Chapter 280

Sesia was startled and quickly straightened up to distance herself from Ryan. She didn't want Her Your Majesty Kachina to misunderstand that there was something between her and Ryan!

"Let's discuss, everyone, what methods can we use to resolve the threat posed by the Holy Blood Army?" Kachia asked.

The main hall was very quiet.

"What, have you all become mute? Aren't you usually very talkative?"

Still no sound.

Ryan asked in a low voice, puzzled, "Why is no one speaking? Aren't they discussing something?"

Sesia thought to himself that even if they discussed it, they had to come up with a solution. The Imperial army had suffered heavy losses, and the Watcher Legion now only had a little over 10,000 men left. The ordinary Imperial army was no match for the Holy Blood Army.

The Watchers absolutely cannot be mobilized casually anymore. The other troops are no match for them, and the Holy Blood Army, though small in number, is highly mobile, able to hit and run, and even teleport through the Chaos Space. Who can match their mobility?

More importantly, their combat strength is also strong. Such an army that can fight, run, and never tire is simply an unbeatable force.

If it weren't for the incident at the Kazar Plain, with those 100,000 elite imperial troops there, everything would have been much easier.

But now.

This is too difficult!

"Rider, you seem to have a lot of ideas. Since you came in with Kachina, you must have some unique insights into military and political matters, right?" Kachia saw Ryan muttering something to himself. She was still holding a grudge about what happened last night, so she took the opportunity to make things difficult for Ryan.

"Kachia." Kachina frowned. "Rider doesn't understand the situation, and besides, how could he possibly know anything about this?"

Kachia snorted, "But I saw him talking quite happily just now, Sesia, what were you saying to him?"

Sesia: "..."

No, Your Majesty, please don't take your anger out on me.

"Your Majesty Kachia," Ryan said with a faint smile, "I was indeed discussing countermeasures with General Sesia just now."

Kachia asked blankly, "Did you come to any conclusions?"

"Well... it's not really a big problem."

"Heh~" Kachia sneered, "Then tell me."

"Well, while the Holy Blood Army is fierce, a major problem is that their soldiers are extremely expensive to produce. Although the power of war can strengthen their bodies, their equipment needs to be provided by the Augustus Empire. Now they are deep in enemy territory, and after several battles, even if the soldiers aren't tired, their equipment is severely worn out."

Kachia paused, then said, "Continue."

"It's impossible for the Holy Blood Army to replenish its equipment quickly on its own, so we have to transport it from the Augustus Empire. We can strengthen the defenses of the coastal ports to prevent those cunning Augustians from secretly transporting equipment over, and then have the Watcher Legion guard the border of the Kazar Plain, forming a military defense line of the Empire to completely contain the Holy Blood Army within the Empire."

"You're just stalling for time," a minister on the other side said. "What kind of solution is it to lock the Holy Blood Army inside the Empire? Are you just going to watch them slaughter the Empire's citizens?"

Ryan curled his lip. "Are you stupid? Of course, we're doing this for the Augustus Empire. As far as I know, this Holy Blood Army is personally led by that girl named 'Shally,' right? The entire Holy Blood Army is built around her. As long as we show Augustus our determination to annihilate them, even if there's only a 10% chance, Empress Augustus will never take the risk."

Kachia frowned. "And then?"

Even if the Holy Blood Army's equipment is destroyed by the light blockade, their combat strength should not be underestimated. If you can't defeat them, you can always escape.

'Shally's' ability to open up Chaos Space is what bothers her the most.

"Then, of course, is reconciliation." Ryan shrugged. "August won't risk the Holy Blood Army's survival to fight us to the death; that would only benefit the Northern Federation. So, in the end, reconciliation is the only option in this war."

The minister who had spoken earlier scoffed, "According to you, why not just seek reconciliation with Augustus from the start? Why go through all this trouble?"

"Are you a pig? Now try to reconcile with Augustus, and you'll be asked for an exorbitant price!"

