"Finally home,

" Sitra muttered when the fortress appeared in the distance. Her horse somehow felt the joy in its rider's soul as it speeds up a bit, even though it was already tired to no end.

"Ara,

" Sitra moaned in a slight surprise before pulling on the reins.

"I can't have you dying on me like that. Calm down,

" she muttered to the horse while caressing its sweaty neck.

"Ma'am, there seems to be something wrong,

" Aabel, the higher in rank out of her two companions, pointed out.

"It's like... It was under siege?

" he added with a hesitant voice.

"Huh? What do you mean?

" Sitra asked while rapidly moving her head from the man to the massive building in the distance.

There were no fires in the fortress. It was made almost entirely from stone and bricks, so it was given that it wouldn't burn all that nicely... But the massive cloud of smoke that raised to the sky from the other side indicated that some enormous crowd of people camped on the other side of the valley the fortress protected.

"Did the news spread?

" Sitra asked the air when a sudden idea came to her mind. An idea that was too disastrous for her to accept without confirming it first.

Her hands moved up. But just as she was about to strike her reins down, she looked down at her horse... And allowed the reins to gently fall back to their usual place. 'I can't do that. I need to be patient,' she thought, unwilling to sacrifice the life of her loyal mount just to satisfy her curiosity a few moments earlier.

Soon, the watchers on the high tower of the fortress noticed them. While Sitra was still way too far to notice their movements or hear their shouting, she was well within the range of seeing how the main gate of the fortress opened up.

A group of riders appeared on the plain as they rushed towards the small group of the girl.

"Enemies?

" Sitra muttered under her nose. She placed her hand on the handle of her saber. Thankfully, as the other group got closer, she managed to recognize their outfits, signaling that, at the very least, the fortress wasn't taken yet.

'Did we lose?' she thought, worried about the situation. The fortress stood at the very border between the country and the wild steppe. For it to be besieged like that, the only plausible option was either for the enemy to conquer the entirety of the country in the few days since she left...

Or for the news of the new land opening up to spread throughout the commoners and less loyal nobility.

"Identify yourself!

" The leader of the approaching group shouted when they were just about to cross the firing distance of a portable crossbow and common magic. He ground his entire group to a halt.

Obviously, Sitra had no other choice but to do the same.

"Colonel Sitra returning from the deep scout!

" She shouted over the distance, taxing her eyes to see as many details of the other group as she could.

'Who knows if they are not the Germanian in stolen uniforms?' she thought warily, unwilling to just enter the range of the other group.

"Sis!

" One of the men from the fortress group shouted and broke formation. A grave military offense, but for some reason, there were no shouts of disapproval from his commander or fellow soldiers.

"Igor?

" Sitra muttered under her nose, unable to believe her own eyes. 'Wasn't he in the northern frontier? What the heck is he doing in here?' She thoughts, shaken by the implications of her brother's appearance.

"I'm glad you are all right, sister,

" Igor said as soon as he approached the other group. At the same time, both parties visibly relaxed.

After all, it was impossible for a part of the ancient Slavian bloodline to defect to the germanian side!

"What the hell are you doing here?!

" Sitra wasn't as pleased to see her brother as he was to see her. Not because she hated him or anything, but because of the implications behind his presence in this particular place.

"The entire country is withdrawing from the north,

" Igor revealed as a sour expression took over his face.

"Two weeks ago, the barbarians invaded. We had no other choice but to shorten the frontier,

" he revealed the more or less recent news.

Sitra could feel her body trembling. 'So this is it?' she thought, raising her eyes to the sky.

The collapse of her country was obvious ever since several years ago. With the natural disasters starting the chain of events that struck down every single quality that her country once prided itself with, it was only a matter of time when the more organized nations would push their advantages.

It all started from a simple drought over thirty years ago. It only lasted for two years and wasn't even all that disastrous in its sphere of influence. But in those three years, most of the offices would no longer welcome the capable individuals, but only the friends and families of those who already had their jobs.

This kind of thing was always considered to be a high crime of corruption, but in the lands where the crown's gold appeared as the only stable source of income, starving nobles no longer bothered with their honor.

Between putting their honor in the books and putting a meal on their table, only a few resisted the urge to make use of their position.

From that point on, corruption exploded in the entire country. With one province slackening the restrictive laws against it, its neighboring areas would soon follow. Three years after the drought, when everything was already back to its usual state. Sadly, the entire country was already dissolving in the mess of internal struggle and small personal agendas.

"But there is no time to think about it now,

" Igor forced his sister out of her thoughtful state.

"Castor is eagerly awaiting the news in his study. Men!

" Igor shouted as suddenly as he turned to the back in his saddle.

"Give them fresh horses! Their report is of utmost importance!

" he shouted before turning himself back to his sister.

"What's going on behind the fortress?

" Sitra asked, ignoring all the topics that she wished to catch up on with her brother. From how he fared in the frontier, through his health and achievements all the way to the general situation in the country.

Those things could wait. But their current situation could not.

"It's bad,

" Igor turned his horse around before leading his sister's group to the people of his own.

"Ever since the word got out about the steppe opening up, it feels like if the entire country rushed to those gates,

" he said while nodding his chin towards the fortress.

The trip from where the two groups meet to the fortress itself took only a moment. With a fresh horse underneath her, Sitra could no longer care about its physical state, especially on such a short distance.

But she couldn't take her time once she passed through the massive gate to rest and learn about what was going on. As soon as her feet touched the ground, two officers appeared, spelling trouble.

"You will need to go with us,

" they informed the girl with a voice completely void of emotions.

"What happened?

" she asked after saluting.

"What unit are you from?

" she added another question, slightly shaken by the fact that she couldn't report to her own superior first.

But neither of the officers replied. In the end, they had no obligation whatsoever to answer and were clearly set on just doing their own job. Nothing less, nothing more.

'Dang it,' she cursed in her thoughts as the two continued to guide her through the thin corridors of the inner palace. 'Is the situation really that bad? But for some corrupt big-shot to take over this place just like that,' Sitra continued to attempt to figure out just what the heck was going on.

Before she could get any idea what was going on, though, she was finally brought to the place. The two officers that guided her opened the doors to one of the bigger chambers in the entire massive fortress before standing at the sides of the doors.

They had no intention of entering whatsoever.

"Colonel Sitra, I presume,

" a man sitting at the very head of the massive table filling the room said. Despite how big the room was, only a handful of other officers and some servants were inside.

'What a waste of space,' Sitra thought while ever so slightly tightening her hands. Given how hard it was to even walk around the place due to how many soldiers were inside, the fact that the man before her took such a massive room just for his own use was already annoying.

"General Kazan,

" Sitra said while squinting her eyes.

"What might be the case for such sudden summons?

"