Worries Without End
The Moxi Duchy watched as the Alpha Kingdom fought fiercely, while their own territory only saw a few scattered Beastfolk attacking.
As Chris IX watched the constant stream of victories reported by the frontline defenders, he felt a sense of unreality.
It went far too smoothly. In the past, when Beastfolk came to raid, the commotion was much bigger than it is now.
Nobody likes to be attacked, and it's ultimately a good thing that the main attack isn't on your side.
"Order the garrison at the front to be on high alert and not to launch any attacks without authorization."
Send men to keep a close watch on the movements of the main Beastfolk force, and be wary of a feint from the enemy that could suddenly change the direction of their attack.
As the weakest of the three kingdoms, King Chris IX dared not take the warning from the Alpha Kingdom lightly.
If the Beastfolk army suddenly turns its guns on them and delivers a devastating blow, the Moxi Duchy might just become history.
Although they had been operating in the north for decades, their defensive capabilities still couldn't compare to those of the Alpha Kingdom.
The noble lords of the Moxi Duchy are not like those stubborn holdouts in the Alpha Kingdom who have been battered by Beastfolk for hundreds of years.
Despite the collapse of the front lines, many noble castles in the Alpha Kingdom held out until the end of the war.
Some famous castles have been besieged by Beastfolk armies dozens of times over the past few centuries, yet they still stand strong in the North.
During the most brutal periods of war, it was common for the Royal Capital to fall, and it was not uncommon for the capital to be temporarily moved to the southern provinces to continue the resistance.
The Alpha Kingdom was able to withstand attacks because they had a lot of experience in taking them down.
Many things are hard to accept the first time you encounter them, but you gradually get used to them after experiencing them many times.
King Chris IX had no idea whether the Moxi Duchy could withstand it.
At the very least, he dared not make plans in advance for the front lines to collapse, the Royal Capital to fall, and for the capital to be moved to continue the resistance.
Chris IX couldn't even reveal the intention behind a plan that could be openly discussed in the Alpha Kingdom, otherwise the nobles in the country would immediately erupt in uproar.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, it won't be easy for the Beastfolk army to launch a surprise attack. The mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops is so large that it cannot be kept secret."
It's not just us who are at peace now; the Warhammer Kingdom next door is too.
The Beastfolk's brutal attack on the Alpha Kingdom is likely due to historical reasons. They have a long-standing feud, and every Orc Emperor has aimed to destroy the Alpha Kingdom.
In contrast, our feud with the Beastfolk isn't deep. If it weren't for the Beastfolk tribes frequently raiding southwards, there wouldn't have been any conflict.
Chancellor Herczeg advised.
Although these reasons were insufficient, they were all he could think of. From a military perspective, the obvious approach was to target the weakest link in the defense.
Taking on the tough challenges first isn't out of the question. But the problem is that the Alpha Kingdom has multiple lines of defense behind its existing ones, and every noble castle is a ready-made fortress.
The castle had been built up over countless years by its ancestors, and its experience in dealing with Beastfolk sieges was incredibly rich.
The road was full of obstacles, and if they couldn't be removed, the threat to the army's rear would be too great.
Historically, Beastfolk armies that bypassed these obstacles and forced their way south invariably ended in tragedy.
"Don't worry, how could I not be worried! Even if it's because of hatred that the Beastfolk army launched a fierce attack on the Alpha Kingdom without regard for anything else."
But after suffering heavy losses, can the Beastfolk still not learn their lesson?
Although the Alpha Kingdom lost a large portion of its northern territory in the last great war, its border with the Beastfolk was also shortened by half.
Despite the Beastfolk' fierce fighting style now, their defensive pressure is probably far less than before.
Chris IX said with a rather conflicted expression.
Having strong allies is certainly a good thing for the overall situation. However, if the allies fail to achieve a breakthrough, the enemy will turn their guns on them, which is awkward.
The current situation is very clear: whichever country the Beastfolk army breaks through next will suffer the most severe blow.
If they're lucky, they might survive until after the war and rebuild their kingdom with the support of the various human nations. If they're unlucky, the royal family might perish prematurely, and their legacy would belong to someone else.
Either a powerful noble family rises within the country, or the kingdom is annexed by a neighboring country. The newly emerging royal family may at most share some bloodline with the previous royal family.
If even King can be replaced, it's even easier for the great nobles below him to be replaced. If a family's strength is severely diminished, being replaced is only a matter of time.
Meanwhile, the Warhammer Kingdom was also in turmoil. Every nation has a few intelligent people, and even if the King doesn't notice the problem, those around him will point it out.
