NOVEL NEXT Chapter 329
The information about the Emperor gathered through the Elves, Dwarves, and other etceteras… Hmm. I couldn’t help but feel a bit of disbelief at how they put such a human in the Emperor’s seat.
Have there ever been such incompetents? No, among what I know, there has never been such incompetents.
In this world, where they just cause some trouble and start a war, there couldn’t be any greater incompetents than this.
Anyway.
“A force of thousands… Honestly, it’s a level that those residing in Betelgeuse could easily handle.”
“Hmm. A few thousand, indeed. Just by unleashing our Dwarven inventions to rain down fire, they’ll scatter like dust!”
A calm Elf and an unrestrained Dwarf. These two rival races were not thinking they could lose.
Well, to be honest, if it came to an actual fight, they probably wouldn’t lose.
Among the Elves and Dwarves in Betelgeuse, aside from the elderly and those who can’t fight, everyone is a warrior, an archer, a Spirit Mage, and an inventor.
Just with a few thousand, they couldn’t do anything to Betelgeuse. They would need at least tens of thousands to stand a chance.
But.
“Don’t you know that fighting doesn’t lead to good results?”
At my words, the representatives of the Elf and Dwarf factions quietly nodded.
The biggest issue is this: Betelgeuse must not engage in war.
Betelgeuse is… geographically located within North Romania, but politically, it is a city governed by Elves and Dwarves.
Of course, humans can come and go as they please, but… no noble, lord, or even the Emperor, could lay a hand on Betelgeuse.
If this city in such a position were to go to war with humans and North Romania?
Naturally, it would become isolated in the middle of enemy territory.
Like West Berlin after World War II, it would turn into an island in the middle of land, unreachable by anyone.
If that happens… well, the only future would be starving to death.
Or abandoning Betelgeuse and escaping.
But that’s only if North Romania lets them leave peacefully.
“Nevertheless, we cannot hand over Betelgeuse to them.”
“Isn’t it rumored that even that foolish Emperor is eyeing the beauties of the Dwarves and Elves, and even the Dragon Priestess? If we leave that Emperor alone, the honor of the Priestess will be tarnished!”
Hmm? A rumor?
As I tilted my head, both representatives’ expressions stiffened.
“The… Priestess? You haven’t heard the rumors, have you?”
“What kind of rumors?”
“Um, well… I wonder if I should tell the Priestess about this…”
What on earth is this rumor? Surely, it can’t be that they’re thinking of taking the Dragon Priestess as a concubine or something absurd.
“…”
“…”
The Elf and Dwarf representatives remained silent.
What’s going on here? Seriously. What kind of rumor makes the atmosphere this tense?
“If you try to find out, you’ll get to the bottom of it quickly; just tell me. What’s the rumor?”
At my words, the two were hesitantly opening their mouths.
“Well, um… I’m not sure if it’s okay to say this…”
“It’s too early for the Dragon Priestess to hear such rumors. Just know there are rumors suggesting something unpleasant may happen to the Priestess.”
What? Is there really a rumor that they intend to take me as a concubine?
Hmm. Ugh. I can’t allow that.
I forced down my feelings and spoke to the two representatives.
“Understood. In that case, let’s come up with a countermeasure.”
What’s important now is how to solve this problem without a war.
Alright. Let’s consider the preconditions first.
1. No war must occur.
2. Betelgeuse must be protected.
These two must take priority. If a war breaks out, many will die, and it must not happen. If Betelgeuse falls into the hands of humans, the Elves and Dwarves will be incensed and rise up in war.
Honestly, I think it wouldn’t matter if I just gave away a city or two… But from the perspective of the Elves and Dwarves, handing over a city where the two races have been competing with pride would greatly tarnish that pride.
They would be furious. Yes.
If that happens… the immediate war might be avoided, but the Elves and Dwarves could treat North Romania as a hostile nation.
Well, then, it goes without saying what would happen next. Even if North Romania is relatively strong, they could never hold out surrounded by enemies.
How would they stop enemies attacking from all sides? They can’t even handle South Romania directly.
Thus, the best thing would be to disband the army advancing to take Betelgeuse… but…
“According to the information the scouts brought, the advancing army is the Imperial Guard directly trained by the Emperor of North Romania,” he said.
“The Imperial Guard?”
“Yes. A military force that is always summoned for war. They can be considered the Emperor’s private soldiers.”
The Emperor’s private soldiers, huh. Hmm… That’s a rare concept in this era.
Usually, you gather commoners or nobles to form an army. There’s hardly an army that is always on call.
Hmm. If they are always summoned… training levels could be higher than those of other armies. Their loyalty should be strong.
