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In the western region of the Bahn Gaia continent, a remote region that the Amid Empire had ruled over for around five hundred years, were a number of hidden Dark Elf villages.
The Amid Empire heavily persecuted members of Vida’s races, but to Dark Elves, who had lifespans of a thousand years, this was just something of a long storm that they needed to hold out against. If they just kept an eye on things from the depths of the countryside, the empire would likely be replaced by a different nation in a century or two.
The Amid Empire’s persecution was not so significant that the Dark Elves would abandon the forests and mountains that they were accustomed to living in to take action against it.
However, the Dark Elves were currently assembled to discuss whether to take large action – not because a threat was closing in on them, but because the place they would move to in the future wanted them to.
“Everyone, let me ask you once more,” said Elder Chief Dierion, addressing the chiefs and wise individuals from every village gathered in one place.
Though he was the Elder Chief, Dark Elves did not age. Dierion was no exception to this; he had the appearance of a kind young man in his mid-twenties. However, everyone here knew that he was the Elder Chief who possessed the wealth of experience that came with living for over nine centuries, and even those of the younger generation adored him and his gentle character. And that was why nobody was angry when Dierion said his next words:
“Is lunch ready yet?”
“Great Jii-chan, we’ve already eaten. It’s already afternoon, and this is the fifth time you’ve asked everyone that question today,” said his assistant… or rather, his great-grandchild who was responsible for his care.
“Ah, so I have. How troubling,” said Dierion, putting a hand on his forehead with a pleasant smile.
“We are the ones in trouble here,” said one of the other Dark Elf chiefs. “You are going and showing your senility in front of visitors and heroes.”
“Completely right!” another agreed. “Whatever shall we do if they were to think that our meeting is taking so long because you are senile?”
“It cannot be helped; Dierion is considerably old, after all,” said a third. “He is the Elder Chief in the first place because he is the eldest among us chiefs.”
Like Dierion, most of the other chiefs had the appearance of people in their twenties or their later teenage years, and since their voices sounded young as well, this appeared to be a meeting of a group of young people who liked talking as if they were old.
“I told you, right? Everyone’s just like Schneider.” said Dalton, whose mohawk, leather clothing and muscular figure made him stand out in this meeting.
“You are indeed correct,” Zod sighed.
“I heard that all Dwarves look middle-aged because of their beards, but Dark Elves are even weirder,” said Lissana.
“Well, I’m used to it because of Schneider, so I’m not too bothered by it,” said Merdin.
Schneider looked at his companions with a stiff look on his face. “You guys… I’m right here, you know.”
“That’s exactly why we’re saying it,” Dalton told him.
“As the saying goes, one man’s fault is another’s lesson,” Lissana added.
Since Schneider was always talking and acting like he was old, nobody paid any attention to his small objection.
Schneider and his companions were proceeding with the plan to migrate the Dark Elf villages, including the ones where Dalton and Darcia had been born, into the Boundary Mountain Range. But unlike members of the other races created by Vida such as Ghouls, each group of which made separate decisions, the Dark Elf villages had maintained communication with one another. Thus, the decision-making process had taken longer for them.
Unlike Ghouls and Majin who were constantly exposed to the threat of adventurers hunting them, and Beast-kin and Titans who were heavily persecuted, the Dark Elves had successfully hidden themselves in a place where human society could not influence them. Thus, they lacked a motive to immigrate to Talosheim in a hurry.
“I see,” Dierion. “I am getting old… Oh my. My great-grandchild, why are there two of you?” he asked a nearby Dark Elf.
“Elder Chief, I am your wife’s twin sister’s daughter. In other words, your niece-in law,” the Dark Elf sighed.
“We just have similar faces and hairstyles, Great-grandpa,” said the real great-grandchild.
The conversation had a relaxed, light-hearted tone. But the Dark Elves were not all simply senile.
“Now then… Everyone, I hereby declare my retirement as the Elder Chief,” Dierion announced. “I will give my position as chief of my village to my son-in-law, and the position of Elder Chief will fall upon the next eldest, Jeerizius –”
“I decline!” said the Dark Elf named Jeerizius. “Dierion, I’m only one year younger than you. Next year, it’ll be me being the punchline of jokes by asking people multiple times whether I’ve had my meal or not and causing trouble for everyone.”
“Hmm, the next eldest is Lideria. What do you say?” Dierion asked.
Chief Lideria was a woman with her hair standing on end, multiple piercings in her ears and revealing leather clothing despite it being winter.
She snorted and turned away. “I refuse. An old hag who always reminisces about the past like me is too hard-headed to be Elder Chief. I can’t even find a bride for my grandson that I’m pleased with.”
Incidentally, punk fashion was a trend that had been popular a very long time ago among the Dark Elves of the western region of the Bahn Gaia continent.
“The second half of what you said has nothing to do with it, does it, Grandma!” said Dalton.
“Dalton, you be quiet! You’re always wandering around and still haven’t gotten married!” Lideria retorted.
She was Dalton’s grandmother.
“How about learning from your friends and settling down! Though at least you are better than the one that wanders around but also just spreads his seed around!” Lideria huffed.
“Don’t make a fuss about my marital status in a place where all the chiefs are gathered! I told you I’m not planning to get married to anyone for the next fifty years, didn’t I!” Dalton shouted.
“Yes, you said that fifty years ago! I remember it!” said Lideria.
“… Schneider, she’s talking about you,” said Lissana.
“No, I mean, as a parent… I’m truly ashamed,” Schneider mumbled.
The conversation had headed in an unintended direction.
“Please continue that discussion after this meeting,” said Dierion, putting an end to the exchange between grandmother and grandson. “Searching for a bride for Dalton, the hero of us Dark Elves, can be done later. Among those of us gathered here, I am thinking that we should give the position of Elder Chief to the young Dangar. What do all of you think?”
“Me?” said the Dark Elf man named Dangar, looking at Dierion with an expression of surprise on his face. “It has not been very long since I turned 900, and the emperor of Talosheim is the son of my great-granddaughter Darcia. I do not believe that I will be capable of making impartial decisions.”
Dangar was Darcia’s great-grandfather and chief of the village that she was born in. That was why he was trying to decline the position.
But Dierion gave him a bright smile. “Dangar, none among us gathered here are able to make decisions that are completely impartial. The one we are dealing with is the person who resurrected Vida, the one whom we all call our mother, and is the successor to Zakkart, the young champion whom she loved so dearly. His power and his great achievements alone are more than enough for us to bow down and praise him.”
Vandalieu had resurrected Vida, the goddess of love and life. This had been one of the Dark Elves’ dearest wishes.
Although the Dark Elves had succeeded in living stable lives in hiding, they constantly held the desire to someday stand on the front stage of history with the resurrected goddess and teach a lesson to the humans who monopolized the easily-liveable land and dominated the continent through Alda’s authority.
Throughout Lambda’s long history, there had been numerous occasions in which Dark Elves had stood on history’s front stage. During a period where a large nation didn’t exist in the western area of the continent, there had been occasions on which Dark Elves had conquered small countries and established nations of their own. But any nations they created would only last a few centuries, and then Dark Elves would return back to the depths of the mountains. This process would repeat itself over and over.
Every time they took a step forward, they found themselves back where they had started. In the midst of all this, the goddess Vida had been resurrected and a nation under her faction had been built. There were none who could not be excited by this news.
In truth, there were some Dark Elves who wanted to cling to the rights and social status they had in their villages, but… it seemed that they had seen no option but to give these up, as the majority of them wished to migrate to this new nation.
But there were reasons that they had not been able to come to an immediate decision.
“Well, we had to think twice about it when we heard that Undead and some monsters are treated as equal citizens,” one of the Dark Elf chiefs said.
“Indeed,” Dierion agreed. “Undead and monsters capable of rational thought that do not mindlessly attack humans… It is difficult to believe that they exist without seeing them with our own eyes.”
