Destruction of Two Baronies

 The destruction of the two baronies happened two weeks ago but the fall of the baronies truly started two weeks before that, so 4 weeks before.

 At the start of the attack, we had been dealing with some skirmishes, the usual, though the intensity and the strength of each attack become greater as time passes by.

 We had been suspecting an invasion and were about to send a call for help when we were attacked. But not from the frontline, but from the direction of the Kilrun Duchy. 

 The attack was unexpected, not to mention there were several Genesis Sea experts in the midst of the group, decimating local garrisons and slaughtering and enslaving the entire population of the towns and cities they attacked.

 When we heard this, the two of us rushed towards the coming forces and engaged with them. We soon confirmed they were bandit though there is some expert from the Mizalas Duchy in their group as well.

 Thankfully, they are a lot weaker than us and we slaughter some of the Genesis Sea, the rest escaping. We told the two barons what happened and the two decided to send their population away while they still could, only leaving the soldiers behind.

 They also planned to abandon the remaining towns and cities, so the bulk of their forces would be concentrated at the capital for a final stand.

 As for the civilians, all of them would be sent to the Duchy so they would not be affected by the invasion. Unfortunately, the mass moving was a blunder on our part.

 We did not confirm the whereabouts of the Genesis Sea experts, and it cost us, a lot. The entire population of the two baronies was decimated, some that were not killed likely become slaves.

 The news spread to the capitals, making the morale of the troops dropped. If not for the fact that the barons told their men to fight to take revenge for the ones that were killed, well, most of them would likely abandon the defense right on the spot.

 So, they used everything they had to prepare the best defense they could while using the abandoned towns as traps to slow them as much as possible.

 But, even with our best efforts, we could not match with the force they sent our way.

-x-

 The two generals then went silent, their faces telling the others they were struggling to say something. 

 The Duke finally lost his patience first, "What is it, how many did they send to the baronies?" the Duke pressed the two.

 The two generals let out a sigh at the same time, "They sent a force numbering nearly one million, made up of mainly Genesis Core experts," their words caused the entire higher-ups of the Kilrun Duchy, Ryker included, to let out shock gasps.

 After all, the majority of the soldiers of the Kilrun Duchy were only at the Genesis Foundation realm, and the number of their soldiers barely reached half of what the Mizalas Duchy has.

 However, it was not the worst part, as the two generals had more to say, "That's not all," the rest of the room held their breath, not knowing what could be even worse.

 "The Mizalas sent 20 Genesis Sea experts to attack the two baronies, each," hearing what the two said, everyone else paled. The fact the enemies have 40 Genesis Sea experts mean that they could easily crush the Kilrun Duchy.

 "H-how did you escape?" the General of the Kilrun Duchy Defense Force asked the questions that everyone else had.

 "It goes like this,"

-x-

 When they show up at one of the baronies' capital in full force, the barons realize we cannot handle such a large force. So, instead of sending everyone here to die, the two barons picked several of their more elite soldiers along with some trusted generals before telling them, along with us to take our forces and leave the barony.

 We want to disagree but the two left immediately, using the forbidden technique the Duke had given them a long time ago. Their power increased from Genesis Lake to Genesis Sea, at the cost of their life. 

 The guards along with some that were chosen to remain to buy time also descend to the battlefield, using forbidden techniques to cause as much damage as possible.

 If not for them, all of us would be exterminated. With the enemies occupied, we escaped, the stronger experts helping the weaker ones escape.

 The journey was not smooth sailing, however, as the bandits that aligned with the Mizalas along with some of their vanguards attacked us when there was an opportunity. The fact that the Genesis Sea experts that came were only at the 1st Stage allowed us to escape with only a few casualties.

 We spend the time running away from the Mizalas that we do not have the time to send the message. Only after we entered the Kilrun Duchy territory did the attack stop. Still, we lost a lot of soldiers, if not, the size of our forces would have been bigger.

-x-

 Hearing the report caused the Duke to look defeated, and slumped back on his chair. The rest was not any better, all of them having fearful and defeated expressions on their face.

 "H-how, how did they able to increase their strength to this level?" one of the advisors asked, a look of disbelief on his face.

 "Some spies I planted in the Mizalas Duchy had told me about some rumors they heard," one of the Generals said, the rest began to look at him in surprise.

The man continues, "While the rumors are not substantial, it said that the Malnor Kingdom found a secret realm near the Mizalas Duchy and three other duchies near it. The kingdom gave them the opportunity to explore the realm first. While I can never verify the truth of the rumor, it likely is the reason how they were able to gain a rise in their strength to such a level,"

 The Genesis Sea experts began to murmur to themselves, conversations happening in the Duke's office. Finally, the Duke heard enough. He slammed his palm on the table, giving his subordinates a calm yet serious look.

 "Stop for now, we need to digest all of the information first before we can plan anything," he looked at his Grand Advisor and his two Vice-Advisors, "See if we can implement the evacuation done by the baronies, you two, help them in that regard," he ordered, looking directly at the two Generals.

 The three advisors and the two generals nodded before walking out of the office, discussing the evacuation plan in detail.

 "Marshal, High Captain, both of you and your subordinates should prepare yourselves for the invasion. While they might not invade the Duchy, it is not likely to happen.

 And send some messages to the rest of the city lords and captains of the garrisons, we going to follow the example of the baronies and perform one last stand, as there is no way we could have won a straight-on battle,"

 The leader of both the army and the guard saluted the Duke before leaving to do their jobs, their subordinates following them. Leaving Ryker with the Duke.