Shadow of the Evil God

Vermir curled his lips. "You're still worried about this? Don't you think there haven't been enough generals with battlefield experience defecting? I have to remind you, Mashik, except for Evered IV's good brother Urbino and his royal relatives. Almost all the generals who experienced the civil war believe that Evered IV betrayed us and are willing to stand on our side. The soldiers under their banners are all the most battle-hardened soldiers in Olidan. Beyond them are those who are trapped in the Kasar Empire in the north and can't return, as well as the various nobles..."

"Why are they stuck in the north and unable to return?" Mashik interrupted him. "I heard that the fighting there has temporarily stopped. If they bring the large number of mercenaries who have not yet left the north with them and head south, we will have a hard time dealing with them."

"Those evil monsters, even more barbaric than the barbarians, are wreaking havoc in the north. I don't think they will come back. In any case, before the news of our uprising spreads, the most important thing is to defend Olidan against the invasion from the north," said Fermire.

"I hope you can

Think carefully, Fermire. "Mashik said to him very seriously, "If we let those evil creatures who are even more barbaric than the barbarians in, it will only be the villages and small towns that will suffer. If they insist on staying in the north and not helping Ever

"Reid IV, then they will all be held accountable later. A rational person, weighing the pros and cons, will not fail to decide which side to sacrifice."

Chapter 140: The rumored wizard does not exist

"Then use your battlefield experience to defeat them," Vermeer said with a wry smile. "This isn't my responsibility in the first place. I've done everything I could in Gonzales over the years. The rest is your responsibility."

"In my experience, failure often happens when everything is about to settle, and you take things for granted."

"I've been the one handling all the dissidents so far. No one has been able to escape, and no one has leaked the information. However, accidents will happen when they are supposed to happen."

"Will such an accident happen again, Vermeer?" Mashik pressed him.

"I can't say for sure, but my men are stationed in the city. They're led by Flos, who's knowledgeable and not prone to impulsive behavior. Even if Cesar dies at the banquet, the militia and local nobles won't cause trouble with them watching over them. By the time word gets out, I think they'll have the situation under control."

Mashik glanced out the window toward the barracks. "Not impulsive? Are you saying Frost and his men are slow to react?"

Vermeer tried to show some refinement to the old man's deliberate and unintentional sarcasm. "I don't need them to act quickly," he said loudly. "I just need them to act cautiously according to orders, understand? That way, we can keep things under control."

"What you mean by having everything under control? You mean ambushing a few crossbowmen and axemen?" Mashik's eyes widened, the wrinkles on his forehead knitting together. "Have you carefully read the reports from the troops? They watched that man stand in the smoke and kill every cavalryman who charged. He kept killing until no one dared to cross the pass anymore. When they thought the flames had reduced him to charcoal, he rose from the ashes, and then no one dared to go up again. That thing called Cesar was not human."

"Those are just some idiot soldiers who can't even write their names. They invent a bunch of inhuman things in every battle!" Vermeer said loudly. "I hope you haven't forgotten that you were once a demon in the rumors, Mashik!"

"I ask you to proceed cautiously, Fermir!" Mashik's booming voice quickly drowned him out, echoing in the empty conference room. "You've already lost our most important supplies. Now, I ask you to invest even more to ensure you can get them back without fail. You know what I mean by investing even more!"

Vermir sneered. He certainly knew what the old general meant, but he didn't want to take on any more responsibility.

"I've already taken out more than one loan from Berlik Bank. You want me to take out another loan to hire those money-hungry Temple assassins? No, forget it, unless you're responsible for the principal and interest."

"This batch of smuggled materials is much more important than a loan," said Mahik. As the old general spoke, he picked up a pen and grabbed a piece of paper.

Vermeer was slightly surprised, "Are you serious?"

Could it be that Mashik still has a rare conscience?

"I'm serious, because I'm going to put this loan in the name of the royal family," Mahik said, and he began to draft the documents in a flamboyant manner. "When we catch Evered IV, before we blind him and send him to a monastery, I think, he'll have to sign a series of documents to settle everything with the royal property."

It seems that he is gone.

"Will you settle the money we spent on overthrowing him?" Vermeer asked him.

"No," the old general denied, "it was to settle the money we spent saving Olidan from this predicament."

"I have my reservations about that," Vermeer said.

Before long, Mahik finished writing the paperwork and stood up to pack his clothes and luggage. "Yes," he said, "I have the loan in place. Take it to the right person. Remember to take good care of the surrendered supplies. Keep them safe from water and rust. I need to leave for the west as soon as possible..." He hesitated, as if remembering something. "No, there's one more thing," he suddenly said.

