Living Against Death

Invitations were sent out one after another, Hudson was busy again. Setting up a trading platform required far more preparation than he had imagined.

Not only do we need to prepare trading venues, but we also need a sufficient number of merchants with sufficient strength, and even more sellers.

Merchants are the easiest to deal with; as long as the profits are large enough and safety is guaranteed, they will flock to you on their own.

The troublesome ones are the "sellers," who are all nobles, and Hudson has to personally handle and coordinate many relationships.

Fortunately, dealing with the spoils of war was also a pressing issue for the coalition forces.

One after another, caravans encountered accidents on the way, and fewer and fewer merchants were willing to take the risk, resulting in everyone accumulating a large amount of spoils.

In order to keep their armies mobile, many nobles had to abandon some of the larger spoils of war and only take the most valuable ones with them.

As soon as Hudson spread the word, some nobles who had made too much money pre-ordered warehouses, and some impatient ones even sent people to deliver the goods directly.

This forced Hudson to order an overnight construction of a temporary storage warehouse.

At the Order of Judgment Knights's camp, Commander Blake was extremely worried. After raiding dozens of Beastfolk, the Church had amassed a large amount of spoils.

Originally, the Church's chamber of commerce was assigned to handle the matter, but Hudson's sudden actions made his own chamber of commerce too afraid to come over.

"What happened? Why did they agree to come all this time? Why did they suddenly stop showing up?"

Blake angrily questioned.

They weren't part of the same system, so even with his high position and power, he couldn't do anything about those guys. After all, his life in the Church wasn't easy either, and he couldn't afford to make any more enemies.

Anger was more like a powerless outburst. If even their own chamber of commerce stopped coming, converting their spoils into cash would become their biggest problem.

If he hadn't fallen out with Hudson, he could have sent someone to the trading center to find a buyer. But now, at a time like this, who knows if he'd get ripped off if he went there in person!

"Commander Blake, there's no need to be so angry. We can discuss this calmly."

The Sacred Merchant Guild refused to come, but that was out of necessity. The front lines were simply too dangerous; in the past month alone, two of their caravans had been robbed.

Especially now that Count Hudson has set up the trading platform, the risks of going directly to the front lines are even greater!

Bishop Simon explained calmly.

Blake was well aware that the Sacred Merchant Guild's caravan had been robbed. He sent people to the scene to investigate, and all the clues eventually pointed to the Beastfolk.

Since it was done by the enemy, the investigation naturally came to nothing. At most, they would kill a few more Beastfolk on the battlefield to avenge the merchant guild, but they would have to bear the losses themselves.

"What's there to worry about? Do you think they would dare to rob our chamber of commerce?"

Bishop Simon, please inform the head of the merchant guild that we will mark the goods with magical symbols.

Even if the goods are stolen, once they enter the market, we can trace the culprit and help them recover all their losses!

"Blake said domineeringly."

As one of the most powerful forces on the continent, he had the confidence to make promises. Unfortunately, Blake was facing his own people, so such promises were completely ineffective.

"Commander Blake, please don't make things difficult for people. If someone dares to steal our things, do you think they'll try to dispose of them through normal channels?"

The Church's influence in the Alpha Kingdom is extremely limited, and even if stolen goods are discovered, it would be difficult to trace the source of the crime.

Count Hudson wants to set up a trading platform, then so be it; we need such a place anyway.

The Sacred Merchant Guild has already received an invitation to move in; only some specific details haven't been finalized, so there's no need to continue the fuss.

Bishop Simon said with a smile.

Even within the Church's camp, internal factions are in turmoil. The Order of Judgment Knights are at odds with Hudson does not mean that the Sacred Merchant Guild is also hostile to Hudson.

Although it is affiliated with the Church, the Sacred Merchant Guild is ultimately a commercial organization, and its primary consideration when making decisions is profit.

Following the Order of Judgment Knights was fraught with danger, and they could only do business with this one family.

If they were to join a trading platform, the sellers they would be facing would be the entire human alliance.

In particular, the platform has a high enough threshold to eliminate a large number of potential competitors. With the strength of the Sacred Merchant Guild, it is enough to reap a huge profit.

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As for Blake's ideas, they were simply not even on the agenda. It would only cause the Order of Judgment Knights to lose face; it wouldn't harm the interests of the Church. Why turn down money?

"You... you guys doing this, aren't you afraid...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Blake swallowed his words back.

After taking stock of everything, he still couldn't find a single reason that could change the Sacred Merchant Guild's decision.

While military force is powerful, money is not to be underestimated either. If a conflict arises over this, he will ultimately be the one who suffers.

"Your Highness, are you really going to lead the team there personally? You should know that this journey is deep behind enemy lines, and the road ahead is fraught with danger!"

Clark tried to persuade him.

Prince Butzwig shared a common trait with Behemoths—obsessiveness; once he made up his mind, nothing could sway him. As his strategist, Clark only felt mentally exhausted.

At this moment, infiltrating deep behind enemy lines to carry out sabotage is practically a mission with no chance of survival. Leaving even the slightest trace will result in the human race annihilating them.

No matter how weak the Alpha Kingdom is internally, it still has the strength to wipe out a few Beastfolk squads. If all else fails, it can at most send tens of thousands of troops back to work.

As reinforcements from the Human Alliance continued to arrive, even though the battle lines were stretched, the Humans' advantage on the battlefield continued to grow.

The fact that the Five Great Royal Families were willing to pay a heavy price to relocate their people rather than confront the human alliance speaks volumes.

