Chapter 1912: Chapter 1905: The Great Unification Endeavor

In the Royal Palace of Holy Heart City, Gudelv sat regally on the throne, donned in resplendent attire, relishing the continuous stream of good news from his messengers.

Upon learning that the Earthlings decided to remain neutral, Gudelv immediately took bold actions; he ordered the arrest of the Bishop of Holy Heart City and shut down the Church, detaining key clerics.

Simultaneously, he commanded the army to provoke the Church Court’s controlled area and incite bloodshed to spark a war.

Though a member of the Fiolonte Family, Gudelv never truly believed in the Church of Light. He not only refused to regard the Church as a national religion but always harbored hostility towards it, blaming it for the fragmentation of the Aud Empire.

He constantly aspired to the glory of the Aud Empire and yearned to unite the northern continent and rebuild the empire’s territories.

The Otherworld war forty years ago left a deep impression on Gudelv. Back then, as the Crown Prince, he too participated in that war.

In the First Otherworld War, the Otherworld Allied Army suffered significant losses on Earth. By the Second Otherworld War, the Earthlings’ resistance capabilities had him looking at them in a new light.

In fact, for Earthlings, the Second Otherworld War, with the disastrous defeat of the multi-nation forces in the Otherworld, almost became a shared shameful memory for all Earthlings.

The Earthlings realized they suffered a significant loss in the Otherworld and united, setting aside their prejudices, to collectively resist the potential offensive from the Otherworld Allied Army.

But from the perspective of the Otherworld people, the view of the Second Otherworld War was entirely different.

The Otherworld Allied Army indeed achieved unprecedented victory, repelling the Earth multi-nation forces attempting to invade Aels Continent through the Otherworld Gate.

However, the Earth army’s weapons, tactics, and combat spirit left a deep impression on the Otherworld people.

The American army, known for being composed of privileged soldiers, despite being encircled and cut off from reinforcements by the Otherworld Allied forces, still held out resiliently and repeatedly attempted to break through, inflicting heavy casualties with their powerful weapons.

Unlike previous wars in the Otherworld, the Earth soldiers’ morale threshold seemed absurdly low; every attack by the Otherworld Allied Army required a great cost to achieve an Earth army rout.

Prior methods of combat, mainly focusing on demoralizing troops, were completely ineffective against the Earth army. To defeat them, it was necessary to kill the majority of them.

These Earthlings, accustomed to peace, still displayed a strong will to fight in war, instilling fear in every soldier of the Otherworld Allied Army.

After the Otherworld war, Gudelv suddenly realized that he had found the opportunity for the empire’s unification.

Since Earthlings were so formidable in battle, might emulating them help establish a force strong enough to oppose the Church?

Driven by this idea, Gudelv strove for forty years, from youth to old age, from Crown Prince to King. Time changes, people change, but his determination for uniting the empire remained unwavering.

Over the span of forty years, various improved crops from Earth and advanced agricultural technologies rapidly expanded the population scale of Otherworld people.

Today, the population size in most northern continent countries has reached the limit of the current agricultural carrying capacity.

Fortunately, Earth’s agricultural exports assisted these Otherworld countries, preventing an immediate human-land crisis amidst the population explosion.

In forty years, the population of Odelanqi surged from less than ten million to over a hundred million now. While this might be acceptable for Earth nations, for an agriculturally underdeveloped nation, this population was undoubtedly an enormous burden.

Nonetheless, while bearing the population pressure, Gudelv also enjoyed the benefits that came with it. The enlarged population allowed for increased taxation, and a large number of youths became ideal recruitment targets for the military.

Seizing this opportunity, Gudelv accelerated military reforms, continually expanding the army size. To date, he had mobilized an army exceeding one million, with over three million reserves ready to be deployed.

This formidable army size inflated Gudelv’s confidence to unprecedented levels.

