The Twin Kings of Delmore were themselves the bishops or priests of the City-State, so Wisdom believed he knew exactly what a so-called 'oracle' was.
Before every military campaign or death-defying charge, Wisdom would essentially announce to his subordinates that he had received an oracle during his prayers—God saying something along the lines of 'we will surely win this battle.' The Delmore Citizen-Soldiers always trusted this implicitly, their fighting spirit soaring, and their win rate increasing by at least twenty percent.
However, those oracles were all fabricated by Wisdom himself.
Wisdom was aware of God's existence, and he had sincerely prayed to God countless times, yet God had never once paid him any attention. throughout these decades of fighting north and south, Wisdom had fabricated an unknown number of 'oracles' in Ig's name, and Ig had never punished him.
Gradually, a terrifying thought spawned in Wisdom's mind—God simply did not care about the people of the world!
For a native Delmore person like Wisdom, or indeed for the indigenous people of this world, this thought was simply too horrifying. There was a cosmological myth circulating among the common folk of the Eagle Continent: legend had it that this world was actually a crystal ball, and humans, along with various other races, lived inside this crystal ball, which was held in Ig's right hand.
This mythological story might not be credible, but it was enough to show that in the concept of people like Wisdom, Ig was both the Creator and the Protector; humanity and all living beings in this world relied on Ig's mercy to survive.
Just imagine, if Ig, holding the crystal ball, did not care about the people of the world, then He might casually throw it away when He felt bored. For the people inside the crystal ball, that would be an apocalypse. Ig did not intend to destroy the world; He merely wanted to exercise his right hand. This kind of thought made Wisdom, who had always been fearless on the battlefield, shudder without cold.
Although Wisdom quickly suppressed that thought and did not speak of it to anyone, the seed of doubt had taken root in his heart. Wisdom believed that he was spouting nonsense, and that the priests of the Church were actually spouting nonsense most of the time as well. The only genuine oracle the Church had received in recent years was probably that 'Demon Hunt,' because everyone had seen the crimson moon hanging high in the sky.
Therefore, Wisdom felt that Archbishop Sevani was also fabricating lies. Now that the Delmore Alliance held the upper hand, before going to the Cathedral of Angels for worship, Wisdom had even sent a chest of treasures to the Great Cathedral. Yet, Merck Sevani still uttered such a nonsensical oracle as 'You should not attack Fedi.'
How many gifts had those damned Fedi people sent to the Cathedral of Angels?!
However, although he felt the oracle was fake, Wisdom could not say so openly. The status of the Twin Kings of Delmore was built upon theocratic power. If Wisdom admitted that oracles could be faked, then the foundation of the Twin Kings' existence would inevitably be shaken.
In fact, Wisdom regretted questioning whether Archbishop Sevani had accepted money inside the Cathedral of Angels. Speaking such words in front of so many generals was undoubtedly irrational. At the same time, he couldn't help but rejoice that his guards had been blocked outside the Great Cathedral, and he had only taken a few trusted generals inside.
The loyalty of these generals to Wisdom would not be easily shaken, but judging from the reaction of his beloved general Cruz, even these generals did not have the courage to disobey a command from the gods.
Wisdom was unwilling to retreat just like this. He stayed with the army at Bronze Pass for two days, wanting to talk to the generals one by one to boost morale and continue the advance. However, the oracle from the Cathedral of Angels spread through the army like wildfire. The morale of the Delmore Alliance coalition forces wavered one after another. Among them, those who wavered the most were the backbone of the army, the Delmore Citizen-Soldiers who most worshipped Ig.
"Let us retreat, Your Majesty," persuaded an old man wearing a black robe and sporting a short beard.
The old man's name was Harlan, one of the five Magistrates of the Delmore City-State. The system of the Delmore City-State was relatively special; they had a four-tiered governing structure consisting of the Twin Kings, the Magistrates, the Senate, and the Citizen Assembly.
Although the Twin Kings were called kings in name, their power was small; they acted more like priests in peacetime and temporarily served as army commanders during campaigns. All citizens of Delmore were considered members of the Citizen Assembly. Citizens over sixty could be elected to the Senate, and once they entered the Senate, they held the position for life. This point was largely similar to other city-states.
What truly made the Delmore City-State different from other North Soqya city-states was their five Magistrates. The Magistrates were elected by the Citizen Assembly. Their power was above that of the Kings, and they possessed the authority to convene the Senate and the Citizen Assembly. Almost all routine government affairs of the Delmore City-State were handled by the five Magistrates; it was practically the position with the most real power in all of Delmore.
