The War Nun immediately stood up and saluted when she saw Philip. The latter waved his hand at her, indicating that there was no need to be so formal. This movement also woke Andesha up from her daze. She turned her head and looked at Philip.
She struggled for a moment as if she wanted to sit up, but before she could do so, she was pushed back down by the fully armed nun.
"Lie down quietly. Your injuries are more serious than you think."
"It's better to follow the doctor's advice." Philip came to the front of the couch and looked down at Andesha. He then pulled a chair over and sat down. "I didn't expect to meet you under such circumstances."
"I didn't expect it either …" Andesha said with a pale face, but her voice was much clearer than when she first woke up. It was obvious that the series of treatments had worked. She could not tell whether it was her subordinates who saved her, or the nun who used a 'war hammer' to cast dozens of healing spells on her. "What a mess, I've embarrassed myself in front of you."
"Let's not talk about this anymore." Philip waved his hand and said, "Let's talk about the current situation. Typhon's Church of the War God has a problem. The corruption of faith has caused your army to lose control. We already know about this, but it seems that the actual situation is different from our judgment. I want to hear about this part of the story."
Andesha opened her mouth. She looked at Philip's face that was almost as young as her, but behind this face, she saw another empire that was armed to the teeth. She took a deep breath, and suddenly realized that … she had not left the battlefield.
She organized her thoughts as if she was tidying up her military uniform, and then slowly said, "It is as you said. Some kind of spiritual 'plague' is spreading among our soldiers, and even some of the officers are affected. The Iron River Knight Regiment was a victim of this spiritual plague. But the spread of this' corruption 'is still limited. Not all of Typhon's soldiers are believers of the War God. "
Philip stared into Andesha's eyes for a moment before he spoke in a low voice, "It seems that you have your own judgment on this Divine Calamity. But did you know that we have received a declaration of war from Oldenheim? It came directly from Obsidian Palace."
He paused and continued, "This gives us a very bad signal. Whether the announcement is true or not, the situation is very bad. If that is true, it means that our enemy is not only the god who has lost control, but also your emperor. If it is false … then the situation is even worse for you. "
Andesha replied softly, "… Yes, I know. I just found out not too long ago."
As she spoke, a self-deprecating smile appeared on her face. "As Typhon's frontline commander, I'm the last person to know that the two countries are at war. This is indeed ironic, isn't it?"
Philip pondered for a moment and nodded. "So there is indeed a problem with the declaration of war. Then the 'Divine Calamity' in Typhon's territory is even worse. Is that what you mean?"
Andesha shook her head. "No, I don't think that the 'Divine Calamity' you speak of has completely gone out of control. The situation is not as irreversible as you think …"
"I need more convincing evidence or reason." Philip interrupted her. "According to the information we have just obtained, Winterwolf Fort has been in a state of isolation for the past few days. The soldiers who have been corrupted by the War God have cut off all communication with the outside world. Under such circumstances, your judgment of Typhon's situation will become less convincing."
Andesha used her remaining right eye to stare at Philip's face. She made her tone firm. "I admit that the first half of your sentence is true, but I still think that I have the right to speak on this matter.
"Indeed, the declaration of war is very unsettling. The original document did indeed come from the Obsidian Palace, but this does not prove that Typhon's entire military system has been 'infected'. In fact … even though I don't want to admit it, but in this matter, the communication system we use has revealed a very serious flaw."
"I don't know if you know about the communication tower network Typhon uses. Although most of the transmission and reception is done by the magic machinery, there are some key points that can easily be changed by human intervention. I have carefully thought about the entire process and found that there are many loopholes in it. So as long as there are problems in those key points, even if only a small number of people are infected by the 'Mental Plague', things will go out of control."
Andesha then added, "Of course, we have very strict monitoring, rewards and punishments for those key points. But in the face of mental corruption, material rewards and even threats of life and death are obviously useless. People who have gone mad do not care about anything."
Philip nodded slowly. "That's a convincing explanation."
Andesha endured the noises in her ears and the pain in her body. She took a deep breath and continued, "Furthermore, I don't think that this' Mental Plague 'will be able to topple Typhon's order so easily. Even though Typhon has a very widespread belief in the God of War, we don't only have warriors and Knights. Typhon also has a large number of battlemages and legions that are loyal to the royal family. I believe that these legions will not be affected by the Mental Plague, and they must have been mobilized to deal with this chaos.
"His Majesty Rosetta has been consciously controlling the influence of the Church of the God of War since many years ago. Even before the Emperor, the royal family has been working hard in this area. Those Knight legions that are loyal to the royal family and do not accept the baptism of any religion are the result of these actions …"
"Furthermore, before the situation started to worsen, we had already taken some actions. Typhon did not do nothing. We have been isolating the clerics with hidden dangers, and swapping out the nobles and Knight legions that have too much contact with the Church. However, we underestimated the power of the God of War's corruption and were caught off guard. But this is enough to prove that Oldenheim is prepared …"
"… Not all places have the same composition of soldiers as Winterwolf Fort, so the situation in Winterwolf Fort is definitely not representative of the entire Typhon. According to my judgement, the situation in the southern, western, and central regions of the Empire is still under control.
