444

Episode 444 I am a negotiation expert. (1)

- Chirp chirp chirp.

Birds fly and chirp incessantly.

It had been a long time since I had seen birds react so passionately in this mystical forest full of trees, light and flowers.

In the middle of that forest, beneath a huge tree that seemed to cover the world, an elven woman was wrapped in vines.

She moved her vine-bound hands slightly with a blank expression on her face.

Thud.

The vines broke limply and a hand was raised.

Thud.

The other hand was the same. With a little more force, the vines that had bound his leg began to break.

Thud, thud.

Eventually all the vines broke. She realized that the gold chains that had been hanging over her were gone, that she was free again.

"iced coffee...."

She stood up from her seat and did not look happy at all. Rather, she had a slightly bitter, or in some ways, slightly sad expression on her face.

"Is it time… … ."

I have felt the gold standard weakening for decades now. I knew that this moment would come soon.

I kept hoping it wouldn't come.

"In the end, it was something that couldn't be stopped."

For a very long time she has been chasing the priests of the Salvation Church.

Unable to move, I followed their trail by listening to the sounds of nature, and sent other elves to fight them in the dark.

Not long ago, we sent elves to the Kingdom of Rutania in search of traces of one of the high priests, but they all died.

The same was true for the elves sent to other kingdoms. They were clearly sent with the power to kill, but they ended up getting killed in return.

"Their power has grown stronger."

The power used by the priests of the Salvation Church is a divine power that is different from that used by other priests. The fact that their power has grown stronger also means that the beings served by the Salvation Church have been able to exert that much influence on this world.

It was for the same reason that his own ban was lifted. In the end, what he had feared happened.

She sighed and muttered something to herself that no one could understand.

"Are you really back… … ."

Most people won't know why this happened, but she does.

Only she, who has lived for a very long time and has seen and experienced many things firsthand.

"I guess we have no choice but to fight again."

She muttered to herself and opened and closed her hands several times. The gold was so strong that it had not yet regained its former strength.

But even with her current power, she had no problem killing the priests of the Salvation Church. She was that strong of an elf.

The elves cried out in surprise as she emerged from her dwelling.

"Chief!"

"The ban has finally been lifted!"

"It seems the time of promise has come!"

All the elves who saw her coming out had eyes that sparkled with excitement, impatience, and urgency. It was an attitude that was not typical of a race that loved peace and harmony.

There was no choice. The elves were currently heading towards destruction.

All the elves who went out into the world became slaves, and the elves who lived in hiding behind barriers also decreased in number after a long fight.

Even the elves could not sit back and watch the destruction of their species. That was what made them un-elven.

"Yes… … . The time has come to break the curse that has bound us… … ."

She looked at the elves with sad eyes. They wouldn't know. This was a curse brought down by the one they called their king in the Salvation Church.

And that he, as the chieftain, is also responsible for all of this.

She thought about 'that guy' for a moment, then shook her head and gave up the thought.

Now it is time to fight again. To save the world, to save the elves.

'If I could go back in time, I would make the same choice.'

There is no right or wrong in beliefs. It's how much you believe in yourself that matters. And she never thought that the choices she made in the past were wrong.

She calmed down and slowly opened her mouth.

"What is the situation outside?"

"It's not good. The human army is barely holding on. There are too many nobles who have been recruited by the Salvation Church."

"It's fortunate that we can do that much against them. Are there any special people?"

"There are several. Among them, there is one person who stands out the most."

"Who is that?"

"I am Earl Fenris of the Kingdom of Rutania."

"Earl Fenris?"

"Yes, only that place is dealing with the cracks with little damage. No, it's overwhelming."

"Hoo… … ."

She opened her eyes wide in slight surprise. She had fought cracks before, so she knew it wouldn't be easy.

But why is it that a single count, not even a kingdom, is dealing with such overwhelming rifts? I was curious.

The elves gave her detailed information about the outside world, especially about Earl Fenris.

After hearing the news, she began to worry.

To fight the Salvation Church, all of humanity must join forces. The monsters of the rift and their 'king' are that powerful.

'Fenris… … . Fenris… … .'

She repeated the name Fenris several times.

When the ban was lifted, he first went to see his comrades who had fought alongside him long ago. He must still be suffering from the loss of his position as the coordinator of this world.

But since his ban was lifted, his ban would be lifted soon too. It seemed like it would be okay to postpone their meeting for a little while.

After careful consideration, she made a decision.

"Let's go to the Kingdom of Rutania. We must meet Earl Fenris."

If humanity is to unite, they need a focal point. Since the Earl of Fenris is surprisingly good at fighting the rift, I thought I should meet him first and then decide what to do next.

She immediately took a few elves and headed to the Kingdom of Rutania.

* * *

Only after the war with the barbarians was over was Giselle able to receive news from other regions.

"Baron Valois surrendered?"

"Yes. It seems that they were trying to take over the territory while Count Leipold was away."

"Hmm, I don't think Baron Valois will move easily."

"It seems that the 4th Prince Dave pushed hard. I think he thought it was worth a try since he was ahead in legitimacy and had no military."

It made sense. With Amelia out of the way, he probably figured there would be no need to fight.

Even though she wouldn't just leave things that bother her and leave without a second thought.

"So what's the result?"

"The conquest was easy, but it seems that Count Leipold hid assassins within the castle. The 4th Prince Daven was assassinated within the castle and lost his life."

"Was Baron Valois just watching that?"

"For defense, most of the troops were stationed outside the castle. Since there were only a few escort troops, Baron Valois was captured along with the Fourth Prince. Since everyone from the castle servants to the people of the fiefdom did not cooperate with them, there was no way."

Jiselle shook her head after hearing the report. If it had been an ordinary estate, the uprising would have been successful.

