Chapter 168: A New Justification

Their visit came earlier than expected. That just proved how urgent the situation had become.

‘They must have tried everything they could and failed, so now they’re resorting to this.’

I could guess how the other side had calculated and moved.

“Are you leaving now? We haven’t even run a proper test yet.”

“We’ll have to take it step by step. Looks like the real test will happen on the battlefield.”

“……The battlefield. I’m sure we’ll gather data, but that doesn’t sound good.”

For Ruan, who had been in the middle of her experiments, it was only natural to feel disappointed.

On the other hand, the one who had come to help with the spirit contract said,

“Young Master, then can I go back to training now?”

“You may, for the time being.”

Manar was actually satisfied that she could train again.

‘Who would have thought she’d become a training maniac.’

While I had been distracted with various matters,

Manar, a spiritist, had completely thrown herself into training.

‘It was a good environment, though.’

She had no obligations, but she was treated as my retainer.

I had searched for several spiritists to assign to her and even had her look for talented individuals, but that was easy for Manar.

She poured all her remaining time into training. And now she was carving her own path.

‘She’s changed the most.’

When I first brought her here, she was naive about the world. Now her cultivation level had deepened through training.

As her level grew, she matured mentally. From her lively and energetic self, she had become quiet and composed.

“Once this is over, let’s go together. Hehe.”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll head off first.”

Her nature hadn’t completely changed, so she was still positive.

Swoosh.

“See you later!”

Watching her float and move using spirits, I thought,

‘In Murim terms, that’s like stepping on air.’

Her growth rate was not just remarkable—it was bizarrely high.

Manar left.

“……Then should I prepare?”

“There’s not much to do. The magic circle is already inscribed, so we can move anytime.”

“Hmm…… I see.”

“If you’re still bothered, just do a few more checks.”

Only after assigning a few tasks to the reluctant Ruan could I finish everything in the lab.

‘The final adjustments will be on the battlefield.’

I left the lab where I had spent a long time, accompanied by two visitors.

—

One of the visitors was Arne, who handled intelligence. She had brought information on time.

“The situation at the royal palace has gotten a lot worse.”

“Because their schemes failed?”

“Right.”

The royal army had engineered a situation to force a grueling war of attrition with Might.

‘I heard they manipulated the Atid tribe.’

They paid a price to start a war, aiming to summon one person to that battlefield—me.

“For something they orchestrated for me, it was quite elaborate.”

“They probably didn’t expect things to turn out this way either.”

The reason was simple.

House Ofern’s development came solely from me. So their logic was that if they separated me from the territory, House Ofern’s growth would also slow down.

It seemed crude, but

‘Without me, the pace would indeed slow.’

It was actually a plausible logic. The problem was

‘The wheel is already rolling.’

I had sown many seeds.

The new methods I taught the administrative officers, the way they carried out tasks—those were advancements in themselves. They improved further by gradually applying them.

I gave the knights martial arts under the name of Aura Cultivation Method.

To my retainers, I provided the Aura Cultivation Method along with proper power.

The mercenaries were no different.

‘Compared to the power they had, the mercenaries were quite undervalued.’

I refined the way they could use their strength more precisely.

The mercenaries, who had survived through harsh combat, grew like they were flying once I gave them a little guidance.

Besides that, many other things had changed.

I had sprinkled plenty of seeds. Even if I left, the development wouldn’t suddenly disappear. However

‘They probably thought it would be hard to sow new things.’

If I went to the battlefield, major advancements would be difficult. Since I was the center, progress would slow.

But

“I’ve already prepared countermeasures. It’s ridiculous that the royal palace is now making a hasty move.”

“They’re desperate in their own way.”

Even if I were thrown onto the battlefield right now, I had already laid out plans to develop the territory.

‘A way to be on the battlefield and in the territory at the same time.’

I had prepared an unprecedented method.

So whether the royal palace summoned me to the battlefield or not, it didn’t matter to me.

Still, I wanted to lead all situations in the direction I chose. Letting them pull my strings didn’t suit me.

“There’s no reason to let them lead me around. So, what’s the situation?”

“Yound is the problem. Hamira has been holding out by giving up a few castles, but Yound……”

At my request, Arne detailed the war situation.

Count Hamira was fighting desperately, pouring all his military power into it.

‘As expected so far.’

Naturally, he was spending every ounce of strength to defend his land. The surprising part was that he was doing better than I imagined.

The problem was Yound.

“At first, he blocked them well. It was a crushing victory.”

Having prepared in advance, Yound succeeded in holding out against the Bifs tribe.

