Release that Witch

The room was part.i.tioned by a long table in the middle and divided the partic.i.p.ants into two distinct factions, Roland in the lead on one side with the higher-ups of Graycastle, the other were the n.o.bles of the Kingdom of Dawn and the representatives of the Chamber of Commerce. Compared to the calm expressions the former had while quietly waiting for the meeting to begin, the latter was obviously restless. Countless had worried expressions, occasionally whispering into each other"s ears and their private conversations never came to a halt.

Obviously, the appearance of the Deity of G.o.ds had impacted them greatly.

If they did not stop the fear from spreading, order in the neighboring countries had the probability of collapsing at any moment.

Roland knew that he needed to stabilize the confidence in his allies before that happened.

According to reports from the Administrative Office, after Horford took over as the new King of Dawn, trade between both parties reached a new high. Twenty percent of the imports of iron, copper, aluminum, and other raw materials and products came from them. As for leather, cloth, cured meat, milk and other day-to-day supplies, the Kingdom of Dawn supplied half of what Neverwinter imported.

Although Roland had worked hard for the trade deal to come to fruition, without the support from the Kingdom of Dawn, it would have been impossible to sustain Neverwinter"s sudden spike of population in terms of living standards.

Based on this, Roland could not give up on the Kingdom of Dawn that easily.

Besides, there was also the impeccable performance of the Quinn family during the formation of the alliance. Roland did not know if Horford had a successor, but the future was unlikely to have a second Andrea Quinn who could link both parties so perfectly.

He quietly sized up every n.o.ble on his left until their private conversations ceased. He proceeded to speak, "Since the start of the battle, I have frequently heard of your contributions in the reports, so I wish to say, thank you for all of your hard work."

Everyone on the other side of the table revealed surprised expressions.

But Roland was not lying.

It would have been impossible by the efforts of the First Army alone to have the north-south path up and running so quickly. The path was extremely vital for the carts and porters to move speedily. It was a common practice for n.o.bles to go out in full force and were used to plundering to provide for payment; thus, very few knew of the significance of the logistics and the contributions they had made towards the war efforts.

"I am sure that everyone understands the situation with regards to the Battle of Divine Will. Just as I have repeatedly stressed, defeat will lead to complete annihilation. There is no possibility of surrendering, so aside from resisting, we have no other path to take."

"I have been preparing for this battle ever since four to five years ago. But humankind does not rest solely in Graycastle, it requires every single human to partic.i.p.ate for us to win the this war of destiny. I am very glad to see that all of you have become a part of the resistance."

Roland nodded at Barov who flipped opened a thick notebook and started to read aloud.

It was the logistic records for the First Army, as well as the contributions made by the Kingdom of Dawn.

Roland had no plans on using words to persuade the n.o.bles—all the talk about defending their homes and the pretext of committing themselves for the sake of humankind would not produce any effect on them.

The most direct method was still through interests and pressure.

And the more detailed and accurate the narration, the more persuasive it would be.

He needed the n.o.bles to know that even without them being at the front lines, they were capable of contributing heavily to the war. Secondly, these achievements were recorded down in black and white, which could be exchanged for their corresponding repayment after the war. Lastly, all the traitors or those who remained pa.s.sive in the war would suffer from the most severe of punishments. At this crucial juncture, Roland no longer had the energy to allow them to do as they pleased.

Horford nodded his head subtly from the side.

He knew that the King of Graycastle had grasped the main point right from the beginning with clear-cut entrance and the detailed content. This scheme had roped in the n.o.bles that were never part of the military into this matter that was destined to go down in history, a significant matter that would be pa.s.sed down for a millennium. Most importantly, it would undoubtedly increase their sense of partic.i.p.ation. Being recognized and going down in history was a pursuit the n.o.bles chased after as well. Besides, with how Roland had explained that risk and return were interrelated, they understood that they would not be abandoned or mistreated.

But a.s.signing rewards had always been a difficult topic for the top bra.s.s.

A few va.s.sal families had suggested to him multiple times that there was no need to accomplish Roland Wimbledon"s instructions to such degree and behave more like the King of Dawn. His reply was always to laugh it off.

