It was as if the gods were throwing rain from the sky to wash away the traces of this bloody war. When the footsteps of the envoy of Alpshar were heard, the soldiers looked towards him. He was allowed to pass because he had a white flag, and a search was made to see if he had any weapons on him.

The envoy quickly entered Richard's tent with a guard beside him to take shelter from the rain.

As the envoy entered, he began speaking respectfully. "I have been sent personally by Alpshar, and I have come here to offer you a proposal" he said.

Richard wore a tired expression on his face. The clothes he wore were not the kind a king would wear, and they were soaked from the rain. Richard rubbed his worn face and looked at the envoy.

"I'm listening," he said.

"Your Majesty, Alpshar demands your surrender and cessation of resistance. In return, he will guarantee your safety and ensure you live a good life. Furthermore, your children will not be involved in the struggle for the throne, and to ensure that you do not influence the throne struggle, he plans to take you south. And last one, he insists on Ethan's death and says you can decide how he will die. These are the terms of His Majesty Alpshar, and if you do not accept, the outcome will be even bloodier" he said.

Richard's nerves were more strained than ever, and he tried to control himself. Fortunately, he knew well how to control his emotions after years of experiencing such situations.

"I cannot accept these terms. Moreover, you are asking me to kill my son, but that is impossible. Leave Ethan, I don't even want my son Henry, who betrayed me, to die," he said.

"Then there will be no agreement."

"First, listen to what I have to say. Your country is in even more danger because you are wasting time here. Island federation  has probably already attacked your southern shores, and because your army is here, they have likely begun to plunder the cities easily. 

We will continue to fight to the last drop of blood, and in the meantime, those born of your blood in the south will begin to die." Richard stood up.

"Now, here's my offer: you will allow my children to leave safely, and we will be in a vassal state to you. We will pay taxes every year as much as you determine, and if you wish, you can add other conditions. If you want, you can take my life, but I cannot allow my children to die. Now go and convey these to Alpshar," said Richard.

"I'm sorry, but there's no need for that."

"What do you mean?"

"We knew long ago that the Ada Federation wanted to attack us, and we have already taken precautions. A larger army than the one here is currently guarding our southern shores. Rest assured, we have ensured the safety of our entire empire. I'm sorry, but what you've said is of no value," said the envoy.

"What? How did you find out?...Or did the traitors tell you?"  he said in an angry voice.

"We have a much larger intelligence network than you think. But if it means anything to you, your son told us that the Ada Federation would attack, but we already knew that," he said.

"I see... I see ...Then I need some time to make a decision" said Richard.

"Then you have until sunrise tomorrow. Half an hour after sunrise, we will continue from where we left off in our attack" said the envoy, and he left without any disrespect.

Richard desperately tried to decide what to do. There were undoubtedly two options before him. He could either fight to the death and lose, or surrender, allowing his son to die and plunging his country into a civil war over the throne. In fact, there was no reason for there not to be a civil war. Most likely, there would be a war between Henry and Duke Eddart at the very least. This civil war would undoubtedly cause great harm to the country.

Richard had learned the hard way how many mistakes he had made in his decisions. Because of these mistakes, he was on the verge of losing everything. Richard stood up and approached the water basin. He washed his face with water and when he looked into the mirror in front of him; he noticed how much he had aged. It was as if he had aged ten years in just one day, and he was more tired than he had ever been. The wound in his eye and the cuts all over his body seemed to represent the sacrifices he had made in battles to win.

As he looked at his reflection in the mirror, he reassessed the situation. "If I sacrifice Ethan, Asina may survive, and as long as the Asina kingdom survives, it will rise again. And then..." Richard couldn't believe that these thoughts were crossing his mind. He looked into his own eyes as if there was a disgusting creature in front of him, staring at him without blinking.

"WHA?!!"

Richard couldn't control himself anymore and began to punch the mirror relentlessly, making a fist with his hand. His anger had grown so much that he had started to hate himself. As he continued to hit the mirror, his reflection began to shatter and change. Richard's fists continued to bleed, as if they were begging him to stop.

When Richard finally stopped, not only his hand but also the blurry image in the mirror was covered in blood. He took a piece of cloth and wrapped his hand to stop the bleeding. Then he went outside and walked towards where his soldiers were.

*****

The stars were at their brightest when the fireflies began to sound as if they wanted to say something. In the darkness of the night, Richard and his thousand soldiers quietly moved to the left. 

There were not many troops nearby as Alpshar had declared a partial ceasefire, now waiting for Richard's reply.

So, they had only one chance to quickly advance and attempt to break through the left wing. As Richard and his soldiers marched on foot, they encountered enemy patrols several times, but they managed to neutralize them successfully. 

Finally, they reached the enemy camp on the left wing, but a group of sentries noticed them and blocked their path. Since their numbers exceeded a dozen, one of them blew the trumpet, alerting the enemies that they were under attack.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"Attack!"

In such a situation, with no other choice but to attack collectively, Richard gave the order to attack, and he rushed forward. They quickly dealt with the sentry group, but soon, many soldiers started to come around them. Under Richard's leadership, his soldiers quickly began to attack the left flank, and all the Alpshar camps were put on high alert.