431

Episode 431: I have no choice but to threaten like last time. (1)

Boom!

Raoul became extremely angry and slammed the table.

He looked at the Judge of the Church of Salvation, Gatros, who was standing before him and asked.

"What is going on? Why are the cracks out of control?"

Gator did not answer clearly. They simply prepared according to their scriptures and opened the rift.

Despite all means at their disposal to control the cracks, they were not controlled. Instead, only priests and believers were lost.

"… … We don't know everything perfectly either. We have only confirmed that the cracks cannot be controlled by our own power."

The Salvation Church did not consider the lack of control to be a big problem. Since it was the first time they had done it, they did not think it would be perfect from the beginning.

The problem was that it also created several cracks in the south where the Duke was located.

Raoul squinted his eyes as he pointed out that point.

"We need to turn some of the troops that were preparing for war towards the cracks. We need to eliminate the cracks we created with our own hands."

"There's nothing we can do. For now, I'll lend my teachings' power to help eliminate the cracks in the south. Executor Aiden and the Silver Knights will also join us."

Raoul leaned back in his chair and rested his forehead on his hand.

Something keeps going wrong and I can't seem to get it right.

Since the cracks are out of control, we too have to fight them for now.

This is what Jiselle had been wondering since her previous life. Why did she open a rift in the South herself?

Ironically, this was the result of the Salvation Church failing to control the cracks.

Gatros said to Raoul, who was troubled.

"Just in case, we didn't make many in the South. We didn't make any near important areas either. There aren't many, so we should be able to deal with them quickly."

"So? What are you going to do after that? What are you going to do with all those cracks that have spread across the continent? And if 'it' comes out, can we stop it?"

"… … ."

"Our purpose is not to destroy the world. Wasn't the plan to create a new world?"

"That is correct. In the end, this will be resolved by finding our 'king.'"

"Does that make sense? Is that really possible? Does such a thing exist?"

"It is written in the scriptures. We have continued this tradition for a long time to awaken the king."

bang!

Raoul growled, pounding the table again.

"You're so sure you can control it, but you can't even control the cracks! Is there really such a thing as a 'King'?"

"Raoul, don't cross the line."

"… … ."

"Would you not believe it when you see the 'door' open? The promised time has come and He is already in the world. We just haven't found Him yet. Our mission is to awaken Him and create a new world."

Raoul's expression hardened coldly at Gator's heavy words.

Certainly, the content about the cracks has been proven to be true. This means that not all of the scriptures are false.

So, there was a high possibility that there would be a 'king' that the priests of the Salvation Church so desired.

Gator continued to speak to Raoul, trying to appease him.

"It may be that our interpretations were somewhat inadequate because the scriptures are so old. But didn't they open a rift and cause chaos on the continent? That's enough for now."

That wasn't wrong. If the rift hadn't been opened, the armies of all continents would have turned against those who had joined hands with the Salvation Church by now.

This wouldn't have happened if Earl Fenris hadn't ruined their plans.

"If we really find the king, can we control the rift?"

"That's right. That's what it should be. The key is probably in the Forest of Demons. We need to take over the Royal Family of Lutania and the Forest of Demons as quickly as possible. And we need to find the 'Guide.' It's definitely in the Kingdom of Lutania… … . I just can't seem to find it."

Gatros trailed off.

The Salvation Church has been consistently searching for what they want in the Kingdom of Rutania, but has not been able to find anything. They want to put a little more effort into their search, but it is difficult to make their presence known when the royal faction is intact.

In the end, it was Earl Fenris who was the biggest obstacle to their work.

Raoul gestured to his staff and said:

"Bring me the information I've gathered about Fenris and the Northern Army."

Raoul, who had just received the reinvestigated report, opened his mouth while looking through the documents.

"Is this guy called 'Alphoy' really the most dangerous person?"

The staff bowed their heads in agreement.

"Yes, there are quite a few suspicious points."

"What kind of point?"

"He was there when Count Fenris destroyed the 7th Circle wizard Delmud. He was also there at the Battle of Silverlight. What a coincidence."

"Then you're saying that the rumored 7th Circle Wizard is Izaran? The one who single-handedly stopped all of Rodrik's wizards."

"It is highly likely."

"There are so many rumors about another person. The maid named Vanessa. Don't all the people of the territory say that Vanessa is the best magician?"