“And transforming into Chaos Elves… It seems that there are large differences, even if they are still Elves. This is just something that I cannot understand just with my grandson’s words,” said Lideria.
The chiefs seemed relaxed, but none of them were unaware that their futures depended upon the decision that they were about to make.
Co-existing with monsters, which they would never have even considered except for tamed monsters, and Undead. Transforming into Chaos Elves. These were possibilities that they needed to consider when making their decision.
“But there are convincing factors already. The time to think about which decision to make is over, Dangar. The only thing left is for the new Elder Chief to put that decision into words,” said Dierion.
The position of Elder Chief of the Dark Elves of the western region of the continent did not have the kind of absolute authority that a king would have in human societies.
The position was more like that of a chairman who put all of the chiefs’ opinions together when they met. That was why the Dark Elves believed that it was a position that required someone with vast life experience and an exceptional personality.
“… Very well. I respectfully accept, former Elder Chief Dierion,” said Dangar. “Us Dark Elves will move into the region inside the Boundary Mountain Range in order to be a part of the coming battle. But not all of us. Some will remain behind, and we will entrust them with the task of maintaining the villages so that they may be used as shelters in the event of an emergency.”
Many of the Dark Elves who wanted to migrate to Talosheim desired to do so more because they wanted to join Talosheim’s fighting forces rather than because they wanted a place to live in peace.
In truth, it was possibly safer for them to stay in the hidden villages where they currently lived rather than inside the Boundary Mountain Range, which was the target of the gods that served Alda, the god of law and fate.
That was why they would migrate, but also maintain the hidden villages in case they needed to be used as shelters. That was the decision that the chiefs had come to.
“Phew, finally. Well, all things considered, it was pretty quick. But I’m glad things calmed down while that shitty emperor is still in charge,” said Dalton.
“You’re right,” Lissana agreed. “There wasn’t too much to worry about because Marshukzarl didn’t do any meaningless hunting of Vida’s races… or rather, hunting that wouldn’t yield any returns.”
Marshukzarl, the current emperor of the Amid Emperor, was persecuting members of Vida’s races, just like the emperors that had come before him. But he had never lost sight of the purpose of doing so – the purpose of keeping the empire united and redirecting the people’s dissatisfaction.
Thus, he had not sent out his army to search for and hunt down the Dark Elves living in hidden villages when there were steep mountains and forests between them and the imperial domain.
Even if he sent his army, incurring casualties in the process, the only thing he would gain is more land that was difficult to govern. Even if the captured Dark Elves were sold off as slaves, it was unlikely that this would offset the enormous costs of mobilizing the army.
“But the next emperor is probably going to be heavily influenced by the Church of Alda. He might declare a purge of all opposing forces within the nation before the battle against the Demon King,” said Schneider.
“Schneider-dono, the army is not the only problem. I believe it possible that the young individuals known as the heroes chosen by Alda and his followers may attack the villages individually or in small groups… though I find such behavior difficult to understand,” said Zod.
Zod was more worried about the possibility of attacks by heroes with the divine protections of gods, who were far more powerful than the average knight and were more mobile than an army. He could not understand the reasoning behind attacking hidden villages of Vida’s races that lived without interacting with human societies at all. But Alda’s believers had done such things multiple times in the past.
And instead of punishing those who did this, the Church would praise them as disciples of the gods who had done the right thing.
Which races of Vida were targeted depended on the age and the nation, but in many cases, races with Ranks – such as Majin, Kijin and Scylla – were targeted rather than Dark Elves. However, these heroes had the gods at their backs, so there was no telling what they might do.
“However, it seems that for now, they are still spending all of their efforts Leveling in Dungeons, hunting down the remains of the Vampire organization that worshipped the evil god of joyful life, and re-sealing rampaging fragments of the Demon King,” Zod added.
“Yeah. Dalton, tell them that only the capable ones should be left behind in the villages, and that they should set more traps and a tighter surveillance network than usual,” said Schneider. “And I suppose we’ll ask Vandalieu for a communication device for every village.”
And so, despite a few remaining misgivings, the plan to migrate the Dark Elves was put into motion.
There was a Dhampir in Morksi, a city of commerce in the Alcrem Duchy. As the numerous rumors about this spread across the Orbaume Kingdom, more and more people began to hear of Vandalieu.
Having received a report of this promptly from his spies in the Orbaume Kingdom, Emperor Marshukzarl reacted with glee. And then he immediately suppressed that information – to ensure that it didn’t reach the ears of the Church of Alda and the nobles trying to topple him from his position of emperor.
This was not a significant act on his part; it was possible that it was entirely meaningless. However, he thought that it was better than simply telling them himself.
Having heard of the breaking of the statues of Fitun, the god of thunderclouds, he smiled to himself as he began thinking of a public speech to calm the people.
But Duke Lucas, the current head of the Hartner house, froze as if time itself had stopped upon hearing these rumors.
He was aware that a Dhampir was involved with the events that had occurred in his own realm five years ago. A Dhampir who had written his name at the Adventurers’ Guild – Vandalieu.
“How can he be so bold after all of the things that he did in the Hartner Duchy?! What in the world is he thinking…? What is he planning this time?” he murmured, his normally calm and rigid face now pale and flustered.
“Your Excellency, the Dhampir named Vandalieu committed the crime of leaving the city without paying his taxes,” said one of his vassals, unable to stay silent. “Shall we use this as a pretext for summoning this Dhampir for questioning?”
Dhampirs were rare, and there was a Dhampir girl under the protection of the Orbaume Kingdom’s hero, the ‘Blue-flamed Sword’ Heinz. But in the end, those were the only notable things about Dhampirs.
A mere food stall owner, who was not even a vassal of a noble family, was at the full mercy of the authority of the Hartner house of dukes. That was what Lucas’s vassal believed when he made this suggestion.
“D-do not say such foolish things! What will we do if this castle tilts over as well… No, what if it collapses?!” Lucas said, his voice growing higher in pitch.
He did not place so much faith in the Hartner house’s authority.
“Your Excellency, the castle tilting over was the doing of the bandit named Kanata, not the Dhampir, was it not…?” the vassal asked.
“That may be true, but… that incident happened very close to when the Dhampir was sighted. It is difficult to say for certain that the Dhampir is involved with everything, but there is not a single shred of evidence that allows us to deny that possibility,” Lucas said.
“That is true, but –”
“The appearance of a new Dungeon in the city of Niarki and the subsequent monster rampage from it. The higher-ranking members of the Mages’ Guild at the time all turning themselves in together. The collapse of the slave mine. And to top it all off, the disappearance of the Red Wolves Knights’ Order, who were sent to dispose of the cultivation villages. There is no proof or testimony that suggests that the Dhampir is involved in any of these, is there?”
“Th-that is true, but…”
“Then it would not be strange to think that he is involved in the tilting of the castle. We must take the utmost caution when dealing with unknown entities. Tell the Six Hartner Spearmen to never get involved with him. And keep an eye on my younger brother. I would not give a damn if he were to try and make use of the Dhampir and meet a terrible fate for it, but that would get us caught up in it, and I will not allow that.”
Lucas’s orders were for the elite forces he commanded as the duke of the Hartner house, and Belton – his younger half-brother who had contested him for the position of duke – to not make contact with Vandalieu.
The Six Hartner Spearmen were elite individuals who had sworn loyalty to Lucas, but they were considerably weaker than the Amid Empire’s Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords. They were certainly several levels above the Red Wolves Knights’ Order from five years ago, but even so, Lucas’s instincts told him that they were not powerful enough.
As for Belton, he had conceded the position of duke to Lucas and was supposed to have become a loyal vassal, but Lucas was already aware that he had some ulterior motive. He couldn’t bear the thought of him thinking of some foolish plan and getting involved with Vandalieu.
