Chapter 40

I was advertising while waiting and waiting some more.

The ad’s effect finally showed up after a super long time.

Someone tried to summon me.

But alas, something seemed off. Even though they tried, no fishing line came down from above like last time.

Still, it’s important that someone is trying now. The more attempts, the higher the probability of returning to the world again!

Meanwhile, a lot of stuff happened in the world where I first set foot.

First, Isla decided to avenge Witga. So she stayed in the Ansellus Kingdom. That’s because Wide hates Tisah, so it’s clear he will invade the Ansellus Kingdom sooner or later. Waiting here means Wide will come looking on his own.

And when Wide and Tisah weaken each other in battle… well, that’d be the perfect moment to strike Wide.

So Isla decided to stay in the Ansellus Kingdom until Wide shows up, training herself in the meantime.

Surprisingly, the Ansellus Kingdom allowed it.

Of course, they didn’t just let her roam freely. Unlike Tisah, she was basically confined to a location far from the capital.

Still, considering how she lost her country, even if Tisah said something, killing her wouldn’t have been strange—so this was quite lenient treatment.

On the other hand, Tisah rebuilt the Ansellus Kingdom with his comrades.

It was like something out of a novel: one of the people who fought alongside him turned out to be a member of the Ansellus royal family.

Also, since they defeated the villain who destroyed the Ansellus capital, there was already justification for their rise to power. In fact, Tisah essentially became the next king—or rather, queen, since it was actually a woman.

And guess what? This queen had feelings for Tisah.

Despair and love often go hand in hand, and I’m pretty familiar with those expressions.

But the situation was complicated.

The relationship between the man and the woman was tangled, and it wasn’t a simple matter of romantic feelings leading to marriage.

From Tisah’s perspective, I don’t know all the details, but there were definitely many issues.

So as things dragged on…

Some nobles revealed their ambitions.

Now, “ambitions” might sound odd, but you need to look at the bigger picture here.

First, the entire Ansellus Kingdom wasn’t devastated. Only the places Future Hope Church invaded suffered heavy damage.

Except for their invasion route and the capital, everything else remained intact.

And when a leader dies in a stable kingdom, even loyal subordinates start thinking about taking over.

Yep, you guessed it.

A civil war broke out.

To be honest, I’m not great at predicting political moves, but I can listen to others.

Since Tisah was a key figure in the current royal family, I could attend meetings and hear various stories. That’s why blessing high-ranking people is important, right?

Anyway, whether it was because they were from the Ansellus Kingdom or because overthrowing the royal family outright lacked legitimacy, no one planned to kill all remaining royals and crown themselves king.

Instead, they declared the queen’s inner circle as puppets controlling her like a marionette.

Ironically, they themselves intended to make the queen a puppet.

Besides, the current queen is still a girl.

Young enough that forcing a marriage wouldn’t raise eyebrows—a living crown, you could say.

For that crown, two noble families—the Count and Marquis houses—raised their banners in rebellion.

At first, I thought, “Seriously? Just these nobles rebelling?” But apparently, rank doesn’t define strength here.

Let’s give the Marquis house a pass.

But the Count house? Isn’t that too low-ranking?

Turns out, they were the most powerful faction in the Ansellus Kingdom.

Their territory contained iron mines and silver mines, plus it was located near the southeastern border, controlling a vital trade route.

That made them incredibly strong.

So what about the other nobles?

They stayed silent.

No one knew which side would win, especially since having a young girl as queen was practically unheard of.

Meaning, the situation was extremely dangerous.

Ever since I met Tisah, I’ve felt like this story revolves around them as the protagonist.

But watching through Tisah’s eyes, being a hero isn’t easy at all.

Tisah barely survived thanks to their insane regenerative abilities.

In most stories I’ve seen, characters hang out with friends, communicate, face crises, fight, resolve them, then gain wealth and fame.

Not Tisah.

Tisah had to oversee preparations for battle, manage the country simultaneously, and handle every single task. Normally, there’d be assistants for that, but everyone died when the royal castle fell.

Wide and the other Blessed Ones slaughtered everyone alive in the castle—it was insane.

That day, more than ten thousand souls’ warmth came to me.

Heheh.

Ahem. Anyway, since manpower was scarce, anyone alive had to work nonstop.

Regeneration is truly an amazing ability.

Without it, Tisah would’ve died from exhaustion long before facing any aristocrats or religious sects.

While Tisah was busy working, suddenly two nobles issued statements and raised arms against them.

The first opponent was the Marquis house, whose territory was relatively close. They reached the capital first.

