Chapter 108: Shield of Civilization
Dear wife,
Although I know my request is unreasonable, our empire has reached a dead end. The emperor leads the imperial army, and they have just arrived at Middenland. On the way, we encountered wild beasts rushing out from the forest, as well as the enemies’ destructive army. It is said that Middenheim is besieged by both the beasts and the demonic legions.
A powerful demonic fleet is landing from the north, while Middenheim stands in their way, hoping that the white wolf Yurick will protect them.
We had to abandon the reinforcement of Middenheim because we received news that Karolburg has fallen to a Nafo demon army, led by one of the Stel brothers, the Vomiter.
Jima looked at the letter, her crimson nails moving across the map until they finally rested on the imperial capital. It is extremely close to the capital, separated only by the Rick River, and if the army moves quickly, they could reach the walls of Adolf in fifty or sixty days.
At the same time, a magical letter informs us that Umarik City has fallen, destroyed by the fire god army under the Eternal God-Far’s command. Sigmarheim has annihilated the entire city and all the living within it as a sacrifice to the Blood God.
Jima’s nails moved across the map as she murmured,
“It seems he is trying to restore his reputation by massacring cities.”
Her crimson nail finally stopped at Umarik. It lies to the south of Adolf, connected by an imperial highway, allowing the army to quickly march north. Its fall signifies that, in the southern direction, Adolf’s gate is wide open.
“Hey, beautiful dragon.”
Jima tugged at the motionless dragon Mawor beside her, “Can you guess where your master is?”
Mawor, the dragon, appeared flushed, staring into space, dressed in a thick bridal gown under the autumn heat, adorned with exquisite headgear, like a beautiful bride ready to marry.
Finally, her dazed dragon eyes moved slightly to glance at the map, remaining silent.
She feared it was yet another illusion.
Jima sprinted a bit, leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, saying, “So obedient.”
She continued reading the letter.
… The empire has sought aid from all friends of civilization through magic, hoping for military support from our allies, but before that, we must defend Adolf. Can you lead your legion to assist Adolf as much as possible?”
Jima rummaged through Mawor’s waist pouch, pulled out a ruler, and praised herself: “What a good maid you are, Mawor.”
Mawor still ignored her, lost in thought.
Taking her legion’s position as a starting point, Jima measured the distance to Adolf, completely disregarding the river and forest in between, and measured the distance of the army led by the Eternal God-Far to Adolf.
Hmm, just barely the same.
Jima began to write the letter:
Dear Hero,
The Eternal God-Far has sent a plethora of cannon fodder, successfully delaying me. Although I achieved tactical victory, he gained strategic success—I have lost the opportunity to delay him. However, from a military perspective, the fire god army led by the Eternal God-Far cannot break through Adolf in a short time, unless something unexpected happens.
Perhaps we can meet at Adolf and exterminate the Eternal God-Far.
As Jima wrote, she stood up and covered Mawor’s eyes with her hand, saying, “My dear mount, please close your eyes.”
Mawor closed her eyes.
Jima’s pen danced anxiously across the paper:
“But there will surely be unexpected events.
The enemy undoubtedly has an advantage in numbers. Among the army led by the Eternal God-Far, I have heard the names of several infamous legion commanders. Damn it, why can’t the enemy be entirely wiped out? I hate it the most.
Getting off topic, do you remember the jewel on my left? It can see fragments of the future. I truly hope this is not a conspiracy by the enemy, but there is no point in hiding it from you.
I saw a long stretch of darkness; perhaps I am dead. Of course, I prefer to think that I am just tired and decided to take a lazy nap.
Apart from that, I also saw many of our struggles in the dark—which doesn’t necessarily mean the Eternal God-Far is powerful.
Although the future looks grim, I still have confidence. I must tell you, Mawor has decided to abandon darkness and no longer serve the worst person in the world, instead turning her loyalty to me.
You might not believe it, but later, I exchanged sincerity for sincerity, treated her kindly, and nearly moved her to tears. Really, she cried. I never expected that a cruel and cold being like Mawor (though still somewhat less than me) would have such a youthful heart, just like her face.
As long as you treat her like a person, she can be deeply moved, though I think it is related to your dark demeanor, thank you.
Going off-topic again. As it stands, we have a chance of victory. Although the allies of the empire, the Shield of Civilization, are retreating, they can still send envoys to assist the empire.
There are dwarves among the mountains, high elves overseas, and knights from the nation of Barto across a gray mountain range. Adolf, logically, is a huge city, commanded by the emperor’s marshal—Heilberg, who is very knowledgeable in military affairs.
