NOVEL NEXT 246. What now...?
After a few days, we returned to Avalon. For everyone, even for those who had secretly hoped for a miracle, the war ended with the crushing and absolute defeat of the Holy Kingdom of Berna. I officially crowned Elisabeth and Raphael as the Queen and the King of Everlight Province and received a strange error from the World System. Trying to guess what that meant was futile, so I quickly forgot about it. For most of our stay, we took part in the various celebrations, banquets, and other events wherever we were supposed to show up before I realised that I could simply say no. I know that Elisabeth was trying her best, but she was still thinking in terms of the old nobility. After that, Amber and Irene unleashed the Flower Girls, and all the remaining parties were far less official, and most of the people enjoyed them much more. Even I felt more comfortable during such parties, and they turned out to be a great success. The celebrations ultimately shattered the last lingering ghosts of the Holy Kingdom of Berna as people of all races put aside the past and discovered they were now one nation. Before we left Everlight, the atmosphere was very different. The people understood that I wouldn't put them in another kind of shackles, but I wasn't weak by any means. I had to earn their trust, but at least they were willing to see the future I promised.
With the news about the fall of Berna spreading far and wide like fire, even the regional wars in the other parts of the continent lessened their intensity, sometimes ceasing altogether. It was especially fortunate for Hilgvar because the southern countries finally created a multinational Union against Mia Francesca. Breonia had an alliance with Verksa, and even though the Kingdom of Verksa provoked that entire war, Breonia joined it as soon as Mia retaliated. That pulled all other smaller southern countries to war, thanks to the complicated network of agreements and pacts. What made matters worse for Hilgvar was that Breonia and Aswal declared complete unification through the marriage of Prince Hector Breonia and Princess D'ester Aswal. It became the biggest country in the region, even larger than Hilgvar, after conquering Verksa. Surprisingly, the new Kingdom was stable, and their most significant issue was deciding on their new name. It naturally took the lead in the Union. While Vetulia and Estaria were still treated as equal partners of the newborn kingdom, it was apparent that soon they may lose their importance. However, it was clear that Union had no idea what to do now.
The Union’s stubbornness led them into an awkward situation. They couldn't start peace talks with Hilgvar after all the propaganda justifying the prolonged war spread among their people. On the other hand, waging an expensive and devastating war against Hilgvar was stupid. Thanks to their mistake of declaring war, all those who supported Hilgvar in any form started terrifying them as my support for Mia became more and more obvious. To my amusement, Mia Francesca openly declared her friendship with me, and while she did not specify if she received any help from me, all eyes were fearfully turned towards me. Being the king of the biggest country of Aderon, I naturally ignored almost everyone. That gave the Union a pause since fighting Arcadia would be suicidal, and they desperately tried to take back their own words. Only the Empire of Metaka received official confirmation of her words in secret. A secret that spread quietly and reached everyone I wanted, cutting off the Union from any future help if they continued that pointless war. My silence was a bigger deterrent than sending another Legion to aid Mia. However, if that war was going to drag on indefinitely, I would send Victory, or if I felt particularly annoyed, Dauntless, as part of an official diplomatic visit. In the meantime, the Nekomi Queen masterfully played her cards, proving time and time again how trustworthy an ally she was.
Irene told me that most of the nations were waiting for me to dissolve a great portion of my armies. It was a common practice, and everyone would normally do that after such a seemingly brutal war to rebuild the population quickly. That would also help their treasuries, strained by the war efforts, to swell again since fewer soldiers meant more money for the crown. However, my Legions simply began the construction of fortifications, raising more questions and not helping to calm down the foreign powers. The true nature of my Legions was a secret known to a select few, with more or less accurate legends making circles among the civilian population of Arcadia. Only the original few hundred people living in Avalon before the start of the war against Josla were aware of who my Legionnaires were. That secret was the source of their pride and gave them a sense of uniqueness. As for the neighbouring Kingdoms, I wouldn't play by their rules. Nonetheless, the full-scale war in the south ended overnight, replaced by border skirmishes and careful raids. They would probably continue until the Union learned the nature of the deal between Arcadia and Hilgvar.
Even the factions in Metaka started talking amongst themselves before the planned succession war. Mindful of the presence of Cassmira Metaka in Avalon and her status as my Fiancée, the Empire's nobles forced their leaders to make a series of declarations. At some point, it created an awkward situation when the two Praetorians who guarded Matilda almost killed the envoys of Guad and Vettalia, who had tried to make her go with them. Fortunately, it turned out that once the nobles pressed Vettalia and Guad, they agreed to make the Empress the Guardian of Succession. She was going to rule as a regent until the war ended. Then, she would be guaranteed the safety and freedom to go to her children in Avalon. I was actually impressed when I saw the list of agreements between the two crown's successors. It looked like the expected chaos in Metaka was replaced by extremely precise rules of engagement. Darius was surprised by the sudden change in his oldest children and even mentioned his gratitude to me for creating such necessary pressure in one of his letters. Officially, I remained silent and was uninterested in the situation in Metaka. Less officially, it was beyond me that you could discuss with a straight face the very possibility of a civil war and rationalise it. Something like that should be avoided at all costs.
