"Such an ingenious design!"
Einar couldn't help admiring the exquisite design of Stormveil Castle. Compared with his ordinary small castle, Stonewell City's majestic, strong and artistic city walls are as shocking as the scenery he saw at the Royal palace with the former southern great lord Rabs when he was brought along as a favor during his childhood.
After the meeting with Einar was over, Kenneth was responsible for taking him to the guest room of the castle to temporarily settle down, and at the same time let him visit the castle scenery that he had no time to enjoy due to his hurry on the way here. Originally, Siduri wanted to show him around personally. After all, strictly speaking, Einar was the first nobleman to defect to Marika's side, but Marika was reluctant to give Siduri more work. Although Siduri is the head priest, her job is actually closer to that of a prime minister, and she needs to take care of all the various matters in the kingdom. Already busy with work, Marika didn't want her to die from overwork like her former boss, Gilgamesh, so Marika and her other ministers tried to share the workload for her as much as possible. It's just that Siduri's somewhat workaholic personality made her unconsciously want to find more work for herself. With such a dedicated and diligent subordinate, Marika really has to thank Ladybug for his good luck so that she got the chance to summon her.
"Isn't it? Stormveil City, rebuilt by Her Majesty herself with her divine power, it is naturally the best castle."
Hearing Einar's exclamation, Kenneth proudly raised his chest and introduced. The thought of being able to serve in the court of the god he believed in made his face brighten.
"Rebuilt?"
Einar couldn't help feeling puzzled when he heard this keyword. He had heard rumors that Marika used divine powers to build the city under their feet, but he hadn't heard of another Stormveil city before.
"Oh—that's right. You are not familiar with the history of this city. Then, my friend, I, Kenneth Hyde, the heir to the position of Lord Limgrave, shall introduce give you a brief introduction!"
Kenneth said in his usual theatrical tone.
"I'm all ears, Sir Kenneth."
Einar, who has experience in the officialdom, is not surprised by Kenneth's strange tone. There are many people who speak like this in the officialdom. And the other party is his future colleague, a noble who serves the same monarch. He could afford to lend his ear albeit his strange way of speaking.
"It is said that the city of Stormveil in the past was ruled by a powerful lord named the Storm King. He commanded the power of the storm and his storm knights that allowed him to dominate Limgrave. Later, Her Majesty's glorious Golden Dynasty rose, and its first Elden Lord, Godfrey, set out in conquest to unify the Lands Between. No Lord could stamp up to his might, and the King of Storms was naturally defeated by the might of the Golden Dynasty. His castle naturally also was taken into Her Majesty's rule. The silver armored knights you see now are the very same Storm Knights who defected to Her Majesty..."
Kenneth explained with eloquence. Einar also listened attentively, but he didn't understand a lot of things in it, so he had no choice but to interrupt Kenneth who was talking eloquently.
"Sir Kenneth, please forgive me for interrupting you. But I have never heard of many characters and places in your story. Before continuing your story, can you explain it to me first?"
"Oh! I'm sorry, my friend! I've made you confused by babbling on my own. Please allow me to apologize to you, Sir Einar!"
Kenneth apologized to Einar with a theoretical bow.
"Ah! It's okay, Sir Kenneth, I don't mind."
Einar was also a little embarrassed when he saw Kenneth's exaggerated performance.
"That's good. As compensation, let me explain it to you! Where part of the narrative are you puzzled about?"
"Well... then let's start with the the Lands Between"
"Well, of course I would like to tell you about our home. The Lands Between is located in the deepest part of the Uro Forest, a fertile land. It is the birthplace of the Golden Dynasty and the place where the first Erdtree grew. It's just that the Lands Between in recent times had gradually become unlivable, so Her Majesty brought our people to settle here."
Kenneth explained to Einar what Marika told all the ministers. According to intelligence, even one-fifth of the area of the Uro Forest has not been explored by all the countries, which shows its vast scope. Moreover, there are many monsters in the depths of the forest, making it impossible for the various countries to determine what is inside. This way, no one can object to Marika's statement that they came from the Uro forest.
"So that's it! Then Limgrave and the original Stormveil City are also one of the territories of the Lands Between?"
"That's correct Sir Aina!"
"What about the Elden Lord? He sounds extraordinary!"
Einar asked next.
"Ughhhh... this..."
This question was really difficult for Kenneth to handle, and his whole person froze in hesitation. Godfrey is a touchy subject for the Golden Dynasty, although everyone reveres the founding king. But he who was exiled by Marika, counting Radagon as well, strictly speaking, Godfrey became Marika's ex-husband. It is most troublesome to explain this kind of thing to the newly recruited Einar, and it runs the risk of ruining Malika's reputation. Kenneth regretted that he slipped his tongue so carelessly.
