"Darling, what are you doing?"
When Claude returned to his quarters, he was surprised to find that Sheerah, who usually liked to read in her chair, wasn't there. Instead, she was working on something in front of the alchemical rune array she carried with her.
Sheerah insisted on going with Claude no matter what during Thundercrash's expedition to Freia. In the end, she had to disguise herself as a man and act as Claude's personal guard to accompany him all the way to the capital.
Apart from the guards and a few of Claude's lackeys, no one else knew that Claude had brought his lover with him.
"Oh, I went to the Vault of Gold today and took a look at the Nasrian treasury. I picked two pieces of jewelry and came back," Sheerah replied without looking up.
The vault was a place where Thundercrash stored all the valuables they had found in Nasri, including gold, silver, jewelry, precious art, and all sorts of other valuables.
As for the gold and silver coins, they were kept elsewhere.
Even though Nasri's treasury didn't have much gold and silver left after the war, it didn't mean that the people weren't wealthy.
The two operations had allowed Thundercrash to seize a large amount of wealth worth close to 50 million crowns.
In fact, Claude was quite shocked when he found out about the figures. To put it bluntly, Thundercrash didn't even get three million crowns from the destruction of Rimodra and Sidins. That was already the entire fortune of the two dukes and the loot they got from the other duchies' nobles.
Compared to the Nasrian royal family, the dukes and the duchies' nobles were like beggars.
Due to Thundercrash's 1st Folk's assault on the capital, most of the Nasrian royal family and nobles in the city weren't able to escape. Their wealth naturally fell into Thundercrash's hands.
Compared to the less than two million crowns in the treasury, the Nasrian treasury had given Thundercrash a huge surprise. Not to mention the six million crowns worth of gold and silver, there were also precious jewellery and collectibles that were valued at close to ten million crowns.
Apart from that, there were also the valuables taken from the Nasrian nobles in the capital. There were four to five million crowns in gold and silver, as well as many valuable jewelry and art treasures.
In the next two raids, most of the loot from the resisters was gold and silver, but there was also quite a bit of gold and silver equipment. The amount of loot alone far exceeded Claude's expectations.
Nothing could be more efficient than an organized robbery by the army. Apart from the gold and silver utensils, jewelry, and art treasures, the palace had also specially cleared out a large side hall to store some other valuable objects.
For example, on Nasri VII's 50th birthday, he gave every soldier in the imperial guards a set of copper tableware with gilded patterns as a commemoration.
The cutlery was piled up in the side hall and he considered giving it to Thundercrash as a souvenir for their conquest of Nasri.
It was worth mentioning that Nasri didn't have a national bank like the one in Aueras. There was only a royal bank.
The royal bank's responsibility was to issue Nasri's gold, silver, and copper coins. At the same time, it also provided usurious loans. It didn't handle small deposits.
That was because Nasri had a feudal system. The nobles had their own fiefs, which limited the royal bank's ability to set up branches in other prefectures.
As for the usurious activities of the nobles, most of them were in the hands of the feudal lords.
With the loot, Thundercrash and Monolith's reinforcements on the mainland were complete. They wouldn't have to worry about not having enough money to reward the soldiers of the two corps.
Rather, it could be said that the expedition back to Freia had earned back all the money they had invested in the past few years. They wouldn't even have to worry about spending for the next five to six years.
What Claude was curious about was what Sheerah was doing. It wasn't as if he hadn't given her some precious jewellery, but she didn't seem to care about them at all.
She usually liked to read the magic tomes the Nasri royal family kept in secret while waiting for Claude's return. Sometimes, she would even complain that most of the tomes were made up from hearsay and weren't as accurate as the ones in the cave her mother left behind.
Claude walked to her side and saw her carefully examining an exquisite sapphire necklace in the alchemical formation.
"This is a magic necklace. I saw it in one of the Nasri royal family's magic notes. It's said that this necklace has a compound spell that combines three mental spells: Charm, Illusion, and Seduction. The wearer of this necklace can cast a spell on a specific target and make the target trust or fall in love with the wearer. They'll be willing to listen to the wearer's orders without hesitation, even if it means giving up their lives.
That's why this necklace is also known as the Succubus' Temptation. I'm preparing to copy the three spells from the necklace. "
Sheerah gave a brief introduction of the necklace. Apart from staying by Claude's side, she was also interested in studying spells.
It was no wonder Sheerah would take the initiative to pick out accessories. It was related to magic.
Claude shrugged. "Is the spell on this necklace really that powerful?"
"It's just an exaggeration," Sheerah said.
"Mental spells are very complicated. How should I put it? If the target is a magus, the chance of success is less than 10%. That's because every magus trains in meditation, which naturally resists the effects of mental spells.
If the target is a normal person, it'll also have to depend on the effect. Some people have strong mental power, so their resistance is stronger.
