Patriot / Mechanization Is Just a Bicycle

Without a written agreement, the Sankta could actually be quite flexible. Theresica immediately hit it off with them, and the two sides sat around the dining table, gleefully complaining about the Leithanien people's various antics.

And what about the Leithaniens who arrived at the same time?

They were the Elector's diplomatic delegation. Although the Sarkaz side had the Banshee clan leader appear as their equal counterpart, they still couldn't meet Theresica. When they tried to discuss fulfilling the payment with the Banshee, she simply said that she had no authority to decide.

The whole matter seemed to have deadlocked completely!

The Leithanien diplomats were extremely restless. Every second of delay now would have an enormous negative impact on Leithanien.

Before receiving the Elector's assignment and coming to Kazdel, they had already carried out a diplomatic mission in Ursus.

The atmosphere at that meeting had been extremely strange. The representatives of the Ursus Imperial Council seemed completely uninterested in Leithanien's offer. They had even loudly whispered among themselves right in front of the Leithaniens while signing.

"Hey! Should we sign this agreement or not? We might just be wasting ink!"

"No matter. We'll be happier that way!"

"Hahaha..."

The Leithanien diplomats sat there listening to the Ursus people's mockery, their faces turning red, then pale. Though their mouths did not move, they were already cursing furiously in their hearts.

What the hell has this Empress done?!

After sitting in Kazdel for a long time without getting any result, the Leithanien diplomats reluctantly compiled a report on the situation and sent it to Siracusa, where it was relayed back to Leithanien through the communications station.

In the council chamber inside the tower, the Electors who had been waiting for the result received this ominous report from an attendant.

It looks like the Sarkaz are determined to make trouble for them.

On the raised platform behind them sat two women. They seemed to notice the Electors' gloomy expressions as well.

"I'm sorry. Our moment of impulsiveness has led to such serious consequences."

"No, Your Majesty, the great Empress. This matter is not worth troubling yourself over. Every nation in Terra has torn up treaties before. We only need to leave things alone for a while, and this storm will pass."

Upon hearing the Empress speak, the Electors hesitated for a moment before deciding to comfort their leader first.

To avoid being discovered by the Witch King, the nobles had carefully hidden the two of them in rural villages. Their manner of doing things had inevitably taken on a bit of a rustic air.

But that was understandable. After all, they had yet to receive proper political education, and unlike the Witch King, they were not beyond persuasion. With a few years of guidance, they could still become competent leaders.

At the signal of several people beside him, one of the Electors stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, we need the authority to intervene in your daily schedule."

The two women exchanged a glance. One of them asked, "Why?"

"Right now, you need to understand this country properly from an entirely new perspective, so that in the future you can make everyone submit to your will more effectively."

The Elector explained.

The Twin Empresses' authority had temporarily been taken back by Leithanien's nobles. They still had not forgotten the Witch King's arbitrary style of rule.

Unlike Victoria's nobles, they did not dare lead armies directly against the royal family. They could only use the other side's minor mistakes as an excuse to gradually restrict their freedom of action.

The matter of payment between Kazdel and Leithanien seemed to have been left there. Leithanien plugged its ears and continued with its own affairs, while Kazdel stopped worrying about it as well. It developed its shipbuilding industry while shifting its attention back to the construction of Lungmen.

Keeping Ursus and Yan happy was what mattered most.

On the Ursus side, the second phase of the Wendigo return program also began. This time, more than a thousand people came, most of them women, children, and elderly Wendigos. Under the protection of the Sarkaz army, they set foot on Kazdel's soil.

With their return, the Wendigos had officially come back to Kazdel. This race, once driven from its homeland, had set foot on its native soil once more.

Bodrocasti

The Wendigo people, who had been away for hundreds of years, had returned to Kazdel. Adults and children alike studied the unfamiliar city before them with curious eyes.

Although it was not as prosperous as Ursus, there were no dark corners, nor were there idle people loitering in the streets. Ordinary residences could be seen everywhere.

The homes looked warm, with good lighting and plenty of ventilation.

However, the Ursus authorities had allowed them to leave without permitting them to bring their property. They had not accumulated much money in Ursus either. Would they really be able to survive here?

"Everyone, there's no need to worry."

The Banshee seemed to see their concern and hurriedly explained, "All of Kazdel's resources are currently allocated in a unified manner by the national Planning Committee established by His Majesty. Everyone will be provided with all the necessities of life."

