The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 329: The Northern Reclamation War (1)

"What's all this commotion about?" Beoruk asked in his usual commanding voice.

Perhaps impressed by both the line and the tone, Helik kept mumbling "What's all this commotion about, what's all this commotion about."

"We mobilized the army by royal order... but we were a step too late."

"A step too late? Explain in detail." Beoruk’s expression hardened.

Matching his tone, the atmosphere in the audience chamber grew heavy as the nobles began to speak one by one.

"The traitors made the first move. They raised an army and are marching north."

"There were more traitors besides the ones revealed by Count Kai. As many as ten additional ones."

"The forty-two traitors are evenly distributed across the eastern and western regions. The armies they raised are headed toward the north, even at this moment."

"Their military force is estimated at 150,000."

"150,000...?"

Beoruk’s brow violently twitched. The scale of the rebellion was far greater than expected.

Kai, who was also listening to the report, slightly clicked his tongue at the size.

This is going to be intense.

Though he wasn’t particularly worried. While 150,000 was a large number to him, the Kingdom of Rashion could raise more than triple that if it fully mobilized.

More importantly, the commander, Count Hind, is in the north.

During the invasion, he had struggled due to the unfortunate opening of two high-level gates nearby, but things were different now.

Time is on Rashion’s side. As long as Count Hind locks the gates and holds the fortress, Rashion’s main forces will crush the rebels.

Beoruk seemed to have the same thought and scoffed, "To think they’d start a rebellion with a mere 150,000... Did they truly believe such a rabble could reach the capital?"

Beoruk was confident. He believed 150,000 wouldn’t even make it to the capital, let alone the royal palace. However, the bad news didn’t end there.

"Your Majesty. There is one more thing to report."

Weakened by the betrayal and fury, Beoruk responded in a tired voice, "Speak freely. I no longer feel I have the strength to be surprised."

But something about the nobles seemed off. They simply exchanged glances in silence.

Sensing something was wrong from their demeanor, Beoruk pressed them, "Did I not tell you to speak?"

Only then did one noble step forward and say, "Have you heard of an adventurer faction called Black Dragon?"

"Hm?"

It wasn’t Beoruk who reacted first to that question, it was Kai.

Black Dragon... That’s the Black Dragon guild. But aren’t they based in the Aldebaran Kingdom?

Kai wondered why their name was brought up here, but the mystery was quickly solved.

"They are leading their forces southward along the Aldebaran border. In response, Northern Commander Count Hind has taken the army and knights to the border."

"Those crazy..." Kai couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

The Black Dragon guild had the largest membership of any guild in MID Online. Their officially announced membership was a staggering 20,000,000. Twenty million members. Of course, that number was simply the number of registered guild members.

Not all were active in Aldebaran. They were scattered across the continent, hunting, completing quests, or maybe even asleep in the real world.

"Wait, if Count Hind is headed toward the border, doesn't that mean most of the northern territories are left unguarded?"

"Yes. Count Hind and the fifteen families that follow him have left their territories along with their soldiers."

"Hmm..."

In short, the northern territories were currently left unguarded. Naturally, not only the territory’s citizens but the lives of the nobles were also at risk.

"Did you say the rebels are heading north?"

"Yes. Their target was never the capital from the start."

"The north..." Beoruk swallowed a groan.

The Church of Muldine was not foolish. Rather than harboring an arrogant dream of crushing the palace of Rashion with 150,000 troops, they had made a rational decision.

With 150,000... that’s nowhere near enough to take the north even during normal circumstances.

But the situation was a little different right now. The northern troops that were supposed to guard the region had moved to reinforce the border.

"When will the main forces be ready?"

"We can finish assembling 200,000 central troops within six hours."

"When is the expected clash between the rebels and the northern forces?"

"In under four hours. They are quickly marching northward along the Suver Canal."

"Six hours versus four hours..."

There was a two-hour gap. Beoruk couldn’t think of any way to close that window. It wasn’t just a few hundred people. They were dealing with hundreds of thousands. Needless to say, they couldn’t use teleportation magic to move them. If something so absurd were possible, the Ogon Empire, with the most wizards, would have already conquered the continent.

After pondering for a long while, Beoruk finally said, "I’ll give you five hours for the army's assembly."

"Y-Your Majesty, that’s impossible! We're not talking thousands—this is an army of 200,000!"

"I know. Make it possible anyway! Are you going to just watch the north fall?"

"Hm..."

The nobles wore panicked expressions, but soon nodded.

"Then we’ll do our best, no, we’ll make it happen, no matter what."

"Glory to Rashion!"

Once they hurriedly exited the audience chamber, Beoruk trudged to the throne and slumped down into it.

"We have to face 150,000 rebels... and on top of that, a colossal force with 20 million members." Beoruk rubbed his eyes, clearly exhausted.

Quietly watching him, Kai was calculating in his head.

I don’t know what kind of deal is between the Church of Muldine and the Black Dragon guild, but...

Even if Beoruk didn’t know, Kai, as a player, knew something for certain.

The Black Dragon guild? There’s no way they would dare go to war with the Kingdom of Rashion.

