301: Chapter 7, Endless Worries_3 301: Chapter 7, Endless Worries_3 “Let the Department of Foreign Affairs get in touch with the Alpha Kingdom and the Moxi Duchy, we need to see if we can jointly call for them to exercise restraint.”
“At this critical juncture, if the Clergy and the Frank Kingdom fight, it will spell disaster!”
Joseph II spoke in a tone of frustration.
For some reason, he felt he was constantly dealing with various concerns.
He had to manage the happenings on the front lines, consider the needs of his allies, and even worry about the state of the continent.
…
The tense situation in the Mountain Domain made Master Hudson’s head spin.
Seeing the public war report from the kingdom, his face was about to turn green with indignation.
This mediocre war achievement, and they had the guts to promote it?
Orcs may seem terrifying, evil, and extremely powerful in the eyes of others.
But Master Hudson, having tens of thousands of slaves, thought: Orcs weren’t that great.
If they were as incredible as the rumors suggested, the Mountain Domain would have been usurped by these brutes a long time ago.
How could they simply do as they were told?
As the defender, a one-on-one battle achievement is mediocre, even though the majority of the enemy were just cannon fodder troops.
Hudson did not even know how to comment on this.
Not to boast, but if these thousands of slaves under his command rebelled, only a few hundred Elites would be needed to suppress them.
The large majority of the orc cannon fodder race have limited combat abilities.
Hudson didn’t believe the Orc Empire had the ability to provide all of them with armor and weapons.
Some of them might even be fighting with wooden sticks.
The losses the defenders suffered couldn’t have been inflicted by these orc cannon fodders.
It was likely they fought skirmishes with the elite Orcs.
Immediately, Hudson thought of the “political needs”.
He guessed that the generals on the front lines wanted to win an impressive battle to use for political propaganda.
The reality, however, was a slap in the face.
They didn’t win a striking victory, instead, they were brutally hammered by the Orcs.
Their only hope now was for the generals on the front lines to be rational.
They couldn’t afford to perform any risky operations for the sake of military achievements.
If nothing went wrong on the front lines, this would be the best possible scenario for the Mountain Domain.
After delaying for one or two years, Master Hudson was ready to lead 20,000 well-trained soldiers and horses to join the battle.
The Koslow clan had shifted their military draft obligations to the Southeastern Province, adding all the pressure on Hudson’s shoulders.
Once it was the Southeastern Province’s turn to join the battlefield, he would not only lead the county troops, but every member of the Koslow clan had to join as well.
Considering each province had different obligations, the Southeastern Province was mostly tasked with providing resources.
They had fewer soldiers, therefore, the Koslow clan needed to provide one army’s worth of weapons and equipment to compensate the provinces.
Fortunately, they only needed to provide equipment according to the standards of ordinary troops, where armor accounted for only one-tenth.
If each elite soldier were equipped with armor, the Koslow clan couldn’t afford it.
Family Private Army + County Nobles’ Private Army, they could gather twenty to thirty thousand trained soldiers.
After fighting two wars, those who survived would be considered Elites.
(Note: The Alpha Kingdom counts army personnel as “soldiers + horses”, thus warhorses are also counted as population)
With so many Elites, not only would the safety conditions improve, but their say would also significantly increase.
They could have speaking rights in important military meetings at the front lines.
As long as they did not put themselves in danger, they did not need to worry about becoming cannon fodder.
The kingdom wasn’t so affluent as to abandon tens of thousands of its Elites at once.
In contrast, the struggle between the Frank Kingdom and the Clergy happened to be of less concern.
From start to finish, Hudson never believed these major forces would support the Northern Battlefield immediately.
If the Human Race were that united, not even with tenfold courage would the orcs dare start a war.
But it’s good that a ruckus has started.
The bigger the chaos, the higher the value of the Blood Moon Horn in his possession.
The turn of events is interesting.
Shelter VII sneakily dealt a blow to the Frank Kingdom, and now they face the consequences.
Questioning the legitimacy of the Pope, that’s a first on the Continent of Aslante.
One can argue that Shelter VII has made a significant mark in history because of this.
However, his reputation, just like the King of Frank’s, is inevitably tarnished; it remains to be seen if it can be restored in due time.
Under these circumstances, if the Blood Moon Horn falls into the hands of the Frank Kingdom, solidifying the crime of the Clergy colluding with the cult organization, Shelter VII’s reputation would be totally ruined.
From the perspective of the Clergy, they certainly have their sights set on the Blood Moon Horn.
If it weren’t for the Kingdom’s high-ups’ early determination that the Blood Moon Horn would fall into the hands of the Clergy, reinforced by the seal through the power of the Mysterious Compass, Hudson wouldn’t dare to trade it in such a situation.
After all, he was still too poor – otherwise, the cautious Hudson wouldn’t risk such a trade.
Of course, being watched was also a factor.
When he was in the Mountain Domain, there wasn’t much of a problem; nobody dared to do anything.
But once he led a large army into battle, things would be different.
Given the Clergy’s style, the Mountain Domain couldn’t insulate them from scrutiny.
Holding on to this hot potato was indeed courting disaster.
Even a slight suspicion about the Clergy’s reputation could trigger a major operation by them.
Especially now, with the debates about the Pope’s legitimacy, they would be desperate to obtain it.
Looking at the Blood Moon Horn that Belsden used for beast milk, Hudson couldn’t help but smirk.
Without unsealing it, it’s unlikely anyone would consider this broken horn an evil tool, even when placed in front of everyone.
Even if rumors were to leak, people would have to be willing to believe that it’s the Blood Moon Horn.
If they can’t prove that the Blood Moon Horn is in his hand, it would only be regarded as slander.
“Necro magician”, this horrifying title, is something Hudson himself would admit to, but the outside world would treat it as a joke.
Really thought that mastering Undead Magic is so easy?
That anyone could do it?
If there were such a genius, it’d be exactly what the Alpha Kingdom needs.
Although necromancers have a bad reputation, before creating chaos, no one is interested in hunting them down.
Among the Wizard’s Association supported by the kingdom, there are plenty of necromancers.
It’s the person, not the power, that is inherently evil.
Particularly in this front line, necromancers are needed the most.
Once a necromancer takes action, the bodies tainted by dark forces can no longer serve as rations for the orcs.
To be able to mingle in powerful circles, Hudson’s ancestors have all been thoroughly vetted by the powers that be.
His history has been proven clean, and only then was he accepted into the circle.
To suggest that someone is impersonating Hudson would be an outright insult to everyone’s intelligence.
Without even this basic ability to distinguish, their foundations would have long been surreptitiously taken away by someone.
The only question now is whether the Mysterious Organization is the Clergy?
Only by identifying them can Hudson better exploit them.
If it turns out to be another major power, the price will definitely be greatly reduced.
The key is that only the Clergy, taking away the “Blood Moon Horn”, will keep quiet about it.
In fact, they are even more worried than Hudson about leaking the news.
The Clergy has insisted from the beginning that the “Blood Moon Horn” is sealed.
If they were exposed trading with others, wouldn’t that be a slap in their own face?
The best way to deal with matters that can’t withstand scrutiny is to silently erase all traces, not to publicize them with great fanfare.