Chapter 65
1: The display of power must be absolute. We must have all those who live on this world witness it.
3: Will we use the ghouls then? Injecting them with the screen crystal will allow them to temporarily share their vision into the sky. We will permanently lose some crystals, however
1: From the benefit we will get from the display of power, I believe it is a price we are willing to pay.
3: Kara-sama, may we have your opinion?
Me: Do what you need to do. The less we need to kill, the better. Let it be done once so it not need be repeated again. Now tell me about Raeven.
4: Marquis Raeven of the Kingdom has defected his family to the Arcanian Empire and are under our protection in secret. We have placed doppelgängers to fool the eyes of the public while Marquis Raeven are turning public opinion against the Kingdom inside.
Me: And the Noble faction?
4: We have used ‘Philip’ of the Kingdom to rise in power with the sudden amount of money delivered to his doorstep. As you have expected, he did not doubt or question the money one bit and simple believed it was for him based on his disgusting bloodline. The money was used for drugs, slaves, and women, and …*cough* hosting sex orgies.
Me: …sex orgies you say?
4: Please allow me to not say any more. The doppelgänger who saw the scene requested he get a new pair of eyes and his old ones burned with a 9th tier spell.
Me: Granted; how is the situation in the Kingdom. They must be gathering their forces by now.
5: The Kingdom has been delaying their reply with everything they have in their basket. We expect a formal reply and declaration of war will arrive in about 1~2 months. This will give them enough time to militarize and station their soldiers at E-Rantel, where we have stated we will attack.
Me: Not wrong I guess. We stated we will attack E-Rantel first, we never stated we won’t attack others after. Tell me, has Doflamingo completed his part?
5: Yes. All weapons distributed to the soldiers of the Kingdom have been subjected to ‘that’ and will serve in our favor once the time comes. Trackers are showing signs that the majority of them are finding their way correctly into the army. There are only a few which have illegally found their way into the black market to be sold elsewhere.
Me: Good enough, all of it was expected anyway. Now, the invitations for the tea party?
1: The Platinum Dragon Lord, head senator of the Argland State has accepted the Invitation for the Tea Party. He will arrive in a month’s time and will stay during the duration of the war.
2: Senator Jircniv, head senator of the Baharuth state has accepted the invitation for the tea party. He will arrive in 3 weeks’ time and will stay during the duration of the war.
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1: Former Cardinal Raymond is currently imprisoned for his crimes against the elven Kingdom during his day as Cardinal but he has accepted the Invitation along with his guardian, Elder Lich A215, to witness the Tea Party. They will arrive prior to the war.
3: We needed to prevent senator Zesshi from rushing over to ‘Society’. She was very eager to accept the invitation. We believe she will be here next week.
Me: Overly passionate about killing and fucking like always…*sigh* the young are always like that. That leads me to question, how is the development of our on-going projects going?
5: Our apologies Kara-sama. Without the Kingdom yet under our complete control, we have all projects still in the preparatory stage before we can release it to the public.
Me: I understand. We don’t want an enemy nation learning and using it against us. While it is expected, I’ve got to say I am amazed at the pure stupidity of the ruling class of the Re-Estize Kingdom.
3: They are walking straight into a trap. The funnier thing is that many of them know this, and yet they choose to do so for their pride.
Me: Interesting isn’t it? What is it that drives them straight into death? They have no faith like the Theocracy had in their Gods. They have no military in which they place their trust in. The facts are piled up against them, they must know they are outmatched.
During this time, sis teleported right next to me and sat on her throne.
Diana: Sis, we’ve seen it a couple times ourselves. Not common, but there were a few. Those like Goa Kingdom where they choose to ignore reality till the very end. They choose to shut their eyes and believe that nothing is wrong. The Kingdom is deluding itself into thinking that this will end like it has always been with the Baharuth Empire.
Me: A shame to break their expectations. We’re the Arcanian Empire. Honestly, I’m getting bored of waiting for them. Let’s give them a deadline.
5: How long should we give them Kara-sama?
Me: After some time, they’ll just be dragging out their lives a little longer. Give them a month. If they don’t give us a reply until then, we’re marching into E-Rantel.
