Chapter 129: End of War (2/2)

”What are they planning?” Major General Ilia mumbled with a frown as he looked at the screen. He didn't wait long to find out as the runes started glowing on the giant dome. Fire snakes sprouted in every direction as it attacked the Iliosian Army.

”It's helping us?” General Ro stood there with a stunned expression. ”Mistletoe is defending the kingdom?”

***

The news of Mistletoe's actions turned the world upside down. A gang that has been thought of as puny thieves turned out to be patriotic.

The whole world debated the matter as the voices calling for Mistletoe's execution died down. Soon, people started posting how their views of this group changed with their actions. They also started to seriously admire their capability of stealing the fortress to use it in the war against Ilios.

After all, Ilios must have had a hand in the Calamity Spider. They could argue that they simply choose the appropriate timing to attack, but no one would buy it. Everyone must have realized that the Calamity Spider was activated by Ilios.

Soon, theories started emerging that it was Mistletoe that had stopped the Calamity Spider in the first place. After all, news that the spider stopped attacking suddenly couldn't be contained with so many witnesses. Now, a plausible theory was presented.

Mistletoe's fame surged as people began to see them not as selfish thieves, but rising peasants who only stole from the nobility. It was true that Mistletoe has never harmed the public, only a select few who were already filthy rich.

Cries of cheers filled the houses of the Yalveran Union as they looked at the footage of the fortress attacking their enemy. When the kingdom was facing a threat, it was Mistletoe that has risen to the occasion even though they could have chosen to flee.

When the news of the Ilios Empire retreating was broadcast, people flooded the streets as they happily sang and cheered. Some of them cheered for the army, some of them praised the royal families, but most of the common people cheered for Mistletoe.

Even though the Ilios Empire retreated, the Yalveran Union still suffered a lot of causalities. The happiness of their survival turned into mourning when the bodies of the dead returned. Soon, that mourning turned to rage against the royal family and the crazed prince.

Times of unease would follow as the royal family lost a part of the people's trust. However, the war has ended faster than anyone had realized. It should have taken a month or two, but it ended in a day because the Yalveran Union received aid from a powerful ally, Mistletoe.

As for the fortress, it flew into the distance again before disappearing from everyone's eyes. Without asking for a reward, the gang slipped back into the shadows awaiting the next threat to defend against.

***

Arthur opened his eyes in his room in the mansion. Calling it a room was an understatement as it was more like a suite than a room. Since they had supplies in their storage artifacts, the group decided to spend a few days lying low in the fortress.

Mana was needed to supply the fortress and they had already exhausted most of the mana crystals the fortress had to begin with. However, Si promised that Idris, who had stayed in Blacksilk with Reece, would supply the needed crystals for the group's stay.

Lying there in bed, Arthur remembered the screams of the Iliosians troops that he had killed or injured. He didn't want to estimate a number as it scared him to know how many lives he had taken.

He didn't see any nightmares of hallucinations that one would expect from someone who killed a part of a giant army. He was unusually calm and he had to debate whether he was denying reality or that he had finally accepted that life worked this way.

Blacksilk city was filled with citizens as well, and the Ilios Empire had no qualms about endangering them all. In a way, his actions have helped more people survive being massacred or refugeed.

He sat from his bed. His room was split into a living room and a bedroom. There was also a tub built into the ground where water runes glowed. It was more like a giant hall with each section being either raised or lowered than the rest.

The blood on his hands wouldn't be washed away no matter how many times he tried, so he better learns to accept it. After all, if he wanted to save people then he would have to kill others. This time, he was the one to decide who to die, tomorrow could be different.

That's why he needed to get stronger to be the one choosing.