The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound

Chapter 449: Declaration of War (2)

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Episode 451 Declaration of War (2)

A stack of papers lay on the desk.

They were all different reports, but they all had the same word at the end.

Defeat. Defeat. Defeat. Defeat. Defeat.

And then the one looking down at them spoke in a heavy voice.

"...The Western Front has collapsed."

Morg Mu Respane.

The mood in the room sank to a somber hush as the Matriarch of the House of Morg spoke.

The top item on the agenda of the Alliance of Houses meeting, held by the heads of Ironblood Swordsman Baskerville, Mage Clan Morg, Faithful Quovadis, and Tycoon Bourgeois.

It was the current state of the civil war.

Poisonous Dark Master (劇毒暗家) House Leviathan.

A family that has been recognized as a master poison manufacturer since the Warring States Period before the Unified Empire.

Having recently absorbed the powers of Don Quixote the Spearman and Usher the God Killer, Leviathan was growing in strength at an alarming rate.

Respane frowned.

"The 'poisonous people' created by the Leviathan family were more difficult to deal with than I thought. It is an army made up of madmen who have lost their sense of reason, and they even spread infectious diseases to the surrounding area..."

"'Red Death'. If you are infected with it, it saps all the energy from your body, killing you, and when you die, you turn into a puppet. Or should I say, a living corpse... It's hard to describe."

Cardinal Martin Luther of the Quovadis was equally puzzled.

At least Morg and Quovadis were dealing with magic and holy power, so the damage was relatively minor.

The knights of House Baskerville, on the other hand, who fight with hand-to-hand combat, suffered considerable damage from the poisonous attack.

If Osiris, the young patriarch, and the Seven Counts had not done well in local wars in each region, a significant portion of the territory would have been lost.

All eyes then turned to Demian, the representative of the Bourgeois family.

"Wasn't the Bourgeois family an ally of the Leviathan family in the past?"

"Hmm. I don't know about that, as it was the work of the previous head of the family."

"And you are not one now, Demian?"

"Technically, I am the acting head of the family. The current Bourgeois family's head is elsewhere...."

"But you said that you have acquired quite a few of the remaining secret documents, and I don't mean to criticize you, so please share them with us."

At Cardinal Martin Luther's polite request, Demian opened his mouth.

"Many of the documents were lost, so I don't know the details. All I know is that when the Red Death was first created, it was sprayed as a test on the natives of Jungle, and when the natives fought it off surprisingly well, the Leviathan, alarmed, created an even more contagious and effective variant. The result is the Poisonous Man, who are now defeating our armies day after day."

The creatures created by Leviathan are as strong and fierce as demons, but they have no mind and are entirely under the control of their masters.

They also emit a red mist that drains mana and weakens the body at the mere touch, and if inhaled for long enough, can turn an otherwise healthy person into a monster.

The Leviathan family even absorbed all the remaining troops of the Usher family and the Don Quixote family, which were allied families, and created Poisonous Man, so its power was growing day by day.

Adolf, the Magic Star of the Morg, spoke up, his face grim.

"The Western Front has been completely overrun, and we've lost all the rubies we've mined. How hard it has been to dig up that ruby ??vein! Damn the Leviathan!"

"The world is getting worse and heresy and cults are running rampant, so we are in a lot of trouble."

"Wildfires, droughts, starvation, demonic ravages, plagues, and cults and heresies... It's the end of the world."

Martin Luther and Demian looked grim.

Then. A new person spoke up.

" ...Didn't I say we should have prepared for that long ago?"

A sarcastic voice, a jab at the heads of Baskerville, Morg, Quabadis, and Bourgeois.

Professor Morg Banshee, no, Banshee the Principal of Colosseo Academy, crossed his arms in disbelief.

"Not only are the young bloods of the House dying, but innocent common citizens as well. People matter, not rubies like that."

"What? When did I say people are less important? I'm just saying that I'm in charge of ruby mining right now!"

Adolf, a delegate to the Morg Light Hall, and Banshee, a former member of the Morg Dark Hall, do not get along.

Banshee snorted at Adolf and the others.

"This would not have happened if I had completely re-investigated the whole case when my pupil was wrongfully acquitted at trial. Leviathan wouldn't have been raised like this in the first place.

Banshee. He was also one of the people who worked harder to save Vikir's life than anyone else when Vikir was imprisoned.

He glared at those who opposed Vikir's life-saving efforts at the time, or who were unsympathetic or lukewarm.

