Chapter 191. Eve
'Dragon's Breath is like natural gas mixed with mana.'
It wasn't just natural gas.
While ordinary combustible gas also exists, what the dwarves called 'Dragon's Breath' was apparently a fuel in which mana had accumulated.
It was a concept similar to how the peat from Karnburk had accumulated mana and beco a unique fuel.
That Dragon's Breath was discovered in Wolfskrig.
It was a fortnight after the dwarf refugees had been fully integrated into the work in Wolfskrig.
'Hmm? This! Doesn't this sll like Dragon's Breath!'
According to the workers' testimonies, the dwarves had suddenly started sniffing around and searching the mine shafts.
Before a few hours had passed, a gas well where 'Dragon's Breath' was condensed was discovered.
The dwarves imdiately began to travel around the entire county, creating a map of the 'Dragon's Breath.'
'With this, we can win! The weapons left by our ancestors! The tank units you created! The masterpieces of Duke ister! We can mass-produce them all and create a legion!'
The sight of King-of-Kings Ungol, shouting excitedly as he submitted the map of the gas well to , is still unforgettable.
Anyway, the investigation revealed that gas wells were distributed throughout the county.
Kalisto was the place with the most massive amount of gas wells among them.
And it was right under the city.
According to the dwarves, the hot springs in this area were also due to the influence of the gas wells.
'We'll start work right away! It'll be done in a month!'
As the King-of-Kings had boasted, extraction work was underway at major gas wells, including Wolfskrig, before a month had passed.
Wolfskrig's factory complex was renovated with the dwarves' characteristic rapid work speed, accelerating research and production.
Kalisto, boasting an abundant reserve, was remodeled into a second factory city and the first bastion to defend against the Eastern Empire.
'...In the end, it beca a hellfire ending by blowing up the abundant reserve.'
Well, it's not like I had planned such an operation from the beginning.
Anyway, the gist of the second operation was to stimulate the concentrated natural gas wells with magic circles and explosives to cause an explosion.
To cause an earthquake throughout the city with earth magic, to set a spark with fire magic, and then to apply a strong impact with explosives to make it explode all at once.
'Honestly, William did it all. I just laid the magic circles as he said and supplied the mana stones.'
For reference, the reason I'm rambling on with these random thoughts is to forget the pain.
Even though all sorts of protective spells are wrapped around my body, my skin is repeatedly being cooked and then regenerated by a miracle in real-ti.
It's driving crazy, but I'm almost there.
The thread is getting thicker.
For reference, 'Click-Clacky's' tracking ends at providing a general area.
It doesn't pinpoint the exact location.
The thread that had been getting thicker has now vanished as if seeping into the air.
This is it.
The Sacred Relic is sowhere around here.
It didn't take as long to find as I thought.
Thanks to the fact that my senses have developed so much with the traits I've acquired, and that it's easier to dig through the debris as I can use fire and earth magic.
Kigigigik… Thud!
Though a few buildings collapsed.
It's an abandoned city anyway.
I lowered my gaze.
The Sacred Relic was found firmly grasped in the hands of its previous owner.
Did he believe that the Outer God would save him?
Conversely, he might have been trying to preserve the Sacred Relic in case it was damaged.
The fact that the body's form remained even in the explosion that blew away the Outer God's incarnate body itself allows one to guess the ability of the corpse.
Probably a high-ranking mage.
Perhaps even more.
'...He burned to death, so it's not Hwayoung. A Diviner? His back is too straight for that. And I've confird through the Vampire Duke that the Wind Master is with the main force.'
Let's move on.
It's difficult to guess the identity from a corpse with only charred bones and almost no flesh, let alone a face.
At least it's certain that one high-ranking hero has been removed from the enemy's strength.
Crumble!
I pulled out the Sacred Relic from between the bone joints that crumbled at a re touch.
With this, I have obtained all the fruits of the hunt.
The number of Sacred Relics gathered in my hand is nine.
I am finally on the sa level as the Lur Legion before its fall, and the Eastern Empire.
[Achievent unlocked! You have collected eight or more Sacred Relics of the Outer Gods.]
