From a certain standpoint, the recent series of events had greatly helped Orloss.
It wasn't that he was helping Orloss declare war against the Holy Church, as this had already been planned from the very start. The true result of this series of events was that Orloss had made up his mind and chosen Halent as his successor.
Since the successor to the throne had already been decided, the other candidates were naturally unnecessary. And so, after a grand ceremony, all the princes declared, "We've been deeply influenced by Brother Mills' example. We're all willing to follow in Brother Mills' footsteps and go to the most dangerous places, to the lowest levels, to the frontlines of the battlefield. We'll fight for our country and our family as ordinary soldiers, and we'll take revenge for our country and our family."
Therefore, the princes "volunteered" to be the bottom-level commanders. They were either sent to the meat grinder in the frontline of Nightrain City or to the crusade army in the east that was about to set off, becoming glorious cannon fodder in the frontline.
Orloss didn't take things too far. He didn't announce Halent's true identity to the public yet, nor did he explicitly state that Bardi's emperor had to have outstanding military talent (military achievements). In fact, Orloss even told every prince to bring along their strongest subordinates (no more than ten). If their subordinates were strong enough and they were able to achieve enough military achievements, it was possible that the position of crown prince could be replaced.
Of course, considering that Halent was the city lord of Nightrain City and had a squadron of Dragon Knight troops under his command, it would be incredibly difficult for the other princes to make a comeback. Basically, this was only a theoretical possibility.
"Serves them right. What were they doing earlier? If they had focused their attention on killing off other competitors, they wouldn't have fallen to such a state."
Since some people were angry about this, this type of mainstream opinion became more and more common under the influence of others.
Not everyone focused their attention on the throne. There were princes who had already achieved a certain level of success in certain areas. For example, the 39th prince, Prince Ainte, was quite accomplished in the field of art. He had even helped many impoverished artists, and he was also quite a famous connoisseur of art. At this time, Orloss immediately gave him the position of vice chairman of the Bardi Artist's Association.
Orloss's meaning was quite obvious. This prince could forget about his dream of becoming emperor, but being a romantic prince was no problem.
From a certain standpoint, people like Aient were the smart ones. But with the throne in front of them, even the smartest young man would selectively choose to be stupid. There were very few people who would give up fighting for the throne after becoming a prince and focus on something else.
And when the outcome of the battle was revealed in advance, and they were faced with the misfortune of being forced to become cannon fodder, it wasn't that none of the princes had other thoughts.
There were quite a few princes who were colluding with other factions and local domain lords. There were also quite a few princes who urgently mobilized their troops. Not only that, apart from the reorganized royal Knight squadrons, there were also several adult dragons escorting the princes. Most of the princes didn't need to think too much about this.
If there's a majority, there's a minority? Did a prince make a move? That's right, of course there were fanatics who viewed the throne as their only goal in life. The end result was that "assassins from the Holy Church" appeared a few more times. Next month, it was likely that they would have to find time to organize another mass funeral.
When internal conflicts reached a certain degree of intensity, it would become a common tactic of certain countries to focus their citizens' attention on the battlefield.
Nightrain City was about to receive the strongest reinforcements in its history. One-fourth of the Bardi domain lords had sent out their personal armies, and several dozen princes had brought their personal retainers to lead the frontlines. The newly born Southern Sect would replace the Holy Church in fighting against the undead. This was a chance for them to prove themselves to the world.
Meanwhile, Halent himself was leading his personal retainers and an army of nearly two hundred thousand soldiers to fight against the invading Holy War army.
Did this seem inconceivable? Halent was clearly the city lord of Nightrain City, and the defending troops there were all his personal retainers and himself. Yet, he had actually sent them to fight on another battlefront? Wasn't this a typical example of giving random orders?
It seemed inexplicable, but it was actually completely worthless. It was just a consideration outside of the battlefield.
Right now, Halent was no longer a "general" who led the charge. Instead, he was a "king" who stabilized the country. Unlike small border countries that only had princes as generals, major countries valued stability and authority. So-called "face" was also a tangible benefit. As the crown prince and the next emperor, Halent couldn't afford to lose.