Diana: You sure? They might try to negotiate if you gave them 2 months.
Me: Sis, you know we’re not going to negotiate on this. The Kingdom needs to fall. If you don’t change out the trash bag, then the things inside it will continue to rot. The Kingdom’s beyond saving by just switching some nobles or people. We’re going to flush out the entire system.
Diana: *sigh* I know. At least we’re not going full Ainz on this one.
POV Third Person, Kingdom
It had been two months since the Arcanian Empire’s declaration and a month since the Kingdom’s reply, and now it was the season which turned one’s exhaled breath white.
In villages all over the Kingdom, the bulk of the work had transited from outdoors to indoors. Few people ventured outside now. Not many people were still working. This was true even for the adventurers, who gave the impression of working all year round.
Although there were cases where hungry monsters suddenly appeared in villages and there were emergency requests to fill, there was less to do for the most part. Stepping into uncharted territory was more dangerous during this time, be it to explore ruins or unknown lands during this period. Because of that, adventurers considered this something like a season of rest, and channelled their energies into training, recreation or their side businesses.
That said, the Fortress City of E-Rantel was not like that at present. It was filled with life and activity. This commotion, however, was somewhat different from that of the other cities in the Kingdom. The activity here was not born of the usual energy of city life. The source of this activity came from the outermost sector of the three walls. The countless people gathered here were shabbily dressed. Most of them were commoners. But their numbers were astonishing ― there were around 300,000 of them. Of course, E-Rantel did not always have so many people in it.
It was true that E-Rantel was the nexus of trade and traffic between three kingdoms…or it used to be, with people, money, goods and other things flowing freely through it. Because of that, the city was a large one. However, that by itself was not enough reason for just one sector to be packed with 300,000 people.
In that case, why were there so many people here? The ones who could best shed light on this was a group of young men. Carrying blade less spears, more like sticks, really, many young men stabbed and thrust at dummies made of wood and straw, clad in rusted armor and shields. This was combat training. Yes ― the people gathered here today, all 300,000 of them, had been gathered for the battle against the Arcanian Empire.
Loud battle-cries rang out everywhere. Of course, few of them were actually shouted in earnest. Most of them were gripped by the fear of the coming battle, and they trained to distract themselves from the nagging worry that they would not be going home after this. Most of them already knew how this war was going to end. What had happened to the former Baharuth Empire after their emperor insulted the now Arcanian Emperors was no secret.
Perhaps it was due to the lack of motivation and hope, much of them were practicing in earnest.
The wars with the Baharuth Empire were a yearly occurrence, but this was would be on a different level. As a result of the yearly wars from the former empire, many people had been broken down by them. There were those who lay down in unobtrusive niches. There were those who vented their frustrations to those around them. There were those who sat down and hugged their knees. The older they were, the more likely they were to do this.They had no fighting spirit at all and only wanted to return home alive.
This was the true face of the Royal Army. Yet, it could not be helped. To begin with, they had been rounded up by force. Then they were told that they would have to risk their lives in bloody battle for no gain to themselves. Even if they managed to return alive, they would return to a wasted harvest, and their lives would be very difficult, like a noose slowly strangling them. This was no different from a drawn-out execution.
The wagons rode past the soldiers. Their beds bulged with vast quantities of foodstuffs. Logically speaking, it would be difficult to house and feed 3.5% of the Kingdom’s population within a single city. However, E-Rantel was the frontline of the wars with the Empire, and had been designed to accommodate the Kingdom’s military might.
After several battles with the former Empire, the city had been prepared to handle 300,000 people. Not with ease but with enough effort. Their storehouses were massive, and were probably the largest buildings in the city. The supplies kept pouring into those storehouses.
The unmotivated people looked fearfully at those wagons. It was as though they were staring at Death slowly creeping towards them. In a way, it was true. Once those resources were spent, the Kingdom’s treasury and supplies were also done for. The peasants, like always, would not be able to do anything.
Everyone knew what was going to happen next. This was a large-scale transfer of rations. Never has there been more soldiers gathered in a single place, tense and nervous. That meant the war with the Arcanian Empire was going to begin.