Chapter 451
Chapter 451: Another Secret Weapon Has Emerged. (1)
Ghislaine smiled at Claude.
The promise made by the Elf Great Chief is serious. Even if Claude eventually swindles her, there will be nothing she can do about it. She might be a bit shocked, though.
She initially called Claude to set up a coalition and prepare an agreement for it. It was rather absurd to have handed over a bribe in the middle of it, but at least it was handled quickly and well.
Now, she had even entangled Ereness in a contract. While she thought it was good news, she couldn’t help but feel…
‘This guy is definitely not normal.’
After finishing the contract, Claude kept grinning as if he were buddy-buddy with Ereness.
“Ah, Great Chief. Now we’re like ‘family’, right? Let’s be together for a long time.”
Ghislaine couldn’t help but click her tongue at the sight.
‘Crazy dude.’
Ereness replied with a somewhat uneasy expression.
“…Yes, we Elves will treat you, our ally, like ‘family.'”
There was a sky-high difference between how Ereness saw family and how Claude did, but she remained unaware.
Anyway, with Ereness’s inclusion now certain, Ghislaine felt more secure. She could now use the power of someone deemed the second strongest of the seven great powers on the continent.
‘I’ve got another secret weapon now. This will greatly help in the battles to come.’
She already had a secret weapon in the form of Tenant.
Even the soldiers fighting alongside him from the Northern Army did not know he was the master. This was partly due to Ghislaine deliberately squelching rumors, but also because an ordinary warrior wouldn’t be able to distinguish a master-level fighter.
Thanks to the fact there were now two superhumans, even the realm of actions available to Ghislaine would widen.
She led Ereness outside the tent to address the soldiers.
“Everyone, listen up! The Elf Great Chief will be joining us ‘from now on.’ So, refrain from treating Elves as foes, and treat them as comrades instead.”
“Waaaaah!”
The soldiers cheered at her words. They had begun to sense, even just a little, how strong she was through their earlier fight with Ghislaine.
Of course, very few actually grasped how strong she was. Most thought the recent scuffle was just a warm-up.
Hardly anyone among them thought Ghislaine could lose to someone. Only a few of the upper echelon wore slightly worried expressions; the majority were just delighted that a strong ally had joined.
On the contrary, the Elves, who belonged to the same race, and the Dwarves, who were in a similar slave situation, wore awkward and troubled expressions.
Ereness ignored the Dwarves and addressed the Elves.
“When this war is over, I will take you all back to the forest. I’ve promised Count Penris your freedom.”
“……”
However, the Elves did not look pleased at all. Ereness asked, puzzled.
“It’s the forest where the World Tree, our mother, is. Aren’t you happy?”
At that, the Elves from Penris suddenly started snickering. Ereness and the Elves that had followed her couldn’t understand their response.
Seeing Ereness’s confusion, Ascon stepped forward to ask.
“Is there alcohol there?”
“We don’t particularly indulge in alcohol. But if you wish, we can make fruit wine.”
“That stuff tastes awful. It’s bland. Who drinks that these days?”
“……”
“Is there meat? Beef, chicken, pork.”
“What do you mean by an Elf eating… meat?”
“Come on, we can’t live without chicken anymore. We’d lose our muscle, you know? Do you see our bodies?”
The Elves from Penris had developed some serious muscles through their hellish training with Gordon. Only then did Ereness finally look at their bodies and go speechless.
“……”
“The alcohol’s bad. We don’t eat meat. There’s probably nothing to do in the forest. Why would we want to go there?”
“Elves must live in harmony with nature…”
Ascon suddenly said with an annoyed expression.
“After all those years of living as slaves, now someone who lived nobly in the forest comes and says they’ll save us? What kind of nonsense is that?”
At Ascon’s words, the Elves following Ereness were infuriated.
“How dare you speak to the Great Chief like that!”
“Ah, whatever. I usually talk this way, so don’t act all high and mighty now. We’ve decided to have our own autonomous district once the war is over, so don’t think of dragging me along. I’ve made myself clear, right?”
“Fool! The World Tree’s forest is not a place just anyone can enter! You’re disrespecting the goodwill of the Great Chief right now…”
“Enough. Stop it.”
“Great Chief!”
Ereness stopped the angry Elves. She continued, looking a bit sad.
“It’s all my fault. I will respect your opinions. So let it be that way.”
Then she turned to look at the Dwarves who were watching from the side.
“Yes, it’s probably because of ‘us’ that you all became slaves.”
It was a significant statement, but the Dwarves still didn’t understand what she meant. They had been born into slavery.
Ghislaine, hearing that, thought to herself.
‘There’s something I don’t know.’
