Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Aftermath of the Massacre

“Hey, have you heard? The Morris Empire has produced a new renowned general, Paris, who defeated over ten thousand of the Holy Knights, and even the leading Guardian Knight Commander perished in battle. By the Light God, this is the first Guardian Knight Commander in history to die on the battlefield!” In the noisy tavern, a slick-tongued rogue boasted to a group of drinking companions.

“Your news is outdated. These days, everyone knows General Paris’s name. But there's a big headline from the Morris Empire that will really surprise you.” At this point, a somewhat well-connected drunk paused deliberately, grinning at the surrounding group.

“Hey, here we go again. Bartender, another round of rum—make it a large one!” The others, clearly intrigued, indulged the drunk, knowing his nature, by buying him a drink.

“Haha, Papa, you’re a true friend. I won’t be shy, then.” No sooner had he spoken than the drunk eagerly grabbed his rum and drank deeply.

He belched contentedly, gazing at his companions with satisfaction, grateful for the convenience of having a brother in the government—always able to trade news for drinks.

“The Elven Empire, a hundred thousand strong, seized the opportunity while General Paris attacked the Kingdom of the Light God and marched straight to the Morris capital. Guess what happened?” The drunk, relishing the suspense, stopped just at the critical point.

“Come on, you’ve got your drink. If you keep dragging it out, we’ll thrash you. Out with it—what happened?” Papa, evidently the leader, prompted him with a laugh.

“Well, haha, the Elven Empire’s hundred thousand troops used insiders to breach the supposedly impregnable Morris capital. The Morris peasants proved tough—facing certain defeat, they fought the elves and centaurs to the bitter end. In the end, they enraged the Elven Empire’s commander. At his command, the entire city—tens of thousands—was slaughtered, wiped clean. One of the most prosperous cities along the border, reduced to a ghost town overnight. It was a tragedy! The Elven Empire truly deserves its reputation as the enemy of humankind—swift and ruthless in slaughter. Thank goodness our English Empire is a thousand miles away from them. Otherwise, we’d best flee while we can.” The drunk recounted slowly, as if he’d witnessed the massacre himself, his face full of lingering fear.

His drinking companions listened, each showing an expression of dread—the title “enemy of humankind” was well earned.

This was but an ordinary tavern in the heart of the English Empire, one month after the Elven Empire’s massacre. The largest slaughter in decades was gradually spreading throughout the human world. Apart from the Dwarven Empire, ever indifferent, every human nation strongly condemned the Elven Empire.

Even the Kingdom of the Light God, secretly allied with the elves, expressed outrage at the slaughter of defenseless civilians, severing all ties with the Elven Empire.

General Paris, advancing toward the Madrid Empire, halted upon hearing the news, cautiously fortifying his territory. Even this newly celebrated general dared not turn his back on the elves’ cruelty; human civil war could wait, but the Elven Empire must be guarded against.

Nearly all human powers stopped their imminent military campaigns, preserving their strength against possible elven invasion. Internal human conflict might bring victory or defeat, but the Elven Empire threatened annihilation.

Unlike the unified hostility among the human elite, ordinary folk responded to the news with fear and idle conversation. Of course, this was true only for those far from the Morris Empire. Those living near, or within, Morris itself reacted very differently.

In the Istanbul region, humans had endured years of war a decade ago. The local culture was fierce. After the fall of the Morris capital and the death of Emperor Morris, the Istanbul people perhaps no longer supported the young empire, but their spirit of resistance remained unbroken.

Even as all human powers turned against the Elven Empire, the commander of the elven expeditionary force, Aldo Gitt, cared little. As marshal of the Elven Empire, which championed racial supremacy, he believed that noble elves and centaurs could easily face all human powers alone.

The rise of Emperor Morris was merely due to the mountainous, forested terrain of Istanbul, which rendered the centaur cavalry less effective and prevented the high elf legions from deploying efficiently. Otherwise, no matter how capable Emperor Morris was, he would have been crushed to dust by the elven armies.

Yet! Though official human organizations in Istanbul were wiped out and all military factories destroyed by desperate Morris officials, years of war had left almost every civilian armed!

Marshal Aldo Gitt believed there would be no further threat from Istanbul after the fall of Morris. He did not realize what consequences his reckless actions would bring.

The slaughter of hundreds of thousands of humans enraged the people of Istanbul. These mountain and forest dwellers, each capable of self-defense, were not the compliant folk of fertile plains or peninsulas. They had no intention of living under the elves’ blade.

Who knew when the insane elves and centaurs might again raise their knives in a fit of bad temper?

Naturally, inter-racial hatred intensified. As news of the massacre spread, other human powers merely prepared their defenses, but the people of Istanbul erupted in fury.

Among tens of thousands in the imperial capital, who had no family or friends? Who lacked distant kin? Even if you had nothing, would you trust such cruel aliens to rule you?

After crushing the Morris Empire, the elves swiftly occupied Istanbul. Soon, the region was ablaze with unrest. Marshal Aldo Gitt suddenly realized that, though Istanbul nominally belonged to the Elven Empire, resistance organizations hostile to elves and centaurs sprang up everywhere.

After being thoroughly humiliated, the proud elves refused to compromise with humans. One month after the uprising in Istanbul, the Elven Empire once again assembled a hundred thousand troops and marched slowly into the region. Perhaps another massacre was about to begin…