I Became a Level -99 Vicious Lord

Chapter 257

As soon as King Allen of the McLaren Kingdom heard the news, he immediately rushed to the fortress.

It was good news for him, as he was preparing for a massive all-out war against the Orcish invasion.

"It is an honor to meet you. I sincerely thank you for helping our kingdom."

"Think nothing of it."

Otto had an open and honest conversation with Allen.

"It's truly astonishing."

King Allen was greatly surprised to hear that Otto planned to form an alliance with the Thunderhoof Clan and stabilize the Uruk Plains.

Making a peace agreement with the Orcs was something no king had even dared to consider for the past few hundred years.

Even the mighty Kingdom of Erzsebet had been reluctant to venture into the Uruk Plains, which shows just how daunting the prospect was.

Otto spent nearly two hours telling Allen how the Orcs were actually quite a decent race.

"Is… Is that really true?"

“That's right.”

Otto nodded.

"If the Thunderhoof Clan takes control of the Uruk Plains, we will no longer need to fight. We just need to unite and bring down the Erzebet Kingdom together."

“Ooooh.”

“How will you go about it?”

Otto asked King Allen.

“I will do it.”

From King Allen's perspective, there was not a single reason to refuse Otto's proposal.

As a young king, Allen had the desire and passion to turn the small kingdom of McLaren into a great kingdom.

For Allen, who harbored intense resentment against the interference and oppression of the Kingdom of Erzsebet, Otto's proposal was actually welcomed.

“I was just about to send diplomats to the Kingdom of Erzsebet, begging them to send support troops.”

Allen gritted his teeth.

“But King Bathory said they have no intention of sending support troops. They must be deliberately stalling to drain our resources.”

“That's correct.”

“I realize that this is a ploy to get my country to pay more tribute to them, to compel us to sign an unequal treaty. Nevertheless, I had no choice but to send diplomats back to the Erzsebet Kingdom. But not anymore. I will have the ones I sent to the Erzsebet Kingdom return back.”

“You are certainly wise. Oh, and.”

Otto added.

“There are several of Bathory's dogs around Your Majesty's side.”

“Huh…?”

“Count Christian, Viscount Molin, among others, are actually spies who are not only secretly being supported by the Kingdom of Erzsebet, but are also leaking state secrets.”

"…..!"

“Here, the proof.”

Otto held out the papers to Allen.

“Take a look, and I'll let you judge.”

“You're going to kill me!!!”

Allen was furious as he looked at the evidence Otto held out.

Allen had always known that the men Otto had mentioned had pro-Erzsebetian inclinations, but he had never imagined that they were not only secretly supported by them, but that they were also engaged in espionage.

“I'll have them executed as soon as they return. Ugh!”

“You are a sensible man.”

Otto applauded Allen.

“For true reform, you have to get rid of the scum.”

“Of course.”

“Then, I look forward to working with you in the future.”

Otto extended his hand to Allen for a handshake.

“I’ll be counting on you more.”

Allen smiled as he shook Otto's outstretched hand.

‘This is just the beginning.'

Needless to say, Otto had no intention of stopping with just one kingdom.

Starting with the McLaren Kingdom, he planned to win over the neighboring Kingdoms around Erzsebet one by one.

His plan was to disrupt the balance that the Kingdom of Erzsebet had maintained and turn the neighboring Kingdoms to his side.

And once that happened…….

‘She would soon realize how frightening it is to have enemies on all sides.'

Otto strode on, pleasantly envisioning the Erzsebet Kingdom being torn to shreds.

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Taking advantage of the alliance with the McLaren Kingdom, Otto deployed the Lota Kingdom’s troops to the Uruk Plains.

The McLaren Kingdom gladly opened the gates for the Lota Kingdom to march into the Uruk Plains.

They saw no reason to block the Lota forces since they were all on the same side.

Meanwhile, Bagram absorbed the Red Hammer Tribe, rooting out and executing all the Orcus hidden within.

And that was the beginning.

Otto and Bagram moved clockwise, assisting the small kingdoms that were being attacked by the Orcs.

Then, they systematically brought the Orc tribes that were attacking the small kingdoms under their control, and eliminated all the Orcus among them.

Moreover, they formed alliances with the small kingdoms and turned them against the Kingdom of Erzsebet.

By continuing to achieve victories not only in battle but also in diplomacy, they began to rally anti-Erzsebet forces.

Meanwhile, Bathory sensed that something was amiss.

‘By now, it’s time for them to send a diplomat and thoroughly beg, even if their hands become their feet.'

Bathory had been prepared to exploit the situation and was expecting the diplomats to arrive by now. The fact that they hadn't showed up made the situation seem suspicious to Bathory.

“Y-Your Majesty.”

At that moment, a report came in.

“The neighboring kingdoms have sent diplomatic correspondence.”

“What? Correspondence? Did you just say correspondence?”

Anger surfaced on Bathory’s face.

For Bathory, who expected diplomats to be sent begging in person, receiving a letter instead was utterly outrageous.

“Are you saying those ungrateful wretches have sent a letter?”

“Y… Yes, that is correct.”

“Such insolence!!!”

Bathory erupted in fury.

“They must be completely out of their minds! Do not send any support troops! Absolutely not!”

“That, That is….”

"…..?"

“According to the correspondence from the neighboring kingdoms… they say that we don’t need to send any support troops.”

“W-What?"

Bathory doubted her hearing.