“Then shall we just send some spies in?” the vassal suggested. “Let us have them observe him and report to us immediately if he shows any signs of suspicious movement… especially if he approaches the Hartner Duchy.”
“… That should be fine. Give the order,” said Lucas.
When Lucas heard of the Dungeon rampage that had occurred at the city of Morksi, he became even more certain that the series of events in his own duchy had been related to the Dhampir after all.
Meanwhile, Rudel Sauron, who had taken the position of duke in the Sauron duchy, was actually thinking of whether it would be possible to summon Vandalieu to his duchy… or rather, his mother, Darcia.
“It seems that those rumors were true. A holy lady who summoned a familiar spirit of Vida, who has shown her presence in this world for the first time in a hundred thousand years. If this holy lady were to visit the Church of Vida in our duchy, it would enliven the people,” said one of his vassals.
“Indeed,” Rudel agreed with a nod.
The Sauron Duchy had been at the forefront of the war against the Amid Empire, and had been reclaimed from enemy control only just a few years ago. There were many traditional worshippers of Vida in this region.
The reason for that was because the Amid Empire’s state religion worshipped the gods serving Alda, the god of law and fate, and Vida had distanced herself from him a hundred thousand years ago. But even so, there were many passionate worshippers among the people.
Darcia was said to have summoned a familiar spirit of Vida. If she were to visit the Church of Vida here, it would brighten the dark, sinking atmosphere in the Sauron Duchy for the first time in a long time.
The retaking of the former Scylla territory is making no progress as usual, and we aren’t achieving anything spectacular against the Amid Empire in battle. At this rate, the people’s sentiments towards me will grow more and more unfavorable, Rudel thought to himself.
The former Scylla territory remained under Vandalieu’s control. Recently, adventurers and even the Mercenaries’ Guild were refusing commissions to venture into it, so Rudel was contemplating abandoning it altogether.
And although the Amid Empire was led by two powers that constantly clashed with each other – the emperor and the Church – the army continued guarding the border, as if completely unaffected by internal struggles for power.
The Sauron Duchy had not finished restoring its land and reorganizing its army; it was not in any state to achieve victories in battle.
That was precisely why the ‘Holy Lady’ Darcia’s presence would enliven the people.
“However, there may be problems with forcibly summoning someone who has become well-known in another duchy. Duke Alcrem will not be pleased about it, either,” said another vassal.
There was no law against a duke summoning someone who had become well-known in another duchy or sending a vassal out to meet them. But as an unspoken rule, doing such things was avoided.
“Indeed. Making a forceful move here would incur the displeasure of not only Duke Alcrem, but the holy lady herself,” Rudel agreed. “Let us make our move after we lay down the groundwork around Duke Alcrem and Earl Morksi.”
“Understood,” the vassal said.
Unaware that this holy lady’s son was the greatest existing threat to his rule, Rudel began making his plans to summon her to his realm.
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NOVEL DISCUSSION
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JKingSniper
Slauh
Illuvatar
I really loved this chapter. The different perspectives and worldbuilding is always a welcome addition to the novel
Rollrock
I’m just glad we got to see more of Marshukzarl, he’s a shrewd emperor that actually cares about the empire he governs, considering that he was offering to send Vandalieu his head if only it could have softened the wrath of the kid that he imagined he must have had towards them. If he had a chance to conspire with Van, they could have actually removed the church of Alda and its influence from the Amid empire and became allies, although even though Van could make that possible, the emperor most likely can’t even conceive of a way such a drastic change could occur in such a short span of time and so wouldn’t consider reaching out towards Van as a viable course of action.
Chiu ChunLing
I mean, the empire is basically held together by the worship of Alda and the legitimizing myth of being Bellwood’s heirs (obviously everyone who isn’t a member of a Vida race has equal claim to Bellwood as an actual ancestor, so the real key point is upholding Bellwood’s legacy of genocidal fanaticism).
So no, Marshukzarl really couldn’t have dumped the church of Alda’s influence over the empire.
All Marshukzarl intended to do was limit the degree to which senselessly pursuing Alda’s extremist agenda would directly harm the empire. Marshukzarl understands that Alda is entirely wrong and Vida was completely right, and that the Vida races are essential to allow the survival and prosperity of humanity. Without the Vida races to mitigate Devil’s Nests in places that the humanity races simply can’t sustainably manage (such as the Scylla territory, rugged mountains, or the seas), humans would have been slowly driven extinct by the expansion of Devil’s Nests.
But as much as he acknowledges that the empire simply cannot survive if they seriously attempt to exterminate Vida races, that doesn’t mean he looks at them as being important in their own right. To his view, they shouldn’t be exterminated because that doesn’t serve the empire. But on the other hand, the same is true of the church of Alda. To put it another way, wiping out the church of Alda and promoting full equality of rights for the Vida races would destroy the empire just as surely as wiping out the Vida races and promoting the purist ideology of Alda.
Sure, replacing the Amid empire with something more politically like the countries inside the Border Mountains wouldn’t directly kill the human population, but Marshukzarl only cares about them because they’re part of the empire. Like you say, like he says, what he cares about is the empire itself.
TypicalReader
I’ve caught up…I feel so empty….
FilthyFrank
Why are we getting chapters so slowly?
Any idea waht the upload schedule is?
Daoist_Blaze
Merry Christmas y’all……
Hey Yoshi, how come we didn’t get a bonus chapter as a Christmas gift 📦🎊🎅
Alex-dono
yay
Paps
Thanks for the chapter, its so fun how Van action keep rippling so much.
Sinfulmass
As much as I like this story Jesus it drags on. This all could have been sprinkled in here and there over the last few chapters. Now it’s back to waiting for the next one.
Lord Rin
Heh the meeting with the dark elves was pretty funny. It’s like a group of Schneiders.
I kind of expected Marshukzarl to have already been deposed and/or assassinated. He himself expected that when what’s-his-face became the new pope. When anyways it seems he’s going to conceal the information about Van as a token effort of resistance against Alda and probably some petty satisfaction that Alda’s faction has taken a hit to their forces because Van defeated Fitun.
Lucas is still an asshole but at least he’s properly paranoid enough to not mess with Van. He remembers all the weird things that happened in his territory around the same time a rare dhampir made an appearance trying to join the adventurer’s guild and had put his name on the registration sheet and now he hears about a dhampir showing up in another duchy who has the same name. He’s not gonna be dumb enough to try and get him to come to his territory though he will at least send spies. Though they definitely won’t find any information other than what Van wants them to know.
Rudel on the other hand is only an asshole. He wants to summon Darcia because he thinks he can benefit from it politically. He is unpopular and has no real power. Everybody in the Sauron Duchy knows he only became Duke because of Marshal Dolmad’s support who is only thinking of using him as a pawn and Rudel didn’t even fight against the occupying Amid forces. He just showed up after they willingly left and became Duke while simultaneously declaring the resistance dead so he wouldn’t have to reward them while ordering the villages that supported them to keep their mouths shut. Yeah Van ended up taking in all the villagers but they must have spread the information about Rudel declaring the resistance dead out of political convenience before they left. On another note Rudel was warned not to mess with a dhampir by Randolph and he just learned that Darcia is the mother of a dhampir. Given how ultra super duper incredibly rare dhampirs are then it wouldn’t be a stretch to think that the dhampir Randolph warned him about is the same one that’s the child of the woman he wants to summon. Anyways he first needs to negotiate with Duke Alcrem to even get his permission to ask Darcia to visit and she can just say “No” if she wants to without much repercussions since she is the “Holy Lady” and Rudel can’t push her since it would defeat the whole purpose of wanting to get the support of the Vida believers in his territory and raise their moral.