[You will acquire a special reward.]
[The Warrior's Co….]
The notification window that had been floating since I received the Sacred Relic from the Princess of Blood is also telling .
That I have finally t the conditions to face this battle.
Let's see….
'Aaaaaaaah! It's hooot…! It's hell! Hell really existed, aaaaaah!'
'Newbie, calm down. Huh? It's safe here!'
'Heeell! Hellfire! Fire! We have to get out of here! Why! Why are you still standing still! We have to escape…!'
'...Master, I don't think this is going to work. It seems better to get out of here for now.'
…Let's check it slowly.
***
[Achievent unlocked! You have collected eight or more Sacred Relics of the Outer Gods.]
[You will acquire a special reward.]
[[The Warrior's Command]
[You can command all subordinate troops on the battlefield on a conscious level.]
[Even without flags, horns, drums, or other command ans, the command targets will accept and follow general orders without feeling any dissonance.]
[Detailed actions cannot be determined.]
[Each entity may break control depending on its state, such as injury or morale decline.]
[Achievent unlocked! You have collected a majority of the Sacred Relics.]
[You have obtained the qualifications of a challenger.]
[You can sit at the God of War's strategy table.]
[Achievent unlocked! You have obtained the qualifications of a challenger as Naless Ash.]
[You will acquire a hidden special reward.]
[The Warrior's Regret]
***
I've thought about it several tis, but creating the newspaper company was one of the best things I did in the new Imperial Capital.
Shaping public opinion beca easier.
[Breaking News! The Eastern Empire's Vanguard Defeated!]
[Praise Luark, the Lord of Light! The vanguard of the Eastern Empire, which was invading the sacred imperial lands, has been defeated by the hands of heroes. Following the solemn command of His Majesty the Emperor, Kalisto's lord, Count Ash, defeated the demon summoned by the Eastern heretics….]
The very next day after the success of the Sacred Relic Heist operation.
Breaking news newspapers printed by the dwarven printing press spread throughout Wolfskrig.
“Hey, have you seen the newspaper? They say His Majesty the Emperor and Count Ash gave those Eastern plunderers a good thrashing.”
“You an those heretic bastards who crossed the mountain range? I saw it, I saw it. It was so satisfying!”
“Hahaha, you're right.”
Everywhere I go, people are talking about the victory.
The city is excited.
Personally, I think the most important thing in war is public opinion.
The side that wins the psychological warfare has already won half the battle.
In fact, this is an immutable principle regardless of the size and type of fight.
In a fight in a ring.
In a real battle with a live blade.
On the battlefield where armies clash.
In the end, the most important factor that determines victory or defeat is the mind.
More precisely, hope.
“But this ti we only fought the vanguard, and they still have their main force, I heard.”
“My friend, it's the sa for us. The troops gathered on the east side of the Imperial Capital are two hundred thousand strong.”
“Luark is looking after the Empire, so don't worry. The demon was defeated with a flick of the finger by His Majesty and the Count!”
That we can win.
That we are fighting a just war.
That we will not be broken.
Hope.
[Regarding the operation devised by His Majesty the Emperor to defeat the demon.]
[The Imperial Church decides to award a dal to Count Ash for defeating the demon. The award will be presented by Bishop Alina….]
[Baron William and the artillery corps, who were held hostage by the Princess of Blood, played a major role!]
The psychological warfare of a battle is centered on the morale of the troops.
The psychological warfare of a war is ford around public opinion.
No matter how overwhelming the military strength, it is difficult to win if you are caught up in anti-war public opinion.
You can see that from the Vietnam War, which the United States is said to have lost by decision.
Although the Empire is a monarchy, not a democracy, there is not much difference.
There's a reason why the old saying 'the will of the people is the will of heaven' ca about.
So, all these actions are not about manipulating public opinion through the press, but are pure actions to give people hope.
Well, there are always so impure reactionaries everywhere.
'You're showing the pinnacle of self-praise. Using new technology and all.'
'Tick-tock.'
'So this is the kind of person he was. Befitting of the person who pushed into a pit of fire….'
