NOVEL NEXT The Grand Conference Room of the Luminous Kingdom’s Palace. A rare occasion where this place, usually closed off for discussing important national matters, is illuminated.
The atmosphere in front of the conference room was intensely severe.
One peculiar detail was that the attire of those guarding the room was not uniform. The three types of uniforms indicated that not only the high-ranking clergy of the Luminous Kingdom were gathered inside the conference room.
“So you lost the Progenitor right in front of you?”
As Pope Argo Servinus of the Luminous Kingdom spoke, the already serious atmosphere seemed to sink further.
His solemn and heavy voice was not one of scolding, but Crown Prince Pavel Greysia of the Greysia Empire didn’t seem to take it that way.
“Let me be clear, the Empire took sufficient measures. It’s just that the Progenitor was much stronger than the information we received from the Kingdom.”
Pavel, whose displeasure showed without concealment, frowned as he called out the Luminous Kingdom’s blunder.
He grumbled that unnecessary sacrifices were made in the imperial army due to incorrect information.
It was a sight that could take your breath away, but the relationship between the Luminous Kingdom and the Empire was always like this.
In fact, the current situation might be considered better than usual.
Considering that most of their nerve-wracking exchanges were conducted in writing, it was unusual for a figure as significant as the Crown Prince to directly visit the Luminous Kingdom and attend a meeting.
Of course, no one present here felt fortunate about that.
“Was the Progenitor that strong? I heard the encounter occurred less than two weeks after the escape.”
“If it were at an ordinary level, we would have caught it easily. I had enough troops to be that confident.”
Prince Dweik of Bertica Kingdom tried to ease the tension, throwing out a question, and the Crown Prince emphasized once more the Empire’s preparedness.
A resolute attitude that conveyed a powerful will to deny any responsibility emanated from him.
Perhaps sensing the impending atmosphere of being relentlessly questioned if things continued as they were, the Pope decided to interject.
“The Luminous Kingdom also conveyed the information as it was.”
“The issue isn’t how strong the Progenitor was during the escape, but its peculiarities. To devise a more appropriate strategy, we needed more detailed information about the Progenitor’s uniqueness. That information could only be known by the Luminous Kingdom, which directly contacted the Progenitor.”
The subtle currents turned even more ominous. One side maintained a calm expression, while the other was overtly aggressive, leaving the Crown Prince caught in the middle, quietly observing.
In truth, Bertica Kingdom wasn’t a country to be intimidated either. But what could they do when the two people right in front of them represented the only countries stronger than theirs?
“Isn’t it the Luminous Kingdom’s responsibility that the Progenitor escaped in the first place? Not only did they unilaterally decide to execute the captured Progenitor, but now a Cardinal has helped the Progenitor escape; isn’t that akin to serious treason against humanity?”
“Crown Prince! That’s going too far!”
Seizing the opportunity, the Crown Prince intervened as Pavel’s remarks crossed the line.
Of course, the Crown Prince was about to retort immediately, but before he could, the Pope restrained him.
“No, it’s true that former Cardinal Raul Carlos’s actions were a serious blunder of the Church. However, it was not the will of the Luminous Kingdom, but rather his unilateral decision, and he was ultimately found dead at the hands of the Progenitor, so it’s difficult to consider them as allies. Yet, we cannot deny our responsibility for failing to prevent the grave misconduct of a clergyman blinded by ambition.”
“…As long as you acknowledge it, that’s enough.”
Though skeptical of the motivation behind the Pope’s frank admission of wrongdoing, the Crown Prince temporarily withdrew his hostility.
Even if the Pope skillfully limited the Church’s responsibility to the negligence of Raul Carlos, it was quite unusual for Argo Servinus to concede.
Given that the current Pope had never bent to the Emperor of the Empire, this was a significant expression of goodwill.
Moreover, if his sole intent was to pinpoint the mistakes of the Luminous Kingdom, there would have been no reason for him to visit the Luminous Kingdom directly. The Crown Prince also had a more pressing matter to prioritize at this point.
“Thank you for your understanding. So, you said we must attack the Sahelrn Duchy?”
“Yes. We must prevent the Progenitor from being sheltered by the Duchy.”
Finally, the main topic emerged. The representatives of the three nations gathered here because the Greysia Empire proposed to form a coalition to strike the Sahelrn Duchy.
“But that Duchy, is it possible?”
Crown Prince Dweik cautiously raised a question. The Pope, and even the Crown Prince who brought up the issue, did not immediately counter.
The country of Vampires, the Sahelrn Duchy.
A small piece of land barely the size of a city-state, nestled as a thorn between three of the most powerful human nations.
Vampires, or more precisely, their kin, are a race with many weaknesses. They cannot operate in sunlight and are vulnerable to silver, which injures them upon contact.
Thus, as civilization advanced, humans were gradually able to escape the threats posed by vampires.
The fact that the Duchy gave up territory expansion and was content with its narrow land stemmed from the belief that they could not guarantee victory over human warriors armed with silver armor and weapons in a single night.
Then again, why had the Duchy not yet been destroyed?
With so many weaknesses and being rejected by all humans, how had they managed to maintain their small territory for hundreds of years?
