CHAPTER 679

【 WITHDRAWAL 】

It was already nearing dusk when Sophia entered Augsburg City riding on her unicorn.

The half elven girl stared blankly around Forzel Fortress, which still emitted thin trails of smoke under the fading sunset, and at the residents on both sides of the streets, who had opened their doors and windows as they curiously observed the elven army moving alongside her.

For a moment, she felt as though she were dreaming.

“Truly… it only took them less than a day…”

She murmured in disbelief.

As a former noble of the Empire, she understood the prestige of Forzel Fortress better than anyone. Even as a child, she had learned of its reputation and its history.

During the era when the Empire’s central authority declined and the city states near the Aries region declared independence, the entire northern region had been engulfed in war.

At that time, it was Emperor Clovis, the ruler who would later reunify the Empire, who had reversed the tide. His decisive victory here at Forzel Fortress allowed him to turn defense into offense, thereby regaining the allegiance of the northern nobles and strengthened the Empire’s central authority.

From that period on, Forzel fortress’s reputation as an unbreakable bastion have became widely known throughout the land.

Although the fortress had fallen recently after less than a month of siege by the Red Maple Kingdom, that was understandable, since its defenders were mainly consisted of elderly, weak, and disabled while the attackers had included powerful experts.

However, this time, the defenders were not helpless at all.

So Sophia could not help wondering how the elves had managed to take the famed fortress so quickly, especially with how heavily damaged it appeared. The shattered battlements and collapsed sections of wall made it clear that something extraordinary had happened, despite it taking only half a day.

When she voiced her confusion to Li Mu, the Elven Commander in Chief readily responded without withholding anything and explained to her the entire sequence of events.

After hearing how the elves had conducted the siege, the half-elven girl’s face was filled with astonishment and shock.

An aerial strike, troops descending from the sky…

She lifted her head and glanced at the massive airship above them then whispered,

“So it was the use of that flying ship which was responsible for attaining such swift victory…?”

An aerial unit.

Such forces were not entirely unheard of in the world of Seigües.

In fact, many high-ranking Imperial lords possessed their own army comprised of griffin or wyvern units. However, most of these airborne troops were primarily used for reconnaissance, and their numbers were not adequate enough to influence the outcome of a battle.

A full scale assault from the sky, beginning with a carpet bombardment followed by thousands of experts dropping from above, was a military tactic completely without precedent.

At that moment, Sophia realized that with the emergence of these huge elven airships, the way typical warfare was conducted was about to be rewritten.

The elves were truly inventive. One could never predict what they were capable of or what they might create next.

“Still, we were able to take the city this quickly because it had no protective holy barrier. If there had been one, things would not have gone so smoothly.”

Li Mu spoke cheerfully as he observed the half-elven girl’s complicated expression.

Sophia paused.

“If there had been a barrier, what would you have done?”

“In that case, we would have flown to an even higher altitude beyond the defenders counterattack range and bombed the city until it collapsed. Maintaining a barrier consumes a great deal of energy after all and I refuse to believe they could keep it active forever.”

Li Mu answered with complete seriousness.

Sophia: “…”

The two continued speaking as they walked, passing through the city and finally entering the captured Forzel Fortress, which was now heavily patrolled by elven soldiers.

By now, the soldiers of the Red Maple Kingdom who had surrendered had been disarmed and were squatting outside the fortress, their hands pressed to their heads in obedience.

Sophia glanced at these soldiers whose expressions still carried a somewhat blank look and eyes full of fear, and frowned slightly.

After a moment of thought, she invoked the spell [Eye of Faith] and discovered that most of them emitted a faint red aura.

This was the telltale sign of shallow believers, and even among shallow believers, they were the weakest type: the kind who only prayed occasionally, when convenience or circumstance prompted it rather than genuine conviction.

“Most of them seem to have been forced to convert their faith…”

She murmured.

Sophia paused, considering the situation for a moment, then quietly recited another incantation, invoking an enhanced version of the spell [Mass Evil Detection].

As the spell’s light expanded outward, a myriad of halos appeared above the soldiers’ heads, shimmering faintly in the dim evening light. Some glowed deep black, others murky white, while most hovered between shades of gray and pale white.

These halos represented faith alignment and the darker the color, the closer they leaned toward evil.

Interestingly enough, those with darker halos were also the ones whose aura of faith had glowed bright red only moments ago, a clear indication that their devotion to that evil god was strong, and consequently, their corruption ran much deeper.

With this in mind, Sophia said in a thoughtful tone,

“Those with black halos have fully surrendered their body and soul to that evil god, and thus they are beyond redemption. But those who have gray halos can still be saved, and those leaning toward white are likely ordinary people who were forcibly conscripted and swept into this against their will.”

She then looked toward Li Mu.

“Commander Li Mu, I intend to reorganize those soldiers whose alignments have not completely shifted and guide them back to the proper faith. What is your opinion on this matter?”

