After confirming that the Terripol Liberation Army had completely retreated towards the city of Cerda, the besiegers left two infantry corps led by Stephan to defend, while the ranger corps led by Nia and Jebe, the infantry corps led by Oscar, and the allied forces of the Shuien clan of the Barbarians led by Masinissa headed west.

　Three days later, on the seventy-eighth day after the desert crossing.
　They met up with Hercule.

　"Your Majesty!　I've done my best!　Please praise me!
　Oh. Well done, my friend. Nia.

　Hercule was the first to jump out from underneath Hercule and pat Nia on the head.
　He then smiled at Oskar and Jebe, who were looking at him with indescribable expressions.

　"Do you want me to pet you too?
　"No, thank you.

　The two men shook their heads in unison.
　Then Hercule approached Masinissa, who was standing a step away.

　"My friend, you have done well. ...... So, what are you going to do about it?
　The victory is already decided. ...... We don't need to be there, but we will see it through to the end.

　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.

　I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results.　I'm sure you'll be happy with the results.
　"Understood, Your Majesty.

　Masinissa nodded.
　Then Hercule looked at Jebe, Nia and Oscar.

　"You guys follow me. Oskar, I need you to take the coastal cities. There shouldn't be any resistance since I've already surrendered everything. If they resist, crush them. I want a battalion in each of the ten cities I'm assigning you. When you finish capturing the tenth city, stay there.

　""Ha!!!"

　The three of them nodded.






　The next day.
　Seventy-nine days from the desert crossing.

　The Tseldas (former Teriportanian defenders) besieging the Lemurian army besieging Azdavia received word that the Teripor Liberation Army had withdrawn.

　And the Emperor of Lemuria is about to rejoin his friends and return to Azdavia: ......
　The Emperor of Lemuria has joined up with his friends and is returning to Azdavia.

　What this means is that ......
　This means that there is a possibility that we will be caught between the Lemurian army of at least 40000 troops and the Lemurian army of about 50000 troops besieging Azdavia.

　If this was the Lemurian army of about 20000 before the confederation, there was the option of temporarily releasing the siege on the Lemurian army, defeating it in battle, and then starting the siege again. ......

　However, there is no guarantee that the Lemurian army, which exceeds 400,000, can be defeated in battle.
　And also, ...... half of the region of Teriportania was already in the hands of the Lemurian Empire, and there was no place to retreat to.

　The former general of the Terriportanian garrison realized that the Kingdom of Cerda was defeated.

　"...... We have no choice. Let's surrender.

　They sent a messenger of surrender to the Lemurian army besieging the city of Azdavia.
　The commander-in-chief, Galfis, accepted this surrender.







　"So that leaves the enemy forces holed up in Azdavia, five hundred and fifty, General Galfis.
　"Ah. I'll send a messenger to report it. If we send the commander of the Teriportanian garrison as our messenger, he'll trust us.

　The Azdavian garrison is thoroughly surrounded by the Lemurian army, so all information from the outside is blocked.
　In other words, they don't know that the Teripol Liberation Army has been defeated.

　"Well, normally, they would surrender. They don't have an unlimited supply of food. We can't keep holed up in Azdavia forever. And there's no chance of reinforcements.


　We know that Iason is not a foolish general from what he has done so far.
　He is a general with common sense.
　No doubt he will surrender, Darios predicted.

　No, but ...... there are only three major battles in this war, the Battle of Teripol, the First Siege of Teripol, and the Second Siege of Teripol. It's a good idea to take a look at the following tips to make sure you're getting the most out of your game. Edmond grimaced.

　Edmond smirked, touched his beard, and continued with amusement.

　"Our emperor has inflicted about ten times as many losses on the enemy as his own army. Almost without a fight. ...... You are a terrible man. Moreover, the breadbasket region of Teriportania is virtually unscathed.

　The only battles that took place were around the cities of Teripol and Azdavia.
　Therefore, the breadbasket region of Teriportania was not damaged to any great extent.

　Of course, this is not to say that it is completely unscathed. ......
　The wounds will heal within a year, and will undoubtedly bring enormous wealth to the Lemurian Empire.

