Park Hyun-a stroked her chin, deep in thought.

“Orlaben Grimier… Where have I heard that name before?”

It was a familiar name.

Although this was her first direct encounter, she definitely remembered hearing it somewhere.

That’s when one of the officials provided the answer.

“He’s one of the Allied Forces’ commanders.”

“Allied Forces commander? Commander Orlaben Grimier.. No way!?”

Park Hyun-a’s eyes widened as if remembering something.

“Damn, I thought I smelled blood. The Hero Slayer?”

There’s a story that has been passed down like an urban legend among heroes for a long time.

There’s someone in the Allied Forces who kills heroes.

When she first heard this story, Park Hyun-a dismissed it as false.

Killing heroes who fight the Demon King’s Army on their own accord?

It seemed like such a foolish thing to do.

However, at some point just over 3 years after coming to this world,

She came face to face with the reality of the Hero Slayer.

She was attacked by mysterious assailants.

After desperately fleeing and barely surviving,

She instinctively knew her attackers were called the Hero Slayer.

And only after a long time passed did she learn that Orlaben Grimier of the Drason Empire was behind them.

“Ha, this is interesting.”

Park Hyun-a’s eyes turned fierce at the unpleasant memory.

“What business does an Allied Forces commander have in such a humble place?”

“Don’t be so wary. I came here to talk. See how I came alone without any guards?”

Orlaben Grimier gave a sly smile.

Watching him enter the conference room nonchalantly, Park Hyun-a scoffed.

“I can tell your real body is somewhere else, so stop acting so confident.”

“Oh! You’re the first to see through this at a glance. Your title as God’s Adversary who fought Gatren alone wasn’t just for show.”

“Cut the small talk and get to the point. We need to leave this place right away because of you.”

Now that Ultimoon Fes’s location has been exposed, staying longer isn’t good.

They always needed to be careful since the Holy Empire of Gatren was constantly tracking them.

Although Orlaben Grimier before them belonged to the Drason Empire, they couldn’t let their guard down.

“There’s no need to relocate your organization. I won’t leak information to the Holy Empire.”

“How can I trust your word?”

Orlaben Grimier sat down in an empty chair and shook his head.

“First, I need to correct some misunderstandings.”

He slowly looked around the conference room.

His eyes held an inexplicable strangeness.

“First, I am no longer an Allied Forces commander. The holy army now takes the place of the Allied Forces.”

The Allied Forces had effectively been disbanded.

As most countries joined the holy war, their armies naturally came under the control of the Deusis faith.

The remaining Allied Forces were now less than a quarter of their original size, making them virtually powerless.

“Second, while it’s true that I am the Hero Slayer, there was a reason for it.”

“What reason?”

“To stop Gatren’s hero cultivation project.”

Park Hyun-a frowned for a moment.

“That’s bullshit. Do you know how long ago the Hero Slayer stories started? Over ten years.”

“Sixteen years ago, to be precise.”

“You know quite well.”

“I was the one who originally planned to kill the heroes.”

Orlaben Grimier responded with an expression that suggested this was obvious.

“Is there a problem with that?”

“Gatren’s hero cultivation project was only revealed about 5 years ago. And you want me to believe someone who’s been killing heroes for 16 years?”

“Haha, that’s where you’re mistaken.”

Orlaben Grimier raised the corner of his mouth.

“The Drason Empire had been aware of and working to stop hero cultivation for 20 years already.”

“What…?”

Park Hyun-a wore an expression of disbelief.

Orlaben Grimier shrugged and continued.

“If you want, I can show you mountains of evidence. Though you’d have to return to my country with me.”

“…”

“Anyway, killing the heroes was unavoidable. How could we let them live when they would obviously become our enemies after being brainwashed by Gatren?”

There was no hint of deception in Orlaben Grimier’s expression, gestures, or tone.

While he could be a master of acting, that possibility was low.

There was no reason for him to lie in the first place.

Would he tell lies that wouldn’t be believed just to appease Park Hyun-a?

