Chapter 8: Deceptions

Hoffman frowned. This guy was good at speaking, but the issue of the dark remnants had nothing to do with him. Perhaps he was trying to draw the attention of Onia and the envoys from the Pericles Church. It was a shame the representatives from the tribunal hadn’t come; otherwise, they would surely have been moved by his words.
“Alright, we’re all aware of the danger posed by this guy in the east. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be sitting here together. I think it’s better to discuss something more practical. Exaggerating the threat of the enemy doesn’t serve anyone here much,” Hoffman interrupted rudely. For him, the threat from orcs and Komer was equally great, but for his own territory, the orcs’ current attacks posed a more immediate threat.
Kakya glanced at Hoffman with displeasure. What was wrong with this guy? Wouldn’t it be better to let someone from the Pericles Church figure out the situation?
“Your Highness Hoffman, do you have any good suggestions?” Onia seemed to sense the lord’s irritation.
“Lady Onia, the main reason for the current dangerous situation is the orcs’ sudden attacks. They’ve attacked east and south, putting Galae and Cilicia under strain. Komer’s behavior also shows he won’t back down easily. So, there are two purposes to our meeting today: first, to force the orcs to withdraw, at least back to their original positions, so they stop provoking trouble; second, to discuss how to deal with this guy in the east. We need to come up with a concrete plan. Otherwise, if he takes action, it might be too late for us to respond.”
Perhaps because it was his own territory, Hoffman was much more confident and spoke without as many reservations.
“Yes, Your Highness Hoffman is right. This time we need to establish a specific plan to restore peace to Nicocia!” The envoy from Cilicia quickly agreed.
“Hoffman, do you mean to address the orc threat first?” Kakya’s gaze was gentle at times, but occasionally it flashed with a terrifying intensity.
“That’s right. The orc threat is the root of the problem. Without it, Komer wouldn’t be able to do much, as he’s still constrained by various external factors. But the orcs? They don’t belong to our society at all. Without any restrictions, they can harm us whenever and however they see fit,” Hoffman argued firmly.

The envoys from Galay and Silesia both nodded simultaneously, clearly moved by Hoffman’s words. The orcs had become increasingly active and rampant lately, repeatedly infiltrating the interior of both regions with extremely cruel methods—starting from looting property and progressing to ruthless human trafficking. This had attracted a large number of slave traders, further fueling the orcs’ desires. If left unchecked, even without the orcs conquering them, Galay and Silesia might collapse on their own.

All eyes turned to the envoy from the Periclean Church. To deal with the orcs, aside from military means, it seemed only this enigmatic envoy from the Periclean Church had the authority to speak. No one knew what special relationship existed between those orcs and the Periclean Church, but one thing was certain: the church could exert some influence over the orcs, and it was a real influence.

Seemingly realizing something, the Periclean Church envoy glanced around before speaking in a somewhat high-pitched, indistinct voice, “What does the Periclean Church need to do?”

“Sir Envoy, it’s simple. It’s obviously unrealistic—and we don’t even expect—it to force those orcs to leave our Nicomedia. But at the very least, we should get them back to where they were half a year ago. Don’t they always want to learn everything about our civilized world? Then let them start from scratch. First, they must learn how to be rule-abiding members of a civilized world!” the Galay envoy hurriedly said. Forcing the orcs to leave Jazair was neither possible nor practical, and for Galay, ensuring the safety of its own territory was sufficient.

Hoffman and Kakiya both sneered. The orcs also wanted to become part of the civilized world? How absurd! Those creatures were like a swarm of locusts; their arrival would only devour the fruits of civilization accumulated over thousands of years, dragging human civilization into darkness.

Seeing everyone’s gaze on him, the Periclean Church envoy seemed uneasy. He slightly raised his head to look at the dome, as if considering the request. After a long while, he said, “I cannot give you a definite answer to this request. But before sending me here, the Archbishop instructed me to understand your demands and report back to him. He will seriously consider your requests and do his best to help you. Please be assured of that. At the same time, the Periclean Church is also willing to offer assistance in other areas as much as possible, not just regarding the orcs.”

The words of the special envoy from the Church of Pericles brought immense surprise to those present, especially the last two sentences, which were rich in meaning and sparked much speculation. Nicosia had always been a stronghold of the Church of St. Basil, but it had suffered successive setbacks in the past two years, severely affecting its reputation there and greatly weakening its influence. Now, the Church of Pericles was seizing the opportunity to step in, which seemed to indicate that Frenst was also becoming interested in Nicosia.

Onia’s expression changed slightly, but he quickly adjusted his mindset. It was somewhat inappropriate to dwell on such matters at this time. No one could predict what would happen to Nicosia in the future. Even if the Church of Pericles entered, they might not have many chances of success. Only by letting them experience the complexities of Nicosia would they realize it wasn’t as simple as they thought.

“Your Highness Hoffman, Your Highness Kakiya, with the promise from the special envoy of the Church of Pericles, I believe we can take a breath. But the threat from the east still exists. We hope that both of you will join us, along with Galle and Cilicia, to address this issue together. I’m sure you’ve also felt the threat from the east—it’s like an insatiable wolf. If we don’t take action soon, it will devour us all,” said the envoy from Galle, shifting the focus to Kakiya and Hoffman.

“I think you two already have plans. Why not share them so that Hoffman and I can prepare mentally, right?” Kakiya and Hoffman exchanged glances and spoke solemnly.

“Your Highness Kakiya is truly straightforward. Galle and Cilicia have already discussed it. We hope to work together to resolve the issue in the east after the orcish offensive subsides. We sincerely hope that Your Highness Hoffman and Your Highness Kakiya will also allow the kingdom to make the final decision.”

Kakiya and Hoffman both saw a sneer in each other’s eyes. These guys were trying to trick them with such naive tactics—how utterly naive. Even if Komer threatened the survival of the Romanov family, the reality was that Komer posed a more direct and urgent threat to Galle and Cilicia. Without real benefits, who would fall for such a scheme? Of course, it was too early to discuss profit distribution, but at least a rough outline was needed.

Seeing that both Kajia and Hoffman remained silent, the envoy from Galle also understood that nothing could be achieved in haste. As long as the other side showed such a willingness to cooperate, future work would be much easier. It was unrealistic to expect them to make any promises under these circumstances. Fortunately, the primary issue was to address the orc threat, and that goal had already been achieved; other issues could be discussed in detail later.

“My lord, that’s the situation. It seems Galle and Silesia are preparing to ally with the Romanov family, and the Tribunal, the Church of Pericles, as well as St. Basil’s Church are also willing to cooperate on this matter for now.” Slowly removing the scarf from her head, she revealed a round, delicate face, and her voice returned to normal.

“Hmm. The Caucasus is rising quickly, but Komer has also offended too many people’s interests. Moreover, using dark forces to oppose the Church of Light is a desperate measure. Once he gets involved with those dark forces, it won’t be easy for him to get out. He’s too convinced that his military strength can solve everything.” A calm expression appeared on his weathered face, and his robe couldn’t conceal the determination emanating from his body.

“Then should we inform Komer of the situation?” Seeming to grasp the hidden meaning in her superior’s words, she cast a surprised gaze at Welch’s back.