“Men.”

At Viktor’s calm voice, the soldiers’ cheers gradually subsided.

He swept his gaze across the soldiers with a powerful look before speaking.

“I am Viktor.”

After introducing himself briefly, he fell silent.

“Waaaaaah!”

In the sudden silence, someone let out a cheer first.

“Waaaaaah!”
“Viktor! Viktor!”

In an instant, this turned into a massive roar.

Even though he had been absent for a while, the soldiers' support for him remained firm. Recently, he had made a name for himself as the Chairman of the Council, which gave him more authority than the king, who was to be crowned tomorrow.

The soldiers who remembered how Viktor had lifted their morale with speeches during the last war began to anticipate what he would say just by seeing him stand at the podium.

Viktor waited for the cheers to die down before continuing.

“First, I would like to express my gratitude for your hard work.”

Before diving into the main topic, he started by warming up the crowd with praise for their efforts.

“For the past two years, we have fought together in the Northern War. The Battle of Serkutsuk, the Battle of Angelgorod, the Siege of Zabinsk... Thanks to your blood and sweat, we survived. When Vladimir raised his heinous rebellion, you rose up and crushed the traitors, moving to put an end to the kingdom’s chaos. It was thanks to your strength that we overcame the crisis. However.”

Viktor paused to take a breath.

“We are now faced with yet another difficult decision. Just yesterday, we received intelligence that the Imperial Army has started to move once again.”

“…The Imperial Army?”
“What the…?”

At Viktor’s sudden statement, the soldiers, who hadn’t heard anything about the Imperial Army, began to murmur. Even the officers, who had not been briefed, were equally surprised, and confusion spread quickly.

“The Imperial Army stationed at the border is led by nobles who are beyond the Emperor’s control. It is highly likely that they may take advantage of the chaos in the Kingdom of Rus and invade independently.”

“Such cowardice!”
“Is this war again?”
“Still, with the General here, we’ll be fine!”

The soldiers tried to shake off their fear with their trust in Viktor.

“During the Siege of Zabinsk, I stood before you as the Commander-in-Chief of the Kingdom of Rus, under orders from His Majesty. I spoke of hope. I told you that with our strength, we could defeat the Empire and protect the Kingdom of Rus. I argued that I needed your help.”

Viktor, well aware of this, gradually softened his tone as he continued his speech.

“At that time, I stood here without shame. I was ready to march into battle with you, to lay down my life alongside you. I encouraged you with nothing but my determination to give my all.”

The soldiers, recalling his words and actions on the battlefield, nodded in agreement.

“But now, I do not have the right to push you into such danger. The only reason I could return to the Kingdom of Rus was due to the favor of the Emperor of the Empire, Louis Seinburg. Once the Council is dissolved, I must leave the kingdom. If I do not return, the negotiations will collapse entirely, and even the Emperor’s forces, which have remained idle, will invade the Kingdom of Rus.”

“What?”
“You’re leaving? Aren’t you staying?”

The nobles had been meeting in secret after receiving letters from the Empire, and only Viktor’s closest confidants knew he planned to return soon. When the news of the Imperial Army's movement broke, it caused even greater murmuring than before.

Just as when the news of his departure first reached the soldiers, unease began to spread among them.

“Because I cannot fight alongside you, I cannot ask you to participate in a war. Because I cannot stay with you until the end, I cannot promise to take responsibility for you. And so, I…”

Instead of explaining further, Viktor raised his voice to capture everyone’s attention.

“As a man, Viktor, I wish to speak.”

After a brief moment with his head bowed, he continued.

“Soldiers. The enemy, the Empire, is strong. What you will face is not a force weakened by war or starved of supplies. Their forces, their equipment, their resources are far superior. With the current state of our kingdom’s army, it will be difficult to withstand them.”

His voice trembled slightly as if appealing to them, and the tone of his speech became more emotional, something they had never heard before from him in official settings. The soldiers, captivated, stopped their murmuring and focused on his words.

“I do not wish for meaningless sacrifices.”

Some officers who noticed the unusual nature of his speech moved to act, but they were swiftly controlled by Anna and the officers loyal to Viktor.

“On my journey back to the Kingdom of Rus, I had the opportunity to see what had become of the lands that had been handed over to the Empire.”

The soldiers held their breath, waiting for Viktor’s next words.

“Contrary to the nobles’ claims of a hellscape, those lands were peaceful. The only thing that had changed was the flag that flew over them. Everyone continued living their daily lives as they always had. Even the soldiers who had been captured were living among them without any discrimination, and I, who was handed over to the Empire as part of the negotiations, was treated with respect.”

The description was entirely different from the image of the Empire that the nobles had spread during the war, but none of the soldiers doubted Viktor’s words.

