Chapter 85 : Chapter 85
Chapter 85. Postwar Matters
The battlefield of Rime Valley.
The stench of corruption mixed with the smell of blood, clinging to the air and turning the stomach.
Inside the temporary camp of the Demi-Human Empire.
Ulzok was clutching a Recording Crystal, tears streaming down his face as he wailed dramatically.
“…Those cultists were completely insane!”
“They were not attacking the Northern Legion at all.”
“They turned around and started draining their own people instead!”
“The brothers of our Fifth Legion nearly had all their blood energy sucked dry!”
“They have even been left with severe traumatic aftereffects!”
“There was no way this battle could be fought!”
He pounded his chest with force.
His acting was so exaggerated that even Kane, standing beside him, felt his face grow hot from secondhand embarrassment.
Kane coughed lightly, then spoke into another crystal in a tone of profound grief.
“Lord Regent, during this operation, not only did the black-robed priests exhibit severe abnormalities on the battlefield and attempt to use our soldiers as sacrifices, but the Northern Territory’s weapons and equipment also far exceeded our estimates.”
“Those Magitech shells falling from the sky were simply impossible to defend against.”
“I believe the war against the Northern Territory must be completely reassessed.”
“We absolutely must not advance recklessly again.”
The two of them played their roles perfectly.
One played the villain.
The other played the victim.
One described the Corruption Cult as a pack of hopelessly useless pig-headed allies.
The other exaggerated the Northern Territory into an invincible fortress of steel.
After the performance ended, Ulzok shut off the crystal and immediately relaxed.
He grabbed his wineskin and took a huge swig.
“Damn it, we finally managed to muddle through this.”
“Kane, do you think that old bastard will actually believe our nonsense?”
Kane carefully wiped down the blade of his saber with a cloth, not even lifting his eyelids.
“Whether he believes it or not does not matter at all.”
“The cultists’ abnormal behavior on the battlefield is a fact.”
“The Northern Territory’s Magitech artillery is also a fact.”
“We are the victims.”
“As long as we insist on that point, there is nothing he can do to us.”
Ulzok grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
“You really are full of tricks.”
…
Winter City.
At the city gate, the Holy Knight Helena stood in a full suit of plate armor, her expression more serious than ever before.
Behind her stood her squad of Holy Knights.
“Princess Sylvia, I must return to the Holy City immediately.”
Helena’s voice came through the slit of her helmet, carrying a metallic resonance.
“A heretical cult no one had ever heard of before was actually able to summon a monster possessing what appears to be Divine Power.”
“The gravity of this matter has already surpassed a war between kingdoms.”
“I must personally report this to His Holiness the Pope and to the Saintess.”
Sylvia nodded.
No emotion could be read from her expression, and her tone was purely formal.
“You have worked hard, Knight Helena.”
“The Northern Territory will remember the Holy Church’s contribution during this crisis.”
It was nothing more than polite diplomacy.
Helena said nothing else.
Before leaving, her gaze rested on Logaris West one final time.
Then she tugged on the reins.
Her warhorse let out a sharp neigh and carried her squad racing southward, quickly disappearing into the wind and snow.
Only after those figures had completely vanished did Sylvia let the mask on her face fall away, revealing deep exhaustion.
Her body swayed slightly.
Leaning toward Logaris West beside her, she spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear.
“Let us go back as well.”
The Governor’s Residence.
The study.
Sylvia ordered all the guards and servants to withdraw, then shut the heavy wooden door.
Only she and Logaris West remained in the room.
Logaris West took a Communication Stone from the pocket of his research robe.
Its surface was carved with complicated runes.
This was the one Kane had given him earlier during their secret meeting at the Throat of the Withered Dragon.
As Mana flowed into it, the stone emitted a faint glow.
A light screen unfolded before the two of them, and the steady face of the demi-human legion commander Kane appeared within it.
“Princess, Professor Logaris West.”
The background behind Kane was still that same crude military tent.
“General Kane.”
Sylvia went straight to the point.
“You sent out your report?”
“It has already been sent.”
Kane nodded in confirmation.
“If nothing unexpected happens, the Regent will not order us to launch another active offensive for quite a long time.”
Sylvia got the answer she wanted, but another matter was still running through her mind.
