Along with aid and medical treatment, Sarkaz teachers also appeared in the refugee settlements. They taught the children there to read and write, and gave them some essential health knowledge.
The Witch King's preferential treatment for Leithanien Infected suddenly lost its effect, so he could only raise the stakes.
He further increased the minimum income for the Infected, opened up some occupations that had previously been forbidden to them, and expanded the range in which they could move freely. Moreover, Infected who carried out the Witch King's missions could obtain special identities after completing them, allowing them to move around Leithanien like ordinary people!
Watching such a war left Kal'tsit dumbfounded. The way these two sides competed could practically be described as bizarre on this land.
But the thoughts in her heart were...
Kal'tsit: Is there more? Give me some more! I love watching this!!!
Notice
Uh, 38.8 degrees Celsius, a dry throat, dizziness, and chills.43
Today's update is basically finished,
Sorry...25
Chapter 80: The Light Has Vanished
What had the Sarkaz been up to lately?
That was what nearly half of Terra was curious about now. It wasn't that they hadn't noticed the friction between Kazdel and Leithanien—but why hadn't the two sides started fighting? The way they were competing was just too strange?!
The Sankta found this the most outrageous of all. They had fought the Sarkaz for who knew how many years, but had never seen the Sarkaz provide such vigorous aid to foreigners!
Why hadn't you been this kind when competing with me?
Mostima had been assigned by the Pope to inspect a refugee settlement, and discovered that the Sarkaz were genuinely helping them.
Had the Sarkaz taken the wrong medicine?
She couldn't believe it.
The many races of Terra were all carbon-based lifeforms, and everyone had the same sort of inner feelings. When they saw desert refugees living far more miserable lives than themselves, the Sarkaz would also feel pity for them while being grateful for their own circumstances. But every action taken at the national level had its own purpose behind it. It was that purpose that drove such actions.
Kazdel distributed Oripathy-suppressing medicine to foreigners in order to form the Foreign Legion and ensure stability in its surrounding regions. In addition, it was training its own medical personnel.
This was Theresica's arrangement. Interns who had just completed their training first went to treat refugees under the guidance of official doctors. Only after passing an evaluation would they be allowed to treat Sarkaz patients.
And what about Leithanien? Why were they improving the treatment of the Infected? Was it really only to compete with the Sarkaz?
There was one point to consider: raising the minimum income for the Infected was indeed meant to motivate them, but the greater purpose was to expand military preparedness.
Leithanien was also a nation skilled in Originium Arts. The Sarkaz liked refining high-purity Originium into casting materials, while the Leithaniens preferred using the Infected as casting materials.
Originium crystals that grew on human bodies were generally of decent purity, and flesh and blood did not interfere with spellcasting. Thus, in the Witch King's eyes, the Infected of Leithanien were essentially ammunition.
Interfering with Kazdel required one group of Infected, attacking Siracusa required another, and a third had to be kept in reserve in case of emergencies. That was why the preferential-treatment laws for the Infected issued by the Witch King included relaxing occupational restrictions and expanding their range of activity. Both measures increased the chances of the Infected coming into contact with other people.
Expanding the supply of Infected ammunition was originally something the electors were supposed to do, but increasing the Infected's income and welfare required real money. Therefore, they made a deal with the Witch King: he would handle the matter himself, while they provided the funding.
If all the laborers were turned into Infected, even the electors would be beaten to death by an enraged mob!
They didn't want to live in constant unrest, so they chose to pay. They knew they wouldn't have to pay forever, either. There were plenty of ways to gradually roll back the increased benefits for the Infected.
As for the special identities granted by the Witch King, why would the ammunition they fired return?
A month later, Leithanien counted the number of Infected within its borders. Once it found that the required number had been reached, this political game—something that could be described as "bizarre" on Terra—ended because of Leithanien's own actions.
They stopped playing. Taking advantage of its lack of middlemen, Kazdel was able to provide aid to refugees and medicine to the Infected. This gave it far too much of an advantage over Leithanien, which had to subsidize its own policies.
Under the Witch King's orders, Leithanien's Arts Users commanded armed Infected to attack Kazdel in the guise of desert bandits. By then, Kazdel had also finished forming its Foreign Legion.
Most of them were retired Infected soldiers from Ursus. To Ursus, these people were a special group that gave its administrators a headache. Ursus discriminated against the Infected, but also had to provide preferential treatment to retired veterans, leaving the country thoroughly uncomfortable and practically schizophrenic.
After learning that Kazdel intended to form a Foreign Legion, Ursus voluntarily cooperated with Kazdel in verifying household registrations, preventing people from falsely reporting the number of family members to fraudulently obtain Oripathy-suppressing medicine.
The Foreign Legion's recruitment office was swarming with people. Even if only five thousand were recruited, Theresica could still select the best of the best from one in ten.
The Foreign Legion was uniformly equipped with Ursus gear, which suited those Ursus Infected veterans perfectly. After a week of integrated training with Sarkaz officers, they were sent straight to the battlefield.