"what's up?"

Mashik turned his deadly old eyes toward the barracks, then back to Vermeer. "I heard someone say Cesar has a young wizard by his side. Is that true?"

"Where did you hear that?"

"You should have heard the rumors about Noyen."

"No," Vermeer denied. "Ever since Cesar arrived in Gonzales, we've been spying on him and his associates. My spies haven't seen anyone near him who fits the rumors. There's an inconspicuous blonde woman who's been following him. She looks like an exiled noble from the southern part of the empire. During the day, she disguises herself as a musketeer, but at night, she's always at Cesar's residence. I believe she's his only lover."

"you sure?"

"I'm sure," Vermeer waved his hand at the old general, telling him to leave quickly, "the person in the rumor doesn't exist, unless you think

When a person talks to himself, there is actually an invisible ghost hiding beside him. "

......

Cesar looked at Gonzales in the distance, not only a little dazed, but also said that he wanted to take advantage of the situation to seize the Governor's Palace. The real reason was that he wanted to return to their simple residence in the barracks as soon as possible.

, but only a few miles away, he could no longer suppress the sadness that welled up in his heart. When he reached the place where Gonzales's fortress gradually became visible to the naked eye, the thought was quickly swept away and turned into an excitement that was difficult to suppress.

Though the timing wasn't right, he felt a weight lifted from his shoulders, and he became just a human again. To pursue opportunities in this world, he often had to be more than just a human. To achieve more, he had to turn his back on this world and walk further and further away. Returning to his simple home was like escaping from the schoolwork that taught him how to become an adult, and wandering among the flowers with his childhood playmates.

When he first woke up from the altar, he had nothing. He fought and calculated everything he could see to finally reach this position, and he wanted more in the future. However, at the beginning and the end, even in the deepest valley, the person who would discuss how to make life better with him was perhaps the only precious thing in the world.

He knew he was once a child, worried about food with another child in the poor downtown area, staring at each other in silence in the middle of the night, covered in dirt but not caring. But perhaps it was precisely because he knew he was once an ignorant child that he was able to convince himself that a person who had experienced this could better play the role of an adult.

"I hope you'll think carefully about how to take this fortress before you get lost in your thoughts," Ajeh said unseemly. "I'm not interested in your metaphors, Cesar. I just want to see how you get this done as quickly as possible."

"Really? Then I must say, you and I have fought and schemed the most, Ajiehe. No one has done more than you."

"Okay, then I'll eat you the moment you hit rock bottom. That way, you won't have to fight or scheme against anyone anymore."

Chapter 141 This is not surprising

Cesar rode up a steep slope to get a better view of the fortress in the distance. A massive gray wall stood to the north of the stream. Only a single, suspended bridge spanned the deep ravine, allowing access through the gates and into the city. The ravine itself was deep, and the view from the edge was shrouded in a turbulent mist. The rushing waters rolled westward, plunging into the heart of the mountains.

"This place is indeed difficult to break into," someone said behind him, "but it's only difficult to break into from the outside."

He turned around and saw the shrewd princess. She was wearing a hood, and it had to be said that, as long as it covered her long hair, her gender was hard to tell at first glance. Not only was her facial features rather androgynous, but she was also tall. Although young, she was at least a head taller than her mage friend, as tall as Cecia. After all, the latter was a mercenary, and was one of the most physically exceptional.

It is rumored that the royal descendants of the Kasar Empire are generally taller than normal people. When their emperor and young noble women have fun, it looks like a normal person playing with a dwarf. It is not known whether the rumor is true or not.

"Don't talk like I'm Olidan's enemy," Cesar shrugged. "Although I intend to make a fortune from the war, in the future, if we really want to see who is more cruel to this land, I will definitely be ranked last."

"I can see some of it," Altinia said. "Although I've never experienced a real battlefield, most people in the Birth Empire over the years have witnessed its horror firsthand."

"Do you care about Gonzales, Your Highness?"

"First, I want to see you take this fortress with my own eyes—perhaps personally participating in it would be more appropriate. Only then can I decide what to do next. On the other hand, there's been no news from Diana, and I'm eager to know what she discovered and what happened. Aren't you confused? After all, she's taken you through battlefields before, so entering and exiting a fortress like this shouldn't be a problem."

"Yes," Cesar replied, "I was able to delay the entire battle and preserve the captured heavy artillery, almost entirely because she led me to the enemy mage. To be honest, with her ability to use teleportation spells..."

