The Krasilov Annihilation Squad's primary mission focused on assassinating high-value targets within demon forces and infiltrating enemy rear areas.
Unlike "elite troops" from other nations, the Annihilation Squad had to operate scattered across extensive theaters of war. This was because demon armies poured in from all directions, with far too many targets that could be classified as high-value.
However, as always, Krasilov was never a "reliable ally" or "trustworthy border nation." Their true nature lay in conquest.
Therefore, all Annihilation Squad agents were highly demonstrative forces. They needed to suggest Krasilov's potential strength to the Allied Forces.
They were forced to be cruel, bold, secretive, and lethal—ensuring that no one would dare challenge Krasilov's national sovereignty, even if peace arrived.
These were people who knew the personal details and characteristics of every Allied nation's leadership, flaunting their ability to assassinate them at any moment.
In fact, nobles suspected of rebellion in military camps where Annihilation Squad agents were stationed would often be found dead in their tents before charges could even be proven. This was not particularly uncommon.
Consequently, all heads of state were conscious of the Krasilov Annihilation Squad and openly pressured the Krasilov royal family regarding these agents.
This meant that Alexandr's attempt to disband the Annihilation Squad wasn't solely to check Elizabeta. He could gain an advantage in the succession dispute by using the excuse of restoring foreign trust in the royal family during times of unstable royal authority.
Conversely, this was also why Elizabeta couldn't secure an advantage despite controlling the Counterintelligence Command. No allied monarch would support a royal from an Annihilation Squad commander background. Moreover, Alexandr already controlled the Diplomatic Ministry.
So, conclusively, among those who were "heads of state" or equivalent high nobles during the Great War, none were unaware of the Annihilation Squad. Especially not Droan, which revered power.
All the jarls of Droan, known for their belligerence, were on the Annihilation Squad's target list. This was because any of them could have stepped across Krasilov's border to initiate an invasion at any time.
"You dare question my loyalty?"
Bjorn's jaw bulged. He was so indignant that his joints protruded from grinding his molars.
His anger at the current situation overcame his fear of the man before him. He spoke in a choppy voice.
"What did I get in return for my loyalty? Wastelands where not a blade of grass grows in any season? Farmland soaked in seawater that can't even be cultivated? Treacherous fjords where not a single ship can dock? Thrown onto that land, our only role was to watch for demon invasions like lighthouse keepers!!"
"Bjorn, you dare speak of loyalty?"
Ivan tilted his head as he looked at the fuming Bjorn. He scanned the jarls standing around and said:
"You dare? Do you think we didn't know what you did when Einar killed the Demon King? Why Einar began the slaughter immediately upon returning to his homeland?"
Unlike others in the Hero Party, Einar had to lead his entire family through the military camp during those perilous times crossing demon territories.
It was an action taken with the awareness that his family could be taken hostage at any time. He couldn't leave his family in his own country, even at the risk of them being thrown before the demons.
But even that had its limits. Finally, the moment came when allied military camps could no longer follow the Hero Party—when the party advanced toward the deepest part of demon territory, toward the Demon King's residence.
No ordinary infantry could dare set foot in that area, which all demon forces defended with their lives. The military camp had to withdraw to another front to divert the demons' attention.
And at that time, Einar's family was also sent back to their homeland. The Allied nations didn't prevent this since Einar's lifelong huskarls personally volunteered to escort them.
And half of those huskarls betrayed him as soon as they set foot on their homeland. Originally, huskarls were "the best fighters" selected from each clan—essentially heirs to clan leadership and future jarls.
As the war was concluding, they returned to their clans and families, explaining their fear of Einar. They said the slaughterer, whom even demons feared most, was returning.
Throughout the long expedition, he had proudly boasted that upon returning to his homeland, he would unify Droan.
They said the reign of the jarls was over, and Einar would show no mercy.
Einar's parents and family were captured that day, and the huskarls who hadn't betrayed Einar barely managed to escape with young Asidis.
Ivan knew this. Even with the Annihilation Squad's foreign intelligence network in disarray, this was impossible to miss. It was too famous, too intense.
The turmoil of a neighboring country—reportedly maintaining the strongest infantry within the Allied kingdoms—couldn't go undetected.
But at that time, he couldn't offer any help. The Annihilation Squad was in the process of disbandment, and when the Demon King finally died, he was assigned to the Aviditas assassination unit.
By the time he finally returned, everything had ended.
Droan was unified. Half the jarls had died hanging from poles with their ribs exposed. The surviving jarls submitted to Einar, whose nickname became "The Slaughterer."
What must have been the feelings of a warrior who had defied gods for humanity's survival, only to return home and discover that the nobles of the country he sought to protect had killed his family?
Ivan was prepared not to be surprised by whatever state Einar might be in—even if he had gone mad with regret and rage.
However, when he reunited with Einar, that great king called him brother with a smile no different from before.
His tone was too even, his demeanor too energetic for a man who had lost his parents and wife to betrayal right before his eyes. With one exception:
A killing intent that seemed capable of tearing apart a person's soul just by looking at it.
Einar hadn't forgotten. He hadn't forgiven everything, forgetting hatred and anger. He merely covered it up. Because hatred never helps a king.
As a king who had to maintain a nation by his existence alone, he had a duty not to divide Droan.
So he covered it up. He disguised that daily living rage with cunning. If another warrior like himself wasn't born in a divided nation, Droan would have to endure centuries of struggle, just as it had for hundreds of years past.
In an era where steam trains ran on railways and artillery overwhelmed superhumans on the battlefield, a divided Droan would collapse with the times, and the people of this desolate country with only wastelands would die in endless hunger.
So beneath the surface of the cunning warrior king, he swallowed the slaughterer's hatred. He wiped the blood flowing from his eyes with hearty laughter. He sent his only remaining daughter abroad, hoping she would learn more culture, know a wider world, and build stronger connections.
And yet, these "jarls" who betrayed him—the four jarls of the northern territory—dare speak of loyalty?
"You who attacked Einar's clan as soon as news of his victory spread? You who declared war saying the Great War non-aggression pact ended because the Demon King died?"
"If we hadn't!!"
Bjorn shouted as he stepped forward.
"If we hadn't, would we have any future? You, Westerner! Do you know the desolation of this eastern edge? In this country where even livestock starve to death, what remains for us who are pushed to the edge of the wasteland under the pretense of a peace treaty, except death?"
"You speak to me of hunger and poverty? My parents were serfs, my father was dragged to the front when I was four, and I became a boy soldier before turning fourteen, sent to the frontlines! My mother froze to death scraping the frozen Krasilov farmland with an old hoe!"
Ivan had sent all his savings to his mother in his homeland. In those days, as a transmigrator, he had little emotional connection to his parents, yet he did so anyway.
During his early days of transmigration, when he was barely surviving, his parents were good people who tried not to let their son go hungry even if they themselves starved.
When the death notice of this body's father arrived, his weeping mother returned to the fields the next day. Even in grief and despair, to feed her son.
To dare speak of cold and hunger to a person from Krasilov?
Ivan looked at the jarl's face. His excessive muscles for his age proved his nutritional state wasn't poor. The physiques of the warriors lined up behind him were the same.