Sadera

Each day, hundreds of lords and nobles would visit the Imperial castle. The Empire used all its effort and resources to build it as huge and ostentatious as the Empire was able to. Showing their strength to the allied countries. Ensuring their loyalty. After all, the Empire enforced its rule mostly through a show of force, not diplomacy.

The castle was always a busy place to be. Senators, nobles, and courtiers came and went each day, treating politics like a chore.

Under the meetings, they would enjoy delicious foods, graceful dancers, gambling, courting before engaging in dialogues... That was the general feel of it. The nobles might even decide on the deployment of armies based on the number of games they played.

However, in the current situation, this was not the case. Now all of them looked worried. According to what the returning troops had reported, the enemy was not even human. They were more like demons with incredibly powerful magic that shattered the sky, raised the dead and even summoned the demons of Hardy from her underworld residence.

According to the reports, the battlefield was like the gods themselves had allied with each other just to punish the Empire for its sins.

All Senators and Nobles knew the Empire was far from perfect but what had they done to deserve such punishment from the gods? No one knew and because of this, they were afraid. Also, because no one knew what could offend the gods to cause them to rain such punishment, they did not know how to make it right.

This is why no one could appreciate the good music, food and the dancers that the palace offered to its guests. Their stomachs churned and just could not take any of the food and drink after reading the report of the crushing defeats.

After all, they had just lost that which caused the Empire to hold its dominant position among the countries while it was under the reign of Emperor Molt Sol Augustus, their overwhelming military force and wealth.

Even a child would know that these were the reasons that the Empire was feared by many countries.

Now, the Empire could be said to have lost an arm. As the generals and nobles in the court were part of the expedition, there was an enormous amount of casualties.

With such an outstanding number of dead people, the nobles had to spend their day rushing around from one funeral to another. The emperor himself hosted the ceremony with mourning clothes and yet the lazy days of the Imperial Castle continued.

"Your Majesty, the Alliance Army has suffered a major defeat. The dead and missing have reached sixty thousand. If we include the ones who were wounded but are still able to resume their duties, it is around a hundred thousand. The survivors of the Alliance Army have each returned to their respective countries."



Molt

These numbers had not included the ogres, goblins, and giants. The demi-humans which had inferior intelligence were treated like warhorses. Hearing Domestic Minister Marquis Marcus' report, the emperor nodded his head tiredly.

"Just as planned. The cowardly senators who were afraid after we suffered some losses have nothing to worry about anymore. What about the other expedition force?"

The Senator gritted his teeth before answered to his Emperor. "Th-They are mab, my Emperor."

"What?" Emperor Molt eyes widened. "What did you just say?"

" The returning soldiers spoke about some kind of army of gods. Most of them went insane. They said the forces of the gods were coming to destroy empire"

The Emperor sighed hearing the shocking news. "Bring before me the highest ranked survivor." One of his guards saluted respectfully and went to fetch the survivor.

"But Emperor, the movement of the enemies from beyond the Gates is a huge concern. According to our scouts, both enemy armies managed to build a fortified fortress around the structures." The senator continued.

"This is disconcerting. But the Empire has won against greater odds before. The Empire will survive no matter what." Stated Emperor Molt as he supported his head with his fist and looked to the sidelines with a bored expression.

"Forgive me, your majesty. But I do not share your opinion about our situation. I am concerned. It is bad enough our first expedition force has been repelled with such ease. But our second expedition armys' defeat was crushing to the empire. We lost two-fifths our overall military strength."

"Still. It is not a problem in the long term. The distance between the capital and the holy Romalia and Arnus hills is great. We just use this strategic position of ours to our advantage. The enemy will have to penetrate deep into our territory to reach the capital. We will simply use the Scorched Earth tactic combined with attacks upon their supply lines. No army can march without supplies."

The emperor continued.

If the enemies started moving their pieces, all of the cities and villages leading up to the Empire should be burned down, the wells poisoned and the food seized to the last grain of wheat. Therefore, amidst the scorched earth, no army could obtain supplies and thus this will stop their advancement. With this, no matter how strong their army and their mages might be, a chance for them to show their weakness would arise.

If they built strongholds at various locations and forced the enemies to bleed, the enemies would gradually crumble under pressure. Such was the basis of this world's military science.

Make the enemies advance deep into the enemy's territory and hit them when they are tired.

Without a doubt, it was an easily understandable and efficient tactic in any world. However, scorched earth tactics would turn their own lands into crisped soil, and it would be hard to undo the damage. Such tactics disregarded the livelihoods of the people by robbing them of their food and water, and the support of the people would be lost. Thus, the people would have resentment towards the government that would last for generations. Considering all these cons, it was hard to issue such orders politically. However...

"But...the tax revenue would decrease."

Marquis Marcus used a reserved manner to articulate the damage that would be done to the people.

The emperor only said "Hmph. Just cancel a few planned parades and postpone the plans for the Imperial Villa." and with this, Emperor Molt dismissed the concerns.

For the mighty Empire, the suffering of the people and the approval of the citizens were merely trivial details.

"There was talk of Marquis Casel making a fuss."

"Why do I have to care about Marquis Casel's sanity?"

"It seems like he and some of the senators are conspiring to declare a state of emergency counsel."

The Senate's counsel could veto the orders from the emperor. The Senate even had the power to dismiss the emperor.

In the history of the Empire, the number of cases where the thrones of emperors were threatened due to the counsel from the Senate was not low.

"Hmph, how interesting. Just let them do what they want. Who knows, this may be a chance to round up all of those conspirators at the same time. Order the Privy Council to look into this matter."

Marcus had an astonished expression on his face for a second, but he still bowed respectfully towards the emperor.

The emperor's weapon against the Senate was the crime of treason. It required the Privy Council to present evidence to sentence them.

"It seems like many have taken the privilege of being a Senator for granted. It looks like it's time to remove the weeds."

Marquis Marcus bowed his head respectfully.

Suddenly, a voice that was clear as a bell cut through the quiet air in the palace.