"You seem more determined to keep her than you initially thought."

Cesar paused. "I had many reasons for wanting to sign a contract with her, and this was one of them, that's for sure. While we're not completely dependent on her for everything, she can certainly help us take shortcuts sometimes."

"The premise of using shortcuts is that a person can achieve everything without them. I believe that as long as you perform as you always do on the battlefield, you won't need to do anything else to get what you want."

The more Cesar considered Altinya's words and attitude, the more he felt their conversation resembled his own with Valedo. Altinya was right to win over loyal subordinates, but he had no desire to be loyal to anyone.

With the wisdom of Her Royal Highness, she would sooner or later realize this. He hoped to gain a firm foothold with the help of her status, wealth, and political skills, without having to rely on any existing family. She also hoped to use his ability to start a business, without relying on the family that her father had joined, and also be able to participate in the battle for the succession.

They just want what everyone wants.

etc.

It was a good thing that their hopes had not yet been fulfilled. If they were, with Artinia's wisdom, she would naturally see that he questioned everything from the bottom of his heart. By then, Cesar would not dare to bet that she was an enlightened monarch who would tolerate someone like him in control of the army.

The power of things.

Whether it was exploring Artinya's deeper nature or gauging her political stance, these matters were crucial and must be addressed one by one. As for personal emotions like love and hate, Cesar felt there was a slight chance she might consider them equally important as politics, but this would likely require her unconditional support. If anything went wrong, according to the historical records of the Casal Empire, enlightened monarchs would choose to part ways, while less enlightened monarchs would imprison her, confining her to the inner palace as a concubine or male favorite. As for outright murder, that was a common decision, so common it hardly merited more than a couple of sentences in the history books.

Once people reach a certain status and class and seek to further pursue the unspeakable, they lose their innate gender identity. Cesar believes that in this position, Artinya is neither man nor woman, and cannot represent either side. She only represents the participants in the War of Succession and the royal descendants of the Cathar Empire.

They gazed at Gonzales for a while longer, estimating the military force stationed there, and then Cesar mentioned the book, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

"'The Origin of the State and Political Power'? Their theories have become more elaborate, but nothing surprising," said Artinya. "Have I ever told you about the pre-empire period? The Kasar Empire was once a republic, ruled by a parliament rather than a hereditary monarch."

Cesar decided he needed to reassess her knowledge. "I never knew that," he said.

Altinya smiled softly, her perfectly oval face a beautiful sight. "That's good, since I have very little knowledge to offer you. Perhaps some stories from distant history would be just as well. Let's not discuss how, on another distant continent, the people overthrew the king and established a parliament. However, historical documents handed down from the palace say that after the parliament completely degenerated, it was no different from the king who had been overthrown. It simply changed the people who controlled the country from a hereditary monarch to a series of hereditary nobles, that's all."

Cesar listened patiently to her words and nodded. "What happened next?"

"Later, some people, unable to tolerate the parliament's corruption and monopoly, wanted to mobilize the people to overthrow it. But it wasn't as simple as the nobles overthrowing the king and hanging him at the city gate," said Artinia, looking at the soldiers behind them. "There was a very real problem... they were too submissive. As long as you didn't starve them to death, or as long as you left them a way to survive, whether they were starved or frozen or robbed, they would just sit there and endure, trying to endure all the hardships. Even if one or two died, most people would be glad it wasn't them. The parliament realized this and took full advantage of it. As a result, for a long time, all those who intended to call for rebellion failed."

"From this stage to the time you crossed the ocean to come to this land, something remarkable seems to have happened." Cesar asked her tentatively.

Her Royal Highness nodded slightly. "At the time, a group of mages, unaffiliated with the Council and the various hereditary noble interests... discussed and came to a rather unbelievable conclusion." She glanced toward the mountain stream beyond the fortress. "They wanted to make something extraordinary happen, something so extraordinary that no one could survive in that land. That way, people wouldn't just stay at home and meekly wait out the hardship."

Cesar felt it was time to reevaluate the mages of this world. Compared to a group of mages with extremely radical political aspirations, Istria's Origin Society was a completely harmless academic research group. "I think I understand what you mean," he said. "Compared to the disaster that led to the extinction of the Kuna people, which do you think is more terrifying?"

