19. The Burning of the Ishtar River (Part 1)_1

The expedition had ended.

Although the mainstream voice said that "the war was about to welcome a great victory," and news of military triumphs kept coming from the front lines, the expedition, in fact, had reached its end.

The biggest link that brought countries together to set aside their differences and jointly launch a "holy war" against the Duchy was the long-standing contradictions between humans and orcs involving race, faith, territory, and more. By sharing a common cause under the human faction and calculating post-war benefits distribution, the countries with their own set of contradictions could join hands.

But imperceptibly, this link had already begun to tear.