The Demon Clan’s invasion in the Eastern Border was smooth, so smooth that it was almost excessive. Wherever the Black Fog spread, basically no one could resist; the local lords either died, fled, or surrendered.
The Demon Clan didn’t even need to consider issues of governance or rebellion, after all, the people had mostly turned into monsters. Moreover, the nobility in this Eastern Border had abysmally low productivity levels, yet was exceptionally wealthy, with grains in the granaries rotting away.
This eliminated any concerns the Demon Clan had about supplies; Demon God Offspring eat humans, and the ordinary demons could live off the legacies of these nobles for quite a long time.
This meant that the Demon Clan hardly engaged in any battles in the Eastern Border, advancing through the territory, wherever they went became the Demon Clan’s domain.
However, Antipa was not particularly happy because the Black Fog was not under his control and began to drift aimlessly. While it didn’t have a significant impact yet, the feeling of being uncontrollable left Antipa with lingering worries.
For instance, the Black Fog was now drifting towards the Royal Capital, and although the plan was for the Demon army to only symbolically attack the Royal Capital, this uncontrollable Black Fog reignited Antipa’s ambitions.
It was apparent that the queen in the Royal Capital had made preparations in advance, but as long as the Black Fog spread there, under this terrifying monster, the human army would still crumble like a retreating tide.
The performance of the kingdom’s army stirred Antipa’s ambitions even more; indeed, the terrifying fighting spirit of the Northern Border Legion was just an accident; this was the normal response of an army encountering a wave of monsters.
Moreover, the king’s daughter had promised to create chaos in the Royal Capital, leaving no time to care for the Eastern Border’s battles. Was there a chance for the Demon Clan to march straight towards the Royal Capital?
Although according to that princess’s request, the Demon Clan could just make a show of attacking the Royal Capital, by the time the princess came out, they could retreat and deal with the Northern Border together, but stirred ambitions are the hardest to quell; as Lind thought, Antipa had stayed in the Eternal Frozen Land for too long. If he could seize a piece of land, he would never let go.
Antipa glanced at Altan, who was somewhat deranged beside him, and said, “I will designate a safe harbor for you, but I need more Supremacy Magic.”
…..
In the Royal Capital, Lilith was overwhelmed with work. According to the information sent by her brother, those monsters feared Holy Water, and as long as there was enough Holy Water, they could effectively suppress the monsters’ attacks.
Her brother had already started transporting Holy Water via the operational railway, but some sections of the railway were still unfinished, and the situation in the battle was still grim. Not to mention, there weren’t many tools available for deploying Holy Water on Lilith’s side, and compared to the Northern Border’s forces, the kingdom’s army was exceptionally inadequate, with soldiers who went weak at the knees upon seeing the monsters, leaving very few who dared to step forward and fight.
The psychological impact of the monsters was vividly reflected in the kingdom’s army; most of the soldiers could only instinctively flee in fear upon seeing the monsters, even with Holy Water, they couldn’t muster strength.
Moreover, the strange mist was gradually approaching the Royal Capital, and Lilith’s pressure was mounting.
At this time, absurd rumors began circulating within the Royal Capital, directly blaming Lilith for the deaths of Augustine III and Klan, complete with details being gradually embellished.
With the Demon Clan’s approach, Lilith’s situation became increasingly precarious. Although affected by the Northern Border’s influence, Lilith could be considered immensely powerful, she had not yet solidified this power and the entire Royal Capital was descending into chaos again.
“Your Majesty… the Demon Clan’s army has crossed the Holy Covenant Fortress and is advancing towards the Royal Capital,” Nora reported anxiously. Although she didn’t know what the relationship between the queen and the Northern Border was, she still hoped the queen could seek refuge in the Northern Border.
“Reinforce the guards, and find someone to negotiate with the Demon Clan to see what they truly want to achieve,” Lilith commanded.
“But Your Majesty, if we reinforce further, the defending forces of the Royal Capital might…”
“Let the Demon Clan tread around the Royal Capital; it doesn’t matter how many defending forces the Royal Capital has.”
Nora sighed deeply and could only nod, saying, “I understand, Your Majesty, but you must prepare well; your safety is the most important.”
At the same time, some Augustines in the Royal Capital received news about Claire. These Augustines were either former subordinates of Claire, collaborators, or trusted individuals.
These individuals were Claire’s confidants; in fact, Claire even eliminated her own older brother out of fear of leaks.
Some of these people had not yet been dismissed and were in charge of some of the palace’s defenses; after all, it was still someone’s home, and Lilith had not yet gotten so arrogant that she could control the defenses of the Augustines’ home.
The news given to these Augustines differed from the rumors circulating outside. Claire claimed she had caught Lilith’s older brother Barnard in the Eastern Border and had learned from him that the Northern Border Governor was actually Lilith’s distant brother, both being descendants of the Old Empire and conspiring to bring back the Old Empire, ultimately allowing that Northern Border Governor to ascend the throne.
Regardless of the truth of this information, it was enough to make the Augustines lose their minds.
No wonder the queen was not worried about the situation regarding the heir and was still diligently exerting herself; it turned out the queen still had the claim of the Old Empire in her hands.
This couldn’t continue; the power must be taken back from the queen, no matter the means.
Moreover, the public opinion outside was raging, which was a great opportunity to pull down the queen.
As for the Demon Clan’s invasion, how important was that? Whether Cape still carried the surname Augustine was far more crucial.
Furthermore, the news Claire transmitted also mentioned that she had a way to drive back the Demon Clan.
This meant that as long as the coup was launched according to Claire’s plan, pulling the queen down and allowing Claire to return, and then having Claire drive back the Demon Clan, it would prove that only the Augustines could save the kingdom.
At that point, even if the rumors outside were not true, they would become true.
In short, a person could fall from the clouds to the dirt in an instant.
As for the Northern Border, Claire also claimed to have a way to stabilize it alongside the Demon Clan. The Augustines felt that the relationship between the Northern Border and this queen was not that close; what Lilith could provide to the Northern Border, the Augustines could do the same, or even more.
Wasn’t this governor trying to restore the Old Empire? As long as the kingdom still bore the surname Cape, these Augustines could even gift the title of the legitimate Old Empire to the Northern Border.
Claire had even more beautiful thoughts, planning to balance with various forces within the Demon Clan and reach a satisfactory conclusion for everyone.
Although this would lead to a significant reduction in the kingdom’s territory, at least the kingdom would still bear the surname Augustine, wouldn’t it?
The conspiracy had already restarted.
Of course, Barnard never revealed the biggest secret of their family regarding Lilith and the Northern Border Governor; all of it was fabricated by Claire, including the ambitions of that Northern Border Governor.
Claire just didn’t know that if you claim the other side has weapons of mass destruction, and they really do, what should you do?
What if that Northern Border Governor not only truly had a close relationship with Lilith but also really harbored the ambition to swallow the entire kingdom?
