Chapter 172 - 158: Human Race Council
Chapter 172: Chapter 158: Human Race Council
The Pope Country, the Holy City Vesa.
Historically, this was the birthplace of the Lord of Dawn’s twelve Apostles and the place where the Lord of Dawn’s Saint incarnation first appeared.
There were even rumors that during the age of city-states, the royal families of the three great empires—Atlantis, Ventia, and Elanshiri—all originated here.
The royal families of the three great empires emerged during the human city-state era, and the lineages of Atlantis and Elanshiri have remained unbroken ever since.
As for the Ventia Empire, legend has it that their royal family once fled to the Haven Kingdom and later went into exile overseas. Though no one knows the truth of the matter, the story has been told with almost mythical reverence.
At this moment, Vesa City was bustling with people coming and going: dignitaries from every nation, representatives of Marquises, and renowned Counts.
Golden carriages and Magic Airships wove through their midst.
Thanks to the manipulations of Louis III, the Human Council, originally scheduled for next spring, was convened three months early in Vesa City.
In truth, it wasn’t just Louis III who was anxious. The most desperate of all was the Tilia Kingdom.
This old powerhouse, a successor to Elanshiri, had once witnessed the terror of the Undead Scourge firsthand. The cataclysm had turned more than half of the Elanshiri Empire’s lands into a wasteland where plagues and disasters ran rampant, a world destroyed at the hands of skeletons and the walking dead.
Although the representatives of the various nations’ dignitaries had not all arrived, the council had already begun last night and continued until this morning.
"Ladies, gentlemen, great Holy Father, Lord Pope Paul, esteemed Duke of Vesa, King Ogrian, and Your Highness, Grand Knight Commander Fesa." As the representative of the Tilia Kingdom, Count Orot began by greeting all the important figures present.
He did not, of course, address the special envoy from the Algeria Kingdom, Count Fei Oliang.
After the collapse of the Elanshiri Empire, the Holy See had once tried to stir up trouble, hoping to restore the authority it held in ancient times or during the era following the Ventia Empire’s fall.
The fact that humanity remains in a fragmented state to this day is, arguably, partly the work of the Holy See.
Of course, that was all in the past.
The Holy See’s actions ultimately backfired. Among the secular nations, no noble wished for a return to the dark age that followed the Ventia Empire’s collapse two thousand years ago.
Even though it lasted only a brief two hundred years—a mere flash in the pan of human history—it taught the secular world a harsh lesson about how dark a theocratic world without an Emperor could be.
The Holy See’s exploitation was all-encompassing, leaving no stone unturned. It covered every level of society, and even the few historical rumors that remained were shocking enough to make one’s hair stand on end.
This was also the reason for the Holy See’s subsequent, rapid decline.
After the Elanshiri Empire collapsed, the newly formed Tilia Kingdom immediately crushed the Holy See. In hindsight, this also meant that when Algeria rose to power later, the Tilia Kingdom was unable to contain it, leading to the current situation where Tilia is second fiddle to Algeria’s top dog.
After being crushed, the Holy See remained quiescent until now. Ironically, the rise of the Algeria Kingdom has allowed it to regain a position where it can play both sides.
"A moment ago, Count Fei Oliang stated that the Algeria Kingdom is currently preoccupied with a war of territorial expansion against the Giant Trolls and is therefore unable to extend a helping hand to its northern allies.
This leaves me quite puzzled, and I would like to ask Count Fei Oliang a question.
Has everyone forgotten the events of the past so completely, after only a few short years?
Perhaps Earl Fei Ao has forgotten, and the Algerians have forgotten, but we have not!
The people who struggled in agony through plague and disaster! Our compatriots who trembled at the roars of demons!
The Atlanteans are always quick to forget, but we, the Philte People, will never forget the lessons bought with all that blood and sacrifice!" Count Orot declared passionately.
The hall erupted in furious applause, even though Count Orot’s speech had done nothing but praise his own side while denigrating the other, without promising anything concrete.
But that didn’t stop his inflammatory words from deeply shaking the rulers of the smaller nations and those countries situated near the north.
"Compatriots, I have here a document!" Count Orot announced.
He then produced a scroll from within his robes.
"This is a personal letter from a friend of the Philte People, King Louis of the Frankish Royal Family.
Compatriots, the Undead Scourge has arrived! Right now, they are ravaging the territory of our Human Race.
Years ago, five hundred undead from the Northern Territory ravaged the continent. Today, the Frank Kingdom’s army of two hundred thousand stands beneath the butcher’s blade of the undead!
We cannot ignore them! Those warriors who guard the frontiers for humanity! They are crying out! They need generous aid! They need our army of justice!" Count Orot’s voice was filled with passion.
"No matter what the Algerians choose to do, we, the Philte People, will never retreat!" Count Orot declared.
Another round of thunderous applause followed.
Count Fei Oliang’s face was black as thunder, a knot of unspeakable anger tightening in his chest.
’Watching Count Orot’s impassioned performance, one might actually believe the Tilia Kingdom had done something to help the Franks defend their border.’
’On paper, the Tillia People had indeed offered the most support to the Frank Kingdom. In reality, all of that support remained on paper.’
’The aid that was actually delivered was all purchased by the Frank Kingdom using Algeria’s money.’
’The ones who had truly helped were, in fact, the Algeria Kingdom. When they offered money, they actually gave it.’
