"What?"
"You could hear it from the signalman, but I don't want to distract the driver, so 'I' will explain. Ahem. Please listen carefully."
Before the long story, Hilde cleared her throat softly. Having steadied her breath like an actor about to perform a one-person play, Hilde began the world's heaviest tale with the world's lightest tone.
"By the time the advance party arrived at the Bottomless Pit wasteland, Yeolguk was already attempting to occupy Tantalus!"
Peerless Spear Patraktion marched toward the Bottomless Pit plains together with Majang.
Until recently, Peerless Spear had been gathering forces to drive out the progenitor of vampires, Tirkanzhaka. He thought that operation was only natural.
The progenitor of vampires had too great a presence to be allowed to roam the national territory. Both politically and militarily. Moreover, the Military Nation had much at stake.
The Military Nation was a country created by dismantling and reassembling every system and technology in the world. This included the methods of the Sacred Imperial Court.
What kind of reaction would the progenitor show when facing that... He was curious, but he absolutely did not want to test it.
Driving them out quietly was the rational approach. Peerless Spear undertook the operation with that thought.
Of course, that was merely an excuse to fight; the fundamental reason Peerless Spear undertook the operation was because he was a battle maniac.
Therefore, Peerless Spear nearly disobeyed the order to head to the Bottomless Pit.
"Good grief. Why the sudden order to go to the Bottomless Pit."
Peerless Spear swept his hand over his head while mounted on the cataphract.
He had received reports that Jiseon headed to the Bottomless Pit without a single word. That she performed a ritual to liberate the Bottomless Pit without caring that the progenitor and several others resided within Tantalus... so he heard from the signalman's very elaborate explanation.
However, seeing is believing. No matter how much he heard, it couldn't compare to seeing with his own eyes. When Peerless Spear confronted the result directly, he lost his words.
An unrealistically massive hole, and beside it, the overturned Tantalus lying drearily. The concrete ground, unable to bear its own weight, had snapped and formed a slanted slope. It was as though a giant had flipped open the lid covering the hole and departed.
Awe rose spontaneously from the sight alone. Peerless Spear spoke to Majang.
"So the Earth Mother Goddess actually exists. Right, old lady?"
"Every faith has its due reason. Even if not a god, power comparable to a god is no different from a god. In the past, magic was also called the power of gods."
"...I didn't say that to get a magic lecture from an old woman."
"I participated in the operation to move Tantalus to the Bottomless Pit. There's nothing new about it."
"Truly nothing new."
Peerless Spear shook his head as if bored and gazed at Tantalus. Then, he discovered something prowling around Tantalus and furrowed his brow.
"What's there?"
Suspicious groups prowling around Tantalus, an asset of the Military Nation. Their appearance resembled nothing else. That was why Patraktion knew who they were. Because they were the enemies he had encountered most frequently when he was the Northern Commander.
"Jackals already coming in packs? They sure have a nose for things... Wait."
It was natural for jackals to come for prey as large as Tantalus. The jackals scattered in all directions would have sensed the anomaly first. However, no matter how he looked at it, there was a massive entity that couldn't simply be dismissed as a 'jackal.'
"Juggernaut?"
Like the sun slowly revealing itself from behind the moon, the massive structure hidden in Tantalus's shadow gradually revealed its form as Peerless Spear approached.
It was a ship wandering across the land. A ship the size of a hill moved slowly, dragging dozens of auxiliary wheels.
The only thing that could be called a 'city' in Yeolguk where everything moves. Smaller than Tantalus, but the fact that a structure the size of a landmass could move was nothing short of wondrous.
Majang wore a grave expression upon seeing that form.
"If it's the Juggernaut, isn't that a big shot of Yeolguk? Why are they here when they never set foot outside their home territory?"
"Probably scheming to make this place their home territory."
Peerless Spear muttered, gazing into the distance.
"They told me to go to the Bottomless Pit out of nowhere. It doesn't seem like a simple tour."
"Certainly. The scale of the gathered legion was too large to deal with just a few people. Did the General Headquarters read this from the beginning...!"
