Chương 222: The Land of the Warlords (2)

The War Party's takeover of imperial institutions was swift and brutal. Hundreds of arrests followed the summons issued to every important official to Frightwall, and neither Euphemia nor Mastemo dared to oppose them. Elven conspirators, Cobweb agents, and other disloyal elements were promptly brought to Frightwall's cells for detainment and interrogation. Threats were sent to the Malphas sisters and their husbands, with the bonus of having Louis' strength to back them up.

Odette Kano was recalled to serve as the new Lord-Treasurer and Merchant—since Simon had already confirmed she would make an excellent replacement in a previous reign and she had made much progress locating the lost city of Rhapta for her expedition—while Duchar, Cassandra, and Hector would accompany Dassein's delegation. They would also bring him a most useful gift with them as well.

Euphemia's investigation naturally corroborated Simon's own 'findings,' and a plan was immediately set into motion to destroy the Attic: forcefully binding a fetch to a demon so it would open the doors, and then flooding it with a flock of exploding goat martyrs. Valravn's little pocket dimension swiftly collapsed on itself, as it did many times before, and the imperial issues bounties on most Weavers. Only Voltobauta was spared from the manhunt.

"I must say I'm surprised by your speed and effectiveness, Simon," Lauriane commented when she and Shabram provided him with a report ahead of the High Council meeting.

"But still… What do you need so many goats and cows for? Are you planning to expand the castle's menagerie?"

"An elite guard of demon-possessed cows and goats will strike fear into our enemies' hearts." His quadrupedal followers had yet to fail him in any capacity.

"You think I would have better results with other animals?"

"I will introduce you to our warbeast program in time," Lauriane replied calmly.

"I can't argue with your results. It's like you prepared for your ascendancy for years." I have.

"We simply make a good team, sister, though I can't deny some mistakes were made," Simon complained as he read through the report.

"So there was a flying pyramid buried in Navarre."

"Our scouts and geomancers saw it take off as soon as they began excavation," Shabram confirmed.

"Local airships were shot down trying to intercept it over the coast. Our seers believe it will flee over the open ocean, and then make its way towards Muse." We botched the timing. Simon's suspicion had proved correct, the flying pyramid that attacked him in the previous reign was Chrom Cruak's lair in Navarre, and he wasn't afraid to move it at the first sign of discovery. Since it is operational as soon as my reign begins, infiltration is the only way to seize it.

"It has to be a pre-Doom device," Lauriane said with a frown.

"I will send more researchers to investigate the area. There must be more hidden under the desert."

"Probably," Simon conceded.

"Has Louis returned from Magvolia yet?"

"He has," Shabram confirmed.

"Duke Flauros and Duchess Eligos folded without a fight." Excellent. Duke Flauros had caused him some issues when Simon allied with Euphemia to protect his elven wife, but he had been a War Party supporter and the sight of Louis knocking on his door quickly showed him the folly of resisting arrest. As for Justine, she always submitted to friendly terms that let her preserve her niece's life and her own luxurious lifestyle.

Supporters of the Church Party might prove a little more difficult to handle, but a mix of assurances that they would keep their power if they bent the knee and would find themselves on public enemy lists if they didn't should force them into line. The door to the High Council chamber opened, and multiple people walked through. Louis strode inside like a conqueror with Dassein in tow, while Euphemia and Mastemo appeared a lot more subdued.

Odette Kano, as the newcomer, kept to herself and sat next to Shabram and an ever-quiet Belzemine. Finally, Maublanc walked in with his daughter. Although the Commander looked as stern as ever, Simon did catch a glint of excitement in his gaze; as for Anna, she glanced at Simon's Overlord armor with a wary gaze. You don't have to be afraid, Anna. You're safe now.

Simon had ensured no Maiden nor spiders would ever put their claws on her this reign, and he would not repeat the mistakes that led to their falling out at the Academy. This time, I'll make you happy.

"Uncle, Anna," Simon greeted them. He noticed his former lover tensed a bit upon hearing his voice come out of the armor.

"I pray you had a safe flight."

"It was fine… and unexpected." Anna studied Simon's new third eye on his Overlord helmet.

"That's new, and very creepy."

"We came as swiftly as we could, considering the situation." Maublanc nodded at the Magnos family.

"My condolences to you all." Louis didn't even bother to pretend.

"Keep them for better people, Uncle. I doubt our father would have mourned you."

"Louis, enough of that," Lauriane chastised him. She and Maublanc were the only people at the table to miss their father, and Simon doubted that would last once she found her mother's bones. Euphemia squinted at Anna, and then at Maublanc.

