The Reimagining of the Bow Hero

Chapter 43 - Arcian Confederation

Chapter 43 – Arcian Confederation

Author's Note: Satoshi won! Or did he?

I stood before thousands and thousands of men, ready to perform my victory speech. They were all anxiously waiting for another world-class speech to be delivered.

I saluted the crowd and cleared my throat. Then, I spoke as loud as I could, taking a page out of Joseph Stalin's books. The man wasn't good by any stretch of imagination, but his speeches sure were. It isn't plagiarism if the guy never existed.

"The great day of victory over the tortoise has come. The tortoise, which was slashed, impaled and obliterated by myself, Raphtalia, and the rest of our allies in the coalition army, is no more! It shall not trouble anyone any longer!"

The soldiers were clapping at this statement.

"The great sacrifices we have made, the death and despair that have befallen us, the incredible suffering that our people have endured, have not been in vain! Henceforth, the peoples of these lands shall live happily ever after, to pursue their natural rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!"

"And thus, I congratulate every single one of you, every man and woman standing before me right now, and every citizen and inhabitant of this world! Due to your struggle and relentless perseverance, we have come out on top. Glory to the people of this world, who shall stand alive and free for all of eternity!"

"Umm..." Naofumi interrupted amidst the cheering crowd. "The timer isn't gone."

"Wait, what?"

"Whatever was going on certainly isn't over yet." Mirellia stated. "We must conduct an investigation on this."

As the queen left to go investigate the corpse of the fallen behemoth, nearly all of the generals and other leaders gathered around me and ushered me into a separate tent. I went along with the mob of individuals and took a seat at the head of the table.

"Huh?" I pondered. What was going on?

"Mr. President. We have serious issues to discuss."

"What is it?"

"As you know, many of our lands have been ravaged by the Spirit Tortoise. A large part of our economies are in shambled, livelihoods ruined, and order has collapsed. Many royal families have been completely eliminated, and the ones who have survived exercise virtually no control over their lands."

"What are you hinting at here?"

"Arcium currently has the fastest growing economy in the world, and we have recently heard that it has formed a confederation with Montereira. We wish to join this confederation, for the betterment of our nations and the ensured survival of our rights and autonomy. At this rate, it will take decades for us to recover, which during the meantime our countries could get overran or annexed by neighboring powers. This is simply thinking for the future. If we do not join the Confederation, we will be forcefully incorporated into neighboring nations, be it Melromarc or somewhere else, and we would much rather be part of the Confederation where we are granted rights beyond compare. Please, accept our applications."

"What about you kings and queens over there?" I asked suspiciously. "Your countries haven't been ravaged by the tortoise, so why do you want to join?"

"Although we have ruled our respective countries for generations, it seems that we cannot hold on to power for much longer. World tension is rising, the stability of our nations is decreasing, and a worldwide catastrophe is looming. As you may know, countries from across the world are eyeing up our territories. Just a short while ago, the Kingdom of Siltvelt attempted to conquer our lands. We would rather our nations retain some autonomy and ourselves being able to retain our crownlands than to be forcefully annexed by our neighbors."