Ch.137Chapter 137: The Decisive Battle in the East (5).

King Lient of Rient couldn’t hide his astonishment upon hearing about Valt’s group’s tremendous achievements.

“I-is that true? An avalanche? Meteor?”

Of course, such mages do exist. But large-scale magic like that has its time and place.

Using it recklessly could harm allies or cause excessive property damage, which is why prior consultation is necessary.

In this case, Valt’s actions were praised because the allied expedition force was facing annihilation. However, if he had unleashed such destructive magic against ordinary orc forces without an Orc Lord present, he might have actually been reprimanded.

“Yes. There were so many orcs this time that I’m not sure if using it would have made much difference.”

But Lient’s expression was not favorable.

“You probably… won’t be able to use that magic anyway.”

“Why not?”

Lient closed his eyes, let out a deep sigh, and raised his index finger.

“Because the higher-ups don’t like it.”

Strategically, Valt’s Meteor spell would be extremely effective.

Against an orc army of one million, Meteor could definitely inflict significant damage on the enemy.

But Lient was saying that even that would be difficult.

“Don’t like it? Are you saying they don’t like killing orcs?”

To Luktan’s incredulous question, Lient nodded, seemingly quite embarrassed.

“It’s quite shameful to say this, but the upper echelons wouldn’t want a Gerungtu mage to stand out with such remarkable achievements. It might even become an international issue.”

This was clearly the Central Continent.

The eastern part, specifically.

He was saying this was a region where Valt’s Gerungtu shouldn’t be making waves.

In fact, the only reason Valt had been able to come this far was largely due to Grace’s influence.

Luktan clicked his tongue at Lient’s words.

“Ha!? They’re refusing help that could easily defeat the orcs?”

“Justification is important, Prince Luktan. Isn’t that true for Gerungtu as well?”

At Lient’s rebuke, Luktan scratched his head.

Having decided to marry Grace, Luktan needed to adjust his thinking to align with the Central Continent’s perspective.

“Hmm… this is becoming increasingly troublesome.”

Valt had intended not to use Meteor again, but he had made an exception for this situation.

Dropping a Meteor in the middle of an orc encampment of one million would deal a devastating blow to them.

But here, no one wanted Valt to play such a prominent role.

They had heard of Valt’s achievements, but the methods he used to defeat the orcs couldn’t be employed.

Whether due to these ridiculous constraints or Gerungtu customs, both Valt and Luktan felt deeply frustrated.

“Even so! What kind of justification is that? Are you saying we need to wait until soldiers start dying and we begin losing ground before we can drop a Meteor?”

“That’s correct.”

“This is so frustrating!”

At the very least, they could only consider using Meteor when the situation became too much for ordinary soldiers to handle.

“Even that might not be possible. They probably think that expert Aura users will ultimately defeat the orc hordes anyway.”

Their thinking was that even if soldiers were pushed back, the appearance of Master-level Aura users would quickly turn the tide.

These people wanted dramatic scenes.

Efficiency wasn’t important.

What mattered was who could defeat the orcs in the most dramatic fashion and claim the military achievements.

Realizing this, Valt said to Lient:

“Justification is important, yes. But this is different from Gerungtu. This isn’t justification. Gerungtu’s principles don’t involve meaninglessly sacrificing ordinary soldiers.”

Both Lient and Grace could only remain silent at Valt’s words.

At least the Kingdom of Oscar was a nation that strived to protect its citizens and soldiers.

There was no reason to be entangled with people like these.

“Why are you embarrassed, Your Majesty? The ones who should truly be ashamed are smiling over there.”

At Valt’s words, Lient put his hand to his forehead.

“Sigh… I don’t disagree. But this isn’t a situation we can simply criticize. This allied force includes not only elite troops from various countries but also numerous mercenaries. If the allied forces were to wipe out all the orcs, what do you think the mercenaries would say?”

It was human interests themselves that were holding them back.

“They’d say the kingdoms are monopolizing the orcs.”

“Exactly… it’s just… That’s why the appearance—no, the optics—are important. To be honest, I can’t say there aren’t people who would try to monopolize the orcs even when no one is being pushed back.”

Monster corpses are valuable materials.

