THE VILLAIN'S POV

Chapter 522: The Stand Against Oblivion (2)

With a face twisted in pain, and clenched teeth... Iris muttered bitterly,

”I’m truly... afraid of dying.”

He had always believed he wouldn’t hesitate when the time came.

He had lived long enough, and it wouldn’t be so bad to throw his life away for those younger than him.

But in that final moment, he didn’t think like a great lord or a commander.

He simply thought like a human being.

A human who feared death.

”I’m sorry...”

Iris apologized—to the empty air before him.

The pain made him hallucinate, seeing faces that no longer existed.

It felt like he was about to lose himself completely.

And just as the madness was about to consume him...

The only device that survived within his burned clothing lit up.

It let out a mechanical beep and flashed with a red light.

Iris hastily pulled it out, gazing at it with tear-filled eyes.

A few seconds later, he pressed the single button and answered the call.

Before him, a holographic figure appeared .. a familiar young man.

”Your Highness...” Iris muttered hesitantly, staring at Aegon Valerion standing before him.

”You’re in miserable shape, Lord Iris... It seems things are even worse than I imagined,” said the prince with a face that showed mild disappointment.

He was fully armored ..something odd, given that he was supposed to be on the other side of the world...

But Iris wasn’t in the mental state to notice that.

With his one remaining eye, he glared at the prince in front of him.

”Aegon... nearly ten thousand of our soldiers were just wiped out... and we’ve lost the Claymore bearer,” Iris lamented.

Aegon simply nodded with indifference.

”Yes... quite disappointing,” he said, then paused—which only fueled Iris’s anger.

”Disappointing? We were annihilated!” Iris roared, unable to contain himself.

Aegon chuckled coldly.

”Annihilated by one man .. and you couldn’t even touch him. That’s a disgrace. You’ve brought great shame upon us, Lord Iris.”

Iris froze, struggling to process what he’d just heard.

”How did you... how did you know we only faced one man?” he asked in disbelief.

”How? What a foolish question, Lord Iris Sunlight. I monitor the battlefield constantly ..I have eyes everywhere.”

”The moment you came under attack, I was informed of everything. Yes, your opponent was strong, but I assumed you’d handle him. After all, you outnumbered him greatly. But in the end... you failed. As I said...”

”You brought shame upon us.”

Iris found himself speechless .. before this prince who clearly didn’t care.

Not for his life...

And not for the twenty thousand soldiers who had just died under his command.

He wanted to argue, but his shattered state, his exhaustion, and his pain... all made him lower his head and speak in a faint tone.

”The enemy possesses abilities similar to Frey Starlight’s. His power level is extremely high. I believe he ranks within SS+ tier... We’ll need the Emperor himself—or someone equal—to deal with him.”

Iris spoke, while Aegon simply sighed.

”Just hold out with what you have for now.

You have the real Frey Starlight among you, don’t you?”

”But—!” Iris tried to object, but Aegon cut him off.

”No need to worry.

You and I are now standing on the same land.”

”What are you talking about?” Iris asked in confusion, as the prince rolled his eyes toward the vast land around him.

In front of him... an entire city had been burned to the ground, its inhabitants slaughtered, while the imperial forces under his command marched forward, destroying everything in their path.

It was the fifth city he had conquered in a single day.

”While you were distracting the enemy from the front, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to knock on their back door. After all... it wouldn’t be fair for you to hog all the fun.”

It was a simple plan.

A stupid plan.

So reckless and insane that only a child would dare think of it.

But Prince Aegon actually carried it out.

After Frey Starlight had conquered the Eastern Nightmare Lands, the Empire and its forces marched across that cursed terrain, then simply sailed through—reaching the opposite side of the Ultras Continent.

Preparing and executing the plan had taken a long time, and it had been done in such absolute secrecy that even Iris hadn’t heard a word of it.

Then—just twenty-four hours ago—they landed on the western shore of the Ultras Continent... and began their extermination campaign.

Beside Aegon stood thirty thousand soldiers. A relatively decent number.

But what truly gave their force power...

Was the names marching with them.

The entire Valerion family had joined the campaign, with Emperor Maekar Valerion and Ser Alon leading the charge.

Their mere presence made the imperial force a terrifying engine of war.

This army was now marching from the west, taking the enemy completely by surprise.

From both the east and the west... war had been declared upon the Ultras.

Taking in the madness of the situation, Iris Sunlight cursed under his breath.

”This is absolute madness!! Are you seriously trying to pull off an anvil-and-hammer maneuver on an entire continent?!”

It was a known battlefield tactic: pinning the enemy between a fortified frontal force—the anvil—and a devastating assault from the rear—the hammer.

But that tactic was meant for battlefields... not an entire continent.

And yet Aegon spoke of it with a childlike simplicity, as if such a plan made perfect sense.

It was lunacy. It was doomed. And still, Aegon smiled cheerfully at Iris’s outburst.

”Yes, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. So hang in there until we arrive, will you~”

Upon hearing that response, cold sweat slid down Iris’s neck.

”You’re insane.”

”Haha! I don’t want to hear that from an old man who couldn’t even handle a single young man,” Aegon laughed, waving mockingly at Iris.

”Anyway, I’m counting on you to hold out. Especially Frey Starlight .. tell him I really do love him!” The prince laughed again before cutting the call.

”Encircling an entire continent...”

Leaning back, he tossed the communication gem aside and stared up at the sky.

”It’s like we’re playing some kind of twisted game... not fighting a war that could cost millions of lives.”

”This world really is full of lunatics...”