Chapter 525 - 20: Conscription

Chapter 525: Chapter 20: Conscription

War is on the brink of erupting.

Charlie’s Orendale has mobilized hundreds of nobles, amassing nearly 200,000 troops, with several thousand at Knight Level, launching an almost complete invasion against Karina’s Orendale.

On the same day the war declaration was issued, dozens of outposts on the Karina’s Orendale border were attacked and overrun, with several villages and towns occupied, the advance once pushed to the northwestern border city, Gale City.

Fortunately, Feiyan City reacted promptly, quickly dispatching the Blood Knight Order to reinforce Gale City, mobilizing tens of thousands of combat personnel to barely halt the enemy’s assault.

Subsequently, the two sides engaged in a series of seesaw battles centered around Gale City.

Entering the war grind, the population clearly became inadequate, with heavy losses each day, prompting Charlie and Orendale to continue recruiting from various inland areas to maintain the front line.

Almost all towns within the four nations received recruitment orders from their respective lords, and nearly every village was required to dispatch personnel for reinforcement.

Ramding Kingdom, Gray Stone Town, snow falling heavily.

The cold wind roared, carrying the snowflakes far away.

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On this frigid winter day, most animals in the forest have retreated to their nests for hibernation, and the residents of the villages and towns should be staying indoors, avoiding the cold.

Yet, due to the arrival of the lord’s recruitment order, the town had to stir into activity.

The voice of the recruitment officer, Bowers, was hoarse yet loud, repeatedly announcing the enlistment order and the penalties for disobedience: “…Loyalty to the King! Revenge for the fallen nobles of Watson Castle! Defend our homeland!… Anyone evading military service will have their property confiscated, and their family implicated!…”

The dirt road leading outside into the main road was covered with thick snow, almost indistinguishable. Soon, this trampled, muddy path will become the “road of death” for the men of Gray Stone Town heading into the unknown battlefield.

The icy wind whipped snow into people’s ragged clothing and into the depths of their cold, hopeless hearts.

The number of people gathering in the square increased, most were silent farmers, woodcutters, and hunters carrying simple luggage.

Their breath quickly vanished into the swirling wind and snow, their eyes vacant as they looked at the Guard Captain, or blankly at the gray sky. There were no stirring slogans, just heavy breathing and the howling of the wind and snow.

Farrias couple’s residence.

“Boo hoo… My son Charles has been drafted too, he injured his arm last month while hunting, how can he go to war like this?”

“I really don’t know when this will finally end…”

A few women sat around the bonfire, sighing incessantly, sometimes accompanied by low sobbing.

Messiah sat nearby, sorting the mushrooms and nuts in her basket, listening to the women.

The arrival of the war brought unprecedented gloom to this little town, it was Messiah’s first time seeing the people here so upset since she had come so many years ago.

She couldn’t help but ask: “Is war really that terrifying?”

The situation with Messiah was nothing unusual for everyone; over the years, people here mostly knew she was clueless about common sense issues.

Yuri’s wife said: “Yes, very terrifying; when men go to battle, they are fighting and killing, and it’s easy to lose their lives on the battlefield.”

Messiah said: “Then why do we need wars, can’t everyone just not fight?”

Nala sighed: “Who knows the world of men? They always fight over various issues, for honor, territory, or other reasons, wars never end.”

Messiah seemed to understand vaguely but still noted everyone’s words.

Messiah asked: “When will the war stop?”

Nala shook her head: “Who knows? Maybe only when they are exhausted or enough people have died will the war end.”

“It’s just…”

She wiped the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief: “Don’t know if the men will be able to come back by then…”

The wind and snow persisted.

Sorrow and anguish quickly spread throughout the town.

…

Meanwhile, Misty Forest, Guardian Tower.

Lynch sat at his desk, lightly tapping the table with his index finger, his brow tightly furrowed in consternation, staring at the report on the desk.

This just came up from Feiyan City, a report on the recent situation—

War!

Lynch was quite baffled: “What kind of madness is this?”

Is there no good in peaceful development? Why suddenly seek to start a war with him without cause?

Lynch was puzzled.

“Attack adventurers?”

According to the report, the conflict point of this war stemmed from the Ramding Kingdom, initiating an attack on his adventurers in the border regions. Subsequently, the adventurers retaliated, sparking reciprocal warfare.

Lynch frowned.

He sensed something amiss, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.

There were no grudges between the Ramding Kingdom and the Adventurer Guild, so why did such a big conflict suddenly break out?

And why is the Minstrel Association also stirring things up, they had a significant impact on the explosion of rumors in the city.

“Is it possible the lower ranks are causing chaos?”

Within a force, it’s impossible to have only one voice; different individuals have different needs, secretly conducting underhanded actions to achieve their goals is highly plausible.

Aligning with what happened last time in the Ramding Kingdom, Lynch considered the Light Church to be highly suspicious.

The newly appointed Saintess he had selected was not a person who played by the rules, and expecting her to learn from last time’s incident was unlikely; combined with the report stating these adventurers were bestowed with the Water of Life… it’s probably her doing.

Moreover, it seemed the Council might also be involved, otherwise, someone as astute as Erwin wouldn’t overlook Julia’s small schemes.

Is it because he feels his life is nearing its end and isn’t satisfied with an ambitious last-ditch effort?

Shaking his head, Lynch set aside these chaotic thoughts.

How the war started no longer mattered, what mattered now was how he should respond to this.

The Ramding Kingdom alone was nothing, but there are allies and the Extraordinary Power behind them to consider.

From what Lynch knew, those controlling the Ramding Kingdom weren’t just the minor Wizard Organization from the Ivory Tower.

In fact, many years ago, the Ivory Tower had already allied with another Wizard Organization—

Pure White Tower!

In other words, waging war against Ramding Kingdom also inevitably meant confronting the Pure White Tower…

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