For example, the compound spell on this necklace is mainly used to lure a target in a banquet. It'll be most effective when paired with the surrounding atmosphere. "
Claude thought about the mental shock spell he had. That was indeed the case. Back then, it didn't work on the magus who tried to rob him.
Sheerah was studying the necklace mainly because mental spells were rare. That was why she was interested in splitting the compound spell into three individual spell models.
After clearing out the unstable elements in the capital, Thundercrash had gained some initial control over the situation in the capital and the surrounding regions.
Now, the scouts were out in all directions, and the sparrowhawks were released in order to understand the overall situation of the battle.
Clearing out the surrounding towns and cities had already taken two months. Now, it all depended on the situation on the mainland and whether Monolith would take any action.
Three days later, Claude received a report from Ironclads about the battle on St Rusk. Seaking's defeat made Claude breathe a sigh of relief. The threat of an ambush by Seaking's fleet had been eliminated in the eastern seas.
However, the arrival of the two Shiksan standing corps worried Claude a little. He hurriedly ordered the scouts to scout out the five northeastern prefectures of Nasri.
Thundercrash's 1st folk had entered Nasri's heartland from Sidins. It was like a knife stabbing a man in the waist. They headed straight for the capital and caught Nasri off guard.
Claude then led 2nd Folk into Nasri along the same route and swept through the sixteen prefectures in the center of the kingdom.
Only the five northeastern prefectures and seven southwestern prefectures of Nasri weren't attacked by Thundercrash.
The five northeastern prefectures of Nasri were coastal while the seven southwestern prefectures were bordering Aueras.
Before the first great eastern war, Nasri only had two southwestern prefectures.
Aueras had 32 prefectures and Ibnister Plains, making it the largest country in the eastern regions.
After the war five years later, Aueras gained a new territory. Two-thirds of the eastern regions belonged to Aueras and they became the hegemon of the eastern regions of Freia in one fell swoop.
Unfortunately, the colonial wars in the colonies and the internal strife between the two kings of Aueras led to a civil war.
The newly crowned Prince Wedrick, Stellin XI, had no qualms about selling his father's land. He half-sold and half-gifted five prefectures to Nasri in exchange for a large sum of money and loans for military expenses. Only then did he manage to chase the first prince and his subordinates out of Nasri's mainland and into a new territory.
However, that caused the kingdom's territory to shrink greatly. The original 32 prefectures were reduced to 27. At the same time, they had to give up 23 of the newly conquered prefectures, demoting Aueras from the hegemon of the eastern regions to a weak mid-sized country that was even weaker than Nasri.
As a result, Aueras became a dog that could be beaten up by the eastern nations and was almost destroyed.
Now, with the aid of Monolith and Thundercrash, Aueras managed to turn the tables.
Sidins and Rimodra were destroyed once more due to the captivity of the two dukes and their families. The two duchies would never be able to reclaim their lands again.
Thundercrash's surprise attack on Polyvicia and Nasri wiped out most of Aueras. Aueras's mortal enemy could no longer make a comeback and was about to be forgotten.
However, the Thundercrash Army had fallen into an unforeseen crisis …
"What the hell are they doing?!
This is preposterous! "
Claude was furious. The situation had been turned upside down by those bastards from the royal court.
Never in his wildest dreams did he expect that the high-ranking officials and nobles of the kingdom, who had vowed to fight to the death against the invading Eastern Alliance army, would actually send the invading army out of the country and peacefully recover the Ibinister Plains and the capital, as well as the lost prefectures …
Over the past two months, while Thundercrash was busy clearing out the resistance in the cities and towns around Polyvicia, the invading alliance began to withdraw.
Currently, there were three corps from Nasri, three standing corps from Shiks, a folk from Canas, as well as two newly formed corps from Sidins and Rimodra. That added up to about 500,000 men.
While the alliance had the advantage in numbers, they were no longer a threat. Sidins and Rimodra had already been destroyed and the two newly formed corps had lost their will to fight. They couldn't wait to surrender and return home.
The three corps of Nasri were in a hurry to return to reinforce the capital and weren't willing to stay in Aueras any longer.
The three standing corps of Shiks and a folk from Canas had their retreat cut off and weren't in the mood to stay in Aueras to defend against Monolith's attack.
Naturally, they wouldn't be able to do so even if they wanted to.
So, the alliance began to withdraw from Aueras. They first retreated from the second line of defence to the first line of defence before retreating to the royal capital.
When Monolith noticed the enemy's movements, they began to give chase.
He was like a lone wolf hiding in the shadows, ready to launch a fatal attack at the enemy at any time, biting off the fat of the enemy.
No one dared to ignore the threat that the Monolith Army posed to the retreating Alliance Army. Therefore, the high-ranking officers and commanders of the Alliance Army did not hesitate to throw out two new armies from the two duchies to block the Monolith Army's attack route.
