Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint
Chapter 321: A Story To Tell - Prelude to War

The Sunderspear, Patraxion marched with the Mage Marshal into the Abyssal Plains.

Not long ago, the Sunderspear had just been gathering forces to drive out the Progenitor, Tyrkanzyaka.

To him, the mission was self-explanatory.

The presence of the Progenitor of Vampires roaming freely around the Military State was too overwhelming, both politically and militarily.

And the Military State had too many secrets that could be exposed.

The Military State, after all, was built by dismantling and reassembling every system and technology in existence, including those from the Sanctum.

He was curious about how the Progenitor would react when faced with that fact, though he had no intention of ever testing that curiosity.

It was more reasonable to quietly push her away. Thus, that became the mindset with which he approached the mission.

Of course, all of that reasoning was just a pretext.

In reality, Patraxion’s true motivation was that he was addicted to duels.

So, when he received the orders to head for the Abyss, he nearly refused them.

“Seriously, why are they suddenly sending me to the Abyss?”

Perched atop a Catafract, the Sunderspear ran his hand through his hair.

He had already received a report that the Earth Sage had headed to the Abyss without a word, performing the ritual to free the Abyss while ignoring the presence of the Progenitor and others who had been residing in Tantalus. The report had come with painstaking detail from the Signallers.

But hearing about something isn’t the same as seeing it.

No matter how much had been reported, nothing compared to seeing it with his own eyes.

And when the Sunderspear finally saw the outcome for himself, he was left speechless.

An impossibly massive hole, with the overturned Tantalus lying desolately beside it lay before his eyes.

The concrete ground, having collapsed under its own weight, formed a steep incline. It looked as if a giant had lifted a lid and then left.

The sheer spectacle filled Patraxion with a sense of awe. He turned to the Mage Marshal beside him.

“So, Mother Earth really exists, huh? What do you think, old hag?”

“There is a reason behind every belief. Even if it is not a god, having power comparable to a god’s means you’re not so different from a god yourself. In ancient times, magic itself was often considered power granted by the gods.”

“…I wasn’t asking for a lecture on magic, old woman.”

“I helped move Tantalus to the Abyss. This is nothing new.”

“Really takes the fun out of it, doesn’t it?”

Patraxion shook his head, seemingly bored, as he stared at the overturned Tantalus.

Then, something caught his eye—a group moving around Tantalus, which made him furrow his eyebrows.

“What are they doing here?”

Suspicious figures lingered around the Military State’s asset, Tantalus.

They appeared very disorganized, but Sunderspear knew exactly who they were.

As the former Northern Commander, they were the enemies he had encountered the most.

“The Dholes are already sniffing around? Damn, they’ve got a good nose. Wait a second.”

It was natural for scavengers like the Dholes to show up after something as big as Tantalus had fallen.

They would’ve sensed the disturbance first.

But as the Sunderspear observed, there was one figure that didn’t fit the description of mere scavengers.

“A Juggernaut?”

Like the sun slowly emerging from behind the moon, as Patraxion approached, a colossal structure hidden in Tantalus’s shadow began to reveal itself.

It was a ship, but one that roamed the land.

A vessel as large as a hill, moving on countless wheels, crept across the landscape.

A Juggernaut, the only thing that could be called a “city” in the ever-moving domain of the Fallen Dominion.

It was smaller than Tantalus, yet awe-inspiring in the way it could move across the earth like a landmass.

The Mage Marshal stared at the Juggernaut, her expression darkening.

“Juggernauts are a major asset of the Fallen Dominion. They never stray from their homeland. What are they doing here?”

“Looks like they’re planning to claim this land for themselves.”

Patraxion muttered as he gazed off into the distance.

“Sending us to the Abyss out of the blue… definitely doesn’t seem like a sightseeing trip.”

“Indeed. The size of the army Command assembled was far too large to deal with only a few individuals. Perhaps they foresaw this all along.”