The answer was extremely simple.
Because they were strong. Despite their many weaknesses, the powers possessed by the nocturnal vampires were formidable.
The Duchy had numerous underground facilities to hide from the sun. It would not be an exaggeration to say that underground facilities outnumbered surface ones.
That was the biggest obstacle to the human advance.
Ignoring the nocturnal vampires that hide underground during the day and emerge at night, merely marching in and planting a flag does not mean it becomes human territory.
Humans must eradicate all vampires and completely eliminate their underground facilities to claim a clean victory.
Thus, a true total war was indispensable.
However, the nocturnal kin were simply too strong to be fully confronted.
While they could win if they invested all their forces, doing so would leave both the victor and the vanquished with no future.
Understanding this, humans also refrained from taking proactive actions even though they knew that a vampire “meal” was being conducted near the borders.
Thus, the Empire’s claim to strike the Duchy was not something to be taken lightly.
Even if the three nations combined their forces and fought the Duchy with an ordinary military strength, it would only serve to satisfy the vampires’ hunger.
But there were not just vampires as foes. Investing too many forces would risk leaving an opening for the Beastmen, who were always watching for opportunities.
“Realistically, a perfect subjugation isn’t possible.”
Indeed, the Crown Prince readily admitted it. The Empire had no genuine intention of declaring final battle with the Duchy either.
The Empire had two underlying thoughts.
First, during the pursuit of the Progenitor, the imperial army had crossed into the Duchy’s borders, providing the vampires with a reason to retaliate.
Although vampires did not aggressively seize human territories, they often made short and nasty incursions.
In particular, they had never overlooked incursions by soldiers crossing national borders.
Some form of retaliation would surely come.
The series of acts aiming to capture the escaped Progenitor were a unified effort among human nations, but if they stayed put, the Grand Duke’s displeasure might rest entirely on the Empire.
Thus, by mobilizing a united army to take the initiative, they hoped to weaken the Duchy’s strength and distract their attention too—a supremely imperialistic calculation that led the Crown Prince to attend this meeting personally.
“At the very least, we must ensure that the Duchy cannot protect the Progenitor. Ideally, we should invade and kill the Progenitor, but at the very least, we must ensure the Duchy lacks the resources to support the Progenitor’s growth.”
And the second reason was that regardless of the calculative motives, the current Progenitor was exceedingly unusual and dangerous.
Being the Empire that directly engaged with the Progenitor, they understood this.
According to the information, there should have been no way to lose sight of the Progenitor. The fact that an entire battalion of imperial forces failed to capture or even kill it after the chase and combat was something the Empire knew best.
“I agree that we must eliminate the Progenitor as soon as possible. But isn’t this a bit too sudden?”
“Thirty-two.”
“Pardon?”
“The number of corpses discovered along the Progenitor’s route, presumed to have died due to the Progenitor. All the bodies were drained of blood, and there’s a very high probability they became the Progenitor’s meal.”
“It can’t be…!”
The Crown Prince was speechless in shock.
It’s well-known that the Progenitor grows stronger each time it drinks blood.
However, since bloodsucking is ultimately an act of feeding, the predicted growth rate is surprisingly low.
According to historical texts, the average amount of blood required for normal activity by the Progenitor is about one person’s worth every 2-3 weeks. Eating small amounts once a week is sufficient, rates that are not much different from its kin.
Considering that it hungrier in its youth, predictions based on statistics suggest that even one person every three days would be sufficient.
But thirty-two? Reports say the Progenitor only passed through imperial territory for barely over a week.
How could so many victims be taken in such a short time?
“Furthermore, there have been reports that some of the imperial troops who engaged with the Progenitor were also consumed during combat. The specifics can’t be fully confirmed since it was a retreating squad responding to the Duchy’s reinforcements, but it certainly wouldn’t have been single-digit casualties.”
“A disaster. Truly a disaster.”
The Pope lamented over the shocking and grim information.
The fact that the fourth Progenitor was an unprecedented glutton was incredibly unfortunate information from humanity’s standpoint.
The only consolation regarding the Progenitor was that it would take a very long time to grow into a genuine threat, but a high consumption rate meant a faster growth rate.
The Pope knew very well that the Empire had ulterior motives behind their call for a united front.
But even knowing that, it was an urgent matter that could not be ignored. The elimination of the Progenitor was also a top priority for the Luminous Kingdom, especially with the added responsibility of losing sight of a Progenitor they’d captured.
“This Progenitor is far too unusual and dangerous. If the Sahelrn Duchy decides to support the Progenitor, it won’t be long before we are left with no options.”
“……We cannot avoid total war.”
“That’s right, even so, this time we must eliminate the Progenitor.”
Before long, the agenda naturally shifted from whether to strike the Sahelrn Duchy to when and how to do it.
Thus, the conference continued for three long days. The decision was made for the allied forces of the Luminous Kingdom, Greysia Empire, and Bertica Kingdom to deploy.
And in the western district of the Luminous Kingdom, Randell. A girl who had regained her spark with the deployment order stood ready.
“Sister, I’ll be there soon.”
Knight Plona Moonlight picked up her sword, determined to witness the truth with her own eyes.