Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: [The Holy Kingdom Declares War on the Empire!]
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That unbelievable rumor swept across the continent in an instant.
"Why would Aier do that?"
"It must be nonsense. With the Demon King's descent so close, there's no way people would start fighting each other."
"But the rumors are too specific for that."
"Oh, come on! It's all bullshit!"
Some believed it, others didn't.
People's reactions split into those two camps.
But everyone shared the same unease.
The last war had broken out fifty years ago.
There hadn't been a single one since.
No country had time to fight each other when they all needed to unite against the Demon King's descent.
And yet, right now, with the descent war right around the corner.
Aier was going to war with the Empire?
News of the clash between the two superpowers set the entire continent abuzz.
"Troops are gathering at Aier's border."
"...How many?"
Agna asked sharply, grinding out her cigarette in irritation at the agent's report.
"The confirmed number so far is fifty thousand."
"These damn bastards really want to try it?"
Agna let out a hollow laugh.
Around fifty thousand.
An enormous force.
Considering the Holy Knights and Priests of Aier who would back them up, it was bound to be even stronger.
But Agna wasn't afraid.
This was the Empire.
The continent's only superpower, capable of mobilizing not fifty thousand, but five hundred thousand.
Add in the troops from the vassal states, and a million was possible.
Fifty thousand was a lot, sure, but not enough to truly worry the Empire or Agna.
And yet, the Empire was plunged into chaos.
"What the hell are they thinking?"
Starting a war now was basically suicide for everyone.
"I'm sorry. We haven't figured out Aier's intentions yet."
"I wasn't asking you."
There was no way a mere agent would know something she herself couldn't guess.
"What about Derhan?"
Between the Empire and Aier lay the kingdom of Derhan.
A small nation advanced in culture and intermediary trade, but one that any Aier force heading for the Empire absolutely had to pass through.
"They've decided to open the way."
Agna's face twisted in disbelief at the agent's answer.
"Open the way?"
They knew better than anyone that war must not break out now.
"Aier's stance is incredibly firm. If they don't open the path, Aier has made it clear they'll raze Derhan before advancing on the Empire."
Compared to Aier, Derhan was like a firefly to the sun.
They had no choice but to yield.
"No request for support?"
"None."
If they had asked the Empire for help, she would have dispatched troops without hesitation.
But Derhan seemed unwilling to let war erupt on their own soil.
Agna could understand that sentiment.
Not that it made it any less infuriating.
"Get out."
She needed time alone to think.
Once the subordinate agent bowed and left, Agna lit a fresh cigarette and closed her eyes.
'Bishop, 'Saintess', death, war, Seo Woo-jin.'
She recalled the keywords she suspected were connected to this incident.
There were plenty of suspicious and unclear points.
But nothing she could point to and say, "This is it!"
'Holding us accountable for the 'Saintess's' death?'
What a laughable pretext.
No king was ignorant of the fact that heroes were expendable tools for war.
Only the clueless masses and low nobility idolized and deified them.
'Mardein knows that too.'
Aier's Holy King knew it better than anyone.
For a man like that to start a war over the 'Saintess's' death?
Even a stray dog wouldn't buy it.
'They're clearly after something else.'
But what?
Unless the Holy King had truly lost his mind, this made no sense...
"Hm?"
Agna's eyes snapped open.
"Lost his mind?"
She pictured the 'Saintess' as described in reports.
Eyewitnesses and surviving knights had all given the same consistent testimony.
"The 'Saintess' went mad."
That was right.
Agna began to suspect that perhaps Holy King Mardein had truly gone insane like the 'Saintess' and started this war.
It was a wrong guess, but not entirely off-base.
Mardein was a Demon King follower, and those cultists really were insane.
Besides, based on Crusiel's current intel, this was the best hypothesis they had.
"I need to confirm it for sure."
If the Holy King and 'Saintess' had both gone mad, they had to find the cause.
Agna stubbed out her remaining cigarette and stood.
"Prepare a meeting."
As she stepped out the door, the waiting agents sprang into action.
"Relay to our agents infiltrated in Aier. Focus all intel on the Holy King. I want to know the number of underwear in his bedroom."
No response.
But Agna didn't mind.
She knew her subordinates were the type to skip replies and focus on the job.
Eyes gleaming, Agna strode toward the conference room.
'I can't disappoint His Majesty again.'
