King Gu Tian's expression changed; he had gone from a brilliantly crafted poker face to showing immense worry and sadness. Victor could not shake the eerie feeling of unease. He had thought the rival king might lash out in anger or continue to play their game of throwing cleverly crafted word jabs at one another.
Gu Tian paused for a moment before answering Victor's question with another question. "How much do you know of my continent's unification?" This left Victor to ponder a moment and recount all his spies' intelligence reports during that time. There was not a lot of information about the whole ordeal; however, Victor did know that the war between the 3 kingdoms was only for 4 years, and it was pretty much a 2 versus 1 situation.
While Victor was still pondering, King Gu Tian decided to tell the whole story. "After a year since your unification, an event had happened on our continent. The Kingdom of Sun had made a deal with the Tsardom of Mikhailovich. They wanted them to target my lands along the south and southwestern coast. In return, they would not only pay them a year's worth of food, but they would also cede some of those lands to them to create settlements."
"The grizzled Tsar Fyodor Mikhailovich readily accepted the deal, for his people were starving. His raiders ravaged my southern lands, while the Kingdom of Sun moved their soldiers to attack the centre of my realm. The Kingdom of Zhao had also struck an accord with the Kingdom of Sun. They would split my realm in half, and they would rule in peace with a ten-year treaty in place."
Hearing all this, Victor grew confused. How in the hell had the Kingdom of Gu won the war with such odds stacked against them? Victor had thought they had won thanks to Stetson teaching the Gu Army all the tactics that he had picked up from his time on Bulgar, even using the corps system, yet the Gu Army that Victor had faced was an extreme let down from the rumours.
Before Victor could even ask all the questions in his head, King Gu Tian continued. "I bet you are wondering how I managed to win such a war. The short answer is I didn't. Within the first year of the war, my territory had shrunk by half. Kislevian raiders had settled in a few coastal towns and ports, while the two kingdoms slowly ate away at my territory."
"My soldiers were spread thin, and even Stetson's training was not enough to push our army over the hump. The reason we won was due to a benefactor. They had supplied us with weapons, a vast number of mercenary soldiers and even special artillery and cavalry, as well as a navy to combat the Kislevian raiders. The tide swayed in our favour, and we gradually won back our lost land and expanded further into enemy territory."
"The help we received from this benefactor was overwhelming, but the price was steep. In return for this overwhelming help, the price was to conquer you and destroy your bloodline. In truth, I protested heavily, even if I had won the war with their help, I had no means to sustain a war with another continent."
The truth shocked Victor. To hear about the real reason for the war deeply troubled him. So many men lost their lives for such a pathetic cause. Larys Cassell and Captain Matthias were butchered for no reason.
Victor bombarded Gu Tian with a flurry of questions. The questions were pouring out so quickly that Gu Tian could not keep up. In the end, the only question that really mattered to Victor was, who wanted him and his family dead?
King Gu Tian took a deep breath and began to give the answer to that important question. "I had no choice but to follow his orders; his men were constantly threatening my children. Even when I asked to delay, he was staunch in his orders. The man who ordered me to do this was…. (Fwip)"
A dart from a crevice in the ceiling had pierced Gu Tian's neck. The Simbarnese king dropped to the floor as his body began to have spasms. Victor rushed for cover, trying to avoid the anonymous assailant.
Gu Tian began coughing up blood and had more of it streaming out of his nostrils. Victor wanted to rush to Gu Tian's side and see if he could be saved, but he knew it was far too late for that. In a panic, Victor called out to his Royal Guard soldiers who were outside. They rushed in quickly and secured the area.
The assassin had seemed to flee. He had stopped Gu Tian from spilling the most important secret. With the Simbarnese king dead, any hope of learning the mysterious aggressor's identity was now impossible. Victor could speculate about a number of people, but speculation is not a productive or accurate way to think.
Gu Tian was quick to succumb to poison, although those final moments were agonising. His death was no satisfaction to Victor. If anyone had the right to kill him, it was Victor. He needed answers, and he needed justice for his uncle. With the king's blood running cold, Victor ordered his men to cover Gu Tian's corpse.
Now that the king and his main heirs were dead, the war would hopefully come to a conclusion. Field Marshal Schwarzenberg was in charge of leading the army into the city and deploying them strategically throughout the grand city. General Kan Ki's soldiers were especially important for these deployments, having people who could converse with the citizens made the situation easier.
With the moon rising high in the sky, the changing of banners began. The once golden dragon fluttering through the city was no more. In its place rose a golden eagle on a field of dark blue.
Soldiers began sweeping the streets for hidden enemies. All those who were wounded, friend and foe, were being seen to by medics. Supplies were beginning to be loaded into warehouses, and artillery was being redeployed on the walls.
The Kingdom of Luxenberg was now in a position to take over the whole continent.