“Marius doesn’t seem to intend to leave Filat,” Marius stated.
The secretary read the report from the spy, to which King Johnson of Vester responded with a slight snort.
“Well, so be it. Someone so good-natured likely couldn’t stand up to Demons.”
He quickly decided to abandon Marius.
“Helping Slave Soldiers is a noble act, but a fatal lack of ruthlessness,” commented Randle, Grand General of the Kingdom of Vester.
There is a dark pleasure in scornfully discussing those stronger than oneself.
It is a pleasure that even a nation’s Grand General struggles to escape.
“Is the military prepared, Randle?”
“Yes. We can feed 100,000 soldiers for several years. We cannot engage in barbaric and foolish acts like looting enemy territory.”
He then ridiculed the tactics of the Hordia army.
It seemed he was a man who belittled someone with every word.
Johnson disliked such people.
If they lacked ability, he would gladly have them beheaded.
“It is said that Hordia’s domestic systems have changed significantly since the Mad King began his dictatorship. The regular army cannot possibly be unaffected.”
“It would be beneficial if they weakened.”
It would be troublesome if they were reorganized, so they wanted to attack before that.
“Even with Misra and Barshark involved, the enemy is the Hordia army. We must proceed with caution.”
“Indeed. Let other countries cross that dangerous bridge for us.”
Even though he was stating the obvious, it sounded incredibly insidious when Randle said it.
Hordia was not a foe that Vester could defeat alone.
Perhaps a 60% chance of victory if they allied with Misra and Barshark.
In its current state, Hordia would be about a 70% threat.
To be completely safe, they wanted to invite Filat, but Filat had refused, citing the need to rebuild from the damage caused by the previous Hordia invasion.
With tens of thousands of regular soldiers dead and the border regions devastated, they couldn’t force Filat’s hand.
It would have been ideal if Marius had mobilized, but he was reportedly overwhelmed with dealing with Demons and Demon Lords.
“Indeed, Demons are a nuisance.”
In that sense, he also wanted to maintain good relations with Marius.
It would be counterproductive to continue invitations that would only be rejected, so he thought he might try a barrage of gifts next time.
Of course, not to the point of provoking Filat.
While contemplating this, he shifted his focus to the invasion of Hordia.
“Hmm. However, we will deploy the Wyvern Corps.”
“Ah. Them, your Excellency?”
Johnson strained to maintain his composure, a vein throbbing in his temple, at Randle’s consistently mocking attitude.
The Wyvern Corps was the strongest army in the Kingdom of Vester, and Wyverns were another name for winged dragons.
It was composed of summoners and those with the rare skill “Monster Taming.”
Deploying the Wyvern Corps would show their seriousness in invading Hordia.
Randle had noObjections.
Deceiving the enemy would require considerable effort, and the Wyvern Corps would be welcomed as a decisive force.
“Furthermore, I hear that dragons inhabit Hordia.”
“Oh? This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
Johnson cursed under his breath as Randle pondered, then informed him.
“Are you unaware of the Twin Dragons of Amademi Mountain? One, with black scales, breathes fire, and the other, with white scales, breathes ice. Some say they are not siblings but mates, thus should be called Couple Dragons.”
It is said that Filat built Balderra Fortress and equipped it with ballistas precisely to guard against these Twin Dragons.
While the Hordia army occasionally provokes them, they are also used against armies.
“If you carelessly enter their territory, 50,000 soldiers will be useless. Be careful of your path.”
“Yes. I have no desire to see Dragons.”
Randle’s reaction was not reassuring, but he would likely be careful if he didn’t want to die.
“But who would have incited the Wyverns that attacked King Filat?”
Johnson suddenly wondered.
To his quasi-soliloquy, Randle, against his better judgment, earnestly replied.
“Summoners and Monster Tamers are not that rare. Well, those who can command Wyverns are rare… Could it have been a Demon?”
“It wasn’t a Demon. There was no second attack.”
If someone could control a swarm of Wyverns, a Demon would be the first suspect.
They could control monsters to some extent and use them as pawns.
However, if a Demon had a specific objective, a single attack would be impossible.
There would have been a second, third attack, or even an attack by the Demon itself.
Losing six Wyverns would not be a significant loss by Demon standards.
It was similar to Filat’s assessment.
“Considering nations, we can exclude Filat, Boltner, Ranleo, and Hordia.”
“I don’t know about individuals.”
Johnson remained cautious about Randle’s conclusion.
Nations cannot fully grasp the skills possessed by each individual.
Those who serve in the court or belong to the military are accounted for through self-reporting, but there is no way to verify if this information is true.
Johnson believed that the best course of action for the attacker would be to target Filat until the attack on King Filat, and then flee to Boltner after the assault.
Of course, if the opponent were human, the question of why King Filat was targeted at that particular time would arise.
“Well, the war will be permitted one month after the Demonplay. At least Misra and Barshark will attack.”
Misra’s Frederick and Barshark’s Jessica were eager for battle.
The strategy of luring other nations because one’s own nation has little chance of winning is not wrong.
However, Vester had no obligation to go along with it.
“So, the plan is for the Hordia army to fight Misra and Barshark, and we aim for occupation, is that correct?”
“Hmm. Do not be too obvious about it.”
Being cursed at was one thing, but being resented would be troublesome later.
Moderation is best in all things.
“War at this time… are you mad?”
King Derek of Seraeno was astonished by the movements of Misra, Barshark, and Vester.
“Did the talk of Demon King Zagan not stop them?”
Derek muttered, perhaps because they were easily defeated. It was unreasonable to ask Marius to “struggle more,” and he wondered what he should do.
One of the spies spoke with apparent trepidation.
“What concerns me is that King Hordia has no intention of avoiding war.”
