It was December 15th. At the court today, the envoys from Alesse proposed to the Empress of the Roman Empire, "Let us send troops to help the Roman Empire resolve the rebellion."
Their speeches made everyone look at each other in bewilderment, but Prince Gasson's head maid seemed to have been prepared, and she agreed using ventriloquism on behalf of the little queen who was looking disgusted behind the curtain.
Also agreed to was the marriage to marry into the wife's family, which would be held in May next year.
…
In fact, Alesse had received news of a rebellion in the Roman Empire five days ago.
After all, this rebellion was premeditated, and they even provided standard weapons of the Roman Empire without any labels or markings.
The origin of these weapons is a long story: it seems that some warlords in the coastal military regions wanted to clear out the stocks of old weapons in their arsenals, but they couldn't find a place to sell them for the time being.
And Alesse took those weapons on the pretext that "there was a shortage of weapons because we were fighting pirates on the sea."
These weapons were not actually used in the fight against pirates, because they were pirates in their own words.
"They gave the Roman Empire's old weapons to the Romans, and then took advantage of the rumors that came out of nowhere... Humph, the Roman fools thought that we couldn't go ashore by blocking the port? Those people didn't even send people to patrol the coast. I would be surprised if such a country didn't split up in the end!"
This is how the Emperor of Arese explained his thoughts to his secretary in the court of Arese.
Although Arese is only a kingdom now, it will become an empire after annexing the Roman Empire.
Therefore, the emperor of Arese had already given himself the title of "Emperor"—
Although his secretary general had some complaints about this, seeing that the Romans seemed to be really hopelessly stupid, the secretary general acquiesced in the emperor's little vanity.
Now facing the emperor's statement, the secretary general just shook his head and said that their plan had just taken the first step.
"After all, to be honest, although the Roman Empire is not prepared for division, the troops in their military districts have been training and can go to the battlefield at any time.
We don’t know the strength of their army, and we don’t know what kind of failure the parish had suffered before... But what is certain is that we can gain more benefits this time.”
When he said this, the Secretary General pointed to the overall map of the Roman Empire prepared by the spy on the table.
His finger first passed over the royal capital, then passed over the coast, and finally reached the vast ranch in the west that stretched as far as the eye could see without any cover.
“We can use the method of ‘sending troops to support’ and station a group of elite troops in the Roman Empire… This elite force can be small in number, but must have sufficient actual combat experience, so that we can directly seize the palace of the Roman Empire at a critical moment and completely control the royal family of the Roman Empire.
But before that, we have to obtain the Roman royal family's permission for our fleet to patrol their coasts.
I think that as long as Alesse and the Roman Empire reach a marriage relationship, even if it is just an engagement relationship, the actual ruler of the Roman Empire should be willing to give in. After all, he is so stupid.
After we have both land and coastal forces projected against the Roman Empire, we can prepare at home, and then find a time when the Roman Empire splits to openly march our army into their territory... The only problem is that the Isgardians seem to have ideas about the Roman Empire as well."
"Isgard, indeed... They are sending more and more caravans, as if they are trying to get money from someone before murdering him... When will they invade Roman at the earliest? My secretary general."
"I speculate that it will be March at the earliest and May at the latest. March is the typhoon season in the Elucia continent. Even if the Isgardians want to invade, they will have to wait for the typhoon to pass by at sea.
Typhoons will appear along the coast of the Roman Empire from time to time until May... By then, the Isgardians will probably launch a massive attack."
"The Romans will definitely not be able to withstand the invasion of Isgard... In order to prevent the fruits of victory from being snatched away by bastards from nowhere, we must be faster than the Isgard."
The master and servant debated quietly for a long time. As the two smartest minds in Arese, they naturally knew the current situation of the Roman Empire.
It is no exaggeration to say that there are several seriously ill patients lying on the operating table and dying in a house that can be kicked open with one foot. To put it more exaggeratedly, these are dead people who are already lying in the grave and stinking.
Ishgard must have noticed this. So in order to prevent the Ishgard from taking the fruits of victory first, Alesse must openly intervene in the "rebellion" of the Roman Empire;
So after much deliberation, Emperor Alesse decided to send a secret letter to Prince Gasson before December 15th.
With the consent of both parties, Arese's plan to send "Volunteers" to assist Roman in suppressing the rebellion was successfully accomplished.
Both sides were very satisfied with each other's arrangements. The difference was that the Romans could not speak because they saw the threat from Alesse, while those who could not see the threat from Alesse controlled the overall situation in the court.
On December 15th, after the head maid announced that she would accept Arese's military assistance and the Arese Kingdom's request for marriage in May next year.
Prince Gasson of the Roman royal family was resting in his living room as usual. He felt a little tired.
After all, too many unexpected things have happened during this period of time. Whether it is the failure of the diocese or the sudden rebellion now, Prince Gassen has always felt that things are beyond his control and that his power is being drained away bit by bit.
He felt that everything happened so suddenly—the Regent was like his mortal enemy, cawing frequently above his head like a crow.
