[Vol. 8] Chapter 27: The Queen’s Worries
Human United Kingdom, Courage City
It was already late at night. The young queen was still working alone at her desk, buried under what felt like an endless pile of official documents.
Lately, her workload had become heavier and heavier. The stack of papers on her desk had grown into a small mountain. Just looking at it made her head hurt, and trying to deal with it all felt almost impossible.
“Whew…”
After finishing yet another urgent report from the western border, Lilya put down her fountain pen, which had run out of ink without her noticing. She let out a deep breath and looked out into the dark night beyond the window, her beautiful eyes filled with worry and deep thought.
Tensions at the border were getting worse. The national borders were unstable, and more and more enemy spies were sneaking into the Human United Kingdom. They often clashed with the Shadow Guard, the group in charge of protecting intelligence. The rising number of reports was clear proof of this growing threat.
The Human United Kingdom was located in the western part of the world. It was a land of safety for humans, founded by their ancestors who fought through many hardships to build it out of the wilderness. To the north were the Demon Mountains and snowy kingdoms, to the east was the Holy Empire, the south bordered a lawless wild land, and the west was home to the Beastman Kingdom, formed by the once-wild beast tribes. In short, the kingdom was surrounded by potential enemies on all sides, with no direction offering true peace of mind.
The Goddess Church, while known as the world’s largest religion and not directly invading other countries, had temples everywhere and countless priests spreading their faith. This was seen by many as a different kind of “invasion.” For hundreds of years, the kingdom had struggled to find a good way to deal with this. Only recently did they begin to balance the situation, thanks to the sudden rise of the [Light Worshipper Church], which helped reduce tension.
Over a year ago, a certain heartless someone had disappeared without warning. In trying to find that person, Lilya contacted the newly appointed Pope, an old acquaintance. Since then, the Human United Kingdom and the Holy Empire had quickly entered a strong alliance, closer than ever before in history. This new partnership helped ease much of the queen’s burden.
Besides that, the northern Demon Mountains had also been one of her biggest worries. But thanks to Violet, who traveled there and resolved the disappearance of the Moon ShadowTribe’s crown princess, the long-standing hatred between monsters and humans had finally begun to fade.
Although almost all people in the kingdom still strongly believed in human superiority, Lilya and the northern leader had worked hard to improve relations. Now, the northern border was no longer the kingdom’s biggest problem.
What remained were the two most unstable issues, the chaotic lawless region in the south and the Beastman Kingdom in the west.
The beastkin and humans had a long history of conflict. Nearly a thousand years ago, during the kingdom’s early days, they constantly fought over land. Back then, the beastkin were still just wild creatures without culture. Ironically, their current Beastman Kingdom was partly influenced by the Human United Kingdom’s own culture.
For a thousand years, the two sides had kept fighting. But the borders had stayed the same for a long time. These days, the beastkin wars were more like routine skirmishes. When Lilya was still a princess, she had taken part in a few of these raids. Both sides usually held back and didn’t send their full armies to the front lines, which allowed her to win quickly with Violet’s help.
But this time… things were different.
The Austre Empire was no longer satisfied with the current balance. It wanted to defeat the Holy Empire and become the true ruler of the world. But the Holy Empire had been building its power for a thousand years. Its followers made up more than a third of the world’s population. Even with all its strength, the Austre Empire couldn’t easily crush this group of believers in a short time.
That’s why the Austre Empire needs help. They need other forces to attack the Holy Empire from different directions and distract them. The best outcome would be for someone to break through the border and cause chaos in the Goddess Church's rear. Otherwise, the war will likely reach a stalemate and turn into a long, drawn-out struggle.
But when it comes to national strength and deep roots, the Holy Empire is much stronger. The Austre Empire has only existed for a few hundred years, so it clearly has a disadvantage in this situation.
So, who could be the “sharp blade” that strikes the Holy Empire from behind?
Looking at the current state of the world, the Human United Kingdom and the Holy Empire have become firm allies, almost unbreakable. Among the five great powers, Azure Sky Kingdom, located in the far south, rarely gets involved in world affairs due to its unique environment. However, during the search for a certain person, they worked closely with the Human United Kingdom, so now they stand firmly on the same side.
The snowy northern countries are cut off from the southern world by a freezing cold zone. Even trading is very difficult, let alone sending a large army. So, although these snow nations tend to support Austre, they can’t really offer much military help.
On the other hand, the Beastman Kingdom in the far west, and the Nobos Iron-Blood Empire in the lawless zone, have recently joined Austre’s side due to similar beliefs and goals.
Especially Nobos, it’s often called “Little Austre.” Its government, people, and political system are very similar to Austre's. Although it isn’t as strong as the five major powers, it rose quickly during the recent Abyss disaster that destroyed many southern countries. It took over a lot of unclaimed land and now rules almost half of the lawless zone. It’s clearly copying Austre’s early expansion path.
The worst part is that these two “wolves”, the Beastman Kingdom and Nobos, are located right next to the Human United Kingdom, on its southwest borders. They share a long stretch of land with the kingdom.
Once the main war between the Holy Empire and Austre starts, these two allies of Austre will definitely send troops to attack the Holy Empire from behind. As the Holy Empire’s ally, the Human United Kingdom must stop them, both morally and strategically. If Austre defeats the Holy Empire, the Human United Kingdom will be surrounded by enemies. It could be torn apart and destroyed at any moment.
And even if the beastkin wanted to attack the Holy Empire from the west, they would have to cross the Human United Kingdom’s land. There’s no way the humans would allow their old enemies to march freely through their territory.
So, there’s no other choice. If the enemies make a move, the kingdom must fight back. Everything is connected, one action could set off a chain reaction.
According to the latest reports from General Leyton on the western border and Duke Bertram Grace, the supreme commander of the southern front, both enemy nations have been moving their armies a lot lately and seem ready to strike. The Shadow Guard has also confirmed through their intelligence that these two countries are secretly working closely with Austre.
Lilya had a strong feeling… this war might be starting very soon.
“Sigh… I wonder how she’s doing now. According to the Shadow Guard’s report a few days ago, she should be close to the western border of the Austre Empire, Valandia, wasn’t it? That place is right in the middle of the storm…”
Heh. But now that I think about it, no matter where something big happens, that person always seems to be nearby. It’s like trouble is chasing after her instead of the other way around. So strange…
Oh well. That person has incredible abilities. Rather than worrying about her safety, maybe I should be feeling sorry for whoever ends up going against her.
Let’s finish today’s work and get some rest. Tomorrow will probably be even busier.