Chapter 837

======[ Ha-shal-leur ]======

Hersh’s report was enough to amplify suspicions towards Belnesia, but unfortunately, it wasn’t at a level where she could be immediately thrown into the interrogation room without any issues.

If I were to turn Eleonora’s secret lover into a wreck just for hiding her skills, it was obvious that Eleonora, the regent who boasts unparalleled efficiency as a paperwork slave, would throw a fit.

Therefore, instead of throwing Belnesia into the underground prison, I had no choice but to intensify the surveillance.

To throw Belnesia into the interrogation room, I needed solid evidence that there would be no issues.

It seemed like she would confess everything she had been hiding if we started with torture, but I still lacked the confidence to take such a gamble. The confidence that she was someone who needed to be killed.

If, by any chance, the things she confessed turned out to be trivial, it would just be a case of torturing an innocent person based on mere suspicion.

You know, like in those gambling movies, they always say not to bet if you’re not sure.

So, until I was certain, I planned to just continue with the surveillance.

If she was willing to endure being harassed by thugs just to avoid surveillance, then for the time being, leaving her alone wouldn’t pose any danger.

She looked like someone who only knew how to wield a knife, and with Hersh’s surveillance, she couldn’t even attempt to use it.

If she tried to do something, she would have to get past Hersh first, so as long as Hersh continued her surveillance without any issues, I could rest easy.

—

“We need an intelligence organization.”

After sending Hersh back to her surveillance duties, I called Lambert and brought up the issue that had come to mind while listening to Hersh’s report.

When Landenburg was just a mere territory, there was no need to worry about it, but now that Hestela had risen as a nation, it was a problem that had to be addressed. The lack of intelligence capabilities.

A proper country needs an intelligence agency like the CIA or KGB, public security, or the central intelligence agency to collect and report on internal and external information. Even in this world, which is not Earth, it was the same.

Even Lacey was using her personal private army, the Heterogeneous Extermination Squad or whatever, as spies and agents, and the Empire had the Imperial Intelligence Department directly under Leopold.

Dane also had an intelligence bureau operated by Hrapun.

Hestela needed such an organization too.

Hestela, which had expanded its territory by executing the eastern lords and taking their lands, was growing smoothly by accepting refugees as citizens in addition to the original territory’s inhabitants…

But since we were accepting refugees indiscriminately, it was highly likely that not only pure commoners but also those with ill intentions had mixed in.

Even the thugs that Hersh used as disposable pawns were scum who wouldn’t hesitate to attempt rape and murder.

Spies from other countries, scum of humanity, cultists, and criminals. To clean up the human waste hiding among the refugees, the existence of an intelligence organization to uncover them was indispensable.

Having such an organization would also help with Hersh’s surveillance.

“An intelligence organization… For such a matter, wouldn’t it be better to consult with Judge Claire? The Astraea Church Order’s judges are experts in investigating, tracking, and executing heretics.”

Despite looking like he had died and come back to life three times, Lambert immediately provided an answer to my question, proving his usefulness.

Creating a new intelligence organization from scratch would require an enormous amount of time and money, so he suggested not even dreaming about it and just leaving it to the experts.

While it would normally be unthinkable for the church’s judges to become state intelligence agents, since Hestela was a nation personally founded by the Astraea Church Order’s saintess, the judges would gladly accept the task.

Indeed, when I called Adamante and proposed that she find and incinerate all the seeds of chaos and injustice hiding within Hestela, she was overjoyed, exclaiming that it was an unparalleled honor.

Since it wouldn’t do for her to enjoy such glory alone, she said she would gather as many available judges and their subordinates as possible.

And so, I ended up with the suspiciously pyromaniacal Holy Golden CIA. It would take some time for all the organization members to gather, though.

======[ Peirus ]======

The forgotten gods’ cult created by Peirus was an ancient god-worshipping cult consisting of eight core apostles and their subordinate organizations.

Each apostle, following Peirus’s orders, attached themselves to influential figures around the world, using their own skills and the manpower of their subordinate organizations to steer international affairs in the desired direction.

They sowed conflict and chaos to harvest death, but if signs of things escalating beyond their control appeared, they would immediately intervene to calm things down.

Stirring trouble and controlling it. That was the guiding principle of Peirus and the apostles.

To this end, the apostles held regular meetings through mana communication spheres to exchange information and discuss future plans.

To control the international situation, where minor incidents could easily escalate into massive conflagrations, it was necessary to meticulously coordinate the movements of influential figures in each country.

‘…But that’s all in the past now.’

Peirus looked down at the communication sphere with only four respondents and let out a bitter laugh.

Even though it was a long-awaited regular meeting, only five apostles, including himself, were present.

Peirus himself knew well why three apostles were absent, so it wasn’t particularly bothersome, but it must have been somewhat unpleasant for the other four apostles.

“After the third, even the seventh and eighth are absent. It’s a rare group meeting, but there are too many empty seats.”

“The apostles’ meeting has really gone downhill. Is there even any point in holding a meeting like this?”