Well depending on how Alcrem is, he might even refuse Rudel’s request because he would have to first investigate who this woman a Duke from another duchy wants to invite is and his investigations would reveal just how influential Darcia and Van are in Morksi. If Duke Alcrem ends up believing that Darcia and Van are too important to his duchy or if he wants to keep what happened with Juliana secret since he suspects that Van is actually taking care of her then Duke Alcrem might deny Rudel’s request.
Doc
I doubt Marshukzarl would be disposed “off screen” without us reading about the context. He’s been the Emporer for hundreds of years. Alda’s fanatics might be increasing in influence within his empire lately but he’s still got plenty of cards to play (he didn’t send all his special forces after Van mind you).
He has alluded to having to potentially step down in earlier chapters but he’ll likely put up a fight before having to do so.
Jonathan Hurd
Marsh is the last person I can imagine going quietly into that Good Night, hehe. There is no way he dies without striking back at Alda somehow.
Doc
I don’t view Marshukzarl as having any kind of grudge against Alda. He just was never all that pious to begin with. He used the faith when it suited him to keep his empire together and focused toward a common enemy (the Orbaume Kingdom).
Even now with Alda pushing this kid pope, Marshukzarl hasn’t spoken badly toward Alda. He just wants to hold his empire together and he’s smart enough to know that fighting Van is not good for his nation.
Giorgos Giorgos
I respectfully disagree. Marshukzarl has a pretty bad impression for Alda. He’s been the king for hundreds of years, but that’s exactly why he knows just how little he matters to the god. Alda straight up admitted that he didn’t really care about the human casualties, and Mars knows that Alda wouldn’t care if the empire got destroyed in a war against Van.
The only reason he doesn’t oppose the new pope is because he can’t afford to. The religion is so deeply rooted in his empire that one wrong move would destroy him. He also understands that opposing Van brings him no benefits, while hidding and allowing him to wreck havoc in Alda’s forces is the best possible course of action.
I can’t tell whether he’s a good emperor, but he’s definitely a capable and caring one. He wants what’s best for his people, and understands that Alda will use the empire in order to fight Van. That’s exactly why he holds Alda in such a low regard.
Doc
This was laced more with supposition than things said in the story to support that opinion.
“Marshukzarl has a pretty bad impression for Alda. He’s been the king for hundreds of years, but that’s exactly why he knows just how little he matters to the god. ”
Why would Alda having a high opinion of him or not matter for how Marshukzarl feels? This is a god we’re talking about, how they personally feel about individual mortals should be irrelevant from the perspective of people who don’t know what those gods are thinking. Secondly, Marshukzarl has been whole heartedly complicit in Vida races discrimination and subjugation. Because he’s not fanatical about it, unlike the church, doesn’t mean Alda would care all that strongly. Not being fanatical in belief, and having a bad impression are not the same thing. His goal is keeping the empire together and he views himself as the best person available to do that. Alda doesn’t directly help him with that goal so he has no reason to be pious towards Alda or the other gods.
Unless there’s some text I’ve forgotten where it states Marshukzarl dislikes Alda, all the bits I’ve read just point to a secular ruler who is indifferent toward the gods. If they help him in his goals of growing or maintaining his empire, great. If they don’t, no concern, he’ll do it himself with the resources he’s built up over time.
Jonathan Hurd
To me Mars character is actually pretty simple. He loves his empire and will do anything and everything to further its growth. The story has flat out stated that quite a few times in his talks with his retainers and aids.
He doesn’t care how heinous the act is he will do it if it will help the Empire. He discriminates against Vida’s races because it helped pull the Amid Empire together. He made the main religion Alda’s because it helped unite the people. He was willing to offer his own head up to Van to hopefully appease Van’s anger and protect his empire from Van’s wrath. Mars is willing to use or sacrifice anyone and everyone if it would help the Empire. Even himself.
Mars doesn’t like Alda for a very simple reason. Alda is trying to take control of the Amid Empire and throw it at Vandilieu. Even if Alda wins the damage of a holy war against Vida and Vandalieu would be so devestating it would lead to the end of the Amid Empire. The thing he has worked so hard to build and preserve.
I also believe it was actually said in one of Mars chats with his retainers that he feels Gods should butt out of human interactions. I think his attitude shows that as well. He has tried in his empire to exploit religious extremism, but at the same time not allow it to control the upper echelons.
Doc
I mean you pretty much repeated my point, except for at the end stated that because he told a retainer gods shouldn’t interfere with human interactions, therefore that equals dislike? Indifference and dislike are not the same and that statement could easily apply to both.
Either way the point is Marshukzarl will certainly have more “screen” time and in my opinion, his actions won’t be out of any desire to spite Alda, but to simply hold his empire together. If that makes things harder for Alda as a result I doubt that was intentional from Marshukzarl.
Chiu ChunLing
Just to be clear, Marshukzarl wants one thing from the gods…leave his empire alone.
Alda is trying to get the empire wrecked in a holy war for his own convenience, and is directly leading a conspiracy to unseat, imprison, and eventually execute or assassinate Marshukzarl.
Saying that Marshukzarl doesn’t have a grudge about that is plain contrarian nonsense.
YohaoShakur
The dark elves council meeting is basically the Facebook group “Group where we pretend to be old people confuse with technology” in fantasy ahsuahsuahauhssuhahahs
Really nice to know that Marshukzall is still living as emperor, I though that he had been killed or lost his position due to Aldi’s new prophet
Jonathan Hurd
Marsh isn’t going down that easily or quietly, lol. Aldi will take his throne away from him after he pries it from Marsh’s cold dead hands, and even after doing that I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw Marsh pop back up somewhere, hehehe.
Ltshrek
RIP in peace Sauron dude
InfernoHomura
lol out loud yeh
Jonathan Hurd
His gravestone should read “Here lies an amazing idiot. One who never understood just what kind of monster he messed with.”
darkixion
Dude forgot he isn’t in the Lord of the Rings right now lmao.
Nox
Thanks for the chapter.
I am on my way to play to cyberpunk.
Reiji
Arigadankeyou Gozaimuch. Stay safe guys. Ignore my failed attempt at merging 3 words meaning thank you.
InfernoHomura
Arigathanks gozaimuch
ObserverBias
For man who’s making decisions based on fear, Lucas Hartner is a pretty smart cookie (sure,let’s send spies, I guess)… mostly a smart cookie. Though I’m blanking on how Van is tied to Mage Guild higher ups turning themselves in.
Meanwhile, Rudel… he has heard of “inviting” people of relative importance to visit, yes? Is that not an option that’s available, just saying “Would you mind stopping by?” Feel like that should at least be on the table when you want them to have a positive impact on your society (and so, a marginally positive view of you in turn), yes? And it doesn’t even have to be hidden intention, just “I’ve heard through the grapevine that you’re a woman of Vida. We could use some lessons, would you mind visiting this area for any amount of time?”
Warlono
Van is connected to the Mage’s guild because when he was in the Sauron Duchy and looking for answers on what happened to the Titans of Talosheim he visited them to look for those answers (and also happened to devour an evil god in the process, one sealed in a magic book). He used his mental encroachment (or a similar ability) to make them all confess their ties to the vampires and other crimes.
As for Rudel I can see two reasons that he can’t do that. 1) He’s still reaching into another Duke’s country to invite them, no matter how he does it it’ll probably be seen by the other Duke’s (or at least the one ruling the area he’s reaching into) as him overstepping his authority. 2) He’s a Duke, and even though Van and Darcia are clearly special (One being a Dhampir with particular skills and knowledge and the other summoning a familiar spirit of Vida) they are still commoners. It would most likely be taking as a sign of weakness or some such by other nobles and Dukes if he were to invite them like that, especially if they said “no”, because now he’s been made to look weak and a fool (even though we know that it’d actually be the smartest move since either of them on their own could annihilate the whole Kingdom, let alone a single Duchy).
Doc
Just a slight correction. Reach into another Duke’s domain/territory/demesne. The country is the Orbaume Kingdom. Each Duke controls a territory in that kingdom.