The ruling class collectively making a foolish mistake is ultimately a low-probability event. When it comes to matters of life and death, no one dares to be careless.
Even the most optimistic nobles couldn't guarantee that the Beastfolk would continue to fight Alpha Kingdom to the death and wouldn't change their attack direction.
The only thing that comforted Joseph II was that the Beastfolk's main attack was now focused on the tough and resilient Alpha Kingdom, so they didn't need to send anyone to help them.
If the target of the attack were the neighboring Moxi Duchy, he would probably be bombarded with calls for help, urging him to send troops to provide assistance.
If one side is Beastfolk and the other is vulnerable, the enemy can launch a flanking attack on any of the three "bad brothers" (or "broken buddies"), and they will all suffer the same fate.
"What are the reactions of the various countries on the mainland now? Have they agreed to send reinforcements?"
Joseph II asked with concern.
As the dominant power on the continent in the previous era, the Beastfolk were not only enemies of the Three Kingdoms, but also enemies of the entire human race. Faced with an enemy of their race, they naturally had to rally everyone together.
Theoretically, the combined strength of the three kingdoms could fight the Beastfolk to the death. However, judging from the current situation on the battlefield, that's merely theoretical.
It's not that everyone isn't trying; it's just that the situations they face are different. The Beastfolk army can use the corpses of their comrades as rations, but the human army can't be so heartless.
The sheer logistical strain alone from all the troops that the three-way poker team can mobilize could cause the front lines to collapse.
Supporting a million-strong army was already a tremendous effort for the three kingdoms. The idea of training all the able-bodied men in the country into an army and sending them to the battlefield was simply wishful thinking.
In an era before breakthroughs in transportation, mobilizing millions of troops for the battlefield was simply not feasible.
The only thing the Three Kingdoms could do was slowly wear down the Orc Empire. Although the Beastfolk had a large number of cannon fodder troops, they ultimately had their limits.
They reproduce quickly, but they don't reach adulthood immediately after birth. Once the cannon fodder is almost used up, it's time for the elite to go to the battlefield.
When it comes to their own direct descendants, the Five Great Imperial Courts also need to be mindful of the losses. For example, the Behemoth Emperor, which has the smallest population, would suffer a severe blow if it lost tens of thousands of troops on the front lines.
The situation is somewhat better for the four imperial courts, but overall it's not much better. Losing tens of thousands of elite troops is still painful; losing hundreds of thousands of elite troops is equally devastating.
The world is fair; while bestowing great power upon these races, it also diminishes their fertility.
In every major war, as long as the Five Great Royal Families suffered heavy losses, the war would end quickly.
It's not even necessary for all five to suffer heavy losses; if just one or two of them suffer significant losses, they might choose to withdraw their troops.
A fight to the death is out of the question. Beastfolk aren't stupid either; if they were that reckless, they would have been history long ago.
"Countries have condemned the Beastfolk's shameless behavior, and some countries have promised to consider providing assistance to our three countries in the near future. Specific actions will have to wait for the next Human Alliance meeting."
At the invitation of the Frankish Kingdom, representatives from various countries will travel to Lutetia this July to attend the 17th Human Alliance Conference and discuss how to deal with the current complex situation on the continent.
According to the intelligence we have gathered, in addition to discussing the issue of foreign races, the Franks may raise motions at the meeting that are unfavorable to the Church.
They are now at a severe stalemate with the Church, and the newly appointed Archbishop of the Frankish District has publicly declared that he will not accept any orders from the Church and has questioned the legitimacy of Pope Pius VII.
Upon hearing the Foreign Minister's words, Joseph was so angry that his beard almost stood on end. While they were fighting to the death with the Beastfolk on the front lines, the human nations behind them were just watching the show.
They say they'll provide support, but when it comes to actually doing it, they all make excuses and delay.
To put it nicely, it's a discussion and deliberation; to put it bluntly, it's just making excuses to avoid wasting their own resources.
It's only March now, and there are still four months until July. It will take four months for the Human Alliance meeting to be held.
If we wait for all the countries to finish arguing and come up with a proper plan for deploying troops, who knows how long that will take.
Deep down, Joseph II couldn't help but curse his ancestors. Why did they have to stand by and watch during the last Beastfolk invasion? If they had intervened earlier to help the Alpha Kingdom, they wouldn't have ended up in such a dangerous situation!
Only those who have personally experienced the brutality of the Beastfolk invasion know how valuable it is to have someone shield you from harm. Unfortunately, time cannot be turned back, and now the Warhammer Kingdom has no choice but to face the challenge alone.
