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Chapter 197 – Mist Alliance

“O that blossoming wild lily 1 flower, how charismatic she was! How beautiful she sung! How she danced extravagantly like a butterfly; she was the female emperor of the red-light district! The dream lover of all men and women...”

I intentionally hired several bards to sing Reyne’s recent “praises” to her for our reunion.

Surprisingly, however, Reyne had no reaction at all. With bloodshot eyes, she seemed to be in a daze, and the instant after she saw me, her legs gave out and she almost collapsed on the spot.

*Zzz!*

She instantly fell asleep in my arms, and she actually started snoring!

“This is...?”

All those punishments I had readied for her were wasted. It seemed Reyne must have had a tough time—while physical fatigue wouldn’t be much for a Gold-ranked Law Knight to cope with, the mental pressure she had been dealing with must have been significant. After all, since she was a girl, her all-important chastity was now ruined, and it would be difficult for her to get married in the future.

Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but feel some sympathy and some regret at the punishments I had arranged; after all, this was all Karwenz’s fault.

Otherwise, I could have still tried to explain myself. But now, this already existed: [“Legendary Lily Flower Princess Knight Dragon Slaying Chronicles” and “She and Her Eighteen Flowers” published as novels, book reviews, and plays, with a 12% discount for buying in a bundle! Buy three at once and you will even receive a free oil painting poster!]

“I’m so sorry... we old guys really overdid it...”

Thinking of all I had done, I felt even more regret.

“...Brother Roland, Rey-rey doesn’t blame you...”

Hearing the gentle words coming from her as she laid in my arms, I was rather touched, but...

“...so, stop licking my feet, please. Rey-rey knows you like me, but acting like a dog out of love is no good, and also... don’t take off your clothes—you’re such a pervert. You actually want to wear my clothes? Fine then. If it’s Rol-rol, it’s fine... Stop sniffing! I’m so embarrassed... Stop licking... Are pantie-pants that wonderful? Directly licking there...”

My face turned white with anger right then and there. What was with all this!?

“Um, Your Highness, please don’t be angry. Her Highness Reyne is under the effects of a Sweet Dream Curse from a succubus. These days, she’s been pulled into strange dreams, which was why she didn’t sleep on her way back at all. It wasn’t easy for her to stay awake all this time.”

A Sweet Dream Curse? What the heck was that?

“Inferno succubi have the natural talent to magnify a person’s innermost desires. With a person’s weakness, a succubus can cause their victims to sink into their desires and slowly fall into depravity; for example, a person in love with money would dream about taking a bath in a mountain of gold, a perverted person would dream about having countless beauties at his service, and as for Reyne... cough, Karwenz most likely left the curse behind so that she would have a tendency to follow her desires more often. This would cause her to fall more towards the Chaos side, and it would make his next descent more convenient.”

Ok, fine then, as a demon noble, Elisa would naturally know plenty about the Chaos Abyss. When I heard all this, I laughed out loud with a look of delight on my face.

“That means Reyne’s innermost desires are those types of things? That’s what she secretly wants the most? My dark history of wearing female clothing? Treating me as some type of pervert with several strange fetishes? Hehehehehehehehehe! It seems that she definitely needs some correcting! No, just the Personality-Correcting Fist of Justice won’t be enough—let’s just brainwash her entirely and reconstruct her personality! At the very least, that dark history definitely can’t be left behind!”

I was filled with smiles as I picked Reyne up and walked towards my room. It seemed that I would be rather busy today making preparations for the brainwashing forbidden spell...

“Her Highness Reyne is so pitiful; His Highness Roland must be so furious.”

“His Highness Roland has turned into a darker version of himself; his smile is so scary...”

I suddenly recalled something as I turned around, flashing a smile at those officials.

“You guys didn’t hear anything today, right? Or should I help you all forget?”

The both of them shook their heads nonstop in panic.

“I didn’t hear anything!”

