Chapter 511: Leone’s Ultimatum

Cries of panic erupted in the streets of Amberfall City when the teleportation gate at the center of the plaza exploded.

It happened so suddenly that no one knew exactly what happened.

Fortunately, no one was using the gate at the moment, so no one was hurt or, worse, killed due to the explosion.

While everyone was panicking, Blitz was already moving in the direction of the hidden gate that Daedalus had detected.

"It’s under that cliff in the distance," Daedalus said.

*Squeak!* Blitz turned into a lightning bolt and flew towards the cliff.

It didn’t take long for them to find the teleportation gate and destroy it with Hassan’s magic bombs.

"Next, we go to Windermere City," Daedalus stated.

*Squeak!*

"Lead the way, Daedalus."

The three demolition experts knew that time was of the essence. The sooner they destroyed the teleportation gates, the sooner the barbarian army could move.

Moving from place to place wasn’t easy, but in just the span of three hours, they had successfully disabled all the teleportation gates.

This meant that the Kingdom of Britannia could no longer send reinforcements to the lands that would soon face a barbarian invasion from the south.

When Daedalus informed Leone that their mission was a complete success, the young man finally gave the order to attack.

The first city to fall was none other than Amberfall City.

It was the city closest to Stoneguard Fortress, and only a hundred guards were left to guard it.

Those guards didn’t even have time to flee as the barbarian army descended upon their city like a raging tide.

Leone had given them an absolute order of no pillaging and no raping. Their strategy was simple.

Neutralize the guards of the city and capture the noble family that was in charge of it.

As long as the noble in charge promised to cooperate, they would not kill their family nor harm any of their citizens.

Of course, to make this agreement binding, the nobles were forced to sign a magical contract, preventing them from going back on their word.

Naturally, there were nobles who were still smart enough to send messenger birds to their King, informing him of what was happening in their domain.

Unfortunately for them, they weren’t dealing with simple barbarians.

Yuni’s Red-Tail Hawk, Rio, had intercepted these messenger birds, preventing the news from spreading.

The Pteranodons and Red Hawks were also on patrol duty, making sure that not a single bird could escape their patrol.

Although there would eventually come a time when the King of Britannia would learn about what was happening in the southern regions of his domain, it would already be too late to do anything by then.

As one city fell, another one found itself suffering the same fate.

Leone wasn’t expecting it, but another territory mission had appeared the moment Amberfall City fell under his control.

——————

[Territory Mission 2]

[Requirements to Upgrade to Rank 3: 5/10]

[Fifth Mission: The Great Land Snatch!]

[Difficulty Rating: Bonus Round]

[Objective: Bring as many territories under your control as possible within the next five days.]

[Rewards:]

— For every territory brought under your control, you will receive Rare Mount Tickets based on its noble rank.

— You will receive 100,000 BP for every territory brought under your control.

[Reward Allocation]

[Barony = 50 Rank 3 Rare Mount Tickets]

[Viscounty = 100 Rank 3 Rare Mount Tickets]

[County = 150 Rank 3 Rare Mount Tickets]

[Marquisate = 200 Rank 3 Rare Mount Tickets]

[Duchy = 300 Rank 3 Rare Mount Tickets]

——————

"Bonus round?" Leone muttered as he looked at the new mission that popped up in front of him.

It was then that he realized something. Gaining Rank 3 mounts would actually speed up the momentum of their invasion.

Since traveling on land would require them to travel for days to reach a city, using flying mounts was the ideal choice.

Not only were they faster, but they also greatly shortened the travel time between the cities that were separated by geographical barriers, like forests and mountains.

The number of flying monsters under Leone’s control, excluding the Gryphon Battalion, numbered around five hundred.

This included the Black Manticores, Lightning Rocs, and Dread Wyverns of the high-ranking tribes.

The rest were land mounts like Drakes and Raptors.

The Dread Condors of the Ravage Tribe, the Red Hawks, and the Black Hawks were among those that were counted in the five hundred flying monsters under Leone’s command.

Now that Amberfall City fell into his hands, he didn’t hesitate to use the tickets to summon fifty Gryphons.

Lightning Rocs were faster when it came to flight speed. However, letting his people ride on mounts that they hadn’t used before would be a problem.

As for Gryphons, although the barbarians hadn’t tried riding any of them before, Leone was confident that they would not have to worry about this since the Garuda Gryphon was the Guardian of the Aslan Tribe.

This was also the reason why the Gryphons were Leone’s first choice. Astravor gave them a passive buff that increased their flight speed, as well as their overall stats!

"Go to Amberfall City and find Kael," Leone ordered the Gryphons. "Follow his orders like they are mine."

The Gryphons obeyed and flew to the nearby city to take their next orders.

The elite members of the Aslan Tribe, as well as the chieftains of the Borderlands, were given priority to ride the Gryphons.