Chapter 142: Give Her Another Push

"I have to admit, the catastrophe brought upon the Kuna people was so severe that it's unprecedented in our historical records. It wasn't a calamity that could be experienced, but something unspeakable. The mere omen destroyed an incredibly glorious civilization," said Altinya. They stood on the hillside, gazing at Gonzales's fortress through the morning mist. The sky was thick with gloom, and the peaks of the distant mountains were covered with a layer of snow like fish scales.

She measured her tone. "I wouldn't say our history has experienced anything of comparable magnitude, but if we rank the calamity that led to the extinction of the Kuna people, we could fill a whole book with the disasters our civilization has endured. Almost every one of them could have overthrown the Confederacy of the Southern States."

"Why?" Cesar asked her.

Artinia dismounted, leaned against a tree trunk, and plucked a dew-soaked leaf. "Because of mages," she said. "When my ancestors first drifted across the sea, the first thing they did was to curb the Frankish mages who had just risen from the ruins. And so the Orvera School arose. In this era, mages formed a group and focused on academic research. It seems that mages are all obsessed with academic research, but I know that mages are also human. It's impossible for them to have only spell theories in their heads. They do this because their situation allows them to live this way."

As she spoke, she placed the leaf between her lips, sipped it gently, and moistened her rosy lips with the morning dew.

He continued: "In another land that has disappeared, the mages are not only keen on politics, but also keen on realizing their own theories. They regard the civilized land as

It became a testing ground, where they put their own imaginary theories into practice in various terrifying ways."

"You mean, almost all the disasters in your civilization are caused by this?"

"Most of them," she said. "In our historical tradition of recording disasters, the Kuna people would place this first, and the disaster that ultimately crushed us could be ranked third. In the late Republic, a group of mages polluted the lands on which we depended for survival—this incident ranks sixth, because the competitors before that were far more ruthless. While the Council was struggling with complications such as famine, plague, deformed people, and desolate dead zones, another group of mages creatively neutralized the polluted lands. Then, people saw the land eroding and dissolving, the entire plate gradually lowering in elevation, and it never stopped even after it reached sea level. Finally, the seas on all sides formed tsunamis, sweeping towards the central cavity, flooding everything without stopping."

Cesar admitted his curiosity was piqued, "What comes second?"

Altinia glanced at him sideways. "It's a plague of thought. Back then, before the Republic existed, an ancient group of mages created this plague and unleashed it upon various city-states. It's said they wanted to abolish the order between life and death, freeing people's souls from the constraints of the gods. Naturally, the testing ground was the entire civilized world. Over the course of centuries, the souls of millions were drawn into a vast vortex, connecting them together, defying the constraints of space and distance. Complex consciousnesses, merging and splitting, flowed back and forth within the brains of every infected patient, completely paralyzing civilization and ignoring indescribable chaos."

“They all sound like they think they’re doing the right thing,” Cesar said, adding, “It’s hard not to have a knife underneath that determination.”

She used her fingertips to twitch her wet, tangled eyelashes, then twirled them twice. "You said the right thing..."

Cesar was prejudiced against fanatics, but he didn't want to pry into her feelings so quickly. With people like Altinya, everything had to be done slowly.

"Let's not discuss this for now," Altinia continued. "I've noticed you discussing tactics with a lot of people lately. You put forward some general opinions, then combine everyone's ideas to come up with the final tactical plan. Was this also how you made tactical decisions during the previous raid on the smuggling group?"

This question lingered in Cesar's mind for a moment. Honestly, his diligent study of the "Military Essentials" revealed that his own military prowess was no better than that of the loyal subordinate he had deceived, Valedo. His knowledge was still limited, and all he could do was to dig up fragmented memories and impressions, discuss his arguments with Gouzi, and ultimately hand over his general ideas to his group of professional officers, all educated in military academies, to analyze and critique them, and propose detailed proposals. Throughout the rest of the process, he simply stood by, nodding and shaking his head with an inscrutable air, evaluating their ideas one by one.

"I believe the army relies too heavily on the commander's personal abilities, combat experience, and charisma," Cesar said carefully. "Once a commander entrusted with a crucial task suffers an accident or is unable to serve, the entire army's combat effectiveness is severely compromised, and some may even collapse on the spot. You can see this from the changes in the Olidan army after Grand Duke Urbino withdrew from the northern battlefield. In other words, Olidan's invincibility in the north wasn't due to the army itself, but to Urbino's personal abilities, combat experience, and charisma. I think this is inappropriate."

Her Royal Highness stared at him for over half a minute without blinking before she spoke: "If you hadn't just won a battle, I would have politely asked you to change the subject and treat this as a joke. But you did win. Please continue, Monsieur Cesar."