Unlike other Elves, Ereness had lived for an extremely long time. It would not be an exaggeration to call her a living history.
‘If the rumors of her living for a thousand years are true…’
The history after the fall of the Ancient Empire had not been properly documented. With hardly any records remaining, opinions among scholars about the lost history varied greatly.
‘I need to ask about it later.’
Anyway, she wasn’t a scholar, so she didn’t have a particular interest in the history of the races. What was important now was to stop the rift and deal with the Duke Faction.
After calming the Elves suitably, Ereness looked at Ghislaine and asked.
“Are we going to attack the Duke Faction directly?”
“……”
As she felt in her previous life, this Elf had almost zero social awareness and just pushed forward with her own thoughts.
Well, those who reached the rank of the continent’s seven great powers were generally similar in personality.
In fact, that was one of the reasons they had rarely managed to unite. Each thought they were the best and cluttered up things even further.
“First, we will deal with the remaining rifts and then move back to the Central region. We need to regroup and wait for reinforcements there. We can’t gather troops at the frontline.”
War cannot simply be started on a whim. Of course, they could choose to attack first, but that wouldn’t be a very good strategy.
As always, Ghislaine aimed to minimize casualties for her side. It wasn’t just about destroying the Duke Faction anymore.
“Ultimately, the Duke Faction will have no choice but to move soon. For us, it’s more beneficial to stall for time until the reinforcements arrive.”
“Hmmm, is that so?”
“The Duke Faction must now contend with the entire Kingdom. If they want to move first, they have no choice but to disperse their troops.”
“The intelligence capabilities of the Salvation Society, which are spread across the continent, cannot be underestimated. They will know reinforcements are coming for you, so they won’t just stand by.”
At these words, Ghislaine smiled. The Duke Faction was not foolish; they would surely be concocting schemes or preparing forces to counter the Coalition.
For example, by calling in more High Priests of the Salvation Society.
“Of course, they’ll prepare as well, but thanks to you, we’ll have one more weapon on our side.”
“I see. So I’m set to become a secret weapon that the enemies don’t know about.”
“Exactly. I’ll control the flow of information so your joining doesn’t leak out. That way, the troops that move without preparation will be utterly crushed. We can hit them hard from behind.”
Ereness nodded.
“I understand. I hope we can start as soon as possible.”
“Don’t worry. They’ll be restless and anxious as well.”
As time passed, the Duke Faction found itself in a disadvantageous position. Even compared to the situation before the rifts opened, things had become worse.
Therefore, they would have no choice but to move toward dealing with the rifts in the South.
Of course, those cautious folks wouldn’t recklessly charge in when the situation was against them. Just as they had provoked the Barbarians to open the rift and start a war, they would certainly try to scheme against themselves.
‘Whatever they try, I don’t care. Seeing Ereness will surely surprise them.’
Here stood two beings who would later be called the continent’s seven great powers. They should be capable of crushing any petty schemes.
“Alright then, let’s move and deal with the remaining rifts. We only have two left.”
The rifts to the East had mostly been taken care of. They still needed to process the remaining ones quickly, having delayed a bit for the Coalition meeting.
The Northern Army, with Ereness now aboard, moved to deal with the remaining rifts.
*
“Nothing’s going our way.”
Raoul’s face had notably pale in the past few months.
The diversion operation using the Barbarians had also failed. It had seemed foolproof, but Amelia moved unexpectedly.
It was already surprising that Penris and Perdium managed to block the greatly enlarged rift without taking much damage, but the Raybold Army halting the Barbarian horde was even more astonishing.
Both outcomes were beyond expectations. Amelia’s victory particularly seared through him like fire.
“How dare that woman betray us…”
No matter how anyone looked at it, it was the Duke Faction that had nurtured Amelia’s power. A mere Young Lady becoming a Count was only made possible through the Duke Faction’s support.
Yet, once Amelia had drained all the benefits, she cut ties as soon as the Salvation Society and the Duke Faction colluded.
That part was understandable. After all, once the Salvation Society had come to light, most of the other Dukes’ factions had turned their backs as well.
“I let her off easy… and now she interferes with my plans?”
It was intolerably humiliating. It felt as if he were bitten by the very dog he had raised.
Raoul took several deep breaths. Utter morons kept popping up everywhere to thwart his business.
“I will surely repay this humiliation manifold.”
Humiliation is humiliation, and reality is reality. He could not cling to a failed matter indefinitely.
Clenching his teeth, Raoul asked his advisors.
“What about the rift in the South?”
“It’s nearly dealt with. The Vassals have completed all preparations for war.”