"Alex's authority is growing stronger every day, and his competitors are being tormented. Although I kept a low profile as soon as I came back, it was inevitable that he would hold a grudge against me."

Once he's dealt with those guys, it'll be my turn next.

Alex is now the king of the Behemoth Clan, and if he wants to cause trouble, he has plenty of ways to mess with me.

I might as well take on a mission and go out to lay low for a while. By the time I return, I reckon the imperial court will have been almost completely purged.

A prince who has lost his influence in the military is the best Behemoth prince. I still have that political awareness!

Prince Butzwig said in a low voice.

He would never choose to go out and take the risk if there were a third option. But there was no other way; he had previously volunteered to take charge of the tribe's relocation, but unfortunately, Alex had rejected his offer.

If he remains in the army, he will become a threat to the imperial power. Whoever is on the throne of Behemoth Emperor must eliminate this threat.

If it weren't for the fact that it was wartime and Alex's hands and feet were tied for the sake of the Behemoth Clan's unity, the sword would have already been drawn against him.

Passively waiting to die was not his style. Rather than dying in internal strife, Butzwig would rather fall on the battlefield.

If he stayed in the country to continue leading troops, Alex would only become more wary of him. It would be better for him to volunteer to go deep behind enemy lines and risk his life.

As long as he can come back alive, he can consider this political turmoil a safe landing.

Alex had to treat a prince who had given everything for the Behemoth Clan, even if it was just for political propaganda, as a prince.

If the imperial court undergoes a change in the future, he will still have a chance to compete for the Behemoth Emperor based on the persona he has created.

After all, Alex is old. He's more than twice his age, and Butzwig could easily outlive him.

"Your Highness, since you have already made up your mind to go south, then I will not try to persuade you otherwise."

If Your Highness's trip is merely to avoid disaster, there's a 60-70% chance of you escaping unscathed. But if you're aiming for glory and achievement, I'm afraid... you're doomed!

Clark said, forcing himself to speak.

As an advisor, he had to act alongside Prince Butzwig. If the boss fell, he, the underling, wouldn't survive either.

The current admonition is not only to protect Prince Butzwig, but also to save his own life.

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid. The empire has already lost the war. No matter how much trouble we cause behind enemy lines, it won't change anything."

As far as I know, each of the Five Great Royal Families has suffered a population loss of more than 20%, with the proportion of young and middle-aged adults being even higher.

After this strategic shift, the strength of each ethnic group will be further weakened. While the rear is advantageous for defense, those barren lands will also hinder our development.

If the human race changes its strategy and supports several powerful races, we can expect to be fighting civil war every day!

Prince Butzwig couldn't help but complain.

These were top secrets of the Orc Empire. He wouldn't have revealed them unless he was extremely frustrated and needed to confide in someone.

"Your Highness, this kind of thing might really happen. Humans are best at sowing discord, especially since our neighbor is— Caesar III."

Looking at his actions since taking the throne, sowing discord and manipulating the balance of power have been his common tactics.

Clark analyzed the situation in as calm a tone as possible.

Perhaps lost in thought, Prince Butzwig did not get angry. Instead, he nodded and said, "You're right. As long as Caesar III is alive, we will face these situations."

I can even guess who will carry it out. Caesar III's appointment of the young Hudson as commander-in-chief is clearly a preparation for the destruction of the empire.

Judging by his age, Hudson could have been entangled with the Empire for at least several decades.

With a cunning and calculating King and a young and ambitious commander, we can forget about peace in the years to come!

Since the defeat at Dapes, Prince Butzwig has been passively turned into a fanboy, and perhaps he has praised him so much that he now believes it himself.

Things that were originally completely unrelated were somehow connected after he imagined them.

"Your Highness, do you intend to assassinate Caesar III?"

Clark asked in astonishment.

Killing a human King is simply a double-edged sword for the Orc Empire.

But the problem is, how easy is it to assassinate King?

Especially considering their Beastfolk identity, they'd probably be caught before they even got into the Royal Capital.

"Don't worry, we don't need to do it ourselves. The Empire will send experts to carry it out. With my limited abilities, I'm not qualified to be an assassin."

You don't need to know the specifics of how it will be implemented for now. Someone will create the opportunity when the time comes; the Empire is just being used as a pawn this time!

Prince Butzwig couldn't help but sigh.

This war changed too many people and things. Compared to his high spirits before the war, he was now filled with sorrow.

Even knowing they were being used as pawns, the Orc Empire still had to put on a smiling face and thank the other party for creating the opportunity.

Regardless of whether the assassination succeeded or not, none of the skilled individuals involved would return alive. Any trace that might expose them would be erased.

The Orc Empire's condition is that, after the assassination is completed, they must take responsibility for it and not disclose any information about their collaborators.

The contracts have all been drawn up, and the five emperors are the signatories of the contracts; they cannot go back on their word.

In fact, even if someone wanted to leak information, it would be difficult. Even high-ranking officials in the empire, such as Prince Butzwig, didn't know who the real collaborator was.

The few who knew the truth were bound by the power of the contract. They couldn't possibly sacrifice their own emperor just to divert hatred, could they?

"Alright, Clark. You should go and get ready too. Nobody knows if we'll come back alive this time."

Let's make arrangements for our family first, so that if anything happens to us, it won't disturb our peace as well as that of our wife, children, and elderly parents.

"If you need anything, just tell me. Although I, this prince, am past my prime, I still retain some influence in the imperial court!"