In Ark Simulator, why do I always get a tough start?

Chapter 67 Revenge on Victoria!

"Damn it! Incompetent! Useless!"

"We, the four dukes, have gathered here and besieged Londinium, yet we have spent half a month without conquering it!"

"These Sarkaz dare to use Victoria's technology to stop us?! This is an utter disgrace!"

Meanwhile, after yesterday's offensive failed again, the Duke of Normandy was holding a court assembly in his military camp.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Normandy, seated at the head of the table and dressed in a marshal's uniform, was relentlessly berating the incompetence of the generals and nobles before him.

"Alright, Duke of Normandy, mind your gentlemanly manners."

After listening to the Duke of Normandy's pointless reprimands for more than ten minutes, the Duke of Cactus, sitting to the side, finally couldn't help but speak up, saying calmly:
"Moreover, I am here, along with Stafford and the Duke of Godottin's generals."

Are you implying that our generals are also incompetent and useless?

"--snort!"

The Duke of Caesar's lukewarm sarcasm only made the Duke of Normandy's face turn even more ashen.

But in the end, considering the current dangerous situation, he had no choice but to swallow his anger.

After all, the four dukes present, including him, and the generals before him, were the last remaining reserve force that Victoria could gather.

If he couldn't even unite this last bit of power, then he probably wouldn't even have the right to negotiate with that hateful Emperor of Letania.

"...My intelligence department, 'Grey Hat,' recently sent me some new information."

The Duke of Caesar rubbed his tired eyes and said with a worried expression:

"We neither objected to nor participated in the Duke of Ashworth's invitation to attack Londinium together."

"He seems to be hedging his bets; if we take Lentinium, he'll be on our side."

"But if we get bogged down by these Sarkaz... I'm afraid he'll just take the land to the east and surrender to Letania, won't he?"

"Gentlemen, it seems that we can only rely on ourselves now."

"...The situation is indeed quite serious."

In the somber command center, the ailing Duke of Stafford, his face contorted with illness, couldn't help but speak:
"The Duke of Cavendish was killed by the Sarkaz, the Duke of Windermere was defeated, the Duke of Fife was captured, and Wellington even betrayed Victoria."

"If we can't quickly reclaim Lentinium from the Sarkaz, and if we rely on Lentinium as a defensive stronghold..."

"If we are caught in a pincer movement by the Leitanian army, then—cough cough cough!"

Another fit of violent coughing followed, and the Duke of Stafford's posture made one wonder if his body could hold out until the war was over.

"...We have already dispatched most of our steam knights to intercept them, which should be enough to hold off the Letanian army for a while."

The Duke of Godottin, a member of parliament, was not particularly skilled in military affairs and could only place his hopes on the most powerful war machines in their Victorian Empire.

It is also ironic.

These dukes, who had long coveted the throne, had cursed countless times in their hearts these steam knights who were only loyal to the king, wondering why they were allowed to control such powerful armor.

But now, in their desperate situation, they began for the first time to hope that these steam knights could be stronger.

Ideally, they should be powerful enough to actually drive the Leitanian army back from Victoria.

"There's no use talking about this now. Our top priority is to take back Londinium from the demons!"

After managing to calm himself down, the Duke of Normandy, his face grim and drenched in cold sweat, muttered to himself in an almost self-numbing tone:

"We still have five steam knights, and an army of 100,000. We can do it, we can do it..."

"Victoria will not be destroyed, our power will not be taken away, it will not..."

"The throne, the throne, Victoria's throne is right before our eyes..."

Repeated self-hypnosis pulled the Duke of Normandy back from the brink of collapse, who believed his life was on a countdown.

He failed to notice that his ever-changing expression, shifting between madness and despair, was being observed by the other three dukes and the generals.

Is this... their last hope?

For a moment, almost everyone present felt a sense of despair, and they lowered their heads with bitter expressions.

But soon, a strange vibration forcefully pulled everyone present back to reality from their disappointment.

