“I see… So it failed. Huh, I lost another really good human resource.”
Hugo, the Foreign Minister of Liberitoa, who received a report from the spy, leave his weight on the chair on which he was sitting.
Hugo was the only one in the tightly closed room, which was suitable for summarizing the situation without any hindrance.
Intelligence personnel who were proficient in providing information and assassination missions, were valuable. Their upbringing began in early childhood and was very costly. It was a great loss in a strategy similar to abandoning valuable chess pieces. It was a really sad loss for Liberitoa.
Craist’s attempt to recapture failed, Ferrius’s attempt to poison failed, and now the assassination directed by Hugo also failed.
“The layers, the fortress, Highserk soldiers, Demon Fire, Gerard, and even one of Three Heroes… this battle… we may lose.”
The number of troops of the Four-Countries Alliance, which had exceeded 60,000, had decreased to 32,000. In terms of numbers, it would still be twice as much as the Highserk army, but the Four-Countries Alliance couldn’t even enter the fortress and instead, they were pushed back.
There might be a chance to win if the alliance managed to capture the layers once again.
In Hugo’s homeland, the Liberitoa Trade Federation, there were “black water” springs in the desert where powerful and deadly monsters such as Red Scorpion were residing.
Sufficient enough to burn the Sarajevo Fortress intermittently was brought, and a large thrower was also installed in the occupied layer. It was all ruined by a total attack triggered by a surprise attack by the user of 《Demon Fire》.
“Using normal means won’t be enough. Then―― there is only the Demon Territory.”
With normal troops, there was no chance of winning against the Highserk Empire, which still held Sarajevo Fortress. Hugo looked away from Sarajevo Fortress at the map and pointed to the largest Demon Territory located in the center of the continent.
The large thrower was lost, but the Liberitoa black water was safe as it was shipped to Lake Celta. Hugo thought that it would be a waste to not use it.
It was the largest and strongest Demon Territory on the continent, and even carrying a barrel containing black water would cost some troops. Still, as the situation was bad if nothing big happened, the answer in Hugo’s head was decided.
There was enough to burn the forest in the Demon Territory, so no problem with that. What Hugo needed to do was to whisper a sweet invitation to Craist, which received a lot of damage caused by the revenge of King Ferrius who was blinded by the vengeance of his younger brother, such as losing one of the “Three Heroes”. If Hugo could talk it well, Craist would be in favor of his plan.
However, if it failed, Hugo needed to make a new strategy.
Then, a girl who succeeded her father and became the Queen of Myard appeared in Hugo’s mind.
A patriot who was still immature but worried about the country. Myard wouldn’t be convinced with the plan. However, Hugo laughed, thinking that if it were three-vs-one, nothing could be done by the weak Myard.
Fortunately, the Liberitoa soldiers had the lowest damage and now had the largest number of troops in here compared to Myard, Ferrius, and Craist.
Whether successful or unsuccessful, the Highserk Empire would be hit hard, was what in Hugo’s mind
Hugo, who finally put together his thoughts, called his followers and gave instructions. From the beginning, there was no option such as “not achieving anything and returning to the country” for Hugo.
◆
“Are you serious about burning the Demon Territory on the outer edge of Myard?”
Rita Myard’s angry voice echoed in the tent under strict security. Myrad had only Celta territory, had the least force to mobilize in the Four-Countries Alliance, and the leader, Rita Myrad had limited influence as the youngest amongst the leaders. As the representative of the country, Rita wasn’t silent, knowing that the land would be devastated.
“That said, is there any other way to move the Highserk Empire from Sarajevo Fortress? If you burn forest in the demon territory, the demons will attack the Highserk soldiers. Of course, some people of Myard, will be sacrificed, but it’s the cost of necessity.”
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Rita raised hatred for the selfish argument of the Foreign Minister of the Liberitoa Trade Federation. Thinking that she had to be calm, Rita calmed her breathing, if she let herself in angry it would only lead to what the old fox wanted.
“Are the other two countries agreed with the operation at the expense of the people of their allies?”
The tent was attended by the King of Ferrius Kingdom and the leader of the Order of Reharzen on the behalf of the King. The Knight Commander replied to Rita’s question.
“Sacrifices are an integral part of the war. Craist has made great sacrifices. Despite being a country that was just invited to this war. The one that needs to steel the resolve to win, isn’t it the Principality of Myard?”
Then King Ferrius preached.
“Ferius has also made a great contribution to both the military and civilians. This is the only way to knock the Highserk Empire down to hell. Burning the Demon Territory at the outer of Myard will also cost my Kingdom. And we’re prepared for it!”
Feeling crazy in his eyes, Rita realized that the death of his younger brother, whom King Ferrius had been fond of, had a severe effect. Rita herself had lost her great father and her hometown in the Battle of Aidenberg. She could understand the luscious temptation of vengeance. Still, she couldn’t let herself be tempted by it as a ruler of the country.
“But!!”
Hugo interrupted Rita, who raised her voice, as now two candles had been lit by him.
“If you allow Highserk to recover here, you’ll be attacked one by one. The Highserk Empire can’t help but cut the opponent’s neck once being attacked. That country is terribly aggressive in the name of the Defense War. And if you don’t draw them out of Sarajevo Fortress, the Highserk Empire will regain its strength and mobilize troops from its territory. I don’t want to say this, but if that happens, Myard will be the first to sink.”
In short, what Hugo wanted to say was “Because I’m thinking about Myard, there’s a need to burn the forest of the Demon Territory on the outer edge of Myrad”.
Rita’s persuasion continues, but the talk slowly moved on to what she feared the most.
“In advance arrangements, the direction of the war would be decided by majority vote. Right?”
King Ferrius, who was in a hurry to conclude, presented a plan that Rita didn’t want to hear the most.
“It’s definitely written in the agreement.”
“If so, let’s take a majority vote. My Craist Kingdom vote in favor of burning the Demon Territory.”
“… ugggh, the Principality of Myard vote in objection.”
“Ferrius vote in favor”
“Liberitoa Commercial Federation vote in favor”
“It’s 3 to 1. It’s decided, we’ll burn the Demon Territory on the outer edge of Myard.”
“That land is a demon territory with mighty demons that even the three great powers do not touch carelessly, and the degree of danger is different from other demon territories. It cannot be handled by humans!!”
It was a box that shouldn’t be opened, where even monsters classified as S and A rank inhabited. From normal people’s perspective, Rita would be among the ones involved in unlocking the box that would endanger her people.
“We will use adventurers to burn the forest. It seems that the adventurers who have been locked out of their hometown will cooperate. Aren’t the people of Myard really devoted? Let’s pray for the success of this operation.”
Rita clenched her fist, saying that everything went according to the expectations of Foreign Minister Liberitoa. A country without power could always only choose nothing. Rita looked up at the sky with her helplessness, but she could only see the cloth of the tent, feeling trapped in there.