King Jashua did not resemble his former self at all; since receiving the legacy of Dracul, the Founder of the Holy Blood Sect, he had transformed into a harsh, distant, and uncompromising person. Personally directing the annihilation of opposition forces remaining in the lands he ruled, the young man granted only one chance to surrender, and in some cases, there were times he didn't even show this mercy.
Leaving his place and coming next to the others, a fully equipped map of the Southern Region appeared on the floor as he waved his hand. Half of the southern part of the region, whose northern part was surrounded by mountain ranges, bordered the Hell Realm, and the other half bordered the Lands of Light.
Large red crosses were drawn over the enemy bases in the region bordering the lands he was the king of; the results of the actions of Nafız and the Elemental Ten were now before everyone's eyes.
"Judging by the attitude the enemy has taken upon your attacks that created severe destruction, this is where they expect us, and I presume they will not be alone!"
With his cold metal-colored long sword, Jashua got straight to the point, pointing at a mountain range diving inwards from the mountain ranges separating the region. Death Pass, this was the name on the map, and with another mountain range extending towards it from the southern part, it had truly taken on a state to deserve its name.
The Mercenaries trusted the pass they created with the wall they built between naturally occurring formations very much. One reason for this was that the pass offered an excellent opportunity to defend, but more importantly than this was the presence of the two enemy civilizations.
If anyone went on the attack, they could cross to the other side of the pass and fight as allies with the other side. There was only one weak point to this tactic; if the Hell Realm and the Lands of Light attacked them by agreement, they could do nothing, but the probability of this happening was almost zero.
"Exactly how much of a force are we talking about?"
Since we had made a quick entry into serious topics, Nafız too would know how to keep up with the atmosphere. She had put her cute face from the introduction phase into the mode that would stop hearts with a single glance.
"We are talking about an estimated fifty thousand people!"
"Estimated?"
Jashua answered the question but it didn't take long for him to regret it. Nafız, revealing a side of her that no one had seen for a long time, unleashed an energy fierce enough to make those in the surrounding tents throw up blood.
"Do not get angry immediately, Blood God, our king was stating the highest possible figure!"
Hueso had to interject, even if he didn't want to at all; it was already a mistake from the beginning for Jashua to explain the plans, but no matter how much he insisted, the young man hadn't left this job to him. Fortunately, the intervention of the young-looking fossil worked, and learning the maximum number of the enemy, Nafız drew a deep breath into her lungs and began to calm down.
"Among them are four General Class soldiers mobilized by the Diamond Leaf and Turquoise Leaf Guilds, and ten people at the peak of the Commander Limit. The Lands of Light constitutes one-fifth of the total force; actually I was expecting them to send a higher number of reinforcements, but due to a few of our friends causing trouble on their borders, they could only mobilize an army of ten thousand people."
While Nafız was like a god bringing death from the skies a moment ago, now she couldn't even manage to hide the huge smile on her face. Knowing very well who Jashua meant by a few friends, the Blood God was quite pleased because she received the support of types who wouldn't take action unless they wanted to, no matter what you did.
"Who is commanding the Lands of Light forces?"
Even if a unit of ten thousand people was less than expected, it was too many to be underestimated, and if there was someone competent at their head, it could turn into a threat that could create big problems for them.
"Someone very familiar is commanding the army consisting of the joint forces of the Five Factions; I believe the moment you hear his name, his image will appear before your eyes!"
Jashua's upper teeth, who seemed like the embodiment of a cold attitude until that moment, now looked as if they were trying to break his lower teeth. Without putting in effort to understand whether this was out of ambition or anger, Nafız turned her right hand on its axis and told him to go on.
"Godfrey of Bouillon; the son of the Third Elder of the Society of the Companions of Light and the former City Lord of Nikonya!"
"Come on, what business could that idiot have at the head of an army?"
The others in the tent might know this name, maybe they were hearing it for the first time now, but one thing was certain, none of them could know him as well as Nafız and Jashua. He had accomplished important tasks under Gulag's control until the conquest of the Orc Steppes took place, and if he was alive right now, if he wasn't killed for what he did before, it was only because they didn't want to deal with his father of the Orc Dynasty at those times.
"No matter how much his father wanted to prevent it, the news that Godfrey, who returned home after the Lands of Light forces left the Orc Steppes, was under the control of a heretic in their terms for a long time, managed to spread among the society somehow.
Scientists from the Empire of Machines were never missing from the door of the Bouillon household so that he wouldn't suffer any damage, and all these happenings were enough to render his father's prestige worthless. Can you imagine, the son of a high-level executive of a society that holds itself spiritually superior to all other humans and goes as far as calling others heretics, was under the influence of someone else during the duty he was appointed to.
Of course, the Bouillon Household is not going to collapse because a problem arose, but it is also certain their end won't be good if they don't put in enough effort. Therefore, the Bouillons, who made concession after concession for all those years, wanted to completely erase the past with one final move."
Nafız remembered those times very well, just like Jashua said. It was impossible for her to forget the journey that ended with them being arrested while entering Nikonya, appearing before Godfrey of Bouillon, and gaining both a puppet and a loyal warrior. By the way, what was Milosh doing, had he managed to stay alive?
"Even though Godfrey of Bouillon seems to be commanding the army, the actual command is in Franz, the most trusted disciple of Jeffrey of Bouillon, that is, his father, and according to the information we received from our spies, this person is someone who loved the young mage killed by the first Blood Warrior Sangre like his older brother.
When he received the news of his death, he expressed his intention of revenge to his master, but the answer he got was a punishment of training behind closed doors for a year. When it was revealed that Godfrey was under influence, Jeffrey, thinking he treated his disciple unfairly, wanted to make up for his mistake by training him specially.
Apart from him, we know each faction sent a disciple at least as powerful as him. Obviously, with this war they turned into a test they must pass to become magic masters, they want to decide who is better!"
Nafız's right eyebrow, which couldn't stay still when she was thoughtful, was beginning to draw a small arc, and within a breath or two, it would reach the height it wanted to climb. Obviously, she didn't want to receive retrospective information when she went to the head of the map, but unfortunately, what had been experienced was brought before her again one day.
"How interesting, isn't it? The Mercenaries manage to get their help by scaring them saying if we fall it will be your turn, and the Lands of Light want to use this to solve an issue in their own internal affairs.
There is a saying I heard a long time ago; the sheep is worried about its life, the butcher about the meat! It was said exactly for this situation, but there is something the ignorant forget. Before them is neither the Mercenaries worshiping gold, nor the Hell Realm trying to heal the wounds of its own civil war. When the iron fist of the orc comes down on their heads, they will understand this very well!"