After my rebirth, Miss Saint turned evil

After all, there were even people in this army who had been holding farm tools and fishing nets until yesterday, but today they picked up guns.

Of course, Mattia knew this too.

However, even though she fully understood all of this, she still said that this battle must be won completely.

Although the soldiers and officers all had their own thoughts, they should still be able to understand Mattia's true meaning, especially those who did not interrupt.

In any case, if the Church of Heraldry were to face the Kingdom of Leiden or the Cathedral head-on right now, no one would think that they could win.

And this is indeed the case. The gap in military strength is obvious, and the quality of soldiers and equipment is so poor that it is arrogant to even compare them.

After all, from the perspective of power, this is a confrontation between countries and cities.

Because of this, it is very necessary to go all out and win a complete victory in the first battle.

Because the Church of Heraldry must completely crush the advance troops of the Cathedral in this battle and tell the world: The Church of Heraldry is not a force that can be trampled upon easily and without damage.

If possible, perhaps pressure could be put on the nobles and princes who were not in favor of war, and they could be made to put forward the view that the next war should at least be prepared after the cold period, because it would be abnormal to start a war during the cold period.

All in all, this is a war that can never be won, so we must buy as much time as possible. It's perfect, it's really a wonderful passive strategy.

"If it's a 20,000-man advance force, there shouldn't be any national defenders, just a few generals at most. So it's not a big deal, the situation is pretty good."

On the side, Filia raised her eyes slightly and spoke in a light-hearted tone with a proud tone.

So, is what she said true?

At least as far as Murphy is concerned, he doesn't remember participating in a war with several generals when he was a mercenary.

Mattia said in a loud voice: "Tell the people around you well," while spreading a large map on the military table with both hands and continued.

"This battle is crucial: the city of Philos, which is only a few days' drive from here. This city will be the key to victory or defeat."

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There are many words used to refer to the city of Philos, and the most common one is "weather vane".

The city of Philos happens to be one of the cities located in the narrow strip of land between the forces, and the surrounding plains can easily become the main battlefield of various battles.

Therefore, the city is often questioned by its surroundings about its position and asked, "Which side are you on?"

Sometimes the problem came from the Kingdom of Leiden, sometimes from the independent city-states, and sometimes from the Garcia Empire controlled by the Cathedral.

In short, as the name Weathervane suggests, Philos tends to stand on the side of the strong and gradually establish his position.

Plus, Philos is indeed a valuable partner, so it will always be forgiven as an autonomous city.

Therefore, rather than asking whether the citizens of Philos belong to any particular country, it is more accurate to say that the citizens themselves have a stronger sense of belonging to the city of Philos.

Despite being given the ignominious name of a weather vane, it still strives to function as an autonomous city, perhaps because of the sentiments of its citizens.

Then, today, Philos once again needed to see which way the wind was blowing, as if this was the city's destined fate.

"...We have received requests for assistance from both the Grand Cathedral and the Heraldic Order. What should we do, Lord Filos?"

In the city of Philos, each generation of rulers who inherit the city will be called Philos.

I don’t know when this tradition was formed, I only know that it has been like this since ancient times.

Philos, the contemporary ruler, was slumped in her chair. After hearing the report, she sighed deeply, as if lamenting everything in the world. Why did it become like this?

"So, what does the People's Association think?"

Philos tilted his head slightly and narrowed his eyes.

That nonchalant attitude was as if he already knew what the officer would say next.

As if afraid of Filos's presence, the officer lowered his voice slightly and spoke slowly.

"Yes, Lord Filos. The people will say that as an autonomous city, Filos has no need to participate in any of these actions."

"The People's Association really likes to talk nonsense."

Before the officer finished his report, Philos, who was resting his chin on his elbow, muttered to himself.

"Don't they know that a weak city like Philos can't achieve self-government on its own?"

"Until now, the only reason Philos has been able to gain autonomy is because we are always controlled by the powerful and kneel at their feet."

Yes, the city of Philos always leans towards the strong, just like a weather vane that knows which way the wind is blowing.

In return for obeying the strong, Philos's autonomy can be recognized by other countries.

Therefore, the idea that Philos was not an independent city but an autonomous metropolis is closer to the truth.

The official was confused by his master's words and whispered as if trying to understand his master's mood.

"So, Lord Filos intends to assist the Grand Cathedral?"

That's only natural, considering the path the city has taken so far—submitting to the strong and coercing the weak, and in this way, the city has survived.

Philos was lost in thought, his shoulders drooping, and he touched his lips with his fingers.

"Who knows? Even though it's a battle between dragons and lizards, it depends on which side looks the best."

After taking a breath, Philos narrowed his eyes and continued.

"But it would be ugly if you hugged the dragon's feet and ended up getting trampled to death."

There was a glint in the crooked pupils of the contemporary ruler Philos. The words themselves were not very tough, but those eyes were strangely filled with confidence.

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This is the eighth chapter updated today. Today’s update totals 2 words, which can be considered a burst of updates, right?

Actually, I had originally planned to post (write) these chapters tomorrow, but after dinner I suddenly realized that they were over one million words.

After thinking about it carefully, I decided to just write what I was going to write tomorrow in advance, just as a way to celebrate the book breaking the one million word mark by updating it frequently.

As for the update tomorrow (the 30th), please allow me to take a break for a while.

It's not that I'm done, I'm just taking a break and will update again when I wake up (not necessarily, maybe if everyone votes for me I can update two more chapters_(:з」∠)_)

Thank you all for your continued support.