'Hoho, master. I'm learning a thing or two in many ways.'
“……”
Anyway, along with the victorious news of defeating the enemy's vanguard, I also subtly inserted other issues.
[Exclusive scoop on the secret story that the other contributors to this battle were Duke Zarhill and the Princess of Blood.]
[Duke Zarhill officially expresses his intention to join the Empire.]
[It is said that seeing the developnt of Kalisto over the years made him miss the virtue of His Majesty the Emperor….]
The news of a temporary alliance with the Vampire Archduchy.
Since I couldn't reveal the full details of this operation, I wrote that they cooperated to the best of their ability and wanted to return to the Empire.
Naturally, unlike the news of victory, there are various noises here and there about this issue.
It won't last long.
The threat of a powerful foreign power is right at our doorstep.
The past of being sworn enemies will be largely covered by the camaraderie of having fought together.
With the population bomb, the proportion of pioneer settlers from the vicinity who held hostility towards vampires has also decreased.
[The Imperial family has announced that they are purifying the land of the Archduchy with a special spell together with the Vampire Duke….]
If we win the war safely, I plan to actively promote a settlent support project.
The Soul Core manufacturing thod improved by Hebrun is a thod of extracting the negative thoughts accumulated in nature.
As a result of repeating the work of making Soul Cores in preparation for the war, I heard that the outskirts of the Archduchy have already recovered enough for people to live there, in terms of land, air, and water.
If we settle immigrants with benefits like pioneer support funds, the hostile relationship will beco moderately indifferent.
'Of course, that's a story for after we win.'
Well, I don't think it will be a long wait.
To the east of Wolfskrig, a large army of over 200,000 has already gathered and is waiting, training.
It is the result of scraping together imperial troops, rcenaries, church armies, magic towers, and the private soldiers of lords from all over the empire.
If you include the elves, dwarves, and the Vampire Archduchy, which officially beca an ally as of today, we can overwhelm them in numbers alone.
'Of course, we can't maintain a large army of this size for a long ti.'
It's impossible even if Wolfskrig has beco the holy land of the industrial revolution and the Imperial Capital.
Perhaps only one, at best two battles will be possible.
However, it's the sa for the enemy.
They are an expeditionary force.
Even if half of their force is made up of monsters, the rest must eat and drink.
There is not much to supply in the Eastern Wastelands.
'Anyway, the expeditionary force is just a tool of judgnt. The being lurking behind this war wouldn't care about the well-being of the tool.'
In the end, everything is decided by a single field battle.
All that's left is the final preparation.
Developing doctrines to deal with the Eastern Empire.
Devoting ourselves to training based on them.
Accelerating the production of various weapons.
And the work of perfectly fortifying the new Imperial Capital.
The heroes gathered from all over the Empire for this fight, including my subordinates who have followed since my days in the Imperial Secret Knight Order and the rcenary band, are also accelerating their training to improve their skills.
To buy ti, the cities leading up to the Imperial Capital have been littered with dwarven unmanned weapons and various spell traps.
The plan is to deploy only the bare minimum of necessary personnel, to minimize casualties and buy ti by bogging down the enemy.
Of course, the most important thing is myself.
'The Warrior's Command. The qualifications of a challenger. And the Warrior's Regret.'
I delve into the newly acquired powers.
I research the unknown being that controls the Eastern Empire, and how the two ancient empires fought back.
Perhaps because collecting eight Sacred Relics was the condition, Kkumteuli and the other Sacred Relics have started to help more actively than before.
Thanks to that, I'm starting to get a grasp on him.
The more I delve, the more it becos clear that it won't be an easy fight….
'It doesn't matter.'
When has there ever been an easy fight.
Three months passed like that.
At the Count Ash family's mansion in the Imperial Capital.
Brol rushed into the training ground connected to the backyard.
“My Lord! My Lord! His Majesty the Emperor is looking for you!”
“Is that so?”
“They say the Eastern Empire's army just left Randel Fortress! It's a three-day journey from here!”
Finally.
The clouds of war have gathered.
The preparations are complete.
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