The moment they started a fight, it would become a war between Rashion and the Aldebaran Kingdom. Of course, Aldebaran would never allow such a thing. Unless the Black Dragon guild was powerful enough to control the Aldebaran Kingdom, it was still too early for that.

Declaring war on another nation is especially out of the question for Black Dragon right now.

They were too preoccupied with securing their own interests.

Recently, the king of Aldebaran had begun keeping a close eye on the rapidly expanding guild. As a result, the Black Dragon guild wasn’t able to obtain such overwhelming authority, and they wouldn’t risk angering Aldebaran’s king either.

If the Black Dragon guild wants to truly get involved on the border, it’ll take at least another year.

While the guild had the world’s largest membership, that included even low-level players. Naturally, their combat power was far from enough to take on a nation.

In other words, Black Dragon’s movement on the border is an independent act.

What that implied was simple.

That means there will be no clash between Black Dragon and the northern army. I’m certain.

There would be no battle, so there was only one reason Black Dragon would lead their forces southward.

To make Count Hind and the other lords abandon their territories. A decoy move.

With the lords gone, the rebels could easily sweep through the north. They could claim one castle after another, and ultimately engage in an attrition warfare against Count Hind’s army out on the plains.

No matter who wins, the north is going to be destroyed.

And that was exactly what the Church of Muldine wanted.

With that thought, Kai said, "Your Majesty, King Beoruk."

"What is it?"

His powerless voice echoed in Kai’s ears.

Then he slowly began to say, “There is no need to fall into despair just yet. In fact, it’s fortunate that I am here right now.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The one who always brought hope. The one who always exceeded expectations. That was how King Beoruk had evaluated Kai. Because of that, a faint glimmer of hope rose in his eyes. He had a vague sense that Kai would once again accomplish something.

“Please leave this war to me.”

At that, Beoruk showed a slightly disappointed expression. “Of course, you are strong. No one doubts that. But a single person cannot overpower an entire army. Even with your skeletal forces, it’s the same. This is a battlefield of hundreds of thousands.”

“Your Majesty, I have never intended to face them head-on and win.”

“What are you saying? Explain it in a way I can understand,” Beoruk urged him.

However, Kai only smiled mischievously like a child up to no good and replied, “Perhaps I really am a blessing for the Kingdom of Rashion.”

***

“Reporting in. We have already taken two territories in the north. Only the minimum personnel remain to manage the fortresses, and the main forces have moved on to seize the next one.”

“Good,” Cardinal Atroc showed a faint smile after hearing a pleasing report, the first in a while.

After hesitating for a moment, the subordinate giving the report said, “However, Cardinal, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Soon the nobles of northern Rashion and even the undefeated veteran Commander Hind will meet their death. In that case, wouldn’t it be better to take this opportunity to completely wipe out the Kingdom of Rashion by mobilizing the ones we’ve planted in Aldebaran?”

The subordinate's words sounded quite reasonable, as pushing into Rashion, thrown into chaos by the devastation of the north, seemed easier than expected.

“Tsk, tsk... How pathetic and foolish.” However, Cardinal Atroc rebuked his subordinate for his ignorant thinking. “How can you see only what’s in front of you? Why do people always take steps forward only looking at the path ahead? Can you not see the cliff at the end of that path? Pathetic.”

“M-my apologies for disturbing your mind.”

“Think about it. Do you really believe I haven’t already considered what someone like you has thought of?”

The subordinate, taken aback, cried out, “I-I never thought that way! Truly, please believe me!”

Then Atroc slowly explained, “Listen well. Yes, if we mobilized the troops in Aldebaran, taking out Rashion would be easy. But is the destruction of Rashion truly the goal of the church?”

“No. Our goal is to bring ruin to every nation on this land and establish a unified religious state.”

“At least you know that much. Then think. By now, other countries would be in a state of emergency due to infiltrator issues.”

“That’s right. Two empires have already called emergency meetings.”

“Their thoughts are obvious. If infiltrators were found in Rashion, they must wonder whether they exist in their own nations too. But they won’t be able to find any proof.”

“Of course. And at this stage, it's still just suspicion.”

“What begins as mere suspicion will become certainty after the second time. If infiltrators emerge not only in Rashion but also in Aldebaran, the other nations will become certain they have infiltrators as well. They will shrink in fear, grow wary, and pour all their strength into rooting them out.”

“Ah... Then it will become much harder for our people to operate unnoticed,” the subordinate nodded as if he understood.

“And that’s not all. Constantly fearing an invisible threat and suspecting one another is a terribly exhausting and draining thing to do.”

“Oh...!” The subordinate finally realized what Cardinal Atroc truly desired. “So you wish for them to doubt one another, and to fall into conflict and chaos!”

Cardinal Atroc nodded and laughed. “Doubt, you see, is something that grows abundantly even from a single planted seed. It eventually bears a great fruit that leads people to tear each other apart.”

“You are truly remarkable. To foresee even that far ahead...”

“Always remember this. Our enemies are all the powers that exist on this continent. We cannot defeat them with crude intellect and strength. I learned that painfully hundreds of years ago and made a vow.” A red glow began to emit in the hollow eye sockets of Cardinal Atroc’s skull. “To never be defeated again.”

At that moment, the Muldine forces had already seized their fifth territory in the north.