The Allied Forces' leaders were in a great mood recently. Their necks and chins were held high with pride.
The division of spoils was nearly complete. Everyone had acquired considerable lands and wealth.
Messengers from various kingdoms arrived to commend their respective commanders. Once they returned home, they would bask in the glory of being war heroes.
"Ahem, now all that's left is to return home."
"With the kingdom's territory expanded, the outcome is truly satisfying."
"The remnants of the Salvation Church are almost gone."
"Indeed, we must crush them completely so they can never rise again."
The horrors of the Salvation Church were now well understood. Despite their jubilant mood, a deep-seated fear lingered in their hearts.
For that reason, the Four Great Churches and all the kingdoms united in their resolve to crush the remaining remnants thoroughly.
So no one like them could ever rise again.
"They say the reorganized corps will depart soon."
"Well, since they're composed of elites, eliminating the remnants shouldn't be difficult."
"Those fools must already feel like their lives are over. Hahaha."
The remnants were no more than small rebel forces from minor kingdoms. Though scattered, strategies had been laid, and the conclusion was expected to be swift.
The Kingdom of Sardina would continue to serve as the Allied Forces' headquarters for the time being. Until the continent's chaos and rifts were entirely quelled, a central command was necessary.
While everyone felt relieved that the conflict was ending, Ghislain called for a meeting.
Assembled in Sardina's royal castle, they greeted Ghislain with cheerful smiles.
"Haha, what urgent matter has led the Commander-in-Chief to call this meeting?"
"Could it be more good news?"
"Are you perhaps planning to host a banquet?"
Without pressing concerns, their composure had relaxed. They even anticipated the possibility of more rewards.
Ghislain, surveying them with a grave expression, spoke.
"We cannot leave yet. We must prepare for a new battle."
The Allied Forces' commanders, still smiling gently, nodded in agreement.
"We're aware some remnants are left. That's why the subjugation forces are departing soon, isn't it?"
"Haha, I didn't know the Duke was so cautious. The remaining remnants are just rebels from minor kingdoms."
"Haha, it's that very cautious nature that brought us victory in the war, isn't it?"
"Of course. We'll wait for the results and leave at leisure, so there's no need for excessive concern."
Everyone laughed lightheartedly. Although they thought the meeting was unnecessary, they still felt good, considering it was Ghislain, the Duke Fenris, speaking.
Ghislain, observing their reactions, dropped a bombshell.
"We must fight a dragon."
"Hahaha, a dragon? Who could possibly defeat us?"
"Exactly, some lizard is nothing..."
"Ha, ha…?"
"…What?"
"Sorry, what did you say we're fighting?"
Those who had been laughing suddenly froze and stared at Ghislain.
An entity they had never considered appeared out of nowhere. Their faces showed disbelief as if they had misheard.
"Why is a dragon even mentioned here?"
"We must've misheard, right?"
"Are you joking because you're bored?"
Seeing their incredulous expressions, Ghislain shook his head.
"No, we truly must fight a dragon. Its name is Artherion, a White Dragon residing in the Shadow Mountains."
Ghislain relayed the information he had learned from Erenes, omitting details about the Adversary and focusing solely on the dragon.
When they heard the full story, everyone seemed stunned, but none more so than Marquis Gidion of the Turian Kingdom.
"So… the reason our kingdom has been under constant monster attacks is…"
"Yes, it's because of the dragon."
Marquis Gidion turned to Yulian, who nodded and added, "That's highly likely."
The Marquis was deeply shaken. Such a terrifying being had been living near their kingdom. And to think that the kingdom had been embroiled in chaos due to a dragon's whimsy.
The story was too absurd for everyone to believe immediately. What kind of dragon announces its arrival in advance?
"This is ridiculous—how could a dragon just appear out of nowhere?"
"Is this information reliable?"
"The strange phenomena in the Shadow Mountains remain unexplained."
Ghislain nodded and replied, "It is. The news comes from the Grand Chieftain. It's credible, so we must prepare."
