Ch.237Operation Meeting

Three days later, we finally joined Leopold’s army.

Leopold welcomed us with a bright smile. Leopold, that is.

“Archbishop General, truly an unfamiliar term… A new word will be added to the Imperial dictionary, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Since Elpinel has bestowed upon me an undeserved responsibility, I can only do my utmost not to dishonor His divine will.”

“Oh, indeed you are the Archbishop General. You seem to understand Elpinel’s will so well, as if you’ve heard His voice directly.”

“Surely not. Elpinel resides in the high heavens. I, His humble servant, merely act according to His words under His shadow.”

…What’s with this atmosphere?

—-

Though winter was still far away, Leopold’s command tent was as cold as if a northern blizzard were blowing through.

Inside the tent gathered Leopold, the three Electors, Lacy, Valkers, and myself.

They all welcomed me and Ludwig, but the problem was with Lacy.

While Leopold welcomed Lacy regardless of his true feelings, Lord Wien was openly displaying his displeasure.

Anyone watching might mistake them for enemies rather than allies.

Though Lacy politely responded and ignored Lord Wien’s sarcasm, Valkers, seated beside her, looked ready to beat the duke to death.

Given permission, he might send the duke straight to the gas chamber… no, the stake. Though such actions wouldn’t be tolerated.

I understood why Lord Wien was acting so antagonistic.

To the duke who had dreamed of wielding power as the Emperor’s father-in-law, this suddenly emerging new force was nothing but an irritation.

If the witch hunt succeeded, Lacy’s authority would only grow stronger, so he wanted to crush her spirit from the beginning.

The problem was that Lacy wasn’t the type to be intimidated by such mockery.

“…If we’re idle enough to waste time like this, I might as well return to the north. What do you think, Your Highness Leopold?”

The Duke of Faelrun turned to Leopold, growling as if annoyed by their argument.

A threat that he would leave if those fools weren’t silenced.

It was practically blackmail.

Leopold flinched slightly when their eyes met.

Understandable. Few people wouldn’t be startled when threatened by a man who looked like that.

Frider’s father, Valdemar Riandel van Faelrun, was an intimidating man who appeared to be in his early forties.

He had silver hair like his daughter, grown to his shoulders and swept back to reveal his forehead, and was clean-shaven.

His fierce, sharp eyes that seemed to turn upward, combined with his pale blue irises, gave the impression that he was glaring murderously at whoever he looked at.

The scars etched across his face like scribbles added to his ferocity.

A long wound running from the corner of his left eye, splitting his lip and extending to his lower jaw; a knife mark stretching from his right cheekbone across the bridge of his nose to near the opposite cheek.

Additionally, small scars covered his right eyebrow, below his left ear, and the edge of his forehead.

He looked less like one of the Empire’s highest nobles and more like a mafia boss who had been in the underworld for twenty years.

The only features he shared with Frider were his eyes and hair color.

“…The Duke of Faelrun is right, Lord Wien. This meeting was arranged to discuss our future strategy, so it would be wise to postpone conversations unrelated to the war situation.”

“But, Your Highness—”

“Besides, you know how much help Archbishop General Elmaine has given us? Revealing the identity of the abominable Isabella to the world and coming here with so many clergy to hunt the witch—we should bow our heads in gratitude.”

Leopold cut off Lord Wien’s words.

The duke’s face reddened slightly, but instead of showing his anger openly, he chose to back down quietly.

A sensible decision. With both the Crown Prince and the Duke pressuring him simultaneously, persisting would only result in loss.

“…If there are no objections, let’s begin the strategy meeting.”

Only then did everyone’s attention turn to the map spread out on the table.

Lord Wien’s face was still bright red, while the Duke of Faelrun was staring intently at the northern region on the map.

Lacy was smiling mysteriously while praying quietly, and Ludwig was sighing as if troubled.

‘What a mess.’

[ Is it not natural when everyone has different intentions? ]

Leopold too was looking down at his right hand with a gloomy expression.

Golden threads sparkled as they scattered between his fingers.