And as the chapter stated, there’s nothing against summoning a citizen of another Duke’s domain. It’s just if that citizen is beneficial to the territory, it might anger the noble in question if they aren’t considered, as their territory could be negatively impacted if something happens to the person that so contributed to it. It’s just a matter of being tactful or polite.
SheepySenpai
Anyone know when and how many banda chapters will be?
Thanks for the chapter
sushiwarrior
I was hoping for more Banda 🙁
Anyway, thanks for the chapter, hope the next one will come out soon, this one felt a bit short and can’t quite satiate my hunger for more death mage.
Kiriaru
Awesome chapters! I love seeing everyone’s reaction to new info and their responses to Vandalieu in particular, looking forward to more!
Dr. Steel
Aww, I was hoping for another Banda chapter…
VEreality
New chapter! Thank you Yoshi-sama!
Van’s family is wholesome!!!!!! I really enjoyed this chapter. Also, the fact that Schneider is not the only elf who acts like that is amazing.
Here is something that is not related to this chapter but I simply can’t unsee:
Me a couple of days ago: I really like this story. But I have this feeling that it reminds me of something else….
We have a leader that claims to be human despite his great godly powers…..
An empire that is quickly expanding and advancing in technology…….
Enemies that want to wipe said empire off the map due to racism…….
The emperor gave a lot of power to his subordinates via bioengineeric (a.k.a. Van giving his blood to people and creating new species)……
And said emperor is worshiped by the citizens…..
Ohhh dear lord…….no……
Warhammer 40k space marine blood angel enters my room: FOR THE EMPEROR!!!!! DIE HERETICS!!!!!!! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! *Sabadon intesified*
Dr. Steel
Schneider isn’t an Elf, just a normal human, who gained the Unaging skill after defeating an Elder Dragon
VEreality
Oh yeah. I just google it. I don’t know why I tought he is part elf.
ObserverBias
Probably because Dalton’s grandmother mentions him in about the same breath she’s talking about her grandson?
Doc
And for the record, Schneider does age. Just his outward appearance doesn’t look older anymore. He’s not immortal, at least I don’t believe he is. Like other immensly powerful people on Lambda that have high vitality, he’ll be long lived, but not immortal.
The comparison to the elves is pretty spot on though.
Lord Rin
No he should be immortal in the same way vampires and majin are. He bathed in so much dragon blood that’s full of vitality that he ended up getting a unique skill. He won’t die of old age now. Regardless he’s an ally of Van so he’s got many options to infinite lifespan anyways like becoming one of the new races Van created after becoming a Bestower. I think they said Dark Humans, Dwerger and Dark Beastkin have an unlimited life span.
Dr. Steel
That is his excuse for acting old. He says the skill just makes him look young, and his entire party is exasperated because they know he doesn’t age,
Jonathan Hurd
I believe the Unique skill is ‘Unaging’. Basically he has Eternal Youth. He’s just an idiot, lol.
Nobody2
I know this is redundant because of course he is, but is rudel sauron a moron? I get his “advisor” the corrupt prime minister dismissed them as rumors designed to weaken them but he was literally in the room while that prime minister and Randolph the true we’re discussing the information the empire had leaked to them about the damphir vandalieu being a massive f*cking powerhouse monster that was backing the revolution. Why is he deciding to make secret plans to use darcia when he should remember that information, know it’s true now, and therefore know he’s already put himself on the wrong foot with this family!
Chiu ChunLing
Cause he’s a moron.
Or rather, the evidence in favor of Vandalieu being an existential threat to anyone that carelessly threatens his loved ones hasn’t really gotten any better. Dolmad was just being an insufferable idiot by dismissing it, and Rudel was a moron for not realizing that Randolf wasn’t kidding about ‘that Dhampir’.
If Rudel didn’t get it then, he doesn’t really have any reason to get it now.
Doc
Bit of a light “cleaning up the leftovers” kinda chapter, but some nice character moments from Schneider’s group and the dark elves.
Personally I’m less interested in the Orbaume Kingdom nobility subplots at this point. I mean they each had their arcs. Time to focus more on Van’s growth and the coming war with Alda’s forces. I want to see some more of Heinz team post soul recuperation and with Edgar (I think that was his name) now having some former demon king soul grafted onto him how that will spice things up. Maybe the fragments will be confused at who the real body is and some will latch themselves onto Edgar, who will be driven more nuts because of them since he doesn’t have Van’s affinity for them (but not completely nuts since the bits of Guradanis’ soul will temper them allowing him to still reason).
I would have rather this chapter continue the story in Origin some more (since we still have so much story to cover there of Avalon’s plans and getting more bravers into Lambda as a result), but it is what it is. This was more of a “so, that’s what’s happening in those areas” kinda chapter.
Jonathan Hurd
I think most of that stuff needs some more time to pass. This little check in with the General Population was to basically show how humanity is reacting to Fitun’s death. It was also kind of fun to see each rulers reaction to Van’s now very open movements and how they view them.
I am totally with you on wanting to see how Rodidiot screws up Edgar’s revival. The only problem is that last we checked in with Rodidiot he was currently comatose after Van broke so much of his protections and familiar spirits. So I think Edgar’s treatment is probably currently on hold for a little.
Hijiri as well is definitely not going to be rushing his plans at this point. Especially with an unknown like a survivor of the Eighth Guidance kicking around.
We’re definitely in for a time skip soon, then some more interesting things are going to start up once more.
Doc
“I think most of that stuff needs some more time to pass.”
I think you misunderstood the point I was making. I’m not complaining about this chapter, I’m saying what I want to see next. And Orbaume Kingdom nobility shenanigans is not what I want to see. Van originally came to the Orbaume Kingdom with one goal. Make it more difficult for the bravers who reincarnate here to hunt him. That goal lost all meaning after he destroyed some of their souls. A noble rank would do nothing to shield him from Rodcorte sicking them on him. So the new goal was to lure his remaining enemies into the open. He’s done that. He’s got no more pressing business in this kingdom. You could say, “to help Vida races, and gather more worshippers” but that was never his goal. He just did that along side his actual goals while he was there.
Regarding Rodcorte, him being unconscious was played up as a joke for the moment. He’s not going to remain that way for any real length of time. When Heinz’s group next comes up in the story I’ll bet you Edgar is with them all patched up. It would be too redundant for that not to be the case.
And for Avalon, there’s two equally likely ways he could go. Yes, he could become more cautious, thus slowing things in Origin down further. Or, he could ramp his plans up faster. He needs access to Mei and now he must be aware that this new eighth guidance knockoff is near her so he has more incentive than ever to force things along so that he can study either entity. Hiroto is wrapped around his finger in naivete so he has little to feel cautious over and in his mind, all the bravers capable of sleuthing him out are dead already so he’s arrogant. Point is, either direction would make story sense to happen.
Kazza
Hey, new chapter. Been waiting.
As much as I liked the Dark Elf Summit (and it’s always good to see Schneider and Co.), something about Dangar put a bad taste in my mouth. I could be reading a bit too into it, but that line:
“…and the emperor of Talosheim is the son of my great-granddaughter Darcia.”
I don’t know, it makes me feel like he doesn’t really see Van as his own flesh and blood. He never uses his name, and instead describes his connection to him through Darcia. (For example, it’d be similar to someone describing a siblings significant other, you’d use “my siblings boy/girlfriend”, but as soon as they become married you’d describe them as in-laws because they’re now part of the family.)
Now, I don’t think this is supposed to mean he’s going to betray him or something like that. I think it’s more that he can’t mentally identify Van as a child, so kind of just loses the paternal instinct. Especially since I think they haven’t met yet, just communicated through Schneider as a medium?
But I hope he’s going to actually get to know his Great-Great Grandson, instead of being too awed to think he’s worthy or whatever. A Double-G Granpa would be interesting, to me, because even though Van’s got 30+ years of experience, I could see him still wanting to get some advice from his Double-G Grandpappinmeyer.