The fight ended quickly.

The defenders in the capital were elite troops who had already fought off superhumans, whereas the Marquis soldiers were mostly inexperienced.

The Marquis was arrested almost instantly and thrown into the castle dungeon.

But the Count house was a much tougher opponent.

Instead of rushing in with troops, they slowly tightened the economic screws.

Even with all their resources, the Count house couldn’t easily overthrow the royal family. I didn’t realize this until the queen complained during a meeting attended by Tisah that no one was helping.

She lamented that continuing the fight wouldn’t guarantee victory—and Tisah would definitely lose.

Why?

Do you remember the people who abandoned Wide? Those Blessed Ones who fled east after suffering a crushing defeat under Tisah’s leadership? They judged Wide unworthy after losing his authority.

After parting ways with Wide, they drifted south toward the southeast.

Sound familiar? The Count house controls the southeastern corner, right?

Exactly 17 of them.

The Count house absorbed them.

If experienced elders were among them, the outcome might’ve been different—but these were merely Blessed Ones born as children, strong but naive.

Seducing them was easy.

Naturally, gaining such immense power bred greed.

The Count decided to seize control of the current royal family by force.

With the Blessed Ones leading the charge, they advanced on the capital.

Unfortunately for the Count, he chose poorly.

Resentment toward the Future Hope Church still lingered, and the national religion of Ansellus Kingdom was the Seongsin Church.

This was a nation filled with devout believers who once wiped an entire religious state, the Yeongyang Church Nation, off the map.

The nobles opposing the Count joined the fight.

Victory seemed within reach.

And at this point, something interesting happened.

Isla decided to fight alongside Tisah. Her reasoning? If Tisah died, Wide might never invade.

Heheh.

Of course, I know the real reason. She was lonely.

Isla had been half-imprisoned in a remote place where she knew no one.

Her movements weren’t strictly restricted; she just had guards watching her whenever she went out. That stopped when the Marquis attacked.

Yet when the guards disappeared, Isla felt weaker instead of freer.

Loneliness must hurt.

So she joined the group. Of course, she made excuses to Tisah and the others, claiming her body would rust without practice or that she needed training to kill Wide when he arrived.

But late at night, Isla clutched her blanket, unable to sleep, trembling and whispering that she hated being alone.

That was the real reason.

Once Isla joined, along with some northern and western nobles, the battle began shortly after.

Many died. Tisah, Isla, and the remaining 17 Blessed Ones killed countless foes.

Meaning, they gave me plenty of warmth.

Heheh.

But battles are brutal.

The 17 were reduced to 8, and Tisah lost a close friend during the fight.

Hatred filled the battlefield, leaving no room for retreat until the end.

Surprisingly, Tisah proposed peace negotiations.

“Enough killing,” Tisah said. “Let’s stop fighting.”

There was fierce resistance, especially from the newly allied nobles who insisted the Count must be branded a traitor and executed.

But Tisah forced the negotiations forward. Still, it wouldn’t matter unless the Count agreed…

And surprisingly, he did.

Looking through the eyes of Tisah, Isla, and the remaining 8 Blessed Ones, maybe both sides simply killed too many.

They agreed to halt the fighting and clean up the battlefield filled with corpses.

Finally, people saw the battlefield through Tisah’s perspective.

What was once a forest was now a charred plain, littered with rotting bodies and scavenging wild animals—a sight that would bring sorrow to any sensitive soul.

Both sides ceased fighting and cleaned up the bodies.

For two whole weeks.

Only then did they agree to find another way instead of continuing the conflict and decided to return home.

But did you know?

This was the weakest point for the Ansellus Kingdom.

Tisah was leading their forces back to the capital when…

Wide appeared with the Miiriga Church, intent on killing Tisah.

It was a dangerous situation. Even exhausted soldiers would struggle against pseudo-religious warriors mixed with superhumans.

The nobles supporting the queen, Tisah, and their friends—all the most crucial forces—were caught off guard in their weakest state.

Let’s rewind a bit.

Andrew originally planned to persuade or manipulate Wide against attacking the Ansellus Kingdom. But circumstances favored Wide.

Especially the civil war dragging on due to the deadlock between the queen’s side and the Count’s side. From then on, Andrew carefully guided events, promising Wide he’d help fulfill his wishes.

When the fighting stopped, Andrew immediately unleashed Wide, the Blessed Ones, and every fanatic Wide had gathered.

Thus, Wide, Tisah, and Isla found themselves face-to-face.

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