"If she reacted so positively to Aunt Hestia, I think we can exploit that a bit." Verka smiled in a way that at first looked warm, but in reality, was a very nasty smile. "If we, the other Gods, talk with her, she might change her opinion or even her entire worldview. I still sense her will to take revenge. But right now, she is extremely conflicted about who truly was guilty of the death of her brother."

"What do you mean?" I looked at her, surprised. "I thought she was adamant about wanting to kill me. Besides, how do you know? You never saw her."

"The cravings for revenge and the grudges that call for vengeance opens people's souls to me and my influence. It's like prayers..." Verka smiled and Vali beamed a proud smile in return while the young goddess focused. "Cahrona is no longer sure of her emotions. It's not like she is grateful that you did not kill her, but she doesn't hate you. After all, she would have done the same if it was you who attacked her home. Cahrona acknowledges that you could kill them all, but you spared those who surrendered." Verka was talking with eyes closed, a slightly vicious smile on her face. "She mostly blames the Devil King now."

"Very good, Darling!" Vali patted his daughter's head. "Now you should nudge her to solidify that particular belief."

"What...?"

"Oh nothing, King Theon. It's just a Goddess of Vengeance in training thing," Tisiphone giggled.

"As long as you don't make her dangerous for Avalon, I can let it slide. But remember, she is my follower." Hestia pointed her finger at them.

I decided to not ask any more questions. Their shenanigans were their business, and it looked like Hestia had this under her control. I glanced at Irene, who just shrugged and waved her hand dismissively. I left the topic of Cahrona with a sigh and shifted my focus to the other points that were to be discussed. However, before I could say anything, Verka stood up and looked at me with a thoughtful facial expression.

"King Theon. I want to express my gratitude for everything." She bowed to me with her hand over her heart. Vali and Tisiphone stood up as well and moved behind their daughter, bowing to me with gratitude as well. "You can deny it as much as you want, King Theon, but without you, all three of us would have been dead. You also saved my parents from the Abyss, where dead Gods are banished. For that, I am eternally grateful."

"Thank you, King Theon, for giving us more time to spend with our daughter." Tisiphone looked straight into my eyes and smiled warmly.

"We abandoned the thought that we would be given even just a few words with Verka before the end." Vali smiled and nodded to me after smashing his muscular chest with his fist. "Ask for anything reasonable in return for your kindness!"

"While I feel a lot of sympathy towards you, Theon, I will refrain from following in my aunt's footsteps." Verka bared her white teeth in a smile while she teased Hestia.

"Hahaha. Who said I would share him with you, young Lady?" Hestia teased her back.

"But with all seriousness, I want to ally myself with you and your Kingdom. I want to become the next Goddess in Avalon's pantheon. Will you allow me to do this?" Verka bowed her head for a moment before looking at me expectantly.

"Yes, we and Eriar allow for this," Irene replied, smiling warmly as Hestia nodded her head approvingly towards the surprised Verka.

"Then it's decided." I smiled. After they sat down, I took a moment to think about Vali's proposal and something like an idea appeared in my head, but I left it to boil for a moment. "Can you present us with some basic situation, Luna?"

"Let's start with the population." She smiled warmly at me. "The Kingdom of Cridia is not only unevenly developed but also irregularly inhabited. The biggest cities in Cridia usually have about one hundred thousand citizens, but such cities are few. Most commonly, to be considered a big city, the population must reach at least ten thousand people. However, the vast majority of the people live in small villages or towns that barely have any means of defence. There is one interesting thing about the cities that poses a slight complication: walls and palisades. According to Ban and Blair, if such a city faces a siege and the enemy army is far superior, the custom demands that the city surrender. However, the winning side has to allow for the safe evacuation of the defending army and any willing civilians. It's a way to preserve the city walls, which are expensive to build and maintain. Most of the citizens, about eighty percent, live in the north and east of the kingdom. However, Cridia does not possess any reliable or actual censuses, so we can't estimate the total population." She took a sip of apple juice and flipped a page in her notes. "The topography of the Kingdom of Cridia is mostly plains, forests of various densities, and the mountain ranges in the north and south of the Kingdom act as natural borders. The mountains in the south are far gentler and shorter than the ones in the north. Also, the northern mountain range forms a crescent that reaches towards the western and eastern borders..." Luna's left ear twitched a few times and she smiled warmly. "I think that's enough for this moment."