“I definitely didn’t hear anything!”

Seeing those two young guys continuously shake their heads, I nodded in satisfaction. Compliance meant that they were obedient children; naughty children needed to be punished.

I chuckled as I glanced at Reyne, who was still in my arms.

“Where should I start from—oh right, I haven’t played mud-wrestling or bungee jumping in so long, and the little dark room seems pretty good as well...”

However, a familiar sound of heavy footsteps along with the roaring of the wind caused me to react by helplessly closing my eyes.

*Boom!*

The wall that had just been fixed now had a huge hole in it, and by the side of this huge hole were another three newly-added human-shaped holes.

*Boom!*

Fine, I knew that these guys never knew how to use doors to begin with.

“Haha! You guys, come and catch me!”

“Stop running! Ah Dang is the oldest brother!”

This scene of siblings play-fighting before me was rather nostalgic. However, for the older brother dwarf wielding a stone pillar weighing a ton, smashing large holes everywhere, and the younger brother muscleman opening holes in the wall as he pleased—it was something I felt helpless about.

From a certain standpoint, they both possessed a very young mental age, and I could understand this type of “play” behavior, but if they involved me...

“No matter if it’s Omar’s brute strength or Ah Dang’s huge stone pillar, I’d probably die instantly. Dying because of playing hide and seek with naughty children? That’s just too scary to even imagine.”

And so, I did my best to hide my presence with the full intention of leaving the scene secretly. But that was when I noticed that something was wrong.

“Wait a moment—where did Ah Dang get that stone pillar from? Why does it look so familiar, like I just saw it a moment ago?”

But when I recalled it in the next instant, it was already too late.

“Ahhh! Damned Ah Dang—that’s the main pillar of this room!”

Okay then, the ceiling that was rapidly getting lower and the room that collapsed with a boom had already given me my answer.

“The Beastman King Amon Bloodaxe has died?”

In a way, this result was completely within my expectations. Before I lost consciousness, the situation had turned around and the beastmen from the high plains were once again forced into a dire situation.

They had acted as the other beastmen’s reinforcements yet were completely blocked off by the Underground and undead armies, and when they discovered that even a True God was about to perish and that the human reinforcements were getting stronger and stronger, the beastmen from the plains, who had suffered a bitter defeat one year earlier, wisely chose to retreat.

When the Plains Beastmen Leader Karodian retreated together with all the beastmen tribes of the plains, the fortunate survivors among the plateau beastmen from that long bloody night discovered, to their astonishment, that they had actually lost all of their allies, while, unbeknownst to them, their opponents’ strength had multiplied by several folds.

“We definitely can’t allow Felix to die here! Otherwise, we’ll all die!”

Even the seemingly undefeatable True God was now in such peril after descending, so the remaining beastmen were all forced back to the battlefield. They knew that the deep grudges held against them by the other species could never be paid back except in blood. When faced with the humans of the Northlands, the Xiluo undead, the grayblood elves, and the allied Underground armies, they had zero chance of victory.

They were trying to avoid unnecessary losses since the very start, and they had retreated to the outside of Felix’s Divine Domain. When they finally started moving to help save Felix, they first had to deal with the interference of the allied armies of the Underground the undead.

Moreover, the reinforcements of Xiluo and the Underground were all fresh armies that were well prepared for battle—it was only natural that the beastmen’s attempts at helping Felix were blocked. And when Felix had finally been pushed to the brink and had perished, part of the beastmen had chosen to put down their weapons and surrender, while Amon Bloodaxe and the few remaining beastmen tribe leaders had unhesitatingly chose to fight to the death.

They were aware of the fact that as the perpetrators of this invasion and the primary warmongers behind it all, they would definitely be executed if they failed in battle. In that case, they preferred to “gloriously” die in battle rather than be humiliatingly hung in public.

And that was how Amon’s head became the trophy of some young soldier, and the beastmen army, which had been in such a fervor, finally ended up annihilated, with all the remaining beastmen either dead or having surrendered.

