After our Central Front Army failed to conquer the Kingdom of Larcia, we returned to the Imperial Capital. There, we discovered a shocking truth: all three invading armies had been defeated and forced to retreat. I thought the Emperor and Rafishal would be furious that the large-scale invasion had failed, but the reality was quite different.

“Haha! I thought you would easily win, but to think you’d lose—what a masterpiece!” Rafishal said with a broad grin. There wasn’t the slightest hint of anger in his expression.

“My apologies… Despite receiving such overwhelming military strength, we failed to achieve satisfactory results…”

“No, Yuta, it’s unavoidable. From what I’ve heard, the enemy was also enhanced with Nitroludia, right? On top of that, they ambushed you with a massive coalition army. There was nothing you could have done. In fact, your quick decision to retreat after sensing the unexpected situation was commendable.”

Yuta seemed surprised by Rafishal’s unexpected words.

“I also heard that Yui made an excellent decision. The enemy was from the powerful Kingdom of Larcia, and they even had several formidable Riders. Yet, she fought on equal footing. When she realized there was no chance of victory, she decided to retreat, minimizing the damage. That was impressive.”

Although it seemed like praise, every word made me feel uneasy. I would have preferred being scolded.

“Cruz and Reina were also unlucky. From what I’ve heard, there was an unbelievable monster among the enemy. Given that, it’s no surprise you lost.”

“Yes, even with both Reina and I fighting together, we couldn’t defeat it. We shamefully fled back,” Cruz admitted.

“No, no, none of you are at fault. The blame lies with me and the Emperor. It’s a grave sin that we didn’t provide you with the resources to deal with any type of enemy. That’s why we’ve decided to administer Nitroludia to every adult citizen in the Elysian Empire. Out of the Empire’s 20 million adult citizens, about one-third will successfully be enhanced, creating a force of about 7 million powerful soldiers. If we also strengthen the excavation and production of Magicrafts, the most formidable magic-powered army will be born.”

What is he saying? For a moment, I couldn’t grasp the meaning of his words. I understood that he was making a ridiculous statement, but I was so shocked I couldn’t speak.

“Wait! What about the remaining two-thirds of the citizens who might fail?”

“I don’t care what happens to the failures. It doesn’t matter how many sacrifices we make. The only thing that matters is the outcome. From this point on, I declare that the Elysian Empire will implement a powerful militarization policy.”

It was clear that such a policy would devastate the country. Yet, Rafishal showed no concern. I couldn’t help but wonder—was Rafishal deliberately trying to destroy the Elysian Empire?