Ch.7070. The Warring States

The Kingdoms of Microssia.

While they had a slightly larger population and economy than the Papal State or Kingdom of Lessotona, they were too far away.

Some territories along the eastern coast with ports made their living through trade with these kingdoms, but they didn’t have much presence in the imperial capital.

‘Especially in military terms, they have no presence at all.’

This was why the nobles attending the meeting at the court the day after news of the Demon Lord’s army’s surprise attack all wore equally stunned expressions.

“The kingdoms currently consist of… 8 countries, correct?”

“The number fluctuates. There’s a country called Baserotterra that seems to repeatedly join and leave the kingdoms.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

Just from this conversation, one could understand what kind of countries the kingdoms were. And how distant their relationship with the Empire was.

‘Come to think of it, we do have quite a bit of exchange.’

There were several royals from the kingdoms currently attending the Academy, and quite a few merchants and adventurers who saw the kingdoms as lands of opportunity.

If the kingdoms had been a tightly unified nation, they might have become an important diplomatic partner for the Empire.

But the kingdoms had ambiguous relationships even among themselves. They were collectively called “the kingdoms” but the constituent countries were quite separate from each other. They even tended to operate independently by island.

This made it difficult to decide how to explain the Demon Lord’s army’s surprise attack on the kingdoms, or how to respond to it.

At least regarding Cordana, they could look at me pitifully and seek answers, but with the kingdoms, they couldn’t even do that. At best, people with military experience like the Royal Order commander or the Black Iron Knights’ leader could make estimates based on their abilities.

“Don’t they want us to deploy our elite forces to the kingdoms?”

“That could be the case.”

A small number of high-ranking demons including the Tetrad. To respond to them in cooperation with the kingdoms, we would need to send our best forces including Masters.

Though it might be burdensome, there was a problem with saying we should help them.

“What if the Demon Lord’s army leaves before our elite forces arrive? It’s not a distance we can reach quickly even with blessed war horses.”

A scenario where the Demon Lord’s army inflicts damage on the kingdoms and makes the Empire’s support troops look foolish was entirely possible. I felt sorry for those living in the kingdoms, but we had no means to move to the kingdoms in a short time.

This meant it would be difficult to provide military assistance to the kingdoms. The Demon Lord’s army likely knew this as well.

‘Those who even created replica Cordana probably aren’t incapable of such basic reasoning.’

If not to induce a dispersion of forces, their purpose might be to cause economic hardship.

“There are merchant guilds and territories that would be troubled if the kingdoms were hit. With Cordana already sweeping across the continent, if another calamity strikes…”

“Yes, it would be very difficult.”

This was at least a reasonable assumption.

It was quite absurd that the Demon Lord’s army was now interfering with maritime trade, but somehow I didn’t feel a sense of fear. After all, the damage from Cordana was already greater.

“Everything is uncertain in this situation.”

Amidst all this, one thing was certain.

We needed to take some action.

We couldn’t just stand by and watch while the kingdoms were under attack. If we did, people would start panicking, saying “we’re next.”

Finally, we reached a conclusion.

“Let’s prepare our forces.”

Of course, not for a full-scale war, but to select elite troops to strike the beastkin habitats at the border with the Demonic Land. This wasn’t simply for retaliation; we could also expect to corner the beastkin, who were the weak link in the Demon Lord’s army.

“Ah, perhaps the Demon Lord’s army is trying to provoke our military deployment…?”

“If we worry about such things, we might as well sit and wait for death.”

That was what Commander Waynelight said, dismissing the idle talk.

Considering the commander’s personality, one might think “that man is just itching for a fight,” but I actually agreed with him.

Right now, the Empire needed a military achievement that could reassure the common people.

This was because news of Gwon Heejin’s death was spreading throughout the Empire.

One might wonder why it was only becoming known now when Gwon Heejin had died without leaving even a bone fragment, but that was only true for the imperial capital.

In rural villages, the news was just starting to spread.

In remote mountain areas, it might be 3-4 years later when someone would cover their mouth and scream, “The Hero died? By burning at the stake?”

In this situation, it would be more effective to show that we could defeat the Demon Lord’s army even without the Hero.

“Let’s strike quickly and return. Since there’s a possibility of escalation, let’s deploy two regiments from the Royal Order toward the border command…”

“We’ll request support from the Papal State.”

I listened carefully to the voices discussing the military deployment.

Naturally, I had to participate as well.

I couldn’t excuse myself from a military operation the day after receiving my count title. Considering the high possibility of confronting the Beast King, it made sense for as many Masters as possible to go. If knights were to die en masse, that would be another disaster.

“Count Wellesley. It seems we’re forcing you to deploy right after your promotion. I regret that.”

