Chapter 184: Turning the Tables (4)

Kingdom of Kanburk Military Camp

Command Post, Central Tent

Amidst the many nobles seated with their mouths agape…

Gulp.

In one corner of the tent, Louis sat comfortably, sipping tea from an unknown source. Alone, at that.

Yet no one dared to say anything to Louis. They simply swallowed hard, intent on taking their cue from him.

This was understandable, given their minds were tumultuous with thoughts of how to grapple with the miracle of God they had just witnessed.

Gulp.

In the eerie silence, the sound of Louis sipping his tea was the only thing that broke the tension.

Then, as the representative for everyone, Lokan the 7th spoke up.

“High Priest, that was…”

“What is it?”

“That… what was that?”

None present were unaware of what the king referred to as “that”.

As everyone awaited Louis’s response, he instead posed a question to Lokan VII.

“Your Highness, what did you make of it?”

”…”

Lokan VII hesitated briefly before speaking.

“Could it truly be… the arrival of Lord Karlos upon this land?”

“Does Your Highness believe it was Lord Karlos?”

“I… saw it as such.”

“Then it must be so, indeed.”

”…?”

“If one denies the miracle after witnessing it with their own eyes, they might as well claim God does not exist. But for those who fully embrace it as a divine sign, God must surely exist, would you not agree?”

“What are you trying to say, Louis?”

“Well then, what do you think I mean by this?”

Louis smiled slightly at their reactions.

What meaning? It’s just bullshit.

In reality, all Louis had done was use his powers to reshape space into the form of a god. The complexity of this technique was so high that no one could understand it.

How can I call a god when I’m not sure if it even exists?

To those who had witnessed the miracle of tens of thousands of monsters retreating at the mere word of Louis, his illusion must have seemed like the descent of a divine being.

Since there was no need to explain it, Louis had just thrown out random phrases, letting them imagine whatever they wanted.

As a result, the nobles’ heads were spinning, trying to decipher meaning from his nonsensical words.

Meanwhile, Lokan VII…

“Hmph…” His small sigh revealed a hint of conflict on his face. As someone who had never believed in the existence of gods, he now found it hard to deny their presence, given the tremendous miracles they had just witnessed.

Could it be… that gods truly exist?

As he grappled with this question, Duke Huan spoke to Louis, “What shall we do about the Snow King and the monsters? Although Your Holiness has temporarily repelled them, we don’t know when… they might return. If that happens, this land will once again be swept by a tide of bloodshed.”

Louis nodded in agreement. “You’re right.”

“So… if Your Holiness were to exert your power again, couldn’t you send them back to the White Mountain Range?”

Though his words were plentiful, his meaning was simple.

“Just use your powers as you did before and drive them away.”

At this, Louis smiled faintly and shook his head.

“No.”

His firm refusal left Duke Huan and the other nobles visibly displeased. They had hoped that with Louis’s full strength behind them, they could effortlessly repel the creatures as they had earlier today, so his dismissal was naturally disappointing.

As everyone looked disheartened, Louis’s cheerful voice cut through the gloom.

“Why send those creatures back to the White Mountains?”

”…Pardon?”

“If they want to wreak havoc, let them have their way.”

“That’s unacceptable! If that happens, the kingdom will—”

“Who said they’ll wreak havoc within our borders?”

“What?”

“Can’t we make them wreak havoc elsewhere?”

”…What do you mean by that?”

Louis smiled at the scores of eyes focused on him.

I’ve been praying to Lord Karlos every day for this brilliant idea,” he said.

“What…are you talking about?”

“That we should drive these monsters out of our land…but push them westward, not eastward.”

”…”

Silence fell over the assembly.

Suddenly…

“The west?” Lokean 7th repeated the word “west,” then burst into laughter. “Ha! Hahahahaha!”

The ear-piercing guffaws initially puzzled the nobles, but their confusion quickly gave way to realization as they remembered what lay to the west of the Kanburk Kingdom.

“The Empire…?”

“The Dominant Empire?”

Louis’s voice cut through the murmurs filling the room.

“This time, our convent was attacked by the Empire.”

“…?!”

Chomp.

Taking another sip of his tea, Louis began laying out everything he had unearthed to date for the nobles of Kanburk.

As he spoke, the kingdom’s elite became engrossed in his tale.

“…And that’s how it happened.”

As soon as Louis finished, angry murmurs erupted from all directions.

“These killable scum!”

“How dare they look down on us!”

As if he’d anticipated this reaction, Louis continued speaking.

“The friendship between the Order and Kanburk Kingdom, joined against a common enemy, will endure. Well… truthfully, I never intended to break the alliance with Kanburk from the start.”

The nobles’ eyes showed they were slightly moved by Louis’s declaration, even those of Duke Persellus, who was fated to have a strained relationship with Louis.

At that moment, Duke Bliss interjected, his eyes sparkling.

“So you’re suggesting moving the Snow King’s Army to the west…?”

Louis replied with a hint of mockery in his voice.

