The southern alliance moved at last.

First came the ultimatum.

The messenger arrived beneath gray winter skies escorted by nearly two hundred mounted guards bearing the banners of House Valcriox and its allied nobles.

Their arrival alone caused tension across the western frontier.

Because they came openly carrying confident and arrogant expressions

As though Elarion had already lost.

The southern envoy halted before the outer trench network while snow drifted across the frozen battlefield-to-be.

And for the first time—

The south truly saw what Elarion had built.

The riders slowed gradually.

Because the frontier no longer resembled ordinary defensive lines.

Miles of trenches scarred the valleys.

Rows of razor wire stretched endlessly beneath the snow.

Artillery bunkers watched from mountain ridges above.

Steel fortifications overlooked every approach. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

And everywhere

One southern knight muttered quietly:

"...What is this?"

No one answered immediately.

The envoy himself, Lord Marius of House Valcriox, stared toward the trenches uneasily while his horse shifted nervously beneath him.

The defenses did not look noble.

Instead they looked like something built to kill armies instead of win glory.

Farther ahead, heavy artillery barrels emerged partially from reinforced mountain bunkers overlooking the valley.

Marius noticed immediately.

"...They fortified the mountains themselves."

One accompanying mage spoke softly.

"There are firing positions hidden everywhere."

That disturbed the envoy more than he admitted publicly.

Because suddenly—

The intelligence reports felt real.

The southern party finally approached the primary checkpoint where Elarion riflemen waited behind layered defenses.

Malen himself stood near the command trench wearing a dark military coat over reinforced armor while snow gathered along his shoulders.

Marius forced calm into his expression.

"I come under noble authority to speak with Lord Lucien of Elarion."

Malen stared at him for several moments.

Then calmly:

"You will surrender weapons before entering the secondary line."

Several southern knights stiffened instantly.

One noble officer frowned.

"The envoy of House Valcriox does not disarm before rebels."

Silence followed.

Then somewhere above the valley—

Metal shifted.

The southern riders looked upward instinctively.

Artillery.

Several field cannons had adjusted position directly toward them.

Malen’s expression never changed.

"You will surrender weapons."

The envoy slowly realized something important.

These men were not trying to appear intimidating.

They simply did not care about southern status anymore.

That honestly unsettled him more than open hostility would have.

After several tense moments—

The southern delegation surrendered their weapons.

Hours later inside the frontier command fortress, Lord Marius finally entered Lucien’s presence.

Cedric stood nearby watching with obvious distrust while Aurethar rested behind the fortress walls , visible through the open stone arches overlooking the courtyard.

The envoy noticed the dragon immediately.

And tried very hard not to react.

Lucien remained seated calmly beside the command table while military maps covered the surrounding walls.

No noble decorations.

No ceremonial grandeur.

The atmosphere itself felt different from southern courts.

Marius finally stepped forward.

"Lord Lucien."

Lucien nodded once.

"Envoy."

No unnecessary politeness followed.

The southern noble slowly removed a sealed document bearing the insignia of House Valcriox and placed it upon the table.

"I carry terms from the southern alliance."

Cedric muttered quietly:

"Here comes the stupidity."

Marius ignored him.

"The southern houses wish to avoid unnecessary bloodshed."

That almost made Cedric laugh.

Almost.

The envoy continued formally:

"If Elarion submits authority back beneath recognized noble order, the southern alliance is willing to negotiate leniency."

Silence filled the chamber.

Then:

"Your industrial operations will be supervised."

"Military production restricted."

"Artillery manufacturing surrendered."

"Experimental weapons confiscated."

Cedric slowly blinked.

"...They actually wrote this down."

Marius continued anyway.

"Your rifle regiments will be reduced."

"Fortifications dismantled."

"And command authority transferred under southern oversight."

The room became very quiet afterward.

Because the demands were not negotiation.

They were dismantlement.

The south intended to cripple Elarion completely.

Lucien calmly read the document for several moments.

Then finally looked up.

"And if I refuse?"

The envoy answered immediately.

"Then the alliance armies will march north"

No more pretending.

For several long seconds nobody spoke.

Snow drifted softly outside the fortress walls while distant factory whistles echoed faintly through the mountains.

Then Cedric finally leaned forward slightly.

"...Do southern nobles genuinely think this works?"

Marius frowned.

"The alliance possesses overwhelming military superiority."

At that—

Aurethar suddenly laughed.

A deep thunderous sound rolled across the fortress chamber.

The southern envoy visibly flinched.

The golden dragon slowly lifted his massive head afterward while smoke drifted lazily from his nostrils.

"You marched into a fortress "

Golden eyes narrowed slightly.

"...and still chose arrogance."

The chamber suddenly felt much smaller.

Marius forced himself to remain composed.

"House Valcriox commands:

eight mana cavalry regiments,

fourteen mana-armored infantry regiments,

tens of thousands of soldiers,

and battlefield mages."

Cedric folded his arms.

"Yes."

"We received the letter too."

The envoy froze briefly.

A mistake.

Tiny.

But Lucien noticed immediately.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

The southern noble recovered quickly.

"Then you understand resistance is hopeless."

Silence.

Lucien slowly stood afterward and walked toward the large western frontier map hanging along the chamber wall.

For several moments he simply observed it quietly.

Then finally spoke.

"You know what your alliance still fails to understand?"

Marius remained silent.

Lucien turned slightly.

"You believe this war will resemble the old world."

Far below the fortress, another artillery test echoed faintly through the mountains.

The envoy noticed it immediately.

Lucien’s voice remained calm.

"But the old world is already dying."

That line unsettled the entire room.

Because somehow—

It did not sound like arrogance.

It sounded like certainty.

Then Lucien returned the surrender document to the envoy.

Unsigned.

Untouched.

"My answer is no."

Silence followed.

Heavy silence.

The envoy slowly accepted the document again.

"...Then war becomes inevitable."

Lucien looked toward the western mountains beyond the fortress walls.

Toward the trenches.

Then calmly answered:

"Yes."

And somewhere deep below the fortress—

The furnaces of Elarion continued burning without rest.

After the southern envoys left, lucien turned his head towards Cedric and asked"what is the progress on machine gun and other things I asked for".

"The machine gun is almost ready, we have added a water jacket and it’s heating issues are almost resolved,The Shoulder fired canon is also almost ready but the landship has some issues we can’t fix the canon on its top it breaks apart the steel every time it fires."Cedric answered.

"Then fix machine guns in it’s top,we don’t have the luxury to wait anymore" lucien followed