Chapter 2432 (2/2)

The position of Elder Chief of the Dark Elves of the western region of the continent did not have the kind of absolute authority that a king would have in human societies

The position was more like that of a chairether when they met That hy the Dark Elves believed that it was a position that required someone with vast life experience and an exceptional personality

“… Very well I respectfully accept, forar “Us Dark Elves will e in order to be a part of the co battle But not all of us Some will remain behind, and ill entrust thees so that they ency”

Many of the Dark Elves anted to rate to Talosheim desired to do soforces rather than because they wanted a place to live in peace

In truth, it was possibly safer for thees where they currently lived rather than inside the Boundary Mountain Range, which was the target of the Gods that served Alda, the God of law and fate

That hy they would es in case they needed to be used as shelters That was the decision that the chiefs had come to

“Phew, finally Well, all things considered, it was pretty quick But I's cale,” said Dalton

“You're right,” Lissana agreed “There wasn't too less hunting of Vida's races… or rather, hunting that wouldn't yield any returns”

Marshukzarl, the current e members of Vida's races, just like the eht of the purpose of doing so – the purpose of keeping the e the people's dissatisfaction

Thus, he had not sent out his ar in hidden villages when there were steep mountains and forests between them and the imperial domain

Even if he sent his ar he would gain is overn Even if the captured Dark Elves were sold off as slaves, it was unlikely that this would offset the enor the army

“But the next e to be heavily influenced by the Church of Alda Heforces within the nation before the battle against the De,” said Schneider

“Schneider-dono, the army is not the only proble individuals known as the heroes chosen by Alda and his followers h I find such behavior difficult to understand,” said Zod

Zod was more worried about the possibility of attacks by heroes with the divine protections of Gods, ere far ht and were morebehind attacking hidden villages of Vida's races that lived without interacting with hus multiple times in the past

And instead of punishi+ng those who did this, the Church would praise the

Which races of Vida were targeted depended on the age and the nation, but in many cases, races with Ranks – such as Majin, Kijin and Scylla – were targeted rather than Dark Elves However, these heroes had the Gods at their backs, so there was no telling what they ht do

“However, it see all of their efforts Leveling in Dungeons, hunting down the reanization that worshi+pped the evil God of joyful life, and re-sealing ra,” Zod added

“Yeah Dalton, tell them that only the capable ones should be left behind in the villages, and that they should set hter surveillance network than usual,” said Schneider “And I suppose we'll ask Vandalieu for a coe”

And so, despite a few rerate the Dark Elves was put into motion

There was a Dhampir in Morksi, a city of commerce in the Alcrem Duchy As the nudoan to hear of Vandalieu

Having received a report of this prodolee And then he immediately suppressed that information – to ensure that it didn't reach the ears of the Church of Alda and the nobles trying to topple him from his position of emperor

This was not a significant act on his part; it was possible that it was entirely ht that it was better than si them himself

Having heard of the breaking of the statues of Fitun, the God of thunderclouds, he s of a public speech to calm the people

But Duke Lucas, the current head of the Hartner house, froze as if ti these rumors

He are that a Dhampir was involved with the events that had occurred in his own realo A Dhampir who had written his name at the Adventurers' Guild – Vandalieu

“How can he be so bold after all of the things that he did in the Hartner Duchy?! What in the world is he thinking…? What is he planning this tiid face now pale and flustered

“Your Excellency, the Dha the city without paying his taxes,” said one of his vassals, unable to stay silent “Shall we use this as a pretext for su?”

Dhairl under the protection of the Orbaudom's hero, the 'Blue-flamed Sword' Heinz But in the end, those were the only notable things about Dhampirs

A mere food stall owner, as not even a vassal of a noble family, was at the full mercy of the authority of the Hartner house of dukes That hat Lucas's vassal believed when he estion

“D-do not say such foolish things! What e do if this castle tilts over as well… No, what if it collapses?!” Lucas said, his voice growing higher in pitch

He did not place so much faith in the Hartner house's authority

“Your Excellency, the castle tilting over was the doing of the bandit named Kanata, not the Dhampir, was it not…?” the vassal asked

“That may be true, but… that incident happened very close to when the Dhahted It is difficult to say for certain that the Dhale shred of evidence that allows us to deny that possibility,” Lucas said

“That is true, but –”

“The appearance of a new Dungeon in the city of Niarki and the subsequent es' Guild at the tiether The collapse of the slave mine And to top it all off, the disappearance of the Red Wolves Knights' Order, ere sent to dispose of the cultivation villages There is no proof or testiests that the Dhampir is involved in any of these, is there?”

“Th-that is true, but…”

“Then it would not be strange to think that he is involved in the tilting of the castle Wewith unknown entities Tell the Six Hartner Spearet involved with hiive a damn if he were to try and make use of the Dhaet us caught up in it, and I will not allow that”

Lucas's orders were for the elite forces he commanded as the duke of the Hartner house, and Belton – his younger half-brother who had contested him for the position of duke – to not make contact with Vandalieu

The Six Hartner Spearmen were elite individuals who had sworn loyalty to Lucas, but they were considerably weaker than the A Swords They were certainly several levels above the Red Wolves Knights' Order froo, but even so, Lucas's instincts told hih

As for Belton, he had conceded the position of duke to Lucas and was supposed to have become a loyal vassal, but Lucas was already aware that he had soht of hi involved with Vandalieu

“Then shall we just send soested “Let us have thens of suspicious movement… especially if he approaches the Hartner Duchy”

“… That should be fine Give the order,” said Lucas

When Lucas heard of the Dungeon rae that had occurred at the city of Morksi, he became even more certain that the series of events in his own duchy had been related to the Dhampir after all

Meanwhile, Rudel Sauron, who had taken the position of duke in the Sauron duchy, was actually thinking of whether it would be possible to summon Vandalieu to his duchy… or rather, his mother, Darcia

“It seems that those rumors were true A holy lady who summoned a familiar spirit of Vida, who has shown her presence in this world for the first time in a hundred thousand years If this holy lady were to visit the Church of Vida in our duchy, it would enliven the people,” said one of his vassals

“Indeed,” Rudel agreed with a nod

The Sauron Duchy had been at the forefront of the war against the Amid Empire, and had been reclaio There were ion

The reason for that was because the A Alda, the God of law and fate, and Vida had distanced herself froo But even so, there werethe people

Darcia was said to have summoned a familiar spirit of Vida If she were to visit the Church of Vida here, it would brighten the dark, sinking at time

The retaking of the forress as usual, and we aren't achieving anything spectacular against the Amid Empire in battle At this rate, the people's sentirow ht to himself

The former Scylla territory remained under Vandalieu's control Recently, adventurers and even the Mercenaries' Guild were refusing co abandoning it altogether

And although the Amid Empire was led by ters that constantly clashed with each other – the e the border, as if coles for power

The Sauron Duchy had not finished restoring its land and reorganizing its army; it was not in any state to achieve victories in battle

That was precisely why the 'Holy Lady' Darcia's presence would enliven the people

“However, theresomeone who has become well-known in another duchy Duke Alcrem will not be pleased about it, either,” said another vassal

There was no law against a duke su so a vassal out to s was avoided

“Indeed Making a forceful move here would incur the displeasure of not only Duke Alcrereed “Let us roundwork around Duke Alcrem and Earl Morksi”

“Understood,” the vassal said

Unaware that this holy lady's son was the greatest existing threat to his rule, Rudel beganhis plans to summon her to his realm