Arcadia, for all its size and feared might, was looked upon by all neighbours, friendly and hostile alike. While the shock of the downfall of two of the biggest and most powerful countries on the continent kept all hostilities aside, I knew very well it was just temporary. Considering the size of Arcadia, I didn’t have even a fourth of the size of the army required to have full control over the lands I called mine. Sooner or later, that news would become a well-known fact and might lead to some trouble. For now, every country in any meaningful vicinity was mindful and aware of the capabilities of my Immortal Legions, remaining unwilling to check their prowess on their own. The shipyards of Avalon and Westwood were working all around the clock to build new ships for the Royal Navy. My people knew that once we had enough ships of the newest types, we would get more time to develop in other fields. The vast resource deposits that once belonged to Bernans greatly contributed to the development of the armies and cities of Arcadia.
However, for now, at least, the wars that saw the rise of Arcadia had ceased. Yet, I felt... Strange. I knew there were still enemies plotting against us somewhere in the safety of shadows. After all that time spent in the familiar rhythm of war, I felt an irrational fear for the period of peace. My wives quickly noticed my unease, and after they learnt the reason for it, they ignored it just as quickly. Irene told me that I had to work it out on my own, and I knew she was right. Fortunately, a ton of work was waiting for me, so it wasn't a dangerous transition from days of stress to days of doing nothing. I reviewed the defensive plans made by Blair and implemented additional improvements just in case I had to upgrade my military again later. After all, the concept of fixed artillery positions was unknown in this world. While it was obvious that self-propelled guns were much more effective than any fixed installation, I decided to keep the evolutionary path of weapon technologies similar to Earth's. While my enemies were going to spend time and money on developing weapon systems that could match mine, I would have enough time to respond to any threat long before they could become a real danger. Additionally, my mortal armies would face fewer issues and develop fewer bad habits if they followed a steady pace of equipment upgrades.
I could recognise the panic among the leaders of the Union, whose armies were hastily equipped with catapults and ballistas. The first few battles, when they used them to counter the Legion's very outdated field artillery, ended in friendly fire incidents that were the direct cause of defeat. However, when I was informed about the progress of their tactics, I quickly swapped my Legion's mediaeval artillery with magi-cannons. That led to even further chaos since the enemy couldn't adapt to the rapidly changing battlefield situation. Thanks to that, the enemy military commanders started arguing with their superiors, stopping the already slow campaign. The absolute lack of flexibility and the sheer gap in knowledge between the two armies was already devastating. Still, the constantly growing experience of Legion's soldiers, despite many losses, was the biggest problem for the Union's generals. I was sure the moment when chaos would turn into despair was very near for them.
In the north, I decided the defensive lines needed much deeper analysis and replanning than I initially thought. Neither Elisabeth nor Raphael were skilled enough or even prepared to handle something like that. That was why, before I left, I decided to overview the construction of the fortifications personally. Elisabeth could then focus on reforming the northern province, while Raphael could concentrate on prosecuting various bandit groups. They were a real problem since all previously legal slavers and soldiers were unwilling to admit defeat, instead joining the existing bands and creating their own groups that terrorised the more remote regions. While the problem was annoying, it wasn't a dangerous situation by any means. Usually, a single Guardsmen company or equally small Legion detachment was sufficient to fully suppress the bandits, no matter how big the group was. My Guardsmen felt especially proud of that despite the occasional losses while facing typically overwhelming numbers of enemies. However, they were always victorious, and I knew they were supported by a very tired Zeus, who confirmed that he granted so many blessings to them that he rarely had time to sleep.
Unfortunately, not everything went according to the plan. Some of Blackbeard's privateers ended up quitting his group. Approximately five hundred men decided to relinquish the status of privateers and return to their pirate life. Blackbeard did what he said and gave them five brigs along with a warning never to show themselves over Arcadia. It was the outcome I suspected, but losing airships, even such primitive ones, still stung a little. Thankfully, I never had actual control over those ships, and I couldn't expect those men to operate as my Navy, so that loss hurt less than it could have. Two of the five ships took course towards Iceleon, but Blackbeard expected them to end up somewhere in Metaka, hoping to get some loot during the succession war. The rest of them sailed towards the west; most probably, they wanted to get southwest, but since the sky over Arcadia wasn't open anymore for them, they had to fly along the borders.
It was about time for the surrounding countries to make their move. While I mentally prepared for the diplomatic siege of my capital, I discovered that I was woefully unprepared for times of peace.