Chapter 651 (2/2)
“He has driven this nation into a corner and baited it into a reckless battle for revenge And then I suppose he intends to lie in wait, just as he did previously The reason he killed so few outside of the expedition army was so that there would be as e I have heard that he is a young child, but he is crafty to the point of being terrifying” Tho of Vandalieu's intentions
Oblivious to the aze to the document on top of his desk
“And I'm sure this is all within his calculations”
There were all kinds of things written on the page, but it was essentially a request fro shi+eld-nation for Tho these difficult events
Earl Legston's second son, Chezare, had been the second-in-coston had been forced to pass on his family leadershi+p to his eldest son who had quit his job and retired But because Chezare hadn't been seen a the Undead army, and because the A priston had suffered no further punishment
The problem was that the position of the next marshal had come around back to Thomas
“Vandalieu, it seems that you are under the impression that you will be able to dispose of o your way I will prevent a foolish battle for revenge no matter what it takes And one day, as you make your nest in the continent's southern reaches, I will teach you your place in this world”
A little while after Thomas Palpapek was reinstated as marshal, it beca between the beginning of summer and the her in quality than Tho with his hands clasped together, listening to the report of his close aide
His face was young with thin lines in his features, but his eyes contained a strong light and there was an extraordinary air of charisma around him
His ears were long and pointed, though not as much as an Elf's
“Is that everything you have to report?” he asked in a beautiful voice that ender
“Yes, Amid Emperor Marshukzarl von Bellwood,” said the man who appeared to be from the army
Indeed, this young half-Elf man was Marshukzarl, the current emperor of the Amid Empire
Vandalieu would likely be surprised if he knew this In most fantasy works he had seen on Earth, half-Elves were subject to discrimination and persecution But in the majority of the world of Lambda, half-Elves were not treated this way
In this world, huainst the Deside the champions, and the Church of Alda labeled these three races as races of 'people' Many written records still re how the champions had formed true friendshi+ps with numerous Elves and Dwarves
And as for races to discriainst and persecute, the races created by Vida provided plenty in the Amid Empire
Of course, despite this, there were noble on the throne, and there were those who believed in human superiority
But Marshukzarl had silenced his opposition with his sheer capability and ascended to the throne
The report he was listening to was about the expedition
“It see and disposing of the traitors who allied the within the Empire, but… this is a rather unexpected situation,” Marshukzarl co the report
When the expedition had first been brought up, Marshukzarl had already been aware that General Langil Mauvid was allied with the Vampires
While the Vampires' attention had been focused on the expedition proposed by the general, he had been gathering evidence and ordering his close aides to dispose of the traitors
As a result of unofficial offers, searches and secret maneuvers, the names of many individuals with deep connections to the Mauvid family of earls had come up From there, several of the Vampires behind the scenes had been arrested and tortured, allowing Marshukzarl to gain information about many more Vampires and traitors
As a result, the Vampires' influence in the Empire had successfully been reduced a considerable amount
That was so to be happy about It was not an achievement that could be celebrated openly, as news that many noblemen had been involved with Vampires wasn't inforreat achievement nonetheless
However…
“Are you referring to how the expedition ar into Undead and attacking the town, the setback of the Mirg shi+eld-nation's cultivation project and the sudden collapse of the tunnel in the Boundary Mountain Range?” asked another aide
“Of course,” replied Marshukzarl “The original plan was to have the expedition succeed, take Mauvid's head and offer the Mirg shi+eld-nation financial assistance with its cultivation project as an apology, was it not?”
Marshukzarl and his aides had expected the expedition to succeed At the very least, the Dhampir who had led several hundred Ghouls across the Boundary Mountain Range was supposed to have been killed The Mirg shi+eld-nation should have lost a moderate amount of its elite soldiers and the power of Earl Palpapek, who desired the Mirg shi+eld-nation's independence, should have been cut down – In exchange, the cultivation project would have been greatly supported, but the fangs of Palpapek and his supporter would have been blunted
Marshukzarl wanted a foothold in the continent's southern region, but a foothold that would becole tunnel would be even riskier
Also, preventing the independence of a vassal nation and e with the E run
That hat Marshukzarl had thought
“But who could have expected that an army that outnumbered the enely, at that Just what methods did this Dhampir, Vandalieu, use?” Marshukzarl wondered out loud
“That is still unclear,” replied the aide “There were no survivors, and the Necromancy of all of the Spiritualists we had prepared has failed”
“I see The only thing we do know is that he tames the Undead… No, he turns corpses into Undead and controls thereatly interested, Marshukzarl ran his eyes down the docu Vandalieu “How curious If possible, I want to acquire him –”
“Would the Church of Alda not forbid such a thing?”
