451

Episode 451: Another Secret Weapon Has Been Found. (1)

Giselle smiled broadly at Claude.

The promise of the elven chieftain is heavy. Even if he finds out later that he was deceived by Claude, he won't be able to do anything about it. He will be a bit shocked, though.

Originally, when creating the Allied Forces, I called Claude to prepare a treaty for the establishment of the Allied Forces and the establishment of the Allied System. It was a bit absurd that he had to bribe his way through, but he was able to handle it quickly and successfully.

But now, he's even tied Erenes down with a contract. It's a good thing for Giselle, and she thinks she sang well, but...

'This guy is definitely not normal.'

After finishing the contract, Claude kept smiling and pretending to be friendly with Erenes.

"Ah, Chieftain. We're like 'family' now, right? Let's stay together for a long time."

Jiselle stuck out her tongue again at the sight.

'That's crazy.'

Erenes answered with an uneasy expression.

"… … Yes, we elves will truly treat you, our allies, like 'family.'"

The family that Erenes thought of and the family that Claude thought of were as different as heaven and earth, but she didn't know it.

Anyway, now that it was confirmed that Erenes would join, Giselle felt reassured. She was now able to use the power of a strong man who was said to be the second strongest of the seven powers on the continent.

'I've got one more secret weapon. It'll be a great help in the fight ahead.'

He already had a secret weapon: Tennant.

Even the Northern soldiers fighting alongside him did not know that Tennant was a Master. This was partly due to the influence of Jiselle deliberately suppressing the rumors, but also because only those with considerable skill could discern the level of a Master.

With the number of superhumans, especially those unknown to the world, increasing to two, Giselle's range of actions will also expand.

Giselle led Erenes out of the tent and told the soldiers.

"Listen, everyone. The Elven Chieftain will be with us 'from now on.' So, do not be enemies with the Elves any longer, but treat them as allies."

"Wow!"

The soldiers cheered at his words, for through their fight with Giselle they had a small sense of how strong she was.

Of course, not many people really knew how strong she really was. The fight just a little while ago was just a moment of warming up.

Among the soldiers, there were few who thought that Jiselle could possibly lose to someone. So, only a few of the leaders looked a little worried, and most were just glad that a strong person had joined.

Rather, the elves, who were of the same race as her, and the dwarves, who were in the same slave situation, looked awkward and upset.

Erenes pretended not to know the dwarves and spoke to the elves.

"Once this war is over, I will take you all back to the forest. I have been promised freedom by the Earl of Fenris."

"… … ."

But the elves were not at all pleased. Erenes asked in puzzlement.

"This is the forest where the Mother World Tree is. Aren't you happy?"

At those words, the elves of Fenris suddenly began to snicker. Erenes and the elves who followed her could not understand why they were reacting that way.

Ascon stood up and asked Erenes, who was looking puzzled.

"Is there any alcohol there?"

"We don't particularly enjoy alcohol, but if we want, we can make and drink fruit wine."

"That kind of stuff doesn't taste good. It's bland. Who eats that kind of stuff these days?"

"… … ."

"Do you have any meat? Beef, chicken, pork."

"Elf… …what kind of meat do you mean they eat?"

"Oh my, we can't live without chicken anymore. We're going to lose muscle mass. Can't you see our bodies?"

The elves of Fenris had developed muscles to the max through their hellish training with Gordon. Only then did Erenes see their bodies and become speechless.

"… … ."

"The alcohol is bad. We don't eat meat. There's nothing to do in the forest. Why would we go there?"

"Elfs must live with nature… … ."

Ascon suddenly spoke with an annoyed expression.

"While we were slaves for so many years, the one who lived so noblely in the forest now comes to save us? What kind of nonsense is that?"

The elves who followed Erenes became enraged at Ascon's words.

"How dare you say such a thing to the Chieftain!"

"Oh, that's fine. I usually say things like that, so don't make a fuss about it now. After the war, we decided to live in an autonomous region, so don't try to force us to go. Did I clearly say that I'm not going?"

"You bastard! The World Tree Forest is not open to just anyone! Right now, I need the Chieftain's favor… … ."

"Okay. Stop it."

"Chief!"

Erenes stopped the angry elves. She continued with a slightly sad expression.

"It's all my fault. I will respect your opinions as well. Please do so."

Soon she spoke while looking at the dwarves who were watching blankly from the side.

"Yeah, you guys became slaves because of 'us' too."