　But ...... in this war, the enemy was completely at the mercy of the Emperor. Everything he did seemed to be backfiring. How can you read the enemy's thoughts so well?

　Is the emperor a wizard or something?
　Edmond wondered.

　But Darios shook his head.

　No, ...... the Emperor did not read the thoughts of his enemies, General Edmund. I'm sure he wasn't thinking about what the enemy was thinking at all.

　"What do you mean by that?　General Darios?

　What does that mean, General Darios?" Edmond's question was answered by Darios with an amused smile on his face.



　It's simple. ...... His Majesty was planning a strategy that would allow him to win, no matter how the enemy responded. He was not reading the enemy's thoughts or guiding them. You are not the kind of man who relies on such uncertainty.

　If we compare this war to a maze, the dead end is defeat and the goal is victory.

　To many, it looks as if Hercule has completely read or guided the thoughts of the Kingdom of Cerda, and has prepared a dead end in their direction of travel.

　But ...... is not the case.
　In the first place, there is no goal in this maze.

　No matter how far you go, you will always end up at a dead end.

　Therefore, from the beginning of this war, the Kingdom of Cerda had no chance of winning.

　The greatest dividing line would be the desert crossing. If the Kingdom of Chelda could detect the Emperor's desert crossing, then the Kingdom of Chelda would have won.

　Galfis added.

　It was just before the Desert Crossing that the Kingdom of Chelda got lost in the maze without a goal.
　If they had been able to respond to the situation at that time, the Kingdom of Chelda might have had a chance of victory.

　Well, in other words, His Majesty destroyed the Kingdom of Chellda with just one move of the desert crossing. Although it was nearly impossible to cross the desert in the first place, ...... how could he have succeeded?

　I still can't believe it.
　I still can't believe it," muttered Darios.

　It was a triumph for Hercule, who had planned so meticulously and without preconceptions.

　I'm not sure what to make of that. ...... Oh, the messenger has returned.

　At the same time that Edmond praised Hercule, ......
　The gates of the city of Azdavia opened and a messenger came back from there.

　It was probably an acceptance of surrender.
　Galfis, Darios, and Edmond thought.




　But ......




　The Azdavian garrison refused to accept Lemuria's offer of surrender.





　That's enough!　I'm the commander-in-chief of the Azdavian garrison, remember?　Do you really think you can get away with this?

　Iason shouted.
　Iason is in a prison in the city of Azdavia.

　Standing in front of the cage is the commander of the Warbeast.

　"Shut up, traitor. "Shut up, traitor! Surrendering to the enemy is outrageous!

　"Nonsense!　We can't win any more battles!　You can't win any more battles! You're a traitor for wasting your lives!　It is our duty to surrender and return as many soldiers as possible to their homes with as few casualties as possible. ......

　"Shut up!

　The commander drew his sword.
　Iason threw up his hands involuntarily.

　"Whose fault do you think this is?
　It's your fault!
　That was before!　If it had been General Carmine's plan, we wouldn't have ended up like this!

　This defeat is your fault for dispersing the troops .
　This defeat is your fault for dispersing your troops," the Warbeast commander pointed out.

　I don't think General Carmine's plan could have handled the desert crossing. ......

　Carmine's plan was to leave the Teriportanian region behind and fortify the cities of Teripol and Cerda. ......
　Whether you disperse or concentrate your troops, the speed at which they gather will not change.

　In other words, if the city of Teripol is attacked by surprise before the troops can gather, it's over.

　"No, shut up!　Anyway, we're not surrendering. We're not going to surrender. We're going to take out as many Lemurians as we can!
　That's absurd. ...... What's the point of that?

　What's the point of that?" "It will only cause soldiers to die in vain.
　The commander shook his head.

　The Kingdom of Cerda has not surrendered yet!　As long as we continue our resistance, the Lemurian army will not be able to turn the region of Teriportania into a province. As long as we continue to resist, the Lemurian army will not be able to turn the region of Teriportania into a province. ...... If we stall for a month, they will start to fight back. If they do, we'll win.

　What the hell are the odds of that happening? ......

　It's a myth.
　Iason said, but his commander didn't listen to him.