The Otherworld Allied Army’s scale was only about a million, yet they managed to drive the Earthlings back. Now, with several million troops at his command, even if Earthlings intervened, they wouldn’t disrupt his quest for unification.

Moreover, as long as the Manikens were willing to support him, he needn’t concern himself with the opinions of other Earth nations. It was precisely for this reason that Gudelv deemed the time ripe for instigating military conflicts with the Church.

This was part of his well-thought-out plan; the Church of Light was merely a religious organization but occupied one-fifth of Odelanqi’s territory. Although these lands were nominally under Odelanqi’s jurisdiction, he could neither levy taxes nor appoint officials within.

This was the aspect Gudelv found most intolerable.

The former Aud Empire’s influence once traversed the North Lead Corridor, deep into the Snow Domain’s heart. Now, as the legitimate successor of the Aud Empire, Odelanqi had a fifth of its territory under the Church’s control, a disgrace taken to the extreme.

Hence, anyone aiming to unify the Aud Empire must first eliminate the Church to restore Odelanqi’s territories, before contemplating external expansion.

However, what lay before him was another troubling issue.

“Your Majesty!”

A blond, blue-eyed man stood before Gudelv, passionately addressing him: “I urge Your Majesty to dispatch half the forces. Before the war begins, attack Lipei with full force. Once Lipei falls, the Church will inevitably follow.”

This man before him, also blond and blue-eyed, Gudelv knew, was not an Aud but an Earthling from the Maniken, named Mark.

As an envoy sent by the Manikens, Mark was tasked with ensuring communication between both parties and providing strategic military advice for specific operations.

This greatly displeased Gudelv. Despite their partnership, this Mark seemed to treat himself as if he were a general in Odelanqi’s army, persistently advising him to invade Lipei, which gave him quite the headache.

In Gudelv’s initial plans, Lipei was never the primary target. If he could deal with the Church first, the rest would be easy to handle.

He also harbored the hope of reaching out to the Shani people, persuading them to abandon support for the Church and choose to support him, thereby securing backing from both sides.

However, clearly, attempting to have it both ways usually results in a double loss. Therefore, Gudelv dared not reveal his intentions, opting instead to stay cautiously ambiguous in his dealings.

Now, faced with Mark’s persistent persuasion, Gudelv rubbed his temples and replied tiredly, “Lipei, with its population of only a few hundred thousand, cannot match the royal army even if they muster tens of thousands. Rest assured, Lipei will be attacked sooner or later, but for now, the immediate priority is the Church.”

“Your Majesty, why don’t you understand?”

Mark earnestly urged, “Attacking the Church or even capturing the Temple is merely superficial victory. Only by capturing Lipei can we ultimately establish the tone for the war.”

“Lipei is insignificant and not a crucial hub; driving a thousand-mile campaign to capture Lipei isn’t necessary. Undertaking a far-reaching campaign with little gain is not a venture I am willing to pursue,” Gudelv stated.

“Doesn’t Your Majesty know that Lipei has consistently supported the Church? The weapons and equipment the Church needs all come from Lipei. It is the Church’s lifeline. Only by cutting off its lifeline can the Church truly be brought to ruin.”

“The distance from the Temple to Lipei isn’t much shorter than that from Holy Heart City to Yazhi City. Even if the Church receives support from Lipei, they ultimately won’t be able to withstand the royal army. Once the Church is dealt with, turning back to handle Lipei won’t be too late,” Gudelv reasoned.

“Your Majesty,” Mark couldn’t help but raise his voice, “if you intend to unify the Empire, why make mistakes on such matters? Capturing Lipei would solve all problems.”

“Let me ask you,” Gudelv, seemingly irritated too, angrily questioned, “is the Temple closer to Holy Heart City, or is Lipei closer? If I move the entire army to invade Lipei, what should you do if the Church army seizes the opportunity to attack Holy Heart City?”

“We can abandon Holy Heart City and advance towards Yazhi City,” Mark, seemingly having planned all along, immediately responded.