“Well, this mission was by your request to begin with, so we will follow your decision.”

“Oh, right. I heard your guild is quite adept at spreading faith?” Sophia added casually, curiosity lacing her words.

But Li Mu’s expression quickly became somewhat awkward upon hearing this. He coughed lightly and stammered, “A-Ahem, you should probably ask Demacia about that. He’s the expert in this field.”

“…Demacia?”

Sophia’s brow furrowed slightly, taken aback. She had expected a straightforward answer, not to be redirected to someone else.

Just as she was still processing Li Mu’s words, a playful and slightly smug voice sounded behind them.

“That’s right! That would be me, yours truly~”

It was Demacia.

Sophia: “…”

She looked at the red-haired warrior, who had somehow slipped in behind them, her eyes filled with doubt, scrutiny, and caution.

Demacia: “…”

“Lady Sophia, could you stop looking at me as if I were trash? I truly am the number one expert in our guild at spreading faith!” Demacia said, a helpless expression on his face, his tone a mixture of pride and mild exasperation.

Yet Sophia still remained silent after hearing him and simply stared at him for a couple of moments without any change in her expression.

Just as Demacia began to feel uneasy under her gaze and silently feared the worst, the girl suddenly said,

“Alright, I will trust you this once.”

“Uh—what?”

Demacia froze for a moment.

Then his face lit up.

“…Really?”

“No, it is only because Commander Li Mu is vouching for you.”

Sophia replied calmly.

Demacia: “…”

Seeing the red-haired warrior’s expression, which resembled that of a puppy that had just been kicked, Sophia let out a quiet sigh.

“Sir Demacia, if you behaved with more steadiness, I believe you would be far more well received than you are now and people would find you easier to trust.”

“In any case, I shall entrust these soldiers to your care. In the meantime, I will go check on those nobles who surrendered. Please, I trust that you will do your job properly.”

Once she finished speaking, the girl left the area where the defeated soldiers were being held. Only the two remained, staring at each other in quiet bewilderment.

“…What do you plan to do with these soldiers?”

Li Mu asked with a strange look.

Demacia glanced over the courtyard filled with prisoners, a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes.

“Oh, you know, the usual method. Just like we did with the orcs,” he said casually, shrugging. “I’ll give them the full brainwashing package.”

Li Mu raised an eyebrow. “And the ones who cannot be converted? Are you sending them back as laborers?”

“Yeah, of course!” Demacia replied with a laugh. “But they need to spit on that evil god’s statue before they leave. I wonder if an evil god would also punish its believers for spitting on their sacred statue. Hopefully it does. If it does, well… I guess I’ll have a new source for my divine judgment bombs, hehe.”

Li Mu: “…”

༺⟐༻

After leaving the courtyard, Sophia quickly entered the fortress keep.

Inside the main hall, which had largely withstood the siege and remained relatively intact, a group of nobles dressed in far finer clothing than the soldiers outside were crouching on the ground, hands pressed to their heads in forced submission.

These were the leaders and prominent supporters of the Red Maple garrison. Some had surrendered alongside the soldiers, while others had been seized by the elves after being dragged from their estates by enraged citizens.

Among them, Sophia even recognized a few familiar faces—nobles she had met before in Zelouan.

The moment these nobles noticed her, they immediately recognized her as well.

Several voices filled with forced delight rose at once.

“Miss Sophia? Is that truly you? I am Baron Elk. We met once in Zelouan.”

“Miss Sophia, have you become a believer of the Goddess of Life? Do you remember me? I am Milovi. I saw you at one of your father’s banquets.”

“This is wonderful! I did not expect it to really be you. There has been a misunderstanding, only a misunderstanding! We were forced by that vile evil god.”

“Yes, that is right!”

“Please tell the elves that we are willing to pledge our allegiance.”

Looking at these pale-faced nobles, desperately pretending to be joyful, Sophia felt a wave of weariness wash over her. She did not answer them. Instead, she silently invoked [Eye of Faith.]

Most of the nobles glowed green.

Green signified unbelievers.

Sophia was not surprised at all.

It was rare for nobles to be truly devout to any Deity as most were shallow believers at best.

Moreover, among those who had surrendered, nearly all were opportunists. “Pretend to convert and repent later” was the excuse they used most often after being defeated and captured in a holy war.

Now that they had become prisoners, abandoning the evil god was the most predictable choice.

They were far more practiced at switching faiths than the soldiers, many of whom struggled even with basic literacy. Of course, if captured again by minions of the evil god, they would likely switch allegiance once more.

This was the true nature of nobles.

For most of them, the most important thing were their own survival, preservation of status, and maintaining their power and wealth.

Through repeated experiences, Sophia had long understood that judging nobles solely by the color of their faith was insufficient. She did not hesitate and cast [Evil Detection] as well, marking the first time she had used this spell on nobles.

