NOVEL WEB Chapter 16: The Substitute
It was clear he didn't want to stay any longer. That night, Richie left Dragon Valley, taking with him the survivors of the Silver Moon Knight Order, the bones of the Silver Moon Knights, and his father's relics. Naturally, the large Undead Army also departed with him.
Not a single shred of the power of the White Bone Holy Light Court remained in Dragon Valley—except for that one treaty.
In fact, to some extent, it could be said that the treaty no longer existed, because the text of the treaty had disappeared along with Gray's disappearance. Along with the treaty's text, the newly budding trust between the Golden Dragons and the undead vanished as well.
Perhaps it was hard to believe such an alliance could exist in this world, but it indeed had. Although both parties acknowledged the treaty, could one say that the undead and the Golden Dragons were true allies in the real sense of the word? From a certain perspective, it might be even more unreliable than the original treaty between the Golden Dragons and Black Dragons.
Dragon Valley fell into a dead silence after Richie's departure. Every dragon, including the elders and every other member, remained silent.
*The grief over Richie's loss of his father could be felt by everyone. The anger of the White Bone Holy Light Court was palpable to all. But what about the helplessness of the Golden Dragons?*
*Their home, which they had meticulously tended for tens of thousands of years, was destroyed, and they didn't even know where to direct their anger. After all, it was they who had disbanded the Magic Array, allowing the frost to invade Dragon Valley. Moreover, they now bore the guilt of breaking the treaty. Even though Richie had stated he wouldn't pursue it, the resentment in his tone was evident to all.*
*This resentment was unlikely to dissipate anytime soon. And the Golden Dragons would continually carry the heavy burden of guilt, placing them in an extremely disadvantageous position within the alliance, with no path for redemption.*
The mountains, rivers, grasses, trees, and animals were all frozen, mirroring the hearts of the Golden Dragon clan.
Every Golden Dragon quietly stayed in their nest, silent. The valley was so quiet that only the sound of the wind could be heard.
...
"Are we going to start the campaign against the Black Dragon Clan immediately?"
"Of course, we need to avenge Father. It's something we must do."
"No, I think you misunderstood my point. My question is not whether to attack the Black Dragons, but whether to launch it 'immediately.'"
"'Immediately?'"
"Yes, that's what I'm asking. Within the next week, or half a month."
This question left Richie stunned. It wasn't a matter of whether he wanted to or not but rather that he had no idea what the current state of war preparations was. Some things were known only to Gray, the Lich King. Perhaps the Black Cat knew, but at this moment, both of them were absent.
"Some of the Gustav Empire's nobles have already chosen to surrender. They are willing to cooperate with us. From their standpoint, they don't want to lose what they have. From ours, it's to reduce unnecessary casualties."
"That's a good thought."
"But what should we do about the crimes they've committed before they decided to cooperate with us? Should we punish them?"
"Shouldn't they be punished? Rewards and punishments cannot cancel each other out. That was a rule set by Father. Surrendering to us doesn't mean we will erase the mistakes they've made before."
"But we need to propose a solution they can accept. If the punishment is too severe, they might cancel their original plans to surrender. If it's too lenient, it goes against our principles."
Alright, yet another matter only Gray could handle. The surrender negotiation had too many details to consider, and many of those details were known only to Gray.
"Perhaps we can... talk to them in detail?"
"In detail?"
The few Liches standing before him cast surprised glances, and Richie stood there, not knowing how to respond for a moment.
"Are they unwilling to talk?"
"No, they are willing, and they've already talked."
"With Father?"
"Yes. But we don't know what understandings they reached."
There were countless such questions. Richie felt like he was going mad.
Gray's day-to-day work was far more complex than Richie had initially imagined. The number of issues was staggering. The worst part was that Richie had no prior exposure to this.
Unlike most groups where power struggles might arise at times like this, the Liches had no issue with Richie taking Gray's place. In any case, it was hard for them to acknowledge each other. Trying to choose another among the Liches to replace Gray was an impossible task, otherwise, the Lich Council wouldn't have been leaderless back then. To them, the age difference between Gray and Richie didn't matter. A few years and a hundred-plus years were all the same in their eyes.
Having Richie replace Gray seemed like the only choice.
However, agreeing for Richie to temporarily replace Gray before Gray's fate was clear and fully supporting him were two entirely different things. That lack of support sometimes showed unintentionally.
"I think, if the Lich King were here, he absolutely wouldn't think this way."
This was the sentence Richie feared the most.