Knowing that meritorious service would earn them rewards—and that even their deaths might bring their families better lives—the Ursus veterans displayed astonishing combat will and efficiency against Leithanien's armed Infected.
They advanced in neat Ursus formations at a loose jog. Even when spells from Leithanien's Arts Users struck the formation, the veterans would immediately fill any gaps without waiting for an officer's orders, leaving no room for hesitation or disorder.
When they saw that the spell bombardment was having little effect, Leithanien's Arts Users began using the Infected. They ordered the Infected to charge the military formation.
"You lowly Infected! The great and benevolent Witch King has said that as long as you defeat them, you can gain the status of ordinary citizens in Leithanien, and walk and work freely!"
For the sake of that status, the Leithanien Infected began charging madly toward the Foreign Legion's formation. The Ursus veterans drew their blades and cut down the Infected with practiced skill. Their anguished screams instantly rang across the desert.
When they saw people dying, Leithanien's Arts Users began employing their special Originium Arts. The Infected corpses lying on the ground suddenly began exploding one after another.
The Originium crystals released their energy, carrying flesh and blood as they scattered in all directions. This attack caused the Foreign Legion some trouble, but the heavy infantry armor of Ursus gave them excellent protection. As for infection... they were already Infected.
They charged straight into the Leithanien Infected bombs. Behind them, Sarkaz Arts Users replaced Ursus artillery and provided support. The Ursus veterans were extremely familiar with this style of combat. They found their own rhythm and, in a single day, used their boots to drive nearly ten thousand Leithaniens fifteen kilometers deeper into the desert.
When he learned that the battle to contain the Sarkaz had deteriorated badly, the Witch King did not become angry. Those people had been expendable pawns from the beginning. As long as they launched their attack, their mission was complete.
The Witch King began assembling troops along the border, and the Laterano Pope issued him a warning. But the Witch King paid no attention to the Laterano Pope. Under his orders, the Leithanien Arts User group crossed the Siracusan border on February 1.
Using the Infected as casting materials, the Originium Arts in the hands of the Arts User group scattered into the cities of Siracusa like pebbles lying everywhere.
Residents fled in all directions. Amid the explosions were the panicked, chaotic cries of the crowds and the wails of children. The families of Siracusa could only turn a blind eye to it all. Even with the military equipment sold to them by the Sarkaz, they could not change the fact that its users were thugs rather than soldiers. Those thugs had no way to withstand this, so they could only flee with the crowds toward somewhere safe.
On February 8, Lady Sicilia sent a letter to Laterano. Its contents were extremely simple.
"Save Siracusa."
The Pope dispatched two groups of Papal Knights the next day, but they could only block one route of attack and had little effect on the war as a whole. Large numbers of Leithanien Arts Users bypassed them and continued invading the heartland of Siracusa.
For a time, Siracusa was on the verge of destruction.
Chapter 81: Insufficient Firepower
"Your Majesty, these are the Foreign Legion's casualty figures from yesterday."
Early in the morning, Manfred delivered a military report. It contained detailed statistics on the battle results achieved by the newly formed Foreign Legion.
They had destroyed more than a thousand of Leithanien's armed Infected at the cost of only fifty-five of their own dead. If their armor had not been too heavy for them to pursue the enemy, the Foreign Legion could have achieved even better results.
In addition, seventeen soldiers had been wounded. Fortunately, an airship that had just finished delivering construction materials was ordered to rush to the combat zone. After landing within a safe area, it took the wounded away. They received timely treatment at a hospital in Kazdel, and everyone who had suffered an amputation successfully had their limbs reattached.
"You haven't had breakfast yet?"
Theresica noticed the dust on Manfred's shoes. Seeing that Manfred did not answer promptly, he had a servant bring him a breakfast as well.
"Eat here. I happen to want to ask you about something, too. How are the Foreign Legion's reinforcements coming along?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
Manfred bowed first, then sat down properly. "Your Majesty, many people want to join our Foreign Legion. According to the previous standard, the fifty-five vacancies have already been filled, all by experienced veterans. But..."
"But what?"
"Do we really have to distribute Oripathy-suppressing medicine to the families of those foreigners? Could we delay the distribution?"
Manfred was somewhat reluctant. Although Kazdel now had the medicine, it could currently only guarantee a daily supply for its refining workers. Under such circumstances, having to provide a large quantity to foreigners was genuinely difficult to accept.
Theresica did not share his thoughts. He said, "When foreigners betray us, we feel pain and distress. When we break our promises to foreigners, they will feel the same emotions we do."
"But..."
Theresica cut him off and asked, "Do you want there to come a day in the Terra of the future when the Sarkaz are simply called Sarkaz, instead of being called Fiends?"
Manfred looked at Theresica's serious expression and fell silent for a while. "...Yes."
"Then keep the promises we make ourselves."
Theresica said, "Money can be earned again when it's gone, and medicine can be produced again when it's used up. But a reputation is difficult to establish. Once we begin, we cannot stop, or all our investment will come to nothing."
"I understand, Your Majesty." Manfred nodded slightly.