Having prepared for war for a long time, the march preparations were quickly finished. Once the rifts were completely handled, they would be able to move anytime.
The problem was that, while they dealt with the rift, the opposing side wouldn’t simply stand idle.
“I heard a Coalition has been formed?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Their primary target seems to be the Ruthania Kingdom.”
“Oh…”
Raoul rubbed his temples. If reinforcements arrived from abroad, no matter how strong the Duke Faction is, achieving their objectives would become much harder.
Armies from nearby kingdoms had already started to join the Crown Prince Faction one by one. Thus, they needed to move faster.
They had never thought they would end up in such a predicament given that they were the mightiest power shaping the kingdom’s politics.
“It won’t be easy.”
The biggest problem was, of course, the Northern Army and the Kingdom Army. Thanks to the Northern Army, the Kingdom Army had retreated to the Southern front.
The Duke Faction’s primary goal was to occupy the capital as swiftly as possible and capture the king. But that path was firmly blocked by the Kingdom Army.
“Even if we advance East and draw out some of the Kingdom Army, the Northern Army is still a problem.”
At this point, it could not be claimed that the Duke Faction possessed the superior military strength objectively. Everyone from the Kingdom and the four major churches had become adversaries of the Duke Faction.
Among them, particularly, the Northern Army had grown strong enough that even the Duke Faction could not disregard them.
For the Duke Faction, whose goal was to occupy the capital with minimal losses, they were a highly undesirable opponent.
Raoul, thoughtlessly reviewing possible strategies, could only sigh repeatedly.
Just then, Gathros, leading the Salvation Society from Ruthania, spoke up.
“Why not wait a little longer? After all, our aim isn’t territory but the royal family’s secrets.”
“Doing that will make it even harder for reinforcements to seize the capital.”
“Right now, it’s not easy either. Every plan has failed, and Count Penris has grown stronger.”
Raoul’s expression darkened at those words. The tone seemed like he was placing the blame directly on him.
Reading Raoul’s mood, Gathros smiled and shook his head.
“I’m not trying to blame you. It just means we need to exert more effort on our part.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve called in more High Priests to this side. When they arrive, we will begin the war. They will be of great help.”
“Is that really okay?”
“Ultimately, we’re headed for a confrontation of strength, aren’t we? Other kingdoms aren’t as significant as the Ruthania Kingdom.”
“Hmm…”
Raoul nodded. The High Priests possessed superhuman strength. Just a few more would provide substantial power on the battlefield.
Gathros spoke confidently in a reassuring voice.
“As soon as we capture the capital and locate the royal family’s treasures, everything else becomes secondary.”
That was the true objective the Duke Faction aimed to achieve through this war. Occupying the entire kingdom could be dealt with afterward.
Raoul questioned with a slightly skeptical expression.
“We’ve already failed at controlling the rift and haven’t found the guide. Will the royal family’s treasures really be effective? No, is the king even moving?”
At those words, Gathros’ expression turned slightly irritated.
“Don’t doubt it. The power of our apostles has only grown stronger. The king has begun to move; thus, its influence will reach this world. We will surely find it. The king wouldn’t let that power go to waste.”
“……”
“So, we must prepare properly in advance. Since we’ve already failed at finding the guide, we must obtain at least the royal family’s treasures.”
With determination shining in his eyes, Gathros continued.
“That’s how we’ll be able to enter that area.”
Raoul fell silent. Since childhood, he had been captured by the priests of the Salvation Society and raised as one of their believers.
The problem was that Raoul wasn’t as devout as the priests were. For him, the religion was merely a tool for pursuing ambition.
Thus, it was challenging for him to understand the irrational and fanatical behavior of the priests who held core positions in the Salvation Society.
“Tsk, what is their scripture? A bunch of mad fanatics.”
They treated it as some tremendous mission. In reality, their power was apparent, so it couldn’t be doubted.
Regardless, Raoul couldn’t refuse their demands. So, he needed to produce results with his own capabilities.
After nodding a few times, Raoul finally spoke.
“Even with the High Priests joining, it won’t be easy. The Northern Army now boasts enough strong fighters to handle Equidema easily. In reality, didn’t Judge Raviere die at the hands of Count Penris and his close associates?”
“Certainly, he’s a headache along with the Northern Army. Even if a few more High Priests join, we can’t avoid some level of damage.”
“There is also a plan to push through to the capital despite the damage. But that would make it difficult later on.”
After a momentary contemplation, Gathros replied.
“No, no. There’s no need to lose a few precious High Priests over just one Count. The aim is to swiftly occupy the capital, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
Suddenly, Gathros grinned maliciously.
“Then, how about luring just Count Penris away?”