"If it's against a Juggernaut, a single unit wouldn't even come close."
Facing the gradually growing form of the enemy, Peerless Spear's shoulders trembled slightly. Majang quietly watched his back and then spoke.
"Patraktion."
"What, old lady?"
"Are you smiling right now?"
Peerless Spear nodded without answering.
As they drew somewhat closer, a small shadow burst forth from the Juggernaut's direction. The four-legged beast that landed on the ground pounded the earth as it approached at an extraordinary speed.
The rider mounted on a beast stopped before the cataphract carrying Peerless Spear and Majang. Keeping a slight distance, the rider shouted to Majang.
"The Military Nation sure is convenient. You can tell at a glance who the commander is. There, are you the commander?"
"I am Prevljor, Commander of the Military Nation."
Majang answered with a nod. The rider seemed to recognize the name of the Six Generals and feigned surprise.
"Oh! The renowned Six Generals! A big shot has come!"
"Are you the Juggernaut's envoy?"
"You could say that. More importantly, what is the Military Nation's legion doing near the border?"
Majang answered with her arms crossed.
"...Rather, this is what we should be asking. For what reason has the Juggernaut approached the Military Nation's territory?"
"Hahaha! Why do you think jackals like us came? We heard there was a commotion, so we came to see if there's anything to scavenge!"
"With the Juggernaut?"
"Because there looks to be more than enough to scavenge! To carry what you can't hold in both hands, you need a cart, and for what a cart can't carry, you need a bigger cart! It seemed like the small mouths of jackals couldn't bite through everything, so we brought the Juggernaut! But... wait."
The rider said with a completely changed expression.
"More importantly, isn't it strange? We're originally that kind of bunch, but why did the Military Nation lead such a slow legion all the way here when there hasn't even been a war?"
Majang answered calmly.
"This is the Military Nation's territory. The Military Nation's forces can be on the Military Nation's territory."
"No, this is the border. Since when was the uninhabitable Bottomless Pit plains considered territory?"
"Since the Kingdom era, this place has been under the Kingdom's administration."
"Puhaha! What a joke. You're not the Kingdom, you're the Military Nation. Then why bring up the Kingdom? Has the Military Nation finally decided to serve a new king? After killing the old one with your own hands?"
For those who had lived since the Kingdom era, the king was always an uncomfortable subject. Those who were loyal to the king felt a vague rejection at the fact that they couldn't protect him, and those who rebelled against the king felt a vague rejection at the fact that they killed him with their own hands. No matter how tyrannical his rule, the king was still the king.
In Majang's case, if forced to choose, she was one who had rebelled against the king. However, even she, as one of the Six Generals, did not wish for the king's death.
Like the majority who participated in the coup, Majang also intended to take the king hostage and change the nation. It was easier to fix what existed than to break everything and build anew.
But the king died in an accident. He was swept up by the enraged crowd and trampled to death. Because no one intended it, ironically, the king who couldn't be killed ended up dead. The king's end, whom no one could harbor hostility toward, was vain.
Majang's brow furrowed even deeper, her mood disturbed. The rider giggled and provoked further.
"It wasn't your territory back then either. Let alone traitors who killed the great king with their own hands claiming to inherit the Kingdom's borders as they are? Puhahahaha! What a spectacle!"
"Stop your sophistry! Tantalus is the Military Nation's asset. It was the Military Nation that conquered the Bottomless Pit. Whatever the reason, you have no justification to loot Tantalus with the Juggernaut! Invading without a declaration—are you trying to start a war!"
"Invading? That's absurd! If this land were truly your territory, you wouldn't have led a legion here! Who leads a legion to invade their own land? You brought a legion because you have vulnerabilities, don't you!"
The rider looked around once and pressed further.
"Rather, it's suspicious. The Juggernaut is originally mobile, so it could come here quickly. But why did the Military Nation gather a legion and come here almost as fast? You're the ones who intended to start a war from the beginning!"
"Now you're spouting delusions."
