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"...Are the Empire's losses really that severe?"
Kashmir spoke with a trembling voice. He had just received a report from Jet.
Even Jet found it hard to believe the numbers written in the report.
Approximately 30,000 military personnel, including knights and mages, were dead.
The civilian casualties had already reached nearly 800,000, with over 50,000 commoners and nobles captured as prisoners...
Jin and his companions also touched their foreheads while examining the report.
It had been only three days since the chaos army led by Diphus attacked the temporary alliance's territory.
In just three days, so many innocent people were injured or captured as hostages.
The numbers written in the report didn't feel real at all.
"It seems that we were able to partially mitigate the situation thanks to the technology support and equipment of Dr. Qwaul and Lady Amelia. Without them... it would have been even more serious, Your Highness."
Jet spoke with a heavy voice.
Three days ago.
It wasn't just Diphus and Joshua who attacked the Lutero Magic Federation and the Empire.
Lionel, Stam, as well as the unidentified knights of the 'Mausoleum' were also attacking the human world at the same time.
The same was true for the territory of Kinzelo, the Land of the Beastmen.
Although they had relatively better defenses due to Orgal's dimensional movement through the steel gate, Cold Joe was captured along with more than 5,000 beastmen.
"We're the only ones who weren't attacked... Is it unknown why?"
Just like Lata said, among the alliance members, only Tikan wasn't attacked.
"It could be a scheme to undermine the temporary alliance."
"Attacking Tikan might have been too burdensome. When they attacked Drakka's main base in the Federation, they only lurked nearby. If their purpose is to create despair and obtain hostages, this place is not suitable."
Unlike the small island nation of Tikan, the territories of other alliance members were vast.
That was the reason why they couldn't properly respond to the sudden invasion by the evil god. They would attack near Drakka's main base, then suddenly appear in Milkun Kingdom, attacking the area near Yuka Yuka Market, and then moving to the other side of the Great Desert of Mitra in an instant.
"...Or perhaps they simply see us as the last meal to savor."
As Jin spoke, all eyes focused on him.
"Empire, Zipfel, Kinzelo. The number of prisoners captured from the territories of the temporary alliance alone exceeds 80,000. And since our Vamel alliance has no choice but to go to Huphester to rescue them, Rosa may be trying to supply despair by watching us suffer. That's what I'm thinking."
Within the magical map created by Veradin, the spots of despair were growing larger.
The content wasn't limited to the areas directly struck by the chaos army.
The fear of ordinary people that had been suppressed since the Glyek War had become uncontrollable due to this incident, spreading worldwide.
Refugees were emerging from everywhere. Even the commoners who had considered Drakka's main base the safest land were leaving, not to mention other regions.
The land they sought was Tikan.
The terrified crowds didn't believe that Tikan was a safe area, despite explanations to the contrary.
"If it's as Young master Jin predicted... then the evil god and the 4th flagbearer are likely laying an unavoidable trap for us."
The world order is crumbling.
The alliance now had to show people the fact that they had enough power to resist the evil god.
They had to go to Huphester, rescue the captives, and eliminate the invaders.
Otherwise, the fear and despair engulfing the world would continue to grow, and all of it would be used to complete the evil god.
"Oh, isn't that Zephyrin?"
"She came with Zipfel's young patriarch."
Lata pointed outside the window.
In the distant sky, a massive steel gate formed, and from within, Zephyrin and Veradin emerged. They went straight into the conference room.
While Veradin maintained his usual calm expression, Zephyrin seemed extremely fatigued.
She had been assisting Orgal throughout, protecting the entire land of the Beastmen and scouting near Rikalton until she arrived at Tikan.
"Ah, you're making a big fuss as soon as my master regains some strength... You're definitely going to hell, Sir Jin."
Rikalton's scouting was Jin's idea. Orghal had the best mobility among the alliance, possessing knowledge and power to adapt to variables, so it was only natural for him to take charge of the scouting.
"Why didn't Orgal himself come?"
"You're asking that now? He must have sent me because he was exhausted from his recent hard work, and also to ensure that Zipfel's travel time wouldn't be wasted. So, be grateful that I even brought Veradin along."
"Do convey my thanks to Orgal when you go back."
When Jin expressed his gratitude willingly, Zephyrin blinked her eyes for a moment. It seemed she expected him to respond sarcastically, thinking it wasn't something he should help with anyway.
