After assembling all their forces, Black Candle City was left with around 500,000 troops capable of fighting, as many had been injured in previous battles to the point of being unable to fight anymore.
Providing food for so many people proved difficult, even with Black Candle City's substantial reserves; it was expected to run out in less than a month.
Unfortunately for them, no additional reinforcements were available around Black Candle City.
The last reinforcement had come from Candle Palace, but this time, Candle Palace could not send any more troops.
As a result, the Candle Dynasty faced a difficult decision.
One was to continue defending so many small cities; the other was to abandon smaller cities.
They chose the latter.
They abandoned smaller cities and conscripted every non-disabled man and woman.
There wasn't much resistance to this decision, as everyone understood that any city taken by the Alex Kingdom would be destroyed, and its inhabitants would be killed.
The only way is to take up swords and fight.
The entire population of the Candle Dynasty was 40 million people, with 8 million individuals above 60 years old, not suitable for battle, and 12 million children below the age of 16.
Of the remaining 20 million, half were women.
Thus, the 5 million army the Candle Dynasty originally had represented half of its entire young male population.
However, even this force was deemed insufficient.
There was no time to consider factors such as sex, gender, age, or suitability.
The Alex Kingdom was advancing to eradicate them.
Therefore, regardless of age or gender, everyone – old, young, men, and women – from the smaller cities was conscripted and started gathering in the larger cities.
The army of the Candle Dynasty, initially only 5 million, exploded into 20 million.
Of course, these 20 million included old people, children, and men and women who were not trained at all; it was hardly an army. Still, when defending from atop the walls, they could be of some use.
From the surrounding cities, an 'army' of 1,000,000 started marching toward Black Candle City as a reinforcing force.
...
Alex III heard the news and furrowed his brow.
"Should I act myself?" he thought.
He could easily destroy the Candle Dynasty single-handedly, reaching Candle Palace and exterminating the Order of Candles.
Even against an army of hundreds of thousands, he believed he could defeat them all by himself.
Alex III was curious to know if all vampires were as strong as him, and he planned on finding out.
Vampires could 'make' other vampires, and he intended to turn his son, Alex IV, into one. However, for the time being, he set that idea aside, thinking, "Let's see how it goes."
He didn't want to engage in the fight personally; after all, why did he have an army if not to fight on his behalf?
Alex III wrote a letter and requested direct reinforcement from all Rivers and Mountains Alliance members. Until now, they had only sent resources, food, and supplies.
This marked the first time Alex III had 'asked' them for direct support, though this request was not much different from an order. If they were to refuse, Alex III would certainly 'remember.'
He instructed Jack to send the letter and then leaned back on his chair, stroking his beard.
The armies sent to invade were all conscripted ones; as for the trained army of Alex Kingdom over the years, they were all under his command in the headquarters.
In his order to the responsible general, he wrote, "Send another 500,000 conscripts to Black Candle City!"
This is the last bunch of conscripted armies; the remaining 1,000,000 in the headquarters are all elite, professional soldiers.
Black Candle City held significant importance, as destroying Candle Palace would profoundly impact the spirit of the Candle Dynasty.
...
The army attacking Tall Candle City found itself stalled.
Despite using catapults, the tall walls prevented them from damaging the city. Tall Candle City boasted massive food reserves, allowing it to resist for months, aligning with the intentions of the Candle Dynasty.
The army surrounding the city outnumbered the defenders within. If they could pin down the army of the Alex Kingdom, consisting of 500,000 troops, with a force of 100,000, they believed they could buy enough time to train additional conscripts for resistance.
...
The sixth army of the Alex Kingdom, consisting of 600,000 conscripts, attacked the city of Great Candle.
However, on their way, the Candle Dynasty, lying in ambush, attacked the army of 600,000 as they traversed a mountain road. With casualties amounting to only 50,000, the Candle Dynasty managed to eliminate 150,000 soldiers of the Alex Kingdom.
This event delivered a significant shock to the Alex Kingdom and a substantial boost for the Candle Dynasty.
Despite Alex III's threat that the families of deserters would be killed, more than 400,000 soldiers from the Alex Kingdom fled.
They didn't believe Alex III.
The families of these 400,000 individuals would number in the millions; it seemed implausible that Alex could execute so many people.
...
Alex III read the news and tore the letter.
"Damn it!" he regretted not planning with Dream Fog.
After becoming a vampire, he felt unprecedentedly strong and believed there was no need to take the Candles seriously. But now, the Candles were tougher than initially thought.
Then, someone came in screaming, "Your Majesty! Three of the kings of the Purple Empire have started a rebellion!"
"What?" Alex III punched the table, reducing it to dust.
The Purple Empire comprised one emperor, five kings, and smaller nobles.
Despite sending war supplies to the Alex Kingdom, they had not surrendered due to internal divisions.
Lisa had not completely addicted the entire population of the Purple Empire. Most of the population of two of the five kings, those supporting surrender to the Alex Kingdom, and most residents of the imperial city were addicted.
However, three of the five kings had managed to keep the Universal Drug out.
From the beginning, these three kings resisted surrender, preventing the empire from officially capitulating.
Alex III initially thought the emperor and the other two kings could keep the situation in check, but it seemed they were more incompetent than previously thought.