…The strategy meeting began.

—-

“—As expected, the traitors have conscripted even civilians who have never wielded a spear, amassing forces numbering thirty thousand. If we rashly engage in battle, we might find ourselves in a precarious situation.”

“But the east remains unstable. Before Ka’har’s main force arrives, we must suppress the rebellion as quickly as possible…”

“The north is in the same situation. I don’t think Georg and Dubermann can defend the north alone. If this war exceeds the timeframe Your Highness promised, I will have no choice but to return.”

The Duke of Faelrun drew a firm line.

He was saying that if the war dragged on, he would leave to defend against the Werebeasts, regardless of the witch hunt.

It wasn’t something to criticize as selfish.

Though the probability was low, if the north collapsed and the Werebeasts descended into the mainland… that too would cause a tremendous tragedy.

“So we must fight a frontal battle against an enemy three times our size… whether we win or lose, the casualties will be enormous.”

Leopold sighed reluctantly.

But there seemed to be no other option. Time was of the essence for our side.

If we delayed too long in defeating Isabella and both the east and north were breached simultaneously, the Empire could fall that very day.

…Ah, come to think of it, wasn’t there an issue with the west too?

“Will the elves be alright? As Your Highness knows well, they might seize this opportunity to attack.”

“That will be fine. They’ll be too busy watching the dwarves to make a move.”

Dwarves? I had heard that the plan was to check Alvheim through Himmel, the country of dwarves… but I didn’t think Himmel would agree so easily.

Not without substantial compensation…

“It seems you’ve already finished talking with Himmel. What conditions did they demand?”

“Well, you’ll never know that. The letter requesting the dwarves’ help was sent not to Himmel, but to Alvheim.”

Leopold gave a meaningful smile.

“To Alvheim?”

“Talking to Asha might not guarantee her acceptance, and even if she agreed, Himmel might oppose or present unreasonable conditions… so I played a little trick. I gave Perneisia a letter requesting Himmel’s help, promising to accept any conditions, making it appear as if she had intercepted a letter meant for Himmel.”

So he used Perneisia as a double agent.

That alcoholic elf didn’t seem to like her country much anyway.

“Alvheim is probably busy debating the authenticity of that letter by now. Himmel will be confused as to why the elves of Alvheim are suddenly wary of them. Thus, without any loss, we’ve prevented the elves from attacking. It’s safe to assume that, at least for the time being, the elves won’t attack.”

“That’s fortunate.”

He’s certainly capable in these matters.

Though he seemed to be pushed around by the Electors…

Well, that was natural since Leopold was still just a prince, not an emperor, and had to rely on their forces to wage war.

“So the remaining problem is how to achieve a quick victory with just ten thousand troops against thirty thousand… any good ideas?”

“They’re just a rabble, aren’t they? Once we break through, they might collapse like a sand castle.”

Lord Wien shrugged as if there was nothing to worry about.

“Though that’s a hasty judgment… it’s not an impossible scenario. We can give spears to farmers, but instilling courage in them isn’t something that can be done in a short time.”

“They must also feel guilty for going against Elpinel’s will, so if the paladins lead the charge, they might hesitate to even wield their spears.”

The Duke of Faelrun and Lacy also argued that the conscripted soldiers wouldn’t pose a significant threat.

Well… I’m not so sure.

While instilling courage might be difficult, giving them madness isn’t so hard.

In any case, there were no other alternatives.

I did suggest that while Leopold’s forces distracted the enemy, a small elite group could surprise attack the Genes territory to deal with Isabella as the top priority…

But unless Isabella was a fool, she would immediately notice the absence of myself, Lacy, and other masters from the battlefield, and suspect the existence of a surprise attack force.

In that case, it was obvious that we would be surrounded and defeated one by one while separated from the main force, so I had to give up on the idea.

In the end, Leopold decided to engage in a frontal battle with Ernst’s forces that had begun to gather, and the Electors agreed.

The battlefield would be the Zeren Plains, a vast plain about a week’s march from here.