If possible, he wouldn't mind supporting the Alpha Kingdom in reclaiming its lost territory. Joseph was certain that the nobles of the Warhammer Kingdom wouldn't be jealous this time.
The nobles, especially those in the border regions, have been tormented by the Beastfolk for decades, and many of the smaller nobles are on the verge of collapse.
If the Warhammer Kingdom hadn't followed its neighbors' example and subsidized the nobles in the border regions, many of the small and medium-sized nobles on the verge of bankruptcy would probably have had no choice but to abandon their territories and flee.
The situation is so critical, yet the human race is still busy with internal strife. If the Franks were to target the Church at another time, he would absolutely not mind fanning the flames from behind.
Questioning the Pope's legitimacy is a lot of fun. If you don't participate, you're practically not a proper King.
It involves a struggle between Royal Authority and divine power, so as a King, he doesn't need to consider which side he's on.
But that won't do now; the Warhammer Kingdom needs support. Any internal conflict among humans will weaken the support of the major powers.
The Alpha Kingdom and the Church have fallen out, but the Warhammer Kingdom has not yet broken with the Church. For his own interests Joseph II has to step in and call for a pause.
Unfortunately, his influence seems somewhat limited. While the Frankish Kingdom is the undisputed leader among the continent's ten great kingdoms, and the Alpha Kingdom ranks among the top three, the Warhammer Kingdom is at the very bottom.
Even the title of "Ten Great Kingdoms" was just something they called out; in reality, they are still far behind the kingdoms mentioned above, especially the Warhammer Kingdom.
As for the numerous human kingdoms that followed, needless to say, their existence was highly questionable. The term "kingdom" didn't necessarily indicate great power; it could simply mean their ancestors were incredibly powerful.
"The Foreign Affairs Department should contact the Alpha Kingdom and the Moxi Duchy to see if the three countries can jointly appeal to them to exercise restraint."
At this critical juncture, if the Church and the Frankish Kingdom were to go to war, that would be disastrous!
Joseph II said with a helpless expression.
For some reason, he always felt like he had endless worries. He had to manage things on the front lines, consider the problems of his allies, and even worry about the situation on the mainland.
The turbulent situation in the Mountain Territory is giving Hudson a major headache.
Looking at the battle report published by the kingdom, his face almost turned green with anger. How dare they publicize such a pathetic record?
Perhaps in the eyes of others, the Beastfolk army is a terrifying, evil, and incredibly powerful force.
Lord Hudson, who possessed tens of thousands of slaves, declared, "Beastfolk are nothing special."
If they were really as powerful as the legends say, the Mountain Territory would have been overthrown by these guys long ago. How could they possibly be working honestly?
As the defending side, we achieved a dismal 1-2 score, with most of our opponents being a bunch of cannon fodder.
Hudson didn't know how to comment.
Not to brag, but the rebellion of tens of thousands of slaves under my command can be suppressed with just a few hundred elite troops.
Most Beastfolk cannon fodder races have very limited combat capabilities. Hudson doesn't believe the Orc Empire is capable of equipping all its cannon fodder with armor and weapons; some Beastfolk cannon fodder might even be fighting with wooden sticks.
The defenders suffered such heavy losses that it was clearly not something that could be caused by these Beastfolk cannon fodder. Therefore, it is highly likely that an encounter battle took place, and they clashed with the Beastfolk elites.
In an instant, Hudson thought of "political needs." He guessed that the generals at the front wanted to win a great battle and then take it back for political propaganda.
The ideal was grand, but reality was a harsh slap in the face. Instead of a brilliant victory, they were soundly defeated by the Beastfolk.
Now we can only hope that the frontline commanders can be more rational and not cause any more trouble in order to gain merit.
If nothing goes wrong on the front lines, that's the best thing for the Mountain Territory.
If he delays for a year or two, then when he goes to the battlefield again, Lord Hudson will be able to lead 20,000 well-trained troops into battle.
The military service duties for all branches of the Coslo Family were transferred to the Southeast Province, and all of them fell on Hudson's shoulders.
When it's the turn of the Southeast Province to go to the battlefield, he will not only have to lead the troops of the prefecture to fight, but also the troops of various branches of his family.
Considering that the obligations of each province are different, the Southeast Province is more responsible for providing supplies and has relatively less military service. The Coslo Family also needs to provide the provinces with the equivalent of an army's worth of weapons and equipment.