The creaking sound made Prince Gasson extremely irritated and tired, and he even had a vague sense of schizophrenia.
Fortunately, he recently promoted a lower-level attendant - this attendant is handsome, knows how to please people, and more importantly, he can always come up with satisfactory suggestions.
Just like now.
"My Prince, now that the Aresians have won the battle and are helping you, why not just let them guard your palace, and then have all the Imperial Knights go out and work with the town garrison to put down the rebellion—
In this way, the nobles in the country will not be dissatisfied with the Alesse people's stealing of credit, and the safety of the capital will be guaranteed. After all, the two countries will be relatives in the future, right?"
"Yes, you are right - ha, your suggestions are much more useful than those of my staff."
Prince Gasson collapsed comfortably on the sofa. The handsome attendant he promoted stood three meters behind him, with everything Prince Gasson might need at hand.
There are meals, drinks, work paperwork, and arrangements for the next schedule.
What a perfect attendant—not one who steals the show, who knows how to read people’s expressions, and who can offer good suggestions.
If I had had such a servant earlier, would I have been as flustered as I am now
With this thought in mind, Prince Gassen fell into a drowsy sleep.
The attendant just smiled and looked at the back of Prince Gasson's neck.
There, the mark of the Great Rift of the Demonic Disaster was quietly emerging. The Roman Empire would become the hotbed of the next Demonic Disaster—the demons were certain, because this place was worse than the hell where the demons lived.
At least the demons won't eat their own people.
Chapter 7: Constantinople and her people8K
December 26th.
Seventeen days had passed since December 9. Lucas took the lock of hair cut off by the Purple Princess and led the loyal servants of His Majesty the Regent and the elf soldiers towards the passage leading to the underground.
Along the way, the seven veterans of the Bayerjans Empire have been seriously asking everyone to obey their instructions after entering the underground, and said that it is best to collect enough plants and "items from the ground" on the way.
Although the Byzantines would be inspired by the Purple Princess' words, the devastated Byzantines might never have the chance to see leaves from the ground in their entire lives, so Lucas hoped that at least when they returned to Constantinople, he could show this rare natural green to the young people who might die in the decisive battle.
Of course, it was also to collect more food. Lucas suspected that they were not used to eating the food underground. The elves seemed a little stiff about this, and Naruga, the chief of the Ling tribe, said: It is very likely.
After all, according to the observations of the Ling people, the elves like to enjoy delicate food that is carefully cooked.
When even a vegetarian dish requires dozens of steps to be made and even requires enchanted tableware to keep it fresh, the elves might not be able to get used to eating the simple food in the wild.
According to the experience of the Ling people, being able to eat simple food in the wild is already a great fortune.
Even the people of the Ling tribe who have golems, in most cases during the tribal period they could only eat wild grass and nuts dug up from everywhere... They can eat delicious food like now, thanks to me for rescuing Yang Hao and the others at that time.
"What are you talking about! As warriors, we must be used to eating rough food in the wild! Don't underestimate us elves!"
In response, the elf rifleman simply expressed his dissatisfaction, and Lucas and other Bayerjans people just smiled and left it alone.
The reason why Lucas brought so many people back was actually arranged by Yang Hao.
According to what Yang Hao said at the time, sending some troops on the ground could prove the authenticity of what Lucas said, rather than relying solely on the token made from a strand of hair cut off by Theresa.
Secondly, the elves can also survey the underground environment in advance, and use their medium and long-distance communication magic to contact Caparia who is preparing for the march, and prepare the supplies needed by Bayerjans in advance.
And it was at that time that Naluga volunteered that if she went over as well, she might be able to use the golems to help in the next battle.
In response to this, Yang Hao showed an extremely complicated expression at the time. It was an expression mixed with worry and uneasiness:
"Naruga, you have to know that you are very likely to die there. You are a member of the Ling tribe. You don't have the agility of an elf. Once you are in danger, the only people you can rely on, besides your companions, are your golems. As for us, whether golems can compete with demons is still an unknown!"
"I know... Yeah. Even though I'm not smart... I also know it's dangerous. So I want to go."
Nalujia was very happy that Yang Hao was concerned about her safety, and even happier that Yang Hao did not try every means to stop her, because this was a unique, new "coming of age ceremony" for Nalujia.
She wanted to be a "useful" and "valuable" person in Yang Hao's eyes. She didn't expect to have the same status as Mother Teresa, but at least, Narujia hoped that there would be a place for herself in the corner of Yang Hao's eyes.
But for Naruja, she refused any kind of charity, because the law of the forest told her that if it was not a "trophy" that she had fought for with her own hands, the things given to her by others would be taken away one day.
So Naruka wants to prove herself, and the decisive battle between the Bayerzas Empire and the devil is the best testing ground for her.
At that time, Yang Hao admitted defeat. He sighed and patted the chieftain who had followed him from the Monster Forest to the Elf Forest.