“The greedy nobles hid this truth from you, sacrificing us to protect their wealth and the hollow name of the Kingdom of Rus. I had hoped that the new nobles might be different, but they are no better. When I informed them of the Imperial Army’s movements, they immediately called for resistance.”

Viktor naturally distanced himself from the nobles.

Nobles had never been popular with the soldiers, and most had been executed as traitors after the rebellion. When Viktor pointed to them as the cause of the war, the soldiers empathized with him rather than questioning him, growing angrier at the nobles.

“If you ask whether I am simply fleeing from war out of fear, I can proudly answer, yes. But it is not the Imperial Army I fear, nor is it defeat. What I fear is the meaningless sacrifice, the lives that will be lost in vain. I fear the thought of losing more of those who have fought and bled with me for no reason.”

For the first time, Viktor, who had always been proud and fearless, spoke of fear. The soldiers began to reflect deeply.

Viktor’s words brought them back to the bleak days before he had become Commander-in-Chief of the Kingdom of Rus.

“We have no reason to fight them. The nobles who drove us to war are gone, and those who forced us into a fight to the death are no longer here.”

The soldiers’ thoughts quickly turned towards surrender rather than a hopeless battle.

“Soldiers. I know this is a difficult decision. I understand that there are those among you who wish to defend the Kingdom of Rus. That’s why I am not giving you an order as Commander-in-Chief. I am making a request as a man, Viktor.”

Pausing briefly to gather everyone’s attention, Viktor continued.

“I will do everything in my power to protect those who choose to surrender. Don’t throw away your lives for the nobles. If you must sacrifice your life, do it for something more meaningful. If you want to protect your family, return to them.”

With a sincere tone, he urged them to surrender. The soldiers could sense the anguish in his lowered voice, and many swallowed hard.

“I will leave Zabinsk Castle tomorrow at 9 a.m. to return to the Empire. If you agree with me, prepare the white flags and gather unarmed at the front gate. If you choose to remain with the kingdom, I will respect that decision. But I hope that all of you will survive. Surrender is not a cowardly choice; it is a courageous decision for a greater future.”

Viktor finished speaking and moved to put down the magical device he had used for amplification.

“As Commander-in-Chief, I will give you one final order. Soldiers, survive.”

Leaving those final words, Viktor stepped away from the podium.

For a while, the soldiers, still enveloped in the emotion of the speech, were lost in thought before they returned to their barracks, led by their officers.

---

As long as the soldiers were convinced, the opinions of the nobles filling the court, or even that of the soon-to-be-crowned king, no longer mattered.

The Council had not yet been dissolved, so the nobles, who had no real power or fame, could not resist my influence, the one who held the real authority. 

Not to mention, the king, who hadn’t even been crowned yet, was out of the question.

There was no way the nobles could overturn this decision, so I had scheduled our departure for the next day to give the soldiers time to settle.

As I went over the speech in my mind, two key points had been important to me: justifying my declaration of surrender and stirring up the soldiers’ emotions, especially their fear.

It wasn’t difficult.

I mixed in some lies to amplify the soldiers' anxieties and portrayed the current nobles as no different from those who had been executed.

The story about the Empire moving or the nobles insisting on fighting was false, but the truth didn’t matter.

It was a believable lie, and since it came from Viktor, the most trusted man in the Kingdom of Rus, once the soldiers believed it, there would be no way to undo it.

To verify the truth, they would need to check with the Empire, but that was impossible.

In the end, by expressing my disappointment in the kingdom, I secured a reason

 to prioritize the soldiers' safety over the defense of the state.

It was necessary for the ‘Viktor’ who had remained loyal to the kingdom even after being betrayed to finally change his mind.

The soldiers must have recalled the hopeless Northern War before I became Commander-in-Chief, so I doubted they would refuse surrender.

It had always been me persuading them not to surrender, but this time, I was the one suggesting it.

In such a dire situation, who would reject their Commander-in-Chief's suggestion to surrender?

“We will follow your lead, General.”
“...Thank you.”

Of course, they wouldn’t.

After the speech, I spoke with soldiers who came to my tent. Most agreed with my decision, and those who were still undecided had their doubts resolved after we talked, eventually agreeing to surrender.

The only ones who might still have lingering doubts were the noble officers, but most had severed their ties with the nobles during the rebellion to survive.

I doubt they would oppose a decision supported by the Commander-in-Chief and most of the soldiers.

“General Viktor.”
“Hm.”

After sending a messenger to the Imperial camp to explain the situation, I spent the night talking with the soldiers.

---

The next day at 9 a.m.

Thankfully, the front gate of Zabinsk Castle was packed with soldiers, all marked by the green of their uniforms.