“There’s nothing to regret. However…”

There was just one thing that bothered me.

I had a suspicion that there might be another intention beyond the obvious purposes like dispersing forces, disrupting trade, or disturbing public sentiment.

‘I hope they’re not playing tricks with Cordana again.’

It seemed too absurd even to me, so I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.

Yes, this doesn’t make sense.

But just in case, I left one request with the court. I asked them to thoroughly manage the Cordana we had collected so far—both replicas and genuine ones mixed together. I urged them to maintain security, even employing the Intelligence Agency if necessary.

I was planning to gather the nobles soon under some pretext and melt them in a public place, but until then, they needed to be kept hidden.

‘Damn. I might have to fight the Beast King, yet here I am worrying about other things.’

I let out a wry laugh as I prepared for deployment. It truly was a crazy world.

***

“Why did they turn such a beautiful island into this mess?”

The succubus Iclit muttered dejectedly as she looked around “Ibiza Island.”

Though she had chosen the island as a base without much thought, it turned out to be a desolate island reminiscent of the Demonic Land.

Unidentified structures with barely completed foundations, disorderly piles of materials and dirt, and somehow, workers with venomous faces who had been living here. Surprisingly, these workers volunteered to become collaborators even without being enchanted.

The Demon Lord’s army’s unprecedented surprise attack on the Kingdoms of Microssia.

Originally, the kingdoms were an area that the Demon Lord’s army treated as an appendage to the Empire—a region they could easily secure after conquering the Empire.

Usually, at most, there would be succubi infiltrating to absorb energy, or a very small number of vampires living in disguise. Given the distance, deploying proper forces was impossible.

The surprise attack on the kingdoms was, of course, due to Iclit’s suggestion.

‘We don’t have to attack head-on, do we?’

Attacking humans who were fully prepared behind walls was inefficient. Hadn’t the beastkin army lost hundreds of warriors doing just that?

Of course, they could use wyverns to invade other territories, but knights and mages would quickly rush in.

So the solution was to attack a country that wasn’t prepared for the Demon Lord’s army’s invasion. That was the Kingdoms of Microssia.

“Humanity is connected in various ways. While it’s true that the kingdoms operate separately from the Empire, they actively trade goods and money with each other… And according to what I’ve heard from my kind, public sentiment in the kingdoms is very unstable.”

Attacking the kingdoms would also damage the Empire—this was Iclit’s proposal. Because the proposal was accepted, she had to endure the hardship of traveling here (riding a wyvern personally trained and strengthened by the Demon Lord), but she had no regrets.

Accompanying Iclit were three high-ranking demons, including Bynessa, a member of the Tetrad and the chief of staff of the Demon Lord’s army.

No matter how strong they were, these few couldn’t destroy the kingdoms. And to be honest, they had no intention of destroying them.

Iclit planned to torment the kingdoms thoroughly and then force negotiations.

The purpose of these negotiations was simple:

To force the kingdoms to use Cordana.

It was a decision based on the idea that just having a “use” for Cordana—which they had been trying to collect and end its life—would create chaos in the Empire.

‘Actually, it might be good to make them recognize Cordana as their official currency.’

Rationally speaking, the Empire should completely ignore whatever happened in the kingdoms.

But investors who couldn’t let go of their attachment to Cordana would surely go crazy. Even those who had already recovered their investments.

And it didn’t seem like it would take long to see results.

“Strange. The resistance is too weak.”

This was what Bynessa of the Tetrad said after sweeping through the country closest to Ibiza Island. She said that by now, other countries should have sent support, but there was no sign of it.

“That’s because they think it’s someone else’s problem.”

This was Iclit’s interpretation after a moment’s thought. She had gained enough confidence lately to not tremble before the Tetrad.

“Someone else’s problem, you say?”

“Yes.”

This was also something she could say because she had studied Cordana.

Cordana hadn’t eaten away at the wealth of all families equally.

During the Cordana frenzy, many families issued promissory notes and spent money that didn’t exist, distorting the economic structure, but the rich were still rich. Some families even made money thanks to Cordana.

‘But no matter how much money they have, they won’t go out of their way to help families or territories in difficulty.’

The constituent countries of the kingdoms were the same.

If they were facing total annihilation, they might reluctantly unite and resist, but currently, the Demon Lord’s army was only killing knights, mages, and clergy who actively resisted.

No country wanted to waste its precious resources against a supreme being like the Tetrad. They would just hope their turn wouldn’t come. By cornering them like this, it would be possible to make them announce a policy of “recognizing Cordana as currency.”

A detailed plan wasn’t necessary. Honestly, she didn’t have the ability to create one.

‘It’s fine. The humans will take care of the rest anyway.’

This was what Iclit muttered as she gazed at the ruined landscape of Ibiza Island.