Chapter 260: I Heard Everything
“Have we been able to contact Geni?”
“No, Brother. The ship we sent out to the lake hasn’t returned either. It will take several more days for the scouts to arrive by land.”
The atmosphere was heavy as the gathered members at the round table in the Holy Capital of Svyataya discussed the dire situation.
“We’ve dispatched scouts throughout the southern regions, but 80% have yet to return. It’s unlikely that accidents are the cause. It seems reasonable to assume they have been occupied by some force.”
“Hmm… Have any of the returning scouts brought back information?”
“…Here it is.”
A drawing, based on the testimonies of the scouts, was passed around.
“There have been multiple reports of this kind of monster wandering through the village.”
“What is this…?”
It was a colossal creature unlike anything they had seen before. With multiple legs, it was likely a spider or some kind of insect. However, the annotations noted that ordinary villagers were seen moving about unharmed.
“Is the village occupied by monsters?”
“If it were monsters, the Chimiya family would be the ones to handle it…”
“The fact that the villagers haven’t been eaten suggests they might be tamed?”
“I’ve never heard of taming monsters…”
The crux of the matter was that information was simply not forthcoming.
“This is no ordinary monster. At the very least, it is exhibiting organized behavior by hunting scouts and suppressing the monk soldiers.”
“Is it possible that some force has invaded?”
“Coming from the south, perhaps they arrived by sea?”
“It’s troubling that we have no information on what is happening…”
The High Priests stationed in the Holy Capital all held their heads in their hands. The supply caravans from the southern cities had ceased, and simultaneously, the flow of people had come to a halt. Naturally, the food and other resources transported by these caravans from the south had also stopped arriving.
“Perhaps we have no choice but to summon the Chimiya family?”
“However, I doubt they will respond willingly.”
“If we do nothing, our support will be hindered. That much is certain. Can we use that as leverage?”
“But we’ve already summoned them once. They might be quite reluctant to respond again.”
“The last time was about the future, but this time it concerns the immediate situation. They can’t just ignore it.”
The Chimiya family was still fighting on the front lines of the Demon Forest, battling day and night in accordance with their faith to open the path to the Holy Land. Meanwhile, those in the rear were transporting a significant amount of supplies to support them. Although the southern supplies had stalled, it wouldn’t pose an immediate problem since resources were being transported from other regions.
However, the south was a major agricultural area, producing a large quantity of food. While there were still reserves for the time being, the impact would become significant after one or two years.
“Regardless, we must discuss this. Brother, can I count on you?”
“Yes. I will go directly.”
“Thank you. And we need information, no matter what. Let’s send knights as scouts. They should be able to bring back useful intel.”
“Indeed. If they focus on escaping, they shouldn’t fall too far behind. I will arrange that.”
“Also, in any case, we need to reclaim the city. We require military strength.”
“We have already sent reserve forces to the front lines. It will be difficult to send more.”
“Gathering priests shouldn’t be a problem. It’s only temporary. The usual defense is handled by the monk soldiers.”
“Well… that’s true. For a few months, we should be fine. We can manage by increasing the number of patrolling priests.”
“Then I will handle communication with each city. Hmm, it seems faster to go directly.”
Once the strategy was decided, the High Priests moved swiftly. The reason a great nation like the Prava Divine Nation could operate smoothly was due to this quick decision-making. Furthermore, the High Priests themselves would run to relay messages to various locations. It was a forceful operation typical of a magical nation, but it was effective in keeping the country running.
“Then, this round table meeting is adjourned. Brothers, all for the sake of the Law God Bok.”
“““Amen.”””
『…Okay. I understand. You’ve set this up for us too, right?』
“Of course.”
“Don’t declare it so openly. But I’m sorry, Amagio. We needed the information.”
Inside the grand cathedral of the Prava Divine Nation, everyone watched the live broadcast of the round table meeting, and Amagio looked up at the ceiling.
『Well, that’s fine. Personally, I have nothing to hide. If secret meetings can be exposed, it benefits me too.』
“Amagio was also under surveillance, but unfortunately, there were no noteworthy reports.”
『I told you I have nothing to hide. Hey, what’s with your Control AI? Quite the snarky one, huh?』
“Just keep ＜RINGO＞ in check. I apologize, Amagio. This one was hesitant about your joining until the very end.”
『…Well, I can understand that. I have no intention of harming you. We’re in this for the long haul, so let’s get along.』
Amagio seemed taken aback by the overly human-like, almost childish response from the Control AI. He chuckled and waved his hand.
“Just keep ＜RINGO＞ rational. …Now then, it seems the Prava Divine Nation has begun concentrating their military forces as planned. Also, since there’s little information about the Chimiya family, I’ll increase the number of bots infiltrating. Data analysis suggests they possess considerable combat strength.”
『From what I can see, their ultimate goal seems to be opening the path to the Holy Land. That place is literally a magical realm where monsters… Threat Creatures roam freely. It wouldn’t be surprising if the highest combat forces were stationed there.』
Amagio nodded at ＜RINGO＞’s words.
“The Chimiya family is reputed to be the most devout group within the Divine Nation. They seem to have no interest beyond opening the path. However, they also understand the importance of support supplies from within the nation, so they seem to have agreed to join the invading forces.”
“If we negotiate well, it seems we might not need to confront them directly. At least, not with them.”
『That’s good news. We need to eliminate the roots, but I was worried that magical technology might be lost.』
If the monk soldiers of the Prava Divine Nation were completely annihilated, there was a risk that all knowledge related to magic would be lost. However, capturing some as prisoners would also leave lingering issues, leading to the decision to ultimately wipe them out.
At least regarding the Chimiya family, they seemed to find value only in their original faith of opening the path. They were a kind of zealot, but because of that, they showed little interest in anything else. Thus, it was determined that there was room for negotiation with the Chimiya family.
“Magic itself can be found outside the Prava Divine Nation as well. They seem to have managed to gather monk soldiers from within the nation somehow. Honestly, the idea of individuals honing their magical powers isn’t appealing. It takes 14 years to become useful, so that’s a hard pass.”
『Ah… That’s true. It would need to be something that can be produced in 14 hours or less. That seems unlikely.』
“14 hours might be an exaggeration, but at least a week would be necessary. Also, it needs to be capable of mass production. Only then can we consider it viable as a military force by our standards.”
While a one-off machine is powerful, its applications are limited, and the risk of losing it is too great. For this reason, Eve prefers mass-produced machines that can be prepared in abundance. If they lack striking power, they can compensate with numbers, and if they are lost, they can be replaced. The ability to bolster military strength as long as resources can be recovered is their greatest advantage. One-off machines take time to produce and are difficult to maintain. To compensate for that, increasing their numbers is the only option, but that leads to a situation where they are no different from mass-produced machines.
“Well, if they have no resources and can only focus on that, it can’t be helped.”
『I share the same opinion, so don’t worry. That’s why our nation places emphasis on science and technology.』
Everything is being overheard. This is intense, Ringo.