Chapter 145 – The Alternative (3)

The Northeast Nobles’ Alliance was on the brink.
They wanted to accept this favor, but they had their own doubts.

‘Roman Dmitry is concealing his true intentions with some plausible words.
He won’t stand by since this concerns the northeast? Nonsense! If Count Douglas and the alliance clash, Dmitry will benefit.
Thus, there is no need to intervene and stop it from happening.’

It made sense to be suspicious.
If there hadn’t been a fight between them, then maybe they wouldn’t respond like this.
They wanted to figure out Roman’s intentions.
But they couldn’t make a hasty move because if they came out strong, they could possibly lose their only chance to win.

‘Now isn’t the time to choose between fire or water.’

Viscount Conrad swallowed his doubts and felt that this was his last hope.
He said,

“…the alliance and Dmitry haven’t been on good terms recently.
Actually, this would be a good thing for Dmitry.
When there was a conflict, we, the alliance, took Barco’s side, and our resentment grew over time.
I will not deny that our relationship with Dmitry continued to decline, especially with the recent issue.
But we need help now.
Even if it is truly disrespectful to request this, I am willing to do anything if you promise to help us, so please tell us what we should do from now on.”

All complex thoughts were abandoned, and only a simple thought remained.
If they went to war with Count Douglas, they wouldn’t be able to handle it.
If that were the case, it would be better to gain favor with the Dmitry family and promote a future relationship.

‘Maybe his sincerity in this matter isn’t even important.
If we can hold hands and minimize the damage in this war, if we can just do that, even if it means being attacked by Dmitry later, we can afford it.
Now isn’t the time to stick to our pride.’

The profit and loss were calculated.
Rather than shouting loudly, bowing their heads would accomplish more things.

How would Roman Dmitry respond? Because Roman is young, he might feel like he won this and maybe show mercy too.

But Roman’s answer was different from what they expected.

[If you acknowledge our relationship, I will be honest with you.
For Dmitry, not helping your alliance will be a huge gain.
But I am not going to miss the bigger picture just for a small win.
Given how war is raging on all sides of Cairo, I am confident Viscount Conrad recognizes the need for us—Dmitry and the northeastern region—to cooperate together.
The fact is that the northeast will shine most when we work together.]

Roman was being truthful.
Viscount Conrad expected some kind of ridicule, so this was unexpected.

[We know that this choice wouldn’t leave us at an advantage.
Even so, the forces of the north will attack the northeast, and we cannot stand by.
No matter what happened in the past, aren’t we living in the same northeastern area? If the forces inside the same area decide to stand back because they are hostile to one another, the northeast is bound to fall into the path of destruction.
My words are clear.
Rather than expecting a reward from you, I expect sincere repentance for what you have done and your willingness to work together in the future.
If you can promise that, I will forget the awful things that happened between us in the past and will not ignore the crisis that we are facing in our area.]

At that moment, Viscount Conrad felt something change inside of him.
If the opponent showed a calculating attitude, he wouldn’t have cared about using him without any regret.

But this was kindness, and this made things complicated.
Dmitry, of all the nobles, was reaching out to the Northeast Alliance, which was driven to its brink.

‘… what am I to make of this?’

His mouth wouldn’t move as his prejudiced gaze vanished.
Dmitry, whom he hated for being a commoner, now seemed like a great leader who could lead this region.

It was funny.
He realized Dmitry’s value only when he needed help.

‘Certainly.
Dmitry has the qualities of a good leader who can lead the region.’

In just one conversation, all the ill feelings faded away.

Was that why?

“I will contact you again after discussing it with everyone here.”

Even though Viscount Conrad thought he should take the offer, he decided to step back with a serious face.

The communication was cut off.
Viscount responded by saying that he had to discuss it with the others.
It seemed that he felt the sincerity in his own way, but to Roman, their sincerity wasn’t important.

‘The alliance has no choice but to accept my proposal.
They will think nothing wrong will come from accepting it, but the moment Dmitry starts to help them, they will lose their grip on the land.’

The Northeast Nobles’ Alliance.
They were like bats.
They weren’t just cowards.
They were the kind who needed help from those around them to survive.

And for them, a new path opened up.
Dmitry seemed to accept them just because they were from the same region.

‘The northeast is a necessary evil.
If one cannot accept the sincerity of everyone in the world, then filter out the forces of strife by ignoring existences like the Northeast Alliance.
It isn’t like they will all fight together.
They are now facing someone who is showing them kindness, so there will be pure goodwill toward Dmitry’s people because of this.
They will have a division of opinion, and they will be unable to act out.
The roots they held on this land will be lost.
Even though they aren’t actually losing money, the thing they lose here is power, and they won’t even realize it.’

It was Baek Joong-hyuk.
Heavenly Demon Baek Joon-hyuk.
He didn’t always accept loyal people.
Among the servants and subordinates who followed him, there were selfish people who cared for themselves, and there were people who formed a group to protect themselves.
And Baek Joong-hyuk embraced all of these diverse humans under him.

As he led tens of thousands of people, he understood that each of them was different and controlled them perfectly.
He opened their ears and made them forget about everything else.
And with its overwhelming force and rule, the Demonic sect remained as ruler until he died.

‘The moment they will accept just one favor, Dmitry can devour the entire northeast without much effort.’

Roman was greedy.
He wanted all of the northeast.
At that point, he was confident that Dmitry would survive any future conflicts with the Central Government.

