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The demon’s plan, revealed by the Dragon Lord, was more vicious than expected.
Collapse the mountains, inflict massive damage on the northern regions, and then attack with monsters while they were vulnerable.
If it were peaceti, they might have been able to respond, but the Alliance was currently focused on expeditions and occupation, leaving them with little capacity to assist others quickly.
To protect the Alliance, they would have no choice but to halt the expeditions. This would give the demons ti to recover, making it the perfect strategy for them.
Moreover, if a dragon, not just any other race, were to rampage, the dragons could lose their credibility. In the worst-case scenario, another civil war could break out between the Orcs and the 12 Tribes.
“That’s a more cruel sche than I imagined.”
“It’s fortunate we discovered it now!”
“If we had been caught off guard…it’s chilling to think about.”
Not only the 12 Tribes and other races directly involved, but even the normally oblivious Orcs were horrified. If they had been attacked, there was no reason a civil war wouldn’t have broken out.
Orcs behaved almost like wild animals. Survival of the fittest, where the strong took everything. Orcs were essentially that, with a touch of intelligence.
They were currently cooperating with the 12 Tribes because they had the leeway to do so.
But if the Orcs lost that leeway, they would undoubtedly go on a rampage. Sharaka wasn’t confident she could stop them on her own.
“Indeed, if it weren’t for Commander Hans, we would have been completely caught off guard.”
“Did Commander Hans discover this himself?”
“Not only did he discover it, he also defeated Zaerkan himself.”
“He-he defeated a dragon alone?!”
Yurenne’s words shocked not only the delegations but even the leaders. To them, dragons were absolute beings, insurmountable obstacles.
And everyone naturally glanced at the Dragon Lord, Yurenne. It was understandable. Dragons were known as the benevolent race, loving all other races, but their love for their own kind was especially strong.
Even if one of their own wronged another race, they often swept it under the rug.
But few took issue with this. Not only did they compensate for the damage, but if dragons were to strictly separate public and private matters, it would cause even bigger problems.
Before the demons appeared, and even now, dragons were powerful enough to subdue all other races, even if they turned against them. In other words, they could control the other races.
“Honestly, I’m a little angry, but what can you do? The evidence of his collusion with the demons is undeniable.”
“That’s true.”
“I suspect Commander Hans anticipated this and defeated him. Thanks to him, we’ve avoided a major crisis.”
Everyone looked at Hans with admiration. As Yurenne had said, he wouldn’t have attacked a dragon just because it was holding their territory.
Dragons were powerful, and no race was unaware of their love for their kin. Yet, Hans had defeated a dragon. The only explanation was that he had anticipated the dragon’s plan.
‘Even I didn’t know that.’
And of course, that wasn’t the case.
From Hans’s perspective, the dragon was obstructing their path, so he had no choice but to fight. He had only discovered the collusion with the demons mid-battle.
But he didn’t say anything. It was more advantageous for him to remain silent.
Especially since saying sothing unnecessary could turn the Dragon Lord against him, which would be a huge loss.
“However, the plan is unlikely to be abandoned just because the dragon is gone. The demons’ priority is to regain their strength.”
[Indeed, then should we halt the expeditions for now?]
“We can’t do that. That would be playing into the demons’ hands.”
The demons had lost their footing due to the Alliance’s large-scale counterattacks.
The monster attacks had lost their montum, and the lesser demons that had occasionally appeared were nowhere to be seen.
Even the True Demons had suffered losses, so it was only natural. This ant the demons were likely desperate. In other words, they had to be stopped at all costs.
“We can’t completely stop the expeditions. Halting them and restarting them are two different things.”
Completely halting the expeditions would an relocating the resources and personnel.
They couldn’t afford to leave them idle. If they had to restart the expeditions later, it would slow them down even further.
That would be giving the demons ti. In other words, it would be playing into the demons’ hands. That would put them in a difficult position.
Things were calm for now, but the demons were not to be underestimated.
The Comprachicos had tried to use the forr Commander as a puppet, hadn’t they?
“We can’t give the demons an inch. We have to keep the pressure on them as much as possible. Being rciful won’t get us anywhere.”
Even though Hans had experienced it firsthand, he was most worried about the original storyline of the ga.
The original situation was much worse than the current one. Not only the Orcs and Vampires, but even the Dwarf Kingdom and 12 Tribes had been destroyed.
There was no guarantee that the current situation wouldn’t devolve into the original storyline.
[What is your plan, Commander?]
Makenis, the Great Elder of the Elves, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. He had been through a lot, but he needed to focus on the plan going forward.
And that plan was…
“Sotis, simplicity is the best strategy.”
Of course, Hans had no such plan.
But he had to say sothing. So he said,
“A preemptive strike. This ti, we attack them first.”
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First, a disclair.
The title of Commander of the Royal Knights had inflated Hans’s reputation beyond his actual abilities. So might enjoy such inflated reputations, but most would feel burdened by it. But he couldn’t just quit.
The Alliance was currently held together by the Royal Knights, or more precisely, by Hans.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the Alliance was maintained thanks to Hans and the Royal Knights. Every race owed him a debt of gratitude and relied on the Royal Knights’ assistance.
This had both advantages and disadvantages.
The biggest disadvantage was the increased dependency. This ant Hans had to continuously prove his abilities, which further increased their dependency, and in turn, his burden.
It was a vicious cycle.
In fact, what he had just said was pushing his limits. Hans had initially assud that the dragon had simply taken the Orcs’ territory.
He hadn’t considered that the location might be a target for the demons. So, after much deliberation, he had proposed a preemptive strike. But Hans’s judgnt wasn’t necessarily wrong.
[That’s not a bad idea.]
[It’s been a while already.]
[Hmm, I see. I have to agree this ti.]
If the north collapsed, the Orcs and the 12 Tribes would suffer greatly.
If the Beastn, who raised most of the Alliance’s livestock, were to fall, things would beco very difficult.
Moreover, the Orcs were responsible for protecting the north from the constant influx of monsters. This was the reason the Orcs and the 12 Tribes had put aside their animosity and joined forces.
They needed stable land for farming and raising livestock, and the Orcs were essentially providing that stability. In return, the Orcs received a stable food supply.
Even the fiercest dog wouldn’t bite if you fed it regularly. It was as simple as that. Hans knew this, so he had proposed a swift resolution.
More honestly, it was a stalling tactic. Preemptive strikes rarely happened imdiately.
He planned to buy himself so ti to formulate a plan.
“That’s quite bold, isn’t it? That’s more like the Commander of the Royal Knights! I like it!”
“Is that so?”
“Speaking of which, shall we go right now? I think just the two of us, you and I, could finish this quickly.”
“???”
Hans hadn’t expected the Dragon Lord to say that. He was about to refuse, but Yurenne was suddenly behind him. And as he blinked,
“We’re here!”
“…”
Hans realized he was standing on a mountain peak.
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[Translator Notes]
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