With Amon Bloodaxe’s huge tribal flag finally fallen, the largest southern beastmen invasion in more than two hundred years had finally officially failed. Even if the humans didn’t go exterminate the plateau beastmen completely, they would need at least one or two hundred years to recover their strength. Perhaps they had zero hope left in this Holy War, since without a Guardian God, they would only grow weaker.

And to tell the truth, the beastmen weren’t the only species that suffered massive losses, nor were they the ones who lost the most.

The biggest losers were the dark elves that basically had no relations originally to the beastmen.

For the past several thousand years, Lorci had been leading the dark elves in surviving in the Underground, and their worldview, which used to be the same as the upper-ranked elves of the elven empire, had long since been distorted beyond recognition. Everything in the dark elves’ society, from their culture, and religion to their social structure and atmosphere had been branded with Lorci’s personal influence. It could be said that most dark elves were basically the personal property of Lorci.

Just like how the humans aboveground couldn’t imagine life without the sun, the dark elves were utterly unable to imagine life without Lorci.

However, now that Lorci was dead, Lorci’s priests and matriarchs that were at the top of dark elf society all suffered heavily in a single night. They either simply died on the spot or went insane, with the best result being a loss of all their power.

In the cruel dark elf world, weakness was the greatest sin, and since the weakest were those Lorci priests and matriarchs who were originally at the top, there was nothing but an even more pitiful end waiting for them.

In a single night, when Lorci’s death was proven by the loss of power of all her priests, 90% of the underground cities within Lorci’s domain fell into riots; the entire dark elf society sunk into chaos.

And the most dangerous part of it all wasn’t simply the rioting society. Lorci had always been the highest and most venerated existence for the majority of dark elves, and her will was what this entire species strove to imitate and follow as law—families would slaughter each other all for the Spider Queen’s favor. The entire dark elf species had been living for Lorci’s personal benefit.

Yet now she ended up perishing. For the dark elves that viewed her as all-important, this was no different than the collapsing of the sky. The empty hole left by their former belief system’s break down was the true trouble for them.

The collapse of their belief system gave rise to fearless criminals, while others chose to commit suicide. Most of them, however, instinctively went searching for a new existence to replace Lorci. In a single night, countless new belief systems of Gods, false Gods, and Evil Gods alike appeared, and several existences that had the potential to ascend to Godhood all locked their eyes on targeting the Divine Obligation that Lorci left behind.

Cough, actually, the Law God Wumianzhe moved rather quickly, and the silver-masked enforcers of justice were efficiently recovering order in each underground elven city at high speed. Of course, there was plenty of military might from Sulfur Mountain City involved. At the very least, the Red Hunting Hounds that had left the Underground were very effective at this.

If the current situation had been allowed to develop, before a new dark elf True God could be born, the entire species would probably collapse on itself and be swallowed by various factions. Of course, the one who would get the greatest slice would definitely be the most powerful person of the Underground—Annie. At the very least, the Church of Law that helped recover order in each city and bring judgement upon criminals and rioters was already becoming more and more welcomed by the dark elves. Perhaps, before long, the new order in the dark elf society would astonish the world.

It wasn’t that the other True Gods didn’t want to interfere, but this had been a battle between the dark elf Gods and the Law God in a way, and now the victor Wumianzhe was claiming the spoils of victory. Of course the other True Gods were unable to interfere.

In just half a month, not only did Wumianzhe recover the divine power he had used for the God’s Descent, but due to the rapid expansion of his believer base and the Law God’s area of influence, Wumianzhe even began the path of promoting in rank. If, through all this, he could successfully overtake Lorci’s entire territory, then he might even end up as a Middle God like Lorci.

In fact, Wumianzhe was even beginning to consider setting up a follower God just like Lorci had done with Felix, in order to take over the Divine Obligation of Guardian God of the Dark Elves.

