Ch.618Dialogue Between Two Apostles

The preliminary battle between Landenburg and Aishan, which began with Ludwig’s surprise strategy, ended with the enemy cavalry falling for Heinrich’s decoy and sweeping through the Dane border region.

Brandt Fortress fell instantly to the advance of over nine thousand enemy cavalry, and all surrounding villages were plundered and turned into fields of corpses.

Targiyan and Hatan killed every Dane man they encountered and continued their search while looting spoils and supplies, but they still couldn’t find Landenburg’s retreating soldiers.

In truth, their failure to find them was inevitable.

The Landenburg forces they were desperately searching for had already headed north toward the Wall long before the enemy cavalry attacked Brandt Fortress.

Eventually, Targiyan and Hatan had no choice but to abandon their search and return to the Great Plains. Although they had slaughtered thousands of Danes and obtained an equal amount of spoils, which saved some face despite the failed search… the result must have been disappointing for them.

—-

Despite numerous complications, the outcome of the preliminary battle was a victory for Landenburg—no, it would be no exaggeration to call it an overwhelming victory.

Landenburg’s losses amounted to only two Masters, three hundred knights, and about twenty-four hundred cavalry, while Aishan lost thirteen Champions, four hundred warriors, and nearly twelve thousand cavalry.

The exchange ratio was nearly five to one in terms of soldiers. Ludwig’s surprise strategy, which targeted the fact that most of Aishan’s forces were dispersed throughout the plains, had worked admirably well.

However, Ludwig couldn’t smile and celebrate the victory. The preliminary battle’s outcome was similar to sacrificing both his legs to cut off one arm of a giant.

Landenburg had only two hundred knights remaining and just five hundred and forty cavalry. Their cavalry force, which had numbered three thousand, had suffered near-total losses.

The infantry force remained intact, but even that numbered only about ten thousand.

Meanwhile, Aishan still had eight hundred warriors and twenty-eight thousand cavalry remaining, as well as eighteen thousand infantry equivalent to their white banner forces.

If not for the timely arrival of two Imperial legions, Ludwig would have had to face an army more than four times the size of his own ten thousand troops.

======[ The Third Apostle ]======

“It seems the Aishan-Gioro were indeed a clan that inherited divine blood.”

In the depths of Ordos, the capital of Aishan, the Third Apostle was reclining on an ornate Eastern-style canopy bed, reporting news of Aishan to Feirus. As always when conversing with Feirus, she had dismissed all court ladies and armed guards from the chamber.

“Divine blood? You mean they inherited the bloodline of a god?”

“Yes. I think we can be certain of it.”

The Third Apostle nodded as she looked down at the communication crystal connected to Feirus, “Heaven’s Messenger.”

Aishan-Gioro Haschal’s claim about being descended from the Great Sorcerer—Orhan had dismissed it as baseless rumor, but upon hearing this, the Third Apostle could discern the truth about the Aishan-Gioro bloodline.

The sorcerer clans of the plains barely maintained their lineages. Even the Third Apostle, who oversaw all of them, had been unaware that the Aishan-Gioro were connected to sorcery.

“If it were just a rumor to sway the warriors, he would have said something more plausible. It’s certain that the Aishan-Gioro are a clan related to sorcery. But that would mean there was a sorcerer clan I didn’t know about… which is impossible.”

And that was precisely why she could be certain.

“They must have changed their family name. To hide their bloodline from everyone in the plains. And there was only one sorcerer clan that had reason to do so.”

That was why the Third Apostle was convinced the Aishan-Gioro were a divine-blooded clan.

“The clan that claimed to be direct descendants of the first Great Sorcerer, ‘Abha Gisaka,’ the progenitor of all sorcerers.”

“Abha Gisaka?”

Feirus expressed his confusion. Having never learned the eastern language, he couldn’t understand the meaning of the name.

“Didn’t I mention it before? The sorcerer who brought calamity to the Great Plains, ‘Death of the Sky.’ More accurately, it means ‘One who kills the sky’… anyway, that’s what he’s called in the eastern tongue.”

“Ah. Come to think of it, you did mention it during our last meeting. The Sky Demon, was it?”

“That’s right. The divine-blooded clan claimed to be direct descendants of Abha Gisaka. Since most traditions about Abha Gisaka have been lost, the truth of their claim couldn’t be verified.”

The Third Apostle replied in a tone that suggested she was recalling an old tale. In truth, even she didn’t have perfect knowledge about the divine-blooded clan. They had been exterminated 44 years ago, when she was just a two-year-old child.