"Now, with them fighting among each other, no more supplies and certainly no reinforcement could be expected from them!" Alex III sighed.
The Purple Empire was the closest neighbor of the Candle Dynasty, and they could have provided significant help.
He started writing another letter and sent it to the Mountains and River Alliance, urging them to send reinforcements quickly.
...
The Purple Empire civil war started suddenly but also finished swiftly, beyond everyone's expectations.
The emperor and two kings supporting the Alex Kingdom made a treaty with the three opposing kings. Simply put, they divided the country in two.
The two kings and emperor retained the name Purple Empire, while the three opposing kings formed a new country named Clements Empire.
All three kings were from the Clements family, a powerful noble family primarily based in the Purple Empire but with roots in other countries.
This division occurred in a matter of days as if it had been planned all along.
...
Alex III looked at Lisa, dissatisfied.
"Why are our intelligence people so weak? Why did you miss such a big thing?" Alex asked with a deep frown.
Something like this couldn't have been planned in a few days; it must have been planned for months.
Lisa, with her head down, didn't speak.
Rolling his pupils, Alex III ordered, "Send a letter to the Purple Empire and direct them to attack Clements Empire."
Lisa looked with wide eyes. "Your Majesty, what if they refuse?" she thought, asking something so significant risked them not obeying.
"Cut off the supply of UD," he sighed.
UD was the tool for controlling everyone.
Even if its formula got leaked, Alex III still had other means.
Nobody knew as much about UD as he did. He knew ways to turn the harmless substance into a poison, even in small quantities.
If the Purple Empire's population could produce UD themselves, he could kill them all with those secret formulas.
Addicting them is just one of the many uses of UD. This mysterious material is so strange that Alex III thought it must have something to do with the supernatural.
Lisa bowed and left.
...
As ordered, the Purple Empire received the letter and waged war against the Clements Empire.
However, the 50,000 people they sent to invade were far too few, and they seized the first city but didn't advance further. It looked like a show.
Clements Empire, on the other hand, sent lots of much-needed resources to the Candle Dynasty.
...
The army of 1,000,000 of the Candles dynasty attacked the forces of the Alex Kingdom, who were besieging Black Candle City.
It was a one-sided battle; after all, this 'army' of a million was primarily old people and many women.
Still, with casualties of 500,000, they managed to kill 150,000 people from the Alex Kingdom's conscripted army, which wasn't that well-trained itself.
It was because the army of the Candles dynasty knew there was no way to run, so they fought to the death.
However, before the Alex Kingdom could celebrate, the forces in Black Candle City came out and attacked the exhausted Alex Kingdom forces before they could rest and recover.
More than 700,000 people attacked the 850,000 from the Alex Kingdom. The Candle Dynasty forces in the city conscripted civilians to increase their numbers.
After two days of fighting, they retreated.
The battle was a disaster for both sides.
The forces of the Alex Kingdom lost 300,000 and were left with only 250,000 troops capable of fighting.
The Candle Dynasty fared even worse, losing 400,000, with less than 100,000 of the original 700,000 retaining the ability to fight.
But, in the end, the battle hurt the Alex Kingdom more.
The forces of the Candles dynasty were mainly composed of women, children, and old people. The Candle Dynasty still had many of its original 500,000 troops within the city.
The commander of the Alex Kingdom's forces requested a retreat order, as they could no longer take over the city with just 250,000 troops.
...
Alex III threw the letter to the servant who brought it. "Retreat? Are you kidding me?" he felt enraged.
"Jack!" he called. Jack, kneeling on the ground, replied, "Your Majesty!"
"Where are the reinforcements?" Alex III asked with visible anger.
"Your Majesty, everyone is making excuses! They are trying to buy time!" Jack answered in shame.
Even though most joined Mountains and River, they were all forced; nobody liked Alex III.
With a deep breath, Alex III ordered, "Order everyone to retreat for a reorganization!"
Jack nodded in acknowledgment with his head down.
Many of Alex Kingdom's armies had become disorganized, and if it continued as is, the casualties would be enormous.
There was no need to worry about retreating.
The invading army would typically conquer castles so the defending army could take them back when they retreated. But, Alex Kingdom had destroyed everything in its path, so there was no need to worry about the enemy reconquering the cities.
...
All armies returned to the headquarters.
Of the original 10,000,000 conscripts, only 5,500,000 remained.
Now, the Alex Kingdom has an army of 5,500,000 conscripts + 1,000,000 elite professional units.
The Candle Dynasty has 17,000,000 conscripts and 350,000 trained units, mainly in Candle Palace.
The difference in numbers was astonishing, but numbers aren't everything.
Now, with most people of the Candle Dynasty conscripted, how could they farm and provide food? They could not!
Alex III organized his units into five armies.
The first army had 1,000,000 elite units.
The second had 2,000,000 conscripted soldiers intended for Black Candle.
The remaining three each had around 1,000,000 troops for other big cities.
As for medium-sized cities, the Candle Dynasty had already vacated and abandoned them.
There was no way the Candle Dynasty could provide food for its population. Alex III ordered his troops to wait for a few months for reinforcements from the Mountains and Rivers Alliance and for the Candle Dynasty to starve.