During years 4 to 5 of the king’s calendar when the three-country alliance attacked the Iron Country of Elfa, the Sacred Empire of Altigand dispatched only their wyvern knights and the private soldiers of their nobles as reinforcements.
Before the three-country alliance, from the latter half of the third year to the fourth year of the king’s calendar, Altigand took in the refugees from the eastern expedition of the Kingdom of the Black Sun (Alrodena Kingdom), and annexed the Oceanic Kingdom of Yarma.
Altigand was a country that quickly rose to power because of the hero.
As a nation that claimed itself to be the successor of the oldest kingdom of mankind, Altigand naturally had no room for non-humans, and as such, was a poor choice for the rising merchants to make their mark. In Altigand, customs reigned supreme. What was old was righteous, and what was new was evil.
Because of that Pale’s protege merchants struggled to acquire any information, and even Sophia’s intelligence department struggled to get in.
That was the sort of place that Pale’s spies infiltrated as refugees, but the information presented in Sophia’s report made her frown.
“A ship?”
When Sophia nodded, she turned to the documents in her hand.
“Yes, a very big ship. Its construction is considered a highly classified information.”
Sophia stammered, and Pale signaled at her with her look to continue.
“Apparently, this is a secret plan they’ve been working on even before the appearance of the hero.”
“It’s a giant ship, so… They must be eyeing the open seas then?”
Yarma was a nation that focused on the ocean, and Altigand did annex it. Pale knew that there were nations other than those in this continent too, such as the island nations, or the northern and southern Agstoria. Perhaps they’re building a ship to go to those places. The ship they’ve seen in their attacks on Elfa should’ve been plenty as far as shallow seas went.
If so, then they could only be constructing a giant ship to cross the open seas.
As a country trying to take over Elfa, the supplies coming from the sea were nothing more than a hindrance. In fact, it has already drastically delayed their plans.
And now, the situation required that the three countries surrounding it be conquered at the same time or even quicker than Elfa. Perhaps it was the Sacred Empire, Altigand’s, skillful diplomacy that made this situation possible, but Pale felt a twinge of regret.
“I don’t know what Altigand is plotting, but letting them take the seas will influence the war. We need to take measures.”
As she touched her slender chin, Pale became thoughtful. She decided to send Tanita, who would be better suited for the negotiation. As the chief of the Long-Tailed tribe, a subspecies of the two-headed-two-tailed, Tanita was respected by the lizard men.
According to Sophia’s intel, lizard men could be found by the riverside of the eastern nations. And there were also reports of mermen being sighted in the countries facing the sea. Pale was thinking she could incite them to attack the boats passing by.
When Pale called Tanita, she tilted her two heads, one of which was covered with a shell, while the other had its skin exposed like an amphibian, then she said she’d give it a try, and accepted to do the job.
Alrodena was a military state.
One reason they were able to win all this time without understanding the importance of the sea was because the cities they’ve needed to fight weren’t facing the sea. Another reason was because the humans haven’t been cooperating with each other until now.
Everyone bathes in the rivers, but few have seen the ocean, and even fewer know that her waters are salty.
Yet even as one of those few who did know the ocean, most of Pale’s knowledge came from her time as an adventurer. It was also her experience from her days as an adventurer that led her to think of using the lizard men and mermen living in the coastal waters.
“There’s no need to sink all the ships. Just knowing that there’s danger in the waters will slow down their movements and reduce the supplies.”
Pale ended with that after Tanita agreed.
“Understood.”
Pale was a little shocked when she saw Tanita greet her just as the school in Middled taught. That city at the border between the Western Capital ruled by Yoshu Fagarmia and the Forest of Darkness was the legacy of the late holy knight, Gowen Ranid.
Pale knew that the demihumans felt gratitude toward the elves because they have been giving them lands since they were persecuted by the humans, but seeing a demihuman greet her in such a polite manner stupefied her.
“I will do my best to repay the many years of favor we have received.”
If the late Centaur Chief, Daizos, who was an ardent supporter of the elves, could see this, he would surely cry tears of joy.
The next person that Pale called was the Chief of the Tarpidae, Fanfan.
Despite their petite appearance, these demihumans that could speak languages that transcend species, were seen as merchants in the forest. She appears to have written a book recently, but Pale couldn’t comprehend the aesthetics of the tarpidae.
As Fanfan looked up at her through her long body hair, Prime Minister Pale proposed the construction of an underground passage.
“The threat of the wyverns have become a problem in the east. So I want to build an underground passage to diminish their threat.”
“Fanfan believes the quality of the soil is a problem.”
The tarpidae were a race that traveled through the earth, but while they may be experts in digging holes for themselves, they were not experts in creating tunnels big enough for an army to pass. Moreover, if the soil they dig is too soft, it’ll collapse, and if it’s too hard, they won’t be able to dig through it.
“That’s why Fanfan has a different proposition. Fanfan believes that it’s about time for the killer ant girl to leave her nest, so Fanfan proposes to guide her instead.”
Fanfan was still friends with the queen of the killer of ants in the great desert of God of the Desert (Ashunasan), it was almost time for the next queen of the killer ants to leave her nest.
The killer ants were a race that created large villages underground.
“We don’t have much time…”
“Fanfan will negotiate.”
“I’ll leave it to you then.”
As Fanfan briskly walked away, Pale looked out the window and toward the east. It won’t be long before Elfa falls. And then, the Sacred Empire. The nation that ruled over the region said to be the birthplace of man was eerily quiet.
They were an old power on their way to death, and yet just one human was able to bring them back to life. Moreover, in an abnormally short period. Pale felt threaded by the person claiming to be a hero. That was an overwhelming achievement that could even be called a miracle. He was not just a great man. What he had accomplished was enough to label him an apparition.
That’s why he had to die. Or maybe, she just hasn’t realized it, but was in fact instinctively afraid of him. For he was only a protector to humans, but a threat to all others.
Only by defeating Altigand and the hero at the center of it can the Goblin King truly rule the continent. At the very least, Pale couldn’t see any future other than that.
“With this hands, I will conquer the continent— No, the hero must fall.”
This bloody history must come to an end.
So that her comrades of old will not have died in vain.
So that that Goblin King will complete his path of supremacy.
Though the gossipers might call her callous and cold, Pale quietly hardened her resolve.