After Leone explained his mission to Kael, the shaman immediately gave the order for all those who had flying mounts to head to their next destination.

This was a race against time. The more territories fell under their command, the stronger Leone’s Aerial Battalion became.

Now he understood why the difficulty setting of this mission was considered a bonus round.

Targeting territories with so few defenders was easy. Before their leaders could even be threatened, they had already yielded and surrendered.

The more territories surrendered, the more flying monsters appeared in the skies of the southern regions of the Kingdom of Britannia.

In order to move the land troops faster, Leone went ahead with the same strategy they had used in the past.

During the war against the Aurelion Army, Leone made his land troops occupy long enclosed wagons similar to a train cabin while being carried by Pteranodons.

He was now using this same strategy to transport more people across the southeastern region of the Kingdom of Britannia, overwhelming the defenders of the lands they invaded.

The easiest territories to conquer were the Baronies. Most of them were only small villages scattered across the lands that Leone was invading.

Although he originally didn’t want to involve these people in his fight against the King, he was forced by circumstances to take advantage of them.

However, none of these villages were harmed in any way. Leone only ordered that the barons sign the magical contracts, or they would have their entire families annihilated. If they obeyed, then they would leave them be, allowing them to return to their normal daily lives.

With such a threat given to them by the scary barbarians, whom they referred to as savages, most nobles folded easily.

Naturally, some resisted, and only after they were beaten black and blue did they finally surrender.

On the second day of Leone’s invasion, the King of Britannia finally became aware of his existence.

Realizing that his southern lands didn’t have the means to defend themselves, the King hurriedly ordered his generals to do something.

After hearing this news, the generals felt like they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

It was already difficult for them to defend against the Barbarians and the Beastkin coalition.

Now, the barbarians of the Borderlands had joined the battle.

It was also then that Armand’s son, Stellan, received a message from his father.

Stellan hurriedly passed the news to the generals, which made all of their expressions turn grim after hearing Leone’s ultimatum.

"Surrender Marco Frontera to me safely, or I will order my army to make their way to the capital of Britannia and raze it to the ground. Do not think you can use him as a hostage against me.

"If he is hurt in any way, I’ll make sure that you and your families will suffer the most painful death, and it will be more torturous than you can imagine. You have exactly three days to surrender him unscathed. If not, I’ll see you all in the capital of Britannia. By then, your kingdom will cease to exist!"

Helen also passed this message to her grandfather, who then passed it on to Alaric and the Beast Kingdom.

Since they already had no intention of negotiating with the Britannians, the news of Leone’s ultimatum caught their interest.

Inside the Royal Palace of Britannia, King Augustus screamed in anger and frustration.

"I should have killed him!" King Augustus roared. "I should have killed that bastard when I had the chance!"

If only he had chosen to execute or imprison Leone, none of this would have happened.

He thought that exiling him out of Britannia would make him suffer a very long and painful death in the hands of the barbarians.

The King never expected that not only would Leone survive, but he would also thrive!

And now, that mistake had come full circle.

Left with no choice, the King desperately asked his ministers and generals to come up with a plan in order to survive this calamity.

"Your Majesty, there is only one way to overcome this situation," General Duran said calmly. "As long as we surrender Marco to Leone, we wouldn’t have to worry about him attacking the capital."

Deep inside, the King knew that this was the most ideal solution to his problem. But he was unwilling to return Marco without getting anything in return.

After the meeting, General Duran contacted Leone through the communication crystal that belonged to Armand.

"We will release Marco on the condition that you will return the lands that you claimed from us," Duran said.

But, to his surprise, Leone’s answer was a big, fat, NO.

"We will continue invading the kingdom until Marco Frontera is delivered to our doorstep," Leone declared. "We will only stop when he is surrendered to us. As for the lands that are now under our control, I have no intention of returning any of them."

"Are you sure you want to take a strong stance against us?" General Duran warned him. "I can’t guarantee your father’s safety if you’re going to be this stubborn."

"I should be asking you that question instead, Duran." Leone didn’t even bother adding the word ’General’ to Duran’s name. "Are you prepared for the consequences of your stubbornness? Do you have any idea who my mother is?"

General Duran frowned. He didn’t feel good about Marco’s wife being mentioned right in front of him. However, the young man’s next words made him momentarily forget his discomfort.

"My mother’s maiden name is Helen Von Helion," Leone declared. "Her grandfather’s name is Lugh Von Helion. Her grandmother is the princess of the Radiant Empire and a sister to its current King. And you... just took her husband away from her.

"Now, tell me. Do you really understand how close all of you are to total annihilation? If you don’t believe me, go ahead and try to call the King of Britannia. Let’s see if you can handle the truth. Remember, you only have three days. I will not wait for a day longer."

As soon as he said those words, Leone finally cut off the communication.

Now, all he needed to do was wait.

Wait for the King of Britannia to realize that he had truly and royally... f*cked himself into a corner.