Perhaps, in their eyes, the two newly-built legions that were like stray dogs were only their burdens, not their companions and comrades.
The newly formed armies of the two perished duchies also surrendered to the Monolith Army as soon as they were thrown out.
The best choice now was for Monolith to hand over the surrender of the two corps to the royal guard, Gryphon and Crimson Dragon.
They would then continue to chase after the retreating alliance and force the enemy to split up and cut off their retreat. That way, Monolith's forces would fall into Monolith's jaws.
That way, even if the alliance retreated from Aueras in the end, they would have serious internal conflicts and their forces would be reduced by at least half.
Nobody was willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others, especially during a retreat.
Monolith's target, on the other hand, was the three Shiksan corps and the folk of Canas light cavalry. They weren't going to let those two armies return to Nasri.
However, all these plans were disrupted by the Imperial Guard Legion, Gryphon Legion, and Crimson Dragon Legion. They refused to accept the management of the two new legions that had surrendered and were determined to chase after the retreating Alliance Army.
At the same time, the high-ranking officers of the Ministry of the Army and the powerful nobles of the temporary royal court all expressed to Frederick I that the Monolith Army had already made great contributions and that it was time for the newly formed and reorganized three large armies to perform well …
So Frederick the First ordered the Monolith Regiment to serve as his personal guards. This was a great honor, and General Bolonik and General Birkin could not help but refuse.
As for the royal guard, Gryphon and Crimson Dragon, they got what they wanted and became the main armed forces chasing after the retreating alliance.
The problem was that the retreating alliance was only afraid of Monolith, not the royal guard, Gryphon and Crimson Dragon.
It had been three years since the war started and the alliance was already familiar with the three corps. Nobody knew what they were capable of.
After discovering that the pursuers were replaced by the three legions, the Alliance's armed forces quickly set up their formation on the Ibinister Plain, clashing head-on with the three legions in pursuit. This was the final battle in the kingdom's territory.
As expected, the three legions once again hit a nail on the head and kicked an iron plate.
Although the battle on the Ibnister Plains was very powerful, the battle progressed very quickly. Both sides retreated as soon as they clashed, and there were very few casualties. Only the Red Dragon Army, which was at the forefront, suffered a great loss. They lost two more regiments.
The royal guard and Gryphon, on the other hand, saw that the situation wasn't looking good and quickly turned around without meeting the alliance at all.
How should he put it? In the temporary royal court, when the three armies faced the Monolith Army, they could work together to take advantage of the Monolith Army.
However, if Monolith threw them a large number of military supplies, the three corps would immediately fight among themselves, each wanting to take the most benefits.
It was the same for the retreating alliance. Crimson Dragon was eager to gain merit and chased the fastest, but they lost more than ten thousand men.
The royal guard and Gryphon didn't have the belief to work together to save and cooperate with Crimson Dragon. Instead, they gloated and turned around first, standing on the periphery to watch the show.
Crimson Dragon's officers and soldiers gritted their teeth in hatred. They could only accept their bad luck and quickly retreated from the battlefield, away from contact with the alliance.
If Monolith could chase after the retreating alliance after the battle on Ibnister Plains, then the plan made by the autonomous region could still be completed.
However, the three corps in front hid the fact that they were at a disadvantage and continued the so-called pursuit.
In fact, they had a tacit understanding with the alliance to reclaim their lost territory after the alliance retreated.
Just like that, the three corps successfully reclaimed the imperial capital and the lost prefectures, sending the alliance back to Nasri's borders as if they were giving gifts.
The seven southwestern prefectures of Nasri cheered up once more, as it was now their territory.
The seven southwestern prefectures were well-equipped with defensive facilities and defensive lines, enough to withstand Monolith's attack.
More importantly, they still had more than four hundred thousand men, who hadn't suffered any losses during the retreat.
Claude couldn't help but feel angry. When the scouts reported back, he found that Thundercrash was facing a very dire situation.
The five northeastern prefectures of Nasri had gathered two new standing corps from Nasri, two Shiksan corps as reinforcements, and a newly formed light cavalry corps that Canas had urgently recruited. That amounted to about three hundred thousand men.
The seven southwestern prefectures of Nasri, on the other hand, were the four hundred thousand troops that had retreated from the kingdom.
According to the original plan, only half of those four hundred thousand would remain. With Monolith keeping them busy, they wouldn't be able to pose much of a threat to Thundercrash.
But now, the enemy forces in the northeast and southwest were ten times that of Thundercrash. It was obvious that their next target was to reclaim the capital of Polyvisia.
Thundercrash's first and second folk had less than seventy thousand men in total and couldn't deal with the enemy at all.
There was still a huge amount of wealth in the capital, over a hundred thousand captives, and over two hundred thousand separated captives' families. All of that needed to be guarded.