The recent events had severely shaken the Emperor's trust in her and Crusiel.
She couldn't fail again.
'First, find a way to stop the war.'
Countless plans flashed through Agna's mind.
* * *
"...War?"
Seo Woo-jin stared in bewilderment.
He'd noticed the uneasy atmosphere around, but he never imagined he'd hear the word "war."
"Aier declared war. Everyone's still skeptical, but the higher-ups are treating it as fact."
Briana sighed as she explained.
"No way..."
"Yeah. It's over the 'Saintess's' death. At least, that's the official pretext."
Seo Woo-jin hadn't anticipated a full-scale war when he beheaded Seong Yu-ra, important SS-rank hero or not.
He couldn't hide his shock.
"It's not your fault."
Briana saw through his turmoil and shook her head.
"Starting a war over the 'Saintess's' death doesn't make sense. It's just an excuse. So don't feel guilty."
She spoke comfortingly.
But Seo Woo-jin couldn't settle down.
Whatever Aier's true motives, he had given them the opening.
If war really broke out between the Empire and Aier, how many would die?
Just imagining it made his chest tighten.
"Crusiel's investigating now. With so many things blowing up at once, they're spinning their wheels."
It had shifted attention away from him a bit.
From the fight with Strain to why he killed the 'Saintess'.
They wouldn't have bandwidth to probe him for a while.
"...That's good, then."
Seo Woo-jin smiled wryly.
"Don't blame yourself. What we need to think about now is preparing for what this war will bring later."
Seo Woo-jin tilted his head at Briana's words.
"What do you mean?"
His head was already spinning from the war; he couldn't grasp her point immediately.
"There will be massive casualties for sure. The Empire is strong, but Aier is no pushover."
Excluding the Empire, Aier was one of the continent's top three powers.
A fight with them wouldn't come cheap.
"And when this war ends. Or maybe even during it."
Briana bit her lip and looked at Seo Woo-jin gravely.
"The Demon King could descend."
"Ah..."
The descent war.
It would be incomparably more brutal than any nation-versus-nation conflict.
Even if every living being and hero united their strength, victory wasn't guaranteed.
If the Demon King descended while they were weakened from infighting?
"We could lose the war."
Briana said seriously.
'Hm...'
Seo Woo-jin nodded.
He didn't think they'd actually lose.
He felt confident he could somehow stop the Demon King and win the descent war.
With his cheat skill 'Demon King Transformation', he wasn't too worried.
Sure, he wasn't ready yet and needed more growth...
'But the casualties would be huge.'
War wasn't a solo act.
Even if he stopped the Demon King, a weakened world would suffer massive losses to monsters and demonic beasts.
"So what do we do?"
From Briana's tone, stopping the war seemed impossible.
That left one option.
"Minimize the damage."
And end the war as quickly as possible.
"What if we take that Holy King's head?"
Infiltrating Aier and assassinating the Holy King wouldn't be hard.
If the war's instigator died, maybe it would fizzle out.
Briana laughed as if she'd expected that.
"That would make them go berserk."
Right now it was a fake pretext with the 'Saintess's' death, but kill the Holy King and it'd turn into a real revenge war.
The faith-and-loyalty-armored masses of Aier would swarm the Empire.
It would last until the last one fell.
Seo Woo-jin smacked his lips at her words.
"So how do we reduce casualties?"
"Heroes can't join the war."
It was agreed upon by every nation on the continent.
[Heroes do not belong to any one nation and cannot be deployed for private purposes until the descent war ends.]
As long as that pact held, heroes couldn't intervene in national wars.
"With things like this, who cares about the pact."
Seo Woo-jin scoffed.
Let Aier run wild, and the world might end—screw some promise.
"But there is something you and the other heroes can do."
Seo Woo-jin looked at her expectantly.
"Training."
It was an answer he never saw coming.
"...Training?"
"To be precise, the subjugation training at the Academy."
Seo Woo-jin still looked confused.
But Briana had no intention of explaining further.
"Yorn will announce it shortly."
She just smiled as if to say, wait and see.
"Can't you tell me more?"
Seo Woo-jin sighed.
Knowing the situation would let him prepare.
Briana relented with a shrug.
"The training ground is Derhan Kingdom."
"Huh? Derhan?"
Seo Woo-jin pictured the continent's map in his mind.
"Yeah. The small kingdom between the Empire and Aier."