"what happened?!"

Soon after, not only did the vibrations begin, but a strange, strong wind, accompanied by the sound of a huge engine running, immediately filled everyone's eardrums.

But before anyone in the command center could react, a sound from the sky answered everyone's questions.

"Ahead, all soldiers, officers, and nobles of the Victorian army."

"I am the Emperor of Letania, the Conqueror of Casimir, the King of Northern Tara, the Ruler of Vichygaul, the sole Emperor of the Western Continent—Qi."

"You are now surrounded by my invincible army. Your capital has fallen, and most of Victoria's territory has been declared lost."

"Even your steam knights cannot stop my iron will to conquer this land."

"Here, I, the Emperor, grant you one last chance."

"Surrender to me, to the great Empire of Letania!"

“You have nowhere to go, you have nowhere to escape.”

"The only outcome facing you is submission or death."

[Standing proudly atop the warship in the sky, like a ruler surveying the world, you bestow a final act of mercy upon all the Victorians on the ground.]

"Do not mistake my mercy for weakness, nor my patience for concession."

"You no longer have the right to choose."

Having said that, you turned your gaze to Jian, who was following beside you, and Jian nodded in understanding.

With a resounding clap of applause, two Golden Law Guards brought before you Duke Fife, whom your legion had captured, and Duke Windermere.

After several days of imprisonment, the two defeated dukes had almost completely lost their remaining spirit.

They have now accepted the facts and understand what it means to submit.

Therefore, you believe these two dukes are the best candidates to demoralize the Victorian army.

"Please, Your Graces."

"Please do your utmost to persuade them to give up resistance, otherwise my army will crush them like ants and use their blood to soothe the wounds of this land."

In the eyes of Favre and Duke Windermere, your smiling and patient demeanor was more terrifying than the face of the most dreadful Sarkaz.

In their eyes, you are nothing but a devil in human skin, more brutal than the most evil Sarkaz on this land.

Your smile will only bring disaster.

Therefore, whether it was to protect their families or the lives of countless Victorians, it was a matter of paramount importance.

They all had no choice but to submit.

"—Below, all the Victorian soldiers."

“I am the Duke of Fife, and beside me is the Duke of Windermere.”

"The Duke of Windermere and I earnestly urge you all to avoid further bloodshed and senseless sacrifice."

“Victoria, we have lost. We have lost the war. We have lost everything.”

“A country that cannot even unite as one cannot possibly defeat Letania.”

"I'm begging you, Victoria's soldiers!" "For your lives, for your families, surrender!"

In the end, perhaps it was because of the humiliation, or perhaps it was because they sensed that their attempts to persuade him to surrender would not change the outcome.

This high-ranking duke actually burst into tears and cried on the spot. His painful wails were transmitted to everyone on the battlefield through the communicator.

"Sarkaz of Lontinemne! Theresis!"

"Please—if you've seen a baby named Defiance, don't hurt her!"

However, after his failed suicide attempt, the captured Duke Windermere's dignity as a general was almost completely shattered.

Now, she is just a pitiful mother worried that her daughter will be caught in the crossfire of this war and die a violent death.

"She was accompanied by a nanny named Liz, and if she were still alive, the baby in her arms would be Defiance."

"Give her back to me alive, that's all I ask!"

"—Time's up."

However, before Duke Windermere could finish speaking, you waved your hand, signaling the Golden Law Guards to take the two dukes away.

You raised the communicator once more, and, with haughty indifference, uttered a final question to the Victorian army on the ground, whose morale was clearly wavering.

"Then tell me about the soldiers of Victoria."

"Your choices?"

An eerie silence lasted for several minutes.

The air was so still you could hear everyone's anxious, rapid heartbeats and heavy breathing.

But finally, what shattered this tranquility was a sharp, piercing sound.

That was the sound of a gun being fired.

"boom!"

The moment the gunfire rang out, every Victorian soldier on the ground trembled.

