Only God

"We are gradually becoming exhausted..."

Maxwell said bitterly to his soldiers after hearing that the Dwarves intended to enlist more troops to rush to the front lines.

Currently, the Golan forces had been unable to conquer the Helong Mountain Range; two months of offensive had only captured one city, about a dozen towns, and forts, with two-thirds of the Helong Mountain Range still in the hands of the Dwarves.

One could say the Golan forces were stuck in a difficult position.

Thus, after deep reflection, Maxwell announced to his soldiers,

"They... those Dwarves have asked us for peace. I've received a personal letter from the King of the Dwarves, the words within are earnest. They are willing to unconditionally return our King to us."

As his voice fell, the atmosphere in the tent became extremely tense, with various expressions of resignation, anger, unwillingness, and relief among the soldiers. Aside from Maxwell, no one dared to speak.

"One fact that we are forced to accept is that we cannot reclaim all of Helong... Continuing this fight will only grow increasingly disadvantageous for us..."

Maxwell patiently explained the predicament of the Golan people, clarifying each point. Through his efforts, the initially dissatisfied soldiers were persuaded and accepted the decision for peace talks.

Under the current circumstances, while the Dwarves had no strength to counterattack, the Golan people also could not achieve greater military feats. Maxwell, whose eldest son had died in the war, did not lose his reason to anger. He weighed the pros and cons and made the most advantageous decision for Golan.

Kaelonde and Golan sat at the negotiation table for the first and last time.

Previously, Golan had considered negotiations when the King was captured, and the Queen was temporarily governing. Golan sent multiple envoys, attempting to seek peace. At that time, the Dwarves had the upper hand, attacking Golan's heartland with overwhelming force, but times had changed. The Dwarves had been beaten back to the Helong Mountain Range, and although they were at a stalemate, one fact remained: the Helong Mountain Range was situated at the border of Kaelonde. Should Helong fall, the Golan people would advance into Kaelonde.

Thus, Kafu the Sixth inevitably softened his stance; in the coldest time of the year, Maxwell finally met this opponent at the negotiation table.

Kafu the Sixth's appearance was exactly as Maxwell had imagined: sagacious, decisive, ruthlessly brutal, and yet quick-tempered, with a long beard and furrowed brows that betrayed his lingering worries.

Maxwell anticipated that, regardless of the outcome of the negotiations, after this war, Kafu the Sixth would face unimaginable pressure.

This was because... the Dwarves had not achieved the outcome they desired.

The two sides negotiated for about half a month and, after much wrangling, finally concluded the negotiations. The Golan people were forced to divide one third of the Helong Mountain Range with the Dwarves, including important mineral zones like the copper mines and Poka City being allocated to Kaelonde, while the trade of mining rights and a quarter of Kaelonde's taxes for three years were consolations given to Golan. Finally, in the Helong Mountain Range, only a small military presence of Dwarves remained, with other troops withdrawing to their original borders.

At last, the two sides exchanged prisoners of war, with the Dwarves paying one extra silver coin for each Dwarf prisoner.

As for King Hudson II of Golan, in a gesture of sincerity, Kafu the Sixth unconditionally returned him to the Golan people, and thus the handling of his situation was discussed last, and the negotiation process about him was surprisingly swift; it seemed as if no one cared about his life or death.

After all, King Hudson was virtually ineffectual during the entire war, and after the harsh ordeals of war, the Regent of the Kingdom, Earl Helong, and Golan's commander Maxwell, appeared much more kingly than he did.

Maxwell's prestige reached unprecedented heights, not only were the soldiers in the army treating him like a War God or symbol of Laiendos and Scatty, but it was also said that in the Royal City, the public openly prayed for Maxwell and requested the Queen to also pray to the Divine.

Undoubtedly, when the literate nobles or priests write the history, Maxwell's name will shine far brighter than Hudson II, this man who spanned an era in Golan, alongside Hudson's ancestors.

Because of Maxwell's great prestige and miraculous achievements of turning defeat into victory, several Legion Commanders even discussed various conspiracies.

And unfortunately, those words reached Maxwell's ears.

"I hear you say you want to crown me as the Eternal Regent? Make me the Great Palace Minister?"

Thus, Maxwell summoned the distinguished soldiers and asked straightforwardly.

Immediately, the tent erupted into chaos; some were panicked, some were confused, some were fervent, and some, after careful thought, displayed immense affirmation; others harbored even wilder ideas.

Various thoughts intertwined within the tent, the greedy desires of mortals becoming increasingly unhidden.

"Why not, Regent?"

Herodotus, the Legion Commander, stepped forward and said,

"Scatty would also allow this, as you rightfully should hold the great power of the Kingdom."

The other soldiers echoed in agreement, their eyes reflecting a belief that the divine authority of the King had dissipated since his capture in battle.

Some even speculated that, should Maxwell wish, he could imprison the Royal Family and harm their offspring in secret after ascending to the positions of Great Palace Minister or Eternal Regent; thus, once he fully seized power, he could naturally claim the throne.

There were precedents in other places after all.

Facing the eager eyes of the crowd, Maxwell did not respond; he fell silent, hesitating until he dismissed the assembly without a clear answer.

Eternal Regent, or rather, Great Palace Minister, such immense power was easily within reach for Maxwell at this time.

He merely had to reach out, embrace it fully, and kiss it passionately, known only to the Divine how many people had made the same choices and how many times such events had happened in this world.

It was all so easy.

He could choose not to welcome back the King, secretly harm Hudson II, and then blame it on the Dwarves. Then, Golan would still be leaderless and in need of a Regent.

Of course, he could also detain the Royal Family after welcoming back the King, using his prestige and connections earned in the war, which would be equally easy.

No one knew what Maxwell was thinking.

However, when dawn broke the next day, Hudson was escorted back to the Golan camp by the Dwarves.

Though the war was won, this battle-engaged King was not welcomed as a victor; he looked like a destitute, bereft dog, wearing only a plain linen garment, not befitting his status, sitting on his warhorse with his head bowed, unwilling to meet the eyes of the people.

The people of Golan regarded the captured King with cold indifference.

At this moment, unexpectedly, Maxwell briskly emerged from his tent, warmly went up to greet him, and grasping the King's hand, kissed the back of Hudson's hand, and then took the reins from the Guard.

He loudly proclaimed,

"This is my King! My glory belongs to him!"

Almost everyone looked on in surprise, stunned in place, as Maxwell led the King's horse, step by step, around the camp, while Hudson, after his initial shock, shed tears profusely.

Later, when Maxwell returned to his domain, his younger son, full of curiosity and puzzled, brought up the incident.

Philip felt that, since Hudson was treated this way, whatever Maxwell did was morally justified.

A moment later, an aged Maxwell replied,

"My child,

you are still too young to understand,

that which comes easily often bears no glory,

while that which is fraught with difficulties may preserve an undying monument."