Especially when the harem gets into it. Wasn’t it mentioned somewhere that he himself had multiple wives, or was it that he had multiple Great Grandchildren? I forget, but if he did, that’d be fuel for some funny conversations.
Doc
I didn’t get that vibe from Dangar. I mean the context of that statement was how he couldn’t be the elder chief because his reasoning would be unfairly biased toward his great grand-daughter and great great grandson, who is, in fact, the Emporer of the nation they’re moving to
But I suppose there’s some reason to think some people from Dacia’s village may be wary of Van. I mean Darcia chose to live away from her village after falling in love with a vampire, so there must have been a reason for that.
ObserverBias
Basically that bit was him going “Uh, hello, nepotism?” Aside being the part where the person discussed is already the emperor, and he himself is the one being grandfathered into a position.
Doc
It’s only nepotism if Van or a member of his family gives him the job. Conflict of interest is the term your looking for.
Jonathan Hurd
I think you might be reading a little too far into it, but if I had to say the reason Dangar might seem a little distant in relation to Van. It is because he has never met Van before. To me its understandable to be a bit confused by this new Great Great Grandson you have now been told you have. Especially after finding out he not only saved the Goddess you all love, but is also the reincarnation of that same Goddess’ Champion.
I mean all he knows is his Great Grand Daughter left home a few years ago and now not only has a Son, but that Kid is also the leader of his own Nation. I would be more amazed if he could easily take all that in. How do you interact with him? Do you treat him like your Grandchild, the head of an allied country, or the most important person of your religion? How does he feel about you? Is he happy to know he has other family? Is he angry you weren’t there to help when his mom was in trouble?
Add in that Van’s nation has tons of monsters and undead treated as equals. Also considering the power Van has in his hands and the lengths he went to revive Darcia. Its hard to imagine Van being completely sane.
I think a little apprehension is in order when meeting this new Great Great Grandkid.
Superboy8338
I’m delighted that we’re finally meeting Van’s extended family!
Superboy8338
PLEASE, don’t tell me that ANOTHER perv is after Van’s mom!! Also, Thanks for the update!
Doc
I don’t think Duke Rudel is aware of what Darcia looks like. He just knows she called down a familiar spirit of Vida (and wouldn’t everybody be surprised to know she can call in Vida herself whenever).
However, if he did see her upon summoning her, then yeah, it’d likely go in that direction. Not that either Van or Darcia would allow it.
serapheid
Great to know they’re getting Dark Elf reinforcements.
Superboy8338
And that some of them are Vans family.
InfernoHomura
That means more Chaos Elves, but does that mean if Darcia converts her seniors into chaos elves, she would become their “mother” even tho she’s younger than them???
CyberDre
Thanks for the chapter, whew I was starting to get the shakes….. Anyways it’s funny how each leader of nations perceive Van especially the ones “in the know” Marshukzall is relieved that Van isn’t straight attacking the Amid empire but I think he knows it’s inevitable given how much the Amid empire is asking for a fight.
Duke Lucas really made me smile, dude is traumatized by the [Monstrosity] that he’s starting to see possibilities that he would normally ignore , ah yes his aide made me laugh as well “he didn’t pay taxes when he was here so we’ll use that as an excuse to summon” lols , you’re incurring the disdain of another Duchy and an influencial person for such a dumb reason 😂😂, is this how nobles thought in the middle ages ? No wonder war was frequent then.
Ah yes , Duke Rudas….. Still thinks he can use everyone as a pawn , well at least he’s smarter than the normal noble , he’s setting groundwork to be able to summon Darcia and Van without abusing his authority…. Too much, now begs the question, why is he still trying to claim land he himself knows is useless without the Scylla ? The only thing I can think of is to give a win to his people so it would calm their dissatisfaction with his current leadership kinda like how Marshakzall did with Some of Vida’s races in the Amid empire, still I’m curious as to what steps he’ll take to summon them . Well even if he does summon it would backfire cuz a lotta of people are gonna get guided and the poor Duke doesn’t even realize it 😢.
The Dark elves , the MVP of this chapter, a bunch of Schneiders , it’s too wholesome seeing Old people who look young act old 😂, I wonder whether they’ll straight up change their mind and all migrate after they see Van’s defenses , ah, the more I think about it the more I realize that Alda’s forces are…… Fucked…..
I hope we get a chapter before Christmas and back to the main story , wanna see that celebration in Talosheim,
Entropy
Personally I suspect that you are right about Rudas’ plan to gain the land. He might also hope to capture any surviving scylla and force them to show how to farm the land, but I suspect he wants a win in his cap. I suspect his position is not the most secure, since he had two potential rivals and made enemies of several noble families when he declared Iris and her allies dead. In addition, he was beaten by the Empire so his own people might not be that loyal to him. No clue how he will get Darcia to visit, maybe he will marry a scylla or pull some other image thing to pressure her and Van. He might also try to bribe her with some meaningless title or land. Maybe he will offer her the scylla swamp and kill two birds with one stone.
CyberDre
Well from our POV that’s a lose-lose situation for him 😂, poor guy
Jonathan Hurd
I think the biggest reason he needs to take back the Scylla territory is that its pouring monsters into his lands. Remember Van’s undead basically rule the place and turned it into a devils nest. So the place itself naturally spawns monsters, but they can’t hold a candle to the undead. So they naturally run away and spill out into the rest of the Sauron Duchy. Unless Duke Sauron can actually cleanse the Scylla lands he’s going to be in a state of constantly fighting and guarding against monster attacks.
I do agree with you guys though that he probably also needs to show some kind of success now. The people aren’t completely stupid. They know he wasn’t here fighting to take back the Duchy. He just showed up after the Amid Empire left. Considering the first thing he did after that was completely fail to do anything about the Scylla territory and no real achievements against the Amid Empire. Yeah a win would be nice.
nadirku
I agree here, since the Scylla territory is known to be full of undead, and presumably other types of monsters, preventing a monster rampage, or stampede from taking even more of the Sauron territory would be a key concern for a stable rule.
It might be interesting to see if anyone starts to find it suspicious that not enough monsters are leaving the Scylla territory, given how dangerous it seems to be.
Jonathan Hurd
Nobody who enters past the readable sign has ever returned. I think that’s about as suspicious as you can get, lol. I don’t think anyone’s wondering why monsters are trying to escape from the sign makers as well.
Doc
The Amid Emporer’s reaction I didn’t interpret so much as him being happy Van isn’t bothering his Empire as him being happy Van is doing moves that make it easier for him to hold his power as Emporer. Remember, there’s a faction within the empire that believes the chosen one under the church of Alda should be the leader (which was some young person that could hear Alda’s proclamations better if I’m remembering right) . So the Emporer can use the destruction of statues of Fitun as well as the events in the Orbaume kingdom to better consolidate power by getting more supporters for his actions.
For Duke Rudel, he’s aware all the Scylla are gone. There’s no particular reason not to try and claim uninhabited territory if you can get it. You may be right that a partial reason could be he wants a “win” to look good to his subjects but ultimately the simplest reason is just that the lands available without having to fight anybody for it. Not knowing how to farm the land is an issue they can figure out over time after they have the land. Could always just fill in the wetlands and make it regular farmland in the worst case. The reasons people refuse to go to that land currently is from the combination of the high rank undead Van left behind and the mental encroachment signs.
But yes, I imagine any plot to summon Darcia likely won’t go well. Unless Van has some reason to keep maintaining his cover in the Orbaume Kingdom, what nobles can do to him that Van cares about is pretty much nothing. Darcia and Van would only go if they thought it would truly benefit Vida worship or Vida races.
