“Ugh, they’re so persistent! How long are they going to keep chasing us?”

Himari shouted in frustration as she glanced at the army in the distance. After being pursued for several days, her stress was clearly reaching its limit.

The army that attacked our homeland, though we didn’t know what grudge they held, had been relentlessly chasing us. We were barely managing to escape, but there was no sign they would give up. We were so cornered that some were beginning to suggest we should fight them to the death.

“Our supplies are running low. At this rate, we’ll starve before we manage to escape. I wish we could at least save the citizens, but with that fanatic Missmorov as the enemy commander, that might be too dangerous.”

Even my usually cheerful father, the king, was exhausted and stressed. His voice was strained as he spoke, causing Himari to respond immediately.

“Exactly! Why is someone who committed mass genocide against a minority group sitting comfortably in the Federation’s high ranks? If the enemy commander wasn’t such a despicable person, surrendering might have been an option!”

“We can’t help it. Missmorov is part of the influential North royal family within the Federation. The mass genocide incident was even twisted to make it seem like it was all his lieutenant’s doing, thanks to the North family’s power.”

“That poor lieutenant. From what I’ve heard, he was a good person who tried to stop Missmorov’s rampage, but he ended up taking all the blame and was hanged for it… His family must have been heartbroken.”

The story of Missmorov is infamous, known to anyone of royal or noble rank within the Federation. However, without solid evidence and with everyone too afraid of the North royal family to testify, not even President Ranelle could take action.

“Now, given all this, we need to decide our next move. Yukiha, what do you think we should do?”

“With no means of communication and no help on the way, I don’t think there’s any way for us to survive. In that case, I believe it is our royal duty to do everything we can to help the citizens escape.”

“That’s our only choice, huh… Poor Ranelle, she’ll be heartbroken…”

“She’s also a member of the Amuria royal family. She will understand this decision.”

At this point, the remaining military strength of the Amuria Kingdom consisted of about ten Magicrafts. If we fought head-on, we wouldn’t be able to hold them off for even a moment. We needed to find favorable terrain and plan carefully, or everything would be in vain. As we fled, we searched for such a spot.

After some time, we discovered a narrow canyon. It was barely wide enough for a single ride carrier to pass through. If we fought here, even with our small numbers, we might be able to hold them off. Moreover, if we could get the citizens to safety, the enemy would have to take a long detour to pursue them, increasing their chances of escape.

“Father, let’s fight in that canyon.”

“Yes, it’s a good spot. That terrain should buy us enough time to let the citizens escape.”

With a resolute look on his face, my father made up his mind. I, too, gazed at the canyon we had chosen as our final stand. As I remembered the happy days we once lived, a deep sense of melancholy washed over me.