"Why bring your daughter here?" Maublanc avoided her gaze and locked eyes with Simon.

"I thought she should have a seat at the council, considering His Majesty's proposition."

"Of course." Simon pointed at the seat to his left.

"Anna, come here." Though it was a great honor, Anna obeyed without much enthusiasm. Simon guessed it was a lot to take in all at once, and he decided not to put the spotlight on her during this meeting out of respect. They had many other subjects to address anyway.

"Welcome, lords and ladies, to this administration's first High Council session." It was smaller than the one that began Simon's rule with Euphemia, since Louis remained as marshal, but it suited him just fine.

"As you've all been informed, my father was slain in his bed by Illusean agents with the help of the criminal Cobweb conspiracy; this includes our own Lord-Treasurer, whom Lady Odette Kano will now replace for the time being. I have thankfully inherited the Overlord Class and confidential information to better steer the empire on the right path."

"I still struggle to believe our father perished," Dassein admitted.

"I always distrusted Patriate, but to think he was an elf in disguise…"

"He deceived us all, as did his sisters," Euphemia stated.

"Malphas confessed to smuggling the weapon used to commit the crime, and we've found multiple portals of demonic origin inside the castle as well. This conspiracy might have been behind a few previously unresolved crimes."

"A suspicious amount of conspirators came from the War Party," Mastemo noted, his mirror-mask pointing straight at Louis.

"Were you truly unaware of the plot on His Majesty's life, Your Highness?"

"Be assured I will clean my own house, priest, starting with Duke Flauros." Louis smiled at Anna.

"We will find a better party for your handmaiden, Anna."

"That's… good," Anna replied, clearing her throat.

"What is going to happen to them?"

"Some heads must roll," Lauriane suggested.

"We cannot let kingslaying go unpunished, or it will invite more attacks on Simon's life." She didn't argue for Louis' execution when he was accused, but Simon didn't hold it against his sister. He kept his mouth shut for now and looked at Louis, waiting to see how he acted in the political arena.

"As far as I can tell, Malphas' sisters are mostly guilty of hiding their elven origins when it comes to our father's death," Louis said.

"However, I am convinced they plotted to stage an attack on the Goetia Research Facility in the near future." Simon remained silent while Lauriane asked, "How so?"

"They purchased lands situated around it and gathered extensive retinues. My guess is that they hoped to use it as a staging ground for a western invasion and cripple our Crestone production once the time was right." Louis was as sharp as always.

"Should interrogations confirm my suspicions, then we should exterminate them and redistribute their lands to more deserving hands."

"No," Simon decided, to everyone's surprise.

"I have foreseen that Lady Eligos can be turned to our side, so long as we spare her sister and niece." Lauriane frowned.

"She would betray the Oracle?"

"As I told you earlier, the White Unicorn is divided on her leadership, and Lady Eligos has taken a liking to the lifestyle our empire can offer her. I am less certain about House Flauros, but they will be more useful to us alive than dead." The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Louis smiled at him.

"You should be tougher on traitors and would-be kingslayers, brother." That man's sheer moxie was unbelievable.

"They will be stripped of their titles, and their lands will be redistributed to more deserving inheritors," Simon decided as he ordered Shabram to distribute some files.

"With the conspiracy dismantled, we now have four great threats to deal with: Gargauth's heirs, Illusea and its Oracle, the Cobweb, and the Zodiac Fiends that will bring about the Second Doom. Eradicating them will be our top priority."

"On the matter of the Oracle, we have confirmed that Your Majesty's Anathemic Secrecy Perk does extend to Lady Firewand now that she has joined your Party System," Shabram said, much to the shock of the assembly.

"She is impervious to all forms of divination available to us."

"That is a game-changer," Lauriane said with cautious enthusiasm.

"We had to rely on extensive countermeasures to merely limit the reach of the Oracle's divinations before. Extending it to our highest officials will let us act in ways Illusea cannot expect." Louis remained wary.

"I do wonder why our father never made use of this ability on us."

"He might have, just not for us," Euphemia replied dryly.

"He didn't want us to overshadow and risk challenging him."

"A Class' Perks can change to match the people's wishes and perception," Mastemo argued.

"His Majesty's version of the Overlord Class might differ from his late predecessor."

"Regardless, I only have five Party spots and I must keep one for Firewand since she is a valuable hostage," Simon informed his council. Belzemine raised her head.

"Me, Your Majesty?"