But there was something the two overlooked. Amelia was very popular with the people of Leipold's domain. No matter what they tried to do, the people of the domain would not follow suit.

Meanwhile, since they had deployed troops to the outer wall to block Amelia's forces, they were bound to be vulnerable to attacks from within.

"Baron Valois must have accepted the surrender."

"Yes. When Daven died, I just gave up everything."

Giselle nodded. In his previous life, Baron Valois had surrendered as soon as he realized that all of his successors were dead.

After all, he was a man who believed in being loyal to the successor of Leipold's bloodline.

Baron Valois is a great commander. It was obvious that Amelia would not kill him but rather promote him.

"Tsk tsk, that's why I said not to attack first."

Of course, he must have rationalized it since he didn't attack first but went to an empty castle. After all, as Baron Valois, he had to occupy and hold on to any place.

It would be better if it was the main castle of Leipold.

"Any other news?"

"Count Leipold had been purchasing runestones in large quantities since before the war."

"Hmm, really?"

"Yes, not only do they use food and herbs to gather supplies within the kingdom, they are also very active in trading with other countries."

Jiselle nodded, stroking her chin.

Amelia is probably also collecting rune stones to improve the skills of her subordinate knights.

The runestones in the north are mostly controlled by Fenris, so there won't be much in quantity, but Amelia also has plenty of herbs and food, so if you use those, it will be easier to obtain them than before.

Because other kingdoms were also in chaos, the prices of food and herbs were skyrocketing to unbelievable levels.

Although the runestone was an important item, feeding the troops was more urgent.

Jiselle also checked the status of the Ferdium estate.

"Perdium will be busy for a while."

"Yes, we need to annex the barbarian tribes that have lost their warriors. First, we need to expand our territory to the north and take steps to allow them to infiltrate our culture."

"Yeah, it'll take some time, but I don't think it'll be a big problem."

Having lost all of their warriors, the barbarian tribes will eventually have no choice but to be annexed by the Kingdom of Rutania, as it will now be impossible for them to become independent.

Even if they had the capacity to become independent, they could not be left alone. If they grew again, they would become a threat again. So this was the opportunity to make sure that the North was pacified.

The adjutant hesitated for a moment and then submitted an additional report.

"It's nothing special, but… … I heard there's a discussion going on between the Ferdium knights and soldiers."

"What discussion?"

"There was a discussion about whether or not the knight Skoban should be expelled from Ferdium… … ."

"Skoban?"

"Yes. He is currently nicknamed the 'Knight of Disaster'. There is public opinion that it is necessary to keep such an unsightly figure while the territory is developing. Some even call him the 'King of Disasters'."

"… … Yes. We really do have a lot of kings on our side."

It's not Skoban's fault that the cracks opened up in the North. But strangely, Skoban's reputation is shattered when he gets involved with himself.

He was called the 'Knight of Lies' during the Orc Suppression, but now he is called by an even more sinister nickname. It was a little sad to hear that the person who had been imprisoned because of him was being bullied again.

"… … Let's stop talking about that and tell Skoban to get promoted. He's a guy who's been doing his job well."

"...All right."

"And tell them to stop believing in such superstitions. Who the hell is spreading such rumors?"

The rumor started with Ricardo, Skoban's adjutant, but Giselle had no idea about that.

Jiselle clicked her tongue a few times and asked something else.

"There are no major problems in the West yet?"

"Yes, Lord Tennant is holding it well."

"Yeah. I guess I'll be able to go east soon."

Tennant led the Northern Army and successfully blocked the rifts in the west. The rift area had expanded, but he held out by reducing the number of rifters sufficiently and escaping.

Since it did not expand as quickly as the Northern Rift, it was not difficult for the experienced Northern forces to hold it off for several days.

The problem was in the east. There were not many cracks in the east, but the attrition of troops was increasing.

We had to quickly close the remaining rift in the West and move east.

"There's something you need to prepare beforehand."

Jiselle wrote a letter and handed it over to the messenger.

"Give this to Claude. He'll prepare it himself."

"All right."

We also had to prepare in advance to link up with other kingdoms. If we joined forces with other kingdoms, we would be able to deal more easily with the Duke who had joined hands with the Salvation Church.

Now, since Giselle herself was busy fighting, she planned to leave the preparations to Claude and the Marquis of Branford.

"Let's go now. We have to take care of this quickly."

As soon as the war with the barbarians ended, the Jisel and Fenris Mobile Forces moved to deal with the rift again. They were truly the busiest people in the kingdom.

Jisel, who joined the Northern Army, went straight into the rift and fought. As always, Jisel shouted as he swept away the rift people with overwhelming attack power.

"Now we're going to catch Equidema. Instead, we're going to use a new strategy starting today!"

At those words, the eyes of all the northern troops widened.

They are veterans in dealing with rifts. They have dealt with Equidema without causing much damage so far.

Still, I couldn't help but wonder why they insisted on trying a new operation.

Those who fought in the northern fortress nodded, knowing what kind of operation it was. It was obvious even without looking.

Jiselle continued with a proud expression.

"From now on, the Saint… no, Saint Piote will be at the forefront and attack Equidema! This is the method the Goddess has instructed us to use!"

"Wow!"

"Long live the saint!"

"Goddess, bless the saint!"

Although they did not know how they would fight, the Northern Army first cheered.

Fiote is a priest with great reputation. He is also known to be protected by the goddess. It was amazing to see such a person take the lead after receiving revelations from the goddess.

"Huh? Huh?"

Piote, who had been listening to the speech with a bewildered expression, turned pale.

What Jiselle meant now was that Piote should personally join Equidema and fight, just like last time.

That too, first of all.

'F*ck… … .'

For the first time in his life, he let out a heartfelt curse.