If that were the case, it would have been better to send someone other than Orlaben Grimier from the start.

“Lastly…”

Orlaben Grimier looked around at everyone and grinned.

“The Empire was also aware of Ultimoon Fes’s existence. As well as its location.”

“…”

“You all look like you find this hard to believe.”

Orlaben Grimier looked at Sullivan.

“You must be Sullivan, who serves as the strategist.”

“How did you…”

“Didn’t Ultimoon Fes move to this location 3 years ago?”

“…”

Sullivan kept her mouth shut.

It was all true.

At this point, everyone’s eyes couldn’t help but turn to their leader, Kerbe Cowell.

If the information had leaked, Kerbe Cowell, who was originally from the Drason Empire, was the most likely suspect.

“Just to be clear, we didn’t learn this through Lord Cowell over there. Isn’t Lord Cowell someone who left the Empire a hundred years ago?”

“…”

“Everything was discovered through the Empire’s independent intelligence network, so I hope there are no misunderstandings.”

“Damn, so there was a spy.”

Park Hyun-a said through gritted teeth, furrowing her brow.

“You’re free to think what you want.”

With a relaxed smile, Orlaben Grimier casually stretched.

“Now that the misunderstandings are somewhat cleared up, let’s get to the main point.”

“…”

There was no response.

Taking the silence as agreement, Orlaben Grimier continued.

“I have a proposal for everyone at Ultimoon Fes.”

“What is it?”

Kerbe Cowell asked as the representative.

Orlaben Grimier closed his eyes briefly as if thinking, then spoke.

“I want you all to stop the holy war.”

Stop the holy war.

The officials began murmuring at these unexpected words.

“Stop the holy war…”

“What nonsense is this now?”

“Is he asking us to protect the Demon King?”

“Everyone quiet. Let’s hear what he has to say.”

As Kerbe Cowell brought order, Orlaben Grimier nodded in gratitude.

“To explain this, I first need to talk about the countries not participating in the holy war.”

“Countries not participating in the holy war?”

“The Drason Empire, Kingdom of Domis, Kingdom of Agros, Kingdom of Penten, and Odria City-State Alliance.”

Orlaben Grimier listed the five countries in order.

“These are all countries that didn’t join the holy war. Do you know what they have in common?”

“They’re powerful nations. Ones that could influence continental politics in one way or another.”

Orlaben Grimier marveled at Sullivan’s answer.

“As expected of a strategist! Correct. These five countries all have strong national power.”

Drason is one of only two empires on the continent.

Their national strength was a given.

The Kingdom of Domis is traditionally a country of knights with strong military power.

The Kingdom of Agros has the continent’s strongest navy.

The Kingdom of Penten is famous for its vast mineral deposits and superior blacksmithing.

There wasn’t a war where Penten’s weapons and armor weren’t present.

The Odria City-State Alliance is a merchant nation that moved the continent’s economy.

Their economic power is exceptional, with seven of the continent’s ten largest merchant groups belonging to the Odria Alliance.

“But their commonality isn’t just their strong national power.”

“They’re all countries where those fanatics couldn’t spread their influence.”

Orlaben Grimier clapped at Park Hyun-a’s words.

“That’s also correct! All five countries are places where the Deusis faith isn’t prevalent.”

“So what’s your point?”

“There’s still one most important commonality left.”

“Hey. If you’re not here to play twenty questions, just say it. I’m starting to get annoyed.”

A sharp aura emanated from Park Hyun-a.

Orlaben Grimier smiled, holding out his hands as if troubled.

“Haha, alright. When you release your energy like that, it gives me goosebumps and makes it hard to speak properly.”

Though he said this, he didn’t appear intimidated at all, making his words unconvincing.

Anyway, as if finally ready to get to the main point, Orlaben Grimier suddenly took on a serious expression.

The atmosphere changed 180 degrees in an instant, as if his previous playful demeanor had been false.

“You all probably know. That the war continues due to a secret pact between humans and the Demon King.”

The secret pact between humans and the Demon King.

It wasn’t particularly surprising news.