Everyone's eyes were turned in horror and panic towards the source of the sound.

—The dazed Duke of Normandy, who pulled a small gun from his pocket and fired a shot at the warship in the sky.

The etched bullets fired from his gun didn't even hit the warship before falling from the sky.

But as a duke, his act of attack spoke volumes.

"...I'm sorry, you answered incorrectly."

[You let out a soft sigh.]

But soon, your last shred of pity was worn away, replaced by utterly cold-blooded command.

"All the heroes of Letania, the valiant orphans of Gaul, the descendants of Tara."

"Now, obey my commands."

"Tear the enemies who stand in our way to shreds!"

"--attack!"

The moment the word "attack" left your lips, the soldiers who had surrounded the Victorian army roared with earth-shattering excitement and bloodlust!

Some of them were soldiers who went to the battlefield for military merit.

[Some are officers and infected who are fanatical followers of you, willing to serve you for life.]

[Some were Gallic remnants and Tara people who had a deep-seated blood feud with the Victorians and had long been unable to restrain themselves.]

[Of course, within Londinium, there were the Sarkaz, long weary of defense, who sought to make the Victorians pay for their crimes with their own blood.]

Almost everyone present harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Victorian before them.

Each of them yearned for revenge.

Each of them had long awaited this massacre!

"Come on—!"

A former Gallic viscount roared and raised his saber, leading the rebel army in a vengeful surprise attack on the demoralized Victorian army!

At this moment, what national hatred, personal grievances, humiliation, oppression...

All emotions transformed into overwhelming rage, turning into a bloodthirsty beast, which it unleashed upon the nearby Victorian army!

"People of Tara, it's time to march."

"For freedom, for our own homeland."

The combined forces of the Tara rebels and "Deep Pool" launched a simultaneous charge under the command of a bewitching woman atop an earthen mound, radiating an eerie purple aura.

For the Tara people, who were once citizens of this land but have now been reduced to colonized and oppressed people.

Originally descendants of the Red Dragon, their hatred for Victoria was no less than that for the Gauls who had destroyed their country.

In the end, their roars were no less powerful than those of the Gauls, as they vented all their humiliation on the battlefield.

The Victorian army, whose morale had already plummeted due to their desperate situation and the Duke's attempts to persuade them to surrender, crumbled almost instantly upon clash.

Meanwhile, countless disillusioned Victorian soldiers fled towards Lentinium with almost no other options.

The despair of adding the last handful of soil to their coffins then unfolded.

The tightly closed gates of Lentinium slowly opened at that moment.

The one who charged out of the city gate first was a Sarkaz general with a long sword in hand, a cold face, and wearing armor!
And then, right behind the general, they charged out.

Countless eyes filled with bloodthirsty red light, the Sarkaz howling as they wield weapons.

They were countless blood demons, transformed into blood mist, charging out from the sky, bloodthirsty and ravenous!
It is a scavenger, wielding a giant sword, floating in the air, waiting to reap all the corpses!
"Sarkaz! Fight! Kill! Seek revenge!"

Theresis, charging ahead, roared so loudly that he inspired the Sarkaz behind him who were about to carry out this revenge themselves.

"Make Victoria pay for her crimes in blood!!"

"Let this battle become an immortal, founding war for the Sarkaz!"

"kill!!"

"Kill!!!" XN
It's all over.

Standing atop the warship, he calmly watched the Victorian soldiers, caught in a pincer movement and almost unilaterally slaughtered.

You know, this war is finally over.

You have conquered what is arguably the strongest empire on the continent of Terra.

And you accomplished all of this in less than 20 days.

You have proven yourself to be the most powerful conqueror of this land.

From this day forward, on this land, no matter the emperor or the noble, they will tremble with fear at the mere mention of your name.

No matter how terrifying the army, the moment the flag of Letania is raised, they will tremble in fear and crumble.

The Western continent already belongs to you.

Half of Terra is now yours.

(End of this chapter)