"Thank you, Luna. The deployment to the north and east was smooth and our Legions reached the first settlements on their respective invasion routes. They are now ready to begin the offensive. Knys, Idna, I would like to request the Adventurers' Guild to intensify resource-gathering quests. We are at a point where there is no such thing as too many materials. We need wood, healing herbs... Well... It would be easier to tell what we don't need. For some reason, we don't need waterskins... Never mind, we stopped using them since we have far superior containers‌. Just keep all the material-gathering quests running."

"As you wish, my King." Knys nodded.

"Anything worth mentioning?" I looked at him for a moment because he looked as if he was wrestling with his thoughts.

"If you ask, my King... I would like to retire soon." Knys admitted with a serious expression.

"Oh..." I was not expecting that.

"The guild is in good hands, Your Highness. Idna has an insane talent for this work." The old Orc smiled, but as he looked at me and my wives, he quickly followed with additional explanation. "I never dreamed of achieving so much and right now I am afraid that I can't lead on for much longer. But it's alright. It's important to appoint a successor while the star of one's greatness shines the brightest. Besides, I look forward to some other challenges after I retire from my current job."

"All right." I smiled. "Maybe this time you can focus on being a mayor? Or a City Lord?"

"I think I am ready to try, my Lord." Knys nodded.

"I imagine you are looking forward to some quiet and cosy place..." Amber thoughtfully tapped on her cheek as she blew out some air.

"Something like that, my Queen." Knys beamed a smile.

"I think we can arrange something fitting. We owe you, Knys." I smiled while Amber, Irene and Luna nodded in silent agreement.

It looks like Knys's decision was surprising only to us since Idna and Sigismund were calm, as if they knew all along. I looked at the latter one. The old Dwarf was currently tasked as the mayor of the Castle City, but truth be told it was a slightly obsolete function since currently Aoi, supervised by Amber, was in charge of home affairs. However, there was one thing I always expected in the fantasy world. "Sigismund, I want you to rebuild the Kingdom of Dwarves, Kaddalum."

Sigismund's shock was so big that he choked on the air. After drinking a few generous sips of water, his red face regained normal colours, and he looked at me in surprise. "My King! You really want to reestablish the Dwarven Kingdom?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"The Dwarven Kingdom was a peaceful and decent place." I shrugged. "The Dwarves were victims of bad circumstances, or maybe even targeted by the servants of Void and Chaos. I know for sure they were involved in the destruction of Kaddalum. You once told me the story that was passed on in your family, but our current circumstances have changed, Sigismund."

I pointed at the Eternals gathered near the table. Zeus and Hera nodded towards the surprised Dwarf. Vali and Tisiphone wore sad faces as they were the first to speak their mind. The former goddess of vengeance frowned deeply upon recalling this particular memory. "The Fall of Kaddalum... So much pain and tragedy bore great fury and hatred in the survivors. However, even the drive to avenge their butchered brothers and sisters finally was quelled as fear began its reign over the remnants of a once proud race. But fortunately, your fate was not oblivion, adopted children of Hephaestus."

"I told the story of the Dwarves to my husband." Hestia smiled at Sigismund, who was at a loss for words. "I agree with Theon that the Dwarven Kingdom should be reinstated."

"For all your contribution to the prosperity of Avalon, we all believe that is the right and fair thing to do." Irene smiled warmly at the old Lord, who had tears in his eyes.

"But we still have enemies..." Sigismund lowered his head.