“It will be fine if we have them turn a blind eye to it It is just as well that the Vampire hunter has fallen Those priests are too fussy, anyway”
Unlike the Emperors before him, Marshukzarl was not a devout follower of Alda, the God of law and fate He didn't believe that he was truly a descendent of the champion Bellwood, either
He was a realist by nature, a pragmatist
That hy he always took policies that would benefit the Empire most
The teachings of Alda that emphasized law and order were effective as a tool to rule the people, so he used the his authority
Vida's races, including Dhaainst, keeping the people happy, so he had kept things as they were up until now Changing things would have great effects, and Vida's races were a minority in the Empire anyway
“But would it not be difficult to capture him?” another aide asked
“Of course,” replied Marshukzarl “Who said we're going to be capturing him? I said I want him as a subordinate”
“As a subordinate?!”
So tieous words spoken by him as a result of his realism and rationalism But even they were taken aback by the Emperor's expressed desire to take the Dhampir as a subordinate
“I-it is too dangerous! The Empire could collapse if this were ever discovered!”
“You're exaggerating,” said Marshukzarl “How far I will go depends on how much use this Dha can be sorted out if I just have the Pope of the Church of Alda authorize it by saying that it has been allowed by the God”
“This is certainly impossible!”
“I can si to say it to the position of Pope My beloved citizens can't tell whether he has really received a Divine Message or not, can they?”
As Marshukzarl's tone becaan to form on the backs of his aides
“However, it would be easier to have him work for me from the shadows,” he continued
The aides all sighed in relief
“But Your Majesty, the only thing we know at present is that this Dhampir can create Undead and control them Would it not be difficult to make use of him with only this much information?”
In fiction works on Earth, there are sometimes powerful people or co soldiers and use them for military purposes However, even if that were possible, Marshukzarl would never do this
The reason for that was because the A people
It was easy to iious and moral problems, and more importantly, that the soldiers and people would never accept it
If the soldiers were told to beco after they died, they would begin doubting whether their coned to have them die
The people wouldn't accept their husbands and sons beingafter their deaths
And it wasn't certain whether the Undead soldiers would swear loyalty after their death, either All of the Undead could rise in rebellion with a single whispered word from Vandalieu
“Well, I' to turn the Undead into soldiers,” said Marshukzarl “I just thought it would be interesting if we could turn all of the bones lying around on ancient battlefields into Skeletons and sent thedom”
“I see,” said an aide “Undead would rise and head to the Orbaudom, without any relation to us This would cause no problems”
“But wouldn't the realistic proble contact with the Dhampir?” asked another “Even if it is possible, there is a possibility that the Dhampir resents you, your majesty”
As for the incident of the death of the Dhampir's mother, it was possible that the Dhampir's hatred would soften when he learned that Marshukzarl's true sense of values differed fros of Alda, no matter what his official stance was
However, though Mauvid had been allied with the Vaeneral of the A that had been authorized in Marshukzarl's name
“In that case… that simply means that this is the extent of the worth of this child called Vandalieu,” said Marshukzarl “One cannot do great things without casting aside his personal grudges However, he is likely planning to spend at least a decade secluded in the Boundary Mountain Range When he coet away and make sure to make contact with him”
“Understood We will observe in secrecy”
“Also…” Marshukzarl turned his mind towards other matters “The Mauvid fa held captive, have hirets allying himself with the Vampires”
“Certainly There is also athat the Thunderclap Schneider should be requested to investigate the continent's southern region”
“Ah, hed as he recalled the face of his cousin hos Schneider was an eyesore, but he was a strangely convenient person As long as he was kept alive, those opposing Marshukzarl would rely on Schneider and gather around hi them more conspicuous
But sending that erous
“Schneider would refuse… probably If he does accept the request, stop him But do not make him an enemy, no matter what,” Marshukzarl warned his aides “Now is not the time”
“As you will What will be done about the Mirg shi+eld-nation?”
“Hive the sweet”
He had heard that there were ht a war of revenge
If the Mirg shi+eld-nation did so like that, it would lose more than a iven soe
“Then how about constructing a fort in Viscount Balchesse's territory to keep watch over the Boundary Mountain Range?” an aide suggested “It would also serve to keep an eye on the Dhahts on, Your Majesty Of course, the Empire would fund its construction”
“I see, that is an excellent idea,” said Marshukzarl
The people's broken hearts would consider the fort as ain their composure It would tell the people that the incident hadn't been taken lightly, and could even soften the people's opinions towards the Empire
Most importantly, the E shi+eld-nation would still have to use its own money to maintain the fort and pay soldiers to man it
In the future, it would also help deter the Mirg shi+eld-nation fro too much military power
“Well then, make it happen,” Marshukzarl ordered
And so, thanks to the fort construction project led by the Aed to recover from its loss
… In the future, the clearly pointless fort in this territory would only cause suffering, but it would likely be the viscount's son's generation ould have to worry about that
The Pure-breed Vampires, Earl Thomas Palpapek and the As in coed Vandalieu's existence
The first was that like Alda and the other Gods, they were cautious to not carelessly refer to Vandalieu by other na that he didn't acquire a title
The other was that they were all under the assu to spend at least a decade secluded in the Boundary Mountain Range, gathering strength