Chapter 242 – The Dark Hand Released (2/4)

That was the overall picture of the war that Blanche the War Princess was about to start.

“The odds do not favor us, it seems.”

“Hmm… Yes. No matter how talented I may be. No matter how blessed with youth and beauty—”

“Your beauty doesn’t matter.”

“I’m saying I’m young and beautiful!”

It would appear that Blanche wasn’t planning on letting up on that, so Far just quietly let it go. Anyhow, pointing out the blush on her cheeks was enough to loosen the tension in the air.

“Should the enemy attack from every direction, it will not be possible to defend all of Shushunu’s territories. This was also how Germion Kingdom was defeated.”

“If that’s the case, then…”

“You’ll do it, right?” Blanche narrowed her eyes and smiled.

Far smiled a fearless smile and nodded. “Of course, Blanche-sama. My loyalty to you remains steadfast.”

From that day on, Valkyria began gathering skilled adventurers. The Valkyria Clan was originally a clan that focused its activities around mercenary work. It did not specialize in infiltrating enemy territories. So while they may have been well versed in attacking their enemies from in front, they rarely ever enacted searches in monster territories.

As such, they decided to spread their connections far and wide, and sought adventurers from the minor countries all the way to the Holy Kingdom of Alsas further to the east. They enlisted adventurers left and right as long as they had the talent for it. They did not bother about trivial things such as their origin or experience. And in so doing, they were able to successfully gather a great number of adventurers.

They were all given one job from the guild… To cause chaos from the back.

◆◆◇

Blanche Ririnoie the War Princess. Even for someone like her who was born with an exceptional skill for the arts of war, the goblin army was not an easy foe to contest in battle and triumph. Blanche herself was aware of this, but by the time she became the head of her military family, things had already spun out of her control.

But that couldn’t be helped. For just as human hands can only reach so far, it is not possible for one to see everything in this world. All she could do was to use the limited authority and information she had to demonstrate as much of her abilities as she could.

Things might have been different were she the king instead, but alas, though she may be extolled as a ‘great noble’, in the end, she is nothing more than the king’s retainer. The methods she could take were limited. To make things worse, she had to quarrel with the other great nobles. If she were to leave an opening as an imperial court noble, then even if she managed to win against the goblins, her future political life will come to an end.

With so few choices available to her and with no other option but victory, she had no choice but to be cruel. In order to quickly assemble her camp, she had to make use of her second name ‘Lady Impaler’ and put an end to any enemy or ally that tried to go against her. At the same time, in order to dispatch soldiers to the minor nations that were uncooperative to her when she first assumed office, she had to put on a demonstration.

Sending a request to the guild, which she had a strong influence over, and making use of the adventurers as a part of her forces is one such demonstration.

The way she saw it, it was simply too risky to try and settle a fight with another country through a straight-up fight.

The biggest obstacle in the war with the goblins was the goblins’ ability to replenish their soldiers. No matter how many battles they won against the goblins, the goblins will merely recover their forces and then fight again. Truly, the very image of a nightmare.

First, they had to do something about that ability of theirs to replenish their soldiers. At the very least, they had to bring it down to the same level as a normal country’s.

But that wasn’t the only problem they had to deal with, for they also needed to defeat the Goblin King’s army of over 30,000 soldiers. And let us not forget the Kushain Believers to the south, whom should they forget to keep in check, will surely come and attack them.

Finally, there’s the continuing political strife with the other great nobles that are ever trying to pull her leg. The way she saw it, the Holy Shushunu Kingdom wasn’t strong enough to withstand an enemy invasion. Germion Kingdom with its southern region, whose borders are unclear, and its cleared frontier, could continue fighting even in the case of an invasion by conscripting its people.

But the Holy Shushunu Kingdom has been a great power for far too long.

Its people cannot even fathom the thought of their country being invaded. And the moment that impossible thought becomes a reality, a great chaos will overtake the Holy Shushunu Kingdom, and they will not be able to continue the war.

The people will focus on defending themselves, and without anyone responding to the call for conscription, the country will lurch.

As a great noble, she could not accept such a thing, for if such a thing were to happen, her political life will surely come to an end.

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