The Wendigos were left utterly bewildered by this. The Banshee could only bring Amaya over to give them a makeshift lesson.

While Amaya slowly helped the Wendigos understand how Kazdel differed from the other nations of Terra, Theresica received the representative of the Wendigo people—the Bodrocasti family.

He was not the chief of the Wendigo people, but he was currently Terra's only pureblood Wendigo. His strength was terrifying. Through military achievements alone, he had forcibly risen to the rank of captain in the Ursus army despite being a foreigner.

That was the highest military achievement attainable by someone who was not a citizen of Ursus!

"Hello, Mr. Bodrocasti. Welcome back to Kazdel."

"Greetings, Your Majesty. Cough, cough..."

His unusually hoarse voice had barely begun when it was interrupted by a fit of coughing. In those few seconds, Bodrocasti's brows drew tightly together, and cold sweat broke out across his forehead. The woman standing beside him immediately went deathly pale, while the child in her arms stared at his mother in confusion.

"Do you need a doctor?"

Theresica asked tentatively. "Kazdel can now treat most common illnesses. It's not like it used to be."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, but this isn't... a common illness. It's a complication caused by Oripathy."

Bodrocasti ignored his wife's anxious expression and said it directly. "I've already... contracted Oripathy. In Ursus... my comrades kept it hidden for me."

"It's all right. This is Kazdel. You can speak openly about having Oripathy here. Mr. Bodrocasti, although you were previously from Ursus, from today onward you are a citizen of Kazdel. We'll handle this according to Kazdel's rules."

Theresica smiled and motioned for Shining to fetch Warfarin.

"Doctor Warfarin will examine you shortly. I can't guarantee that we can cure you, but Kazdel will certainly provide an ample supply of Oripathy suppressants."

"Your Maj... Majesty... how much will it cost?"

Bodrocasti's wife could not help asking. Oripathy suppressants were not cheap. Even though a captain's monthly salary in Ursus was considered quite high, she could still only secretly buy a little medicine from time to time to ease her husband's suffering.

"How can you..."

"It's all right. She's just worried. That's only natural."

Theresica waved his hand indifferently, signaling that Bodrocasti did not need to reprimand his wife. He continued, "In Kazdel, people engaged in Originium-related work, military personnel, and military veterans all enjoy lifelong free medical coverage. All healthcare costs are covered by the national treasury."

A smile immediately appeared on Bodrocasti's wife's face.

"The newspapers were telling the truth!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Bodrocasti bowed.

That same day, the Confessors joined Kazdel's medical personnel in conducting a physical examination of all the Wendigos who had returned from Ursus.

Yet these terrifying war machines, despite their overwhelming strength, looked nervous and even refused to approach the imaging machines. Warfarin was left speechless.

"Just look at how big you are! And you're still shrinking back like that! Anyone who didn't know better would think I was some kind of demon! Get over here!"

At Warfarin's shout, a young Wendigo cautiously moved half a step forward. But when he saw the activated imaging machine, he took a huge step back and shook his head frantically.

Warfarin had already run out of patience. She pointed toward the side, where two Wendigos who had completed their examinations were standing.

"You two! Come here and hold him down!"

The temporary screening site immediately erupted into an earthshaking commotion. In the end, Warfarin had "dragged" more than twenty infected people out of the Wendigos.

They stood in a line to one side, their shadows covering a small section of the camp. Yet their faces were filled with unease, showing just how terrifying it was to become infected in Ursus.

But this was Kazdel.

"Come on, come on. Time to get your medicine."

Warfarin had someone push over a cart loaded with medicine. "One bag per person! Don't go anywhere for the next few days. Doctors will come to check on you at any time. We've never treated a race with bodies this enormous before, so we need to closely monitor your reactions to the medication!"

Wendigos possessed extraordinarily strong physiques, so even after contracting Oripathy, most of them remained only lightly infected. Bodrocasti was different, however. He had once been accidentally struck by friendly artillery, causing him to become moderately infected directly. Worse, the infected lesion had appeared in the vital area of his throat.

After learning that the only pureblood Wendigo was suffering from Oripathy, the Banshee, King of the Scavengers, and Bloodfiend Grand Duke all personally went to visit him. Theresica also asked Warfarin about his specific condition.

"He has more than a dozen Originium lesions. They were probably caused by the war. But considering a Wendigo's physical constitution, this level of infection has only just reached moderate severity. It's just that..."

Warfarin took out a huge imaging film and pointed at the severely blurred area around Bodrocasti's throat.