The centralization of power gave the Delmore City-State a decision-making efficiency far exceeding that of other city-states, which was undoubtedly great news for a military group. Harlan had a good relationship with Wisdom; otherwise, he would not be persuading, but ordering.
"We have already fought our way here!" Wisdom glared at Harlan with red eyes, his voice hoarse. "On what grounds should we not continue fighting? Just based on that bullshit oracle..."
Bang!
Harlan punched Wisdom in the face. Harlan was old but vigorous; Wisdom was beaten back two steps, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
"Do not blaspheme God!" Harlan scolded with a dark face.
Wisdom spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, calming down slightly.
"You cannot convince the army, yet you still want to continue attacking Fedi. Your Majesty, do you want the Citizen-Soldiers to mutiny?" Harlan questioned sternly again.
Wisdom was left speechless. He didn't know if the Citizen-Soldiers of other city-states would mutiny, but he knew very well that without a sufficiently strong reason, asking Delmore Citizen-Soldiers to disobey an oracle from the Holy Land would definitely cause a mutiny.
Seeing that Wisdom finally showed a trend of being persuaded, Harlan's tone gradually softened. "Your Majesty, we are only temporarily retreating. The elites of the Ivy Alliance coalition have been almost entirely annihilated by you, and their vitality is greatly damaged. This is not something that can be recovered in a year or two; even ten years might not be enough. We still have many opportunities to regroup our morale and fight back. Destroying Fedi does not need to be rushed at this moment. The Fedi people could use an oracle to block one of our attacks, but can they block a second one?"
Wisdom knew Harlan made sense. The same trick could not be repeated. Sevani fabricating an oracle this time was essentially using the reputation of the Cathedral of Angels as a shield for Fedi. Once this kind of behavior was done too often, the golden signboard of the Cathedral of Angels would become worthless. Moreover, even if Sevani were willing to help Fedi lie again, Fedi might not be able to produce the same price to buy off the Cathedral of Angels.
He fell silent for a long time before finally exhaling a long breath and squeezing two words out of his throat: "Withdraw troops!"
*
On the other side, within the Lanwan Viscountcy.
Walking on the rammed earth avenue, Ebony looked around curiously. He was a Fierce Wolf Warrior from a tribe. This was not his first time walking out of the Kanpei Mountains, but it was his first time seeing such a peaceful town outside the mountains.
In the past, every time he walked out of the Kanpei Mountains, Ebony followed a large force down the mountain to plunder. Everywhere they went was like a plague of locusts passing through; the residents of the towns and villages below the mountains had either run away long ago or died at their hands. How could there be any possibility of living peacefully?
This time, Ebony had accepted Black Wolf's recruitment to join the command of the Viscount of Lanwan. Along with him were more than thirty other Fierce Wolf Warriors.
Actually, Black Wolf had recruited Ebony once last winter, saying that there was a good place down the mountain where one could eat their fill and live warmly. But at that time, Ebony didn't believe it. Furthermore, he had just broken away from his tribe and still had some reserve grain in hand, so he could completely hold out for a bit longer to find a tribe that didn't eat people and was willing to accept him. Therefore, he did not accept Black Wolf's recruitment.
Now that winter had passed, Ebony's reserve grain was eaten up, yet he still hadn't found a tribe that would accept him. At this desperate juncture, he encountered Black Wolf again, who had entered the mountains to recruit Fierce Wolf Warriors, so he had no choice but to follow Black Wolf down the mountain.
"There sure are a lot of people in this place. Look at that guy, fat head and big ears. He would definitely sizzle with oil if roasted," a companion leaned close to Ebony and said with a laugh.
This companion's name was Skeleton. Fierce Wolf Warriors fled their tribes in large numbers because Basha had unified the various tribes of the Kanpei Mountains. It wasn't because they detested eating people, but because they were worried about being eaten themselves. Just like this Skeleton.
Previously, Skeleton and Ebony were warriors of the same tribe. Ebony knew that when Skeleton fled the tribe, he didn't bring grain, but he brought his three sons. Now that winter had passed, Skeleton was still alive, but his three sons were gone.
"Restrain yourself a little, Skeleton. We are on someone else's territory now, after all," Ebony whispered.
Skeleton sneered indifferently, "Ebony, what are you saying? I can't hear you."
Ebony did not pay any more attention to this guy. There was no such thing as camaraderie among Fierce Wolf Warriors. Born in an environment where the weak are prey to the strong, they were more adept at using their companions' corpses to feed dangerous tigers and leopards.