“Going up against a Juggernaut with just one corp wouldn’t cut it anyway.”

As the looming presence of the enemy grew, Patraxion’s shoulders began to tremble slightly.

The Mage Marshal, watching his back, spoke up.

“Patraxion.”

“What is it, old hag?”

“Are you smiling right now?”

The Sunderspear didn’t reply, but he nodded.

As they got closer, a small shadow detached from the Juggernaut.

A quadrupedal beast hit the ground, charging toward them with astonishing speed.

A rider on horseback halted in front of the Sunderspear and the Mage Marshal’s Catafract, maintaining a short distance before calling out to the Mage Marshal.

“It’s easy to tell who’s in charge in the Military State. Hey, you’re the general, right?”

“I am Prelvior, general of the Military State.”

The Mage Marshal nodded, and the rider seemed impressed upon hearing her title.

“Oh ho! One of the famous Six Star Generals! Looks like we’ve got a big shot here!”

“Are you the envoy of the Juggernaut?”

“You could say that, but more importantly, what’s your army doing so close to the border?”

The Mage Marshal crossed her arms, responding calmly.

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that? Why is the Juggernaut approaching Military State territory?”

“Hah! Why else would Dholes like us come sniffing around? We heard there was a mess, so we came to see if there was anything worth picking up.”

“With the Juggernaut?”

“There’s too much to carry. You need carts when there’s too much for your hands to hold. The Juggernaut’s just here to help haul it all back! But hold on.”

The rider’s expression shifted as they spoke.

“Isn’t it strange? Sure, we’re scavengers by nature, but the Military State… why would you bring such a slow-moving army all the way out here?”

The Mage Marshal responded calmly.

“This is Military State territory. Our forces are free to move within our land.”

“No, this is the border. The Abyssal Plains isn’t exactly habitable land. Since when has this been your territory?”

“It has been under the control of the Kingdom since ancient times.”

“Bwahahaha! What a joke. You’re not the Kingdom anymore. You’re the Military State! Why bring up the Kingdom? Are you guys planning on crowning a new king after all these years? After you killed the last one with your own hands?”

For those who lived through the Kingdom Era, the subject of kingship was always an uncomfortable one.

Those who had been loyal to the King felt shame for failing to protect him, while the rebels harbored guilt for having killed him.

Despite his tyranny, a king was still a king.

The Mage Marshal, who had been part of the rebellion, also hadn’t wished for the king’s death.

Like many involved in the coup, she had hoped to use the king as a bargaining chip to change the country.

Destroying everything and rebuilding it from scratch would’ve been too costly.

But the king had died by accident, trampled to death in a mob’s fury.

His death was unintentional, and because of that, it was all the more tragic.

The Mage Marshal frowned deeply as the rider continued to taunt her with a sneer.

“It wasn’t your territory back then either and now, after killing the great king yourselves, you rebels think you can claim the Kingdom’s borders? What a farce!”

“Enough with your nonsense! Tantalus is a Military State asset. We conquered the Abyss. No matter the reason, you have no right to plunder Tantalus with your Juggernaut! Are you here to start a war without even sending a word?”

“A war? You’re delusional! If this was really your land, why would you march an army here? Who sends an army to invade their own land? You’re hiding something and that’s why you brought your army.”

The rider looked around as if seeking evidence and pressed further.

“Why else would you have assembled an army so quickly? We got here just an hour ago—just one Juggernaut, and yet your forces are already here in numbers that far exceed ours! Who’s the real invader here?”

Even for a Star General like the Mage Marshal, there was no easy answer.

She hadn’t known what was happening until she arrived here.

She was simply following orders from Chief Command.

The fact that Chief Command had predicted these events and gathered forces in anticipation was nothing short of remarkable.

Most likely, it was thanks to the Signallers’ constant reports and swift judgment.

“Why are you so quiet? What, are you a Prophet now? Got a Saintess on your side? Are you saying you prepared for war before it even began, all because you knew it would happen?”

