Immortal Creed

"Thump, thump~"

"Now that everyone is here, let the meeting begin."

Balder tapped the table twice with his hand, reminding everyone to focus and indicating that the meeting was officially starting.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions immediately became serious and solemn. Valerie also put away her previous doubts, looked around, and quickly found an empty seat to sit down.

"First, I have some bad news to share. Waves of demonic beasts have erupted in various parts of the Hartwin Kingdom, including several cities behind us."

"Currently, the direct cause of the demonic beast waves appears to be elemental tides resulting from a rapid increase in elemental concentration in some areas."

"Under the stimulation of the elemental tides, many wild beasts have transformed into demonic beasts, and some pure elemental creatures like slimes have also appeared in large numbers."

"The appearance of a large number of demonic beasts has disrupted the original order of the wilderness, causing many demonic beasts to begin attacking human-inhabited areas. The larger cities, due to proper defenses, haven't suffered many casualties, but outside the cities…"

Balder paused, his expression growing a bit heavier.

"According to preliminary investigations, no less than four towns with populations of several thousand have been breached by demonic beasts, and dozens or even more villages have been destroyed, with all their inhabitants killed."

"The direct casualties could reach tens of thousands, and countless people have become refugees. Large numbers of refugees are fleeing to the cities, and it is expected that food supplies may become tight in the coming days."

"Valerie, what is the current progress of the previously planned food crop yield increase scheme?"

Balder turned to look at Valerie, and his words also caused everyone to turn their gaze toward the Rebel Army's only "Minister of Scientific Research."

Aside from her, the others present were only good at fighting. As for alchemy, they couldn't say they knew nothing about it, but they were basically only familiar with using various common potions.

Therefore, the scope for intervention in this area was very limited.

"After several months of research, experimental results have emerged for using alchemy to improve crop seeds and developing potions to shorten crop growth cycles."

"However, the current conditions in the army do not allow for practical verification, so we cannot determine the specific effectiveness or the consequences of large-scale use."

"Even if the verification results are feasible, it will still take a considerable amount of time, plus large-scale application… we won't see the results of the food crop yield increase scheme this year."

"It's even less likely to be used to solve the potential food crisis brought about by this disaster."

Valerie pushed up her glasses, reporting the progress of the plan with a serious expression, while also stating that the experiment would not be able to solve the upcoming food problem.

"It's good to have results… there's no need to rush. This is a plan that can benefit future generations. If haste leads to unknown adverse effects, that would be a grave sin of ours."

Balder did not blame Valerie because the food yield increase plan could not cope with the upcoming crisis; instead, he urged her not to make a big mistake due to impatience.

"The issue of refugee resettlement is already being handled by our rear cities, but the impact of the demonic beast waves has not yet stopped."

Balder did not delve further into the food issue but shifted the topic back to the direct cause of the potential food crisis.

"To avoid more serious events, some of us need to go and support the various regions, but to ensure front-line stability, not too many people can go."

"How many people do you all think should be sent?"

Although he had already secretly decided on the number of people to send for support, Balder still posed the question to everyone for discussion, as the Rebel Army was not a one-man show under him.

"Including Kara City, which recently completed its revolution, we now control a total of eight cities."

A man's voice rang out, beginning to state his opinion. As he spoke, he glanced at Liens, who remained indifferent no matter what news he heard.

Clearly, he was well aware of how Kara City achieved its victory.

Liens returned his gaze, but his expression remained calm and he said nothing. Since the beginning of the meeting, he had been sitting in his chair almost like a statue.

The man did not pay attention to Liens's gaze and continued:

"To ensure enough strength to contend with Liens, the Sword Saint, sending eight people to support eight cities is clearly not a good approach, so we can only reduce the number further."

After speaking, the man pointed his finger at the map Balder had already placed on the conference table, signaling everyone to pay attention to the map, and then continued:

"According to the map, the areas we currently control can be divided into four parts: East, South, West, and North."

"Among them, Patridge City in the north is the closest city to Baker City and should be the city we will evacuate to next, and also the next front line."

"Therefore, the three cities in the north do not require additional personnel."

"That leaves the East, South, and West regions: Lucia City and Wales City in the East, Eli City and Carlson City in the South, and Kara City in the West."

"The cities in the Southeast regions are not far from each other. With our speed, we can still timely support another city, even if it means a bit of hardship from traveling back and forth."

The man used elemental power to mark the eight cities on the map and used colors to indicate the regions each city belonged to, making his plan clear at a glance.

"I'll go to the East to provide support. Lucia City is also my hometown, and I'm quite good at speed."

After stating his proposal, perhaps to add weight to it, the man was the first to take on the Eastern support mission.

Upon seeing the man's actions, Balder and Lucrezia frowned and looked over with some surprise. Even Liens, whose emotions were suppressed, showed a hint of astonishment on his face.

They all wondered why the man made such a choice.

The man was Darnell, one of the three priests. He wore simple gray clothes, his dressing taste not much different from Liens's plain black and gray attire—just ordinary, common wear.

In addition, his hair and eyes were gray, especially his eyes. Liens felt energy fluctuations in those eyes, speculating that they might contain some special ability.

Of course, most importantly, Darnell was the incarnate vessel of the God of Absolute Fairness Elthorp. Liens only learned this in the Instance.

It could be said that Darnell was the Rebel Army's true trump card. Under normal circumstances, he would not leave the Rebel Army's main position unless Liens had issued some command.

This was what truly surprised Balder and the others… For what reason did Liens, at such a critical moment, allow Darnell to leave the front line?

"What do you all think of Darnell's plan?"

Balder asked everyone.

"Darnell's plan is indeed a more feasible method currently. It can support various regions without significantly reducing the front-line combat strength."

"If there are no other better suggestions, I choose to support Darnell's plan."

Lucrezia also immediately expressed her stance, but she did not choose to take on a support mission like Darnell.

Although they did not know the reason for the God of Absolute Fairness's actions, neither Balder nor Lucrezia directly refuted Darnell's proposal, and Liens remained silent.