“We must let them feel it too! They must understand the value of the peace that was bought with the blood and sweat of warriors from the east, thanks to our alliance with the Order and the Kanburk Kingdom.”

The nobles’ expressions transformed. Their anger was replaced by delight and satisfaction.

“That’s right! It’s all thanks to us that they’re safe from monsters and demons! How ungrateful of them!”

“why’d we pour so much money into creating a field wall? Do you think it was because we’re such a good bunch?! It was to ensure the safety of the entire winter continent!”

Lokan 7th clicked his tongue as the voices of the nobles rose around him.

I see! That’s why…

Not long ago, Louis had claimed to have a solution to deal with both the Snow King and the Empire’s pressure. And everything had turned out exactly as he’d said. After all, the Empire had been handed the bomb known as the Snow King, which would reduce Kanburk to nothing more than a field of reeds.

“Heh-heh-heh.”

Lokan 7th tried to maintain decorum, but sneaky laughter kept escaping from him. He found himself bordering on insanity with curiosity. After all, how would that arrogant Empire deal with such a bomb? And when he imagined them anxiously treading on thin ice with this ticking time bomb in their grasp, how could he suppress his amusement?

Watching Lokan 7th snicker, Louis opened his mouth to speak.

“There is a matter I need to discuss with you.”

“What might that be, priest?” Louis asked with a smile, having noticed the change in tone from King to Majesty.

“I would like you to have the military forces of the Kanburk Kingdom clear all houses along the shortest road to the Empire.”

“…?!”

“The entire pantheon will lead the Snow King’s forces to the Empire via that route.”

As of now, the Snow King’s Army was circling the area with regular intervals between the twins. However, even as monstrous beings, they had physical limitations. The strategy was to transfer the Snow King bomb to the Empire before the monsters reached their limit.

As soon as Louis finished his request, Lokan VII laughed heartily and replied, “We shall gladly do so!”

That day, the 40,000-strong army gathered to confront the Snow King was redeployed across the entire kingdom.

As the Snow King Army madly ravaged the interior of the Kanburk Kingdom, Duke Samuel of Howard patiently tended to his affairs from his estate.

Everything is progressing as planned.

The Order remained dormant, and it wouldn’t be long before the monster army clashed with Kanburk’s forces. Once the war ignited, the Empire would merely mop up the remaining monsters and annex Kanburk. And the prize for this effort? A portion of the conquered kingdom would fall into his capable hands.

Such is the reward for hard work.

Once considered a perilous territory, the reign of Kanburk had been secured by the completion of the Callun Great Rampart. In recognition of his achievements, the Emperor agreed to grant this land to the Duke. Or rather, the Duke had made the request himself.

The secret of the Kanburk royal family was their seemingly inexhaustible source of wealth. The Duke had pledged to unravel this mystery.

I must find out the source of their wealth!

If he uncovered the Kanburk Kingdom’s source of funding, it would likely be funneled directly into the Emperor’s private coffers rather than the national treasury. The Emperor had acknowledged as much. He assured Duke Samuel that if he revealed the financial backers of the Kanburk royal family, the Empire would turn a blind eye to some “modest” profits taken from the transactions—provided they weren’t excessive.

And that was precisely what the Duke aimed for.

With enough wealth to erect a Great Wall over generations… even a small cut would be many times greater than our family currently handles.

If he could get his hands on such riches, his family would become one of the wealthiest clans in the Empire.

Under my leadership, our family will ascend to the status of a Grand Duke!

Duke Samuel’s heart swelled with excitement as this golden future came within his grasp.

“Excellent,” he murmured, his lips curving into a broad smile.

He had finally found the perfect daily routine after many busy days. The previous day had been another to be finished that way. If it wasn’t for the urgent report received at supper time…

When he first received this report, the Marquis was bewildered.

What?

Monsters ignoring nearby human forces and simply passing through? Did that make any sense? His heart started racing at this sudden report.

Something… Something is up.

It was just a hunch. But this hunch had made him the man he was today. Sensing misfortune, Duke Samuel sprang into action.

“Immediately… Send all reserves to Kanburk right now! Have Intelligence stand by!”

The lightning-fast order from Duke Samuel sent the headquarters of the Black Frost Rat into emergency mode.

The next day…

The continuous reports left Duke Samuel grinding his teeth.

This feeling… isn’t good.

And this ominous intuition had never failed him before.

From that moment on, the flood of updates rendered Duke Samuel unable to make sense of it all.

The Duke of Samuel’s face grew pale with each daily report. He couldn’t even sleep properly, waiting for information to come in. The tension mounted day after day.

On the tenth day since the Snow King emerged from the Mac Mountains, a report reached the Duke Samuel—a blow that would shatter the Empire’s defenses.

If the current trend continues, the Snow King’s army is expected to reach our border in half a month.

The Duke’s face turned ashen as he clutched the report tightly.

Meanwhile, at that very moment, Louis observed the Snow King’s horde gathering below from his vantage point in the sky.

“Well then, the tables have turned…” A gleeful smile curved his lips. “Is it time for a new game plan?”