Chapter 12: Declaration of War

In this backward era, there were no elaborate schemes, let alone a slew of fake news concocted from some cognitive warfare.

A simple, firsthand account from a pastoral grandmother immediately resonated deeply with the herders scattered across the Far Eastern Khanates.

The intense emotions that erupted during her testimony could not have been feigned.

Most herders were uneducated.

To them, their cattle and sheep were their lifeblood, and family was an inviolable sacred trust.

When they heard that a good young woman had been violated, each clenched their fists, itching to leap across time and space to strike down those hateful devils.

Yet when news came that the notorious Third Prince, Andrei Berliasky, had returned with forces to wipe out the invaders in one fell swoop, countless voices erupted with fervent cheers.

And when it was said that Bagen had castrated those hellish invaders who had broken the sacred laws, nearly everyone cheered and wept together.

There were tears and laughter — laughter through tears!

This authentic, brutal, yet dramatically charged story deeply moved every Mongol herder.

At that moment, the interviewer announced that the pastoral grandmother would step down.

“Next, please welcome His Highness Andrei Berliasky to deliver the official response to this invasion.”

After a brief static crackle and murmurs, Zhang Shan spoke.

“Fellow compatriots of the Far East, greetings. I am Andrei! This morning, near Lanud City in southern Bria, I witnessed a terrible war firsthand. The vile Yamato people launched a surprise attack, crossing the border to assault the entire front lines of Far Eastern Bria, Red Tower, and Primorsky State!”

“The incident involving that pastoral grandmother was no isolated case. Preliminary estimates indicate nearly one hundred thousand of our people have been slaughtered and violated!”

“The victims are not just border herders. Those despicable invaders even secretly planted a 500-kilogram bomb at the Berliasky Grand Duke’s residence. This left my father severely wounded, my second brother disabled, and my most beloved elder brother—Alexander Vladimirovich Berliasky—martyred!”

“Yes! You heard correctly! This is no longer a mere border dispute! The Yamato have indiscriminately raised the butcher’s knife against the people of the Rasian Empire. No matter your identity or background, they kill men, children, and the elderly equally and ravage every woman they see.”

“This is not war—it is the most cruel, shameless, and vicious genocide!”

As Zhang Shan roared these words, he pounded the table with such force that the booming sound made every listener’s heart leap violently.

“They have shown no mercy not only to us, but also to the Seres in the south, and the White Elephant people further south. They are the cancer of the world, little devils spawned from hell!”

“We have no choice but to take up arms and fight back!”

“Our goal is but one—”

“Victory!”

“Victory at any cost!”

“To strive for victory no matter the horrors faced!”

“For without victory, there is no survival!”

“We will never surrender! Never compromise!”

“We will fight the devils on the steppes!”

“In the mountains, we will fight the devils!”

“By the sea, we will fight the devils!”

“We will battle everywhere until we annihilate this den of Yamato!”

“Here, on behalf of twenty million soldiers and civilians of the Far East, I swear by the gods of Rasian—”

“That we will not rest until every devil is slain or brought to their knees in surrender—”

As Zhang Shan bellowed this ironclad declaration into the microphone with escalating passion, the entire broadcasting center erupted. The broadcasters, once uneasy, and the officers wildly stood, applauding with all their might.

“Ura—!”

Countless Rasian voices shouted madly in front of innumerable radios.

Some brandished their sabers; others fired shots skyward in excitement; still others, deranged herders, slashed their faces and chests with knife tips, pledging their blood to fight the invading devils to the death!

The entire Far East of the empire was ablaze!

As the broadcast reached the capital and its high-ranking figures, other electors and nobles were taken aback.

“Damn it. Is this still the ‘Berliasky Stud’?”

“Is this a prepared speech?”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

“This feels more like an impassioned, off-the-cuff outburst.”

“Ha! This is getting interesting. The Yamato fools finally managed to wound the old fox of the Berliasky family and kill that mature, steady younger fox—and now they’ve unleashed a tiger?”

“Are you sure he’s a tiger and not just a noisy sled dog?”

“Heh! I’m quite eager to see how that stud will grovel in the capital, begging us for weapons and reinforcements.”

“Oh? If his tongues are that skilled, I might just let him crawl under my petticoat. If he pleases me, a few tens of thousands of rubles as a reward wouldn’t hurt either.”

For a time, discussions in various salons shifted from the recent major news of the Asgard Empire’s annexation of the Sutaid region to focus entirely on Andrei Berliasky and the sudden war breaking out in the Far East.

This was not to say other electors of the Rasian Empire had given up on the Berliasky family. The real issue was that the Asgard Empire had grown increasingly aggressive in recent years. Though they claimed the same lineage as the Hung-Austrian peoples, first swallowing Hung-Aust, then Sutaid, this empire—rapidly rising and revitalizing after the last great war—displayed astonishing ambition.

With Asgard’s borders inching closer to the Rasian Empire, every elector guarded the keys to their armories with utmost caution.

Though nominally united under the same imperial banner, these independent powers had little loyalty beyond self-interest. Unless forced to, they dealt only in benefits.

Just as they expected Zhang Shan to rush eagerly to beg for arms, he instead returned to his room and quietly began reading the latest newspapers.

Though aware these papers were mouthpieces for major factions, Zhang Shan could still glean much intelligence from the unavoidable headlines, comparing them with his own memories of Earth’s Second World War.

While he was occupied, Natalia knocked and entered.

“Your Highness, the Second Prince has awakened. He requests your presence.”

“Second Brother?” Zhang Shan realized he had neglected his younger brother too long.

There was no escaping a reckoning; every move was a potential blade.

Bracing himself, he followed Natalia to the other side of the Grand Duke’s residence.

No sooner had the door closed behind him than his brother Maxim bluntly said,

“I once thought you were involved in the assassination attempt.”

“Ah?”

Maxim looked at the stunned Zhang Shan and suddenly burst out laughing.

“Ha! You’re just as clueless as when we were boys, unable to hide your true feelings.”

“...”