"The sun will rise from the west."
"Did the Rikalton scouting yield any results?"
"Well, as expected, all the captured humans were gathered in Rikalton."
"How are the captives being treated?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary. They're being whipped and dragged somewhere. My master said they seem to undergo some sort of torture one by one."
"Torture... I see."
"The captives weren't all subjected to torture at the same time. The forces of Chaos took around thirty to a hundred people and went into some buildings. After a couple of hours, they took the next group."
"So, during that time, they torture and kill around thirty to a hundred people, increasing the despair factor?"
"I'm not sure about that. However, Sir Veradin seemed to pick up on something when he heard about it."
As Zephyrin finished speaking, Veradin unfolded the map.
In Tikan, it seemed that he couldn't fully harness the residual energy of the Sun God, and the map was much fainter and more unstable than when they saw it in Drakka.
"Let's all take a look at Rikalton."
Veradin pointed at Rikalton with his finger.
"Jin, I've been observing the map since that day. Especially focusing on Rikalton… As everyone can see now, the marks of despair are actually becoming smaller."
Jin and Veradin had naturally expected the marks of despair in Rikalton to grow larger and darker after the incident.
However, the initial findings by Veradin were quite the opposite. Each time the captives arrived in Rikalton, the marks actually became lighter.
"But this phenomenon changes on a daily basis. It diminishes during one day and then increases the next day, always denser than the previous day. Do you understand what this means?"
"It means they give hope and then crush it again."
"Yes. The Garden of Swords takes groups of thirty to a hundred captives every couple of hours and engages in some kind of mind manipulation. They give hope first and then break it. That's how they maximize the despair they can extract from the captives."
"Zephyrin, are the suspected locations of the torture you and Orgal discovered limited to Rikalton?"
"Yes, there were no captives taken anywhere outside of Rikalton."
"Even on my map, there was no area where the total amount of chaos suddenly increased except for Rikalton. There was an overall increase, but nothing exceptional."
"It's becoming more certain. We need to quickly gather the alliance's forces and head to Rikalton."
"That's what we have to do. But when you speak quickly, when are you thinking?"
"Within two days. No, if possible, even tomorrow."
Veradin and Zephyrin both shrugged their shoulders at Jin's response.
"Two days or tomorrow? That's too fast. We need to observe a little longer. We should also prepare for traps. Even if they're predictable and obvious traps."
"I agree, Sir Jin. For now, the army of chaos has stopped the onslaught, but we don't know when they will appear again."
"Of course, as we can't predict when the Chaos army will launch a large-scale instant assault on the human world with large-scale teleportation, we can't wait indefinitely. But it seems wise to monitor the situation for at least two weeks."
Jin looked at the two of them and shook his head.
"No, the reason why the evil god stopped the invasion was confirmed right before you arrived. While you were scouting and examining the map, we weren't just sitting around..."
* * *
The top floor of Rikalton Castle.
Ilina was drenched in sweat, pressing her hands against various parts of Diphus's body as if forcibly trying to stop the bleeding.
[Damn it! What am I supposed to do if you're like this? Things are overflowing just with Joshua, that idiot.]
Ilina's angry voice made Diphus chuckle.
[Don't blame it on me, prophet. If you had known the information about this fire in advance, this disruption wouldn't have happened.]
Fire.
The eternal flame clinging to Diphus's body was still burning, corroding his flesh.
Ilina had come from the Garden of Swords to this place three days ago in an attempt to extinguish it.
But Ilina couldn't extinguish it no matter what she did.
[And besides, you came here saying you would put out the fire, but you've been futilely working for days now.]
[Hey, Diphus Runcandel. It's impossible to extinguish this fire unless the matriarch herself intervenes...]
Rosa was currently in a state where she couldn't move due to absorbing despair.
[Well, fine. Fighting with you would only be disrespecting the matriarch. Anyway, the fire is calming down a bit now, so it will be resolved soon. It's because of this that the invasion has stopped... Be more careful from now on. The despair that should have been directed to the matriarch has become smaller than expected.]
[The parasite clinging to my mother is crawling up until the end. Do you know that Hister checked the dimensional portal that remained in feudal state Shol earlier?]
Ilina's eyes widened at Diphus' words.
[What...…?]
[Hister must have found out the reason why we stopped the invasion and returned. You were completely oblivious to it... Think carefully about whether you have the right to call Joshua incompetent.]
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