Elliot drew a deep breath, the corners of his mouth curling up despite himself.
The expedition, which had troubled him for so long, had finally lifted a corner of its veil, allowing him a glimpse of the truth.
He had harbored doubts about this expedition from the very beginning.
The Empire had almost unified the continent, while the remaining nations clung to survival under "Augustus's mercy."
The founding emperor Augustus had once promised not to seize any more of their land, ordering them to abandon their resistance on that basis. Both sides had honored the agreement to this day.
This agreement was also known as "Augustus's mercy."
That raised a question: the Empire had no overt enemies, so who was the expedition targeting?
Granted, not every force had submitted to the Empire. There were some uncivilized natives on the new continent, for instance, but dealing with them certainly did not warrant the term "expedition."
So Elliot had always wondered whether the enemy might be some kind of supernatural foe.
But... would firearms and munitions be useful against supernatural enemies?
Duke Sterling's personal participation in the expedition already demonstrated the Sterling Family's role in it, and Michel had even invited Elliot, the heir.
Although this was closer to a political gesture, more an expression of goodwill, it also reflected the Royal Family's regard for the Sterling Family.
As everyone knew, Sterling and the Reforging Flame sect excelled at war machines.
And Elliot really had not seen many supernatural beings capable of matching those head-on.
At the Theresia Festival, those monsters had seemed frenzied and terrifying, but Elliot had carved a bloody path out with only a few Machine Priests accompanying him.
When the bronze statue of the Steam Angel Theresia had finally acted in person, she had wiped out every monster