It was a meaningful statement, but the dwarves still did not understand it. They had been slaves since birth.

Jiselle heard those words from the side and thought.

'There's something I don't know.'

I don't know about other elves, but Erenes lived a very long life. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was living history.

'If I really lived a thousand years like the rumors say... ... .'

The history after the fall of the ancient empire is not well known. Because there are few historical records, opinions differ even among scholars about the lost history.

'I'll ask you later.'

Anyway, since I am not a scholar, I am not particularly interested in the history of the races. The important thing now is to close the rift and eliminate the dwarfs.

Erenes, who had appeased the elves to some extent, looked at Giselle and asked.

"Are we going to storm into the Duke's residence right away?"

"… … ."

I felt this way in my past life, but he is still an elf with no social skills at all and just pushes forward as he pleases.

Well, all of those who made it to the top 7 on the continent, including myself, had similar personalities.

In fact, that's why we rarely united with each other. Everyone was more worried about themselves because they thought they were better.

"First, we'll deal with the remaining rifts and then move back to the central region. There, we'll regroup and wait for reinforcements. We can't rally our forces at the front lines."

A war isn't something you can start right away. Of course, you can invade first, but that's not a very good strategy.

As always, Jiselle planned to adopt a strategy that would minimize the damage to her allies. This was because destroying the Duke's house was no longer the end.

"The Duke will have no choice but to move soon anyway. From our standpoint, it's better to buy time until reinforcements arrive."

"Hmm, is that so?"

"The Duke now has to deal with the entire kingdom. If he moves first, they will have no choice but to split their forces."

"The information power of the Salvation Church spread throughout the continent cannot be ignored. You will know that reinforcements are coming to you, so you will not just sit back and watch."

Jiselle laughed at those words. The Duke is no fool, so he must be plotting behind the scenes or preparing enough power to deal with the Allied Forces.

For example, calling in more high-ranking priests from the Salvation Church.

"Of course you will prepare in your own way, but thanks to you, we have one more weapon."

"I see what you mean. So I'm going to be a secret weapon that the enemy doesn't know about."

"Yes. I will do my best to control the spread of rumors that you have joined. Then, the army that moves first without preparation will be destroyed. I can strike at them."

Erenes nodded.

"Okay, I'd like to get started as soon as possible."

"Don't worry. They'll be excited and excited too."

As time goes by, the Duke becomes more disadvantaged. Even now, the situation is much worse than before the crack opened.

So they too had no choice but to move to deal with the rift in the South.

Of course, those cautious guys won't just rush in when they're in a bad situation. They'll definitely try to talk to you like they did when they incited the barbarians to open a rift and start a war.

'No matter what you do, they'll be surprised when they see Erenes.'

There are two people here who will later be called the 7 Great Powers of the Continent. They will be able to destroy any trick you throw at them.

"Okay, then let's move on and deal with the remaining cracks. There are only two left."

Most of the cracks in the East have been dealt with as well. Since I was away for a while due to the Allied Forces conference, the rest had to be dealt with quickly.

The northern army, joined by Erenes, moved to deal with the remaining rift.

* * *

"Nothing is working."

Raoul's face had become noticeably haggard in the past few months.

The diversionary operation using barbarians also failed. I thought it would be perfect, but Amelia suddenly made a move.

It was surprising that Fenris and Ferdium were able to block the enlarged crack without causing much damage, but it was also surprising that Leipold's army held back the barbarian army.

Both results were beyond my expectations. Amelia's propaganda in particular was so bitter that it made my heart boil.

"How dare she betray us… … ."

No matter what anyone says, it was the duke's family that helped Amelia grow her power. She was only a young lady, but it was possible for her to become a countess because of the duke's support.

However, Amelia skipped out on everything and immediately cut off ties with the Salvation Church and the Duke.

Up until that point, it was understandable. After the Salvation Church was revealed, most of the other Dukes of the Duke faction also turned away.

"I put up with it… … and now you're interfering with my plans?"

It was unbearably humiliating. It was like being bitten by the dog you raised.

Raoul took a few deep breaths. There were a lot of things popping up here and there, interrupting his work.

"I will definitely… …repay this humiliation several times over."

Humiliation is humiliation, and reality is reality. I couldn't hold on to something that had failed forever.

Raoul, who was gnashing his teeth, asked his staff.

"What about the crack in the South?"

"It's almost done. The vassals are also fully prepared for war."

Since they had been preparing for war for a long time, they quickly finished preparing to advance. They would be able to move at any time as long as the cracks were resolved.