"One last point … Perhaps this is my subjective judgement, but I believe that His Majesty Rosetta is doing his best to maintain order, and Oldenheim will definitely make an effective response. This' war 'does not benefit either of us. It is just a carnival of zealots and corruptors. I know that the current situation is irreversible, but after this, we must find a way to regain control of the situation. This requires both of us … "
Philip listened to Andesha's every word quietly until she finished speaking. His brows relaxed and he returned to reality from the state of listening and thinking at the same time. After a short moment of silence, he broke the silence: "I can feel your sincerity."
"We are not enemies now," Andesha said calmly. "I once heard that His Majesty often said that in the face of the apocalypse, the fates of all mortals are closely linked. I was once filled with doubts and misunderstandings about this saying, but now … I find that it is true. "
Philip looked at the young Wolf General in surprise. Gradually, a trace of admiration appeared on his face. He nodded solemnly at Andesha: "It is not easy to make such a change. I think I need to reevaluate you, Miss Andesha Wendell."
He then stood up from the chair and tidied his clothes. At the same time, he lowered his head and said seriously: "What you have said today is very important. I will report it to the highest government office. I hope that this information will lead everyone to a better future. As for now, you should rest well. We will treat all the captives well."
Andesha seemed to want to say something, but she just opened her mouth and calmed down. She then closed her eyes.
The Nun stood up and greeted Philip.
"Nun, what is your name?" Philip asked casually.
"You can call me Marian," the blonde nun said with a smile. "I belong to the Seventh Company of the Steel Sanctum War Corps. I serve you under the orders of the Grand Patriarch."
"Very well, Sister Marian. I will leave Miss Andesha in your care." Philip nodded. "We will arrange for her to be transferred to a better place as soon as possible. But before that, you must ensure her safety and health. She is very important to us."
"I swear to the Holy Light, General," Sister Marian said solemnly. "I will not let you down!"
… …
After leaving the room, the young adjutant could not help but ask Philip, "Do you think that Typhon's words are reliable?"
Philip replied casually: "I am willing to believe 80% of it. The remaining 20% is due to the basic caution and vigilance. The other half is because the 'Wolf General' does not necessarily know the whole truth."
The adjutant said thoughtfully: "… Then it seems that we have to re-evaluate the current situation in Typhon."
"The smart people in the Supreme Council will think carefully," Philip said. "As for me … I am most grateful that we took down this fortress in the shortest time possible. Now we finally have the initiative and the possible losses are minimized. After that, it will depend on the judgment of the Supreme Council and what the 'Great Emperor Rosetta' of Typhon can do. If the Typhon can't control this fire, then the contamination of the God of War will eventually become a divine disaster like the Crystal Cluster. By then, this war … "
Philip shook his head and did not continue. But the adjutant had already deduced the inevitable development.
If the war was controlled by humans, there would at least be hope to stop. No matter how difficult it was to stop it, there would always be hope. But if the war was controlled by the gods, especially the war controlled by the 'mad god' … once it broke out, the initiative would be difficult to stay in the hands of the mortals.
The mad god would not accept an armistice agreement, and he did not care how many people on both sides remained rational and sought peace. He would only continue to operate under his own crazy rules, continuing to attack and destroy. Even if the faith of the mortals was cut off and civilization collapsed, as long as the mad god's power was not exhausted, he would never stop.
Therefore, the Cecil Empire must take down Winterwolf Fort and completely control this' gateway to Typhon '. If the fire must burn, at least it must not burn on Cecil's land.
Philip sighed softly.
No matter if this war was because of the Divine Calamity or because the Tifengs really wanted to start a war, Winterwolf Fort had to be taken down. This had been decided at the beginning of the war, and that young Wolf General … was destined to be the first sacrifice of this war.
The key now was whether Typhon could stop this divine calamity, or at least control its pollution to a certain extent.
Thinking, he finally could not help but sigh softly. "Unfortunately, the one who lost control is the god of war."
The adjutant was stunned for a moment, but then he understood what the general meant. He also showed a bitter smile. "Yes, it is the god of war — the god who controls the war."
"Next, let's wait for the judgment of the highest government office." Philip shook his head and threw the chaotic thoughts out of his mind. "Let's get ready here. Typhon's counterattack … will come soon."
…
The battle report from the frontline was sent to Heti.
On both sides of her desk, two magic network terminals were running with a buzzing sound, and the figures of the two grand senators, Victoria and Bodwin, were shown in the projection.
"The Winterwolf Army has surrendered. After a preliminary inspection, more than half of the Knight, soldiers, and all of the mages were actually not 'contaminated', and the 'wolf general' who surrendered voluntarily revealed a lot of important information to us." Heti had finished reading the battle report, and her eyes swept across the other two grand senators. "What do you think?"
"Obviously, the reason why the 'wolf general' surrendered, other than to protect his own men, is probably to reveal this information to us." Duke Bodwin was the first to speak. "Now it seems that the situation is better than we initially expected. The divine calamity in the Holy Spirit Plain did not happen in Typhon …"
"But the situation is not much less dangerous," Victoria said coldly. "There is a fatal loophole in the key communication system. Some of the middle-level and high-ranking personnel are mentally contaminated. The emperor's decree has been tampered with and intercepted, and the frontline commanders have been completely blinded. Typhon's performance is so regrettable. In my opinion, they are not much different from a total collapse."
"It's still not enough, Victoria." Duke Bodwin could not help but laugh. "This determines whether we should send more bombs and cannons to the frontline, or send more purification troops and technicians. It also determines whether we should fight a mad god and a malicious empire alone, or fight their mad god together with Typhon."
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