It was a topic often discussed among high nobles and royalty.

Then shocking words followed from Orlaben Grimier’s mouth.

“These five countries are the main parties to the secret pact. To be precise, it should be six countries including Gatren.”

Everyone wore surprised expressions.

The pact with the Demon King.

Everyone had only speculated about its existence, but no one knew exactly how it worked.

When it started.

Which countries were involved?

How it was carried out.

No one knew the details.

But now Orlaben Grimier was revealing the reality of the pact for the first time.

“About a hundred years ago, the leaders of six countries and the Demon King made a secret pact. To ensure this war would never end.”

“And then Gatren betrayed them?”

“That’s right. Gatren unilaterally started the holy war without prior consultation. They effectively broke the pact.”

Orlaben Grimier continued with a frown.

“The remaining countries still want the agreement to continue. The Demon King must not die yet. The moment he dies, the continent will surely fall into an even greater war.”

Park Hyun-a gave a cynical smile at Orlaben Grimier’s words.

“Interesting. To hear such words from the Drason Empire, famous for being the most war-crazy of all. Very convincing.”

“Hahaha! That’s ancient history. Though I apologize to our ancestors, our Drason Empire no longer desires war.”

“Why?”

Orlaben Grimier grinned at Park Hyun-a’s question.

“Because we already have everything.”

He spread his arms wide.

“The most fertile land on the continent. A powerful army. All sorts of rare goods belong to the Drason Empire. And thanks to the demon race as an external enemy, the empire’s internal situation is more stable than ever.”

“…”

“Having tasted peace, we don’t want war. This is also His Majesty the Emperor’s will.”

Orlaben Grimier’s words weren’t lies.

The two empires of the continent, Drason and Gatren.

If asked which of the two is the continent’s greatest, most would point to the Drason Empire, not the Holy Empire of Gatren.

This was because Gatren’s power came from the Deusis faith.

The prevailing opinion was that in terms of pure national competitiveness, Drason was a step above Gatren.

“I understand the situation. You like this false peace and want to keep it going, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then just step in directly. Whether you save or kill the Demon King, just handle it among yourselves.”

Orlaben Grimier shook his head at Park Hyun-a’s words.

“We cannot move. That’s exactly what Gatren wants most.”

“Why?”

“Because Gatren has justification on their side. The moment we try to stop the holy war, we’ll become the continent’s enemy, and from then on, the holy war’s fanatics will come running to cut our throats instead of the Demon King’s.”

“…”

“Gatren is probably praying to their god that we’ll step in to stop the holy war.”

“Hmm…”

Everyone fell silent at Orlaben Grimier’s words.

They seemed to be considering the meaning of what he said.

Then, as if driving home the point, Orlaben Grimier stood up.

“If the holy war succeeds like this, we won’t be able to stop Gatren anymore.”

The end of a war that had lasted over 500 years.

It was clear as day that the influence of Gatren and the Deusis faith, having achieved the dream desired by the entire continent, would reach the heavens.

“In the worst case, countries that participated in the holy war could become Gatren’s vassal states. No, Gatren will make that happen by any means necessary.”

After succeeding in the holy war, Gatren would ride that momentum and begin moving in earnest.

Starting with countries already destabilized by necromancy, they would pretend to help the smaller kingdoms that participated in the holy war while gradually bringing them under their control.

“Then the continent’s delicate balance would collapse…”

If Gatren grows too large, the continent’s balance would inevitably crumble.

The Alliance of Small Kingdoms.

The Drason Empire.

The Gatren Empire.

In a situation where each kept the others in check, what happens next is obvious if one side becomes too powerful.

“At that moment, Gatren will start a new war. A real war to determine who is the master of the continent.”

Orlaben Grimier’s eyes grew cold.

“I guarantee it will be more intense and cruel than any war fought until now.”

“…”

“Incomparably more so than the skirmishes with the demon race.”

The false peace and false war maintained because of the demon race’s existence.

The holy war was the opening battle signaling the end of all this and the beginning of the real war.

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