After finishing this topic, Theresica turned the conversation back to military matters. Although they had won, they still needed to review their experience. Curious, he asked, "What did it feel like fighting the Leithaniens this time?"
"Your Majesty, the overall situation is as stated in my report. We held an absolute advantage."
Manfred paused. "However, the Sarkaz junior officers we inserted into the ranks generally reported that they were somewhat unaccustomed to the situation. The support intensity was insufficient."
"Oh? What happened?" Theresica set down his utensils. "I remember arranging for Arts Users to conduct coordinated operations."
"Yes, we did arrange Arts Users to provide cover for the Foreign Legion, but in our battles before this, we always used Originium Arts to bombard the enemy. This time, when we encountered the Leithaniens, their Arts Users used the Infected as casting mediums and fought our Arts Users to a draw."
Manfred said, "During yesterday's battle, our Arts Users were fully occupied intercepting Leithanien spell attacks, which gave the frontline officers the impression that they had no support."
Theresica fell into thought. The matter had set off an alarm in his mind. Originium Arts were the Sarkaz's specialty and foundation. Now that advantage had been challenged. This was not something that could be ignored.
He stood up. "Come on. Let's go to the arms factory."
Nearly two years had passed since Theresica had last visited the arms factory. It no longer had the feel of a small workshop. Management and production had gradually matured through day after day of refinement.
Theresica did not disturb the workers. He went straight into the research department in the core area. This was the work area of the reverse-engineering team for Ursus mortars.
The project's director was an Absolutionist named Alfred, and the deputy director was Mel.
Theresica had always strictly required himself not to interfere with specific technical work, to avoid causing unnecessary disruption or pressure for the researchers. But after hearing Manfred say that the support intensity was insufficient, something deep within him had truly been stirred.
Insufficient support intensity? Then the firepower is insufficient!
This time, Theresica could not hold back. He decided to ask about the specific situation.
He did not understand Originium Arts, but Earth had extensive experience with guns and artillery!
When Theresica appeared in the laboratory, he gave Alfred quite a fright.
"Your Majesty! Why are you here?"
"Huh? Boss?"
Mel also raised her head when she heard the commotion, revealing a pitch-black face. The craftsmen around them also stopped their work and looked over.
"I came to learn about your progress, to learn about..." Theresica smiled and gestured for Manfred to find somewhere they could talk. Then he beckoned Alfred and Mel over.
The four of them sat down in an empty workers' lounge, and Theresica hurriedly asked, "How is the mortar reverse-engineering going?"
"Your Majesty, we are fully capable of manufacturing the mortar itself, but the shells are another matter."
"Tell me about it."
Alfred brought over a shell and explained, "Ursus mortar shells consist of a propelling section that provides launch power and an explosive section that causes destruction after landing in the enemy's area. The two sections activate one after the other, and both work by detonating the Originium powder inside the shell to obtain energy."
Mel looked somewhat worried, as if she were concerned about whether Theresica could understand. In fact, he had already understood what was going on from the very first sentence.
Isn't this just like mortars on Earth?
He asked, "So which part of the shell is causing the problem?"
"The propelling section."
Mel quickly ran out, then returned in the blink of an eye with two metal tubes that had been cut open. She pointed at the tubes and said,
"These are the mortar barrels after firing one round of Ursus-made ammunition and one round of Kazdel-made ammunition, respectively."
After hearing this, Theresica hurriedly leaned in to examine them. He found one tube spotless, while the area around the firing pin at the base of the other tube was covered in all sorts of unknown deposits.
"What are these things?"
"Your Majesty, they are incompletely burned residue left behind after the propelling section exploded."
Alfred reached out and, after some effort, managed to scrape a little off. "The destructive section of the shell is filled with pure high-purity Originium. Ursus uses seventy-five percent purity, while we are fully capable of using eighty percent, which would give it greater power. But the propelling section is filled with more than just Originium powder. There are other things inside that we don't know about."
"Those unknown substances are why residue remains in our barrel after firing. Ursus shells can be loaded again immediately after one shot, but after firing one of ours, the barrel must be cleaned, which takes quite a bit of time. Moreover, Ursus shells have a maximum range of six kilometers, while our imitations can currently maintain only three and a half kilometers reliably."
"Incomplete combustion... Could we replace the propellant with higher-purity Originium?"
Theresica tried offering his own suggestion, but Mel shook her head. "No. That would release an enormous amount of energy all at once and cause the barrel to explode."
At that moment, Alfred suddenly thought of something. "Your Majesty, our laboratory is isolated from outside information. May I ask whether we have encountered some trouble recently?"
In his impression, His Majesty had never personally interfered with any research process. His unusual behavior today probably meant that some change had occurred.
Theresica did not hide it. "Leithanien has recently clashed with us. Their Arts Users are also very strong, and our advantage has become weaker. The army urgently needs more powerful supporting firepower."
The first thing he had thought of was mortars. Industrial weapons like these were not Arts Users, and could provide stable firepower over a long period. Who could have expected them to run into a problem with incomplete combustion in the propellant?
"Your Majesty, why not import shells from Ursus?" Manfred suggested.
Before you continue