If this were a peaceful era, the path from a potential God to a Low God to a Middle God would be an incredibly difficult path.

A True God would typically require several thousand years of accumulated guardianship to increase in rank, but this was the time of the Holy War, which was a great opportunity for the True Gods. In every Holy War, there would be countless new Gods arising and old Gods dying. It no longer mattered who was doing good; the one who could laugh in the end would be the true victor.

I gave all the mundane tasks of the Church of Law over to Xueti and Lilith 2 with the intention of doing zero management of it myself, but since “Roland” had successfully pulled off a God’s Descent—and didn’t even die because of it—I was now solidly viewed as a divine messenger, and all the members of the Church of Law now viewed me with fervor in their eyes, causing me to recall the past from Wumianzhe’s generation.

But right now, I didn’t have time to pay attention to any of these things, as a bigger trouble was already in front of me.

“Cough—today, the main point of our discussion is about saving the northern elves. Right now, they’re suffering from continuous natural calamities, with constant hailstorms and blizzards, and I heard they even had an ice hurricane a few days ago. Not to mention that they lack food and clothing for winter, and there’s even a few crazed dark elves rioting there. If we just sit on our hands and ignore the situation, then the northern elves will likely go extinct.”

However, nothing but silence greeted my words.

It was obvious that every country’s leaders and generals significantly lacked interest in this topic. After all, each country had suffered many losses in this battle, and the elves were constantly changing sides—they were on the enemies’ side for most of the time. Many people here had grudges against them. It was only natural that they wouldn’t be willing to help save the elves now.

I chuckled at seeing this situation.

“Alright, if you guys won’t help them, I will.”

Hearing this, the leaders all had expressions of surprise. This time, the Sleuweir Kingdom should have the biggest grudge against the elves out of anyone, which meant my People of the Mist. Even though, I had a good reputation on the surface, everyone knew that in truth I was depicted just like an Armageddon-bringing demon king. I definitely didn’t seem the type who would have no personal considerations and repay evil with kindness.

“Yep, I’ve had my eyes on Tassel City for a long time now. Their library, which has been maintained for over ten thousand years, has countless elven empire magical tomes and priceless artwork that shouldn’t be lost to this calamity.”

My explanation caused everyone to instantly understand. I wasn’t going there to save the elves—I was basically going there to steal the elves’ belongings, just like a looter.

However, many were thinking that I could have done all this in secret—why did I tell them about it? Just what was this living legend thinking and planning on doing? And why did he bring this topic up right here and now?

There was a moment of silence in the conference room. The only sound was the tapping of my index finger.

“The Holy War has already begun, and the entire continent will soon be dragged into it. There were many fortunate factors involved in us managing to deal with the first battle, but the next time may not involve a True God’s descent. We need many external reinforcements to help us, so to deal with the ongoing Holy War, I intend to create an alliance in the Northlands—the Mist Alliance.”

“First, the Mist Alliance will follow the principles of non-aggression. We will never be the first to declare war or start a battle with the intention of invading others’ territory, and we will follow the Church of Law and Wumianzhe, the Guardian God of the Northlands. Nobody here needs to worry that this Mist Alliance will be a threat to any of your countries. Under the conditions of the alliance, each country has their own independent rights and won’t be allowed to interfere in other countries’ internal politics—this shall be the foundation.”

“Also, as per Wumianzhe’s Church of Law, unless someone commits a crime, each race in and of itself is guiltless and non-evil, which is why this Mist Alliance won’t limit the races and countries that can enter. As far as I know, some remnants from Xiluo, some Underground residents that prefer the sun, the half-beastmen from the Shawen Free States, the Barbarian Tribes Alliance, the Eastern Mist Communal Country, and the Sleuweir Kingdom have all already applied to join the Mist Alliance.”

Hearing this, all those present were incredibly shocked. This was not even at the level of out-of-the-ordinary anymore—to hook up with so many non-human species, it wouldn’t surprise any of them if the Gods descend and call for the following battle of the Holy War on the very next day.