‘In order for Dmitry to attack, we must go through the forces in the northeast first.
It may not be a huge problem for the Central Government when Dmitry has yet to win the public’s favor, but that is the present.
The moment we devour the northeast, they will have to overcome many walls until they reach Dmitry.
We can move the battlefield out of Dmitry, and the more we help people against the Central Government, the stronger the unity in the northeast will be.
Then the forces tied to the northeast aren’t allowed the option of betraying Dmitry.’

He saw the future.
The plan that began with the farmers being mistreated was perfect.
That was why sincerity wasn’t important.
It is good if people are loyal, but even if they aren’t, that won’t change much for Roman.
Just one surrender was all he needed.

Kik!

He laid back on the chair and waited.
The alliance should send a message soon.
Then he could finally reap the benefits.

A few days later.

The day was bright.
Count Douglas really did bring in his troops.
The lords of the north were also present.

A northern noble said,

“Sir Douglas.
If we destroy the northeastern nobles, we have to make a clear plan.”

“Of course.
Why would I keep it all for myself? This is a golden chance for all of us.
Since the fall of Barco, the northeast has lost all its power and its leader.
Now, it is just a sandcastle waiting to collapse.
Shouldn’t someone be taking possession of such things?”

“Right.”

“Hahaha.
Just hearing that makes me feel good.”

The nobles of the north.
They didn’t add more troops because of their relationship.
Count Douglas offered an advantage, and that was the division of the spoils once they won.

‘People think of me as a mindless beast, but I don’t blindly attack people.
If I go on a fight, I will fight by increasing my odds as much as possible to survive.’

He was wicked to the core.
He would always link his pride to practical gains.

The Northeast had an amazing mountain range.
He expressed his anger, but when he thought more about it, there wouldn’t be a chance like this again.
Starting from the northeast, it seemed that if he did well, he could take over the surrounding regions as well.

‘Morons.
When Barco was protected by the Central Government, I couldn’t make a move, but things are different now.
The alliance itself is in despair.
Since the power of the northeast is not strong, it will not be too difficult to bring them down.’

His blood boiled.
He had already set the stage for killing.
He hurried and took his steps excitedly when he noticed the troops of the alliance.

The wars of nobles are always in order.
Barco and Lawrence, who had a siege, were special cases.
Nobles usually go to war after deciding when and where to fight.

And it wasn’t so different now.
By expressing to the Central Government his intention of going to war, they gave the alliance a choice and declared that they preferred the war to be in the plains.

Finally, they arrived on the scene.

Count Douglas, who was on top of his horse leading the troops, said,

“I am Count Douglas, the commander of the north! Opponent, answer me!”

At those words, Viscount Conrad stepped forward.
Unlike Count Douglas, who seemed ready to order an attack at any time, Viscount Conrad seemed slightly concerned.

“It’s not yet time, so please wait a moment.”

“It seems like everyone has arrived, so why should we wait? Or perhaps surrendering right now would be better.
After all, there is no reason to fight a losing battle.”

Arrogant words.
Count Douglas was already convinced of his victory, and the lords of the north were the same.

But Viscount Conrad didn’t lose his calm.
Despite the provocations, he responded calmly without changing his expression.

“You need to deal with the small and large things.
When the time comes, I have no intention of avoiding the fight either.”

After saying that, he stepped back.

Was it because the reaction was different from what he expected? Count Douglas looked a bit angry.

‘Arrogant bastards.’

That made him realize that he could never forgive them.
He vowed to stomp on them after their victory.
Then he went back to his troops.

How long was it? The lords of the north were calmly talking when they saw a group of men coming from afar.

“Someone is coming.”

“Did the northeast call for reinforcements?”

They were calm at first, but then…

…the moment they checked the flag, their faces went stiff.

“… Dmitry?”

“Fuck.”

This was something that shouldn’t have happened.

They were confident that Dmitry wouldn’t intervene in this war.
They had recently fought, so the northern nobles were certain he would not aid the northeast.

Roman Dmitry was leading the troops of Dmitry.

And when he arrived, Count Douglas asked in a loud voice,

“… what is Dmitry doing here?”

“Should there be a special reason for appearing on the battlefield? Just as Count Douglas summoned the lords of the north, I came here for the northeast.”

He gave a clear answer.

At this moment, Count Douglas and the Northeast Alliance were in a war.
When Count Douglas requested the lords of the north to ensure victory, this also gave Dmitry a justification to participate in the war.

If he only knew that Dmitry would join, he wouldn’t have even given him a justification for participating in the war, even if he overdid it.

‘This.’

He looked shocked.

The lords of the north looked at each other, and it was then…

“We are ready.”

Viscount Conrad said.

A few days ago, at the end of their meeting, the northeast came to a conclusion.

“We don’t have a reason to refuse your offer.
If you help us defeat Douglas, wouldn’t that be an advantage for both sides? At the very least, I think accepting Dmitry as our ally is a better choice than having the North trample on us.”

Finally, they held hands with Roman.
They decided that this was to their advantage, so they all displayed genuine emotion in response to Dmitry’s words.
And for whatever reason, the fact that Dmitry accepted them as people of the same region made them look at Dmitry with new eyes.

And now, Viscount Conrad stood behind Roman.
Seeing his figure hiding behind a powerful guardian, Roman spoke,

“You get to choose now.
Hand-to-hand combat or a battle of great warriors.
Which one do you want?”

For Roman Dmitry, it was the beginning of his journey to establish himself as the ruler of the northeast.