CyberDre
Well that’s kinda waste of time and resources, best case scenario they acquire the land , but they lose a lotta , men , time and military resources that would serve better in defending against the Amid empire, plus they either have to learn how to farm , which would take time without experts like the Scylla or completely terra form the environment which would also take a lotta time and effort.
As for Marshakzull , well depending how he plays his cards , he can swoop in and act as a sense of hope to the people…… But the same could be said about the pope candidate, I can see him totally fueling the fire demanding that the people strike preemptively as this is a sign their enemy might be that much of a threat, typical Church fanatics stuff really, whipping people to shape with fear and confusion.
I actually feel bad the guy , if Darcia and Van actually start preaching there , a lotta of his citizens are gonna be guided by Van , add that with the fact they and so many nobles are dissatisfied with his reign , there might be a straight up rebellion in his Duchy , Damn from our POV , these dude is fucked .😅
Jonathan Hurd
I think what’s going on with Emp Marshakal is hes happy Alda is eating some losses and Van is making bigger moves. Alda has a kid who can interpret Divine Messages really well in the Amid Empire. He has sent a message to promote the kid to Pope and even caused a solar eclipse to push for it.
It is fairly clear Alda plans to overthrow Marshakal and then throw the Amid Empire to kill Van. Marshakal is resisting, but Alda worship is too ingrained in his Empire to stop Alda taking over if he sends a message saying so. Marshakal is trying to hide the info about Van appearing from the church in Amid Empire mostly as petty harassment more than anything else, lol.
gomezseba37
Alda surely knows that Marshakal doesent give a fuck about him and van and just wants the country to remain stable and not wage a destructive war
Jonathan Hurd
For Alda all humans are just replaceable pieces or tools. In a previous chapter it actually said Alda doesn’t care about human causalities or an empire falling. The survivors will make a new country and keep worshipping him anyways so its all the same to him.
Marshakal is under no illusion that he is important to the Gods. He knows Alda plans to take his Empire away and destroy all of Marsh’s hard work by throwing it at Van. That is why to me I think Marsh is getting some satisfaction at a God from Alda’s faction dying to Van. He’s also trying to withhold the info about Van from the Church mostly to be petty and in hopes they take longer to start investigating Van and his actions.
Digijaws
The biggest problem is Alda wants a fruitless war with van, while van just wants to be left alone mostly
Dyneamaeus
Yeah, Marshukzarl clearly see’s himself as something like the captain of a sinking ship. He’s done everything he can to keep the passengers safe, but the winds are against him and part of his crew are brewing a mutiny. Coming to the conclusion that Van can fight on par with the gods without killing everything in a 30 mile radius probably makes him feel better about the people of the empire surviving.
gomezseba37
He doesent want useless war he knows its a pointless fight whoever wins the price paid will be too much
Kiryl
I think the reason Rudas wants to reclaim the scylla territory was because he also lost a good chunk of the surrounding territory.
If I remember correctly the villagers territory was also taken over by Van, and some of the territory around that had problems with monsters fleeing from Van’s territory.
Doc
Van doesn’t have any territory outside of the mountain boundary region. The Sauron Dutchy got back all the land it had lost to the Amid Empire.
Van’s actions in the territory made the Scylla lands uninhabitable through high rank undead and mental encroachment art all over the place.
The villages Van evacuated most of the people from them into his nation and who’s left are staunch Vida supporters.
Again, it’s not so much that Rudel is desperate for land as it is the land is available for the taking.
Jonathan Hurd
Well the biggest issue and need for the Scylla territory isn’t to make use of the land but to get rid of the giant Devil’s Nest there. Devil’s nests spread naturally to their surrounding lands. Especially one with as much mana as Van has pumped into it. Add in that Van’s undead are constantly pushing out all the natural monsters such as Goblins and Orcs.
Duke Sauron is basically forced to constantly defend against and pay to fight an influx of never ending monsters. Also if he doesn’t purify the surrounding lands they would also turn into Devils Nests and continue to encroach.
Having a close Devil’s Nest might be nice if he had money to spare to invest in it, but he’s still trying to reestablish the farming situation, get the new Lords in place, and trying to set up a defensive line against the Amid Empire. Add in that everyone is scared as hell of the Scylla Territory that they won’t go near it and he’s probably having issues attracting adventurers to help slay the monsters.
Doc
I don’t recall the story mentioning monsters being pushed from the Scylla territory. It wasn’t a Devil’s Nest previously, and the undead that are there aren’t naturally occurring ones. They were made by Van as a way to keep people away while the Scylla were still relocating and Iris was using the land as a base.
The fact that both adventurers and mercenaries are turning down commissions to scout the territory would suggest its not such a pressing security issue. Since if it was, there would be more adventurers or Sauron Dutchy Knight Orders looking to maintain order if their lives were actively in danger from their home cities.
Jonathan Hurd
From Side Chapter 24: “With this much Mana freely flowing around, it was only natural for the former Scylla territory to become a Devil’s Nest.
But at this rate, Goblins and other monsters that were not the Undead who were appearing in greater numbers would be hunted to extinction. No matter how favorable a Devil’s Nest’s conditions were for monsters, it wouldn’t make any difference if they couldn’t survive.
It was inevitable that monsters would leave the Scylla territory in order to survive.
And because of the strange events such as the loss of contact with the resistance and the disappearance of the villagers of Cubas’s village and other villages, Rudel and Dolmad tried to begin their investigation earlier than planned. But when they did, the temporary fort next to the Scylla territory suffered continuous losses from repeated monster attacks.
Thus, Rudel Sauron became unable to rule not only the former Scylla territory, but the land adjacent to it as well.
Compared to the total landmass of the Sauron region, it was a negligible area of land. But as long as the former Scylla territory itself could not be cleared, the monsters would continue to overflow from the Devil’s Nest, increasing the Devil’s Nest’s size.”
Chiu ChunLing
The former Scylla territory poses two very sticky problems for the Duchy, one of which they could probably just suck up as penance for how they treated the Scylla and Iris’ Resistance, and the other not so easily resolved.
The first problem is that the area has become an unmitigated Devil’s Nest since the Scylla are no longer cultivating it. A Devil’s Nest mitigated by being cultivated by a Vida race is basically harmless, the magical energy being turned into enhanced fertility and the occasional monster being hunted and killed. An unmitigated Devil’s Nest is a more serious problem, it breeds larger numbers of monsters and the area of mana corruption starts to spread.
If that were all, the Duchy could just establish a firm defensive line and put in the effort to carefully cultivate and hunt the area of spread past the former Scylla territory. It wouldn’t be very economical because of how weak most humans are compared to Vida races, but it wouldn’t be horribly burdensome.
Given the size of the Vida-friendly commoner population that disappeared after they dissed Iris’ Resistance and essentially criminalized having supported them, it’s not even that urgent to cultivate and hunt the expansion of the Devil’s Nest (though on the other hand the disappearance of those locals does make things more difficult).
But simply accepting a de facto border posted by Undead means practically acknowledging the essential legitimacy of the Undead’s claim to the area. A claim that has been written on posted warning signs by the Undead themselves. If the warning signs had been posted by the Adventurers Guild or the Duchy, there would be no problem. But they were posted by the Undead and thus represent a territorial claim, and recognizing that claim is basically the same as declaring that they intend to respect the legal property rights of the Undead.
That may sound like a stretch, but they’re right next to the Amid Empire, which recently held their territory, at which time the Scylla territory was not full of Undead. The Amid Empire wouldn’t hesitate to make a propaganda point out of the Duchy granting de facto recognition of the written and posted territorial claim of the Undead.
There are probably also some other Duchies that would lend credence to that interpretation of simply accepting the posted border. Or at least not defend any alternate interpretation.
Of course, given the disparity in military power involved, the Sauron Duchy should just suck it up and do exactly that. Announce that they intend to respect the territorial claim of the Undead and actually do so. If they were even smarter they’d toss a few letters over the border offering to negotiate full legal recognition…it’s not like there’s any downside if it fails, since nobody but the Undead will be able to retrieve the letters to prove their existence.