’But it couldn’t be helped. Such was international opinion. In this tumultuous era, the rulers of smaller nations who couldn’t contend for supremacy were more inclined to return to the peace and prosperity of the Elanshiri Empire era.’
’Furthermore, because the last empire was Elanshiri, most of today’s nobles had some connection or another to the Philte People, which was why internationally, everyone favored the Tilia Royal Family.’
’The Algeria Kingdom had launched its war against the Giant Troll Kingdom to the east precisely to break this status quo, eager to use actual merits to prove to the Human World who was truly in charge.’
’Now, the war had reached a critical juncture. The Giant Troll Kingdom was on the verge of being unable to bear the costs of the conflict.’
’But then the Frank Kingdom had to go and have this incident. To be honest, the Algeria Kingdom had been royally screwed over by that old fox, Louis III.’
’Louis III had sent the Memory Stone and his personal letter to every single human nation, even to the Holy See’s three Grand Knight Commanders and the dozen or so vassal states under the Holy See’s control.’
’He had portrayed the whole affair as a dire emergency, as if the Frank Kingdom would instantly collapse if the Human Alliance Army was even half a moment too slow.’
’The whole of international opinion was immediately stirred into a frenzy. The Tilia Kingdom, of course, wasn’t about to let this opportunity go to waste, and they had been holding the Algeria Kingdom’s feet to the fire ever since the incident with the letter.’
’It was clear that Louis III, knowing he didn’t have many years left, no longer cared about his so-called reputation.’
’Originally, the Algeria Kingdom’s campaign of territorial expansion had received the Pope’s support, and it was widely acclaimed on the international stage.’
’The Algeria Kingdom had been preparing to seize this opportunity. Under the banner of reclaiming the ancestral lands of humanity—Lorraine, the ancient capital of the Atlantis Empire—they planned to organize an expeditionary force of human kingdoms. They would use this chance to utterly destroy the Giant Demon Alliance to the east, display the might of the Algeria Kingdom, and create new diplomatic openings.’
’But now, with all this commotion, the Algeria Kingdom was in a very awkward position. Its campaign of expansion was being framed as an act of disregarding the life and death of its allies in favor of its own selfish interests.’
’The crucial point was that the Giant Demon Alliance had already mobilized. They were just waiting for the Algeria Kingdom to bring the human grand army to the field for a decisive battle. The Algeria Kingdom had no path of retreat.’
’Now, the Tilia Royal Family and the Frankish Royal Family had joined forces to hit Algeria hard on the public opinion front. If the Algeria Kingdom couldn’t secure the support of the Human Alliance, it would be very difficult to organize an expeditionary force to contend with the Giant Demon Alliance in the future.’
’Putting aside the fact that this would cause the Algeria Kingdom’s plans to showcase its national power to go up in smoke, fighting the Giant Demon Alliance with the internal support of humanity was a completely different matter from fighting them without it.’
’What should have been a steamroll victory could turn into a war of attrition. If the Algeria Kingdom actually got bogged down, it would be a major disaster.’
’But if they were to send aid now, not only would all their previous efforts be for naught, but it would also give the Giant Demon Alliance time to react. By the time they regrouped and prepared for war, Algeria’s situation would be just as unfavorable.’
’In his heart, Count Fei Oliang had already cursed Louis III from top to bottom a hundred times over.’
’Louis III was acting this way because he didn’t have long to live and had thrown all shame to the wind. He was betting on the fact that the Algeria Kingdom couldn’t afford to lose the Frank Kingdom’s international support, nor their backing as a powerful ally in the future war between humans and Giant Trolls.’
After all, even as Louis III was screwing over the Algeria Kingdom with one hand, with the other he was guaranteeing that Prince Noah would rush to the Algeria Kingdom to complete the engagement arrangements the moment he was out of danger.
They even set the location for the engagement at Algeria’s Golden Palace, making it seem as if Prince Noah were marrying into their family.
To placate the Algeria Kingdom, they had even invited every king from the human kingdoms north of the Qisinov River, and nearly every high-ranking noble in the Frank Kingdom who could get away was expected to attend.
Louis III’s methods left the Algeria Kingdom with a feeling of both love and hate. They could only pin all their hopes on the next generation of the Frankish Royal Family, Prince Noah.
"Silence! Silence!"
Amidst the noisy crowd, Pope Paul tapped his Holy Scepter. A mysterious power flooded into the hearts of all the nobles present.
Everyone’s agitated emotions instantly calmed.
Count Orot’s expression soured. He had just managed to seize an opportunity to stir up everyone’s emotions.
"This matter cannot be properly discussed until the truth of the war in the Frank Kingdom is known. Once Their Majesties the two Kings arrive in the Holy City, all disagreements will be settled.
You have all worked hard. Let us conclude for today," Pope Paul said.
Count Fei Oliang let out a breath of relief. ’It seems the Pope is on our side this time.’
’Previously, in order to get the Holy See to participate in the attack on the Giant Demon Alliance, the Algeria Kingdom had deliberately framed the expedition in terms of religious authority.’
’It was a decision that would lead to a win-win for both the Holy See and the Algeria Kingdom: the Lord of Dawn would issue a divine oracle, Pope Paul V would nominally launch the expeditionary force, and the Algeria Kingdom would respond by actually forming and leading it.’
’Now it seems that the decision to bring the Pope into their plans had been the right one after all.’
After a full day of discussion among its members, today’s Human Council decided to reconvene tomorrow.