
A few days after the Battle Of The Barrah Plains,
Mako was left agape as she looked at her beloved the moment she entered that isolated room inside his manor, she had received a discreet letter telling her of her beloved needing to see her, and while she was confused at first, the moment she entered the room, it was all out in the open. She saw the man she loved now barely recognizable as half of his body had been singed to a crisp, the blackened-out shapes telling her all she needed to know about how he had gotten them. She walked over to him, standing next to a doctor who was busy trying to see the full extent of the damage and what she saw left her understandably shocked.
Matthews' entire right side, from his face down to his thigh, had been practically burnt off. What remained were the charred scabs that were left behind after they had fused with the armor he was wearing during the battle. The doctor had placed a healing crystal on Matthews' chest and used a pair of clamps to slowly but surely separate the flesh from the armor pieces embedded into his body. To stop himself from screaming, Matthews had a thick piece of leather to clamp down on and took the pain head-on, focusing on the feeling of the healing crystal slowly doing its job to repair him as the procedure went on.
It took several hours but by the end of it, Matthews had fully recovered, the charred-out portions of his body had all been cleared off and he was now just bare on the bed inside the isolated room. When the doctor left, it was just the two of them inside the room and Mako was weeping as she knelt next to the bed and placed her head on Matthews' refined chest slowly rising up and down
"What did they do to you darling" She asked a sleeping Matthews, tears flowing down her mask as she looked at him,
She recoiled back slightly as she heard her beloved give out a weak moan as his eyes fluttered to life, she cupped his face as she began crying with job, her tears landing on him as she repeatedly kissed him over and over again, overflowing with happiness that the love of her life was alive.
"Ma...Mako?" Matthews asked with a weak tone as he looked at her
"It's me Matty, It's me...are you ok?" Mako asked as she placed her head on his chest and kept her gaze on his face, clutching his left hand tightly in her own
"Does anyone else know I am here?"
"No, the doctor is a personal friend so he won't be saying anything. No one knows you have returned yet but have begun speculating due to reports not coming back for around three days now...but how are you, my dear?"
"I feel...weak...it was a trap Mako"
"Pardon?" Mako asked as she tilted her head to the side
"It was a bloody fucking trap...the twin-headed beast attacked us and led us into a trap...there is a whole nation north of us, we were so fucking wrong in thinking we had a chance"
{!}
"What?" Mako's eyes went wide at the mention of another nation that had the fearsome twin-headed dragon under its control
"It's true...they called their nation...the Halkare Empire...they had stronger soldiers, stronger weapons and armor, stronger everything...I was lucky to have barely gotten out alive thanks to your teleportation scroll"
"So what now?" Mako asked with concern in her eyes
"Call your father and the rest of the houses, we have to unite if we are to stem the tide that is approaching...we don't have much time"
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
At the same time.
Marching at the front of a portion of the reorganized 1st Army, the dual monarchs, Ophelia and Amelia, walked side by side as they trudged through the winding snowy road before them. The last few days had been a short period of rest and reorganization as the Halkare Empire prepared to finish the job and crush the Dukedom of Abernath to the south and finally complete the mission to unite the continent. What remained of the Dukedom's Army had been hunted down via Fafnir's wyvern squadrons and had been effectively wiped out, such as when the 1st Airwing or Obsidian Group swooped down and attacked a FOB that was still in the process of being built, killing all of the Signatari soldiers present, including their local commander by the name of Sullivan who died as Fafnir dove right at him and crushed the man with her dragonkin claws.
With the vast supplies that the enemy army left behind, Imperial forces were able to replenish their own socks, and surplus was sent back into the empire to bolster trade, given to Adventurers and their families or just distributed to the many welfare centers that dotted the building nation.
The Halkare Research Department in particular took nearly all of the armor that was still pristine and intact and planned to use them for various experiments back up north and even augment some as testbed for new armor types without using ones already in service with the Imperial Military.