Of course, the Mage Marshal couldn’t reveal sensitive information about the Military State’s Command.

She struggled for a response.

“Alright, that’s enough.”

The Sunderspear, sitting on the edge of the Catafract, finally joined the conversation.

“Cut the crap. It all boils down to this: the curse of Mother Earth has been lifted from this land. The Abyss is gone and the land will become fertile again. Neither of us is going to back down from that.”

The Military State had built Tantalus with permission from Earth Sage and had dropped it into the Abyss.

It was part of the deal for constructing the Meta Conveyor Belt, and the Military State undoubtedly had a strong claim to the land.

However, the Fallen Dominion needed more stable land to settle.

The Abyss, which had swallowed everything, was a nightmare for a society where weight equated to value.

Anything lost to the Abyss was an eternal loss.

Now that the Abyss was gone, they needed to use this land as a foothold, or they would have nowhere left to expand.

In short, the Abyssal Plains was a land that neither side could afford to lose.

“So, there’s only one solution.”

The Sunderspear lifted his spear onto his shoulder, saying aloud what neither side had dared to utter.

“War.”

Words have a strange power.

Although everyone had already thought of the possibility, no one had yet painted the picture in their minds.

But when the Sunderspear said it, it was as if the decision had already been made.

The rider was the first to react.

“So, you finally show your true colors! Remember, you’re the ones who started this!”

Behind the Mage Marshal, a cloud of dust rose into the air.

The Catafract, having stuck out to speak with the rider, was slightly separated from the others, leaving it vulnerable to ambushes.

Three figures burst out of the ground, hurtling toward the Mage Marshal.

The rider shouted with glee.

“The Military State’s so easy to read! You can always tell who’s in charge!”

The Fallen Dominion prided itself on alchemy—changing the nature of anything they touched.

The warriors who had burrowed into the ground used their alchemy to tunnel close enough to launch this ambush.

It was an attack from beneath the earth, one they could not have expected.

However—

“Fool.”

Before the assailants could even reach the Catafract, a circular hole appeared in their chests.

A fine red mist sprayed into the air as blood-soaked sand clumped together and fell.

Though the attackers were elite warriors, well-armored as one would expect from the Fallen Dominion, they were reduced to dirt in a single strike.

There was no doubt who was responsible.

The Sunderspear was still sitting, but his spear was stretched out.

“Yes. This is it. I had almost forgotten… but this is what it’s about.”

“A spear… could it be…?”

The Sunderspear didn’t wear a uniform, nor did he display any insignia of rank.

Yet, standing beside the Mage Marshal, no one could mistake the identity of the spear master.

The rider’s voice trembled as they spoke his name.

“Patraxion? The Knight of Treason?”

The Sunderspear didn’t bother confirming what was obvious.

Instead, he stood, raising his spear and pointing it at both the rider and the distant Juggernaut.

A long-suppressed smile crept across his face.

“Fighting an opponent that didn’t put their heart and soul into the fight is pointless. The Progenitor was skilled, sure, but her soul lacked resonance. This, though—this is the real deal. A true fight is what I crave.”

The word “war” carries a multitude of tragic connotations.

It strikes fear in people’s hearts, making them tremble at the very mention of it.

But the Sunderspear was smiling.

The only tremor he felt was pure excitement.

The Sunderspear, Patraxion, the man who challenged entire nations to duels and won.

The rider, remembering his notorious reputation, spat out a curse.

“You crazy bastard!”

“This is a duel. Raise your weapons. Victory is justice, and the winner will take this land. May the Sky God—No, Mother Earth—favor the victor.”

Despite their fear, the rider couldn’t retreat.

Backing down now would only lead to greater loss.

The fact that people still wage wars, despite their fear, is proof enough that avoiding conflict doesn’t make it disappear.

The rider shouted.

“We won’t back down without a fight!”

“Hahahaha! That’s what I like to hear!”

And so, with a single declaration, the war between the Military State and the Fallen Dominion began.