"This... ahaha! I don't know the full story of this character very well! After all, this is a very old story before I was born, and many details are unclear. The elders of my family didn't explain clearly..."
"Oh... I understand then. Let's change the subject."
Hearing Kenneth's lame concealment, Einar chose not to pursue it further. After all, looking at Kenneth's attitude, he knew that the Elden Lord was a taboo topic in the Golden Dynasty. If he didn't want to get into trouble, he had better not know too much.
"Ah! That's right! Let's change the subject!"
Kenneth was relieved to see that Einar didn't pursue it any further.
"Why don't I tell you about my family history! It started hundreds of years ago..."
Seeing that Kenneth started chatting again, Einar could only shake his head with a smile, and followed up with his chattering colleague.
two days later...
It finally came the day of the expedition. This time, Marika decided to go on the expedition herself in order to be safe. This time the lineup is Artorius, Achilles, Melina, Ladybug, Siduri, 10 Lyndel Knights, 100 Lyndel Soldiers, 5,000 exiled soldiers, 5 Banished Knights, 900 servants, 100 newly trained apprentice Glintstone mages, a Tree Sentinel, two golem guards, and Einar who is in charge of leading the way. The rest of the troops will be led by Morgott, who will be responsible for governing and defending the area of Stormveil City while Marika was away. Based on Marika's consideration of his performance during the War of the Shattering, Marika believes that Morgott is more suitable as a defender, and with his strength, he can also command Agheel, who was deliberately left behind by Marika as a means of defense.
The three apprentices of Artorius were also left in the city after he arranged a training schedule for them.
This time, Marika thinks that her roster are the most important candidates to pacify the southern province of Inrud. Moreover, as Marika planned, she had to teleport back to Stormveil City in advance of the final siege on Stank to repel the Royal Army's sneak attack, so this army must be able to continue to battle on effectively without her.
As for the battle plan, it is much simpler. Capture the two cities of the retainers of the Barry family as quickly as possible. After successfully capturing them, they rested in Einar's territory for a week before launching a general attack on the Southern lord's city.
The time to set off is in the morning. The sun was just rising, and the sunlight was shining on the armor of the Exiled Army at the south gate, making them faintly reflect the sunlight and making them look as mighty as ever. There are many soldiers among the army who missed out in the defense of Uro City last time, so they are all gearing up for this expedition, waiting to show their talents. An army of more than 6,000 may not seem like a lot, but they are all blessed and strong Erdtree soldiers. Among them, there are generals such as the Tree Sentinel, Artorius, and Achilles, whose strength cannot be underestimated.
For important personnels, Siduri, Melina, Ladybug, and a group of mages were sandwiched in the middle of the team, protected by the Tree Sentinel and Achilles.
And the leader of this army, Marika, is at the front of the team. She was still dressed in her usual attire, riding on the tall spectral steed Torrent now in horse armor. Her blond hair dances in the morning wind, and her army in the background gives her a heroic aesthetic. By her side is Artorius who is protecting her, and Einar who is leading the way.
Einar has now replaced his old Inrude-style knight light armor and replaced it with a spare set of Lyndel knight armor. He moved his right arm, marveling at the advanced quality of the Golden Dynasty's armor. This kind of armor with both beauty and practicality is rare in the capital of the kingdom. While he was admiring, his eyes turned to Marika. Looking at her beautiful face and long golden hair dancing in the wind, he couldn't help but be entranced for a while.
But he soon realized his gaffe, and quickly shook his head to get rid of his distracting thoughts.
'Damn it, Einar! Don't be distracted! You swore to save Lydia! She must still be waiting for me now! '
Einar reminded himself in his heart.
At this moment, Morgott walked towards Marika with his cane.
"Your Majesty, do you have to personally go on this conquest this time?"
"Well, we still don't know a lot about the Kingdom of Inrud. In order to avoid any accidents, I must be on the front line to ensure the smooth operation of this battle."
"But Your Majesty, I really dare not compare with Your Majesty in governing Stormveil City!"
Morgott continued to insist on worrying.
'Could it be that he has no confidence in himself? '
Marika noticed. But she already had a solution in her mind. She leaned down, gently patting Morgott's head with a smile, and said softly:
"Don't worry, I believe you can do it son!"
"Mother...very well, I understand. Then I wish your Majesty the best of luck."
Feeling the gentle confidence in that head pat, Morgott finally stepped aside despite how worried he was. But being touched by his mother still warmed his heart.
Seeing that her consolation worked, Marika turned her attention back to the expedition.
She sat up straight, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then shouted loudly to the army behind her:
"Move out!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The 6,000 men behind her responded loudly.
Marika nodded in satisfaction, slightly kicked Torrent's belly, and Torrent followed her will to move forward.
