Work Prophet-Chapter 912: Claudio’s Darkest Hour

Claudio never expected that just through a mere war, he would go from mocking Tristan to understanding Tristan, and finally to becoming Tristan himself.

Thinking back to a few months ago, when he and his brother Allister, along with the Vespasian Family's number one enemy, Conley, had confidently completed an alliance, thinking that with the combined strength of the three parties, they could easily defeat Ireya and her Western Alliance Army.

Claudio had even begun to plan the post-war land distribution in advance.

The actions behind the Second Son Alliance were also swift; besides persuading a group of noble lords from Elk Valley to secretly defect, the envoys of the Second Son Alliance went to the Golden Valley.

They wanted to take advantage of the just-ended great war there, while the situation was still unstable, to see if there were any benefits to be gained and to start making arrangements in advance. This way, when Ireya was defeated, Claudio could take over Elk Valley and Golden Valley at the fastest speed.

Claudio temporarily didn't plan to take the Western Territory because it was Double Rest Sect's territory; even if he had it, it would be hard to manage, so he might as well leave it to Conley and Allister to worry about.

In short, Claudio had everything planned, except he didn't plan for his own defeat.

Gathering the forces of three families, along with the help of two giant dragons and the surviving Wing Tribe, and occupying a strong castle like Deer Horn Gate, the battle lasted less than half a day.

And it went out of control from the very first moment.

Many in the city were still discussing the loud noises and flames in the sky from last night, and by noon, some saw strange objects appearing overhead.

Those things had no wings, yet could soar in the sky, trailing a long orange tail behind them, flying at an unbelievable speed.

In just a few blinks of an eye, they flew over Deer Horn Gate and then crashed into a tower beside the city gate.

What followed was a scene that people would never forget, as black smoke rose into the sky, the earth seemed to tremble, and the sturdy stone-built tower instantly crumbled into ruins, along with half of the adjacent city gate vanishing.

When had the natives of the Bratis Continent ever seen such a terrifying and domineering attack, especially one that came from the sky?

Combined with Saturday's earlier move to personally kill Solomon and almost all of his army, it was easy to associate it with the term Divine Punishment.

Perhaps only Divine Punishment could explain why that strike was so terrifyingly powerful!

Not only were the defending troops scared, but even Claudio and others were terrified.

They finally understood why the Wing Tribe and the two giant dragons didn't return last night.

Claudio felt his heart stop abruptly for a moment, shrouded by an immense, indescribable fear.

Worried that the thing trailing an orange tail would come at him next, Claudio exerted every ounce of his strength to suppress his urge to flee.

And with the commander in such a state, it's even easier to imagine the mindset of those below when Ireya's army appeared before the vanished gate of Deer Horn Gate, the morale of the city's defenders was almost collapsing.

Only Conley, driven mad, still glared with red eyes, shouting for his men to attack. Allister's expression was complicated, but he also knew the serious consequences of losing this battle.

Thus, he finally gritted his teeth and chose to continue fighting, and Claudio followed suit with a heavy heart.

But regardless of their true thoughts, they couldn't change the impending defeat.

Especially after Ireya and her army entered the city, the damage the Firearms Team inflicted on the narrow streets far exceeded that of the cavalry.

The opposing enemies often fell halfway before even reaching the frontline, and the remainder, petrified by this incomprehensible terror, lost all will to fight, dropping their weapons to flee.

Seeing the doomed defeat, aside from the completely insane Conley, Claudio and Allister finally chose to lead a few elites to break through.

They didn't flee through the main gate, as that direction would surely encounter the troublesome Westerners. Ireya had thoroughly intimidated Claudio and Allister by now, so they chose to descend the steep cliffs using ropes.

Although they managed to escape and return to their territory smoothly, from then on, Claudio became listless, barely able to eat or drink.

Because the opponent he faced this time was simply too formidable, the pressure Ireya exerted on him was even greater than that from Solomon back then.

Despite racking his brain, Claudio couldn't find a way to defeat Ireya, and the Second Son Alliance, which he had high hopes for, which had been tirelessly strategizing for him, also fell silent.

He could only watch helplessly as the opponent swept across, first capturing Red Plain, then swiftly taking over New Moon Land, New Land, and others.

Meanwhile, the lords who had initially defected to Claudio began to waver after witnessing the momentum of Ireya and her formidable Western army.

Claudio became suspicious and paranoid, unsure of whom he could trust. To him now, everyone seemed a traitor, and he didn't dare to meet his vassals privately, afraid he would follow in Tristan's footsteps.

In the end, with nowhere to turn and on the brink of collapse, Claudio chose to surrender to Ireya proactively and accepted the three conditions she proposed.

He publicly announced giving up the contest for the throne, handed over the traitor Ivan, who had plotted against Tristan at Deer Horn Gate, and brought the leaders of the Second Son Alliance to Lion Heart Castle to pay respects to Ireya.

Miss Rabbit was also quite interested in the identity of the mysterious leader behind the Second Son Alliance, which had recently risen rapidly.

The person who came up with the idea of uniting the strength of family second sons was clearly no simple character; they almost succeeded in truly elevating Claudio, a second son, to the throne.

However, upon meeting Claudio, Ireya didn't see the legendary mastermind, only Leo, the errand runner.

"Where is your boss?" Miss Rabbit asked, "Is he afraid I'll kill him, so he doesn't dare meet me?"

"The queen jests, I've dealt with you before, and I know your character well. You promised not to harm us, and you surely won't, now or in the future," Leo bowed and replied.

"I did say that, but there are conditions. I must meet the leader of the Second Son Alliance… Wait a minute, is that leader you?" Ireya asked in surprise.

Leo blinked, "That's right. I've always been in plain sight of all the powers, but exactly because of this, no one suspected that this little character running errands for the Second Son Alliance would be the true leader behind the scenes. This identity is my best disguise."

"Hmm, you are rather cunning."

"I'll take that as a compliment from you. I'll hand over the member list to you shortly and disband the Second Son Alliance."

"What do you plan to do afterward?"

"I don't know; maybe I'll find a place in the countryside to farm and grow flowers," Leo shrugged.

"That would be a waste of your talents," Ireya remarked, "I'm planning to form a fleet and establish a delegation to explore the other continents across the sea. You're so adept at diplomacy and politics; why not join the delegation?"

"Well… I'll need to think about it." Although Leo was tempted, he didn't agree immediately.

"Take your time to think,"

Ireya said, then turned to Claudio, "Since you've fulfilled my three conditions, sign this surrender document. Your brother died in battle two months ago, so you should be the last bloodline of Edward II now; you can represent your family to give up the throne."

Hearing this, Claudio's eyes showed reluctance, anger, pain… but he finally obediently picked up the pen and signed his name at the bottom of the white paper.

As the pen left the paper, it marked the end of a dynasty and proclaimed the dawn of a new era.