What should I do? Hmm.
“Can’t we just destroy them all and bury them without anyone knowing?”
“Such short-sighted thinking! Just like your height!”
“What! Did you say enough?”
“Stop.”
I stop the Elf and Dwarf, who seem about to fight at every turn. Ugh. The problems outside are giving me a headache, but the issues inside aren’t any less serious.
“Now is not the time to fight, is it? If you have the leisure to snarl at each other, let’s focus on thinking of a solution.”
“I apologize.”
“Ugh…”
At least the Elves and Dwarves are listening to me; thank goodness. If they hadn’t, I would have long since packed up and left.
So, how should I deal with this? Hmm.
The mere fact that only the Emperor’s soldiers came, without any nobles, means… it’s impossible to incite disunity among the nobles.
No, wait. Just because it’s only the Emperor’s soldiers doesn’t mean it can’t be divided.
As long as it’s a human army, morale does exist, and there are various methods to lower that morale.
In a case like this, would utilizing the Church of Life’s prestige work?
Coincidentally, it seems I’m involved in the rumors circulating. If I use several unconventional tactics to shatter their morale before they can wage a proper war…
Wouldn’t they hesitate to return once they couldn’t fight?
Of course, there is the variable of the Emperor personally leading, but it seems he’s already being called a foolish Emperor… Even the Emperor’s loyal army shouldn’t be able to fight if their morale is shattered.
Alright. Let’s do that. If push comes to shove, I can physically persuade the Emperor myself.
It might be a bit troublesome, but it’s better than starting a war and spilling blood.
“How much time is left until their army arrives at Betelgeuse?”
“According to scout reports, about 7 days… it could take up to 6 days if they rush.”
“7 days… no, if it’s 6, it’s better to hurry a bit.”
Upon my words, the Elf representative looked at my face and asked.
“Did you come up with a good idea?”
“Good idea? Well, I think I’ll just have to put them in a state where they can’t wage war.”
“That’s true, but… how easy do you think that will be? Those greedy humans won’t give up easily.”
Well, that’s true. Humans’ greed knows no end; they tend to repeat the same mistakes… Hmm, maybe not this time.
I can’t deny they are greedy, though.
“Whether by choice or by coercion, if we can put them in a state where they can’t fight, that’ll be that.”
“But how…?”
“I have a few ideas. If it’s okay, could you offer a little help?”
I chuckled lightly at the Elves and Dwarves, and the representative of both races nodded, looking a bit dazed.
Alright. Time to stir up some chaos.
For daring to create a war during my descent, they shall taste the deeply aged chaos!
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The army marching towards Betelgeuse began experiencing strange occurrences.
“Damn it. The road’s a mess again.”
“This way won’t even allow carts to pass.”
For some reason, the road leading to Betelgeuse was completely mucked up with mud.
“What’s with this? Why is there snow all over the place?”
“This means we can’t camp until the snow clearing is done…”
Even though it’s the north, there shouldn’t be snow at this time!
“What the hell! This flour is moldy!!”
“What? No way! I confirmed this flour was prepared in Sirius!!”
“I can’t eat this! Damn it!”
Their precious food went bad with mold.
“Ugh!!! My stomach!!! My stomach!!!”
“Patient! We have a patient!!! Isolate him!!!”
“Is this the second or third person already? We definitely need to ask the Church of Life for help…”
“You fool! Did you not hear the rumors?! The Church of Life will help us!!!”
With patients popping up due to an unknown disease…
“Truly… this war must be cursed by the gods…”
“Even if it’s Elves and Dwarves, facing the Church of Life… it’s suicide to challenge the Church, isn’t it?”
“Ugh… should I desert?”
The soldiers’ morale was plummeting.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“According to rumors, the Emperor possesses an undefeated flag. Is that really okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“The undefeated flag reportedly possesses great power. Those fighting under it have their morale never broken, and they gain endless vitality.”
At the Elf representative’s words, I nodded slightly. I certainly placed such a blessing.
“But I wonder if just these disruptions will diminish the morale of the troops under that flag…”
“That would be the case if they were fighting under it.”
“Yes?”
I smiled at the confused Elf representative.
“The strength of the flag only applies to those fighting under it.”
Indeed. The undefeated flag has the limitation of ‘fighting.’
In other words, it can’t do anything about non-combat losses!
If they can’t engage directly now! Then I’ll have to find ways to gnaw away at them without getting involved!
Of course, once the battle begins, the morale-boosting effects would apply, but until then, we need to minimize their numbers or create a lot of deserters and patients!
Surely, no sane commander would continue fighting with half their force gone or lying around as patients!
If they have any common sense! They would retreat by then!