They were aware of the Grand Chieftain's alliance with the Lutania Army. With Ghislain pressing the point, they reluctantly accepted the situation, albeit with confusion.
One noble cautiously asked Ghislain, "Then… how do we prepare?"
The war against the Salvation Church had been a battle among humans, fought using familiar methods. Handling the dimensional rifts was a different issue.
But a dragon? None of them knew how to fight one.
It had been centuries since a dragon had last appeared. The last recorded dragon corpse was over two hundred years ago.
Having no experience fighting dragons, their confusion was natural.
Ghislain looked around at the Allied Forces' leaders and said, "First, we must block the monster wave in the Turian Kingdom."
The incoming monsters would be unlike anything they had encountered before. It was a precursor to the dragon's appearance.
In his past life, a similar situation had occurred, but they hadn't known the reason at the time. Monster waves were common in the Turian Kingdom, so no one made the connection.
The dragon had appeared with a time lag after the monster wave, so they failed to link the two events.
In truth, no one had even thought to research the connection. At the time, humanity's alliance was already overwhelmed with fighting the expanding rifts.
But this time was different. Ghislain possessed knowledge from his past life and the information he had received from Erenes.
"This time will be different. We must prepare thoroughly."
The people murmured anxiously. They had heard of monster waves but assumed Ghislain was exaggerating. After all, the Turian Kingdom had built numerous fortresses to fend off monsters effectively.
Only Marquis Gidion, with a tense expression, asked, "What will be different?"
"Imagine every monster in the Shadow Mountains rushing out at once."
The leaders were visibly shaken.
The Shadow Mountains were infamous for their endless monster population. If all of them surged out at once, the numbers would be unimaginable.
Ghislain continued firmly, "This will not be like any battle we've fought before. Consider it a total assault in a single decisive engagement."
In his past life, when the monster wave hit, the Turian Kingdom was devastated.
Back then, Yulian led humanity's alliance, mobilizing troops immediately after the incident. Despite that, the Turian Kingdom suffered heavy losses.
Before the damage could be repaired, the dragon appeared out of nowhere, nearly obliterating the kingdom.
But now things are different. The Allied Forces were gathered, and there was ample time to prepare.
"All combat forces will be stationed in the Turian Kingdom's fortresses. Bring every siege weapon—catapults, ballistae, everything—from your homelands."
The leaders swallowed hard.
If every monster from the Shadow Mountains emerged, the numbers could easily reach hundreds of thousands.
While the Allied Forces were accustomed to large-scale battles against dimensional invaders, monsters were far stronger than the invaders.
Additionally, unique creatures existed among them. Hundreds of powerful monsters like ogres could easily demolish a fortress.
Now, they had to face these entities head-on. The more siege weapons, the better.
One noble raised another concern.
"If we divert all troops and weapons to the Turian Kingdom, what about the remnants?"
"We will deploy only one corps for the remnant cleanup."
"That will take too long. What if they regroup in the meantime?"
Although Duke Leinster's body had been found, Gartros remained unaccounted for. He was likely still alive.
Even remnants, if gathered, could become a troublesome force. Handling them with just one corps would take time and effort.
Ghislain agreed with the concern but had a different strategy in mind.
"If we can block the monster wave, we can redirect the troops to suppress the remnants," Ghislain said. "Only elites can face the dragon anyway. Even so, it's true that this will delay things, so I'm thinking of asking for someone else's help."
"Who are you thinking of asking?"
"Countess Rayfold, the person currently fighting in another region. She's likely to ascend as the Queen of the Norvagen Kingdom soon."
At this, Claude widened his eyes and whispered to Ghislain.
"She's going to agree?"
"She will. Amelia needs to tidy up the situation around her too."
"What if she refuses?"
"Then make her agree. I'm too busy, so you'll go persuade her. Whether by negotiation or threat, just make it happen."
"…You're sending me to my death?"
"What else can I do? We can't just leave the remnants unchecked."
"…"
"Who's asking for free help? Negotiate with her. If negotiation fails, then resort to threats."
Ghislain had never asked for or demanded anything for free. He always ensured compensation was provided. While it often involved some level of threat or strong persuasion, the results usually benefitted all parties involved.
