Chapter 31

Carmilla was watching the Brandenburg assault through a crystal. At first, she seemed uninterested, lazily peering at the familiar scene, but as the battle progressed and the griffins began to falter, she burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.

"What, that! A physical joke? I don't get what the muscle-bound griffin girl is thinking! Saying something like 'Leave it to us, we'll exterminate the inferior humans,' and then getting wiped out—what a laughing stock! Well, I don't really care what happens to those smelly beasts."

Carmilla laughed until tears streamed down her face, then finally calmed down and returned to a serious expression. The crystal showed a young girl fighting valiantly, holding back the fierce attacks of the griffins and rhinos. The fall of Brandenburg itself might succeed, but the overall strategy had already suffered significant, unexpected damage.

"This plan seems to be a failure. Still, they're not very useful, are they? Gathering a large force of mixed abilities is convenient, but the quality is a bit poor. There are limits to the materials, after all. And even if they die, they're not much use."

Carmilla folded her arms and hummed thoughtfully.

"Well, it can't be helped. The country's control is going smoothly, so we'll move on to the backup plan."

At that moment, the room was bathed in light from a massive amount of lightning shown in the crystal.

"Whoa, it's blinding! You should consider the viewers! Well, they can't hear me anyway. Wow, that's impressive."

Carmilla was taken aback by the scene after the lightning. Many griffins and rhinos had been struck and were dying. It seemed that not only the plan but even the fall of Brandenburg was in jeopardy. Moreover, it was done by a single human. She had not expected a human to be capable of such a feat.

"Hmm, this black-haired boy looks ordinary, but his power is incredible. He might make a good familiar. Hmm? Black hair? ...No way."

For a moment, her eyes sharpened, then she immediately closed them.

"Master, Master, I have an urgent report."

Carmilla's tone suddenly became more mature, unlike her usual behavior.

"The griffin invasion of Vaiksel has failed. During the invasion, something caught my attention. A black-haired human boy displayed strength beyond human capability. Could he be from 'the other world'?"

A moment of silence. Then a second lightning strike. Slowly, Carmilla opened her eyes and looked into the crystal. The black-haired boy had vanished.

"Sure enough. ...I've found him."

Carmilla smiled cruelly. If anyone had seen her expression at that moment, they would have been frozen by the coldness of her smile.

"Indeed. ...I've found him."

***

It had been six days since the monster army attacked Brandenburg. These six days were the most tumultuous in the history of the Vaiksel Empire. The news of the fall of Eisenstadt Castle, besieged by a large force of early dragons, shocked the court.

Emperor Wilhelm III—Wilhelm Victor von Vaiksel—immediately called the nobles to form a crusade army upon receiving the news. Anticipating the abandonment of Brandenburg due to the overwhelming disparity in forces, he planned to establish a defensive line in a more southern city and send supplies and troops. However, while preparations were underway, another report of early dragons arrived, causing the court to fall silent in shock.

"The monster army that attacked Brandenburg has been completely repelled."

When this follow-up report was delivered, Victor could hardly believe it and asked the knight to repeat it. A vanguard was sent, and although the damage was significant, it was confirmed to be true, causing the court to be enveloped in shock once again.

"The organized actions of the monsters are surprising, especially the aerial assault with griffins. It's a miracle that 1,500 survived. There's no other way to describe it."

Victor sighed as he read the detailed battle report compiled from the survivors. Out of 2,500 soldiers, adventurers, and volunteers in Brandenburg, only 1,000 were casualties. In a situation where a regular army of 2,000 large monsters would have led to total annihilation, 1,500 surviving was nothing short of a miracle.

"Indeed. But 'The Miracle of Brandenburg,' huh?"

"The nobles who fled are desperately trying to shift the focus. Well, no one expected such a repulsion. It's too harsh to blame them. Besides, it's a story the common people would like. After all, someone did something extraordinary."

"It's the young lady of the Zavarish family."

The elderly servant Otto narrowed his eyes as if looking at something dazzling.

Marie Alexia von Zavarish—second daughter of the noble Zavarish family, who happened to be in Brandenburg. The sight of the 13-year-old girl standing up for the people, fighting bravely with her servant on that gruesome battlefield, was truly worthy of being called a war goddess. Using unknown support and attack magic, even unknown to the empire, she rallied the troops and fought until the very end. Her vivid and delicate figure was the ideal image of a noble who guides and protects the people, and even a stone would have been moved to tears. In fact, just imagining such a scene made Otto, who had been in the court for a long time, feel his blood boil.

"The 'Holy Maiden of Vaiksel'—a holy maiden blessed by God. The monks have been praising her. They say she received a divine revelation in the Brandenburg temple."

"There are many witnesses. To be blessed by God. Indeed, the power of the gods is truly terrifying."