Chapter 20 Two pieces of news

The autonomous city ruler Philos tapped his fingers twice on the table, making a dry sound.

The clerk watched the movement with an intense expression, naturally lowering his gaze, as did all visitors to Philos's office.

It wasn't a sign of respect for Philos, nor was it some unique courtesy, it was simply out of pure fear.

The ruler of the autonomous city of Philos is named Philos Tret.

Tret is the family name of the people who have ruled this city for generations. The city's name is Philos, and the ruler's name is Tret. Each generation of rulers inherited these two names.

It is natural for her to feel awe towards someone with this name, after all, citizens have such feelings towards their rulers.

However, when looking at the contemporary Philos, there was still a mixed feeling as if he was avoiding something horrible.

The reason lies in her background and experience.

The contemporary Philos is actually not the biological child of the ruling Tret family, but an adopted child. She rarely shows up in public and is only seen as a stunker of the Tret family.

Before this person became the real Philos, most citizens knew nothing more than rumors about her.

Originally, it was impossible for her to become the heir.

After all, she has dozens of brothers and sisters. Although her eldest brother, who was supposed to inherit the name of Philos, is an ordinary person, that is not a big problem. She still has the ability to govern the city well with the help of the people around her.

Therefore, no one expected that she would eventually become the ruler. All along, the citizens only knew that this person would "enter into a political marriage somewhere sooner or later."

——Until the day she came of age, all the members of the Trett family except her died suddenly.

That was truly horrifying. If it was just a murder targeting an heir, it would have been commonplace among the upper class.

However, in the end, no one knows about murder and no one knows who did it.

Despite this, she killed everyone in the Trett family except herself, as if she was deceiving herself.

Then, what frightened the citizens the most was that despite such an unusual situation, the old followers who served the lord did not raise any objections and directly acknowledged her as the only one left as the contemporary Philos.

There was no hesitation during the entire process, as if everything had been decided long ago.

The day after that event, the contemporary Philos Trete began to wield the whip as ruler.

Because of this, those who serve her and those who come into contact with her are always filled with lingering fear.

Sooner or later, will I suddenly die? Such a death would be meaningless and forgotten the next day, right?

Everyone will involuntarily feel this fear when facing her.

"Okay, it's decided."

Philos's fingers, which were tapping on the table, suddenly stopped, and he spoke.

The officer finally straightened up and looked at Philos who was sitting behind the desk.

A faint glimpse of shining light can be seen through the lens on the right eye.

Maybe it's congenital, but Philos's right eye seems to be amblyopic, and the white in his pupil is very dark.

This rare eye color and the monocle he wore to correct it were also one of the reasons why the citizens kept their distance from Philos.

If someone were stared at by those white eyes, no one would be able to imagine that they were being looked at by a human being, let alone imagine that the other person was a being of the same blood.

The officer's clenched palms began to sweat unconsciously, and his throat felt very dry.

But Philos seemed unaware of the officer's state of mind and spoke calmly.

"—Send a messenger to the commander of the Cathedral Army. I'll write the letter. That's all."

After hearing this, the officer couldn't help but speak. It was more like he said this reflexively than thinking of something.

"Lord Philos, are you going to write it yourself?"

However, just after he finished saying this, an expression appeared on the officer's face, as if he had said something he shouldn't have said and was doomed.

Because the modern Philos hates people talking about his actions even more than in previous generations.

Saying such a thing might lead to unnecessary reprimands. Just thinking of this, the officer lowered his eyes in fear.

However, it was only natural for the officer to say this.

After all, the only person who could make the lord personally hold the pen and write ink on parchment was someone of higher status than the lord.

That is an action that is only done to high-ranking nobles and royal families, so why is the lord writing a personal letter to the general of an army now?

This is the job of the affairs officer. As the lord, Philos only needs to explain the content clearly.

The officer looked at Filos with trepidation, his single white eye revealing no emotion.

"Although nominally the army is sent by the Cathedral, it's actually the army of the Kingdom of Leiden, right? As a great power on land, the autonomous city of Philos is also part of the territory of the Kingdom of Leiden, so corresponding etiquette must be followed."

Philos seemed to feel that any words beyond that were meaningless, so he picked up a pen from the table and began to write.

Seeing that she didn't want to talk anymore, the officer immediately bowed and walked out of the office quickly.

Indeed, what Philos said makes sense and is not wrong.

However, a certain inexplicable emotional knot still remained in the officer's heart.

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As the general leading the advance troops of the Cathedral, Old Jed sat in the tent quietly waiting for two pieces of news, with a slight shadow appearing on his wrinkled face.

If we continue marching for a few more days, we will reach a plain suitable for use as a battlefield.

If they wanted to crush the Heraldry army, since they had the advantage in numbers, it would be most appropriate to stay in that position.

But in order to wait for news, Old Jed still set up his formation a little further away from the plain.

Old Jed sat in the tent with a small amount of wine on his lips.

Suddenly, the sound of steady footsteps, typical of soldiers, began to knock on his ears.

It seems that a message has arrived.

"Captain Gerard, an envoy from the autonomous city of Philos has replied to your letter."

Hearing the still cold voice of Adjutant Neymar, Old Jed reached out and took the parchment.

The writing style was rather bland, but at least to old Jed, this letter was much more appealing than those clerks with strange etiquette.

The content did not deviate from the predictions—while the Cathedral's troops were welcome, further discussions were desired regarding cooperation.

In fact, the meaning of this content is that the other party is trying to avoid our request in every possible way.