"It's just a rumor going around among the ignorant people of the territory. It means that Fenris is hiding information. As evidence, Alfoy's circle is currently known as the 5th circle. However, until just a little while ago… … ."

"It was Circle 3."

"Yes. It's an unbelievable speed. It seems that they raised the circle because it was difficult to hide it any longer even in Fenris. They even spread a false rumor that he ate the Dragon Heart."

"Does that mean Vanessa is also a 6th circle?"

"She is most likely a disguised wizard. Alfoy must have been working behind the scenes. There must have been a reason why he was known as 'the man who defeated God.'"

"Yeah, that sounds plausible."

Raoul nodded.

No matter how many times I investigated, there were still some strange things that remained. However, if Alpoy is a 7th Circle wizard, all the things that were bothering me would be resolved.

Because I had so many thoughts, I ended up going in circles even though I had done proper research.

Raoul looked through the papers again and said.

"This governor, the king of bribery, has been fooling us all this time."

"That's right. He was the commander of Silverlight. In fact, it's fair to say that it was his plan that annihilated Rodrik's army."

"Because I didn't properly understand these people, I had no choice but to suffer."

Raoul clicked his tongue. He had been so focused on Count Fenris, who had become a master, that he had missed out on other outstanding figures.

There was a reason why Count Desmond was defeated.

Raoul placed the portraits of Claude and Alfoy on top of the papers and said.

"These two must be killed at all costs if the opportunity arises. We must cut off the hands and feet of the Earl of Fenris. Do you understand?"

"All right."

In any case, sooner or later, we will have to confront Earl Fenris with force. We must kill the people of interest while they are away from Earl Fenris.

So I planned to prepare for it in advance.

Raoul, who had checked the report, which was an exquisite mix of truth and misunderstanding, asked something else.

"What about the other nobles?"

"… … Everyone turned their backs on us."

"Tsk."

After Marquis Rodrik left the faction, other nobles who had been in the Duke's faction also left. It was very burdensome for them to have the four major religious orders as enemies.

Only a few vassals in the south are holding on to their positions. In fact, they are afraid of the Duke and cannot leave.

Raoul clenched his fists. He felt hot just thinking about it. How much had he invested in other nobles? All of it had gone down the drain.

Among them, the nobleman who invested the most in the Duke's household was… … .

"Amelia, you're just looking out for your own interests."

He tore everything apart as he could, and as soon as the Salvation Church incident broke out, he severed all ties with me like a knife. Given the circumstances, there was nothing I could do, but the feeling that I had been wronged did not go away.

"Phew… … ."

Raoul leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

In the end, Earl Fenris was the mastermind behind everything. It would have been advantageous to act now that he was leading the Northern Army and fighting the Cracks, but he couldn't.

Because there was so much work to be done.

He opened his mouth in a cold voice.

"Destroy all the temples of the four major religious orders remaining in the South and kill all the priests."

"...All right."

Most of the priests of the four major denominations left the South. However, there were still those who remained to preach the word of God and save the people.

Now, we had to catch and kill them. It didn't matter since they were definitely enemies anyway.

"And build an army to deal with the rift as quickly as possible. We also need to reduce the area of the rift before it expands any further."

We need to clear up the rift in the South before we can start a war. And the sooner the better.

This was a fight between the Northern Army and the Dukes. The outcome of the battle would depend on which side dealt with the rift in the territory first.

The Duke has many excellent knights. They also have the help of the Salvation Church priests who are of superhuman level, so they will be able to deal with it quickly.

"But the speed of the Northern Army was also unexpected."

There was no guarantee that they would be eliminated any faster than they were. If the Northern and Royal forces invaded the South while they were fighting the rift, it would be quite difficult.

But that doesn't mean there's no way yet. They have something they've secretly prepared behind the scenes.

Raoul looked at Gator and asked.

"What happened to Dentaria?"

"It is said that the crack is expanding smoothly. It will soon expand its territory to the northern fortress. Thanks to the abundant energy of the land, the crack has grown to an incomparable size compared to other places."

"This is a good situation for us."

"Yes, your plan worked. The man named Woroka has already gathered the warriors of all the tribes. He plans to attack the North while Ferdium fights the rift. The North will not be able to stop their pent-up anger."

Raoul nodded and smiled.