"You!"

"Horace, do you think what Rider just said was wrong?" Kachina asked with a smile.

Horace shuddered and quickly lowered his head.

"Yes, that's right. Prince Rider is exceptionally intelligent and has keenly grasped the key points. We are far inferior to him."

"Kachia, look, he's said it himself." Kachina's gaze shifted. "I think Rider is right. Given our current situation, reconciliation is the best option."

Kachia frowned in thought. Of course, she knew that the only option now was reconciliation, but reconciliation required negotiation, and negotiation required leverage.

Ryan's idea did give her some inspiration.

"However...did Augustus not know the risks of sending the Holy Blood Army beforehand?" Kachia pondered. "If he did know and still sent the Holy Blood Army, does that mean the Holy Blood Army already had a way to leave at any time? For example, using the Chaos Space?"

"If they leave, then there's even less to worry about. Without the threat of the Holy Blood Army, and with the Empire and Augustus so far apart, the Northern Federation's strength poses no real threat to us. What's there to fear?" Ryan chuckled. "Besides, I don't think Chaos Space Teleportation is something you can use casually. If it were that easy, the Holy Blood Army wouldn't bother with a special sea raid. They could just send a large army to the border and teleport wherever they want. Wouldn't that be much more convenient?"

Ryan wasn't lying about this; he only learned about it after seeing 'Shally's' teleportation. She used the name 'Blood Hand Butcher' to open the Chaos Space and move around by sacrificing herself.

Humans cannot utilize the Chaos Space's Power, but demons can, and the Blood Hand Butcher is even more so.

But...

Firstly, preparing the ritual is troublesome. Secondly, and more importantly, you're bound to encounter ghosts if you walk at night too often, and you might just run into the real Blood Hand Butcher during one of your teleportations.

Having experienced the God of Desire, Ryan felt that anything was possible in the Chaos Space.

Blood Hand Butcher is an Eighth Tier killer, and 'Shally' definitely can't beat him right now, so she can only use the killer's name to swindle and cheat people everywhere.

"Okay! We'll do as Rider says."

Kachia suddenly realized that Ryan was calm and rational in such important matters, and his thinking was clear. You might say this matter is simple, right? It is simple. This is not a solution to the Holy Blood Army, but it directly addresses the current predicament of the Empire. He can grasp this point quickly and clearly, which is something that none of the ministers she has trained have been able to do.

Ryan: Of course I'm telling you, that's exactly how I set up the plan, how could it be wrong?

Next, the group discussed the matter of sealing off the coast and strengthening border defenses. Kachia sent Sesia to the last remaining Watchers to the Kazar Plain to face the Wilder army from afar, and ordered defenses to be set up along the way to prevent Augustus from secretly sending equipment to the Holy Blood Army.

After the meeting concluded, the other ministers left.

"Kachia, look how capable Rider is," Kachina said with a smile. "See? The Prince I've set my sights on."

"Come brag after you've resolved the Empire's predicament." Kachia couldn't help but roll her eyes. You keep calling me Rider and Prince, do you think I'm no longer needed as your older sister?

Before, wherever they went, it was always her and Kachina.

Now, she's with 'Kachina and Rider'.

Her mentally challenged younger sister was kidnapped by some random man.

Ryan thought to himself, "I'm here to save the empire from its dire straits. How I got into it is none of your business."

"Oh, by the way," Kachina took the opportunity to tell him about Ryan's plan to enter the temple.

This was immediately opposed by Kachia.

The Earth Temple is off-limits to anyone other than those chosen to inherit the Watchers profession; even royalty is not permitted to enter.

Kachina was immediately displeased. "My Prince is one of our own, representing half of me," she thought. "Does she even deserve to go in?"

Besides, Ryan is the Chosen of the Earth God, so isn't he more qualified to enter than ordinary people?