Across the length of the border of the Dukedom of Abernath, a total of eight Imperial Armies had been assembled and were on standby, waiting for the order to finally march into Dukedom territory and finish the job. Many were already chomping at the bit, volunteering to go on reconnaissance missions to try and get a piece of the action, but they all understood that until the order was given, they weren't going anywhere.
"Another report from our scouts Your Majesties" A young officer stated as he ran up to the dual monarchs and their portion of the army that marched into a camouflaged FOB set up around 8 Kilometers near the Dukedom, practically on its doorstep, handing them a letter that was sealed
"Seems that Takawa is standing by with the Black Guard. There is supposedly a meeting going to be held in the capital today. If Takawa's plan succeeds, the enemy will spiral into civil war by tomorrow, and the Slave Uprising will start at the same time, giving us the go-ahead for the full-on invasion" Ophelia told her beloved as she read the letter
"That sounds like loads of trouble piled on one another. I take it Takawa knows what she is doing?" Amelia asked as she looked at her beloved
"She should, she was the one we entrusted this entire thing to. Once the Slave Uprising begins, and their nation descends into civil war, it will be easy to brush the opposition aside and bring those newly freed slaves into the fold"
"If it saves us all the trouble, I am looking forward to it...then we can get to the more...intimate matters while waiting don't you agree?" The blonde empress asked as she pulled her lover in close, their foreheads touching one another as Ophelia looked down at her, blushing
"O...Of course, anything for you my dear" The raven-haired empress replied as she gave her beloved a kiss that sank in deeply
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
A day after Matthews told his lover to gather the houses of the Dukedom, they all gathered in the capital city of Aresburg and inside the main meeting room of the Malgrave Stronghold. The room was encased in an intense sense of suspicion and building tension as this meeting was unexpected by everyone so soon, making the large table in the center of the room that was usually filled with food for events between the houses now bare and sitting on both sides of the table were the heads of each of the houses in the Dukedom. At the head of the table sat Duke Rals Paderborn Abernath himself, his blue suit with golden trim glistening in the morning sun pouring into the room from the window to his right. Sitting next to him was his beloved daughter Mako who also wore a shimmering blue dress with golden accents, both of their faces obscured by ornately decorated red masks that were the standard for House Abernath for highly important meetings. Hiding away everything except their eyes which spoke more than the words they could utter at a glance.
Sitting in front of the two Abernath's and directly to their right was the scarred and slightly shaking, Sir Matthews. Wearing his typical black overcoat with a white polo underneath, the right side of his body was covered in bandages and while he still wore his half mask, the lower right side which was bandaged was still visible, and even his luscious hair which was short, black and spiky, had been shaven off. His breathing was still heavy thanks to him still being in a state of recovery and he used his left eye to keep his gaze towards Mako who glued her own gaze to him. Rals didn't know what Matthews had to say but considering that his daughter found it important and that she made it to out to be as such, he trusted her and awaited the news Matthews was to say. Next to the stricken successor was his mother, Baroness Baro. The usually pompous and loud baroness was now quiet as she wore an elegant black dress and had a black mask obscuring her face. Despite her seemingly cold demeanor, she kept shifting her glance to her son whom she cared for deep down and was very concerned about the state he was in.
Sitting across from them and to Duke Abernath's left was Baron Tiberius Malintara dressed in a stunning white suit with golden cuffs and accents and a grand crimson-colored overcoat. The man's spiky silver hair rested atop his head proud and his mask covering his eyes did little to cover the scar on his face. The usually loud and arrogant bastard who always heckled Abernath for the slightest thing was now silent as he turned his gaze to the Duke, something that made Rals uneasy as he knew that it meant only one thing, Tiberius had a plan and thanks to his agents, Rals knew what said plan could possibly be. A rebellion.
