With the Kath Empire neutralized by the slow poison of dependency and the Kingdom Alliance compromised by the defection of Prince Colin, Pro-Consul Maximilian turned his full attention to the newly formed Zanzeer Kingdom. This alliance of Eastern Dukes and Northern Lords was an immediate, kinetic threat, and Max intended to shatter its political will instantly. He dispatched a DEA (Department of External Affairs) mission, not to negotiate, but to deliver an ultimatum.
🧠Diplomacy by Airship: The Ultimatum
Due to the Zanzeer Kingdom's backwardness and lack of modern landing infrastructure, the Scorpian team traveled not by the sleek, new Fighter Jets, but aboard a large, armored airship—a floating fortress that symbolized Max's power. The airship, protected by a humming Mana Shield, hovered menacingly above the Zanzeer capital, casting a vast shadow over the ancient, stone city.
Ambassador Theron, chosen for his unwavering resolve, was escorted into the great hall of the Zanzeer royal palace. He faced a room full of arrogant, heavily robed nobility, led by the newly crowned King Zanzeer and several Dukes, all secure in their traditional power.
Theron wasted no time on pleasantries, his voice amplified to fill the cavernous hall. "I speak for Pro-Consul Maximilian. Your unilateral, hostile consolidation into the Zanzeer Kingdom and your decision to join the Kingdom Alliance is deemed an act of aggression against the stabilized territories of Scorpia."
He laid a simple, pristine white piece of paper on the table. "You have two choices. You live, or you die. Choose life: immediately dissolve this new kingdom, formally withdraw from the Kingdom Alliance, and place your regional infrastructure under Scorpian management. Choose death: continue your belligerence."
The assembled nobility were unperturbed. Duke Wilmar, a stout, arrogant man known for his immense ancestral castle, sneered openly. "Your little machines do not frighten us, Ambassador. Our strong castles have withstood centuries. Our magic shields are drawn from the purest ley lines, far stronger than the volatile, polluted power that fuels your contraptions. And should you attack, you will face the might of twenty-two Kingdom Alliance armies!" The room erupted in confident murmurs and threats.
Theron remained perfectly still, waiting for the noise to subside. "Pro-Consul Maximilian sends his regrets that your education on modern warfare is so deficient."
đź’Ł Retaliation: The Subterranean Strike
The moment Theron returned to the airship, Max's counter-strike was initiated. It was swift, surgical, and designed to demonstrate not brute force, but terrifying, inescapable precision. Max selected Duke Wilmar's castle—the symbol of their feudal confidence—as the target.
The mission was executed by a team of Faceless Men (Tier 3), specialists in infiltration and sabotage. They did not attack the walls or bypass the magic shields; they targeted the core structural weakness of any ancient fortress: its sanitation system.
The Faceless Men infiltrated the castle's grounds under cover of darkness and silence, placing a specialized incendiary device deep within the main sewer network that ran directly beneath the castle's massive central keep. The device was a refined version of an older Scorpian weapon, miniaturized for covert deployment: a magnesium, napalm, and liquid nitrogen charge.
The Bomb and Its Effects
The weapon was a synergistic combination designed for catastrophic failure against stone and traditional defenses:
Magnesium and Napalm: Provided an instantaneous, intense thermal output, creating a sustained, raging firestorm.
Liquid Nitrogen: Upon detonation, the nitrogen rapidly vaporized, creating extreme, localized cryogenic stress.
1. Physical and Structural Effects
When the charge was detonated in the confined, moisture-rich environment of the sewer, the effects were devastating:
Thermo-Cryogenic Shock: The immediate juxtaposition of near-absolute zero temperature from the liquid nitrogen and the raging, intense heat of the magnesium and napalm caused thermo-cryogenic shock. The cold instantly embrittled the stone and mortar of the foundation, while the subsequent heat caused a sudden, violent thermal expansion.
Catastrophic Failure: The rapid expansion and contraction caused the ancient foundation stones beneath the central keep to crack and shatter instantly. This was amplified by the concussive force of the napalm explosion in the confined space, which had nowhere to vent but through the newly fractured stone.
The Collapse: Duke Wilmar's vaunted, "unbreakable" central keep did not explode; it suffered a complete, structural collapse. The massive tower simply sank into the earth, the foundation having turned to powder and dust in a fraction of a second. The effect was immediate and absolute, bypassing the traditional magic shields that offered no defense against subterranean structural physics.
2. Social and Political Effects
The destruction of Duke Wilmar's keep sent shockwaves that instantly dismantled the nobility's confidence:
Political Collapse: The attack proved that the Kingdom Alliance and ancient magical defenses were utterly useless against Scorpian precision. The message was clear: Scorpia would not engage in protracted siege warfare; it would kill them in their beds by destroying the very foundations of their power. The centralized leadership of the new Zanzeer Kingdom was instantly fractured as Dukes realized their primary security—their ancient castles—was now a fatal liability.
Social Terror: The strike created mass panic among the civilian populace. The collapse was clean, sudden, and seemingly executed by unseen forces, turning the populace's fear toward the inscrutable, terrifying precision of Scorpian power, rather than their visible military. The common people now saw the nobility as incapable of protecting them, further eroding the Zanzeer government's authority.
End of the Alliance: The demonstration ensured that the other twenty-one members of the Kingdom Alliance would immediately reconsider their mutual defense pact. If Max could destroy the strongest Duke's castle without firing a missile or breaching a shield, no fortress was safe. The alliance was functionally dead the moment Wilmar's keep disappeared.
The ultimatum was now backed by undeniable proof. The Zanzeer Kingdom was politically broken, waiting only for Max's final order.