"I do not fully understand why yet, but you are extremely valuable as a hostage against the Oracle, which is why my predecessors kept you around."

"Malphas was planning to abduct her prior to their planned bombardment of Frightwall," Euphemia added, squinting at Belzemine.

"She must be related by blood to the Oracle in some way."

"Either way, we can decide who will benefit from my Anathemic Secrecy's protection later," Simon said upon changing the subject.

"Let us return to the matter at hand: how to deal with our many foes." The High Council's reactions to the files didn't differ much from the last time he introduced them: disbelief, shock at the presence of a lich and demon buried under Castle Carcass—Anna looked especially rattled—and confusion about how to use the empire's resources to best deal with them. However, Louis' presence did shake things up when he offered a novel solution to their many problems.

"Seems straightforward to me," he said with absolute confidence and a sinister kind of enthusiasm.

"We kill them all." Of course he would say that, Simon thought before replying, "It is not so simple, brother."

"It could be." Louis set the file aside.

"From what I gather, the hierarchy of threats goes this way: Gargauth's spawn in Telluria, the Cobweb, Illusea and its allies, and finally those Zodiac Fiends. I say we slaughter them in this exact order, so we gather enough experience to deal with the next one on the list."

"You understand nothing, you madman," Euphemia snapped at him.

"I have seen the scale of the devastation this Black Comet will bring in my visions. It will tear this land apart."

"Moreover, as much as I support securing our hemisphere, destroying the Cobweb and Illusea will force us to invade the western continent and Illusea," Maublanc added.

"We can only look forward to a devastating war. Thousands will die, if not millions."

"But those that survive will reach untold heights," Louis argued.

"Our soldiers will test themselves against the enemy and grow in levels. One level sixty fighter will be worth a regiment of unclassed soldiers."

"The empire can barely muster the numbers and resources to keep the territories it already has," Mastemo pointed out.

"We cannot afford another war."

"We can and we will, once we draft tribes like the shifters into our ranks and cancel pointless projects like this Operation Deepground." The words dripped with disdain in Louis' mouth.

"My father's plot is well and good, but it assumes we will lose. We won't have any need for bunkers if we win." Dassein crossed his arms.

"It's not numbers or vaults we need, brother, but the Noble Classes. We must gather the remaining Noble Crestones we still lack to defeat the Fiends, starting with the Beast."

"True," Simon conceded. His own experience with the Sanctuary and other battles had taught him low-level fighters were little more than dead weight when fighting truly fearsome opponents. He needed to gather the Noble Heroes again to prevail against the Parade. Louis' plan was incredibly brutal and ruthless, but it made a twisted amount of sense. His own level had skyrocketed through the civil war, and no doubt Simon could push his family to new heights by increasing their experience yields.

A war against Illusea might let them purchase the strength they needed with elven blood. Or… or they would take losses, and Simon might find himself with fewer high level Noble Class users to throw at the empowered Zodiac Fiends. War was like opening a door into a dark room. Anything could happen. People like Alcyone and Voltobauta were unlikely to entertain an alliance with Endymion either should their airships besiege their homelands or allies.

But then again, the Oracle had made it clear she wouldn't settle for peace, so such a conflict might be inevitable either way… Euphemia glared at him.

"Don't tell me you are entertaining going through with this insanity."

"I must consider all options," Simon decided. He at least leaned against cancelling Operation Deepground since he had no idea what some of the empowered Zodiac Fiends could do. Asterion had managed to strike at Abraxas from the ground, Shin-Drazil flooded the continent, and Exodeos reduced entire parts of the world to nothingness.

They might cause quite a bit of damage to Brimir even assuming Endymion could defeat them within days of their emergence, and the comet's return would inflict great damage to the land either way.

"For now, we will secure our borders and gather all Zodiac Fiend crystals within our reach," Simon ordered.

"Euphemia, Dassein, Maublanc, you will deal with Vouivre Ashmodai, capture her brother Casval, recover the Chest of Worlds, and secure the old kish capital so we can extract its crystal in due time. I will provide a kish helper to open the vault." Simon was confident he had gained sufficient power to tackle Vouivre, but he preferred to avoid personally confronting her for a few reasons.

First, he was unsure he could prevail alone, and splitting the experience was a harsh cost; second, he would only gain levels from killing her once, and Vouivre tended to grow in power quickly over the reigns. He would rather pluck that fruit in a timeline where it reached maturity. Finally, Simon needed more training to optimize his fighting style. He needed to master his existing abilities to fight at his fullest potential. And he just… he just didn't feel ready to meet Vouivre directly again.

