After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

It was a crazy plan, but Elena had to admit that if they occupied the palace and their supply lines were not cut off, the war could easily turn from an offensive siege into a war of attrition.

March is the most suitable time, when the weather will warm up and all kinds of supplies can be transported by river to the heart of the capital.

The advantage of a war of attrition is that, with ample supplies, the Northern Army can use its powerful crossbows and Molotov cocktails to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy, thus avoiding the casualties that its own soldiers would have to suffer in sieges and street battles.

However, to implement this tactic, scouts must be sent out constantly, carefully concealing the secret passages while figuring out the entire palace's defense system.

Given that the king had been abandoned by them, Oswald believed that these monsters would place greater emphasis on the defense of the outer city walls than on the palace.

Upon hearing this, Elena bit her lip, turned around, pointed to herself, and then used her finger to lift Oswald's chin.

Oswald nodded. Yes, the only scouts who met the criteria were the two of them, and tonight was just the first tentative reconnaissance.

After a quick search of several places, Oswald disposed of the body and, on his way back, resealed the entrance with mud.

A light mist rose from the snow in the woods, and the lantern in Elena's hand illuminated the path beneath their feet.

"The enemy is deliberately stalling for time. We can't wait for them to present a mystery and then solve it. The key is to grasp the core issue, reunite all of humanity, take the lead in establishing a new nation, and force those monsters to face our blades."

Oswald spoke slowly, saying that the system headquarters wanted the power of the God of Lust, and the Goddess of Life wanted to create an undead race that could carry souls, in order to further expand her power.

Caught in such a precarious situation, Oswald was already walking on thin ice.

However, from a holistic perspective, the Goddess of Life presents a better entry point. Firstly, she doesn't have the same unparalleled advantages in undead research as I do; secondly, even the goddess isn't entirely free to act as she pleases, at least not yet as the player in this game, she hasn't secured the opportunity to personally intervene.

Oswald didn't know what the goddess was waiting for, so he couldn't afford to wait and see any longer.

The goddess's plan had been going smoothly, and the tragedy in the Elf Kingdom had already occurred, but the key figure, Thorne, had not yet shown up. If only she had castrated him back then.

Sensing the Duke's heavy heart, Elena lowered her head and grasped his large hand. "But my lord, if our oppression allows these monsters to spread, then..."

"Then let them spread." Oswald's tone was more solemn than ever before. "All southern front troops must be prepared that, should such a situation occur, the entire army must wage a massive encirclement and suppression campaign across the entire country."

"Under special circumstances, we can bring in the elves' reinforcements. After acquiring the wealth of the royal palace, we must also increase our acquisition of dwarven slaves. The northern territory cannot support it, so we can establish dwarven settlements in the eastern and western territories."

Upon hearing this, Elena looked enlightened; she hadn't expected the Duke to be planning for such a distant future.

In the future... humans and dwarves will build a powerful new nation together, with the Elf Kingdom as an ally. In ten years, no, only five, they will be able to wipe out the Demon Kingdom and completely establish their dominion over this continent.

Oswald, upon returning to the garrison of the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Division, did not choose to rest.

He first arranged for Federico to send out a team of elite scouts to closely observe the situation in the secret passage, and then began to work out a detailed plan while working on the sand table.

Federico's regiment was just the vanguard. To truly establish a foothold in the palace, he would need at least a regiment of elite soldiers to assist in defending the city, as well as a large number of auxiliary troops to ensure logistical stability.

At the same time, the strategic center also needs to be shifted. Kate's Second Division needs to be moved forward to guard against the monsters' garrison outside the city, and the Knights Division must also be reassembled to prevent the enemy from making a desperate last stand.

The Fourth Division can defend the flanks by dispersing its troops in battalion and company formations, ready to pursue the fleeing monsters at any time.

Oswald planned to have the 1st Regiment of the 3rd Division, which was rapidly expanding in the Eastern Territory, assist Federico in capturing the Royal Palace, while the entire 3rd Division would serve as the general reserve, ready to support the battlefield in the Royal City.

We also need to inform the elves. The elven kingdom has already begun many collaborations with the Eastern Territory. In order to raise funds for the reconstruction of the country, General Serfland plans to establish an agricultural zone and exchange agricultural products for wealth.

The militia newly organized by Arion and others will need to wait until the ice jam season in March next year to travel south with logistical supplies and establish a logistical system.

The arrival of the militia marked the start of the third siege of the royal city.

Orders were issued one after another. When Oswald came to his senses, he found that the water glass in front of him was empty. Elena, who had taken a nap, walked over and poured him a cup of hot tea.

Oswald looked out at the sky; the sunlight reflected off the snow, creating a dazzling white glow. The weather did not warm up because of the sun's presence.

In fact, because the sun is consistently positioned at eight or nine o'clock, this year is colder than usual.

Oswald stretched and took a sip of hot tea to refresh himself, but the usually quiet military camp suddenly erupted into a commotion.

"What happened?"

Without looking up, Oswald continued to keep his eyes fixed on the sand table, looking for any loopholes in the plan.

He did hear the women arguing, and if Federico couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation, he wouldn't mind hanging him up and giving him a good beating.

"My lady..." Elena lifted the curtain, her expression somewhat strange. "It's a group of nuns. They want the soldiers to stop killing the monsters."

"Um?"

Oswald snorted coldly and slowly raised his face, which was now grim from staying up all night.

Translate this: what does it mean to stop killing monsters? In which holy book did these clergy find such a niche phrase?

I can tolerate your love for black and cats, but what's with your love for monsters? Is your masochistic system kicking in again?

"My dearest Secretary General, please convey to Federico that this is the Northern Army's camp. If he doesn't arrest these men within five minutes, I wouldn't mind sending him to guard the gate somewhere else."

Elena nodded, and within two minutes of leaving, she quickly suppressed the noisy shouts.

Two minutes later, more than ten nuns were bound tightly and led into Oswald's tent one by one.

"We want to see the Holy Maiden!"

The lead nun with tea-colored hair raised her neck and struggled against the ropes binding her hands.

Oswald didn't look at them, but simply handed a small flag to Elene and helped her set up the sand table before he spoke with a smile.

"Saintess? Which saintess? Is it the Blood-Clad Saintess Maria, or the Miracle Saintess recently conferred upon her by the royal city?"

The tea-haired nun paused for a moment, then shouted again, "We want to see Saint Jane!"

Pulling back Eileen, who was about to erupt, Oswald finally raised his head, casting a cold glance at her. He'd almost forgotten that, without the Archbishop, Janice seemed to truly be their supreme leader.

"Jenny is recuperating in Ice City, while this is territory under the jurisdiction of the Northern Army. I expect you to provide a reasonable explanation for your attack on the military camp."

With that, Oswald waved his hand, and a prison cart stopped right at the entrance of the tent.

Most of the nuns trembled violently; they hadn't expected these soldiers to actually dare punish them. Only the brown-haired nun continued to argue, "You...you can't kill those monsters! They used to be human!"

Oswald rubbed his temples, and before he could speak, he heard Eleanor's deep voice order, "Suppress them all! Investigate! Find out who's behind this!"