Fortunately, the equipment was provided according to the standards of a regular army, and armor only needed to make up one-tenth of the total. If it were calculated based on every soldier in an elite unit wearing armor, the Coslo Family really wouldn't be able to gather that much in a short time.
With the addition of family private armies and the private armies of nobles in the prefecture, it wouldn't be a problem to assemble 20,000 to 30,000 well-trained soldiers. As long as they fought a couple of battles, those who survived would be the elite.
(Note: In the Alpha Kingdom, the number of soldiers is calculated as "soldiers + horses", and warhorses are also counted in the population.)
With so many elite troops following us, not only is our safety level improved, but our influence will also increase significantly. We will also have a say in important military meetings at the front.
As long as you don't do anything reckless, you don't really need to worry about becoming cannon fodder. The kingdom isn't so extravagant as to abandon tens of thousands of elite troops all at once.
In comparison, the struggle between the Frankish Kingdom and the Church was relatively minor.
From beginning to end, Hudson never expected these major powers to be the first to support the Northern Frontier Battlefield. If the human race were truly that united, the Beastfolk wouldn't dare to start a war even if they had ten times the courage.
It's good that things have escalated; the bigger the commotion, the more valuable the Blood Moon Horn will be in his possession.
What goes around comes around. Pope Pius VII had just dealt a blow to the Frankish Kingdom, and now he was facing their revenge.
This was the first time on the Aslant Continent that the legitimacy of the Pope had been questioned. It's safe to say that Pope Pius VII have cemented his place in history.
However, his reputation, like that of the Frankish King, was inevitably damaged; it remains to be seen whether it can be salvaged later.
In this context, if the Blood Moon Horn were to fall into the hands of the Frankish Kingdom, confirming the Church's guilt of colluding with Heretical Cult organizations, Pope Pius VII would be doomed.
From the Church's perspective, obtaining the Blood Moon Horn was a must.
If the kingdom's high command hadn't already determined that the Blood Moon Horn had fallen into the hands of the Church, and hadn't reinforced the seal with the power of the Mysterious Compass, Hudson wouldn't have dared to offer it for trade at this time.
Ultimately, they were simply too poor; otherwise, the prudent Hudson wouldn't have chosen such a risky trade. Of course, being targeted by others was also a factor.
When he was in the Mountain Territory, there weren't many problems; nobody dared to do anything. But once he led a large army on an expedition, the situation changed.
Given the Church's style, the Mountain Territory cannot be kept in check. Keeping this hot potato would be a recipe for disaster.
The reputation of the Church is at stake, and even a mere speculation is enough to prompt the Church to launch a major operation.
Especially now that it involves the dispute over the legitimacy of the Pope, it is even more determined to win.
Looking at the Blood Moon Horn that Beldens used to store beast milk, Hudson smiled to himself. If the seal wasn't broken, even if it were placed in front of everyone, probably no one would consider this broken horn an evil artifact.
Even if word gets out, people still need to believe it's the "Blood Moon Horn." Without proof that the Blood Moon Horn is in his possession, it's just slander.
The terrifying title Magister "Undead" would be a joke to outsiders even if Hudson himself came forward to acknowledge it.
Do you really think Undead is so easy to master, that one can easily become a Magister? If there were such a genius, that would be exactly the kind of talent the Alpha Kingdom desperately needs.
Despite the Undead Mage's infamous reputation, no one is interested in hunting him down before he causes trouble.
Among the Mage Association supported by the kingdom, there are many Undead. It is people, not power, that are inherently evil.
Especially on the front lines right now, Undead Mage are in dire need. Once Undead makes a move, the corpses corrupted by dark power will no longer be able to serve as rations for the Beastfolk.
To infiltrate the circles of power, Hudson's entire family history was thoroughly investigated. His birth and upbringing were entirely clean, which is why he was included in the circle.
To say that someone is selling counterfeit or substandard goods is simply an insult to everyone's intelligence.
If you don't even have this most basic ability to discern, then your foundation has probably been usurped by someone without anyone noticing.
The only question now is whether the Mysterious Organization is the Church.
Only by confirming their identity can we better negotiate prices. If it were another major power, the price would definitely be significantly reduced.
The most crucial point is that only if the Church buys the "Blood Moon Horn" will it remain a secret. They are even more worried about leaks than Hudson is about them.
From beginning to end, the Church has insisted that the "Blood Moon Horn" is sealed away, and that if it were exposed and traded with others were revealed, it would be a slap in their own face.
The best way to deal with something so shady is to quietly erase all traces of it, rather than making a big fuss about it.