Memories of their previous alliance remained something of a phantom wound, like his time with Anna, Eole, and Cassandra had once caused him distress.

"Of course, that can wait until after your wedding," Simon said.

"We could hold it on the twenty-fourth of Nivose alongside my upcoming coronation." Maublanc and Euphemia exchanged a sideways glance.

"It would be wiser to wait," said the former after clearing his throat.

"Marrying my blood-brother's widow so soon after his demise might raise some eyebrows."

"Agreed," Euphemia replied without much enthusiasm. She had waited years for this, she could afford to do so a little longer. That's not the kind of eagerness I expected. Then again, they were mature adults and the shadow of Balzam Magnos loomed large. Hopefully the anti-Vouivre campaign will help close that gap.

"Besides…" Maublanc's eyes darted to Simon and Anna.

"I would rather not overshadow another, more important union." Anna shifted uncomfortably in her seat, with Simon dismissing the subject for now.

"We'll discuss the matter in private later, Uncle." This didn't please Maublanc, but discussions quickly moved on to other matters like finding Algozoa's crystal in Uyo to arranging a betrothal between Dassein and Satine in order to fragment the White Unicorn's supporters in Magvolia. It was decided Maublanc, Dassein, Anna, and Lauriane would also join Simon's Party; the former two to ensure the success of the Tellurian campaign, the latter two to shield them from potential attacks by the Cobweb or Illusea.

The likes of Euphemia and Louis simply didn't trust him yet with their personal stats, which was a shame. The Oracle would no doubt throw a fit should she fail to scry the crown-prince. Finally, Louis all but demanded they repeal shifter slavery laws in Telluria and instead encourage conscription into the armed forces.

"It will be easier to assimilate the region if its people can feel they will become citizens. Their natural aggression will be better directed against our enemies than our forces."

"Agreed, and I have the perfect person in mind to convince the shifters," Simon said. The meeting having reached its end, he dismissed almost everyone.

"Anna, can you stay with me for a moment?" His former lover nodded slightly and remained behind once the rest of the councilors exited the room. Simon removed his armor to put her at ease and asked, "How are you holding up?"

"It's a lot to take in all at once, Simon," Anna admitted with a sigh, before matching his gaze.

"Your change in personality most of all." Of course she had noticed.

"It's still me, Anna," he reassured her in the hope of avoiding a mess like the one in Beleth a few reigns back.

"I'm simply more powerful and informed."

"It's not just that, Simon. You order the likes of Louis and Euphemia around without any doubt, you can see the future, and you don't blink when Louis suggests massacring thousands. Your Class has changed you." She scoffed.

"My father told me you're the one who proposed a match between us too. You would never have been so bold before."

"True, but is that such a bad thing? Does the prospect of becoming an empress not appeal to you?" Anna let out a small sigh.

"I like you, Simon, but I admit being told I might have to marry you came as quite the shock. I hoped to have a choice in the matter."

"You do have one," Simon replied.

"I won't force you to."

"Really?" Anna raised an eyebrow with clear skepticism.

"So if I say I would rather marry Dassein or Thalas rather than sit on your crimson lap, would you agree?"

"Yes, though I'll say I doubt it would work out with either of them." This got a chuckle out of her, at least.

"It would make things more difficult, but I'm sure I can win over your father some other way." Anna looked sad all of a sudden.

"So you're looking to marry my father's armies, not me."

"I would rather marry you and your father's armies." Simon took her hand and kissed it.

"I'm a greedy man."

"A bold and charming one too." Anna smiled a little.

"But we both know you wouldn't marry me if I didn't have a Commander for a father."

"You're wrong. I would still have married you if you came from a poor family, because you were one of the few to show me kindness when I had nothing to offer in return." Simon would always be grateful for that.

"But… I'll admit a lot of things have indeed changed. It's not just about what I want anymore."

"You're the Overlord now," Anna conceded.

"The state will always come first."

"That doesn't mean we can't be happy together." He stroked her hair, and she allowed him to do so.

"You don't have to give me your answer now. You can still consider your options until we make it official."

"Antonine or some other upstart will throw me down the stairs to free the way to your bedroom if I do that."

"Then I can compensate you for your loss," Simon teased her.

"All on your own?" Anna burst out laughing, a look of mischief in her eyes.

"Gaining that Class has done wonders for your confidence, but how can I put it to the test?"

"Very simple." He summoned a newly crafted amulet necklace from his Inventory and put it around her neck.

"Just give me a call, and I will answer it." Everything would go swimmingly between them this time around.