"Divine lightning. Honestly, I can't believe lightning would fall so conveniently. Wasn't it said that the holy maiden used unknown magic? Could it be that she used it?"

"That's unlikely. If she had used such powerful magic at the start of the battle, it would have given her an advantage. I don't think she could have used it."

"Well, only God knows the truth. By the way, I heard the Zavarish girl was a failure. Has she changed because of this divine blessing?"

"Upon investigation, it seems she was academically excellent but a failure in practical skills. However, she was often neglected by noble children and teachers, so she didn't even receive proper lessons. Recently, she started attending extracurricular classes and began to flourish. It's truly regrettable that this happened in a prestigious magic academy."

Hearing this, Victor's eyes widened.

"Damn nobles! If they're incompetent, they should just stay out of the way! It's all headaches. We need to consider the reconstruction of Brandenburg and Eisenstadt."

Eisenstadt no longer functioned as a fortress and needed to be rebuilt for defense. Brandenburg, having allowed the entry of large monsters, suffered severe building collapses. Both would require time and money to rebuild, especially with the urgent need to address the advance of monsters from the commune.

"Excuse me! Your Majesty! There's an emergency!"

A civil servant rushed into the office.

"What is it? Has there been another movement of the monsters?"

"No, it's about the envoy sent to the commune!"

One of the main reasons for the significant damage was the advance of the monsters from the commune, where the roads were well-maintained. Since 2,000 monsters came from the commune, it was impossible for the commune to have overlooked them. The question was why the commune allowed the advance of the monsters and why it had not even sent a single message to the empire. Therefore, an envoy was sent to the commune's capital, Clermont, to demand an explanation. Depending on the commune's response, it would be impossible to form an alliance with the Kingdom of Castar and other countries. An immediate response was needed.

"Has the envoy not yet arrived in Clermont?"

"The envoy was attacked by commune soldiers and, except for a few survivors, was completely annihilated!"

"What!?"

"How could the commune...!?"

It was an unthinkable situation for the commune, which had maintained friendly relations in recent years, to suddenly attack without any provocation. Moreover, the commune, which was slightly inferior to the empire in military terms, would not benefit from breaking the relationship, as it was sandwiched between two major countries.

"Moreover, the commune soldiers seem to have used monsters and pursued them!"

"Unbelievable! Using monsters! ...Could it be that the previous monster army was also planned by the commune!?"

It was unclear why the commune could control the monsters. However, the previous incident in Brandenburg, where the commune's oversight was inexplicable, now made sense. It was not an oversight but an attack planned by the commune against Vaiksel.

A sharp light appeared in Victor's eyes. It was a mix of anger at being outmaneuvered by the commune and the emergence of another thought.

Victor was not an incompetent emperor. He was one of the more capable emperors in the history of the empire, but his abilities were never fully utilized. The empire was a strong country, and as long as it maintained good relations with neighboring countries and its rich resources, it could be passed on to the next emperor. An average emperor could handle this, and there was no need for him to display his abilities. Therefore, he spent his days feeling somewhat unfulfilled and bored, thinking that he would repeat this routine for the rest of his life.

However, if that peace were to be shattered. The actions of the commune were clearly an unprovoked attack on the empire. It was an invasion without just cause, which would be criticized by other countries.

In other words, all the just cause was on the side of the empire.

"Otto, send a declaration to all countries immediately."

"What should the declaration say?"

"The commune has allied with the monsters and invaded our territory. They are now the enemies of humanity."

In the past, the emperor of the Vaiksel Empire could not invade the commune due to the existence of the Kingdom of Castar. If the empire attacked the commune, the kingdom, which had almost equal military power, could ally with the commune, leading to a possible defeat for the empire.

However, now, with the just cause of liberating from the monsters, the empire could acquire the commune without the kingdom interfering. This was a glory that no emperor in history had achieved, and it could be achieved by none other than Wilhelm III!

"We cannot hand over the land reclaimed by humanity to the monsters! Therefore, our country will rise! This is not a despicable act of aggression!"

The presence of the holy maiden, an extraordinary combatant, also provided a good chance of victory. What a fortunate turn of events, Victor thought with a smirk.

"This is a holy war."

Victor's eyes glowed with ambition.

***

In a room of a house that had not collapsed in Brandenburg, Alexia was recuperating in bed. After the intense battle, she had been unconscious for three days due to fatigue and injuries but had been given priority in receiving magical healing and medicine, and her wounds had healed completely. In a few more days, she would be well enough to return to the academy.

"Alexia, I've brought you some water."

Irene, who had taken off her armor and was dressed casually, entered the room with a pitcher of water.

"Thank you, Irene. I was just getting thirsty. But are you okay? You were in that battle too."

"Don't worry, I wasn't seriously injured. Please take care of yourself."

Irene smiled and poured water into a glass. After losing sight of