"This is his primary Originium lesion. Judging from its progression, it's been worsening for more than five years. It has already begun spreading and is moving toward the lungs. Without this lesion, he could live another hundred years without a problem. But now... he probably has another twenty years, and certainly no more than forty."

Theresica glanced at the closed partition door before asking, "Is there any treatment plan?"

"For now, he can only take Oripathy suppressants. Then we can remove the lesions that aren't attached to his organs through surgery and reduce the burden on his body as much as possible... That's all we can do."

Warfarin looked somewhat melancholy. Bodrocasti's wife was not a Wendigo. One of the Sarkaz branches had actually reached the end of the road.

Theresica was in no better mood. His feelings today had been like riding a roller coaster. At first, he had thought this meant he could finally become truly powerful, only to discover moments later that he had been given a trial period with an expiration date.

But... there were still twenty years. Kazdel's medical care would continue to advance!

Just as Theresica was comforting himself, the shapeshifter clan leader quietly pushed open the partition door and entered.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"What news?"

"Victoria has quieted down. The dukes seem to have grown tired of fighting."

Mechanization, but Only Bicycles

Victoria's civil war suddenly came to a halt, something none of Terra's nations had expected.

The civil war had erupted suddenly, and its halt was even more unexpected. Not a single one of the dukes who had fought each other had died. Now that the fighting had stopped, hadn't all their previous battles been for nothing? Could they really accept that?

Their confusion was understandable, but having to face a behemoth once more was even more unnerving.

Columbia hastily ended its war with Sargon and withdrew its federal army back within its borders. Leithanien redeployed its defenses and strengthened its reserve forces in preparation for Victoria. Kazimierz began another round of knight recruitment, then sent its newly formed knightly orders to the border adjoining Victoria.

The nations of Terra were tense, but Victoria's residents let out a long sigh of relief. The civil war was finally over.

Internal war was different from war against another country. It did not deplete a foreign enemy at all; instead, it inflicted multiplied damage on one's own nation. It was especially devastating to people's livelihoods.

Prices for all kinds of supplies soared, medicine became scarce, and production and commerce collapsed outright. The lives of Victoria's people had been utterly miserable over the past year.

But the dukes seated high above them had experienced none of this.

Outside Londinium, residents hurrying back and forth to make a living gave an unfriendly look to a landship slowly approaching.

An ornate noble crest was carved into its bow, showing that the vessel belonged to the nobility. Yet the Originium currently available on Victoria's market was almost entirely being used for the civil war. Even minor nobles had to walk like commoners, or revert to using draft animals to pull carts.

Under these circumstances, the only people who could still operate a landship were the few grand dukes.

Sitting peacefully in the elegantly decorated bridge, Duke Wellington enjoyed the sunlight while quietly gazing toward Londinium.

A huge defensive cannon had been installed at regular intervals along the city wall. They were now slowly turning and aiming in his direction.

"Your Grace, your guests have arrived."

The maid bowed as she spoke.

"Notify me once everyone has arrived."

"Yes."

The maid slowly retreated. Duke Wellington made no move. He continued watching as the defensive cannons gradually adjusted their firing trajectories.

He knew they would not dare fire.

Wellington lifted his teacup and savored the tea's delicate fragrance.

He had not participated in Victoria's civil war from beginning to end. While the others were exhausted, he remained completely unscathed. He had once been the most powerful noble. Now he was even more powerful.

Today, he had left his territory at the invitation of the Unicorns, the only political family remaining in Victoria apart from the Aslans and Dracos, to discuss state affairs here.

The Unicorns had proposed that Victoria's throne was currently vacant, but no one wanted to bear the infamy of being a usurper, and none of the nobles accepted the others' authority. In that case, they might as well establish a council and decide national policy together.

The nobles agreed. However, none of them cared about Victoria's future. Their troops were simply exhausted and needed time to recover.

"Your Grace, they're all waiting for you."

"Mm."

Wellington set down his teacup, straightened his clothes, and then walked outside at an unhurried pace.

The dukes' landships were parked outside a scenic resort manor. Eight landships and a large number of soldiers had surrounded the manor so thoroughly that not even water could pass through.

Inside a comfortable pavilion, the dukes and the Unicorns were all waiting for his arrival.

They had put on airs, but once the formal discussion began, no one wasted time. They immediately voted to establish the council, with the Unicorns as the presiding members and the dukes as councilors.