The group, led by Black Wolf, arrived at a barracks built of wood beside Fairy Lake.
"Falcon!" Black Wolf greeted a young Fierce Wolf Warrior in front of the barracks with a smile. "It's only been a few days, I didn't expect you to have already become a Squadron Leader."
Falcon revealed a helpless, bitter smile. "Knight Black Wolf, don't joke with me. Do you not know how I got this Squadron Leader position?"
When others were promoted by Charlotte to Battalion Commander or Squadron Leader, it was due to Charlotte's appreciation. What about Falcon's side? It was because Charlotte had killed the Fierce Wolf Warriors until heads rolled and they were scattered; unable to find a suitable candidate for a moment, she threw the duty of Squadron Leader to Falcon, who looked somewhat familiar.
When Falcon received the appointment letter, Charlotte had someone pass on a message: If the Fierce Wolf Warriors engaged in collective disobedience again, the killing would start from the Squadron Leader.
This made Falcon feel as if he were sitting on pins and needles in this position.
Black Wolf laughed heartily, not commenting much on Falcon's situation. He pointed to the thirty-plus Fierce Wolf Warriors behind him and said, "These are the warriors I have newly recruited for the respected and great Viscount of Lanwan. I will hand them over to you now."
Whenever Black Wolf mentioned the Viscount of Lanwan, he would always add a string of modifiers to show his respect for the Viscount. No matter if others despised him or mocked him, his expression remained unchanged, and he went his own way. Over time, everyone had adapted to his bottomless sycophancy.
Falcon looked at these Fierce Wolf Warriors before him—movements undisciplined, eyes revealing a fierce light, intractable and unruly—and seemed to see the former self of him and his older brother. He took a deep breath and nodded, "Alright, leave the drilling to me."
Ebony and his companions were led into the military camp. The camp was clean and tidy, the layout organized. The soldiers coming and going had bright armor and uniform movements, their bearing solemn.
Ebony had thought such a particular military camp must be a camp for Oran knights. However, after careful observation, Ebony found only a scant few figures who looked like Oran knights in the camp; the majority of the soldiers looked like Fierce Wolf Warriors instead.
This was easy to distinguish. Oran knights were generally burly and majestic in stature, while Fierce Wolf Warriors were mostly gaunt and short. Even after coming to the Lanwan Viscountcy and eating well, the Fierce Wolf Warriors still looked a size smaller than the Oran knights.
Ebony was very curious about what exactly these Fierce Wolf Warriors had experienced to become so 'well-behaved,' so meticulous.
However, his curiosity did not last too long before it was answered. The thirty-plus Fierce Wolf Knights were taken to the drill ground in the middle of the barracks. A tall stone stele stood by the drill ground, engraved with a line of words, though unfortunately, Ebony did not recognize Oran script.
Falcon led a squad of soldiers to the drill ground as well, stopping in front of the stone stele.
"Falcon? It's actually you!" Skeleton recognized the other party and shouted happily. "Where is your brother? Where is Owl?"
Ebony also recognized Falcon, but the current Falcon had a crisp uniform and a completely renewed mental outlook, too different from the 'Little Wolf' in his memories, so Ebony did not speak up.
Falcon smiled and nodded towards Skeleton but did not answer Skeleton's question. He spoke loudly to everyone: "My name is Falcon. I am the Squadron Leader of the Fierce Wolf Squadron, and also your future commanding officer. I will be responsible for your training and lead you in battle."
"Hahaha, Falcon, you little puppy actually became an official for the Oran people?" Skeleton laughed again.
"Hahahaha..."
Some people laughed along with Skeleton. Falcon, however, had no smile on his face. He swept his cold gaze across the faces of all the new Fierce Wolf Warriors. Seeing that Falcon was not enthusiastic, Skeleton realized something was wrong and reined in his smile; the others also gradually quieted down.
"The first training task: remember one military regulation." Falcon turned and patted the stone stele beside him. "It is this military regulation. The content is very simple—Violators, Will, Die!"
"What does 'Violators Will Die' mean? I will demonstrate for you," Falcon took a deep breath and ordered loudly, "Everyone listen to the order: Raise your right hand!"
The crowd, including the soldiers brought by Falcon, raised their right hands—of course, some raised what they thought was their 'right hand.'
Falcon looked around the circle, then waved his hand.
"Kill everyone who raised their left hand."
________________________________________
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