"'Aichy's New Year's First News Summary'? So it wasn't written by the fairies? "
"It's a new journal jointly created by San Antonio, the Mage Country, and several other major countries. Just the number of copies sold in each country is astonishing. Whoever controls public opinion will have the right to speak. Nobody's an idiot these days. "
This morning, a blue dragon suddenly flew over the campsite. Apart from the invitation letter, this journal was also included in the gift package.
Although it wasn't color-printed, the paper was excellent, the wording was exquisite, and the content was well illustrated.
"Let me see what important news it is that requires a swift dragon to deliver it to me."
The moment I flipped to the first page, I immediately closed it.
"Ultraman Fights Small Monsters? Isn't there something wrong with the style? "
The headlines already seemed ridiculous, but the silly cat scurried out from a corner.
"… Let me see, what Ultraman? It's obviously 'The Cloud Giants that vanished from the world have returned to the mortal world. On the battlefield between Bardi and the Holy Church, they viciously taught the dragons a lesson. Halent's army was forced to retreat after a bitter battle. 'Eh, Cloud Giants? There are actually Cloud Giants in the mortal plane. "
Needless to say, the giant that was glowing all over really looked like the legendary Ultraman, the Giant of Light. The dragons that were being beaten by the giant on the ground really looked like little monsters that were shouting shameful lines as they appeared on the stage.
Cloud Giants were one of the strongest subspecies of giants. They were known as the Titans' Favorites. Cloud Giants were the tallest of all giants and had the most extravagant appearances. It was said that all of them were handsome men and beautiful women who wore extravagant clothing. Cloud Giants were also born with natural talent for controlling clouds and mist. They were also skilled at learning Divine Arts. However, most people were known for their outstanding talent in art and music. Many majestic palaces were built by Cloud Giants. Bards sang about Cloud Giants' masterpieces and treated them as their teachers.
Of course, since Cloud Giants were also the most intelligent of all giants, Cloud Giants could produce mages, priests, and other combat job classes. Cloud Giants were also one of the few giants that were skilled at organizing and fighting in teams. Perhaps Cloud Giants couldn't compare to the Lava Giants, who were skilled in martial arts, but Cloud Giants' battle teams were definitely the scariest of all giants.
It had been a long time since anyone had seen the Cloud Giants in the mortal plane. It was rumored that the Cloud Giants had already left the mortal plane in order to escape from the curse of stupidity. But it would seem that the Cloud Giants, who were rumored to love peace and art, still made their choice under the summons of the Titan Giants.
"If it was the Cloud Giants, Halent's defeat would be understandable. Not only that, we'll still be able to understand and remotely control the outside world while we're sealed. We'll have to increase our vigilance and evaluation of the Titans even more … "
What caught his attention the most was the sentence that was underlined in red at the back of the message.
"PS: Legend has it that angels appeared in this battle. However, according to our investigations, they were only mercenaries from the Winged Tribe who voluntarily participated in this battle. The despicable Holy Church used these Winged Tribe members as angels in order to shake the Bardi warriors' resolve."
"An angel appeared?"
I asked directly, and Kaid nodded.
"Yes, but didn't the higher-ups say that it's the Winged Tribe?"
Considering the political standpoint of this magazine, yep, since it was jointly published by the royalty and the government, it was only natural that it wouldn't go along with the Holy Church's wishes. If it said that the Winged Tribe was the Winged Tribe, I would actually feel that it was more likely that it was the angels.
After all, the difference between the Winged Tribe and the angels was like the difference between a hen and a phoenix. The former were only humans who could fly, while the latter had an ancient bloodline comparable to dragons. It would be far too obvious if they fought on the battlefield.
Considering how the angels had a high status in the hearts of ordinary humans in Aichy (they were extremely positive characters in all sorts of myths and legends, and also acted as God Envoys for the Gods), if the Holy Church truly had angels appear on their side, it would naturally be a severe blow to the newly risen Church of Pure Holy Light. And if angels appeared on the enemy's side, it would also cause ordinary warriors to waver. Not to mention, angel warriors were generally quite strong in combat.
In that case, if the Holy Church's expeditionary army had the help of angels and Cloud Giants, Halent's defeat would be completely understandable.
"The enemies are the pure angels and the art-loving Cloud Giants? We have a bunch of undead and evil dragons on our side, as well as dark elves, evil Underground creatures, and goblins who value money as much as their lives. Why do I feel like we're the antagonists? "
"You just realized? The enemy faction has Cloud Giants and angels. I'm afraid that our morale will be affected. "
"… It doesn't matter. Race is definitely not a righteous reason, nor is it a reason to slaughter. Why should we be troubled by the opinions of those idiots?"
I wasn't worried about our morale. Rather, the fact that a large portion of the angels had already become the Order True Gods' subordinates. Since they were participating in a mortal battle, it was highly likely that some God had decided to interfere. And based on my understanding of the Holy Church's fanatics …
"When they feel that they've received the Gods' favor and feel that their actions represent the Gods' will, even the most vile actions will become holy, and even the most evil intentions will be viewed as the Gods' benevolence. Rather than believing in the logic of fanatics, it's better to believe that evil villains whose hands are stained with blood will voluntarily repent."
"Speak like a human."