Currently, the neighboring kingdoms were under attack by Orcs, and reinforcements from the Kingdom of Erzsebet were desperately necessary.

Yet they say support troops are not needed?

It was an incomprehensible thing to do, one that defied common sense.

“What do you mean by that?!”

Just then.

“Your Majesty!”

The Director of Intelligence stormed in and debriefed Bathory.

“It's an emergency! Your Majesty!”

“An emergency…?”

“It seems that the Orcus identity has been compromised!”

“What!”

“Chieftain Bagram of the Thunderhoof Clan has discovered how to distinguish between Orcus and true Orcs, and he is spreading the information!”

"…..!"

“Communications with the Orcus who we've been exchanging information with continue to be cut off! It's clear that Bagram has realized that we're the ones who are pulling the strings in the Uruk Plains!”

But the bad news didn’t stop there.

“Bagram is subjugating the Orc tribes that were attacking the neighboring kingdoms and rapidly expanding his influence. He’s even forming alliances with those kingdoms!”

“An alliance… with Orcs? Orcs and humans?”

"Indeed, Your Majesty."

“What the…!”

Humans and Orcs forming an alliance?

Considering the history of the past few hundred years, it was something unimaginable.

“Our sources have confirmed that the man who arranged the alliance is….”

"…..?"

“Otto de Scuderia.”

“What!!!”

A thunderous exclamation burst from Bathory's mouth.

It was beyond ridiculous.

As if it weren’t enough dealing with the diplomatic master Archduke Wazir, now even King Otto de Scuderia was demonstrating unbelievable diplomatic prowess?

“So, you’re telling me… Otto de Scuderia managed to win over the Thunderhoof Clan to his side… and if that wasn’t enough… he got those ungrateful wretches to ally with him as well… is that it?”

“T… That is correct."

"Thi…. This…"

Bathory trembled with uncontrollable rage.

‘I… misjudged Otto de Scuderia. I didn’t expect that underestimating such a young one would lead to such a huge problem.'

It was then that Bathory finally saw that Otto was an extraordinary man.

Despite being a young lord, Bathory finally recognized that Otto was a formidable adversary with abilities far beyond what she had initially thought.

“Countermeasure, prepare our countermeasure."

Bathory ordered.

“I said, prepare countermeasures immediately!”

Bathory's mind was in a state of anxiety.

The Erzsebet Kingdom had been using the mutant orcs, the Orcus, to manipulate the situation in the Uruk Plains from behind the scenes, and to pressure the neighboring minor powers to their will.

But with that method no longer effective, the Kingdom of Erzsebet was in a truly dire situation.

As if that weren't bad enough, the rising power of the Kingdom of Lota had made their southern border unstable.

What if the Thunderhoof Clan gained supremacy in the Uruk Plains and formed an anti-Erzsebet alliance with the Lota Kingdom at its center?

*Shudder*

Just the thought of it was terrifying.

As if that weren't bad enough, with the Kingdom bordering the Arad Empire, such an event could potentially have the Kingdom torn apart.

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Bathory immediately declared a state of emergency and set about preparing countermeasures.

If the Orc tribes in the Uruk Plains became united, it was clear what the fate of the Erzsebet Kingdom would be.

“With the harsh winter approaching soon, we cannot afford to start a war now!”

“If we don't start a war now, the Orcs of the Urk Plains will threaten the kingdom in the future! Then we will have too many locations to defend!”

“I would rather we mobilize the Raging Wolf Tribe and….”

While Bathory watched, the officials engaged in a heated debate, arguing fiercely over their opinions.

The matter was so critical that a wide array of opinions were bound to emerge.

Bathory listened attentively to the various opinions of the officials and pondered to reach a conclusion of his own.

This one choice would determine the fate of the Kingdom of Erzsebet, so making a hasty decision was out of the question.

It was essential to deliberate and reflect as thoroughly as possible to make a careful decision.

The problem was that time was also running short.

At this very moment, the Thunderhoof Clan was expanding its influence at a terrifying pace, and the number of neighboring kingdoms joining the anti-Erzsebet alliance was increasing.

There was no time to afford a prolonged deliberation.

After an extensive marathon meeting that lasted over 24 hours, Bathory reached a decision.

“Immediately issue a battle readiness alert.”

The option that Bathory opted was to go to war.

“It’s winter now, and snow will soon fall. The Arad Empire won’t dare start a war hastily. This is our opportunity. Even if it means significant losses for our forces, we will immediately send our army to the Uruk Plains to support the Raging Wolf Clan. The Raging Wolf Clan will ally with us to prevent the Thunderhoof Clan’s expansion.”

That was Bathory’s decision.

The Raging Wolf Clan would not sit idly by and watch the Thunderhoof Clan expand its territory.

Her immediate priority was to form an alliance with the Raging Wolf Clan to maintain her control over the Uruk Plains.

“This is our only chance! Mobilize our armies quickly! We must end this war as quickly as possible! Do not forget that time is of the essence! Do you hear me!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“And also!”

Bathory rose from her throne.

“In this war, I will personally lead the army into battle."

Given the gravity of the situation, Bathory decided to personally step in and fulfill her duties as King.

Bathory was also a formidable and skilled fighter.

A few days later.

On a day when the snow was falling heavily.

*Stomp!* *Crunch!* *Crunch!*

The forces of the Kingdom of Erzsebet began their southward march toward the Uruk Plains.

Thus, the curtain rose on the full-scale war.

A bloody war began among the various factions vying for hegemony over the Uruk Plains.