Chapter 392: Two Battlefronts
Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Pranav
From a certain standpoint, the recent incidents had greatly helped Orloss out.
It wasn’t that the incidents had helped him formally declare war against the Holy Church. This was going to happen regardless. The true result of the Mills incident was that Orloss made up his mind and chose Halent as his successor.
Since the successor had been determined, the other candidates naturally became unnecessary. And so the burial ceremony transformed into a military ceremony—the numerous princes were “deeply influenced by Prince Mills’ example of serving in the military and volunteered to follow in his footsteps to go to the most dangerous battles on the frontlines as only lowest-level ordinary soldiers to fight for our country.”
And that was how these princes “volunteered” to join the military. They became the commanders of only minor squadrons at either Nightrain City’s frontlines—where it was a meat grinder—or the eastern battlefront in the newly formed army to fight against the remnants of the Holy Army vanguard and become glorious frontline cannon fodder.
Orloss didn’t take away all the princes’ hopes, however. He didn’t publicize the fact that he had chosen Halent as his successor. He even declared that Bardi’s next emperor needed to have excellent military talent and make great military achievements. He also allowed to each prince to take a maximum of ten of their strongest followers. If they had sufficiently strong followers and could obtain enough combat achievements, perhaps the emperor position could still be theirs.
Of course, Halent was the City Lord of Nightrain City. He had a large squadron of Dragon Knights under him, while the other princes didn’t even have an entire combat squadron—for a prince to overturn the situation would be highly unlikely. It would only be possible in theory.
“Damn it! What have I been doing? I should have focused more on killing off all my competitors. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been forced into doing this.”
Thanks to Orloss’s behind the scenes manipulations, the princes, angry at the situation, thought in such a manner.
Of course, not all the princes were focused on obtaining the position of emperor. Some of the princes had already become accomplished in other areas. For example, the Thirty-Ninth Prince Aent was quite skilled as an artist. He even financially supported many poor artists who couldn’t find other work, and was famous as an appraiser. At this time, Orloss gave an order for him to become the vice chairman of the Bardi Artists Association.
Orloss’s meaning was obvious. It would be impossible for Prince Aent to become the emperor, but he could at least enjoy being a pampered prince for the rest of his life.
From a certain standpoint, someone like Aent was the true intelligent one. With the allure of the emperor’s position, even the smartest youth would selectively become foolish. Only very few princes abandoned the fight to become emperor and focused on other things instead.
Of course, some princes had other ideas, wanting to prematurely determine the successor rather than being forced to become cannon fodder.
Plenty of princes had connections with other factions and domain lords. Several tried to bring emergency backup military support. However, a giant squadron of royal knights along with numerous Adult Dragons escorted the princes to the frontlines, so most of the princes abandoned thoughts of resisting.
Only most—so a few still tried to resist? Did some princes rebel early on? That’s right. There were obviously some princes who viewed the emperor’s throne as more important than anything else. The end result? Naturally, the “the Holy Church’s assassins” appeared again several more times. Perhaps another mass burial ceremony would be required next month.
When internal conflicts intensified to a certain degree, a typical political maneuver would be to focus the citizens’ attention on outside conflicts—this was common in both this world and my original one.
Nightrain City would now receive the most reinforcements it had ever received. One-fourth of all domain lords in Bardi sent their personal troops. Several dozen princes and their followers arrived to become low-ranked commanders on the frontlines, and the newly-born Southern Sect took over the Holy Church’s job of fighting against the undead. This was an opportunity for the Southern Sect to prove themselves to the world.
Meanwhile, on the eastern front, Halent took his personal troops and an army of almost two hundred thousand to fight against the invading Holy Army.
This seemed inconceivable? Halent was the City Lord of Nightrain City, and the troops still guarding there were all his personal followers, so why was he sent to the other battlefront? Didn’t this seem like one was commanding at random?
This seemed inexplicable, but it was actually simple to understand after some explaining. This was, in fact, due to non-military considerations.
The current Halent was no longer just a “general” who could be allowed to charge into battle at the frontlines. He was now the “crown prince” and a critical pillar of the country. Unlike smaller countries that still used princes as generals, major countries preferred consistency and authority. So-called face meant concrete benefits. Since Halent was now the crown prince and would inherit the throne, he was indispensable. He couldn’t be allowed to lose a battle or die in war.