"A great massacre and purge. Then, they'll confidently prepare to fight all the way to the Bardi capital. They'll furiously increase their troops and force other countries to join the Holy Light army. They'll escalate this small-scale battle into an Armageddon. I believe that they're capable of doing such a thing."
"… That's far too direct. But I have to say, the more I think about it, the more likely it seems. This is completely the Holy Church that we know. If the Holy Church appears victorious and uses the name of the Holy Light to summon other major countries that believe in the Holy Light to participate in this battle, it'll likely escalate into a world war. "
There were some things that Harloys didn't say out loud, but we all understood. Bardi was a mega empire, after all. Bardi had accumulated an astonishing amount of resources and wealth. It was obvious that Bardi was on the losing end of the war against Bardi. Those greedy predators now had a righteous excuse to attack Bardi. How could they possibly miss out on such a good opportunity?
I put down this journal and fell into a state of confusion. At the same time as the game's history, the entire world had entered the "Vulture of War" expansion pack. The elves and beastmen were at war, and all the major countries were fighting each other for the sake of ambition. I originally thought that I had avoided the worst possible outcome, but I never expected that the game's history would be so unpredictable. I actually mysteriously returned to square one.
"… No, the situation has already changed. The Bardi Empire in the game's history is destined to be destroyed. No matter how things develop, the ending won't be any worse than this. Besides, it's only a local war right now. It might not come to that. I just need to hurry up … "
I opened up this journal again, intending to take a look at what else had happened recently.
* Clap! *
However, I only took a single glance before I dropped the journal on the ground. The second page of the Bardi Empire's battlefield contained even more infuriating news.
"San Antonio has declared war on the Foss Empire, Sai Wen Dukedom, and other countries. Both sides' Knight squadrons have already exchanged fire on the Sai Wen Dukedom's Yao Bear Plains. San Antonio has achieved a great victory."
I had an icy expression as I flipped to the next page. This only made me more and more annoyed.
"The Suolo Federation demands that the Casola Kingdom hand over the Seal of the Sea God that they stole. Marshal Ben emphasizes that if the Casola Kingdom continues to remain silent, the Suolo Federation will consider waging war to take back their national treasure."
"… New sea tribes and sea monsters have appeared on the Ottoman Empire's borders. Lady Storm's priests and priestesses have appeared on the battlefield. Organized Sea Giants have also joined the battle. The war between the Ottoman Empire and the Sea Tribe has escalated."
"… The Heen Kingdom of the Elves has announced that it will become the San Heen Empire. Moon Elf Queen Afina has declared herself the new Elven Empress. She also demands that all other Elven kingdoms submit to her. Sixteen Kingdoms of the Elves have declared their allegiance, and twenty-three kingdoms have declared war on the Elven Empire. The elven civil war has begun … Silly cat, don't tear! What's there to see if you tear?"
Boiling black mana began to boil on the silly cat's body. A screaming banshee shadow formed on the black cat's body. This was the first time I had ever seen Harloys so angry. It was evident that she was truly angry.
I wisely ignored Harloys, who was currently bristling with anger. From a certain standpoint, the reestablishment of the Gold Elf Empire would perhaps have new historical significance for ordinary elves. However, for a Gold Elf descendant like Harloys, this would be nothing more than a traitor wearing the crown that originally belonged to her. This was a deep-seated hatred that she would never forgive.
As I continued reading, there were many similar news articles. Some of them didn't seem very interesting, but if I really thought about them, they would be quite troublesome.
"Traces of gigantic insectoids have been discovered in the North Sea. These insectoids have taken over the nearby underground ruins. These insectoids have incredibly high combat strength and are naturally resistant to magic. They are suspected to be an immemorial species."
"A large number of ogres have appeared in the San Anton Empire's Osaphilon region. There are many subspecies of ogres in the snowy plains, mountain cliffs, and forests. The San Anton Empire's government is warning all nearby residents to be on high alert. They'll be organizing a crusade against the ogres soon."
So many troublesome things happened at the same time. This seemed like a coincidence, but it was actually a type of necessity. Now that the Holy War had begun, the ambitions that had been suppressed for thousands of years were finally unrestrained. Now that winter had passed, and the spring of the new year was the time for the long-prepared plans to begin. The ambitious individuals who had been prepared for this for a long time finally extended their tentacles, and the world of Aichy was now filled with many things.
I closed this magazine and glanced at the silly cat who was still fuming with anger for no reason. Her ethereal projection kept screaming while her physical body was glaring at the magazine. I shook my head. Some things seemed like I had let go of them, but they had actually always been in my heart. They were weaknesses that no one wanted to touch. If anyone dared to touch the land in the Northlands, I would probably end up just like her. I would act like an injured beast, hide in a corner, and roar at everyone.
As for Harloys, perhaps the scars in her heart that she didn't want to be opened up the most was the elven crown that had originally belonged to the Gold Elves. How many generations of inheritance and how many former Gold Elves' glory had finally fallen from her hands?
The pain of losing her country? The pain of being betrayed by someone she trusted? The feeling of helplessness as she watched everything head towards Armageddon? Perhaps it was because we were both in the same boat and recalled the Mist Kingdom back in the day. Or perhaps it was because I simply didn't want to see anyone bully my pet, but I felt rather sad and displeased as I looked at this silent ethereal projection. That was why I made this promise.
"Relax. As long as I'm here, no matter who it is, they'll never be able to easily wear this crown that belongs to the Gold Elves."
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