Chapter 217 – The Glory Army Stepping into the Dead End

Although this mission was nominally a diplomatic envoy from the Kamos Kingdom to the Dillon Kingdom, they had no intention of dealing with the Dillon royal family. The true negotiation target of the Kamos Kingdom was Princess Trelinka, who had led the “Glory Army” in rebellion against the Church of Dawn.

King William’s intentions were clear. While he desired to annex the neighboring Dillon Kingdom, most of its territory was now under the control of the Church of Dawn, rendering the Dillon royal family virtually powerless.

Thus, King William had to settle for second best—targeting the western region of the Dillon Kingdom and the “Glory Army,” which boasted over a hundred thousand battle-hardened soldiers.

According to King William’s plan, the envoy team would approach Princess Trelinka with an overwhelmingly dominant savior-like posture, then “invite” her to lead the Glory Army to the Kamos Kingdom for “political asylum” through a mix of inducements and threats.

Based on King William’s investigation, this naive princess who cherished her subordinates would never allow the doomed “Glory Army” to perish on the Church of Dawn’s pyres. To preserve the last legitimate army of the Dillon Kingdom, the cornered Princess Trelinka would have no choice but to seek refuge in the Kamos Kingdom.

Subsequently, King William would also “invite” Trelinka to marry Kulun, the sole heir of the Laila Family, and use this marital alliance to absorb the entire Glory Army loyal to Princess Trelinka.

This was an exquisitely crafted overt scheme. Even if Princess Trelinka lacked the foresight and compassion for her subordinates as described in the intelligence, and she angrily killed the arrogant Kulun, the Kamos Kingdom would still have ample justification to launch an attack on the “Glory Army” and occupy the entire western region of the Dillon Kingdom.

At that point, the Church of Dawn, upholding the doctrine of “justified revenge,” would be unable to intervene in the Kamos Kingdom’s invasion.

Within the war-weary Kamos Kingdom, the Laila Family, having lost its sole heir, would become staunch supporters of King William’s decision to go to war.

This was King William’s ingenious plot, meticulously calculating the fates of both the Dillon Kingdom and his own Kamos Kingdom from start to finish.

However, sitting in the luxurious carriage, Kulun—whose mind was filled with thoughts of the rumored most beautiful woman in the Dillon Kingdom, Princess Trelinka—was completely unaware of his role as a pawn.

In his fantasies, he was the legendary chosen one. Representing his family and the entire Kamos Kingdom to meet his future bride, he believed that with a mere display of authority, he could bring over a hundred thousand Glory Army soldiers back to his family, annex the western territories of the Dillon Kingdom into the Kamos Kingdom, and turn the lofty Princess Trelinka, who dared to challenge the Church of Dawn, into his plaything!

As for whether everything would proceed as scripted? Of course it would. How could it not? It absolutely must!

What other options did the cornered Princess Trelinka have? Beyond dutifully marrying into the Laila Family, what other means did she possess to save the “Glory Army” from the Church of Dawn’s encirclement and suppression?Thus Kulun arrived at Greenvine City with his mind full of arrogance, then swaggered about and used the tone of commanding a servant to order Dolan Greenvine, the head of the Green Vine Family who came out to receive him, to summon his “fiancée.”

——————Break——————

In fact, although Kulun’s thoughts were somewhat presumptuous, they basically aligned with reality, because Princess Trelinka truly could not think of any way to save the “Glory Army” or the kingdom.

By now, two days had passed since Punk and the others delivered Princess Trelinka to Greenvine City.

Currently, Princess Trelinka was curled up on a large bed in a room like a helpless kitten, her tear-dampened eyelashes trembling slightly, her golden hair splayed across the white bedsheets.

Over these two days, this eighteen-year-old princess had experienced more sorrow than all the sadness she had encountered since childhood combined.

First, two childhood friends who were both subordinates and close companions were killed by the mentor she once admired. Then she was “rescued” by a group of freaks reeking of blood, and later caused the Green Vine family, who had always supported her, to lose important assets…

But the tragedy did not end there. Over these two days, Greenvine City continuously received magical messages from various regions of the “Glory Army” pleading for reinforcements.

The frontline battles had ended in disastrous defeat. The powerful Bishop Kasparqi had not only advanced to the Master-Level but also used his status as a Master-Level cleric to summon many clerics from the neighboring Moke Empire as reinforcements for the Church of Dawn.

By two days ago, the “Glory Army” had completely collapsed under the sustained assaults of the Church of Dawn and the allied forces of Dillon Kingdom’s nobles. Most of the western region of Dillon Kingdom, which served as the “Glory Army’s” territory, had fallen. All captured “Glory Army” soldiers were burned at the stake by the Church of Dawn on charges of heresy.

It was said that even now, the “Kloway Valley,” where the Church of Dawn carried out executions, still lingered with the persistent scent of “roasted meat.”

Watching her loyal soldiers turn to ashes in the flames, Princess Trelinka could do nothing but weep. She deeply despised herself for her powerlessness and insignificance, regretted her naivety, and felt guilty that her promise to “bring glory to everyone” had become mere empty words…

But no matter how hard Princess Trelinka racked her brains or how firmly she believed in hope, she could not conceive of any solution in such a desperate situation.

King William’s deduction was entirely correct—Princess Trelinka faced an unsolvable predicament. She could either lead the last remnants of the “Glory Army” in a suicidal charge or meekly accept the “protection” of the Kamos Kingdom and enter into a marriage alliance with the Laila family.

Surrendering to the Church of Dawn was not an option, as the Lord of Dawn never accepted the surrender of “heretics.”

Thus, in summary, Princess Trelinka had no other choice left!

The morning light was warm and radiant, but even the warmest sunlight could not dispel the chill in Princess Trelinka’s heart. A night of contemplation had brought her no answers, only deepening her despair and making it more profound and inescapable.”Bang! Bang! Bang! Princess Trelinka, Princess Trelinka, are you awake?”

“Is it the maid bringing breakfast……..”

Trelinka thought groggily. She didn’t get up, only using her fair fingers to pull the quilt higher, covering her mouth with the cotton blanket before responding in as normal a voice as possible:

“I won’t have breakfast. Don’t tell Mr. Dolan, you can share it among yourselves.”

“No, Your Highness Princess Trelinka, Mr. Dolan asked me to inform you that he requests you to wear your most beautiful dress and meet the envoy from Kamos Kingdom in the castle hall.”

“Kamos Kingdom…….. what are they here for?”

Only upon hearing the term “envoy from Kamos Kingdom” did Princess Trelinka slowly sit up despite her headache. She almost subconsciously asked the maid this question.

But there was no response from outside the door – the maid had already left. Ever since the news of the Glory Army’s defeat arrived, the Dolan Family’s attitude toward Princess Trelinka had grown increasingly cold.

(End of Chapter)