“Whether due to the side effects of divine blood or not, every hundred years someone would emerge who rampaged like an ill-fated star and committed mass slaughter. That’s why my grandfather mobilized all sorcerers to exterminate them… yet they survived somehow.”

They had managed to survive by changing their family name, completely hiding their connection to sorcery, and rising to the position of Kagan as pure warriors. It was something even the eastern sorcerers, including the Third Apostle, hadn’t anticipated.

“Your grandfather…? Then you and Orhan are actually mortal enemies.”

“That’s how it turned out. Isn’t fate, isn’t destiny truly interesting?”

The sound of the Third Apostle’s laughter came through the crystal. Instead of agreeing, Feirus only let out a faint sigh.

“Well… considering what would happen if your identity were discovered, I find it difficult to call this an interesting connection…”

Given the Ka’har’s hatred of sorcery, being discovered as a sorceress alone would be extremely dangerous. And to make matters worse, she was the enemy of Orhan himself. If Orhan discovered her identity, she could face dismemberment without question.

“It’s fine as long as I don’t give him any reason to suspect me. Judging by the fact that I’m still alive, Orhan doesn’t seem to have the slightest idea about my identity.”

“…Still, be careful. I don’t want to lose a third Apostle before we’ve even begun to move in earnest.”

Feirus warned her with a grave tone.

Given the Apostles’ role of infiltrating the core of each nation to monitor and control world affairs, losing secular status meant losing the means to control that country.

They had already lost their influence over the Holy State with the fall of the Second Apostle Paulus, and their ability to control Panam with the Seventh Apostle Eleonora’s return to the Empire.

Although ordinary believers still operated in secret, they alone couldn’t intervene in major national affairs.

If they were to lose the Third Apostle as well, they would lose even the means to monitor the movements of the Ka’har.

“I’m always careful.”

The Third Apostle’s words gave Feirus no reassurance. The Seventh Apostle had also carefully concealed her identity, yet she had fallen in an instant due to ridiculous external factors.

“Perhaps… it would be better to strike first before being discovered. That would also help maintain the Empire.”

Feirus was well aware that the Empire and the Ka’har had begun full-scale war. He also knew that the variable of fate, Aishan-Gioro Haschal, had failed to defeat Orhan.

If so, eliminating Orhan by their own hands to slow the growth of the “variable” while simultaneously increasing the Empire’s chances of victory wasn’t a bad option.

“So, could you assassinate Orhan through sorcery?”

“Me? That’s impossible.”

The Third Apostle rejected the idea without a moment’s hesitation. Her tone suggested the question was absurd.

“Sorcerous assassination isn’t such a convenient or powerful method. I could easily eliminate someone like Aimel… a broken knight, but even with a Champion, the chances of failure are high. I’ve actually failed once before.”

She was referring to the assassination ritual she had attempted to gain Amin’s favor and use him, before they knew Haschal was an important “variable” in their plans. Though the ritual preparations had been perfect, the curse of assassination failed to end Haschal’s life and simply disappeared.

Whether due to the curse’s influence or something else, he had been engaging in bizarre behavior since then, but the fact remained that his life hadn’t been ended.

“And you’re asking me to assassinate a superhuman of heroic caliber, one with divine blood at that. Such a thing is impossible.”

From the Third Apostle’s perspective, it was an absurd suggestion.

“Hmm… then there’s nothing to be done.”

Feirus muttered with obvious regret and sighed in disappointment.

If Orhan couldn’t be assassinated through sorcery, the only option was for the Third Apostle to remain extremely cautious to avoid discovery. They couldn’t waste the dragon soul they had acquired on such a matter.

“Aren’t you the one with the problem? I heard your survival was exposed. Are you alright?”

Her tone was closer to a rebuke than genuine concern.

“…I have no excuse for that. Who would have thought the elven guardian would make a choice beneficial to the Empire? Even if it’s unbelievable, it was clearly my mistake.”

The elven guardian Perneisia, whom he had encountered while infiltrating Extrashafel.

Until she quietly withdrew after their brief conversation, Feirus never imagined she would report his survival to the Empire. After all, not reporting it would have been more beneficial for Alvheim.

However, Perneisia reported this to the Imperial House and the Central Diocese, and the whole world learned that Feirus was still alive.

Whether people believed it or not was a separate issue, but as a result, Feirus’s freedom of movement had been greatly restricted. Though he had gained benefits that outweighed this cost.