Chapter Eighty-Nine: Hidden Potential

At the close of the southern war, in the north, as though sensing something, Adis suddenly rose and looked up, then turned his gaze southward amid the startled eyes of those around him.

Through the intuition of his true spirit, he perceived that in the south a great pillar of heaven had suddenly blazed to life, suppressing a star that had once contended with it, and beginning to sweep across the entire southern land.

"Is this feeling... finally about to begin?"

He stared solemnly toward the south, sensing a deeper and more profound origin hidden within the unseen.

It was destruction, bearing the fiery savagery of blood and flame, and also that force of destiny poised to unite the northern dominion at last, terrifying in its grandeur.

Feeling that power, Adis clearly saw that as the strands of fortune surrounding the pillar gradually withered, a single beam of light was piercing the whole northern realm and was about to surge forth.

A point of blood-red radiance transformed into a spear and crashed down fiercely.

Adis could not help but let out a muffled groan. Above his head, the phantom of an ancient tree appeared, and as its branches trembled softly, it dispersed the oncoming force of destiny and shielded him.

"Has destiny suddenly shifted because the outcome in the south has been decided?"

That thought rose in his mind, and then he saw a knight suddenly gallop in from outside, bearing what seemed to be urgent news.

"Your Majesty Adis, urgent news from the south!"

A short while later, Barton and Nadiel came forward together and bowed to Adis.

"Several months ago, in the south, King Barret of Indri led his army into a standoff with the allied forces formed by the five neighboring kingdoms. Yet at the crucial moment, nobles within the alliance rebelled, causing the coalition to be defeated. Barret then led his troops in pursuit of the alliance’s leader, Aidos, and has already besieged the other man’s city-state."

At this point, Barzel, whom Adis had previously appointed as legion commander, suddenly dropped to one knee before him. "More than that, after defeating the allied army, Barret sent envoys to every city-state to demand surrender, and proclaimed that those who refused would have their entire families slaughtered after the fall of their cities. This has made the surrounding situation extremely tense, and many lords have already been frightened by his power into submitting."

"Has it already reached this point?" Such a thought flashed through Adis’s mind, but on the steps below, the report continued.

"At present, their surrender ultimatum has already been sent to the north. Not only the south, even we have received their message!"

As he spoke, he handed over a long stack of dispatches.

Adis took them and, after glancing through them, gave a cold laugh.

The pages were filled with boasting and threats. The language could be called shocking, for it repeatedly used the annihilation of entire families as intimidation, enough to make anyone tremble.

But to him, it was nothing of the sort. Setting aside the fact that he would never be frightened by such words, even the tone itself struck him as crude, no more than the swagger of a madman.

Beneath that, another knight presented a large bundle of letters, clearly recording the exact details of how the battle had begun. Their contents were so detailed that even the man himself, had he seen them, would have been startled.

This was the work of the faithful. Because believers of the god of nature were widely spread throughout the north, Adis had specially organized a scouting corps. After consolidating the power that the church had built and developed over the past decades and establishing a proper system, the aid of divine arts and other means made the speed of information transmission absolutely beyond the imagination of anyone in this age.

He carefully read through the events of the past few days, and his expression gradually turned grave, his mood growing heavy.

From the reports, it was clear that after that battle, the other side had already utterly defeated all resistance in the surrounding area; pacification was now only a matter of time.

And once the south had been subdued, given the other side’s temperament, within at most one or two years he would certainly lead his army north and bring the entire northern dominion under control.

By then, the two sides would collide directly, with no room left for maneuver.

"Time is running short!"

Such was Adis’s thought. He looked down and asked, "How is the situation around us?"

"In the lands to our south, several city-states seem to be growing unstable, with many nobles inclined to surrender. Only the royal house still persists."

"And around us, the situation remains somewhat stable, though with this event, the balance has begun to fluctuate as well."

"Of those, the Duchy of Balo is slightly better. But because we slaughtered so many of their knights in the last war, they have been very quiet in recent years. Even the hostages they once agreed to send as ransom for their nobles are still being kept in the city to this day."

"And in Roa, near the northern desert, there has also been much calm in recent years, owing to the heavy infiltration of church believers and the king’s youth."

...

Below, Nadiel stepped forward and one by one recounted these reports.

Listening to them, Adis gave a slight nod.

"It seems the time has come," he thought silently.

"How are the troops prepared?"

He looked toward Karkus, who stood by his side, and asked this.

Hearing the question, Karkus stepped forward quietly, his face calm.

"At present, all selected officers have already been assigned to the various legions, serving as squad leaders and in other low-ranking posts. Though there are still shortcomings, it is barely enough."

"At this point, recruitment for each legion has also been completed. Together with the two original legions and the two newly established ones, our total strength is thirty thousand."

He paused, lowering his head slightly before continuing, "But that is only the number of formal elite troops. Since Your Majesty has ordered low-ranking constables in various places to have veteran soldiers lead the common people in regular training, and since our recruitment terms are generous, if Your Majesty wishes, we can at any time raise another force of several tens of thousands."

"However, if we do that, because they have not undergone strict training and lack a large number of officers trained in battle aura, their fighting strength will drop sharply. They would only be a little stronger than the peasant levies originally called up by the lords, and could not compare in the slightest with the elite soldiers of other duchies."

After he finished, Bit also stepped forward.

Within him, divine power flickered, carrying a faintly unusual fluctuation.

This was the sign that he was on the verge of becoming a high priest. Over the years of assisting Adis, with the greater blessing of divine power in the unseen, he had nearly walked the road that other priests would tread in a lifetime, and before even reaching thirty he was about to break through to high priest, shattering the church’s promotion record since its founding.

"Your Majesty, after our selection, your priestly corps now has thirty priests in yellow robes, more than two hundred in red robes, and over two thousand in white robes, making a total of three thousand. They all meet your requirements and possess formidable combat power along with various blessings."

"Food has also been prepared. With the church’s contributions and reserves, although a great deal was consumed in earlier construction and distribution, it is still enough for our army to set forth."

Barton, standing to the side, quietly added this.

Listening to these accounts, Adis gave a slight nod. As his heart gradually settled, he could not help but fall into a brief daze, his thoughts drifting far from the present place.

He thought back to long ago, when he had first been reborn. At that time, there had not been so many believers or retainers, nor such vast manpower and material resources.

There had only been a broken tribe, sparse in number, poor in faith, almost unable even to sustain the soul that had departed from his body. Only a small but steadfast and devout conviction had supported him, preventing him from once more sinking into that eternal darkness.

"Without realizing it, it has already come to this."

He lifted his head, a faint trace of the vicissitudes of time rising in his heart, while a pair of pale golden eyes glimmered with a dark sheen.

In the unseen void, beneath a towering pillar of heaven, an ancient tree drifted within it, and at this moment its branches and leaves were swaying all over, as if it were about to make a move.