"The lands of Kaddalum were torn between three countries. The Kingdom of Cridia was the main instigator of this atrocity, along with the Empire of Metaka and the Holy Kingdom of Berna. Opposite of the Empire, which was purely opportunistic during that time, the Holy Kingdom of Berna was driven by the hate born from their beliefs." I grimly looked at the map. "I will not pretend that I don't know what is driving them, since religious extremism is nothing particularly new in any history I know of. There is nothing new in Berna as well. The usual arrogance, and the senses of superiority, corruption, debauchery, even xenophobia."

"Kaddalun can't be rebuilt, my King. Even if we forget about our enemies, there are simply not enough Dwarves left to dare start such an endeavour." Sigismund sadly shook his head, but after a moment, he thoughtfully patted his braided bread. "But creating a new Dwarven city or even a city-state is possible and I will gladly accept such a task, my King!"

"If you think that would be better, I can't really force you..." I nodded, but the cunning Dwarf beamed a smile.

"Avalon has the best educational institutions and unparalleled masters of every craft not seen in this part of the world since the Era of Heroes. The Kingdom of Avalon possesses agriculture and food reserves the other nations can only dream of, not to mention the safety that is provided by the Immortal Legions. No, my King, despite this opportunity you are giving us, the Dwarves will forever remain loyal to you and Avalon." Sigismund deeply bowed his head.

"Hahaha, all right, Sigismund." I chuckled after hearing his reasoning. "Now to the point. Without Korkas, I don't expect the Cridian Army to put up any noticeable resistance. However, we can't be stalled, so even as we speak, two of my Legions are advancing. The Fifth Legion is in a race against time towards the Northern Borders to show the Holy Kingdom of Berna that we are not going to allow them to take advantage of the current chaos. Irene, Hestia?"

Irene nodded at Hestia, who cleared her throat and pointed at the map that showed the borders of each kingdom on the continent. The continent of Aderon was impressively large; home to a number of nations that varied as much in size as they varied in the way they were ruled. However, a few countries were far bigger than other nations and, in fact, they could pass as continental superpowers. In their direct neighbourhood, there were three nations that could pass for the superpowers. One of them was Cridia, which was currently cut in half as my own Kingdom was rising in its place as one of such superpowers. The bad luck was that it bordered two other countries that rivalled it, not only in area and population but also the military power.

"As you all know, Cridia, in the east, shares borders with the Empire of Metaka, while in the north, it borders the Holy Kingdom of Berna through a narrow swath of land. You all need to understand that Berna firmly believes in Human supremacy. When they spread their claims about helping the insurgents in Cridia, we were alarmed by that notion. However, when their words weren't followed by preparing any supplies for the armies that were supposed to aid us, we focused on Korkas and the Void Touched. We reasoned back then that they might have sensed Void servants in Cridia, so they bluffed to aid us without actually doing anything." Hestia took a sip of juice.

"Our spies infiltrated their lands and soon enough they found out a massive invasion force prepared to attack Cridia. Our initial reports suggested that this was only a coverup for their frankly empty threat to the Cridians, but we received interesting information from the Empire that signifies it was not the case." Luna clarified and nodded back to Hestia.

"The main reason why we should be so wary about Berna is their Pantheon." Hestia's voice hung in the air as everyone looked at her, surprised. "When we first came to this world, it was almost a barren wasteland, devoid of lush green forests or vast blue oceans. It was ruled by strange, almost animal-like gods who were worshipped by creatures resembling humans. When we were exi... Umm, I mean, when we arrived in the world, we didn't get along very well with the local deities. In fact, a war broke out soon after. We tried to be peaceful, but the local gods, full of hubris, attacked us and they deceitfully killed Sekhmet. So we all joined together and killed most of them. Those who survived went into hiding and avoided our wrath since you, the Mortal races, arrived into this world. We abandoned our war to prepare a world that could host life."

"The Pantheon of the Holy Kingdom of Berna is powerful thanks to the devotion of the people forced to live under the tyrannical rule of the Holy Church. Since our Gods were in decline and weakened, their Gods seized the opportunity and convinced humans that they were their chosen race. As you can imagine, all other races were considered inferior, forced to serve the Humans of Berna or be killed." Irene looked at everyone to make sure they understood the reality. "So far, they were afraid of the Void Born and Void Touched that lived in Cridia. But now they are going to attack."

