Hearing the King's words, Vohler felt like laughing to his heart's content for the first time in many, many years.
They had come swiftly and silently, like the descent of night, mainly because he had no intention of making a huge fuss out of this, and unnecessarily letting the King turn into a martyr who might live on in the hearts of the people and give rise to many more like him in the generations to come.
He had always been praised to be someone who thought of the long term. Even now, he had been thinking about the years that they would be spending ruling over this continent after all this was done, and during that time, he did not want any more problems.
One might say that he was counting his eggs before they were hatched, but he simply called it being careful.
And just like he had made that decision, he had also decided that there would be no talking. They would only be a merciless assault, as death was always the best answer, no matter who it was that was asking the question.
Ordinarily, that was how it would have gone forward. Vohler even began the process of raising his hand so that he could order the other Heroes to begin the attack, but right after he was done speaking, the king made his first move, and that, in itself, was so bewildering that it threw his plans in disarray.
The golden dome he had formed was given to him by the Church, and it was such a precious Artefact that he had heard that it was even sought after even on the Mainland.
He had been treasuring it until now, as it was also the symbol of his importance to the Church. It was the ultimate life insurance, and also the ultimate attacking tool if used wisely.
He could have saved it for the worst case, and no one would have said anything, as no one knew that he had it with him. Yet, Vohler had never been someone who didn't commit all that he had for something he believed in.
When he put his mind to something, he was in it for everything or nothing, and that was exactly what he was displaying right now.
One other thing that had always allowed him to persevere in the face of many enemies over the years was that he would never, ever underestimate someone, even if they came from the simplest of beginnings.
For all his distaste of the central continent which was ingrained in him due to how he had grown up, he still respected anyone who could rise to great heights while coming from the deepest of depths, so he even tended to overestimate such individuals.
He had gone over all the details of this plan with a fine tooth comb over and over again, and every time, his calculations had always told him that the King would try to attack a part of the formation that he was trapped in, thinking that it was just something strong, instead of having been formed from such a precious object.
He would try and be shocked, just like all the others who would understand that this day would become known as the death anniversary of the best hope of Angaria.
But after that shock, the King might pull out a trump card he was not aware of, so Vohler had prepared for this scenario, even though the chances of someone from this backward continent being able to oppose something precious from the Mainland were non-existent.
The fact that he was even considering it was due to his policy that it was better to overestimate and commit more than necessary, rather than underestimate and face the ultimate punishment of defeat and death.
Hence, he had reinforced each and every important sub-formation of the golden dome, such as those which prevented teleportation, and those which stopped anything other than the force of 1000 Heroes attacking at once to breakthrough.
There was no exit. None at all, and he was sure of that.
And so, right now, the king should be despairing in his failure.
But… the king's target was something he could never have guessed, and seeing him succeed was what made Vohler freeze in his tracks, like a precise computer which had met a scenario that it could never, ever have expected.
The King… Targeted the sub-formation which was cloaking the golden dome, and with a brute force attack, he succeeded in breaking through, even though it meant that the same would not work on anything else anymore, as Vohler would be able to anticipate the way he would attack from what he had just seen.
"Ah, what's that?!"
"The King… is surrounded! We should help!"
"I knew this would happen, I brought all my weapons! Let's go!"
"Yes, the king needs us! It's time to prove our worth!"
All at once, multiple shouts began to be heard from the people, who had been in the process of walking to the designated spot where they were supposed to stand if they belonged to a certain force, or a certain geographical area.
A happy smile came on the King's face as he saw all this, and it grew even happier as he saw the confusion in his main opponent's eyes.
Vohler had always hated situations that he couldn't foresee.
But today… This would be the last time it would be happening.
"Attack!"
His order was given with the cold certainty of a commander who knew that the war was in his hands even though the first skirmish had gone unexpectedly.
As the 185 Heroes behind him rushed out and began to assemble the formation that was one of his own trump cards, he began to relax, while keeping his eyes on the opponent.
Yet, this… Was where the second miscalculation occurred.
As if completely unconcerned about the terrifying force preparing to mince him to bits, the king yawned and then flicked his fingers, making his Heroes appear in front of him.