Orloss couldn't allow Halent to lose either. Otherwise, the royal family's authority would decrease, which would cause a chain reaction that even major countries wouldn't be able to endure. This was especially so now that the domain lords were getting restless. If the royal family lost, ambitious individuals would start taking action as well.
That was why the major countries wouldn't personally lead an army unless it was absolutely necessary. After all, while having the emperor personally lead an army to boost morale, they also had to consider the chain reaction that would occur if the emperor was defeated or even captured.
That's right, they would lose. Even though the southern battlefront had far more undead troops than the eastern battlefront, considering the possibility of an Undead Emperor interfering, and the fact that the Undead Emperors had already entered a new phase of the Holy War, no matter how strong the southern battlefront was, nobody was certain how the southern battlefront would turn out.
In the east, even though the Holy Church's famous generals were stationed there, the Holy Church's expeditionary army had become extremely frightened after being baptized by the dragons. Not only that, the Holy Church had cut off all of their spies and reinforcements, not to mention that the Holy Church had sent their elite squadrons and ace troops. If they still couldn't win, there was no point in keeping the Holy Church's crown prince alive.
To be honest, when I heard that Halent's army even had two Dragons Elders and several Immemorial Dragons, I knew that it would be impossible for Halent to lose even if he wanted to.
"Not only Orloss, even the Dragons won't allow Halent to lose. And after taking care of the eastern battlefront's remnants, Halent could still go to the southern battlefront to fight for more achievements. And if he lost the southern battlefront, he would be able to save his country at a critical moment and reverse the situation. Don't worry about not being strong enough, Orloss will mobilize all of his country. Once the Holy Church completely enters a state of war, the foundational strength of a mega empire will truly be terrifying. "
"What if the southern battlefront directly wins? Wouldn't Halent be inferior to them? "
"That's even better. Halent is the city lord of Nightrain City, and his subordinates will be the cornerstone of victory. His defenses against the undead will be the theoretical basis for defeating the undead. Halent will still be the greatest contributor."
"How deceitful. Doesn't that mean that no matter if he wins or loses, he'll benefit the most? What's so special about a guaranteed profit? "
"Indeed deceitful, but this is politics. His ascension to the throne will be the most beneficial for Bardi."
This was another benefit of choosing Halent as the next Bardi Emperor. The Dragons had already used their actions to express the greatest amount of goodwill towards Orloss and Bardi. Perhaps just based on his relationship with the Dragons, Halent would always be one of the top candidates for the throne.
Now that this candidate's name was finally confirmed, the next Bardi Emperor would become the bridge between the two species. When considering the grim reality of the Holy War, it was only natural for the Bardi Empire and Dragon World's dragons to band together. The relationship between the Bardi Empire and the Dragon World's dragons would definitely become closer and closer.
"Orloss is indeed a sly old fox. He sees far into the future."
"… It probably has something to do with those 'prophecies' you left behind back then. If you didn't make it sound so serious, why would he be preparing for the worst-case scenario from the very start?"
"I don't remember what I said back then, either. But I'm guessing that I definitely made it sound the most serious. All prophets are like that. Only by making the future sound like Armageddon will others help you save your life. And based on my personal habits, I was most likely telling the truth back then. "
The seeds that I casually planted back then had now grown into towering trees. At the very least, from the current situation, Bardi had already escaped from the worst-case scenario in the game's "history." And as long as Bardi didn't collapse, the Mage Country and the other neighboring countries wouldn't be too isolated in the upcoming calamity. Everything seemed to still be there.
Plus, the "Southern Sect" had been discovered, and the Holy Church would definitely suffer a calamity on the eastern battlefront. If there was anything that could make me happier than good news, it would probably be bad news about my enemy. I had been in a good mood recently.
"You don't intend on interfering?"
"Why would I interfere when I have nothing better to do? Since I'm feeling this way, I need to think more about my own future. Besides, that sly old fox doesn't want me to participate. "
"Hmm?"