"Right now, Amelia is the only one who can handle this. Since we'll need to support them with troops and supplies, let's assign someone suitable."
"…And who would that be?"
"You."
"…"
"Go."
Claude broke into a cold sweat.
He had previously heard that Amelia was eager to punish him for pocketing one gold coin from the Actium Merchant Guild. She had spent quite some time puzzling over what that one gold coin meant, only to discover it was a bribe he had unwittingly accepted. Amelia had been furious about it.
Before Claude could respond, Ghislain addressed the others.
"Claude will lead a corps to begin the suppression of the remnants, alongside the Queen of the Norvagen Kingdom."
"…"
Everyone blinked silently. Clearly, this was a decision Ghislain had made on his own. There hadn't even been negotiations with Norvagen's monarch.
However, as always, Ghislain pushed ahead recklessly, leaving no room for objections.
Delays in suppressing the remnants were one thing. The dragon was the real issue.
"About the monsters—we can somehow manage if we all gather together. But the dragon... how do we even face it? Even with elites, is it possible?"
Ghislain nodded confidently. He had killed a dragon in his past life.
"There's no need to worry about the dragon. If we prepare thoroughly, it's not unbeatable. We have many strong individuals here, don't we?"
"Hmm…"
The Allied Forces' leaders nodded reluctantly.
While they were uneasy, they trusted Ghislain's confidence. Besides, there were no better options.
Ghislain surveyed the group and continued.
"But there's something else we need besides large siege weapons. We must contact our home countries for maximum support."
"What do we need?"
"We need at least a thousand mages of the fifth circle or higher."
"Ha…"
"If we cannot neutralize the dragon's magic, we won't win. That many mages are absolutely necessary."
The Allied Forces' leaders grimaced but nodded in agreement.
In most kingdoms, even fifty fifth-circle mages were hard to find. In smaller kingdoms, fifth-circle mages often served as royal mages. Gathering a thousand would require scraping together resources from every kingdom.
"We'll also need these mages who've been researching dimensional rifts to focus on preparing for the battle with the dragon."
With that, the meeting ended. It felt more like a directive than a discussion.
After all, the Allied Forces had always been led by Ghislain's unilateral decisions. While not everyone was free of doubts or complaints, they had grown accustomed to functioning under his rule.
The Allied Forces began moving again, requesting support from their home nations and preparing for the new battle ahead.
Around this time, Ghislain's dreams became more frequent.
***
"Interesting."
Ghislain looked around the battlefield in his dream.
Since holy power had infused his body, he had experienced several dreams, though none had been particularly noteworthy.
All he saw were scenes of the Human Alliance battling the Salvation Church. The saintess had not spoken to him since that day.
Unable to interact with her, Ghislain could only observe the battles and absorb whatever insights he could.
"Tsk, that's not how you should fight there."
"Who's the commander here, anyway?"
"Wow, that's impressive this time."
Having gained some composure, Ghislain occasionally clicked his tongue in frustration or marveled in admiration as he watched the battles.
Each battle seemed to have a different commander. Some were frustratingly incompetent, while others displayed extraordinary brilliance.
This gave Ghislain the chance to study strategy and tactics anew. Occasionally, he observed clashes between hero and Adversary, gaining new realizations from the fights.
Suddenly, the scenery changed.
"Oh…"
Before him stretched a massive army. Standing at the forefront were the saintess, the hero, and several other powerful figures radiating immense energy.
All of them wore tense expressions. This fight seemed crucial.
Kwaaaaaa!
A deafening sound tore through the air, and Ghislain looked to the sky.
Turning toward the source of the noise, he saw colossal figures flying toward them in the distance. Ghislain immediately recognized the creatures.
"Dragons."
The most powerful and exalted beings known as dragons emerged behind the Human Alliance.
Leading the dragons was a beautiful one with a pure white body.
"Artherion."
The Dragon Lord who had once helped humanity drive out the Salvation Church.
And now, the dragon who would become humanity's enemy.
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