Brandika’s coronation was held at the capital of Pena.
Elrain Kingdom, the merchant country of Pena, Tortoki, and Fatina. Brandika acquired all of the representative cities of the south and the borders leading to the vast Germion Kingdom to the north and the Holy Shushunu Kingdom to the east to create a giant country in the great desert of Ashunasan (God of the Desert).
Brandika’s coronation was basically his engagement to Queen Raksha. The elder council that were against him were silenced with force, and Queen Raksha was made to carry on the coronation with quivering hands. From this moment on, he would rule over the nation as her husband.
Saldin, Grave, and Cell were also present in the ceremony to serve as representatives of his clan. The various clan leaders of the clans under the Red King were also gathered in the capital. They all gave their blessings. They already considered Brandika’s success as a good thing for themselves.
Brandika accepted the throne amidst applauses, but the figure of his friend, who should have been the happiest right now was nowhere to be seen. Carlion’s illness has gotten worse, causing him to miss the ceremony. Just a little, Brandika cast down his eyes.
After the formal ceremony was a casual party. The nobles and the bureaucrats frowned, but Brandika had no intentions of changing the way he did things. Liquor was distributed to the attendees of the ceremony, and just like when they were just adventurers, they started to drink and make merry.
To the people who’ve braved the battlefield and overcame countless battles with Brandika, this was undoubtedly the best moment of their lives. Brandika even poured the drinks despite having become king himself. As a result, the attending influential people became panicked, but in the end, the ceremony and the party ended in success.
They named their country Attibel, meaning the first kingdom.
When Germion Kingdom and the Holy Shushunu Kingdom got word of their declaration, they were shocked.
Especially, the Holy Shushunu Kingdom. In just one year, the Red King had managed to create a giant country in the south. Moreover, a spy had been sent previously under the pretense of a messenger.
The report of that spy stated that King Brandika was a powerful warrior who could match a thousand soldiers, and was himself a frank man easy to approach. Rather than a king, he was more like a clan leader. He was courageous and as a king was strong enough to challenge for the 1st or 2nd place in the contingent.
The upper brass of the Holy Shushunu Kingdom was shocked when they received the report.
A valiant king, who was a former adventurer, had suddenly appeared in the south, possessing great military prowess. The fact that they came to know of his exploits despite being in the Holy Shushunu Kingdom meant that they now had to make a decision even as they continued to gather information.
The most fearful thing was the unknown.
Should they attack or should they run? The Holy Shushunu Kingdom chose the former.
Part of the reason was because of the intensification of the war between the Red King, the Red Moon, and the other clans.
While Brandika and the rest of the upper brass of the Red King were working in the south, Shunrai the Great Scimitar User washed blood for blood against Vine the Mad Blade. Be it in the town or the dungeons or within a country, they would try to kill each other as soon as they crossed paths. Even the guild were troubled by their behavior, so it should come as no surprise that the Holy Shushunu Kingdom learned about their activities when they were gathering information.
No. That’s not quite right. Actually, someone had intentionally made it so that they would learn of the news.
The guild is under the protection of the country. Perhaps the details of that standpoint need assessing, but there are times when the guild recommends brilliant people to the kingdom, and there are also times when they accept a job from the kingdom to search a dungeon or subjugate a harmful beast.
In other words, it’s a give and take relationship. So the details of the past aside, right now, the Holy Shushunu Kingdom shares its lot with the guild. Hence, as the guardian of the guild, the Holy Shushunu Kingdom couldn’t just sit back and ignore the flow of money from the guild.
—While someone was raising havoc in another man’s garden, a country with a powerful army was born.
That was how the Holy Shushunu Kingdom saw the birth of the Red King’s Attibel.
It also so happened that it was in the same period that Claudia Cardina, also known as ‘Lady Impaler’ or ‘Battle Princess’, would be choosing her successor. As such, the people yearning to be her successor proactively gave their opinion on the matter. Many of these people were aristocrats, at the same time soldiers, who hoped to increase their power by succeeding her and gaining the influence that her position entailed.
The King of the Holy Shushunu Kingdom, Milvaro Manyu, could only shake his head as he swept by the opinion of those around him.
“Their goal is obvious! They’re going to build up their strength, and then they’ll attack our kingdom!”
As a king, it was difficult to ignore the great majority of the candidates, as doing so would earn him the displeasure of the people.
—Fight power with power!
That was the common thinking at the time. The demands of a weak country were meaningless before a powerful country. And the Holy Shushunu Kingdom was undoubtedly a giant country. As a country that reins supreme at the center of the continent, there have been many instances when it has interfered with the group of small countries to the east. Hence, it could be said that their decision was made in haste. The Holy Shushunu Kingdom decided to put the pressure on Attibel.
