The Drum Kingdom wasn't particularly large, its total land area spanned just over a hundred thousand square kilometers. And since it was a winter island, habitable areas were scarce. Combined with poor agricultural output, the population remained low. Even with the rapid influx of immigrants in recent years, the total population didn't exceed six million.
Within the Drum Kingdom, there were only three cities with populations over a million.
The most populous of these was undoubtedly Vilia Port, now serving as the main base of the rebel army. The city's permanent population had surpassed two million, and it was precisely this vast population that allowed Gilbert to draw on a nearly endless pool of manpower.
Next came the royal capital, Cassia City, located in the inland center of the kingdom, connected by a vast network of railways. As the nation's administrative and transportation hub, Cassia boasted a stable population of about 1.5 million.
The third was Rhod Port, home to roughly one million residents.
However, unlike Vilia Port, which was controlled by powerful, unified underworld syndicates Rhod Port's criminal factions were weak. The city's main defense force consisted of the Royal Army, but unlike Vilia's defenders, they lacked elite figures such as Akio, Reggie, or Dars, who could serve as anchors of morale and strength. As a result, pirates frequently raided the area.
To defend against these pirate incursions and secure maritime trade routes, King Gresham had stationed the Royal Army's 1st Naval Division there, the Drum Kingdom's only naval force.
The truth was, the Drum Kingdom had long suffered from relentless pirate attacks. Coastal cities were frequently raided, and at times, pirates even captured ports to advance inland.
Vilia Port was the sole exception, a city that had broken this grim pattern. Years ago, Gilbert, defying widespread opposition, had insisted on forming an alliance between the official military and the underworld syndicates to jointly defend against pirates. That risky move had paid off spectacularly, transforming Vilia into one of the rare, safe, and thriving cities of the Great Pirate Era eventually giving Gilbert the foundation he needed to rebel.
A decade earlier, Vilia's permanent population was only around 500,000. Its current prosperity was the result of years of stability and affluence, an anomaly in an era of chaos that drew countless migrants from both inside and outside the kingdom.
Without a doubt, Vilia Port, Cassia City, and Rhod Port were the Drum Kingdom's three pillars, symbols of its national strength and vitality.
Aside from these three, there was also Snowstorm City, an inland fortress of critical importance.
Though its population was only about 500,000, Snowstorm City was the kingdom's largest military-industrial center, producing weapons and munitions. Whoever controlled this city held the key to rapid military expansion.
That was precisely why Gilbert had prioritized capturing it, no matter the cost.
The price was steep: over 3,000 soldiers from his elite Blizzard Corps perished in the assault.
For two months now, King Gresham's Royal Army had been struggling to reclaim Snowstorm City but to no avail. The fortress was now firmly held by Gilbert's Blizzard Corps and Snowstorm Corps.
Gilbert commanded three major legions:
The Blizzard Corps – his elite unit, 10,000 strong.
The Snowstorm Corps – another 10,000 soldiers, serving as the Blizzard Corps' reserve force.
The Vilia Port Defense Corps – 5,000 troops tasked with maintaining order in the city.
King Gresham, on the other hand, commanded four main forces:
The 1st Royal Corps – the kingdom's elite army, 10,000 strong, stationed in Cassia City.
The 3rd Royal Corps – 30,000 troops defending Rhod Port.
The 2nd Royal Corps – 20,000 soldiers who had once garrisoned Snowstorm City.
The 1st Royal Navy – 3,000 sailors and ten warships purchased from the World Government's Marine fleet, based in Rhod Port.
On paper, the Royal Army had over 2.5 times the manpower of Gilbert's rebel forces.
But everything changed when the 2nd Royal Corps despite their superior numbers and fortified defenses was completely annihilated by Gilbert's Blizzard Corps. The shocking defeat shattered the illusion of numerical advantage. With the rebels now in control of Snowstorm City's armories, they were producing weapons at a staggering pace, rapidly closing the gap between both sides.
In fact, in terms of morale, the rebels now held the upper hand.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Night fell over the snowy plains outside Snowstorm City. Amid the howling winds, the roar of gunfire echoed as a small skirmish unfolded in the blizzard.
Despite being a military stronghold, Snowstorm City produced no food. Grain had to be imported from elsewhere, a constant logistical nightmare for the Drum Kingdom.
The harsh, frozen land could never yield enough crops to feed its people. In truth, the kingdom relied heavily on imported food supplies just to prevent famine among its population, which far exceeded its agricultural capacity.
Now that the Blizzard and Snowstorm Corps had both taken up residence within the city, food shortages had grown increasingly dire.
Worse yet, the Royal Army's 1st and 3rd Corps had each dispatched half their forces to besiege the city, severing supply routes and tightening the noose. The food crisis inside the city worsened by the day.
Left with no choice, Gilbert ordered his troops to launch frequent raids to secure provisions.
However, General Norland, the cunning commander of the Royal Army, refused to engage in open battle. Instead, he deployed small, mobile detachments to cut off supply convoys, aiming to starve the rebels into collapse.
Thus began a series of hit-and-run skirmishes along the supply routes around Snowstorm City.
Tonight, one such convoy guarded by about a hundred rebel soldiers had been ambushed by a Royal Army scouting unit of equal size. Gunfire blazed through the storm as both sides clashed in the snow.
In the chaos, one particular duel drew every soldier's attention. Three rebels surrounded a young Royal Army lieutenant, a noble by appearance.
At first glance, the three rebels looked no different from ordinary soldiers, but their strength told another story. They were clearly elite fighters, disguised for a surprise assassination.
Yet despite outnumbering him three to one, they were being pushed back.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The young lieutenant's swordsmanship was astonishing his rapier flashed like a storm, each strike faster than the last. His technique, a refined swift sword style, overwhelmed his opponents with relentless precision. Were it not for their armor and defensive instincts, the three rebels would already be dead.
"How disappointing," the lieutenant said coolly as his blade blurred again. "You came all this way disguised as foot soldiers just to kill me? That's all you've got?"
The three bloodied rebels gritted their teeth, humiliated. They had been sent to eliminate this rising star of the Royal Army but none of them expected him to be this powerful.
"Tch… pathetic."
Suddenly, the lieutenant's eyes flashed crimson. His expression hardened, and with a sharp exhale, he drew his blade into a single decisive motion, a iai slash so fast it sent all three rebels flying backward.
Then, as several gunshots rang out behind him, he spun, slicing each bullet cleanly in half midair.
The rebel marksmen hidden behind the trees froze in horror. Before they could flee, the lieutenant pulled out a revolver and bang, bang, bang! shot each one through the skull.
Meanwhile, the three wounded elites turned and tried to escape into the blizzard only to find the young officer already behind them, the snow swirling at his feet.
He calmly exhaled a white mist, sheathed his sword, and whispered:
"Nose Song: Triple Ding Swallowtail Slash."
Shing!
The sound of the blade sliding into its sheath echoed faintly.
A heartbeat later, three streaks of white sword aura tore through the night.
The fleeing rebels froze mid-step each with a gaping slash across the chest before collapsing lifelessly into the snow.
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