novelMy Affairs
| ← Ch.798 | Ch.800 → |
Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu
In a way, the Undead Emperors really were quite sly.
When would be the best time to whitewash your own reputation? Of course, that would be when a powerful mutual enemy appeared. Karwenz suddenly becoming public enemy #1 of the entire world made it so that even an Undead Emperor could become acceptable.
The ancient undead of the Tark Republic had already showed what side they were on by helping the humans against the ogres in San Antonio. The newly reestablished Tark Republic in the northern ice islands was no longer considered an extreme threat, but rather a trustworthy ally.
At the very least, until this Holy War was completely finished, nobody would want to make an enemy out of the Undead Emperors.
I felt rather conflicted inside as I looked at the seemingly nice old man in front of me.
Was Sandro trustworthy? Even if I thought about it with my knee that always got shot by arrows, it was quite obvious that all Undead Emperors were untrustworthy.
However, I really did need their assistance, just like how they needed us.
When fighting the powerful Karwenz and any allies he might have, other factions weren't actually that likely to go all out. Although winning against Karwenz was for the good of everyone, there were no actual concrete benefits or loot to be had. Even if everyone said pretty words about fighting for "the sake of the world", I would be quite suspicious of their morale and determination if it came to a life-and-death battle.
However, Sandro and the other Undead Senators who were determined to reestablish the Tark Republic were different. Since they had chosen to ally with humans rather than be hostile, they would naturally need to prove their worth in this Holy War. First, they would need to deal with... other undead, their own kind.
"I don't have any other requests. I also won't try to give you ridiculous commands. Additionally, I know that you guys won't take my words seriously on the battlefield. Still, it's no mistake to say that you guys should clean up your own mess. I'll be asking you to deal with Conservation and Shupnus."
Although we were allies, if I requested too much, the effect wouldn't be very good even if Sandro agreed. It would be far more efficient to let him deal with his fellow Undead Emperors.
Sandro quite directly agreed. He even offered something extra.
"... I will be personally joining in the attack against Karwenz."
This was definitely more than I expected. Would Sandro really be so friendly as to voluntarily fight against Karwenz? Such a free gift usually had a trap involved. For instance, Sophocles had also previously invited me to gang up on Karwenz together with him. I really wouldn't dare to accept such "friendly intentions".
"Karwenz killed Undead Emperor Anina from the Darkness Plane. She was also a Chaos Girl..."
"... She and you?"
I was really astonished. Undead Senators wouldn't be anyone friendly and intimate with others. Sandro had just agreed to attack his own kind. Would he really be the type to want to seek revenge on Karwenz for a fellow Undead Emperor?
"Anina was my disciple's granddaughter, as well as my adopted daughter."
Sandro's calm words didn't contain any emotion. It was impossible for me to tell if he was being honest or lying. Still, this was more than sufficient of a reason for me. At the very least, it should be impossible for someone with many desires like Sandro to be allied with Karwenz. A special existence like Sophocles would be almost impossible to find again.
"Okay, I will arrange for your joining in."
We established a communication magic spell. Sandro then suddenly vanished in front of me. Mine and Harloys' senses were completely useless.
Perhaps Sandro had used such an ability to enter the Cloud Tower which was filled with angels even though he was an undead.
Sandro's promise to help us in battle was really a great relief. Undead Emperors Shupnus's and Conservation's condition was currently unknown, but they were far more likely to be enemy than ally against Karwenz, which gave me a significant amount of pressure.
Shupnus might possibly not involve himself in battle, but if Conservation saw me anywhere on the battlefield, she would likely abandon everything before her and unhesitatingly hunt me to the end of the world.
Conservation was specialized in attack curses, had basically infinite mana with her principle of mana conservation, and was like a super living turret... I felt that I should really make more combat preparations. Still, even though Conservation was at a Main God's power level, I still felt that she wouldn't be able to best Sandro.
In a way, even though there was still a major battle before us, my assessment was that the current situation wasn't unacceptable.
"At the very least, this is far better than the previous Armageddon future of the world where everyone dies."
I was never someone who would worry about how despairing or dark the situation was, or how powerful my enemies were. Even the most powerful enemies would still have their weaknesses.
However, Karwenz and his allies had previously been scheming while hidden in the shadows, which truly was a headache.
The worst wouldn't be having a ridiculously powerful enemy, but rather that he was hidden while you were out in the open. He would be busy digging traps for you to fall into, while you could only dance to his tune.
Although Karwenz and Sophocles had obtained incredible results for their side, the chaotic domain they had created also exposed their location and weakness. Since Karwenz's location was now known, I could at least start planning against him rather than having to deal with everything that he schemed against me.
I wasn't someone who was all-knowing. The most important prerequisite for making the best combat preparations would be having concrete information.
Since Karwenz and his allies were now exposed, his objective and his allies were also revealed to the world.
Karwenz's objective was quite evident now. He was gathering the Chaos Girls in order to open up the dimensional barrier. The chaotic domain created here was going to be the door to the dimensional barrier leading to other universes.
In that case, Karwenz had also exposed three major weaknesses.
"The first is to prevent them from finding any more Chaos Girls. The second is to attack the chaotic domain and completely destroy the door to the dimensional barrier. The third is..."
I paused for a moment before finally saying it out loud.
"... Kill Karwenz completely in order to eliminate the threat."
Karwenz was the individual at the core of this entire matter. No matter how one looked at it, the easiest way to stop his scheme was to annihilate his physical body.
I would deal with my affairs by myself. He was my family, after all. Just as how I asked Sandro to deal with Conservation and Shupnus, I had every intention of personally dealing with Karwenz.
So, Karwenz's recent victory was now a burden upon him.
The chaotic domain was still unstable, yet the Holy Light Faction immediately started its attack against it. Since the door's location was now ascertained, the "door openers" would have nowhere to possibly run.
Now, the chaotic domain had become a true mythic battlefield where countless demons and angels fought each other without the possibility of a victor appearing.
If this had been 10 years ago, the death of a God would have attracted the entire world's attention. But recently, the number of falling meteors indicating the deaths of Holy Light Faction Gods was uncountable. Even low-level God Envoys and high-level angels actually became cannon fodder on this battlefield.
I didn't want to even get close to such a battlefield. Even the proud dragons wisely chose to stay back.
However, the God of Holy Light, Karwenz, and other such Main God level existences were remaining abnormally silent. This wasn't because peaceful negotiation would be possible. Rather, both sides were accumulating power in preparation for the explosive final battle.
Every day, War Angels' corpses were brought back from the frontlines, along with samples of the ridiculous mutated demons on Karwenz's side. Our chances of victory were constantly improving as we performed further analysis.
Finally, a certain piece of information caused me to choose to go to another battlefield.
"Karwenz is attacking the Fire Elemental Plane? At such a critical time?"
I fell silent. I would know better than anyone what the Fire Elemental Plane represented.
"Elisa..."
| ← Ch. 798 | Ch. 800 → |