But Ethan’s words hit Doregar like a thunderclap.
"Submit...?" he echoed, his face draining of color.
"L-Lord of Erald Castle, I... I don’t understand what you an..." Doregar stamred, his expression twisted with unease, even fear.
Submit?
Did that an war?
And not just any war—war against two 14th-tier Mythic Ace Units, hundreds of Archangels and Gold Dragons, and three Crimson Ultimate heroes?
Just the thought of it made his vision blur and his scalp go numb.
How the hell were they supposed to win that?
They were dood. Completely and utterly dood.
"Look, I said ’submit,’ but it’s not as bad as you’re imagining," Ethan said casually, waving a hand. "Go. Tell Grand Duke Fiesto I’m here."
"This doesn’t really concern you or the others. The only people who can make this decision are and your Grand Duke. I’m sure he’ll agree to et."
With that, Ethan turned and walked away, leaving Doregar standing there in stunned silence.
After a long pause, Doregar let out a bitter, helpless laugh, then turned and left as well—his heart heavy with anxiety and uncertainty.
He had to go see Grand Duke Fiesto.
Ethan was right.
This was way beyond his pay grade. The only one in the entire Blazeblade Kingdom who had the authority to deal with this... was the man who ruled it—Grand Duke Fiesto.
Whether they would submit...
Or go to war...
Or sohow find a peaceful resolution...
That would all depend on Fiesto’s judgnt—and his strength.
But Doregar’s heart was in turmoil.
Because he knew one thing for sure: if it ca to war...
The Blazeblade Kingdom wouldn’t stand a chance.
Not even a sliver of hope.
With that grim thought weighing on him, Doregar rushed back to the capital—King’s City, Blazefang Castle.
He found Grand Duke Fiesto imdiately.
"The Lord of Erald Castle?" Fiesto asked, brows raised.
"Yes. He’s here in person. He wants to et with you."
"What does he want?"
"An alliance... or rather, submission."
"Submission?" Fiesto repeated, but to Doregar’s surprise, he didn’t explode in anger.
Instead, his eyes narrowed, deep in thought.
Just like the Jewel King Astharel once said—Fiesto was a smart man. Very smart.
Ethan showing up like this, openly declaring his intent to bring the Blazeblade Kingdom under his control... it made Fiesto think of a lot of things.
Like that recent secret eting between the other Sea Kingdoms—one they’d been deliberately excluded from.
Or the rumors that Sea King Maelthorak... might not actually be dead. And that Erald Castle had a Crimson Ultimate hero from the sa Kirin race as Maelthorak.
"How many troops did he bring? I’ve heard Erald Castle has Crimson Ultimate heroes. Is that true?"
"Not many regular units," Doregar said, his expression twitching. "Only about five hundred. But they’re all 14th-tier Mythic Units."
"Four or five hundred 14th-tier Mythic Units?!" Fiesto’s eyes widened, and his face twitched hard. The shock hit him like a punch to the gut.
That kind of force could probably wipe out the Blazeblade Kingdom seventy or eighty tis over.
And that was "not many"?
Fiesto shot Doregar a sharp look, his mouth suddenly dry. "What else?"
"Two 14th-tier Mythic Ace Units—one Gold Dragon, one Archangel. And three Crimson Ultimate heroes, all second-awakened," Doregar said, laying it all out.
And once he finished—
Grand Duke Fiesto fell completely silent.
Like the words had been knocked right out of him.
"Grand Duke... Grand Duke!" Doregar called out a few tis, but Fiesto didn’t respond.
He just stood there, visibly pale.
His whole body was trembling.
Hundreds of 14th-tier Mythic Units...
Mythic Ace Units—Gold Dragon, Archangel...
Wait—Archangel!?
"Doregar, did you just say Archangel? Are you sure?!" Fiesto suddenly snapped his gaze to Doregar, eyes wide with disbelief.
Archangels? Seriously?
That could only an one thing—Erald Castle might have ties to the Castle faction!