"I hope to organize an institutionalized command method that minimizes the need for a commander's personal ability and charisma. This idea is still just a prototype. Fortunately, each of the young officers assigned to me by Urbino has received a good military education and shares a common training foundation and tactical understanding, making them perfect for me to experiment with my ideas. In every battle I fought in Gonzales, I pushed them to discuss and formulate tactical strategies using a standard process, and then assigned them to implement them."

"The military academy hopes that they can stand on their own on the battlefield, and everyone can win by relying on their own abilities and decisions," said Altiniya.

"Don't you think this is inefficient? Selecting a few military geniuses from hundreds of young officers, and then leaving the rest to retire. I think they can be better utilized, rather than waiting for a Garcia or Urbino to appear one day. The more they practice jointly developing tactics and strategies, the more knowledge they will share and the faster they will promote each other. Moreover, the process itself can be continuously improved, making it more efficient."

Altinya looked down at her gloves, as if doubting what she had learned at the Military Academy. Cesar felt that he might need to give her another push. If she could put the Military Academy aside and treat it as her university, some things would be easier to discuss.

Chapter 143 Students Ask Teachers

"Is this the line you draw between yourself and the current battlefield commander?"

Altinya finally asked.

"what do you mean?"

"Transform the reliance on one or two talented generals into a stable and functioning command system.

"

Cesar thought she was very perceptive, but he still shook his black hair and said, "This is just one part. Taking it out on its own is actually not very useful."

"Part of it?"

"A very small part, or rather, just one link in the whole chain."

Altinya seemed confused. "This transformation is already huge. Are you saying that changing only part of it is meaningless?"

Cesar nodded. "Everything works like a chain of interconnected links, varying in length, yet divided into numerous interlocking links and ties. Some chains are very long and appear fragile, but the links within them are not scarce. If one is missing, a replacement can be quickly found, and even if it breaks, it can be quickly reassembled. Other chains are very short and appear stable, but if one link is lost, there's no way to replace it. Once the chain breaks, you can't reassemble it. You can only make a new, shorter chain."

They turned and looked at the light cavalry and light infantry returning up the hillside, as well as the artillery pulled along by captured heavy cavalry horses.

"What I want to construct is just this long chain," he continued. "From a cursory glance, you can only see that the command method has changed, but to make this long chain operate stably, you need more links. You were watching the battle earlier, right? Did you notice the changes in the trumpet sounds and flags?"

"It's some form of communication."

"Yes," Cesar told her, "to support this system of command, an efficient and stable means of communication is essential. I've designed a standard system of trumpet sounds and flag arrangements to transmit instructions quickly and accurately across the battlefield, so that all troops on the battlefield can function as a unified whole. In the future, I hope to compile this system of instructions into a manual, documenting the patterns and functions of various flags, as well as the different meanings of various trumpet sound frequencies."

"Military flags serve more to boost morale and mark family crests," said Her Royal Highness the Princess.

"This is also something that bothers me," Cesar said. "The people I have now are just descendants of minor nobles. Many of them aren't even the eldest sons, so naturally there's no need to use military flags with family crests. However, once there are too many noble families in the army, military flags embroidered with their respective family crests will be everywhere. This is why I also agreed to recruit mercenaries as the main force. As long as I pay them enough, the mercenaries won't ask me to prepare a lot of meaningless military flags and crests for them."

Her Highness frowned slightly, as if to politely acknowledge his harsh words. "I understand," she said. "But is this just another connection?"

"Yes, there are many other things. I also need efficient methods of gathering and transmitting intelligence. I caught them off guard earlier. On the one hand, I obtained important intelligence from interrogating prisoners, knowing that I could intercept their artillery at a specific time and place. On the other hand, I concealed the whereabouts and destination of the army, so the rebels would think they were only fighting a group of light cavalry and light infantry. If the battle lines are stretched in the future, to maintain this intelligence advantage, we must achieve rapid sharing and transmission between commanders in various locations and the main command post... This concept requires a lot of battlefield mages. Battle mages are said to be inferior products that have been eliminated by the society, but they are still very rare in secular armies."

Altinya looked back toward Gonzales's fortress, as if searching for someone. "If it's just a mage who transmits intelligence, training them might not be difficult. I mean, I could ask Diana for advice and try to organize a relatively simple process, similar to how military academies train officers..."

"Actually, many of these are just ideas," Cesar shrugged. "What I mean is, these ideas aren't necessarily reliable. There's too much speculation, and there's no chance of testing them."

"You mean you don't bring many ideas to the table?"