But still, “One does not simply recognize the legal rights of the Undead.”
Chiu ChunLing
About the “needing a win” angle.
It’s crucial to remember that everyone actually living in the Duchy under the occupation knows full well that it was not Rudel and his allies, but the SLF under Iris that drove the Empire into a corner where they had no choice but to withdraw.
The justification for Rudel not recognizing that accomplishment is “the SLF were all wiped out by the powerful Undead in the Scylla territory.” If he then turns around and ignores those powerful Undead that he claims wiped out the SLF, he’s casting doubt on the essential legitimacy of his claim. This is especially true because the weaker monsters being spawned because the area has turned into a Devil’s Nest are constantly fleeing. That serves as a constant reminder of the presence of the powerful Undead that are supposed to have wiped out the SLF and the major components of the occupying forces.
Minimizing the danger posed by the Undead that are driving out other monsters removes the only ‘evidence’ Rudel has for his assertion that the SLF were wiped out and weren’t really the main reason the occupation suffered too many losses to be sustained. Rudel has known all along that this was a big fat lie, he was planning (on Dolmad’s advice) to march in and capture the SLF, then have them tortured into admitting complicity with the occupation. The operation was to be covered as an extermination of the powerful Undead. This plan was contingent on the Undead not being as powerful as rumored.
Instead, he’s facing a largely inexplicable situation in which the territory is being defended against incursions, but has only weak monsters fleeing to the outside. He’s also aware that many of the villagers sympathetic to the SLF have fled his rule. He doesn’t want to admit it, but it’s obvious that they’ve fled to the SLF, which is still intact and controlling the Scylla territory somehow.
Lucas was just stupid, and he’s learned his lesson. Rudel is clever enough to know what he can’t openly admit.
Tejing
The dark elf elders are fun 🙂 I look forward to when Van meets these guys, especially Darcia’s family.
At least Lucas knows not to mess with what he doesn’t understand. On the other hand, it sounds like Rudel is going to cause some trouble next volume in one way or another.
Doc
While a little bit here and there with these Orbaume Kingdom nobility is ok, personally I’d rather the story focus on the war between Alda and Van a little more. These chosen Alda heroes, more of the demon king fragments, etc. The story spun its wheels a bit while we were in Morksi and I’d like to see Van getting older.
Side reason is to start getting some romance on.
Warlono
Remember that one of Van’s early goals was to make a name for himself in society so that he could use that as a shield against the other reincarnated individuals. He’s a lot more powerful now than he was then, but he can still use that as an effective barrier between him and them, particularly the ones who are true members of the bravers, as they’d be less likely to go against society to hunt Van than the traitors among them would.
In the end, if Van wants he could probably brute force his way to victory (maybe even against all of them at once) but that’s not really his personality (something that Rodcorte and Alda can’t seem to understand, which is why they both keep causing all of the problems in the world by fucking with him). He could also probably just hold out in Talosheim if he wanted to, but that’d abandon all of Vida’s races outside of the mountain range.
Taking his time and building up a good reputation in the Orbaume Kingdom might not be the most exciting, but it is the most consistent with his character from everything we’ve seen in the story so far.
Jonathan Hurd
I do gotta admit I am looking forward to the development of some Romance arcs. Not sure who it would start with honestly. We have plenty of candidates to say the least. Do we start with first in line like Basida, Zadris, and the other ghouls? Do we go to first met with the Armor Twins. I know Eleanora and the other Vampires would be more than happy to throw themselves forward. Heck, we even have some God candidates in there too, lol.
Though thinking back with the whole Tiamat situation the Girls did mention there was a Order established and no cutting permitted. I wonder if we’ll get a peak at that list, lol.
I think we’re probably going to get another time skip pretty soon. I feel there’s not really much to see with Alda’s little Hero army at this point. They seem mostly like cannon fodder at this point. I can’t really imagine much is happening with them other than ‘Go into dungeons and kill monsters to level!’ Stuff that should probably be done off screen.
Doc
“I can’t really imagine much is happening with them other than ‘Go into dungeons and kill monsters to level!’ Stuff that should probably be done off screen.”
And done offscreen it has been. We’ve heard of them training now since before Van settled in Morksi. They should be more than far enough along at this point for some new developments there. Even if they aren’t ready to fight Van yet, having them join up with Heinz group or some meaningful forward plot progression would be appreciated.
Jonathan Hurd
Heinz’s group is currently still in recovery and in their personal dungeon. There is honestly not much for the new hero’s to do until Heinz’s group recovers and comes out to lead the charge. Till then other than maybe describing a fight against dragons or DK fragments I don’t think much is happening with the newby Heroes.
It’d be one thing if we had another Fitun situation, but it seems like only Fitun was that battle hungry and crazy. The other gods seem to be keeping to the plan so I can’t imagine them throwing their hard earned heroes against Van after he just ate a War God and all his forces.
Doc
Again, I’m talking about where the story goes NEXT, not where it is now. Heinz group won’t still be recuperating by the next time we hear about them.
I thinks you’re misinterpretting this complaint as what I wanted *this* side chapter to be about. This side chapter sets up further Orbaume nobility subplots for the future and what I’m saying is I’d rather the story not spend time with that. So I’m saying where I want the story to go and focus on.
Jonathan Hurd
I think Lucas is afraid because of what he does understand, hehe. He’s connected a few dots and those dots scare the shit out of him.
Chiu ChunLing
Yeah, Lucas is frankly not the brightest noble in his family, let alone the Duchy. He did a lot of obviously stupid things. But he was honestly just stupid, not pretending to not know things when it was clear he really did.
Since he’s honestly just stupid, it’s easier for him to just admit that he has no real idea how or why Van was responsible for everything that happened, but he certainly doesn’t want to invite his attention again.
no1
A short chapter, thanks Yoshi, I thought this would also be about mei and Banda like the previous side chapter. So part of Darcia’s home village is going to migrate to Taloshiem, that is a good thing to mention. Van might meet the relatives on his mom side soon. I’m not sure how relevant Emperor Marshukzarl is at this point. He hasn’t made any moves against Van and he doesn’t seem like to be plotting something. Also the commentary at the dark elf village was funny. Next, Rudel Sauron is not a character I am familiar with, how is this guy important and not exactly sure why he is so interested in Darcia? It looks like we are almost to volume 11, thanks for this chapter and hope to see the next chapter soon Yoshi.
Tejing
Rudel is the guy who ended up declaring Iris and the resistance dead cause it was more politically convenient, remember? As for why he’s interested in Darcia, that’s explained pretty well in this chapter. He needs a morale boost for his people and Darcia basically represents the hope that Vida is coming back. Since most people in the Sauron duchy worship Vida, that’s a pretty big deal.
Dr. Steel
Actually I think he really believed that she was dead, but the people pulling his strings figured she might be alive but it would better to just say she’s dead
Jonathan Hurd
Marshukzarl hasn’t wanted to fight Van ever since he realized how badly he messed up losing four Evil Breaking Blades. Marsh also has bigger worries than messing with Van in the Orbaume Kingdom. He’s currently trying to resist having his entire Empire taken from him and thrown at Van by Alda.
He might not be playing a big role at the moment, but with how crafty he is I can’t imagine him not making some kind of big move down the road.
Seinvolf
Thank u always for ur great work…
^^…
akatsuki kuranashi
first
Superboy8338
Uh, good for you?
Dr. Steel
Excuse me, we don’t do that here.
akatsuki kuranashi
cmon i just casualy checked if a new chapter came out and turns out it did 46 sec ago when i posted this so gimme some slack
Doc
I think the point is instead of doing the cliché spam comment, at least try to throw some relevant discussion in. Even if it’s as simple as, “thanks for the new chapter”