Translator: CinderTL
Paul clenched his fist in mid-air.
"In my plan, the war against the Orcs will be conducted along two fronts: one is the traditional sword-to-sword warfare, and the other is cultural."
"On the cultural front, first, our enemies are originally a scattered force. Although they have been united by Abal now, they are certainly not a monolithic block internally. Not only are there conflicting interests in reality, but their tribal traditions and living customs also differ in details. I need to fully understand the contradictions among them to create convenience for our war with the Orcs at the appropriate time."
Paul shared his grand vision with Alvey.
"The second step, if we truly reach the day of defeating the Orcs, I do not wish to repeat the mistakes of history. This time, I plan to completely obliterate their culture, destroying the ties that sustain them as a race."
Alvey quietly breathed a sigh of relief. When Paul spoke of destroying the Orcs, he thought the young Marquis intended to physically exterminate the Orc race.
That would have been too terrifying. As a scholar, Alvey had an almost instinctive aversion to mass slaughter. The Orcs are a race capable of communicating with humans.
However, the Marquis was somewhat overconfident—Alvey thought to himself. After all, even the young emperor of Gabella only managed to maintain a stalemate against Abal.
He said, "Marquis, are you certain you can defeat them militarily?"
"Yes."
To Alvey, Marquis Grayman seemed to be stating something as a matter of course, without even a hint of explanation.
He didn't know where this confidence came from. In the eyes of the world, Aldor was utterly defeated in the last war with the Orcs. Could they have risen so quickly in just a few years? Paul looked at him again and sincerely made his request: "Compared to Aldor, which is isolated by the Rocky Mountains, Gabella has more frequent contact with the grasslands. Presumably, there is already a wealth of knowledge about the Orcs in the Scholars' Tower. I beseech you, Scholar Alvey, to help us lay the foundation for the study of Orc culture."
"I am very pleased to accept your request."
Alvey agreed with a smile. As a political refugee, he hoped to make his mark here.
With the goal of his visit tonight achieved, Paul felt very pleased.
He had an extreme dislike for these barbaric Orcs, not only because of his stance as an Aldorian but also because these creatures had delayed his academic exchange (show-off) conference by nearly two years.
"Alas!" Alvey suddenly sighed, "The Orcs chose to invade neither earlier nor later, but precisely at this time. With the roads cut off after the war breaks out, how will those who have come from afar to attend the conference return home?" As a scholar, he couldn't help but worry about the difficulties his peers would face.
"Damn Orcs, enemies of civilization!" Paul joined in with a curse.
He wished the scholars good luck, but he was more than happy to offer jobs to those who couldn't return home soon, ensuring they were well-fed and clothed.
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Paul sat alongside the royal sisters, Ladia and Alvey as they shared a meal.
"Achoo!"
Eileen suddenly couldn't hold back a sneeze, a rather unladylike act that made her blush with embarrassment.
"Sorry, I feel a bit cold!" the little princess awkwardly smiled.
"I feel a bit cold too," Catherine chimed in.
At that very moment, Ladia suddenly stood up, pointing behind Paul and Catherine who were sitting side by side, and shouted, "Watch out!"
The dining table in front of her suddenly moved.
The long table seemed to transform into an animal, abruptly springing up from the ground, flipping over Paul and Catherine's heads, and then rapidly descending to land squarely behind them.
Paul and Catherine turned around in surprise, just in time to see the underside of the table. Almost simultaneously, there was a sharp crack as the tabletop was pierced. What appeared to be ice spikes had thrust through the front of the table, their sharp tips penetrating the wood and emerging from the back, looking crystal clear and exuding a cold, chilling aura, like finely crafted daggers.
If it hadn't been for the table blocking them, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Eileen was also within the protective range of the table, and Alvey seemed to have been pulled behind the tabletop by some unknown force.
Paul glanced around, breaking out in a cold sweat.
The wall in the direction he had been facing was studded with dense ice spikes, as if it had been bombarded, with only the small area shielded by the table remaining untouched.
When he looked at Ladia, his blood rushed to his head.
A single ice spike was embedded in the witch's chest.
"Ladia!" Paul's eyes widened, and an indescribable pain surged in his chest, as if his heart had been struck hard.
Seeing Paul about to move forward, the green-haired witch reached out and pressed him behind the tabletop with an invisible force, "You must not move!"
Before she could finish speaking, she spat out a mouthful of blood, the bright red liquid staining her entire chest. Seeing her in this state, Eileen burst into tears.
Catherine, meanwhile, drew the sword she carried with her and calmly peeked out from behind the table to survey the surroundings.
Bang! The dining room door was kicked open, and the guards waiting outside rushed in with their short-barreled firearms.
They raised their guns, ready to shoot at the presumed assassin, but immediately froze.
Where was the person?
Apart from Paul and the others hiding behind the table, there was no one else suspicious in the room.
Catherine was furious, "Damn it, did they escape?"
"Can't be sure!" Ladia didn't dare to be careless, focusing all her attention on sensing her surroundings. It was miraculous; despite her severe injury, she seemed completely unfazed.
The cold feeling in the dining room intensified.
At that moment, Catherine noticed a sudden shimmer in the air in front of the open window.
At first, she thought it was her imagination, but then she quickly connected it to the current situation and decisively pointed at the window.
"Fire!"
Bang! Bang! The guards pulled the triggers in the direction she pointed, and two loud explosions echoed in the confined space, making everyone's ears ring.
But everyone still heard an unusual impact. Looking closely, they saw that the two bullets, which should have shot out through the window, were instead stuck in mid-air.
Crack! As if glass had shattered, the air around the two bullets fractured into numerous cracks.
With a whooshing sound, countless ice fragments fell to the ground, and a figure appeared by the window.
(End of the Chapter)
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