"There is also one more thing. Irene is the enemy of the Holy Kingdom." Luna calmly informed the assembled people. "Her title, Saintess, is believed to be a heresy."

"I am not only a Saintess, but also an Elf. I don't think I can insult them much more." Irene smiled.

"Don't forget, you are also a woman." Luna chuckled, as if the two were breaking down a joke.

"Oh, yeah... I forgot about that." Irene covered her lips as she giggled. "They are patriarchal, so I guess that also pisses them off."

"This means war..." Sigismund declared without a shade of doubt in the silence that befallen the war room.

"Why? They are petty in their struggles to look mighty. As Theon told me a long time ago, you can't make a soldier from a slave." Irene smiled. "Right now they can muster only thirty thousand Paladins, whose average level is about fifty."

"This massive invasion army consists of about fifty thousand peasant conscripts who can barely wield a spear, and maybe a third of them know which point should be turned towards the enemy. They are basically forced to do that by the Paladins." Luna opened her hands in a helpless gesture. "That army will crumble once they face the might of a single Legion, not to mention the full might of Avalon."

"Indeed." I smiled coldly. "As you can imagine, I am less than fond of their attitude and conduct. This is why I'm not planning to hoard mana for worse times since they are already here. I am raising two more Legions: Legio VII Rapax, the Predator Legion, and Legio VIII Victrix, the Victorious Legion. I don't want to provoke a new war, especially since we are in the middle of one. But as a matter of fact, we are already at war with Berna."

Everyone looked at me with understanding and nodded their heads. The Holy Kingdom of Berna once was a beacon of hope and prosperity among the nations of Aderon. However, the masks quickly dropped and discrimination, along with cruelty, ran rampant through its citizens, drunk with the idea of them being the chosen race of the Gods. Some of those who once had fled there seeking asylum were now fleeing back to their original homelands to save their lives. A sudden gust of wind pushed aside the long, delicate, embroidered curtains and moved a few pieces of paper on the large table. One of the Storm Eagles flew into the open window, perching himself on the heavy furniture made specially for that purpose.

"My Lord. Berna's troops were spotted near the Cridian Capital. It seems that the Bernan Patriarch has sided with Queen Josla." The Storm Eagle informed us with a deep voice. At the same time, one of the slime butlers, still wearing combat gear, entered the room and kneeled in front of me.

"I am bringing news from the Holy Kingdom, my King," he reported. "In his newest edict, the Patriarch condemned those who supported the Kingdom of Avalon behind his back and promised to punish them as heretics. He also declared the preparations for a Holy War against Avalon, as their gods demanded it. To quote, ‘The filthy ruler of Avalon, despite being a Human himself, took demi-humans as his wives and allowed the demi-humans to be freed from their slave shackles where they should have remained. It is our sacred duty to save the Humans suffering under the weak gods of Avalon and bring them forth into the light of our glorious Gods. I hereby declare a Holy War to wipe out, once and for all, the dirty weeds that sprawl under the blessed feet of Humanity.’ While it is impossible for them to gather troops and attack us in the near future, they sent a detachment of one thousand of their paladins to support Queen Josla. If they can't win, they at least must prevent her from losing too fast. That being said, the Berna leaders are going to send an envoy to Avalon."

Hestia and Irene looked at me intently, but I merely returned a calming smile as I stood up. "I hereby declare the Edict of Obliteration upon the Pantheon of the Holy Empire of Berna. May every soul in the Kingdom of Avalon hear and know that my wish is to remove any knowledge, memory and every single trace of the existence of the Eternals of Berna. Their names will be erased from history. Their cults will be destroyed and their temples levelled. I hereby declare Exterminatus upon the traitorous Eternals calling themselves the gods of Berna, along with those who chose to follow them willingly. I will give them the war they crave so much."