Their bodies, which can be used for numerous experiments, sell like hotcakes to mages, alchemists, and apothecaries.

“That’s why we can’t act freely. We can’t even take the front lines.”

“What does that mean? We can’t take the front lines?”

Grace answered that question.

“The operation we conducted has become our hindrance.”

Luktan gave Grace, who wore a troubled expression, an incredulous look.

“Hindrance?”

“Y-yes… to secure operational authority for this mission, we had to give up our position at the front.”

Everyone’s faces went blank at this absurd statement.

“W-what? Not only do they not reward us, but we’re pushed from the front to the rear? Damn it! If it weren’t for us, these bastards would have starved without proper supplies!”

Grace sighed once and continued.

“It couldn’t be helped… they wouldn’t listen. We had to concede something and step up. They’re so blinded by achievements that they don’t care about what’s behind them. They think this war will be decided very quickly.”

How could they be so incompetent, even if blinded by glory?

Amidst all this, a thought suddenly struck Valt.

“The Dark Society…!”

The Empire had Dark Society tendrils. There was no reason the Eastern Alliance command wouldn’t have them too.

What if they had orchestrated the war in this manner?

Chilled by this hypothesis, Valt shared his thoughts with the others.

“If that’s true, then this war is pointless!”

“We don’t know yet. They haven’t cut off our supply routes, and we’ve found a breakthrough. There must be a way forward in this war too.”

The existence of the Dark Society was something most national leaders would be aware of by now.

With the Empire’s Emperor having implicitly declared war on the Dark Society, it would be strange if rumors hadn’t spread.

“Hmm… is there really such an organization? They planned the monster gate in the north and now this orc war? Even the Empire couldn’t accomplish such things…”

King Lient was reluctant to acknowledge the Dark Society’s existence, as the scale of these events seemed too large for a single organization.

“You shouldn’t underestimate them. We nearly perished because of them.”

“And you are?”

“Princess of the Vampire Kingdom. Lilith Bloodwell.”

After hearing Lilith’s brief explanation, Lient finally began to believe in the Dark Society’s existence.

“Unbelievable… people trying to control entire races! What on earth are they after?”

Having heard what they were after, Valt answered Lient.

“Chaos.”

“Chaos? They just want chaos? Something so meaningless?”

If one understood the deeper meaning, one could grasp why the Dark Society desired chaos.

But that was merely speculation, and Valt chose not to tell Lient that the Dark Society might be connected to demon-kind.

“For now, that’s all you need to know. Through chaos, they weaken the bonds and strength between nations to eventually devour them.”

“Devour nations?!”

Grace stepped in to mediate as Lient became extremely agitated.

“It’s entirely possible, Your Majesty. Did you not hear Princess Lilith’s words?”

Lient rubbed his face with his hands and continued more calmly.

“Whew! I apologize. Learning so many shocking facts at once made me lose my composure. The leadership of the Eastern Alliance wouldn’t know about this, I assume?”

“That’s highly likely. Assuming there are spies, they probably believe this orc situation is a natural occurrence.”

Lient bit his lip and muttered.

“If this is… truly someone’s scheme…!”

Then the Eastern Continent would be finished.

The forces gathered here represented the main military strength of the Eastern Continent.

Naturally, not all troops had been deployed, as some needed to protect their kingdoms, but the forces here were undoubtedly the core strength, drawn by the prospect of achievements.

What if these forces were annihilated?

A chill ran down Lient’s spine as an ominous feeling washed over him.

“W-what should we do? This crisis extends beyond just the Eastern Continent!”

If the East fell, the North, Central, and Empire would also be in danger.

Of course, the Empire wouldn’t fall to orcs, but humanity’s strength would be significantly diminished, and chaos would undoubtedly spread across the entire continent.

But there was nothing they could do.

Oscar Kingdom’s forces had been pushed to the rear, and the others were sharpening their swords for glory.

They couldn’t use Meteor magic, and by the time they encountered the enemy, the Eastern Alliance might already be on the verge of defeat.

But Valt wasn’t one to sit back and accept this.

“This allied force. Is there severe punishment for breaking military law?”

“What?”

Everyone’s attention turned to Valt after his sudden question.