Orloss couldn’t afford to let Halent fight a losing battle, either. Otherwise, it could cause a chain reaction that would lead to the diminishing of royal authority, something even a mega empire would have trouble bearing. This was especially so since the domain lords were waiting for an opportunity. If the royalty suffered any losses in battle, those with ambitions would naturally act.
That was why, for all major countries, the emperor wouldn’t do anything like personally go out into combat unless it was absolutely necessary. Although the emperor personally leading would greatly increase morale, there was also the consideration that if the emperor lost, or was taken captive, a terrible chain reaction would occur.
That’s right—lose. Although the southern battlefront against the undead received far more manpower than the eastern battlefront, there was the possibility that the Undead Emperors might intervene. Plus, the previous battle there involved the mega powerful Titan Giants and True Gods, which obviously escalated the level of the Holy War. Even though the Bardi army on the southern battlefront was stronger, there was no guarantee of victory.
Meanwhile, on the eastern front, although a famous general led the Holy Army, they were now badly frightened after being attacked by the dragons. They were also stuck deep within Bardi, with their backup support and communication cut off. Plus, the royalty sent out their elite squadrons and ace job class soldiers—if Halent still couldn’t win, his gilded position as crown prince would no longer be his.
Actually, when I heard that Halent’s army even had two Dragon World leaders and more than ten Ancient Dragons, I knew that there would be no possibility of him losing—even if he wanted to.
“Don’t mention Orloss; now, even the dragons won’t allow him to lose. After cleaning the remaining enemies in the east that have already been so weakened, he can continue to the south and steal more combat achievements. If the princes lose in the south, it’s the perfect chance for Halent to arrive in the nick of time and save the country in a perfect reversal. There’s no need to worry that Halent won’t have enough forces at his disposal. Orloss will definitely activate the full military might of Bardi if the southern front loses. The true foundational strength of a mega empire in an all-out war is frightening to behold.”
“What if the southern battlefront wins against the undead? Won’t Halent seem like he achieved less in comparison, then?”
“No, that’s even better because Halent is still the City Lord of Nightrain City. The military leaders he left behind there are his direct followers, so it’ll still be his credit if they win. They’re using his preparations and defenses against the undead, so it’ll become his achievement.”
“How sly. So you’re saying that no matter if Bardi wins or loses the southern battlefront, Halent will profit more than anyone else in the end? That’s a perfect example of the house always being the winner!”
“It’s indeed quite sly. But this is politics. Halent succeeding the throne is what will benefit Bardi the most.”
There was another benefit of choosing Halent, the dragon descendant, as the next emperor. The dragons had already used concrete actions to show the maximum amount of friendliness possible for them towards Orloss and Bardi. Perhaps Halent had always been one of the top candidates for the throne simply because of his relationship with the dragons.
Now that he was named in secret as the successor, this future Bardi emperor had apparently become a bridge between Bardi and the dragons. Considering the harsh reality that the Holy War was upon us, teaming up was something common. The Bardi Empire and the Dragon World would become ever closer.
“Orloss is indeed a sly old fox. He sees so far into the future.”
“…It’s probably related to the ‘prophecies’ youleft behind. You must have spoken about the severe consequences of Armageddon. Otherwise, why would he possibly prepare for the absolute worst?”
“I don’t remember what I said back in the day, but my guess is that I tried to make it sound as bad as possible. That’s what all prophets are like. Make the future sound like Armageddon is coming. That’s how others will treat you as their savior. And, with my personality, I probably even told them the truth.”
The seed I planted so casually back then had now become a tall skyscraper tree. From the current situation, it can be seen that Bardi had already escaped the terrible end they met in the game’s history. If the Bardi Empire didn’t collapse, the Mage Country and other nearby countries would have a much better time in the future calamities. Everything seemed to be improving.
Plus, with the Southern Sect formally revealing themselves, and how the Holy Army on the eastern front was destined to be eradicated, what could be better news? The most delightful news would always be that of your worst enemies having a hard time. Recently, my mood had been excellent.
“You don’t intend to interfere?”
“Why would I interfere with another family’s affairs? Rather than that, I’d prefer to think more about my own future. Besides, that sly old fox doesn’t want me to get involved.”
“Eh?”
“The Southern Sect. I just chatted a few words with Amoya before that old Orloss personally interjected and led the conversation elsewhere. Orloss basically had ‘let’s prevent Roland from stealing people under me’ written all over his face. He even intentionally made me play chess, chat and drink tea with him. But he was so awful at chess. He lost more than twenty games in a row but still wouldn’t let me go and wasted half of my night.”