"The Southern Sect. I only had a short conversation with that Amoya the First, and that old fox personally came to disturb me. Didn't you see how that sly old fox almost wrote 'Be careful of Roland' on his face? He even purposely asked me to play chess, chat, and drink tea with him. His chess skills are terrible, and he wouldn't let me leave even after I lost several dozen games. He wasted half a night. "
Although the Church of Pure Holy Light was established in Bardi and had a close relationship with the royalty, when considering Roland's relationship with this church, as well as the "immeasurable" nature of religious believers … fine, to be more direct, fanatics were willing to do anything for the sake of their faith. If Roland really did say that "the Holy Light calls for the Northlands to be the holy land," that sly old fox wouldn't even be able to cry. Indeed, his worries weren't unnecessary.
"… You're not angry at being wrongly accused? Your temper is getting better and better. "
"No, he didn't wrongly accuse me. In fact, that sly old fox even saw the agreement I prepared."
"You really did try to poach him! Can you at least have some shame? "
"Shame? What's that? Is it edible? Why can't we poach him? After all, our relationship with the Holy Church is terrible enough. The God of Holy Light is allied with the Law God, and the God of Holy Light himself has a rather ambiguous attitude towards the Holy Church. We can totally accept the Church of Pure Holy Light. Holy Knight and Holy Light priests are the most popular job classes in battle. Our warriors also need the support of the Holy Light. "
"… But Orloss is still the better one. At the very least, you failed."
"Who said that? I succeeded. So what if Orloss was right in front of me? You can't possibly stop two Holy Light job classes from exchanging their understanding of the Holy Light, can you? Hmph, even if that lousy chess player wants to play chess with me, I'll defeat Amoya the First in a debate about the Holy Church's teachings and also checkmate that sly old fox. Amazing, right? "
I became even happier as I talked about how the sly old fox did his best to maintain a smile even though he was obviously furious.
"… You're amazing, especially when it comes to being shameless. Is the Southern Sect really intending to leave Bardi and give up on such a good base? "
"Of course that's impossible. Amoya and his bishops aren't idiots, either, since they were able to reach this point. However, they'll soon establish branch churches in the Mist Alliance countries to spread the teachings of pure Holy Light. Amoya has also agreed to have his number one disciple go to Donglan to become a regional bishop. He'll also have more than two thousand core members. The Mist Alliance will no longer lack Holy Light job classes in the future. For the Southern Sect, this is also an opportunity to establish a backup plan and expand their influence. This is obviously a win-win situation. We don't even have to worry about them not doing their best. Orloss won't be able to stop them even if he wants to. "
"… Aren't you afraid of causing a religious conflict in the Northlands? There's already the Church of Law there, along with the undead. "
"I'm not afraid. I've been going there quite often recently in order to confirm the Southern Sect's teachings and then decide my attitude towards them. As expected of the Holy Bible that I personally wrote. Although there were some changes as I passed down the Holy Bible, it's still quite mild. 'Don't judge people based on their race or birth. Hope that the Holy Light will shine like the sun, warm and not burn any existence. Holy Light will only punish evil brought about by evil deeds.' Perhaps this is the true nature of Holy Light. "
"It's the true nature of Holy Light that you understand. Still, it's indeed a wonderful thing to have a Holy Knight who isn't hostile towards the undead. You didn't go there just to confirm their teachings, did you? At the very least, judging from how you 'won against Amoya in a debate,' are you trying to change their teachings? "
The silly cat rolled her eyes. Even though it was clearly a question, she used an affirmative sentence, as if she had already seen through everything.
"Heh heh, there's still a chance for me to change my teachings now. Once they really spread, it'll be impossible to change them anymore. I'm the 'original author' of the Holy Light Church, and Amoya, the 'doujinshi author', is seriously asking me how to set up the Holy Light Church. I intend to teach them all about my understanding of Holy Light so that they can change their teachings within acceptable limits. This is going to be quite a troublesome matter. Amoya's about to head out with the army, so I need to hurry up. After the old fox leaves the church, I'm going to have a chat with him. "
"… It's fine as long as everything goes smoothly. But for things to go so smoothly, it feels a little strange. Is something wrong with the way things are going?"
"You don't say. I also feel like something's wrong recently. How could my luck ever be so good? It's so smooth recently that I'm even a little afraid. I'm thinking that if there really is a problem, it's most likely that Halent lost by a large margin … Why are you covering my mouth?"
"Shut up, you damned jinx! Haven't you caused enough trouble yet? "
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