“I agree. If they’re going to be this uncooperative, wouldn’t it be better to just expel them? I happen to have some acquaintances-”

Indeed, the 2nd, 5th, and 4th apostles, excluding Peirus and the 6th apostle, were all expressing their displeasure towards the absent apostles.

“Let’s not go that far. The seventh and eighth are simply unable to attend because they’re not in a situation where they can leisurely communicate. They’re faithfully following the order to monitor the ‘variable’s’ movements.”

Unlike the other apostles, Peirus had no complaints about the two apostles’ absence. He knew they weren’t absent from the regular meeting by choice but because they couldn’t attend.

Instead of direct communication through the crystal sphere, the message was delivered through subordinates he had stationed in Landenburg.

The message contained a report that they were under constant surveillance, making it impossible to act as apostles, and information that Ha-shal-leur was planning to gather forces and attack Ordos.

‘She said she would exterminate the evil sorcerer hiding in Ordos. After the eighth, Ragnar, now the third… Is it a coincidence, or fate?’

‘Does she know about the existence of the apostles? Or is she just moving to settle the grudge of the original owner of that body—Ai-shan Gi-or Ha-shal-leur? That was something even Peirus couldn’t know.’

“According to their reports, the variable is currently planning to attack Ordos.”

There was only one thing Peirus could be sure of.

“Ordos? Of all places, the third apostle’s base…”

“Hmm, the third apostle must be feeling the heat. She must be regretting cutting off contact, right?”

“That’s not the important part. If the variable invades Ordos and wins, wouldn’t the destruction of the Heavenly Barrier be further delayed?”

As the 5th apostle said, if things continued like this, their wish would be postponed.

To destroy the Heavenly Barrier, the variable—Ha-shal-leur—needed to stay quiet for a while. The power of feats that hadn’t accumulated in her soul and had scattered would be absorbed by the Heavenly Barrier, strengthening it further.

That’s why Peirus had ordered the 7th apostle to somehow stop the variable from running wild, but unfortunately, it seemed to have failed.

According to the 7th apostle’s report, far from controlling the variable’s actions, she was being thoroughly monitored and manipulated.

“That’s right. So, we need to come up with our own countermeasures.”

That was the purpose of this meeting.

“Countermeasures… Is there even a way? The Holy Kingdom and Dane have long been out of our influence, and I can’t do much either. Oleg is too busy stabilizing Baraykruz to come down no matter what sweet talk you use.”

“Same here. The Heavenly Demon Palace’s dragonkin have also suffered heavy losses in the Insect-Dragon carcass争夺战, so we need to focus on internal discipline for the time being.”

“Hmmm…”

“This is troublesome. Even for me, it’s difficult to extend influence to the eastern edge, let alone the Empire’s mainland.”

The 4th and 5th apostles showed a skeptical attitude.

The 2nd apostle had already lost all influence, so he had nothing to say, and the 6th apostle also had no ability to intervene in Hestela’s movements, so he could only express reluctance. As Peirus had expected.

“You’re misunderstanding. When did I say we should hinder the variable’s expedition?”

Of course, Peirus had already come up with his own plan.

“We’ll let the Ordos invasion proceed. It’s not something we can stop now anyway. Instead, we will…”

So, Peirus smiled faintly and explained his plan to the other apostles.

“If the variable is trying to strengthen the barrier, we just need to bring even more chaos. While her attention is focused on the east, we’ll shake the Dragon Kingdom and harvest the deaths of the dragonkin.”

While not as efficient as human souls, it was possible to fill the Holy Grail with the souls of other races.

If we harvested more souls than the enemies Ha-shal-leur defeated, even if she strengthened the barrier with her overflowing feats, we could accumulate enough deaths to destroy the fourth barrier.

“Didn’t you hear me? The current Heavenly Demon Palace doesn’t have the strength to wage war-”

“It’s not a problem. If the issue is your side’s loss of strength… Just inflict similar losses on the enemy. Leave it to me.”

In response to the 5th apostle’s objection that it was impossible to wage a second holy war due to the Evil Faction dragonkin’s losses, Peirus shook his head and proposed a solution.

Peirus himself would personally step in to reduce the strength of the Righteous Faction dragonkin.

To the point where the Heavenly Demon, crouching in the Heavenly Demon Palace, would tear up the truce and start a second war.

“No, if you have that kind of power, wouldn’t it be better to attack Hestela? We shouldn’t fight Ha-shal-leur herself, but if we just eliminate her subordinates, the Ordos invasion would be canceled.”

The 4th apostle asked in a bewildered tone. It was a valid point.

If they had the power to halve the strength of the Righteous Faction dragonkin, there was no need to cause chaos in the Dragon Kingdom; they could just directly target Hestela and tie them down.

However, Peirus had no choice but to oppose the 4th apostle’s opinion.

“…It’s too far.”

“Ah.”

“Ahem.”

“It can’t be helped.”

The other apostles also had no way to refute.

Unless they were near Landenburg from the start, the current Landenburg, stuck in the eastern edge of the Empire, was just too far for Peirus.

By the time the forces he sent arrived in Landenburg, Ordos might have already burned to the ground.