Chapter 382 - Raising
Joshua got a new message from Frost Owl the next day while he was working on Avatar.
"The inquisitors got what they deserved."
It was a calm summary of what had happened. But reading between the words, it was clear that there had been bloodshed.
Joshua's "whispers of the devil" to encourage her had had a rather frightening effect…
The princess of the Nation of Frost had done more than just cause civil unrest.
If nothing else, Joshua's continued incitement would probably destroy the relationship between the Nation of Frost and the Holy Church.
"What are you going to do next?" Joshua typed tentatively.
"There could still be many inquisitors disguised as my friends, so …"
Frost Owl seemed unable to finish the remaining part of her sentence and just sent it like that, while also attaching a awkward owl emoji.
Her friends … Joshua suspected that Frost Owl was referring to the various aristocrats and generals in the Nation of Frost.
The amount of information revealed in this brief message made Joshua instantly understand why the Nation of Frost was at war with the Demon Realm.
The biggest and most logical reason for the war was that the Nation of Frost simply bordered the Demon Realm.
On the Nation of Frost's border, in the Cold Wind Plains, there was a never-ending rift in space that allowed easy travel between the Demon Realm and the main world.
This was why the ancestors of the demons had built a fortress in the rift location to defend themselves against human invasions.
But now, there could be another explanation: the Nation of Frost's upper echelons had been replaced by inquisitors.
This was one of the most frightening possibilities envisioned by Joshua.
The inquisitors' ability to disguise themselves could easily achieve this. If his hypothesis was correct, one of the world's largest nations could very well have been turned into a puppet of the Holy Church.
"Your decision is right. What the inquisitors have done must not be condoned." Joshua immediately gave her an encouraging reply.
As the princess had grown up in Norland as a child, she had escaped possible death and replacement by inquisitors. Her existence gave the Nation of Frost hope of freeing itself from the inquisitors' control.
Joshua didn't know how much military power Frost Owl held, but she could maybe sweep away those inquisitors for Joshua.
With enough luck, there would come a day where Frost Owl became the queen of the Nation of Frost. When that happened, the centuries-long war between the demons and the Nation of Frost could come to an end.
She was a turning point!
"But I am threatened not only by the inquisitors, but also by those dangerous demons."
Frost Owl looked hesitant, as if she wanted to reveal her true identity to Joshua but was wary of doing so.
Well, it seemed that Frost Owl had a strong prejudice against the demons as well. But it would only take a little time for Joshua to change her mind.
It wouldn't be the first time Joshua had made a girl from Norland accept demons.
"I don't know enough about your situation to give you much advice. I guess the only way I can help you is to find some interesting news on the magic network to help you relax." Joshua replied immediately.
"Well, that book you recommended last time was very ... interesting."
Frost Owl's tone changed instantly, no longer mentioning anything related to inquisitors. Joshua took this opportunity to start his 'geek girl cultivation plan'.
...
In the border fortress of the Demon Realm.
"Woman, are you not afraid of him?"
Knox Annerlaude stood in front of the fortress's dungeon, which was used to house human prisoners.
There was a time of the year when the blizzards of the Cold Winds Plain would calm down. Whenever that happened, the plains transformed into a battleground between humans and demons.
That period of the year was fast approaching, so many human spies from enemy nations had come to spy on them.
The five humans in the dungeon had just been captured by Knox's men.
What surprised Knox was that, of the five prisoners, a woman who was a head shorter than the others was sitting in the dungeon cell without fear, despite being in front of a Sin Demon.
Knox scanned the other four humans. The soldiers huddled in the corner were shivering at the sight of the Sin Demon beside him.
This reaction pleased Knox to no end.
This was how it should be. Those cowardly humans should cower in fear of Sin Demons. Knox would always be pleased when they appeared on the battlefield, spitting out their iconic, ghostly green flames capable of reducing humans to ashes.
But the human girl, sitting in the middle of the dungeon, didn't fear the Sin Demon beside Knox.
"Why should I be afraid of this cat? I shook hands with this cat back in Norland."
The female soldier looked up at Knox, unwavering.
Norland? Knox remembered it as a city in the middle of the human world. When he was a boy, a demon marshal had once told him "If we can take Norland, we can rule over the human world".
Therefore, back when he was young, leading an army to conquer Norland had been Knox's ultimate goal. But now that he was an adult, Knox realised that he was still underestimating the humans.
The armies of the Nation of Frost were so overwhelmingly powerful that Knox hardly had any room for breathing. Over the years, the magic used by humans had also become increasingly powerful and dangerous.
But still, what did this female soldier mean? That a Sin Demon had appeared in the human city of Norland and had shaken hands with a human …
What would be the difference between that and a monkey in a cage?
What she was trying to say was that humans had captured a Sin Demon.
"I don't have much time for lies." Knox was not angered by the woman's words.
As the woman was about to open her mouth to refute that she was not lying, the space inside the dungeon suddenly deformed and a portal was formed.
Another Sin Demon emerged from the portal.
"Voss."
Knox recognised the Sin Demon as one of the commanders he had sent on a supply mission to the capital.
General Voss half-kneeled before Knox and gave him information about the supply mission.
"A famine ... and supplies that were bought from humans?"
Knox quickly grasped the two key points in General Voss's report.
"Has my naïve sister finally managed to cooperate with humans?"
"No … it is more than cooperation."
General Voss recalled what he had seen and heard in the royal city. The normally straightforward general hesitated for a few seconds, but in the end told Knox everything.
"What? Humans have entered the royal capital?!"
The news was far more shocking to Knox, even more than the fact that the Nation of Frost's army was preparing to attack.
"You didn't stop the Second Princess!?"
A terrible pressure spread from Knox's body. The humans who had been hiding in the corners of the dungeon seemed to sense it, causing them to cover their heads in fear.
"Yes but, Your Highness, those humans were demon worshippers." General Voss shook his hand as he said this, the sight of the human girl groping his fleshy paws still echoing in his mind.
… General Voss had liked those human looks of admiration and affection more than those human expressions warped from fear.
"You shook hands with them?"
After hearing the rest of General Voss's story, Knox sensed that something was not right.
"I have to go back to the royal capital myself," he said.
Knox's eyes turned to the female soldier in the dungeon.
The expression on the girl's face seemed to tell him, 'See, I told you it was true, didn't I?'
"General Voss, put runestone shackles on this woman. I'm taking her back to the city with me," said Knox.