Next to Tiberius was the person Rals knew was the old bastard's compatriot, the newly appointed head of House Theodorus, Theodora Theodorus. Theodora wore a lovely and eye-catching white dress that had gemstones dotted around the sleeves and the dress, her auburn hair was tied in a nice ponytail at the back of her head and she wore a silver mask with golden accents to cover her face, leaving only her piercing green eyes visible. She was an unknown entity to Rals, all he knew thanks to his spies was that she was a bright and cunning young woman who loved to control others, she had sided with Tiberius and was actively helping him strengthen their domains in preparation for their own rebellion and while Rals had sent several "Regulation Inspectors" into their territory to spy on them, they had mostly been neutralized and that further scare him of the unknown potential of their strength.
Then, there was the last of the House Heads, and arguably, Rals had the hardest time discerning his loyalty, Baron Flavius Flutchet who sat the farthest from the Duke and was dressed in a khaki suit underneath a large light-green overcoat that matched his handsome looks. His short and slicked-back brown hair complimented his light brown skin and the beige-colored mask that covered half of his face showed an unreadable expression as he stroked the exposed part of his handlebar mustache.
As Duke Abernath surveyed all of them quietly, he saw that Tiberius, Theodora, and Flavius were all surprisingly calmer than usual and while it was not something many would find suspicious, he had a suspicion that they had something inside them, literally. He was unsure of what it could be but at this point, he was going to use anything and everything he had as this meeting was crucial for the survival of the nation.
"So, I believe we all are quite surprised as to why I have summoned us all here today" Duke Abernath began as he looked at them
"Yes, you didn't really give us a reason when you summoned us out of the blue" Flavius responded as he looked at Rals and then glanced at Matthews and his lover
"I apologize for the lack of clarity but I found it important that the topic of this entire thing be given right here" Rals added as he glanced over at Matthews who straightened up stiffly and then took a deep breath
"The Dukedom is in danger. A few days ago, I was led into a trap and the entire army that was newly raised was annihilated by forces belonging to a new nation known as the "Halkare Empire" they have that damnable double-headed dragon that inflicted these damn burns on me" Matthews stated as he looked at them
{!}
The news brought gasps from the Duke's, Mako's and even his mother's mouth as they heard the news, their eyes wide as they tried to let the information settle in. The other three, on the other hand, looked rather unimpressed and even skeptic of the statement just uttered from the wounded man before them.
"What do you mean new nation?" Tiberius asked as he tapped the table with his right index finger
"It's a new nation that has formed in the north, a nation that is called the Halkare Empire. The army I led fought them on the Barrah Plains and we were annihilated. I managed to escape only thanks to my lover's teleportation scroll" Matthews answered him
"Hmmm, and what was the composition of this so-called "Halkare Empire" hmm?" Baroness Theodora asked as she crossed her arms
"They were of mixed races, some were kitsunes, others were massive hulking orcs, and even some humans amongst their ranks"
"So clanners? You were defeated by a band of clans who united together to fight you? Really?" Flavius asked with disbelief as he leaned into his chair, seeing Mako's and Matthews' gaze turn to him, seemingly betrayed
"Yes. But I wouldn't say they were just a band of clans who united. They were far more organized. They had uniform armor, they had a command structure, they were like a fully fledged army. There is no way around it"
"Maybe, but maybe this is just your excuse for failing to defeat a bunch of jumped-up savages despite wielding the largest army this nation has ever had" Tiberius remarked with a smug smile as he leaned back into his chair
"What? Why-"
"Well, considering that you told us that this supposed army would crush anything in its way, and it had only been a few days. It is not only disappointing as a whole, but also mighty suspicious" Theodora chimed in as she looked at the wounded man
"What do you mean suspicious?" Duke Abernath asked with subtle anger as he turned to the other three
"Considering that this army is the largest the Dukedom has ever assembled, and it suddenly being lost on its first ever operation, wouldn't you call that suspicious?" The Head of House Malintara asked
"I would say so but-"