The problem was that while they were dealing with the cracks, their opponents weren't just playing around.

"Did you say that the Allied Forces were formed?"

"Yes, that's right. They say the primary goal is to reorganize the Kingdom of Rutania."

"this...."

Raoul shook his head. If reinforcements come from other countries, it will be difficult to achieve the goal no matter how strong the Duke is.

The armies of nearby kingdoms have already begun to join the royalist faction one by one. So we need to move as quickly as possible.

They never thought that they, who were the most powerful force in the kingdom and dominated the political situation, would be driven into such a corner.

"It's not easy."

The biggest problem was the Northern Army and the Royal Army. Thanks to the Northern Army, the Royal Army had all been sent down to the Southern Front.

The Duke's top priority was to quickly capture the capital and capture the King. However, the Royal Army was blocking the path.

"Even if we march east and withdraw some of the royal forces, the northern army is still a problem."

Now, it can no longer be said that the Duke's objective power is superior. Everyone in the kingdom and the four major religious orders have become enemies of the Duke's family.

Among them, the Northern Army was particularly strong, so much so that even the Duke could not ignore it.

As a Duke whose goal was to capture the capital with as little damage as possible, he was an opponent he did not want to fight.

Raul sighed repeatedly, his head complicated as to what strategy to take.

At that time, Gatorus, who leads the Salvation Church of Rutania, spoke.

"How about waiting a little longer? After all, our goal is not a territorial fight, but to protect the King and the royal family."

"If we continue like this, reinforcements will rush in and it will become more difficult to occupy the capital."

"Isn't it just as difficult now? All plans have failed, and Earl Fenris and the Northern Army have become stronger."

Raoul's eyes twitched as if he was offended by those words. It was as if he was blaming himself for the situation.

Gatros, who read the mood, smiled and shook his head.

"I'm not blaming you. I'm just saying we need to work harder."

"What do you mean?"

"I have called more high priests here. Let them begin the war when they come. They will be of great help."

"Is that okay?"

"Isn't this a situation where we have to fight with strength in the end? The other kingdoms aren't as important as the Kingdom of Rutania."

"Umm… … ."

Raoul nodded. The high priests have superhuman strength. If just a few more join, they will be a great force on the battlefield.

Gatros continued with a confident voice.

"As long as we somehow capture the capital and find the royal family's secrets, the rest won't matter."

That was the real goal of the Duke's war. The war to take over the entire kingdom was to come later.

Raoul asked with a slightly suspicious expression.

"The cracks have failed to be controlled, and we have not found a guide. Do you think the royal family's secret will really work? Or is it really the king who is moving?"

At those words, Gatros spoke with a slightly angry expression.

"Do not doubt. The power of our apostles is growing stronger even now. The influence is felt in this world because the King has begun to move. You can definitely find it. There is no way the King will not show his power."

"… … ."

"So we must also prepare in advance. Since we have failed to find a guide, we must somehow obtain the royal family's secret treasure."

Gator continued, his eyes shining.

"Then we can enter that area."

Raoul kept his mouth shut. He had been recruited by the priests of the Salvation Church since childhood and was raised as a believer of the Church.

The problem is that Raoul is not as zealous about the Church of Salvation as the priests. To him, religion is nothing more than a tool to further his ambitions.

It was difficult for him to understand the irrational and fanatical behavior sometimes displayed by priests in key positions in the Salvation Church.

'Tsk, what the hell is that scripture? These crazy fanatics.'

They are holding it up as if it were some great mission. When they actually showed their power, I couldn't help but believe it.

In any case, Raoul could not refuse their words. So he had to do his best to achieve the results he could.

Because he was a tool raised for that purpose.

Raoul nodded several times and then opened his mouth.

"Even if the high-ranking priests come, it won't be easy. The Northern Army now has enough skilled soldiers to easily deal with Equidema. In fact, wasn't Judge Ravier killed by Count Fenris and his cronies?"

"That guy and the Northern Army are certainly a headache. Even if a few more high priests come, it won't be easy to avoid damage."

"There is also a way to push through to the capital while taking damage. But that would be difficult later on."

Gatros thought for a moment and then said.

"No, no. There's no need to lose a few high priests just because of Earl Fenris. Isn't the point to break through the northern army and capture the capital as quickly as possible?"

"Yes."

For a moment, Gatros smiled cruelly.

"Then how about luring only Earl Fenris?"