The Southern Expedition of the Golden Dynasty has officially started!
After one day…
The army of the Erdtree marched orderly and steadily. Their uniform steps brought a slight vibration to the earth. Soldiers keep their eyes peeled for any surprise attack.
Just as they passed a forest, Marika's forehead suddenly felt a sensation akin to an electric shock.
'The newtype sensor has responded! '
Marika was startled, and quickly scanned the surroundings with clairvoyance. Sure enough, in the woods on the far left side of the team, she noticed that there were plants being pushed, and it was the sound of someone moving! And there are a lot of them!
"Enemy attack!"
Marika immediately gave a loud warning, and at the same time used telepathy to transmit the direction of the enemy army to the entire army. The whole army understood and immediately deployed to meet the enemy.
The raiders behind the woods also found that their whereabouts were exposed, and they did not hide. They rushed out of the woods and rushed towards the Erdtree army.
However, the enemies that appeared from the woods were not humans, but a group of about 500 fat, pink-skinned monsters with pig heads. They carried crude weapons such as clubs, and their clothes were as scantily clad as savages. At the same time, following them to attack was a group of green-skinned, thin, ugly dwarves with pointed ears and pointed noses. They are as barbaric and poorly equipped as the pig-headed monsters.
'Those green skins must be the common goblins that appeared in isekai novels. '
Marika guessed.
And Marika found it particularly disgusting that they were all men, and they all stared at her lewdly. Several pig-headed orcs even tore off their crotch cloth, revealing their huge erect dicks. It was obvious that their goal was to rape her. Marika looked at their smug ugly faces but felt a little amused. What gave them the illusion that they could win?
At this time, in the simple minds of the pig-headed orcs and goblins, they arrogantly thought that as long as they were thicker and stronger than humans, and combined with the dexterity of the goblins, they could beat the humans as usual. Then snatch their women. Especially that beautiful woman with blond hair. Taking her and breeding her will surely yield many children for them.
But what the monsters are facing are not ordinary humans, but an exiled army of hardened veterans per capita. When they rushed to the front of the Erdtree Army, they were killed by the Exile Army who was waiting in full anticipation with their storm ash of war and weapons. The monsters were demolished. The brute strength and agility that the monsters are proud of are just a joke to the Erdtree army.
In order to resolve the battle quickly so as not to waste time, Marika threw a few golden incantations to kill them quickly, without even looking at them. These monsters were wiped out without even injuring a single person.
When Einar saw so many pig-headed orcs and goblins, he thought it would be a bloody battle. Unexpectedly, these monsters were defeated cleanly and swiftly, which made him more confident in the strength of the Erdtree Army and his rescue mission.
'But why are there so many monsters in the Southern Territory? Last time, the House of Barry spent a lot of money to hire a large number of adventurers to wipe them out. Those adventurers also have a good reputation, so it is impossible they fumble the mission. '
Einar suddenly thought of a possibility, and the more he thought about it, the more wrong it became.
'Could it be that someone deliberately introduced them to this region? At this juncture, it can only be...Stank who can play such a stupid trick that does not care about the safety of the people! '
Thinking of the scum who took his wife away, Einar gritted his teeth, angry at his tricks.
"Sir Einar?"
Marika noticed Einar's unnatural expression and asked aloud.
"Ah?! Your Majesty! I'm sorry, I was wondering who ordered these monsters just now."
Aina turned around and noticed Malika riding over to ask him.
"Oh? Then who do you think orchestrated this?"
"It must be Stank! Only he would use such a shameless strategy!"
Einar said with an angry face.
"Hmm... So what kind of monsters are these?"
Marika asked that though she could probably already guess what they were, she still wanted to hear what the locals had to say.
"No problem, Your Majesty. But are there no such monsters in the Lands Between?"
"No," Marika said, shaking her head.
"Very well then. The dwarf monsters are goblins. They are weak, but they are fast. The fat monsters with pig heads are pig-headed orcs, a close relative of the powerful orc race. For some reason, there are no females in the tribes of Pig-headed orcs and goblins, so they have to plunder females of other humanoid races. Both are pests that are headaches to all nations."
Einar explained, looking at the corpses of monsters being moved away by the soldiers from the road, with a disgusted expression on his face.
"Hmm... What's different about orcs?"
Marika continued to ask. Einar also turned his gaze back and continued to answer.
"The orcs are the complete opposite of the pig-headed orcs. Although they are both nomadic races, the orcs are warriors with high honor and morality. Unfortunately, most people can't tell the difference between the two, so they are discriminated against by other races."
'Oh? It seems that if I encounter these orc warriors in the future, I might be able to recruit them! '
Hearing Einar's favorable comments on them, Marika couldn't help thinking of subduing the orcs.