Kachia felt something was off. Ryan, so quietly, had stolen her foolish sister and now he was eyeing the temple. It was better to be safe than sorry.

However, Kachia couldn't persuade Kachina, and in the end, she could only say that they would talk about it after the current imperial crisis was over. If Ryan's plan succeeded and Arcadia overcame the crisis, then Ryan would be allowed to enter as a meritorious official.

"That Kachia, she's so paranoid, she's become neurotic ever since she became emperor!"

As they walked into the castle corridor, Kachina said angrily.

"Don't say that. Her Your Majesty Kachia has her own difficulties. After all, as the emperor, she has to think about the empire at all times."

"Rider, you're so kind. Kachia treated you so badly, and you still defended her... It's a pity Kachia is so stubborn."

Ryan was too embarrassed to speak.

Your Majesty, please don't say that. I'm easily embarrassed, really.

Actually, he wasn't in a hurry. Anyway, he hadn't reached the advanced stage yet, and besides, he hadn't even conquered the Arcadia Empire, so a few more days wouldn't make a difference.

However, he really had to get involved in this matter; otherwise, how could he contribute to the Arcadia Empire? And how could he defeat the Twins without contributing?

In the following days, the internal situation of the Arcadia Empire changed dramatically.

Now that the war has dragged on, anyone within the empire who is even slightly concerned with the situation knows that the Twin Empress no longer have the capacity to invade the Northern Continent. For now, simply preserving their territory is a victory in itself.

The Watcher Legion launched another attack, blockading the coastal ports. Kachia then dispatched 30,000 soldiers to garrison the Asax City-state, and sent another 100 Supernatural Being to provide support.

It must be said that Arcadia's foundation is indeed profound. In terms of the number of Supernatural Being alone, the power that Kachia secretly controls is far stronger than that of the Burning Covenant.

In addition, Ryan examined the soldiers' weapons and equipment carefully and found that they were far superior to those of the Augustus Empire.

Putting everything else aside, just setting up those rifles and cannons on the city walls would be impossible for ordinary armies to handle.

'Shally' also considered the casualties of the Holy Blood Army, and ultimately chose to abandon the strong attack on Asakus, instead going to other weakly defended city-states in the surrounding area to plunder.

If she had been even more ruthless, she could have directly held a ceremony to open the Chaos Space within Asaks City, allowing the demon army to descend. In that case, the Asax City-state would have been crippled, if not destroyed.

However, considering that this place will also be Ryan's own 'home' in the future, it would be a real shame to destroy Asaks, which is the economic center of the Southern Territory.

Besides the information about Supernatural Being and weapons, Ryan also learned from Kachina about the artisans of the Arcadia Empire, who were researching airships.

This news truly startled Ryan. If Arcadia had developed the airship sooner, the war would have been a completely different story.

Unfortunately, the craftsman was hidden away by Kachia, who was secretly developing technology for the empire. Even Kachina didn't know where he was... or rather, she wasn't interested in the matter. If she had asked Kachia, she would have known, but now if she asked again, Ryan felt like he really had the word 'traitor' plastered on his forehead.

No rush, he's definitely not in a hurry right now.

While Kachia was anxiously monitoring the Holy Blood Army's movements, Ryan was bored out of his mind.

Nothing much to do today, so I'm listening to music at the castle.

Day 1: Playing games with Kachina Van.

The next day, I played games with Kachina Van.

On the third day, I played games with Kachina Van.

Ryan, desire is a curse, you can't go on like this!

On the fourth day, we continued playing games with Kachina.

There's no way around it, Kachina is just too big!

While not as powerful Amabena, Kachina makes up for it in other ways. For example, recently Kachina has been appearing as a knight—no, I should say Queen. Although she doesn't usually act as assertive as Kachia, she's actually the complete opposite at heart. Ryan always felt that these twins had opposite personalities, Kachina was probably harder to handle, but because of their intense interactions, she's developed such high regard for him that he doesn't realize it yet.

