They don't want me to try anymore.

Richard frowned, but made no attempt to run away.

This is the final darkness. According to the latest news from Veronica, as long as he keeps Albert pinned down here for five days, Yoton City will fall!

We must hold this place at all costs!

You broke free of your guards, donned armor and took up your staff, and charged forward to fight the Imperial army!

Chapter Sixty-Six: You are mine, and no one can take you away!

[After you took the lead, the enemy's first attack was repelled.]

Then came the second, third, and fourth times...

On the third night after the enemy army besieged the city, you were defeated.

You have been defeated.

Wow, that's so direct!

Although Richard anticipated that his second-line troops wouldn't be able to stop that damn Albert, he still couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.

You successfully delayed Albert for three days, but ultimately failed to stop him from entering the city. You could only take your few remaining loyal followers and hide in the warehouse, which is well-built and can hold out for a while longer.

Albert led his troops to surround the area, but instead of attacking immediately, he stepped out from his ranks and reminisced about your victory over Linda at St. Goethe, praising your abilities and promising that if you surrendered, he would guarantee your safety and even secure you a marquisate...

Richard blinked.

I've seen him at Saint-Goethe? I don't remember him. Are you trying to get on my good side?

As for those words... turning against one's allies and surrendering to the world with courtesy, is that how one can maintain the status of a mad monkey?

Who cares?

I wasn't even willing to marry Luvia back then, so you, a man, should definitely not even think about it!

You righteously and firmly rejected Albert, exclaiming: "I have never seen such a shameless person!"

[You hold a torch, stand on the roof of the warehouse, facing the heavily surrounded Imperial army, and deliver a speech without changing your expression.]

"Ten years ago, I came to this divinely bestowed land as a slave..."

Richard briefly recounts his experiences, depicting the story of intelligent life from all over the world who established themselves on Grace Island, only to be exploited by the native inhabitants.

"...but hardship did not break our backs."

"Now, I have a dream!"

"I dream that one day, all living beings from all the world, whether human or elf, immigrant or native, will be able to live on this land equally and without oppression!"

"I have a dream that one day a new nation and a new people will be born on this land, and that every individual will have the right to freedom and the pursuit of happiness!"

"I dream that one day..."

Albert understood your speech and silently deployed two small rapid-fire cannons.

Tch, can't take a joke, won't let people finish speaking.

However, you don't need to take care of the matter of death.

...I didn't intend for you to seize this warehouse of supplies anyway. I want to see what your detachment, which is messing around with infiltration behind enemy lines, will do if you fail to obtain supplies from the enemy!

As a professional suicide victim in the simulation, Richard had already prepared a grand funeral.

You retreated back to the warehouse, dismissed your trusted followers, and allowed them to surrender—to your surprise, the giant slaves you had initially rescued, despite their limited speech, now stood firmly behind you.

You were deeply moved, so you entrusted him with a dying wish, and then commanded him to go out and surrender, and to survive...

Finally, you took out a torch and lit the overturned gunpowder barrels in the warehouse.

With a deafening roar, your life came to an end before dawn.

The giant's follower stared blankly at the firelight, repeating your last words: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the way, I have kept the faith, and I believe that a crown of justice will be reserved for me."

This simulation has ended.

Richard opened his eyes in the hotel in Nyon.

Exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed me.

This time, however, he did not let himself fall asleep. Instead, he took out a candle and some cotton thread and made a small time-delay ignition device by his bedside, then meditated.

He had not forgotten the impending threat from the Void Cult and planned to recover his strength before taking immediate action.

This time...

We won't let them devour even half of Nyon again!

at the same time.

Veronica is having a great time on the ocean.

Under your fierce attack, the defenders of Jotun mutinied, bound their superior who wanted to die for his country, and surrendered. You captured Jotun two days ahead of schedule.

At this point, the Empire's power on the Divine Grace Islands was waning.

Won!

I never imagined I'd get this far in the simulation...

Feeling the satisfaction of conquest, Veronica couldn't help but smile.

Thanks to that man...

Speaking of which, shouldn't I fulfill the conditions we agreed on back then? And shouldn't he grant me one of my requests? Hmm~

After imagining some colorful and dynamic scenes, Veronica's smile became more and more playful, and she even couldn't help but lick the corner of her lips with the tip of her pink tongue.

But the next second...

[You have received military intelligence: Clem has fallen. Richard sacrificed his life to hold off the Imperial army, dying a heroic death.]

Bang!

Veronica froze, as if she heard the sound of shattering glass ringing in her ears.

How, how is it possible?

We were just one step away!

The joy of victory vanished in an instant, replaced by a series of memories of Richard.

Veronica experienced unprecedented sorrow and remorse, as if, in an instant, she had become the little girl from that nightmarish night years ago...

Gradually, these emotions coalesced and transformed into anger.

What a joke!

He was the man I set my sights on. You took him away, and you must pay a bloody price!

You leave the main force in Jotun to continue with the original plan, while I personally lead the elite troops to pursue Albert's imperial army.

The latter knew the situation was hopeless and was unwilling to continue the fight, but you relentlessly pursued him.

You have once again transformed into the form of a vampire. In your rage, your power has increased even further; the wings of your scarlet bats blot out the sky, bringing one bloody and terrifying night after another to the fleeing Imperial army.

Finally, as they fled to the ferry, you caught up with Albert, and at the cost of severe injuries, you evaporated his blood in a duel and killed every traitor in his army.

[But the remaining Imperial troops still fled. You sensed a sword saint at sea who was almost a legend, so you didn't pursue them—you don't know if it's just your imagination, but you always felt that the sword saint seemed to stand by and watch when you killed Albert.]

[Your revenge was barely complete, and you returned to the Independence Army headquarters, feeling dejected.]

What followed was predictable: the empire declared a ceasefire, and various factions within the independent army began preparations for establishing their own nation. However, they disagreed on the specific system to adopt, with some supporting a civil republic, others a feudal system, and still others proposing the establishment of a new empire...

Some people believe that now that the war is over, slavery can be reinstated and the indigenous people can be driven out again.

What a chaotic mess...

Veronica gave a cold laugh and made her decision.

...Richard had already decided on Fang Yu's case before the founding of the nation. It was his legacy. How dare you object!

You led your army to surround the conference hall, annihilated all those who had opposed you and Richard, and ultimately decided to establish a republic modeled after ancient times, continuing the wartime policy of goodwill towards slaves and indigenous people. You yourself were to serve as the first consul, holding office for life, with absolute authority.

The era in which you reign supreme over the ocean has arrived.

Hmph, that's how it should be! I won't allow anyone else to oppose me!

He was the only exception...

...I have fulfilled my promise to traverse the ocean, so where have you gone?

It's so boring...

In the captain's cabin, Veronica opened her eyes.

Outside the wooden wall, there was the sound of waves, and the air was filled with the smell of fish. On the small table beside the bed was a stemmed glass half-filled with blood, and the rim of the glass was imprinted with the crimson lip print that belonged only to the beauty.

Everything around me was exactly the same as before I fell asleep, as if it were all a dream.

Do you want to receive...?

"Stop talking nonsense, accept it."

As familiar memories flooded in, Veronica's expression shifted repeatedly before finally settling into a resolute calm.

"You got away in the simulation, but you'll have to pay double in real life!"