Chapter 107: Start of War(1)

It's the middle of the night, and Luke is soundly sleeping in his bed. Nash, who was still awake and unable to fall asleep, simply stared at Luke's sleeping face. He's been staring at him for some time, pondering certain unresolved questions.

Beep, Be-

To avoid waking Luke up, Nash promptly connected the connection and morphed into his infant human form. He already knows who is calling because the device can only accept one call from a certain person.

It's the heir to the throne.

• You picked up quickly- oh? Nash? You're still awake?

Nash gave a childish nod.

"Yes, I can't sleep, so I pass the time by playing as I wait to fall asleep."

• Is that so? Where is your dad, by the way?

"At the moment, he is sleeping."

Lance remained silent for a few periods before gazing at Nash in the eyes.

• Is it possible for you to wake him up for me? I must speak with him.

Nash paused for a while, his gaze fixed on Lance's solemn expression. As a result of this, he has a better understanding of what is going on.

'So, it's that time already, huh? This is going to be a risky situation.'

Nash made a melancholy expression and linked his fingers as if debating something.

"Will it be something dangerous? Uncle?"

Lance flinched and came to a halt, then replied while scratching his ruffled head.

"Yes, it's a potentially dangerous situation."

Lance caught a glimpse of Nash's steely look for a single second, but Nash switched so quickly that Lance began to doubt his vision.

'What in the world... Did he just do a glare?'

While pondering what he had just witnessed, he noticed Nash leaping onto the bed where Luke appeared to be asleep. Nash then wakes Luke up by shaking his unconscious body. Lance just stared at it, secretly loving Nash's charming shaking of Luke's sleeping body.

"Dad! Get up! Uncle Lance is on the phone!"

"Ugh... W-what?"

Luke blinked open one eye and looked at Nash for a few seconds before falling asleep again. Nash and Lance exchanged blank stares for a few seconds before sighing.

• Uncle Lance is contacting you, Dad, to discuss the war.

Luke immediately opened his eyes and sat up after Nash delivered that message in his head. He immediately glanced to the side and noticed Lance staring at him. Luke sighed and wiped his hair away from his face.

"So... It's finally that time?"

• It's a good thing you already knew. I just got a report from one of the spy mercenaries I dispatched there concerning strange movements. It is also telling us to remain vigilant and prepared.

"You are already acquainted with the mercenaries?"

• Do you think I'm going to sit around and do nothing? Laughable.

"Oh, I see, Then I assume you were also aware of the traitor by now."

•....

Lance paused for a few moments before enquiring as to what he had just heard.

• Could you please excuse me? What exactly do you mean by a traitor?

"You didn't realize there was a traitor in our ranks?"

Lance remained silent for a moment before looking at Luke and controlling his rage.

• How long have you been aware of this?

"It's been like way since the beginning."

'It was mentioned in the novel.'

• You son of a bitch, why didn't you inform me?!

"Because if I did, you'd execute the traitor right away."

• But isn't it better to kill the traitor than to leave it there?!

Luke turned down the magical device's volume and sighed at the sight of the enraged crown prince in front of him.

"Calm down."

• I'm calming down... Like hell I'll do that!

"Look, if you kill the traitor, the opponents will be suspicious, and they'll be able to plant another spy. The reason I didn't inform you is that I was only aware of this one spy. If you murder him and they replace him, I won't be able to tell you who the spy is because I won't know who it is going to be either."

'The issue with Lance is that when he senses a potential threat to his kingdom, he eliminates them right away without considering what would happen next. He's a short-tempered bastard, so I'm not sure how much I can say to him.'

Lance sighed in annoyance as he sat back in his chair.

• Who is the traitor?

"Now, now, your highness, don't be hasty; let's talk about the other issues first. That traitor issue could be dealt with later."

• Oh my God, I should've known-

"All right, let's start with the troop division."

• Regarding that, we'll need two commanders. One is to the southeast, while the other is to the southwest. I'm considering putting Noah in command of the southeast while-

"Assign me to the south-eastern region."

• You're right- huh? What's going on here?

Luke sighed and shifted in his seat.

"You are planning to make Liam the commander of the southwest right? Change that, put me in charge of the southeast while you station Noah in the southwest. And don't send Liam, an orphan who can barely read, into perilous situations."

Lance chuckled as he stared at Luke.

• I had no idea you were so caring that you would put yourself in harm's way for a friend.

"He is not my friend; he is a member of my family. And I'm very confident that you need me because I have the most command over them and the iron giant."

• Ho? How clever of you to believe that I need you.

"Don't tell me you don't need me; I know you do."

With challenging eyes, Luke and Lance grinned at each other. They don't like to accept it, but it's not only Lance who needs Luke; Luke needs him as well, and he knows it.

• All right, since you're a noble and virtually everyone here looks up to you as their hero, I'll put you in charge of Southeast.

"All right, then, everything is settled."

Lance was quiet for a few moments before speaking in a concerned tone.

• For some reason, I became concerned about the fact that you will be in charge of an army.

"Probably because I'll finish the task ahead of schedule."

• Yes, by destroying everything, which is what concerns me.

Luke suppresses his eyes from rolling and stood up from his seat.

"Anyway, I'm going to meet Noah right now."

• Wait

"Hmm?"

Luke turned around to see Lance staring at him.

• Come here first.

Lance then presented Luke with two gleaming golden badges bearing the kingdom's insignia. Luke nodded, indicating that he understood.

"Then I'll be there,"

Luke immediately turned off the device and surveyed his surroundings. Nash isn't in the room. Luke sighed and scratched his head before walking into his room and opening the door.

The scene that met him made him flinch.

In front of him stood his entire group. Some appeared to have just awoken while still in their pajamas, some were drinking coffee, others were fresh from the morning workout, and others appeared to have not slept at all.

Whatever they were doing, they all stepped in front of Luke and stared at him intently. Erdene then spoke, his arms crossed.

"It's already time?"

Luke nodded.

"Yes."

Selena frowned as she rubbed her neck.

"For some reason, I was a little nervous."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to take everyone in."

Yulia smirked at him.

"But you're going to go there, right?"

Luke sighed and nodded slowly.

"At this moment, I am the commander of the Southeast."

Bell frowned as he sipped his coffee.

"Bloody hell, and you said you wouldn't be involved in anything in the past."

Lina then continued to speak while massaging her face.

"I can't believe the world's most self-destructive person is now in charge of an army."

After that, Spencer sighed and rubbed his glasses.

"I guess we won't be getting any rest anytime soon, huh? What a misfortune I've had."

Luke turned away from them and focused on Liam, who was clutching his sword hard. Luke suddenly remembered what Polly said in the meeting as he stared at him.

'I can see them crying in agony and pain, standing in front of the grave of a hero...'

Luke was only familiar with two heroes. It's Noah and Liam on the other end of the line.

But, since Luke was aware that Noah would live due to plot armor, he must have assumed that Liam would perish.

Luke couldn't afford to lose Liam because he'll be required in the battle against the demons, so he chose to make a small sacrifice. And with that, he assumes command of the first war and ends it. After then, leave everything to them and live in peace on this island.

'What a fantastic plan I've created.'

Luke smiled proudly within and turned to face Nash, who had reverted to his beast form and was staring at him.

"Transport me to Lance's office by teleportation. Come with me, Liam."