"Isn't this the result of being blinded by personal interests, turning a blind eye to important issues, keeping your mouths shut... and what were you all doing until the demons came out in such a big way?"

At Principal Banshee's words, many people shook their heads or averted their gaze.

Then, the representatives of the other academies smiled and tried to lighten the mood.

"Haha, this is not the place for blame, is it?"

"Principal Banshee, let's not vent your anger, we have more important things to do right now."

"That's right, the immediate concern is how to stop the poisonous army that Leviathan has created."

Basilios, the Warden of Varangian, Hippolyte, the headmaster of Themiscyra, and Blue Whale, the Master of the Magic Tower, looked at Banshee and fidgeted.

They are worried that their once united alliance will be divided again.

"...."

This was something that was on Banshee's mind as well, so he kept his mouth shut and just made a frowny face.

When Dyrachium, the Warden of the Verangian Boot Camp, died after failing to recover from the wounds he received during Sady's attack, Basilios, the new Warden, comforted Banshee.

"But the situation got a lot better when our Confucianists got involved."

"That's right, as the participation rate of student soldiers increased, the number of soldiers also increased."

"At this rate, we may not be able to overwhelm the poisoners, but we can at least equalize the situation a bit."

Banshee was still not pleased with what Hippolyte and Whitebeard were saying.

"I hope everyone can cover up the mistakes of adults through the students' sacrifice."

"...."

"Furthermore. It is groundless optimism to say that the situation has become tense due to the intervention of the academies. If we look at it coldly, students are nothing more than newbies that professors need to protect. Just because student soldiers participate in the war will not significantly increase our military power. It just happens to be at the right time."

No one responds to the rhetoric.

Principal Banshee continues, his eyes shining.

"The Leviathan Family are now bringing the Poisonous Army back home. The evidence is that many situations in which we were intentionally defeated and retreated in battles taking place in various places are being captured."

"Why would they retreat when they have the advantage of having broken the Western Front?"

Respane asked, and Banshee was silent for a moment.

"...."

Is it because of his connection with his hometown, Morg, and because of his older brother, High Councilor Snake?

After a moment of silence, Banshee spoke, his tone slightly more polite than before.

"We are gathering our forces together, to make it look natural, to feign defeat."

At those words, the faces of all the leaders turned grave.

Leviathan is secretly gathering their forces together.

No one was stupid enough to not understand the meaning of these words.

The Leviathan Family must be preparing for a large-scale local battle that could decide the outcome of the war.

Leviathan, Usher, and Don Quixote combined.

If the legions of poisonous soldiers spread across the country were to advance in unison, their power would be immense.

It was likely to be the final battle that would decide the outcome of the war.

" ...The problem is, we have no idea where, when, or how they plan to strike."

Everyone nodded at Respane's words.

Where, when, and how.

The most important of the three is the 'where'.

This is because defense forces must be stationed in advance in places where fierce battles are likely to occur.

The great minds of the day began to put their heads together.

Soon, various locations were being considered for raids.

"It could be the Red Awl Castle, with its massive veins of ruby. Ruby is the best transmitter of magic, so they'll be eager to secure it...."

"Maybe it's Dortsmile? Since this is where the core facilities of the Magic Train are located, if this place is destroyed, the distribution and supply routes of the allies will be cut off...."

"It could be St. Mecca, where the first Red Death was found in a well in the slums, so there could be something hidden in the area...."

Political reasons, strategic reasons, cultural reasons, and many other reasons are presented as evidence with detailed analysis.

A hundred schools of thought contend (百家爭鳴).

Everyone was talking about different regions.

All of them could be attacked by Leviathan, so it was hard to pinpoint one region.

... Just then.

"Tochka."

One of the men spoke up.

A voice that offered no evidence, but sounded terribly confident.

Everyone in the room turned to look at the speaker.

"...."

A cold impression.

The energy radiating from his entire body is sharply forged like a sword.

The scent of blood was evident in his every move, and every time he moved his gaze, it felt like a sword was being drawn.

His identity is Hugo.

Hugo Le Baskerville, Patriarch of House Baskerville, the Iron Blooded Swordsman.

He looked down at the map and spoke.

"They will come to Tochka."

The words were so full of certainty that everyone questioned them.

"Fortress] Tochka? Why is that remote plateau...?"

"Isn't it a place with good defense, but no water source for drinking water, so it has no tactical value?"

"Anyone with even a passing knowledge of military tactics would avoid places like this."

"From the Leviathan's point of view, there's no reason to attack it."

"Do you have any reason?"

Hugo's answer was simple and to the point.

"My son is there."