The King of Graycastle that developed the artillery, biplanes, and steel steams.h.i.+ps deserved the respect, but those were not the entirely the reason why Horford viewed him with such great respect. The true reason for his decisive loyalty and devotion was the benefits his family had obtained. In the trade between both kingdoms, the other party did not rely on their strength or his relations.h.i.+p with Horford"s daughter, Andrea, to gain the upper hand. Instead, Roland insisted on paying for everything, and at times, even gave part of the profits to every partic.i.p.ant involved, allowing everyone to benefit. This was far more important than strength.

Andrea likely saw this point as well before making a suggestion.

Compared to his son Hawn, the difference was too great.

"Your Majesty, the premise of your suggestions is that humans gain the ultimate victory." After Barov"s narration, someone stood up and asked, "But the question lies in whether Graycastle can truly defeat the demons? I heard that…" He hesitated for a moment, "That your army seemed to have lost at the Kingdom of Wolfheart."

"That"s right… we all know the strength of the First Army," another worried partic.i.p.ant echoed. "But the floating island is truly too powerful… once it comes down on us, I"m afraid we won"t even have the time to escape, right?"

Roland raised his teacup and slowly sipped the black tea. He knew that the outcome of the battle at the Impa.s.sable Mountain Ranges would be circulated soon enough since many who had partic.i.p.ated in the search and rescue missions were the locals of Kingdom of Wolfheart that were familiar with the terrain. In the battle, they had lost contact with over a thousand people. Not only did the artillery squad lose their members, even the reserve force responsible to receive them suffered heavy losses.

The few days spent in aerial battle caused the Aerial Knights to lose 40 planes, half shot down by the enemy, the other half due to unexpected machine malfunctions. Due to this, Tilly had no choice but to postpone the operation.

But every cloud has a silver lining. Although the Seagull was. .h.i.t, Wendy and Shavi were both proficient in controlling the situation. With Lightning and Maggie defending them in the distance, they were able to force land the plane and rescue all the Witches inside.

When Roland first read the report, he felt his heart at his throat. In terms of the loss of of troops, it was the largest out of all the military campaigns they had faced. But he agreed with how the General Staff had acted—Valkries was only clear on the principle behind the Deity of G.o.ds and did not know the details regarding the Symbiotic Demons...o...b..ard. If they had not come to blows with the floating island, they would forever be kept in the dark about the enemy.

"The loss was because of our inadequate knowledge of the floating island." Roland told the truth. "It looks to be huge and imposing and even invulnerable, but the truth is that it isn"t so. Edith, explain it to them."

"Yes." The Pearl of the Northern Region pinned a detailed draft of the Deity of G.o.ds on the wall and jumped right into a detailed explanation. "According to the observations done by the First Army, it is more or less circular in shape with a diameter of 50 to 60 kilometers, comparable to the Impa.s.sable Mountain Range. The upper portion and the spine are able to unleash gigantic stone spears, capable of firing at least 15 kilometers. This was the crucial weapon that caught the First Army unprepared, but this also means that so long as the distance is not breached, it is just a floating island in the sky. We can use this to design a plan, to suppress the enemy…"

Fear always comes from the unknown.

Humans would fear emotive experiences or poor descriptions, but were never afraid of a bunch of numbers. Rather than taking great pains to cover their failure, or use grand empty words to deceive the crowd, why not publicize the information which the First Army had obtained at great costs and put an end to the fear from a rational point of view.

"… And the aforementioned information is all the details we have on the demons" floating island." Edith placed her hand across her chest towards Roland.

Roland turned his gaze to the n.o.ble that had raised the question. "Let me add one more point; avoiding the stone spear"s attacking radius is only a temporary measure. The ultimate goal for the army is to completely destroy the stronghold floating in the sky."

One of the n.o.bles gulped a mouthful of saliva. "But that is an inverted mountain…"

"It isn"t as if humans do not have the ability to do so, it is just that you haven"t been aware of it. Just like before the airplanes were created, no one believed that they would ever fly in the blue sky like birds…" Roland laughed. "For this, let me give you all a first-hand experience."