She remembered it clearly.
Even before the war began, those old men in the royal capital’s council had already wanted to summon her back.
Return now?
Absolutely not.
Who knew whether there would be a second assassination attempt on the road?
She needed a perfect reason.
A legal reason.
She needed to continue remaining in the Northern Territory and keep a firm grip on both military and political power.
When would she return to the royal capital?
Only after she possessed enough power to crush every opponent in the entire kingdom.
On the other side of the light screen, Kane and Ulzok were also calculating their own little schemes.
That battle at Rime Valley had pushed their suspicion and wariness toward Regent Remington to the highest possible level.
Remington’s claim to the throne had never been proper to begin with.
And now he had gone so far as to sacrifice his own allies.
The scales in their hearts had already tipped completely to the other side.
If they continued following Remington, then sooner or later, they themselves would probably end up as sacrifices on an altar.
By contrast, although Prince Alectos Huiyin was still somewhat naïve, at least his character was upright, and he carried the bearing of a king.
Most importantly, Prince Alectos Huiyin was now in the Northern Territory, right within their reach.
This was an enormous political investment.
Who would not want the merit of backing the future ruler?
Returning to the imperial capital of the Demi-Human Empire now would bring them no benefit at all.
If it were exposed that they had secretly come into contact with Alectos Huiyin, Remington would purge them outright.
The best choice was simple.
A general in the field does not always obey the ruler’s command.
The thoughts on both sides met in silence.
An unspoken understanding was instantly reached.
Sylvia spoke first, breaking the silence.
“General Kane, I believe that, in order to maintain sufficient ‘deterrence’ against the Demi-Human Empire, it is necessary for your army to preserve a military presence along the border.”
Kane immediately understood the implication beneath her words and answered steadily,
“Your Highness is right.”
“In order to provide the Empire with an explanation, and also to prevent a ‘Northern Territory invasion,’ our Third Legion and Fifth Legion must maintain a posture of ‘long-term confrontation’ with the Northern Legion.”
The two schemers looked at each other through the light screen and smiled in mutual understanding.
Everything was clear without being spoken aloud.
“Long-term confrontation” meant putting on a show every single day.
Today, you fire two shots into the sky.
Tomorrow, I throw a spell into an empty valley.
Neither side actually attacks.
Perform.
Perform with everything you have.
Perform for the royal capital’s council.
Perform for the Regent of the Demi-Human Empire.
As long as the shadow of “war” continued hanging over the Northern Territory, no commander holding military authority would be removed from his position.
“Pleasant cooperation.”
“Pleasant cooperation.”
The light screen went dark.
Sylvia extended a finger and lightly tapped the desk three times.
A pitch-black shadow silently emerged from the darkness in the corner of the wall.
It was none other than Esmeralda, captain of the Shadow Guard.
“Your Highness, did you call for me?”
Esmeralda first blinked at Sylvia, then swept her gaze toward Logaris West beside her, the usual teasing smile curled at the corners of her mouth.
Sylvia ignored her provocation completely.
Coldness filled her silver-gray eyes.
“Esmeralda, keep a close watch on Chief Justice Herman, along with those old men behind him who have been jumping around in the council.”
“They tried to impeach me before the war.”
“I have been keeping a careful record of that debt.”
“During wartime, I had no time to deal with them.”
“Now that the war is over, it is time for them to pay the price.”
Sylvia’s voice was soft, yet it carried an unquestionable will.
“I want every piece of dirt on them dug up without missing a single detail.”
“Then find a suitable pretext and arrest all of them.”
The smile vanished from Esmeralda’s face.
She bowed and her tone became cold with killing intent.
“By your command, Your Highness.”
The moment her words fell, her figure melted back into the shadows and vanished without a trace.
Once again, only Sylvia and Logaris West remained in the study.
Logaris West rubbed his swollen temples.
The aftereffects of overusing his power were still there.
Right now, all he wanted was to find some place to lie down.
“Everything has been dealt with, so I will go first—”
Just as Logaris West turned around and prepared to open the door and leave—
“Loga, wait.”
Sylvia’s voice sounded from behind him.
There was no usual coolness in that voice.
There was no occasional teasing either.
Instead, it carried an absolute seriousness that Logaris West had never heard from her before.