Bear School Astartes

Chapter 468 - 469. The Southern Emperor’s Meeting

When the topic was directed toward the increasingly serious situation today, people became less talkative.

Racial discrimination, among those present was one human, one dwarf, and three demon hunters.

All humanoid creatures other than humans are discriminated against in this world.

The citizens in the city, due to the situation, live tightly, and psychological problems are becoming increasingly severe.

Their oppression needs a release, and the weaker non-human races serve as a good pressure valve.

Thus, people can without guilt wield kitchen knives and carpenter’s hammers to cut off the necks of elves and smash the skulls of dwarves.

After all, the numbers of non-human races are not large enough to resist. The nobles are also pleased to see the commoners release their own pressure without having to worry.

But Lann knew, this was not the true pressure.

The true pressure could not be calmed by just hundreds of non-human corpses in a city.

History seems to be a circle, and whenever people’s lives become unbearably difficult, there is always an evil presence that begins to hover over the world—

War.

The high-pressure powder keg is already formed, but no one knows where the spark that can ignite everything will burst out from.

However, some people do not want to foolishly and aimlessly wait for that spark to fall... they want to strike a match themselves!

Niflgaard Imperial Capital, Niflgaard City, Golden Pagoda City.

The Northern People say this name comes from Niflgaard City being built of gold, but in reality, it’s because the sunlight reflecting off the rooftops within the city makes the entire city shine like gold.

And in the Imperial Palace, a meeting is taking place.

The initiator of the meeting is the Emperor of the Niflgaard Empire, the lord of Medina, Aebin, and Gimirea, the highest ruler of Nasir and Vikvaro, and also the supreme leader and High Priest of the Sun Sect—

Enshir of Enriss.

Those close to him sometimes call him by his nickname, ’The White Flame Dancing on the Graves of His Enemies’.

He now sat behind his desk, his strong, angular face meticulously groomed.

The nobles of Niflgaard have declared that the emperor’s appearance is the purest model of the Niflgaard people.

The Emperor’s hands never stopped writing and drawing, as this massive empire has countless documents to be reviewed every day.

Moreover, every document brought in is written as if it’s as severe as if it must be prioritized today, or the empire will collapse tomorrow.

Enshir knew, this is the usual tactic departments use to gain attention and budget.

If the department heads do not have these tricks, they simply cannot rise.

But he still has to decapitate two department heads with overly alarming reports from time to time.

Only in this way can the paperwork seem normal and not constantly declare ’the empire’s doom’, which would suppress documents that are truly important.

Beheading only works temporarily because there are always some who climb regardless of their own lives. But Enshir doesn’t care, as beheading a couple periodically keeps the trend in check.

In this way, life can somehow go on.

"So, everyone..."

Enshir spoke without raising his head, signing a document before setting it aside, then taking another one from a document box and placing it before him.

"Does our plan have a schedule yet?"

His voice was loud and authoritative, and even without looking directly at the person, those he questioned maintained a respectful and cautious posture.

"We’ve initially discussed some intentions, of course!"

Everyone in the room adhered to the Niflgaardian style of attire, limited to black and gold. However, the person who responded to the emperor’s question had an expression of more arrogance than the others.

As if, even though being questioned by the emperor, he must appear more noble.

Duke Adal Epp Dasrcy, nobility jest that this duke considers his puffed ruff to hold a noble golden head.

As Duke Darcy spoke, the man standing next to him seemed to cough lightly.

And naturally, the duke added, "Of course, this was a reasonable and logical judgment made with the intelligence support of Lord Lidox."

Following the duke’s words, the man who coughed also timely bowed, indicating to the emperor that he had only done some trivial intelligence work.

"Vatier de Liddos."

The Emperor took a moment from reviewing the files to speak.

"Now is not the time for you to claim credit, although your intelligence is indeed detailed and accurate, I am not accustomed to giving rewards before plans result, which would relax nerves and lead to errors. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The Emperor’s intelligence chief, therefore, bowed even lower until his luxurious black velvet cloak touched the ground before he straightened up and reported the results of his discussions.

"Overall, we believe this autumn is the time, Your Majesty."

"To wage war in autumn," Enshir stated calmly, "seems like just an ordinary choice."

In autumn, the temperature is neither hot nor cold, and soldiers’ steel armor will not harm them due to environmental temperature.

Similarly, in spring with good temperatures, spring sowing which needs a lot of manpower makes military maneuvering inappropriate so as not to disrupt the agricultural plans of the country.

Thus, autumn often becomes the season of war, known as ’the season of killing’.

In the face of the emperor’s skepticism, Vatier did not react with the usual shock of an official. He knew clearly he was the emperor’s trusted intelligence officer, unlike those who could be casually executed without much impact.

Thus he was able to respond to Enshir with calm.

"Ordinary does not mean ineffective, Your Majesty."

"In autumn, our army’s logistical pressure will be much smaller because we can plunder the ripe fields of Sintra for grain and fodder."

"We received information from our operatives in Skellige; King Bran will lead his longships to our coastline to raid in autumn. Knowing this, with a little trickery and forces, we can provoke the islanders, who value honor and ancestral deeds, into a furious state, restraining them."

"Even if King Bran receives a plea for help from his brother, King of Sintra—East Tursek, he will be delayed at least a month compared to normal. If he is to take action, he must first quell the anger we’ve stirred up among his crew, which will make his action at least a month and a half slower."

"Heh." Enshir let out a chuckle without lifting his head. "Valuing honor above all else but driven by that value so much that they ignore the bigger picture... indeed, this is something the foolish Skelligers would do."

"Continue, Vatier. I’m a little interested now."