Back in Zelouan, her father had strictly forbade her from casting it on people of noble status.

As the spell’s light spread across the group, halos appeared one by one above their heads.

Most were pitch black, in stark contrast to the soldiers she had examined earlier. Seeing this, Sophia felt a trace of disappointment, though she was not truly surprised.

After all, thinking carefully, it was obvious what kind of people could maintain their authority and even hold high positions whilst under the control of an evil god.

“Hand them all over to Sir Demacia. From this day onward, Augsburg City will have no nobles anymore,” she declared, her gaze cold and expressionless as she looked over the kneeling group.

The nobles’ faces immediately shifted, panic overtaking their forced composure.

“Miss Sophia, no… Lady Sophia, what are you planning to do?!”

“Lady Sophia, we are innocent! Everything was that evil god’s fault!”

As their wailing and pleas filled the hall, a flicker of disgust crossed Sophia’s eyes. She no longer deigned to acknowledge these corrupted individuals and turned away, leaving them behind.

After her departure, the players who had received her orders let out several cold, humorless laughs. They bound the nobles with anti-magic chains and delivered them to Demacia.

༺⟐༻

Once she finished dealing with the surrendered soldiers and nobles, Sophia officially assumed responsibility for governing Augsburg City.

Naturally, this was only a temporary stewardship under elven authority.

The war was still ongoing, and the spread of the Goddess’s faith had only just begun. There were properties left behind by the fleeing or captured nobles that required proper management, along with many other administrative matters that needed immediate attention.

For now, the highest priority was to reclaim the entirety of Maple Leaf Territory and spread the faith of the Goddess of Life into every corner of the land.

After the capture of Augsburg City, the players quickly set to work. They began repairing the damaged fortifications and restoring defensive structures. At the same time, they enshrined the Goddess’s holy statue inside the city’s main temple, which had been hastily cleaned and prepared for the ceremony.

With the installation complete, the city would eventually be able to activate its divine barrier. Once active, the players could defend the city with far greater confidence.

They also constructed a teleportation array within the city, linking Augsburg directly to Greyhaven. The distance was considerable, but a long distance array could still function with acceptable reliability, especially as these tasks did not require a large force.

For that reason, after leaving a portion of players behind to protect the city, the remaining forces reorganized themselves and departed once more.

Their next destination was the heartland of Maple Leaf Territory.

The blitzkrieg continued…

༺⟐༻

Western Province, Morningstar City.

Fresh traces of battle still scarred the towering city walls. Arrow shafts remained embedded between the stones, scorch marks spread across the battlements, and in the trenches outside lay the bodies of soldiers that had yet to be cleared away.

As the war between the Empire and Maple Leaf Territory dragged on, Morningstar City had long since become a frontline battleground.

King Otto of Red Maple had personally led a massive army to besiege the city for several days, and this very capital of the Western Province now stood on the very brink of collapse. Supplies were dwindling, soldiers were exhausted, and morale had reached its lowest point.

Inside the temporary lord’s residence, a thin young man stared anxiously at the map spread across the table.

He was the acting lord of Morningstar City, Count Mis, who was also the provincial lord of the Western Territory. Incidentally, he was also the unfortunate man whose estate had been destroyed by a black dragon.

“It has already been three days. When will the Empire’s reinforcements arrive?”

His voice carried both weariness and desperation as he addressed the messenger standing quietly before him.

The man bowed and replied with careful respect.

“My lord, the duke has already dispatched troops to support us. They should arrive within one more day at most.”

The duke the messenger was referring to was naturally not Duke Lawson.

After Duke Lawson’s death and the complete destruction of the punitive army, the House of Lawson had been stripped of command over the Third Imperial Corps by the Imperial Council.

Besides, whatever little remained of the Third Corps had already ceased to exist by this point.

The duke mentioned by the messenger was the new commander of the punitive forces, Duke Berencia, one of the seven Eletors and commander of the Empire’s Second Imperial Corps.

“One more day? That is wonderful news.”

Count Mis let out a long breath of relief.

Morningstar City was not a strong fortress, so if the rebels managed to besiege it for another two days, the walls would likely be breached. The thought alone was enough to unsettle him.

However, before he could fully calm down, one of his personal guards burst into the hall in a state of near panic.

“My lord. My lord!”

Seeing the guard rush in so suddenly made Count Mis’s heart drop as he braced himself for more bad news.

Yet when he noticed the excitement on the guard’s face, he sensed at once that something was different.

“What is it? Have the reinforcements already arrived?”

A flicker of hope crossed his expression.

“No, not that.”

The guard took a deep breath, trying to steady his voice, then announced with barely contained excitement,

“They have withdrawn. The rebels have withdrawn!”

“They have withdrawn…?”

For a moment, Count Mis stood rooted to the spot in complete bewilderment.

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