Earl Fenris will not just leave Ferdium alone. He will definitely go to the Northern Fortress.

No matter how strong he is, he cannot stop the greatly expanded rift and the barbarian army that has gathered all the tribes at the same time.

Even if the Earl of Fenris were to win on either side, the North would lose all the ground it had built.

In the meantime, we just need to somehow get the cracks out first and move.

Raoul licked his lips and smiled cruelly.

"This time, things won't go your way, Earl Fenris."

Up until now, all of the Duke's plans have been ruined and they have been dragged around because of Fenris.

But now it was your turn to be dragged around as you wished.

* * *

Northern Fortress Kaipillar.

The place where the Ferdium Army is stationed has been quite, if not completely peaceful these days.

Food is abundant and the equipment is excellent. Thanks to Giselle, a popular mana cultivation method has been created, and the number of knights has increased significantly compared to before.

Finally, he was equipped with a worthy army and dignity.

It had been a long time since they had fought against the barbarians. Now that they were in a position where they had to receive food, they had no choice but to remain quiet.

Because of that, the only things the garrison troops had to do were eat, sleep, and train.

Of course, due to Zwalter's characteristic timidity and caution, his guard and patrol duties were still intense.

"Ha… … I got caught again."

Skoban, who was comfortably resting in Ferdium, sniffed at the vast northern land.

While he was moving various military supplies to the northern fortress, he was caught again and put on patrol duty. The intention was that the junior knights would be focused on training, so he would roll around instead.

The adjutant who had followed him because he was bored and was caught with him, the handsome Ricardo, spoke to him from next to him.

"It's so peaceful these days, why do you need to come out like this? This is an area where we used to fight against barbarians or patrol."

"Hey, our lord is secretly a bit timid. Is it because he has suffered so much?"

"Haven't we become so much stronger than we were before? We even have 100 knights. Now we're on the same level as the British."

Skoban nodded at those words.

"It's all thanks to the Grand Duke. You're the commander of the Northern Army right now. Shouldn't we be doing the best these days?"

"Wow, I never imagined that Your Highness would grow up to be that big."

At those words, the two people became lost in old memories.

The two watched as Giselle killed a group of orcs as soon as she returned.

Skoban told his colleagues about his exploits, and was once branded a liar and spent his days drinking. Although he did make some money from betting, since no one believed him.

In fact, if I hadn't seen Skoban in person, I would never have believed that Giselle was active. At the time, Giselle was just a loser.

It was a new feeling to think of Jiselle, who had become a bigger figure than before.

"Hey, do you remember that time? When the Archduke ran out of the castle… … ."

"When I think about going to the Demon Forest and being locked in our prison… … ."

It's nice to have someone you can share your crazy memories with.

The two of them went on patrol while reminiscing about old times. Since it was a patrol they did often anyway, it wasn't particularly difficult.

If you chat like this, your work time will go by smoothly.

When we were quite far from the fortress, Ricardo suddenly said jokingly.

"Come to think of it, every time the captain was caught here, wasn't there chaos? The barbarians would come rushing in and stuff."

"Hey, am I some kind of cursed person?"

"No, I told you that there was always something going on wherever the Captain of the Guard was. The Archduke's first activity was when he and the Captain of the Guard subjugated orcs. After that, there was war, the development of the Forest of Demons, fighting against barbarians, and so on… … The Captain of the Guard was always with him!"

Skoban was impressed by Ricardo's prank.

"Don't say things like that, even as a joke. I'm afraid something bad might happen again."

"Hahaha, I'm just kidding. We won't have to do that anymore. We won't have to get involved with the Archduke."

"Yeah, that's right. We can live here in peace. Puhahaha!"

The two laughed like that for a long time.

The current peace is so good. I've suffered so much. In particular, I suffered greatly because I got involved with the Grand Duke.

As the two were laughing like that, a junior knight standing next to them asked Skoban.

"Captain, what is that?"

It was an evening with the sun setting, but it was bright enough to see ahead.

The distant land was covered in blue fog. And the fog seemed to be slowly moving towards us.

Skoban and Ricardo stopped laughing.

It was a phenomenon that they had heard a lot about. They had also heard about the characteristics of the cracked area so many times that they were drilled into their ears.

Skoban thought with a cold sweat.

'Is it really because of me?'

I hated to admit it, but what Ricardo said seemed to be true.