Furthermore, a game meant for two people is being played by three, which feels like someone is eavesdropping outside the door. It's not that Ryan is playing any tricks; that's just how it is, and there's nothing he can do about it.

Actually, the person who should be cursing the most is Kachia. Ever since Kachina left Ryan in the castle, she's had to share a room with Kachia. Kachina is comfortable with her Queen demeanor, but what about her?

Kachina, you weren't this diligent when you were training!

As a result, when Kachia tried to calm Kachina down, the latter confidently claimed that she was training, which angered Kachia so much that she almost stripped Kachina naked on the spot to see how many slap marks she had!

That's fine, Kachia has already been patient enough, but you two shameless bastards, stop causing trouble so late at night! Don't you let people get any sleep?!

For the first time in her life, Kachia hated the ability of empathy so much.

She wasn't unaware of Kachina's thoughts, but shouldn't there be some restraint? Do you even know how to write the word "restraint"? You work during the day and at night, can your bodies handle it?

There was something she had to admit: although Ryan was annoying, he was indeed 'exceptionally gifted'. Kachia had also read Kachina's books and learned some related 'knowledge,' which was why she was surprised. If she hadn't witnessed Ryan displaying the power of the Chosen of the Earth God, she would have even doubted whether Ryan was the God of Desire's Chosen.

There was nothing she could do; even if she went to argue with Kachina, it would be useless. On the contrary, Kachina would take the opportunity to flirt with her—after all, that guy was a lewd person who could even say something like, "How about we go together?"

Fortunately, by the fifth day, things finally calmed down on the Holy Blood Army's side.

Kachia guessed that what Ryan said was true: the Holy Blood Army's equipment had malfunctioned. Taking advantage of the situation, she issued an order to encircle and annihilate the Holy Blood Army, and in an instant, 200,000 imperial troops began a large-scale search throughout the Southern Territory.

After searching for two days and engaging in two skirmishes with the Holy Blood Army, Kachia knew when to back down, as she was well aware that the Empire's ordinary troops alone could not possibly capture the Holy Blood Army.

So she began to spread the idea of a ceasefire, but did not take the initiative to contact the Augustus Empire, trying to gain as much benefit as possible in the negotiations.

However, Augustus remained silent. On the other hand, on the Kazar Plain, after the Northern Federation's 100,000 troops arrived, Augustus sent another 50,000 troops to support them. In addition, with the addition of Wildea's more than 20,000 Moonlight Cavalry, a total of 170,000 people have now gathered on the border of the Arcadia Empire!

Now Sesia was under immense pressure. She had only brought a little over 10,000 Watchers, plus other Imperial troops, barely managing to gather 50,000 men. Originally, they were just there to guard the borders and deter the Northern Federation, but instead, they were the ones being deterred.

Kachia was extremely anxious. If Augustus showed no intention of reconciliation, things would become difficult. The conflict between the two countries was nothing more than a matter of territory and military power. If Augustus wouldn't concede, then they would have to concede as well.

Just then, news came from the headquarters of Gate of Janus, hoping that Arcadia, Augustus, and the Northern Federation would cease their war, based on the principles of peace and joint resistance against the Outer Gods.

Lin Qi will act as the representative of the Gate of Janus to mediate the conflict between the eastern and northern continental plates.

Kachia had never liked the Gate of Janus, that Saintess, so much. Although she had previously refused to cooperate with her, she was still very grateful that she had stepped forward this time.

"Saintess Lin Qi is quite active. It seems she wants to cultivate her own faction, just like Pope Sylvia."

"So, could I use the support of the Arcadia Empire to get her to secretly support me in the upcoming negotiations?"

Kachia thought it was entirely feasible; since everyone was willing to reconcile, it wouldn't be difficult to accomplish.

At worst, we can cede some benefits; it's inevitable that Gate of Janus's forces will eventually enter the Empire.

Loss of faith?