The moment Mikael died, the buff his warriors had gained vanished. In an instant, a battle that could have been described in terms of 60-40 had become 90-10.

When Leonel joined, especially with his Quasi Silver spear, the result was devastating. Not a single on the Kingdom's men survived, though this wasn't out of Leonel not wanting to spare them.

It was clear that this Alexandre and an iron grip on his men. Though there had been plenty of those willing to join their cause in the cities they had conquered to this point, they had all been people of common birth. There were very few nobles who chose to take their side.

Obviously, Alexandre the Apex had a very tight hold on these people, likely holding the lives of their families over their heads.

Of course, Leonel fell a small bit of sympathy for this. But, he had always believed that no singular life was worth more than another, even if that was his own.

The lives of these soldier's families in the Capital weren't worth more than the commoners who suffered everyday under their rule. The lives of the soldiers themselves weren't more valuable than the commoners who fought beneath Leonel's banner.

Not to mention the fact that since these warriors had chosen to die on the battlefield, their families would be just fine. Other than a small pity he felt, most of Leonel's rage was aimed toward a singular man.

…

The news of Leonel's army taking out a Titled Knight spread like wildfire, but nothing was more shocking than the sweeping conquest that occurred right afterward.

Leonel doubled back to the cities his four armies had probed in these last two months. Each and every one was manned by an Earl, making them among the largest cities this Kingdom had to offer.

They had only barely begun to recover from Leonel's first assault when they suddenly found themselves under a second siege. But, to make matters worse, Leonel was no longer using his Quasi Bronze Spears.

Every time his spear spun, even without the use of technique, he reaped dozens of lives. And, maybe the ironic part was that it was better when Leonel didn't use a technique at all. Not only did this preserve his stamina, but the extension of these techniques weren't as potent as meeting the blade of the double headed spear alone.

If Leonel was just powerful, things might still be fine. But, the issue was that he paired this with seamless tactics that completely stifled the Kingdom. It felt that in just a year, half of their territory had fallen. Yet, they were supposedly facing a ragtag bunch of commoners.

Not only did those four cities swiftly fall. But, reports that a main water source had been diverted reached the ears of the Kingdom soon afterward.

Somehow, Leonel had managed to both block a main river source and divert it.

What was truly baffling about this was that he used this diverted river source not only as a tactic to pincer Mikael and ultimately kill him, but he simultaneously used it to give his new claimed territory a steady supply of water and resources that was impossible for the Capital to cut off.

At the same time, this diverted water source resulted in a shortage of clean water for three separate Dukedoms located nearer to the capital. It felt like he was killing ten birds with a single stone.

When the Crafters learned how Leonel had done it, they stood shocked before the collapsed mountain turned immovable dam, their faces paled from shock.

Facing this kind of genus… Weren't they all finished?

It felt like the next year was nothing but the Capital receiving one slap in the face after another.

Four more Titled Knights fell, each more powerful than the last. The Kingdom had lost 40% of their territory. And at the moment, they were in the process of being completely starved out, their resources systematically claimed by Leonel one after another.

By the second year, the Kingdom was being brought to its knees and had less than 30% of its land left, most of which was a vast expanse of natural protections keeping the Capital within its turtle shell.

It was then, sometime during a heavy storm of winter that Leonel received a visitor.

…

"You little brat.

"

Rollan kept Goggles in a firm headlock, his legs wrapped around the latter's hips for extra leverage.

The rest of the military tent chugged beer, laughing heartily at the spectacle.

"Dammit! I just asked for one night!

"

"With my wife!

"

"Yes!

" Goggles squeezed out shamelessly.

"She's too good for you!

"

Rollan's headlock tightened, Goggles' eyes almost popping out. The latter's face turned a bright shade of red as he struggled, trying to tickle at Rollan's side so he would let go.

Leonel chuckled lightly. As usual, he was sipping at a fruity drink rather than the hard liquor of the others. Elise had actually personally made this batch for him, he had to admit that that little girl was indeed as close to a guardian angel they all had.

'Hm?'

At that moment, a messenger came into the tent.

"Saluting all Lieutenants!

" The young man said respectfully, an air of fanaticism lighting his eyes.

"There is a diplomat here to see The General!

"

"A diplomat? From where?

" Leonel asked.

"The Oryx Kingdom, sir!

"

Leonel's eyes narrowed. At the same time, the rowdy atmosphere of the tent grew more somber.

It could be said most felt that the Capital was pretty much finished even though Leonel had never expressed such an opinion. However, if there was to be a wildcard, it would definitely come from the Oryx Kingdom.

If they threatened to attack them from the back now, all their momentum would fizzle out. Their upstart group, even after two years, didn't have a strong enough foundation to deal with such things.

It would be one thing if Leonel had had these two years to bolster them with his Crafts. But, after entering this world, aside from his Spear Domain ring which seemed unaffected by the odd restrictions of this Zone, Leonel hadn't been able to bring anything else with him… This included Little Tolly.

At that moment, Rollan let go of Goggles just in time for Leonel to look over.

Goggles shook his head, seemingly understanding Leonel's meaning.

'No danger, huh…'

Leonel nodded.

"Let them in.

"