass them, and they couldn't afford to offend the current Neopander Kingdom.

Sarah is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and when she goes on an envoy, she represents the whole country, and if she is disrespectful to Sarah, she may have to bring Leon in again......

“…… I came here just to pay homage to my father...... But here I heard my father's infamy! ”

Sarah sat on the throne and glanced at the two 'Bahad Khans' on the left and right with an expressionless face: "What 'Shame of Dexia', what 'cowardly scum', and some people say that he is a 'traitor'...... I now wonder who the hell is the shame of Dexia! Who the hell is a coward scum! Dare to be a bastard, spineless and shameless, it's just a maggot!! ”

Sarah didn't name her, but everyone knew who she was scolding......

Cardin was silent, and Emilexerxes looked down at his feet.

Neither spoke.

"Aren't you two in an alliance? Now who of you two brothers has the final say? Who is Bahad Khan? ”

Sarah looked at the two brothers with a mocking look on her face - these two were scolded to their faces as maggots and did not return their mouths, worthy of the level of the Great Khan.

"He ......" "He ......"

Both brothers pointed at each other.

Then, they 'snorted' at the same time and stopped talking.

"Okay then, it seems that you are all self-aware and know that you don't deserve this title......"

Sarah stood up: "Since you know that you are not worthy to be the ruler of Dexia, then I will give you a chance...... Surrender to the kingdom of Neopander and accept the rule of His Majesty Leon, which may keep you safe......"

"What?" "Surrender?"

Cardin and Emile Xerxes stood up at the same time, they really didn't expect Sarah to make such a request so suddenly.

"We are not fighting the kingdom of Neopande...... Moreover, we have not offended His Majesty Leon......"

Emile Xerxes looked at Sarah with some strange looks.

"Yes, you didn't offend His Majesty Leon. But you have offended me!! ”

Sarah slapped his palm on the table: "My father's reputation, either wash it with your blood or wash it with your reputation, you choose!" ”

With that, she drew her long sword from her waist and used the blade as a mirror to look at her face.

"Ms. Sarah...... This is not an order from His Majesty Leon, is it? You're making an assertion......"

Cardin frowned and looked at the sword in Sarah's hand: "If we don't accept it, can you still declare war on us on behalf of the Neopander Kingdom?" ”

"I can't declare war, I'm the Minister of Foreign Affairs, not the Hand of the King...... I don't have an army, so I can't lead it myself. ”

Sarah said slowly, her voice cold and flat: "However, I have the friendship of His Majesty Leon - if I die in the territory of Dexia, I can guarantee that His Majesty Leon will definitely lead his troops to level Dexia and kill you all......"

Cardin and Emilexerxes looked at each other, and there was real panic in both of their eyes.

They knew that what Sarah said was true, and that she did have the courage to die here.

Not to mention the friendship between Sarah and Leon, just by virtue of Sarah's identity as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, it is absolutely impossible to have an accident in Dexia - let alone die in Dexia, even if Sarah is slightly injured in Dexia, the new Pande Kingdom will definitely die with Dexia.

Moreover, both Cardin brothers knew that Leon was probably willing to do so......

"Lady Sarah, if His Majesty Leon is willing to restore the territory of the Duchy of Dexia, I am willing to pay tribute to the Kingdom of Xinpande!"

Cardin quickly relented and paid back.

"Phew...... Duchy of Dexia? You still intend to become a vassal principality of the Kingdom of Pande? You have ceded the Northern Territories and recognized that most of the North is under the rule of Bacchus, and the ink on this defeated agreement has not yet dried, how can you recover? ”

Sarah smiled sarcastically, "Your current realm is nothing more than the equivalent of a county...... I don't mind asking His Majesty Leon to make you both counts. However, there is only one Descha, but there are two of you - I ask again, who has the final say in Descha? ”

Cardin and Emile Xerxes were silent again.

That's right, the kingdom of Neopander and Bacchus are now allies, and Leon is a partner with Ramon of Singar, and it is impossible for him to return the territory occupied by Bacchus and the independent Singar to Dexia......

Who has the final say in Descha?

Now I'm afraid that Leon has the final say...... In other words, Sarah, who represents Leon, has the final say.

"Of course, you can also kill yourself or run away - so that you don't have to be embarrassed, and I won't force two dead men to clear my father's name......"

Sarah threw the sword in her hand onto the table, and the crisp sound of the 'bell' shook the two 'Bahad Khans' into a cold sweat.

Suicide? Are you kidding......

Desertion? Where to flee to? With Sarah's attitude, if she really fled, I'm afraid that she would be followed by the Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood, right?

The two brothers thought about it for a long time, then got into a fight, and finally wrote a table of reductions.

Those who know the times are handsome, and it is much better to be an earl than to be dead, and it is a country at least, at least it has autonomy.

This time, Emir Xerxes did not fight with Cardin for the dominion of the kingdom of Dechabe, but the two brothers still fought over who would sign the Table—but not for the signature, but for the other to sign......

Because whoever signs will be scolded, and those who sign the demo will definitely be saddled with infamy such as 'coward' and 'traitor'.