In short, that’s how it is.
Yours lovingly, Jima.
After Jima finished the letter, she planned to use magical means to deliver it immediately to George.
Mawor did not move, remaining in her daze.
Stepping out of the tent, Jima sighed with relief.
Fortunately, Mawor was still unaware. When she stepped outside, she saw the Nosedust Pixie and became furious.
She raised her hand, opened a tranquil hidden barrier, glared at the Nosedust Pixie strategist, and directly scolded,
“Is this the irreversible and unchangeable command system you promised, under the blessing of the Lord of Deception? You promised that the worst case would be that she would act like a puppet, and I would have to give orders one by one.”
“My lord, strong individuals are almost impossible to control with brainwashing,” the Nosedust Pixie strategist replied. “We are trying to ensure her equipment still works, along with others just like her, born amidst dragons.”
“Dying my foot, he is a demon. The Lord of Dangerous Change can revive him at will, and besides, at most, he can sign a contract to sell his soul in the soul furnace and be revived tomorrow.” Jima retorted, warning, “If you continue to avoid my questions and cover up the truth of your deception, I won’t be polite next time.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Jima thought that for the sake of creating the perfect illusion, she had nearly exhausted all the stored power of lies to scare Mawor. If she swept through the system in her mind, which is essentially nonsense, then she could forget about riding Mawor into battle.
In her anger, Jima turned her twig soldier, sharply striking the Nosedust Pixie strategist on the head, causing him to stumble and a bump to form.
Adolf.
The capital of the empire.
The largest city of the empire.
It also has a complex, filthy, and grimy underground sewer system.
Adventurers occasionally entered, only to mysteriously disappear, and the public had grown accustomed to it.
The chief plague doctor wore a horse-headed mask, his bloated, corpulent body straining against his clothes. He was using tweezers to lift a fresh corpse on the operating table.
Beside him, the chief pestilent mage and father of pestilence, Kugas, was chattering, saying he wanted to figure out a way to conduct an evil ritual that would open a pathway through the two barriers, leading straight to the Pestilence Garden.
The chief plague doctor expressed optimism, as Adolf currently had an abundance of disaster victims and sick individuals.
Now, the nominal supreme commander of the city of Adolf is the emperor’s champion marshal Heilberg, who is loyal, reliable, and skilled in commanding troops.
Unfortunately, he is neither a politician nor a competent ruler.
In the palace of Adolf, various factions were nearly unsatisfied with him.
Plagues and diseases, and the needy disaster victims, constantly poured forth from somewhere, causing Marshal Heilberg’s head to spin.
But today, there was a more urgent matter.
He stood in the river tower, watching a layer of unknown algae floating on the broad surface of the Rick River. They resembled the pus of squeezed acne, covering the entire river.
This river, which nurtured more than half of the empire, was now floating with this substance.
The marshal’s fishermen reported they had drunk the water and fallen ill with high fevers, developing chickenpox and boils.
Thinking of larger cities suffering from lack of water, even before the chaotic army attacked, he feared the entire city might die of thirst. Marshal Heilberg couldn’t help but smack his forehead: “Damn it! Hurry and have those priests think of a solution!”
Through magically expedited letters, news traveled across distances at an astounding speed to the empire’s allies.
An elven diplomat opened the letter, shaking his head and saying, “It’s wishful thinking; the Asurals are in no position to help the empire.”
Yet he persisted in passing it up the chain, until it finally reached the hands of the Asoan Guardians, who were commanding forces against the dark elves.
The Asural clan was too busy battling Druzzi and the demonic armies to provide any support.
At the same time, many high elf arrows struck dark elf bodies, while many dark elf poison blades ripped through high elf flesh.
Later still, a request for assistance from the empire reached the dwarven kingdom of the mountain, in the hands of the supreme dwarf king.
The supreme dwarf king shook his head, noting that each of the dwarf tribes and kingdoms has barricaded their tunnels with white stones, hoping to survive this dark era, unable to send troops to support their allies.
The plea for help was tossed into the furnace, turning to ashes.
Meanwhile, in the knightly nation of Barto, in the city of Gorlonni,
King Richard I, the Lionheart, insisted on supporting the empire of Adolf, despite dissent from the council.
Like a lion, he roared at the crowd:
“Raise the banner of chivalry! Anyone who does not participate in this righteous war is no knight! Clerk, note my orders; we must swiftly support Adolf! The faster, the better.”
By the manifestation of the lake goddess, the king’s command spread throughout the nation, reaching nearly every church.
