Chapter 102 - 101: War Progress, Swamp Territory Council

「Inference Day, the Thirteenth Day.」

「Swamp Territory, Council Hall.」

"Father, have you received any news from Gale Territory? How are my brother and the others?"

Early that morning, York had summoned everyone for a meeting. Seeing Baron Eric before the others arrived, York was the first to speak.

The Baron looked as if he had aged a decade, and all the spirit seemed to have drained from him.

However, upon seeing York, he immediately tried to pull himself together.

"I haven’t received any news yet, but I imagine the situation isn’t good."

"Because I’m not in my territory, Borg, as the eldest son, will certainly be conscripted by the Duke’s Mansion. No one can be a deserter in the face of a Beast Tide, or our title would surely be in jeopardy."

"The only good news is that a few days ago, the Bishops learned through a Magic Crystal call that the evacuation of many Commoners, slaves, and even the families of the Nobility is mostly complete."

At this, Baron Eric suddenly sighed.

"Once a large-scale Beast Tide like this occurs, the century of foundation we’ve built in Gale Territory is completely finished. I don’t even dare to hold out much hope that the Knight’s Squires, the soldiers, or even Borg will survive this war."

"The Smith family rose from a Beast Tide in the Western Realm. If we fall to one now, I suppose you could call it fate. I knew this day would come sooner or later, it’s just... sigh..."

Baron Eric’s expression no longer held any of its former vigor.

But thankfully, Swamp Territory could remain uninvolved for the time being and even held a glimmer of hope. This, at least, was some small comfort.

When the Beast Tide first erupted, Baron Eric chose not to return to Gale Territory. His reasoning was actually quite simple.

Right now, Swamp Territory was more important to the Smith family.

He had to be here to witness everything, and he had to help this illegitimate son of his, whom he hadn’t thought much of at first.

Besides, even if he had returned to Gale Territory, he wouldn’t have been of much use.

With a Beast Tide of this magnitude, losing the territory was inevitable, as was the fate of being conscripted by the Duke’s Mansion to fight it.

Seeing Baron Eric in this state, York’s mood soured as well.

During this time, the population of Swamp Territory, including the refugees it had taken in, had swelled to over eight thousand.

For half a month, over eight thousand people had been crammed into the main and outer forts, an area of less than 100,000 square meters, struggling to survive.

If not for the Giant-Teeth Rat Swarm secretly providing a continuous supply of beast meat, Swamp Territory absolutely would not have been able to hold out.

After all, the Beast Tide had erupted too suddenly. Swamp Territory had only been established for a little over four years, and its material reserves often couldn’t keep up with consumption.

This was nothing like a small Beast Tide. Given its current scale, heaven only knew how long Swamp Territory would remain trapped.

But for now, the fact that Swamp Territory had remained hidden for so long with the help of the Divine-Favored Beast Group and Bishop Aemon was a blessing amid misfortune. York didn’t dare ask for more.

Thinking of all this, York couldn’t help but feel a sense of helplessness and sigh.

"Father, don’t overthink it. No one could have predicted this, and it’s not anyone’s fault."

"Besides, my brother has always been level-headed. He’ll surely be fine."

Baron Eric forced a smile. "I hope so."

"But, speaking of which, my child, have you confirmed the situation with your wife’s family, with Viscount Callum?"

At Eric’s words, York shook his head helplessly.

"The situation is unclear. However, the Viscount was injured during the last civil war in the Kingdom, so he probably won’t be forcibly conscripted."

"But Lucia’s brother, Leiden, just like my brother Borg, will inevitably be conscripted to fight the Demon Beast Tide."

"As for the territory itself... in a Beast Tide like this, we’d be lucky just to save the people. We can’t dare to think about much else."

At this point, York also sighed and added:

"According to the Bishops’ analysis of the situation, the Silver Lion Duchy has likely already lost over half its territory. And after its civil war, it’s highly probable that the Green Vine Duchy won’t be able to hold any of its land."

"I just don’t know how the Kingdom’s reinforcements are faring on the front lines, or if the Three Great Empires have already assembled a new coalition army of the Human Countries to enter the Kingdom."

"But with the war in the Eastern Realm before and the Demon Beast Tide in the Western Realm now, I think all the Human Countries must give it their all this time! The Empires absolutely can’t just stand by and watch as human territory is taken by a Demon Beast Tide again."

"Perhaps the fighting on the front lines is incredibly fierce right now."

Just as York was lamenting this, the six Bishops happened to walk through the door.

Bishop Oleg overheard York’s words and blurted out:

"Lord, the current situation is not as simple as you think."

"We just received news from Pope Tyr. A few days ago, the Beastman Empire in the Northern Realm also made its move!"

"Excluding the Sea Race, the situation we’re facing has deteriorated to the most critical stage we’ve seen in a thousand years."

"Therefore, being attacked on three fronts, even if all the Human Countries go all out, this great war clearly won’t be easily de-escalated."

Oleg and the other bishops walked into the council chamber, their faces grave.

"What?!"

"By the Deities, how did the situation get so bad? The Beastmen and the Elves don’t get along. Are they really helping the Elves?"