"Delusions? We arrived only an hour ago! And even that was just one Juggernaut that was already moving, with barely a single rider arriving! Compared to that, you've gathered a legion that normally wouldn't even move! Your forces are at least double ours, so who's really the invader?"
Even as one of the Six Generals, Majang found it difficult to answer. In reality, Majang hadn't known the situation here until right before arriving. Majang had simply moved on orders from the General Headquarters.
At this point, the General Headquarters that predicted this entire situation and gathered forces was worthy of admiration. It probably wasn't a simple prediction, but a judgment made by consolidating information through the signalmen's reports.
"Why no answer? What, did you see the future? Become a saintess? 'A war will happen later, so we're preparing for war starting now,' is that it?"
Even so, she couldn't reveal Military Nation classified information about the headquarters to the enemy. It was when Majang was struggling to answer.
"Now, now. Let's both stop."
Peerless Spear, sitting on the edge of the cataphract, interjected into the conversation.
"No matter how much you dress up the words, the conclusion is the same. The Earth Mother Goddess's curse on this land has been lifted. The Bottomless Pit that swallowed everything is gone, so it will become fertile again. Naturally, neither side intends to yield it."
The Military Nation directly negotiated with Jiseon, constructed Tantalus, and dropped it into the Bottomless Pit. Although it was what Jiseon demanded in exchange for creating the meta conveyor belt, it was undeniable that they held a considerable stake.
And Yeolguk wants land they can settle on.
The Bottomless Pit was a hole that swallowed everything. In Yeolguk where weight was value, dropping something into the Bottomless Pit meant permanent loss. So they were gripped by fear and never went near it... but now that it was gone, if they didn't take this place as a foothold, they could expand no further.
Land that could not be yielded. Two nations coveting it.
"Then, there's only one way left."
Peerless Spear rested his spear on his shoulder, substituting the word that had been difficult to bring oneself to say.
"—War."
Words have a strange power. Everyone had certainly thought of it in their heads, but no one had drawn a clear picture. However, when Peerless Spear uttered that word, it was decided as if something had been poured out.
The first to react was the rider.
"...You've finally revealed your true colors! You started it first!"
Sand and dust surged up behind Majang.
The cataphract Majang was riding had been slightly protruded from conversing with the rider, and therefore those following behind could neither detect nor prevent their approach. In the meantime, three assailants who sprang from the ground flew at Majang in an instant.
The rider shouted, filled with ecstasy.
"The Military Nation is so easy to read! You can see exactly who the commander is!"
Yeolguk was a nation of alchemy. Transforming touched matter at will was their basic skill. Combat alchemists who had burrowed into the ground had tunneled through with improvised alchemy and approached.
A truly unexpected ambush from underground. However.
"Foolish."
Before they could even mount the cataphract, round holes appeared in the assailants' chests.
Red mist spread behind them. Sand soaked in blood clumped together and fell. They were warriors who had been somewhat carefully selected, and like Yeolguk, quite sturdily armed. But they couldn't withstand even a single move and returned to dust.
It was obvious who did it. The person in question was thrusting his spear while still seated.
"Yes. This is it. I'd forgotten for a long time... but this was it."
"A spear... don't tell me..."
Peerless Spear wore neither coat nor rank insignia. However, the master of the spear standing beside Majang was hard to mistake for anyone else.
The rider called out that name with a trembling voice.
"Patraktion? The Knight of Rebellion?"
He didn't bother to affirm what was already obvious. Instead, Peerless Spear raised his spear and thrust it forward. Simultaneously aiming at the flustered rider and the Juggernaut beyond, Peerless Spear smiled a smile he had held back for a long time.
"Duels need opponents after all. Opponents who stake their body and soul, craving something. The progenitor... was satisfying to fight, but lacked the resonance of soul. This is far more enjoyable than forcibly dragging out an opponent who has no will to fight."
The two characters of 'war' contain countless tragedies. Because it is fearsome and sorrowful, people tremble with terror at the mere word 'war.'
But Peerless Spear was smiling. In his trembling, there was only ecstasy.