Maybe he didn't have any trust in Naluga at the beginning, but after so many days of getting along with them, fighting side by side, and after Theresa's guidance... he really regarded Naluga as his comrade-in-arms.
He gave Naluga a hug, and stroked Naluga's antlers, which were shining pink due to her excitement, while he whispered in Naluga's ear:
"You have to come back no matter what. You have to come back. Otherwise Theresa will be sad."
"I know… "
Just like that, under Yang Hao's concern, Nalujia joined Lucas' team.
Naluga was determined to see it through to the end, not only for her little self-esteem but also for her budding feelings.
But when they were camping at the bottom of that cliff not long ago, Lucas said that everyone should be prepared to die, including himself.
"It's a very harsh environment underground. The air is polluted and resources are scarce. We can't find any clean drinking water, and germs you've hardly ever seen are also breeding underground - not only that, but most importantly, demons will also patrol our routes."
"patrol?"
"This is a mechanism that was born after the demons learned our human tactics... They will patrol the important routes where we look for food or collect resources.
Although the patrolling ones are not high-level demons but ordinary larvae and larvae, the threat they pose to us is real.
More importantly, many places are extremely narrow...Except for the demon's lair which we call "Devil's Land", which is the area where the elevator platform is located, and the surrounding areas of Constantinople which have wide terrains large enough to accommodate the legion squares, other places are very narrow.
If we are trapped from both sides, we will be doomed. So we must be prepared. If we can avoid fighting the demons, then don't fight them. Even killing one demon is not allowed."
When he said this, Lucas looked seriously at the team of less than 20 people.
He glanced at his six veterans, focusing on the faces of his elf allies and Naruga with a serious look.
After making sure that they had no idea how the demons were born underground, he used rigorous yet simple words to explain why they could not kill the demons along the way.
It's simple, demons won't eat demons, but demons will protect the corpses of demons.
I don't know if it's because the Bayerjans have dissected too many demon corpses over the past few hundred years, or if demons also have their own funeral instincts.
In short, if a demon is killed and is within the range where the population can be recovered, and if the war is not intense elsewhere, a large number of demons will flock in just to reclaim the bodies of their companions.
The Bayerjans used this characteristic of the demons to launch several ambushes. As a result, the number of demons dispatched increased, to the point where the Bayerjans felt that ambushes were no longer an advantage.
"In this case, killing one demon means hundreds of demons will follow... We don't have the ability to fight hundreds of demons head-on.
So we had to move forward quietly. We couldn't make a fire to cook, and we couldn't sleep for a long time.
We must make the four-day journey in the shortest possible time... Then we can have our final battle with the demons in January."
At this point, Lucas stopped talking.
It is said that Constantinople is very close to the lair of the devil. That is why Lucas said that the decisive battle could take place in January, and why Yang Hao made such intense preparations and marched his troops to the wasteland where the giant elevator of Constantinople was located in advance, and searched for the location of the core control console in advance and carried out maintenance.
In other words, knowing that after enduring these four days, there will be a decisive battle on the fifth day... Then Nalujia can enjoy her honor openly and gain his attention with her own efforts.
But, is life underground really that hard
Naruga was confused, and the elves felt that their Brotherhood was exaggerating—
Just as teachers always have to act fierce and ferocious during exams to make people prepared, they really felt that Lucas did this just to make them prepared.
Then, on the afternoon of the 26th.
They realized it only after they climbed up the cliff, reached the top of the mountain, and, under the guidance of Lucas and others, passed through a narrow, steep and slippery cave into the depths of the underground.
Lucas meant everything he said.
"Ahem... Uwaa ...
Naluga couldn't help but cover her nose and almost vomited because of the irritation of the dirty and corrupt air.
The elves who were accompanying him had livid faces, and subconsciously wanted to release air filtering magic for the team, but they suddenly discovered that the magical elements underground were extremely scarce.
"The magic power underground has been burned up by our mushroom farms - perhaps some of the war machines that are still running are also constantly burning magic power.
In short, the magic power underground gathers very slowly, and we can't store and produce magic power like demons. So... let's use it sparingly."
Lucas stated lightly, and the elves looked at each other in bewilderment. In the end, they could only follow the old soldier like Naruga, covering their noses.
In the evening, they officially entered the underground space. There were fluorescent mushrooms and crystals everywhere. Naruja subconsciously thought that they were food that could be collected. The veterans of the structure grabbed her and picked up stones on the ground and threw them over.
In the next moment, the mushroom suddenly burst out a ball of green mist, and the stone was corroded into a pool of thick water in mid-air. The danger here can be seen.
"This is a specialty called acid mushrooms. After the demons took root underground, their magic also contaminated the fungi underground. This is the result of their contamination. It cannot be used and cannot be approached."
The veterans left some advice and then continued to lead the way.
Naruga took this lesson to heart, and she and the elves carefully followed the old soldier's footsteps.
They were suffocated by the polluted air, but seeing the veterans acting as if it was normal and agile, they had to hold back their anxiety and discomfort and use their psychological qualities as soldiers to hold it in.