Eric exclaimed in shock, but Bishop Aemon sighed.

"The Beastmen and Elves may not get along, but that won’t stop them from kicking us while we’re down."

"Besides, three hundred years ago, the Storm God’s war in the Northern Realm seized a sizable piece of territory from the Beastman Empire. In a situation like this, I’d be more surprised if they *didn’t* make a move."

"We Human Countries have been dominant for a long time. A situation like this, being besieged by three powers, was bound to happen sooner or later. It was only a matter of time."

"Perhaps this time, we Human Countries will have to compromise with the three races and suffer a great loss!"

"Otherwise, countless people will die in this war! Millions? Tens of millions? Hundreds of millions? No one can predict the number."

"The great age of chaos... it has finally arrived, just as expected!"

York and Eric looked at each other, their expressions heavy with shock and uncertainty.

"What are we to do?"

"This war is no less than a crisis of annihilation for our race, isn’t it?"

York’s expression had become exceedingly grave.

However, Bishop Aemon offered a faint smile.

"There’s no need to panic, Viscount."

"The confidence of our Human Race in occupying the Central Continent doesn’t come solely from the great Deities."

"The methods of the Three Great Empires are far beyond what you or I can imagine."

"As long as the Empires act with their full strength, it won’t come to a crisis of annihilation. After all, the three powers are each fighting for their own interests. Who would want to be the one to suffer the greatest losses under the wrath of the Human Race? Who among them doesn’t face their own risk of collapse?"

"In this world, mortal beings are content as long as they have enough stable territory to live on. This is true for the Elves, and it’s true for the Beastmen."

"The Demon Beasts are no exception. Take the Beastmen, for example. Right now, they simply want to reclaim their lost lands while also culling some of their own burdensome, lower-class Beast Race population."

The theory of population culling was nothing new among the Nobility.

It was especially common among the Beastmen and the Human Race. After all, of the four major powers on the continent, the humans and Beastmen were the most fertile.

Elves and Demon Beasts were not in this category. Both could be considered long-lived species, and their birth rates were not nearly as high as those of humans.

Ordinary beasts were just animals or livestock; they were not classified as Demon Beasts.

Most creatures that could be considered ordinary beasts were raised in captivity by humans and Beastmen. As for the Elves, many ordinary animals also lived and bred in their lands, as Elves were vegetarians and possessed an innate affinity for and reverence of the natural world.

Hearing Aemon’s explanation, York felt a good deal calmer.

However, Aemon’s tone then shifted.

"Of course, while it won’t come to a crisis of annihilation, our Human Race will absolutely have to give up a lot of land this time."

"The Northern Realm, the Western Realm, and even the Eastern Realm."

"Nobles are a group of people who cherish their own lives—and are we any different? The long period of peace has robbed the younger generation of the bloodlust of ancient times."

"Take the Storm God’s campaign in the Northern Realm three hundred years ago. If not for the Divine Descent, if not for the strong joint appeal from the Royal Families of the Three Great Empires and the upper echelons of the Church, that war might never have broken out in the first place."

"Too many nobles were against the war. You are simply unaware because you don’t know what the situation was like back then."

"Fighting to the bitter end, until all races are fearful and wary of each other, and then having everyone sit down to negotiate... I don’t think that’s what will happen in this great war."

"The mortal world has been without the guidance of the Deities for too long. Many nobles have long since stopped believing in things like post-mortem honor or their souls returning to a Divine Kingdom."

"The Commoners and slaves don’t know the truth, so they might still cling to their faith. But in a war like this, how much of a difference can they make? In the end, it is the Nobility and the Transcendents who must go to the battlefield."

"Letting the Commoners and slaves suffer is always better than making the nobles bleed."

Speaking to this point, Bishop Aemon couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

Hearing Bishop Aemon’s words, York frowned as he started to connect the dots.

"So, Bishop Aemon, have you heard some rumors?"

Bishop Aemon gave a noncommittal nod.

"Pope Tyr received news from the Kingdom. In the Empires, quite a few high-ranking nobles, and even members of the Royal Families, are already discussing how to appease the wrath of the other races."

"A three-front war is completely beyond what the Three Great Empires can currently withstand."

"In the Royal Capital, some of the great nobles think so as well. As for the Empires’ initial reinforcements, the envoy from the Blue Moon Empire is already considering peace talks with the Demon Beast Mountain Range."

"The envoy is an Elder from the ancient Barren family, one of the seven great Dragon Noble families of the Empire—Ellis Barren."

"However, peace talks won’t be that easy. In short, a war of moderate length is unavoidable for both the Demon Beasts and us humans. That is the only way for both sides to gain the greatest advantage and minimize potential losses in the negotiations."

’This...?’

York didn’t know what to say.

’Peace talks? Even if it means ceding land, that’s still acceptable, right?’

’As long as the war can end quickly, it’s a good thing. As for the grand scheme of the Human Race or whether the Nobility is corrupt, none of that matters much to me.’

’If the Nobility weren’t corrupt, where would the opportunity for Swamp Territory to rise have come from?’