"Yes, Your Grace. I’m sure," Doregar said with a grim nod. "They’re Royal Units—Archangels. And not just one or two. From what I saw, they’ve got nearly 300 of them."
Fiesto’s face twitched.
Three hundred Royal Archangels?
That wasn’t just a show of force—that was a declaration of dominance.
Doregar hesitated, then asked, "So... should we et with him?"
Fiesto let out a bitter laugh. "What do you think?"
"Go make preparations. I’ll host them myself. The mighty Lord of Erald Castle has co all this way in person—whatever his true intentions are, until things go south, we’d better play it smart. The last thing we want is to piss them off."
He sighed heavily, the sound thick with helplessness.
What else could he do? With a force like that staring him in the face, he didn’t even have the courage to resist.
Even the Greenwave Empire—one of the most powerful nations in the region—only had a single Crimson Ultimate hero.
And now?
Erald Castle had shown up with three.
Three Crimson Ultimate heroes.
And not just any Crimson Ultimates—these were second-awakened, god-tier Crimson Ultimates.
What the hell was he supposed to do?
He was desperate.
Refuse to et?
Not a chance...
Under the arrangent made by Cyclops King Doregar, Grand Duke Fiesto had no choice but to agree to et with Ethan—though deep down, he wanted nothing less.
But what could he do?
This was the burden of leadership.
Three Crimson Ultimate heroes.
Two 14th-tier Mythic Ace Units.
And hundreds of 14th-tier Mythic Units—Archangels and Gold Dragons.
What did that an?
It ant he no longer had the right to say no.
That was the brutal truth.
And it left him with nothing but bitter resignation.
Through Doregar’s diation, the eting was set for the following day. The location? Naturally, it would be held in the heart of the Blazeblade Kingdom—inside the royal palace of Blazefang Castle, the capital itself.
...
The next morning, just after dawn,
Grand Duke Fiesto stood outside the gates of Blazefang Castle,
waiting for Ethan and his entourage to arrive.
As a Lord, the safest place for him was always near his Castle Heart. As long as the Castle Heart remained intact, he couldn’t die. But ironically, that was also the most dangerous place to be.
Because if the enemy was too powerful—if they managed to destroy the Castle Heart—then both the Lord and any Hero Units bound to it would suffer catastrophic damage...
Losing the ability to resurrect.
So yes, eting Ethan here was a huge risk.
The smarter move would’ve been to choose a neutral location, far from the Castle Heart—sowhere safer.
But Fiesto was the ruler of the Blazeblade Kingdom.
And with that title ca pride.
So he chose to face Ethan head-on.
No fear.
That said, he wasn’t walking into this blind.
"Your Grace, per your orders, all 3,000 units of 12th-tier Cyclops Kings are in position," Doregar reported, standing beside him outside the castle gates. His voice was steady, but there was a trace of a bitter smile tugging at his lips.
"In addition, we’ve deployed around 100,000 units of supporting forces—11th-tier Cyclops, 10th-tier Thunderbirds, 9th-tier Rocs, Bloodfang Ogres, and more. They’re all stationed around King’s City, awaiting your command."
Though the Blazeblade Kingdom was one of the Five Sea Kingdoms, their core military strength didn’t co from the Tidesworn faction like most would expect—but from the Stronghold faction.
Which ant...
These 3,000 Cyclops Kings, and the 100,000 or so other high-tier units?
That was basically their entire military stockpile.
And now?
Fiesto had laid it all bare.
You could call it a show of strength. Maybe even an attempt to intimidate.
But if you stripped away the pretense, it was fear. Plain and simple.
"Good," Fiesto said, nodding firmly, his eyes sharp. "Doregar, when it cos to diplomacy between nations, we must never show weakness. No matter what, we can’t let them think the Blazeblade Kingdom is easy prey. If they see us as weak, they might really try to swallow us whole. And that... is unacceptable."
Clearly, even after a full night to think it over,
Fiesto still hadn’t co to terms with Ethan’s intentions.
Recruitnt? Submission? Annexation?
None of that mattered anymore.
What mattered was this:
He would never agree to it.
...
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