“I don’t know what that woman is thinking. Will she do nothing against the coalition of three nations?”
“Yes. She shows no signs of making any schemes.”
That was certainly strange.
Even if Hordia was strong, their win rate against three simultaneous nations would be at most 30%, in Derek’s estimation.
Of course, if they employed desperate measures like scorched-earth tactics, the outcome might be different.
Or perhaps a war of attrition using slaves as shields.
Asteria, called the Mad King, might do either.
(No, if it’s her, she might do both at once…?)
Scorching the entire area to ashes and then using hundreds of thousands of slaves as shields, disposable individuals.
While not as egregious as an attack during a period of non-aggression, it was a tactic that could be called villainous.
However, with Hordia currently undergoing internal reforms, it would be difficult for the military to exert its full strength, making this the best chance of victory.
Of course, the three-nation coalition was likely aware of this, so the outcome was uncertain.
“Your Majesty…?”
His senior vassals awaited Derek’s decision.
Derek, realizing that thinking alone would lead nowhere, decided to ask for their opinions.
“Do you not find King Hordia’s methods somewhat peculiar?”
His vassals were unable to immediately answer the King’s question.
It was too obvious a question, and they needed to understand the King’s true intent.
Hemrooth, the Court Archmage and Chancellor of Magic in Filat, responded.
“I humbly reply. To me, all of King Hordia’s words and actions seem peculiar.”
Hemrooth had had several opportunities to see Asteria during the Demonplay.
Frankly, it was easy to understand why she had no popularity despite her beauty.
“Indeed. But even as Queen, can a truly foolish person possibly rule a nation? Especially since Hordia is the greatest nation on the continent.”
“Could there be a puppeteer? Someone who manipulates the Queen from the shadows, mocking her?”
“What is visible is not always the truth,” said one minister.
This had been said many times in several countries.
“If that were the case, she should be receiving instructions. But there is no sign of that from the Queen. There is no indication of her using Magic Power, so she is not using Magic Items or magic. How can she communicate with a puppeteer?”
Of course, the intelligence capabilities of spies were not infallible, so she might just be operating undetected.
But it was strange that no country could detect anything.
“It would be a different story if the Queen herself were a Demon.”
This opinion had been raised before but was quickly dismissed.
Asteria had begun serious efforts to rebuild Hordia.
A Demon aiming to genuinely rebuild a human nation was unthinkable.
Even more so if they were plotting the resurrection of the Demon Lord.
“The conversation has deviated. Ultimately, what is the Queen’s true intention?”
It was unlikely that someone who could devise and implement Hordia’s reconstruction would miscalculate the time required for it.
“Perhaps it’s a miscalculation? Did she believe that with all countries focused on negotiating with Marius, an attack on Hordia was unlikely?”
“Or perhaps she was unable to manipulate the emotions of other countries as she wished.”
“If so, she might believe that by simply shifting the blame to the nobles, she could avoid being attacked.”
Various opinions were exchanged, but all pointed to Asteria’s miscalculation.
“Hmm, that explanation is plausible.”
Such misjudgments were not uncommon, and history was replete with examples of wars breaking out due to inadvertently provoking others’ emotions.
It was an event more likely to occur with individuals like Asteria, who made all decisions alone.
“If so, it means I was simply overestimating King Asteria…”
Of course, that would be preferable.
If the monarch of a great nation like Hordia were too competent, it could lead to troublesome developments for Seraeno.
She didn’t want her to be incompetent either.
This exchange had occurred several times in Seraeno.
The movements around Hordia were closely watched for a reason.
Hordia’s mobilization capability was a significant factor when humans faced Demons.
While Marius was an exceptionally talented mage, it was unlikely he could defend the entire continent alone.
Human armies would have to be deployed where Marius could not go.
The extent to which the Hordia army could be relied upon greatly influenced this.
However, neither Misra nor Barshark were willing to listen.
They did not believe in the threat of the Demon Lord.
(I can’t exactly tell them to defeat the Demon Lord in a way that makes the threat obvious, can I?)
That would result in too much damage to humanity, and moreover, they were not from other countries.
It was impossible to say.
Still, the idea of dictating how to defeat a Demon Lord was abnormal.
Normally, when a Demon Lord revived, human nations should unite against it.
Melinda had apparently said that humanity’s downfall would be due to its foolishness.
Derek, though he wished to deny it, couldn’t.
His own brother was also a fool, advocating for military expansion and territorial growth to revive the strongest.
Territorial expansion isn’t solely achievable through capable generals and strong soldiers.
Seraeno’s inability to expand its territory lay not in its forces but in its woefully inadequate logistical capabilities for conducting full-scale invasions.
Therefore, to truly invade, logistical capabilities had to be strengthened first, but Derek’s brother did not understand this.
Had he advocated for logistical reinforcement, he might have gained support, but no one followed those who disdained it.
The strength of the Seraeno army was not solely due to the soldiers’ prowess.
As a result, he was stripped of his position as Crown Prince, and fearing he would become a source of disaster, his Father King sent assassins, causing him to fall off a cliff.
He couldn’t have survived in a region infested with monsters that preyed on human flesh.
It would be a lie to say his heart didn’t ache, but at the same time, he could detach himself.
If a fool became king, the common people would suffer.
He wished for Frederick and Jessica to disappear as well.
Of course, from the perspective of humanity as a whole, less chaos was better, and no chaos was ideal.
(Asteria. If you are foolish, you too shall disappear.)
Now, if Asteria were to die, there would be no heir to the throne, Hordia would fall into great confusion, and it would be absorbed and divided by its neighboring countries.
That would be a bad move considering the fight against Demons, and Asteria was not foolish enough for that.
He decided to determine whether Asteria should be eliminated or kept alive after observing the battle with the three-nation coalition.