But if this Mist Alliance could truly be built...

Each of them couldn’t help but shiver when they imagined it. Perhaps, if it really could happen, with so many powerful factions allying together, the entire Northlands would be under their solid grasp. Wumianzhe would truly become the Guardian God of the Northlands.

Without a doubt, the Mist Alliance was a military and political megaton bomb for them, and each of them felt they had to seriously consider the effects of its creation.

From a certain perspective, this Holy War had also acted as a melting pot, with many races that bore grudges against each other finally having communication and learning more about each other. It helped this gigantic alliance begin its path to realization.

“This doesn’t seem appropriate—what about the Holy Church...”

“Hehe.” I chuckled when I heard this, before I continued my explanation with a serious expression.

“Marquess Ash of the Rhodes Kingdom, have you still not recognized the situation? It’s already the time of the Holy War, and we ‘northern barbarians’ can’t rely on anyone else. If we don’t help warm each other, then how else will we survive this bitter winter?”

Marquess Ash still seemed like he wanted to say something, but I shook my head.

“I know what you want to say. Relax. Soon, when the fires of battle appear across the lands, the Holy Church won’t even be able to deal with their own affairs. Besides, this is also the will of Wumianzhe. As a True God on the Order side, do you really think that he would do anything heretical? We’re only pitiful people trying to help each other stay warm, and the Mist Alliance will definitely never invade anyone else first. But are we northerners supposed to not even have the right to survive in peace?”

After some hesitation, Marquess Ash finally decided to not say anything, but, for me, this was just the beginning.

“The only legal successor of the Tassel Kingdom, Princess Suana, has also applied to join the Mist Alliance. After we help save the elves, perhaps the northern elves will also become part of the Mist Alliance.”

All the generals sitting here in the conference room were shocked at my words. I said it quite frankly that it was obvious I intended to take over the entire elven species, and they were astonished at my ambition.

“Which is why I hope each country present here can consider joining this Mist Alliance and help save the elves. I shall open up channels to share technology among all the member countries of the Mist Alliance, including the magic swordcasters and floating airships from the last battle. This time, each elven kingdom suffered calamitous damage, and all their main military forces were annihilated, so perhaps there might not even be a northern elf kingdom in the future. It’s not that bad of an idea for the elves to simply live as citizens of various countries, is it?”

Benefits were the most practical method of political discussions between countries. The allure of the Mist Kingdom’s newest technology coupled with the generations-old esoteric elven secrets proved to be exceedingly difficult to withstand. There would be no second chance for them if they missed this opportunity. Without a doubt, this invitation was the most effective type of bait. I turned around to leave right after saying this.

I had already finished what I had to say, and if I didn’t do a good job in helping save the elves, Suana would haunt me again in the middle of the night.

And, as my most trusted right-hand sub-commander, Elisa was already patiently waiting at the door for me.

“Aren’t you afraid that you’re forcing them too much, and that they’ll struggle with all their might?”

“Relax, nobody here is an idiot. With the Holy War having begun, those mega-level empires won’t have any time to pay attention to this area. If small countries want to survive, now’s the golden time for them to be carried on someone else’s back. And this time, the back that I showed them looks so comforting and reliable—once they think through this situation, they’ll be jumping on me in droves.”

“Sexual harassment...” Elisa adjusted her glasses and changed the topic in a rather strange direction.

But a servant suddenly walked past me and handed me a slip of paper with a note written on it.

“In two hours, I hope to have a private meeting with you. — Ash Jundor.”

“Haha, see, the first person that wants to be carried by me is already here.”

Note:

1. For those that read Asian novels and still don’t know yet, “lily” is a reference to girl x girl love in Asian culture.

2. We’re going to be using Lilith instead of Lily (the Lily from Sulphur Mountain City, for those who don’t remember!).