Genjitsushugisha no Oukokukaizouki - Volume 19 - Chapter Pr

Prologue: The Great Fuuga’s Final Battle

The world war between the Maritime Alliance and the Great Tiger Empire had split the continent of Landia in two. Just as the forces of the Kingdom of Friedonia, led by Souma, were about to collide with the forces of the Haan Great Tiger Empire, led by Fuuga, Souma’s plan went into action...

Images of the unexplored northern hemisphere were projected into the sky, showing Juno and her adventuring party arriving before anyone else. Souma unveiled to the people of the southern hemisphere a promotional video meant to lure people to the new world.

The reveal of a new world full of mysteries shattered the illusions of the Great Tiger Empire’s people, who had believed that if they could force the Kingdom of Friedonia to submit, the entire world would belong to Fuuga. He might have been able to conquer the continent, but that wouldn’t mean he had conquered the world.

At the same time, the existence of a new world to explore made their dream of continental conquest feel stale. By offering them an ambition more exciting than conquering the continent, he redirected Fuuga’s followers’ interest towards adventuring in the new world. A great man lays his road to hegemony atop the hopes of the people, and it is through their affirmation of his severity that he shapes history, no matter how bloody that road is.

But now, people’s interest had turned away from the great man.

They had found a tale of adventure that excited them more than the legend of Fuuga. Souma likened his actions to showing them an appealing promotional video for a new hunting action game when they had reached the final stages of a simulation game, with nothing left but a grinding battle of attrition. He believed that anyone would choose the new game.

A new era had arrived, one without the need for a great man. The one most affected by this change was Fuuga himself. He had kept challenging this era, asking how high he could rise and how far he could go. He embodied the spirit of adventure. His little sister Yuriga and her husband Souma had taken advantage of that.

Fuuga didn’t have much time left. Even he felt his attention shifting from continental domination to the new world. If he couldn’t win this battle and seize the world, he wouldn’t be able to maintain the passion to fight another war for control of the continent. His ambitions would fade, as though he were a man recovering from a fever or waking from a sweet dream.

“Yeah. Seriously... You’re one hell of a little sister, Yuriga!” Fuuga said as he looked up at the video projected into the sky.

Unlike Fuuga, who took a philosophical view of the situation, the soldiers in his army were massively confused. Souma’s broadcast had shown the world the shape of the era to come.

Now that they had been shown that a new dream awaited them in the new era—one they could embrace instead of entrusting to Fuuga—what meaning was there in fighting the Kingdom of Friedonia any longer?

It would be fine if they won. But what if they lost? Or if it ended in a painful tie? That would only slow the Great Tiger Empire’s progress into this new era.

If they died in battle or were badly injured, they’d lose the chance to go to the world of the north. For the soldiers who had valued this last chance at honor over their own lives when they believed they were embarking on the final battle of continental domination, Souma’s PV made them value their lives once again.

There were likely those among them who wished the Great Tiger Empire would hurry up and reconcile with the Kingdom of Friedonia so they could go to the world of the north. However, once the march towards hegemony began, it could not be abandoned. The Great Tiger Empire was made up of the victors, their defeated, those who had made sacrifices, and the surviving relatives of the sacrificed, all bound together by Fuuga’s charisma. If they started to think of their own dreams instead of obeying Fuuga, the country would splinter.

Sensing the mood in their camp, Hashim approached Fuuga with an expression as if he had just bitten into something unpleasant.

“Lord Fuuga. It seems we didn’t make it in time,” were his first words.

It was proof that the victory they sought was slipping away. Fuuga nodded.

“Yeah. I knew from Yuriga’s attempts to dissuade me that this is how Souma sees the coming era, but I didn’t know he’d hit our soldiers with it like this...”

“...”

“So this is why I sensed that Souma wasn’t fighting against us, but against something even larger, huh? I’d never have guessed he was trying to end the very era that supports us...”

Fuuga sounded impressed. Hashim’s frown deepened.

“I knew that Souma was plotting something. If it targeted you or the Great Tiger Empire, I believed your control and momentum would allow us to swallow them up, and we could deal with whatever his plan was. But Souma’s plot was aimed at mankind as a whole. Against something like this...there’s nothing our internal control of the country can do.”

Hearing Hashim’s frustration, Fuuga replied, “Yeah” with a nod. “If we were going to stop this plan, we should have attacked Parnam and defeated Souma before he put together that broadcast. But his retainers thwarted that with their determined delaying tactics. If they needed those delays, it means Souma barely got it done in time too.”

“Yes. That’s incredibly frustrating.”

If they had continued their reckless advance on Parnam without checking their rear after Owen and Herman risked their lives to delay it, things might have turned out differently.

But that was all a “what-if” scenario.

The thorough plan developed by Souma’s side, along with the loyalty of his retainers that surprised friend and foe alike, had cast dark clouds over Fuuga’s path to dominance.

Hashim shook his head, trying to shift gears.

“However, we cannot afford to wallow in regret. A crack has formed in the hearts of our men, one that continues to expand. That crack will lead people to embrace the dream of a new era that Souma speaks of. So, to summarize...”

“‘We have no future if we don’t fight and win now,’ right?” Fuuga finished for him.

“Indeed,” Hashim replied with a nod.

They needed to solidify their dream of dominating the current world before people embraced the dream of a new world in the north. There could be no rematch. If they didn’t achieve their dream with this one attempt, people would move on to the next dream. That had been Souma’s aim.

Seeing the calm on Fuuga’s face, Hashim said, “This battle allows no failure and has a time limit. If it drags on, we lose. We need to be prepared to win now, and in a single day.”

He was telling Fuuga that today was their only chance to fight. Hearing the unreasonable advice, Fuuga’s eyes glinted sharply as he let out an amused laugh.

“We’ve really got our backs to the cliff now! I haven’t felt this way in a while!”

Fuuga Haan was a man who had overturned disadvantageous situations to build his nation to where it was now. Despite countless life-threatening moments, he had pacified the steppe and swallowed up the Union of Eastern Nations. In doing so, he had built a great nation that encompassed the northern half of Landia. However, once he had established this power, he was in another league. There was a sense that it was natural for him to win, and he rarely sensed a threat to his life.

Even against an evenly matched force like the Maritime Alliance, he’d never felt they had the will to invade the Great Tiger Empire.

Fuuga’s days as a sovereign felt dull to him. Even with the Demon Lord’s Domain, which he had anticipated would be a formidable opponent, there had been an unexpectedly tough battle, but they had easily negotiated peace afterwards. Fuuga was so tired of peace that he had felt swayed by Yuriga’s proposal.

But now he was suddenly at a disadvantage.

Harsh conditions for victory had been imposed, forcing him into a position where, if he lost here, he might lose everything. There was no way that wouldn’t ignite a fire inside Fuuga.

“Give orders to all our forces. Today, we launch an all-out attack on the King of Friedonia to decide the outcome of this war,” Fuuga said, raising his thick arm into the air. “It is fine for them to think of the future! But will the one to carry that next era be me, or Souma?! We ask the heavens that question, and today we shall hear the answer! Men, this is the last great battle of the southern continent, so fight with bravery!”

“Yes, sir. Understood.”

Hashim crossed his arms and bowed his head.

Then he left to give orders to all their forces.

The forces of the Great Tiger Empire let out a war cry in response to Fuuga’s impassioned speech and began their attack on the Kingdom of Friedonia’s defensive positions.

And so, the curtain rose on the final battle of Fuuga the great man...