Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Meeting—Lieutenant General Kestan and the Crown Prince

Kingdom of Kestan, Tashkent City Hall Underground Apocalypse Shelter

“General Lauren, are what those people from the United Kingdom are saying true? Why would a crown prince from a sovereign state take such a huge risk to come to the front? Isn’t the war still going on?”

With power restored, the people of the Kingdom of Kestan naturally learned what had happened outside.

“How should I know? Do you remember the tragedy of the Emirates Union back then? Wasn’t the United Kingdom’s explanation that, during the Middle Eastern war, the Emirates Union army attacked the crown prince of the United Kingdom? What does that tell you? It tells you that Crown Prince Tresh is exactly that sort of person, doesn’t it?”

General Lauren was utterly helpless. If there were two countries in this world most worthy of caution, they would be the United Kingdom and the Gall Empire. More precisely, it would be the Gall Empire. Though the Kingdom of Kestan was a landlocked nation and need not fear a coastal blockade from the Gall Empire, the hackers of the United Kingdom were nothing to scoff at either.

“We are not like those cowards in the Maya Federation, who only know how to use the name of a neutral state to kneel before the United Nations and the Earth Accord! In our early years, we already offended the Northern Union, the Eastern Alliance, and the Southern Alliance. Who knows how they will deal with us now?”

At the thought, General Lauren could not help but feel a headache coming on.

“General Lauren, there is nothing we can do. Our military strength is virtually nonexistent now. The usable military facilities here are probably full of those things. We can only hope the United Nations and the Earth Accord can...”

Halfway through the adjutant’s words, a soldier suddenly ran up.

“Report! Another four armored beings have appeared outside the gate. Requesting orders!”

“Four armored...” General Lauren thought for a moment, but his adjutant answered first.

“They must be Prince Tresh and his attendants, General?”

Seeing his adjutant speak first, General Lauren could only order, “I’ll go greet him myself. A general receiving a crown prince counts as the grandest welcome we can muster here!”

With a wry smile, General Lauren led his adjutant toward the entrance of the underground shelter.

“Open the gate!” General Lauren ordered.

“Open the gate!” the Kestan soldiers shouted, and then, as if triggered by the voice alone, the mechanical locks on the gate began to clank in sequence. The gate slowly opened...

“Hello, fellow citizens of the Kingdom of Kestan!”

Crown Prince Tresh removed his helmet, revealing the golden hair that marked the crown prince of the United Kingdom. His arrival seemed to lift the morale of the Kestan soldiers at once.

“You’ve worked hard, soldiers! You are heroes of humanity!”

Prince Tresh surveyed the Kestan troops like a commander inspecting his men.

“Prince Tresh!”

General Lauren stepped forward with a broad smile, extending his right hand.

“You must be General Lauren?”

Tresh took his hand, though his own was still covered by an iron gauntlet.

“Your Highness, you have truly worked hard. Even though you did not need to set foot on the battlefield yourself, you still fought on the front lines like an ordinary soldier!”

Lauren praised him with earnest deference, but...

“General Lauren is impressive as well. You’ve preserved the Kingdom of Kestan’s remaining strength. However... I am sorry to say that the Kingdom of Kestan can be considered temporarily destroyed.”

Tresh’s words caused the Kestan soldiers to explode in an instant.

“Kestan...”

Though the soldiers had more or less already accepted the fact, hearing it spoken aloud by the crown prince of the United Kingdom still struck them hard. One soldier had already drawn his dagger.

“For my homeland, I live and die with you!”

But before the soldier could drive the dagger into his own heart, Tresh’s hand came down and forcibly pinned his arm.

“What are you doing...”

The soldier looked at Tresh in grief and fury, only to be struck across the face at once.

“If you are still alive, then the nation can be restored. If every person in the Kingdom of Kestan dies, then there will be no chance left at all!”

Seeing the soldier’s act, Tresh could be said to have been truly enraged.

“Pick up your weapon, soldier! Your duty now is to stay alive, and then use that life to destroy the demons outside! Your life should not be wasted here!”

Tresh roared.

“Prince Tresh, he is our soldier. You do not need to...”

“Yes! Prince Tresh!”

Just as General Lauren was displeased with the gesture, the soldier actually brushed the dust from his uniform, drew his weapon, and saluted Tresh.

“What Your Highness said is right. Our lives should be spent protecting our country, saving our country, not wasted here. Please allow us to go to the front and fight!”

“Please allow us to go to the front and fight!”

For reasons unknown, the Kestan soldiers suddenly became fervent one after another. They shouted for battle like...

Like the soldiers from that era, long ago...

“This is natural leadership, General Lauren. You cannot learn it.”

Tresh smiled at him, and the bloodline of Mistra revealed its power at that moment.

“I know I cannot compare with you, Your Highness. Still, could we go inside and talk? There are too many people here, and it is inconvenient.”

General Lauren was helpless. That kind of leadership was like that king who drew the Sword of Kingship, fated to become the next ruler of the United Kingdom.

“Understood! Everyone, I imagine Eastern Alliance troops have already entered this city hall. The upper floors are safe now. You are now part of the Human Alliance, so please fight to exterminate the demons. They will provide you with weapons and support.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

After saluting, the soldiers began filing out of the corridor in orderly fashion.

“Hey! Come back here! Who exactly is your commanding officer?”

Seeing Tresh stirring up his soldiers, General Lauren grew anxious as well. Yet the soldiers ignored him completely.

“All right, General. There is nothing to worry about. Eastern Alliance troops have indeed begun entering this city, and there really are Eastern Alliance soldiers stationed above. As long as your Kestan soldiers are not idiots and do not rush in recklessly, that will be enough.”

With an arm around General Lauren’s shoulder, Tresh began guiding him inside.

“Rest first. A battle fought without rest is doomed to fail! Especially you, Mingchuan!”

Halfway down the corridor, Tresh suddenly turned back and ordered them.

“Yes, Your Highness!”

This should count as yesterday’s update. I’ll keep pushing on... Since I’m home alone, I can finally get some proper writing done.