"And then considering that said army was under your command Sir Matthews, who is in a romantic relationship with Her Highness Mako, thereby making sure you both are next in line in securing leadership of the Dukedom, it sounds quite convenient don't you think? No longer having to worry about your brother who tragically disappeared months ago and then Having a large stick to force the rest of us into submission while we only have our knight orders in order to defend ourselves"
"This isn't about-"
"On the contrary I think it is Your Grace" Tiberius cut off Baroness Baro as he and Theodora then stood up
"Your inability to handle the economic situation of our nation, failing time and again to secure more slave buyers and even more slaves. We knew about your dealings with that nation to the north called the "Hinterlands Confederacy" and even how they seemingly stopped sending us slaves, this successive set of failures has left us no choice" The Head of House Theodorus spoke in a serious tone
"For too long you lot have done nothing but order us around. Our baronies have been at the whims of you lot who continue to drive this nation into the ground. That ends now, House Malintara and House Theodorus formally announce their succession from the Dukedom of Abernathy. We will be coming for your heads later. So consider this our last formal conversation as the next will not be the same"
"You treacherous bastards! You won't get away with this! <Fireball>" Duke Abernath roared as he fired off a fist-sized fireball at the duo
"<Barrier>" Tiberius reacted quickly, putting up a barrier that blocked the attack, looking unimpressed and even scoffing at the attempt to harm him
"<Teleport>" Theodora then added her own spell and the two of them disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the rest of the room speechless
"Those rats! Damn them to hell!" Rals added as he slammed his fists onto the table
All eyes then shifted towards Flavius who was just watching everything unfold and looked rather uninterested with what was going down just a few moments ago.
"Flavius?" Matthews asked as they looked at him stand up and slowly move to the door at the other end of the room
"What are you doing?" Mako added
"Picking a side. My own" Flavius replied as he turned his gaze towards Duke Abernath
"The House of Fluchet formally announces their sucession from the Dukedom of Abernath effective immediately. I wish the best in your endeavors" Flavius said in a calm tone as he then bowed his head
"Mother fu-"
{!}
Before anyone could do anything, the Malgrave Stronghold shook violently as the sound of a massive explosion filled the air, throwing everyone off their feet and slamming onto the ground. Flavius was able to quickly recover and book it towards the door while everyone else was still getting their bearings.
"Get the Duke to safety!" Guards yelled as they ran past Flavius who was also rushing past them, going down the steps and heading straight for the courtyard, noticing the smoke that was pouring out of several doors
Once the guards entered the room, one of them rushed to Duke Abernaths' side and recoiled slightly as the obese man grabbed the collar of his armor
"Get that traitor Flavius! Now!" He bellowed as he pushed him back before helping himself up
"You and you! With me now!" The guard ordered as he pointed to two more guards that just arrived, rushing back out the way they came
Rals then turned to his daughter Mako, watching her help Sir Matthews to his feet. He gritted his teeth as the anger of the entire situation was building up quickly but he clamped down on venting it all on the daughter he loved and the man she was going to marry, letting it slide as he knew it was just them now and Baroness Baro.
"Are you all ok?" He asked them
"Hardly, seems that the bastards have finally gone and done it. They have rebelled" Baroness Baro replied, keeping her tone respectful as she too recognized the dire situation they were both in
"They did indeed. But that was their mistake. Once Matthews has fully recovered, we will be coming for them"
"And Flavius?"
"Let the bastard run. We will come for him first"
A/N: We have reached the endgame chapters now. The end is in sight!
The House of Fluchet formally announces their succession from the Dukedom of Abernath effective immediately. I
Secession*
Thanks for spotting that!

nooo its ending too soon
At least this volume of the series is gonna end, there will be more on the way!

@MangoThunder you had me worried i want to know what they do after claiming the continent will they obliterate the ones who exiled ophelia or leave them alone?
@waffles526 that will be found out in the next volume! After I rewrite the first

@MangoThunder sounds good to me also like a said a while ago take your time so you don’t burn yourself out

@waffles526 I will be doing just that!
