Chapter 314: The Meeting of Two Kings

Charlot Mecklenburg, Clair Bretagne, Ebner Soumet, and the Black Phoenix Army clashed fiercely, resulting in losses on all sides. The Fars Empire lost a Saint-rank warrior and an entire knight order, while the Black Phoenix Army suffered the near annihilation of their forces. Neither side initiated a second confrontation after this devastating battle.

The Black Phoenix Army, unable to sustain its front lines without ordinary soldiers, was forced into a slow retreat.

Initially, Charlot intended to separate from the Black Phoenix Army and withdraw to Behemoth, but Clair Bretagne refused to retreat. Insisting on relentless pursuit, Clair compelled Charlot to reluctantly compromise. As the three knight orders re-entered the South Seraph region, they discovered a situation that was simultaneously better and worse than anticipated.

The better aspect was that the Black Phoenix Army, having lost its lower-ranking soldiers, could no longer defend the cities it had conquered earlier. Each time they retreated from a city, they withdrew their stationed troops, abandoning their occupations. Charlot and his forces reclaimed several cities almost without resistance.

The worse aspect was that South Seraph was beginning to suffer a famine.

Charlot’s earlier evacuation of a significant portion of South Seraph’s population had also depleted the region's resources. When the Black Phoenix Army invaded South Seraph, their rear supply lines faced significant challenges, forcing them to requisition military provisions locally. The people of South Seraph, unwilling to surrender their supplies, resisted fiercely. However, the Black Phoenix Army held no goodwill toward the locals and resorted to brutal suppression.

Each time Charlot reclaimed a city, his mood worsened. On nearly every city wall, dozens or even hundreds of bodies hung—men, women, elders, and children alike—executed for resisting the surrender of food. In many cases, the people weren’t withholding supplies out of defiance; they simply had no food to give. Every city echoed with the wails of the bereaved, day and night.

South Seraph had been ravaged by war since the assassination of Grand Duke Ferdinand and Duke Joseph's subsequent campaign to claim the title. Even before these events, survival had been difficult.

During Charlot’s rule, he abolished taxes and prioritized commerce, allowing the people of South Seraph to barely sustain themselves. However, with Charlot often away—fighting for his senior on Saint Michael Island—the dire state of South Seraph never fully improved.

The Black Phoenix Army’s invasion pushed South Seraph’s fragile economy and precarious livelihood into complete collapse. Charlot was powerless to send grain shipments, as ongoing warfare would only worsen the situation. Any provisions transported to South Seraph would likely be seized by the Black Phoenix forces, leaving ordinary citizens defenseless against starvation.

Charlot resorted to propaganda, announcing that anyone willing to follow him back to Behemoth would have all necessities provided by the West Wind Knight Order, including food, lodging, and eventual resettlement in other cities with land and homes.

Initially hesitant, the people of South Seraph were swayed by Charlot’s promises. With his established reputation in the region and the stark contrast with the Black Phoenix Army’s atrocities, more and more of the populace chose to abandon their homeland.

Charlot did his best to resettle these refugees in Cappadocia. Located on Goring Island, the second-largest island of the Ingrima Empire, Cappadocia was sparsely populated. Though mountainous, it was still habitable. The flourishing trade there offered these displaced people a chance to find employment and a place to live.

Soon, the frontlines reached Sedona City.

This time, however, it was the Black Phoenix Dynasty’s forces occupying the city while Charlot’s West Wind Knight Order, Clair’s Purple Finch Knight Order, and Ebner’s Maple Leaf Knight Order encamped outside its walls.

The Black Phoenix Army refused to retreat further from Sedona, having amassed significant supplies there, making it their largest logistical base. These provisions were critical and could not be abandoned. Additionally, the troops regrouped in Sedona had been reinforced by soldiers from other occupied territories, forming a formidable force that could hold its ground.

Both sides engaged in tentative skirmishes outside Sedona, while Clair Bretagne and Andreas engaged in daily duels. These clashes became as frequent as Charlot’s past confrontations with Chloe Hadrian.

Charlot had no desire for this prolonged standoff, knowing reinforcements from the Black Phoenix Dynasty would arrive eventually. Though uncertain if Fars’ reinforcements would come—or whether any would arrive at all—Charlot was compelled to fully cooperate with Clair and Ebner, who refused to abandon the cities they had reclaimed. Clair, having previously fought in South Seraph during a campaign named after the Bretagne offensive, sought to reclaim his honor and decisively defeat the Black Phoenix Army.

Charlot reluctantly coordinated his forces, discreetly withdrawing ordinary soldiers and replacing them with Labyrinth Guards. These elite warriors included orc fighters and pirates, many of whom were extraordinarily capable. Charlot even sent Dubin, Anastasia, and other key personnel back to Behemoth, ensuring their safety.

The stalemate at Sedona dragged on for over ten days. Charlot remained anxious, while Clair seemed to relish his duels with Andreas, retreating to his tent each night to reflect and strategize for the next day.

One morning, as Clair and Andreas rose into the sky for their usual duel, Charlot witnessed an unforgettable sight.

From the direction of the Black Phoenix Dynasty, the sky became shrouded in dense, living clouds.

Unlike ordinary clouds, which appear static from the ground, these formations were visibly dynamic and constantly shifting. Charlot quickly realized these "clouds" were not natural.

“Birds! It’s an enormous flock of birds, forming a cloud-like behemoth!” Charlot exclaimed in astonishment.

“What’s happening?” he wondered aloud.

Though massive bird flocks occasionally appeared on Earth, they were rare phenomena. Charlot couldn’t believe such a sight would randomly occur near a battlefield.

The Leopardman, experienced as always, took one look and exclaimed, “Those aren’t birds! That’s the external manifestation of someone’s combat energy!”

Charlot was stunned. “Their combat energy can cover miles of sky?”

Tumisan added gravely, “In the Black Phoenix Dynasty, only one person possesses such power.”

Charlot’s voice quavered. “Is it Viscount Constantine?”

“How could it be? Why would he be here?”

“If that’s truly his combat energy, we’re doomed!”

As a mid-tier Transcendent, Charlot knew that if the countless bird-like manifestations were indeed Constantine’s combat energy, it meant only one thing: even if Clair, Ebner, the Leopardman, and Tumisan joined forces, they would still be utterly outmatched.

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