In the end, the surrender was signed by the names of the two 'Bahad Khans'.

This is what Sarah asks for – Sarah says to see their sincerity.

When Sarah returned to Long River City with Dexia's letter of surrender, Leon also happened to deal with Fletcher's affairs.

Sarah's return to Leon was of course an unexpected gain - it was indeed Sarah's own initiative, but she did it better than anyone could have imagined.

And Leon's next order was actually more ruthless than Sarah's.

He made Cardin 'Earl of Narda' and Emir Xerxes 'Earl of Toba', divided the two brothers' domains into two counties, and allowed them to keep only those troops that were worthy of the status of a count—no more than a hundred fully armored knights, or a thousand lightly armored soldiers.

If the armor or army is exceeded, it will be directly considered rebellion.

And Sarah ...... Leon also made her an earl, and the name given to her was 'Earl de Xia'.

Of course, the title of Minister of Foreign Affairs is a little higher, and Sarah does already have the merit to be worthy of this title.

Her fiefdoms are the Martyrs' Fortress, the village of Ghahar, and the Holy War Fortress. This was the former territory of Shalafan Sheikh, who had just cut the realms of Cardin and Emir Xerxes in half.

Sarah will remain the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and her fief will be managed by another person - her fiancé, Sigismund, who has just been made a Knight of the Oath by Leon.

For a king, he must be calm and clear in his priorities.

Even if you encounter close subordinates colluding with foreign enemies, you must hold back your emotions, first rationally solve the threat posed by the Catu, and arrange all government affairs, and finally deal with the betrayers.

Leon has always been a sane man.

At present, everything inside and outside has been arranged, and Leon left for Fort White Deer to meet Charles.

——

October 16, 358 Pander.

This day is the blessed day of the goddess of order.

It was also the day of the end of the war.

A day earlier, His Majesty had returned to White Deer Fort to inspect the reserves and announce that the entire kingdom of Neopander had been de-prepared for war.

The Gato have completely retreated to the steppe, and calm has returned to the Lion Realm and the Noldor Forest.

Descha has become one of the three counties of the kingdom of New Pande.

The Bacchus Empire is currently an ally with the Kingdom of Neopende, cooperating on many fronts.

Fieldsway has also fully withdrawn from the Lion Realm, and is said to be asking His Majesty Amy for a non-aggression pact.

Except for the pair of siblings in the Raven Realm who are still fighting for the throne, there is no longer a war on the entire continent.

I can finally do my job as the commander of His Majesty's Imperial Guard.

I have been leading troops to fight for this year, and it was a good thing to be able to lift the state of war.

But His Majesty Leon was in a bad mood.

This is because of Charles.

I can imagine how sad His Majesty Leon was in his heart—Charles was not only the son of the Earl of Auden, whom His Majesty regarded as a friend, but also His Majesty's first Knight of Oath.

It is indeed unimaginable that such a person would collude with foreign enemies.

I tried to comfort His Majesty Leon, but His Majesty said that he had seen so much intrigue and betrayal over the years that he would not dwell on Charles' conspiracy with the Catus.

His Majesty simply told me that he had an unsolvable problem and that there was no one to help him.

I thought carefully about the situation of the entire continent, but I didn't see any problems that could not be solved......

His Majesty Leon has effectively controlled half of the continent, the new army trained by Jocelyn is almost formed, and Lady Boudis has also trained a female army in Eagle Claw Fort, and now the kingdom of Neopander is strong, and no country on the entire continent can pose a mortal threat to the kingdom of Neopande.

Construction of the city has also continued, and the Long River Express has been transporting lamb from Fletcher to various places.

In the area of Lion City and Luxin Lake, it is said that His Majesty Amy has successfully cultivated millions of acres of land in the past few months.

Reforestation is underway in the Noldor Forest, and the fire barrier is being repaired, and His Majesty Leon intends to turn the barrier into a road through the forest so that Bacchus' supplies can also be delivered to the forest market.

The country looks prosperous, people are confident about their future lives, everything looks going well, and everyone has a lot of praise for His Majesty Leon.

The only one who was dissatisfied was Aldaryan. Because His Majesty did not exterminate the Cato people, but started a deal with the Cato people, Ardalian felt that His Majesty Li Ang was raising tigers.

Of course, in fact, Ardalian also knew that if some ordinary goods could be exchanged for temporary peace on the border, this transaction would definitely be a good deal - as long as the kingdom of Neopand was allowed to develop in peace for a while, the Gatu people would no longer have to worry about it, and everyone was confident in this.

But His Majesty Leon was still anxious.

Especially today, after His Majesty met Charles, he asked me to put him in the White Fort Bank as well.

Moreover, His Majesty also ordered me not to let Wendy out until he returned......

I don't understand this order, why did Your Majesty lock himself up?

But I had to do it—His Majesty Leon almost never looked anxious, and I was under the impression that he had always been able to solve all problems with a smile.

But this time, he kept frowning.

I'm upset.

—From The Battlefield Diary of New Pande, by Risardiran Aino.

(End of chapter)