You could say he put up a good fight.

The front line was slowly being pushed back, but the Bifs side also suffered massive casualties.

The issue was the Bifs’ movements.

“They moved as if they intended to exterminate one side completely.”

They mobilized their tribesmen relentlessly, ignoring the consequences. They moved with an enormous number of troops.

Since the enemy was coming with full force, Baron Yound was gradually being pushed back.

Around the time the situation became so dire that the royal palace was starting to whisper about sending reinforcements,

“……Some people betrayed Baron Yound.”

Those who couldn’t withstand the attack—

No, those who lost their minds entirely from the Bifs tribe’s assault were the problem.

‘Traitors are a problem everywhere.’

Traitors appeared.

They fired the first shot of betrayal by attempting to assassinate Baron Yound.

“……He barely survived. But his eldest son is at death’s door. His aura is out of control, they say.”

“Huh.”

The result was failure. The eldest son risked his life to stop the assassination of Baron Yound. But in return

‘Did he fall into Qi deviation? Or are his meridian points damaged?’

The eldest son couldn’t get up and was hovering between life and death.

After that, the traitors continued to move. Having already betrayed, they had no place to retreat.

“Some of them handed over territory in exchange for a promise to live.”

“They survived?”

“Some lived, some died.”

They gave up the land they were supposed to protect and chose to live.

But the price was

“The Bifs put them in the vanguard. If they survive, they’re accepted.”

“……If they die, they were just traitors.”

Another life-or-death war.

It was a stubborn method, but it seemed to work fairly well on the people of the Might Kingdom.

Because if they survived, they were accepted back.

‘Damn royal palace.’

One way or another, Baron Yound’s territory had been discriminated against.

So, it was said that some people actually liked the Bifs, who treated them as tribesmen after a single battle.

Given the natural combativeness of the Might Kingdom’s people, those who enjoyed fighting itself were an added bonus.

“The situation is getting interesting.”

“……Yes. Baron Yound’s territory is about to fall. The next land is also in trouble, and the war keeps growing. Ilin looks ready to move too.”

I thought the northwest region of Malexia, where our territory was, was quiet, but now the southeast was in chaos.

‘Even if that area collapses, it won’t bring us down immediately…… But the problem is something else.’

If the southeast fell, what came after was also a problem.

The enemy, after killing the allies, would target the next ally and, at the same time, me.

The situation had become messy.

It was no longer a simple war of attrition; it had turned into a great war.

“So the royal palace is moving quickly again.”

“Are they asking for reinforcements?”

“Yes. They’ve started sending messengers to each of the high nobles.”

“Reinforcements, huh. And who will lead them?”

“Probably a royalist noble.”

“……That’s a dog’s move.”

Even after creating this situation, the royal palace still held control over the nobility.

The commanders of the war would still be royalists.

The most dangerous places would be assigned to people like me. Even if we won, it would be a victory that only left pain, and the glory of victory would go to them.

What an amusing trick.

‘They set the board well.’

For the royalists, it was a no-loss situation—all the losses were borne by the nobles.

Normally, few would follow, but

‘Currently, even the noble faction has many who want to check House Ofern.’

Every one of them would target us. They’d push us into the most dangerous spots.

If I had my way

‘I’d like to sweep them all away.’

I wanted to destroy everything.

But not now. I had the power to take over the entire surrounding territory, but that was it.

Our territory was not yet fully ripe. I needed more time.

The new knight order my father created had to grow, the soldiers had to become more skilled, and I needed to recruit more talented people.

Only then could I control everyone. Until then

“But there’s no way to stop them. They have the justification. I have no choice but to obey.”

Perhaps enduring was also a method.

Even if there were some sacrifices, moving as the royalists commanded might be a realistic choice.

However

“If they move underhandedly using justification, we have our own ways too.”

I didn’t have just one visitor—Arne. There was another. And that one

‘Could become a new justification. And……’

Was the one who could become a new card for me.

Of course, one already in my hand.

“What is it?”

“You’ll need to carry out a few requests. It’s been a while; I need to gather everyone.”

I didn’t forget to use Arne to orchestrate things.

‘I’ll plan the overall board through Arne. And use the other one like a joker when needed.’

After hearing everything, Arne said,

“……Young Master, you sure come up with ideas. I’ll make it happen.”

With a fed-up expression, she turned and left. She would definitely succeed.

What remained was the other visitor.

“Sir Asard, it’s been a while.”

“Have you been well?”

He was one of the connections born from an old coincidence.