Vlad clenched his right fist with such force that he could feel the blood beginning to seep between his fingers. The strain, both physical and emotional, was immense. The strategy he and Overlord had devised had allowed them to seize control over the Lotario and Orario continents, saving all the people within those lands. Yet, their victory came at a grave cost—it ensured the doom of everyone in the continents to the east, abandoning them to the mercy of the monsters that now prowled those forsaken lands.
Of course, Vlad could have ordered the advance of their armies into the neighboring continents to try to save more lives. But such an act would be akin to leaving their heavily fortified positions to leap straight into the jaws of the beast. It was a bitter reality—a king and a general could not allow their compassion to dictate their strategy, not when the fate of millions depended on each decision. Sometimes, the path of mercy brought only utter and absolute ruin.