Although the Church of Pure Holy Light was established in Bardi and had an excellent relationship with the Bardi royalty, Orloss probably considered the fact that I was technically the true leader of this church. And religious believers were always “unpredictable” in their beliefs… Fine then. Directly speaking, fervent believers would be capable of doing almost anything for the sake of their beliefs. If I said something like “The Holy Light beckons you to the Northlands, the true home of Holy Light,” Orloss wouldn’t be able to even cry. It was normal for him to worry.
“…You’re not angry about others misunderstanding you as wanting to steal away their people? Your temper is getting much better.”
“No, he didn’t misunderstand me at all. In fact, that sly old fox even saw the contract I had prepared.”
“You really were trying to steal his people from under him! Can you have any shame?”
“Shame? What’s that? Can I eat it? Why can’t I steal people from him? We have a bad relationship with the Holy Church already despite the God of Holy Light allying with the God of Law. Besides, the God of Holy Light himself doesn’t care about anything the Holy Church does. We can definitely just take in the entire Church of Pure Holy Light. Holy Knights and Holy Light priests are excellent job classes to have in war, and our warriors also need the Holy Light’s support.
“…So Orloss was still more skilled in the end as you lost out here.”
“Who said that? I succeeded. Who cares if Orloss was right in front of me? You can’t stop two Holy Light job class members from exchanging their ideas about Holy Light, can you? Hmph! Even though that chess maniac forced me to play chess with him all night, I simultaneously won my Holy Light debate against Amoya the First easily while also defeating that sly old fox in chess. I’m amazing, aren’t I?”
My mood became even more jubilant as I recalled how that sly old fox was obviously holding in his complaints while still doing his best to maintain a smile.
“…You are indeed amazing, especially with how shameless you can be! Could the Southern Sect really be intending on immigrating and abandoning their excellent base in Bardi?”
“That’s impossible, of course. Amoya and his Cardinals that have reached this stage aren’t idiots. But they’ll soon be establishing various branch churches in the Mist Alliance and start spreading the teachings of the Pure Holy Light. Amoya also agreed to have his number one disciple go to East Mist to become the local head priest there. Also, more than two thousand of their mid-ranked elites will be going as well. The future Mist Alliance will no longer be lacking in Holy Light job class members. For the Southern Sect, this is a great chance to establish a backup base and widen their influence, a win-win for both of us. There’s no need for us to worry that they won’t do their best. Orloss can’t even find a reason to stop this.”
“…You’re not afraid of religious conflicts in the north? We already have the Church of Law there, along with the undead.”
“I’m not afraid at all. I’ve been recently visiting the Southern Sect many times to confirm their teachings and also confirm their attitude. As expected of their Holy Codex which I personally wrote; although some things have changed over the times, it’s still quite moderate. ‘Do not judge anyone guilty because of only their species or birthright. The Holy Light should be as warm as the sun; it should not burn any existence for simply existing. The Holy Light only punishes evil based on wicked actions.’ Perhaps this is how Holy Light is truly supposed to be.”
“That’s just how youunderstand Holy Light. However, the fact that we can now have Holy Knights who don’t hate the undead is indeed great news. You going over to the Southern Sect wasn’t only to confirm their teachings, was it? At least, when you ‘won your Holy Light debate against Amoya,’ you were probably trying to modify their teachings.”
The silly cat rolled her eyes at me. Even though she clearly asked a question, she said it as a statement. She had seen through everything.
“Heh heh—even now I still have the chance to modify their teachings. Once they truly start spreading their teachings, it’ll be impossible to change things even if I wanted to. Since I’m the ‘original creator’ standing right in front of them, Amoya is just like a ‘fan fiction author’ who’s seriously asking me for my understanding of my own teachings. I intend to give them my full understanding of the Holy Light so that they will modify their teachings in a way that’s acceptable to them. This is a majorly troublesome issue, as Amoya is soon going to leave together with the army. I need to use my time well. When that sly old fox emperor leaves the church, I’m going to go back right away to chat more with Amoya.”
“…It’s good that everything is going so successfully. But everything being so successful is rather strange. I feel like something is off.”
“Don’t mention it! I’ve been feeling like something is off as well. Since when has my luck ever been so good? Things have been so successful recently that I’m scared. Let me think, if there really might be a problem somewhere, the most likely one is that perhaps Halent will somehow lose his battle against the Holy Army vanguard in the east—why are you covering my mouth?”
“Shut up! You’ll jinx things! Don’t you think you’ve already jinxed enough things in your life?”