CH 96

Chapter 96 – Kingdom Collapse

“Everyone, I thank you for your hard work.”

A large wooden table was set up in front of the church. The meeting began with a somewhat theatrical declaration of victory by old Dwarf Heimann.

A victory report meeting for the Casemaian. To be more precise, it should be called a “strategy meeting” because we were planning for the future, but that was just a matter of mood.

We won the war.

“It was as I had expected, or even more so. Above all, the fact that we did not suffer a single casualty is the best thing that could have happened. We are a small army. People are our most important asset.”

The birth rate for Elves, who have extremely long life spans, and Dwarves, who are not as long-lived as Elves but longer-lived than humans, is low to begin with. It also takes time for them to grow up. They are physically strong and capable, but this is a clear weakness in the context of a war between nations.

Violence in numbers leads to accidental deaths. The “one-hit-size-fits-all” strategy means that if you lose one of your soldiers, it may be the same as losing a thousand of them.

Beastman, on the contrary, are fertile and grows quickly. They are important human resources that support the multi-racial nation of Casemaian, but their lifespan is slightly shorter than humans, so they tend to live and die in haste, which is a disadvantage.

“To tell you the truth, I’d like to make a toast, but I’d like to go over the situation first. Then, we’ll decide what our priorities are and how we will deal with them. Then we can celebrate.”

We indeed defeated the 30,000-strong kingdom army. In addition, despite the fact that we had managed to prevent the onslaught of the imperial cavalry golem unit, we remained alone and unaided, surrounded on all sides by hostile nations, hostile organizations, and inhospitable demon forests, and we still had the duty to rescue and guide our compatriots who had fled and fallen away.

“Now, from me.”

The first one to report to me was Luvia-san, who was leading the winged tribe. Overhead reconnaissance and surveillance are undeniably the lifelines that support Casemaian.

According to their reports, the Imperial Army’s mounted golem unit was completely wiped out. There are no golems in operational condition, including those in the imperial capital. The only survivors of the kingdom’s assault force (which did not even face the kingdom) are the accompanying infantry and transportation soldiers who abandoned the front line. The total number of those who abandoned their weapons and equipment and scattered and fled toward the capital was 22 in all. Whether they will be able to reach the capital safely while running and hiding are unknown, as they will have to go off the roads and through the dark forest.

“Their enemies are not only Casemaian or the Kingdom’s army, you see.”

“Magical beasts and beasts, eh?”

“Yes. In addition, now it is also the imperial army.”

The imperial army is said to bind its soldiers with hostages and magic, so it is another matter of whether they will be able to survive once they reach their destination.

“What is the enemy’s position at the moment?”

Kemich, the leader of the Casemaian defense force, waved his hand at Luvia-san.

“There is no enemy activity within 50 miles of Casemaian. We will continue to monitor for a while, but at the very least, the empire should not be able to afford to be involved in Casemaian for a while.”

While the Dwarves and Elves nodded their heads in agreement, the Beastman chiefs tilted their heads doubtfully and looked around them. Before Luvia-san could explain, Myrril told them about the results of the preliminary reconnaissance.

“As far as I’ve seen and heard, the Imperial Army is mainly composed of mages and magical tools. Infantry and cavalry are just pawns to protect themselves from arrows and bullets. It may sound good to say that they are an elite few, but if those elites are defeated, the strength of the army will immediately fall to nothing. They will probably have to defend their territory for several years.”

“That is true. The mages are mostly nobles, and nobles can’t escape factional struggles. The general’s faction, which has been advocating foreign expeditions, will lose its voice, and the prime minister’s faction, which advocates the expansion of domestic politics, will rise to power.”

The additional information from Rinko did not elicit a remarkable response from the Beastmen, who either found it difficult or uninteresting. Some Dwarves and Elves seemed to be a little interested, but that was another matter.

“I think it’s the development of the northern port area that has been shelved, pending the empire’s conquest of the south.”

Luvia-san raised her hand, and I encouraged her to speak up.

“The civil war of the kingdom’s army is almost settled north of the royal capital and has shifted to fighting in the southern noble territories. The area around the royal capital has been slumming with refugees and deserters, but it is impossible to construct a force that would be able to invade Casemaian. That is all for now as for the aerial surveillance of the winged tribe.”

“Thank you, Luvia-san. I appreciate your hard work.”

As for the empire and the kingdom, there are no pressing issues. Then, Myrril raises her eyebrows a little.

“Speaking of which, what happened to the story that the kingdom is on the verge of economic collapse?”

“Let me explain that to you.”

The one who raised his hand was Merel-san, a fox-man merchant. The information network among the merchants is based on magic, and although he says he judges the authenticity of the information, he uses it as a reference when he needs to gather information.

“Trading itself within the kingdom is declining, but that is probably due to the deterioration of security caused by the civil war rather than due to economic collapse. However, it seems that in rural villages and small settlements, there is an increase in the number of people who do not accept money and demand barter. Salt, weapons, and gold are popular in exchange for agricultural and livestock products.”

“Not gold coins?”

“Yes. In the first place, the circulation of gold and silver coins north of the royal capital itself has become stagnant.”

Merel-san smiled bitterly at my comment. Yes, it is my responsibility. I’ve already given them to Simon, so they won’t be circulating in the kingdom.

“The economy around the royal capital has already collapsed as the wealthy have been hoarding and transferring their assets to the southern noble territories in anticipation of the soaring prices. Theft, robbery, and looting are also on the rise, and if farmers and merchants are wary of these trends, the number of daily necessities on the market will decrease even further.”

“Is it only a matter of time before the kingdom itself goes bankrupt?”

“No.”

Merel-san shook his head at Myrril’s words.

“The largest trading center of the southern nobles’ territory is the southernmost trading port of Meteora, and the king, queen, and princess who had escaped there were detained. I have heard that they are only awaiting execution. The royal power has been usurped, and the royal family’s assets confiscated. Then, those who guarantee the value of the coinage itself to the outside world will disappear.”

Hmm, things are starting to get a little fuzzy here. I don’t know much about economics. No, wait, it’s not that simple.

“Is it because the value of gold and silver coins was set higher than that of unprocessed metals?”

“Yes. The country’s economic base and credibility are lost. There is no hope of recovery. From the merchant’s point of view, the kingdom’s politics and economy, or even the country itself, is already completely bankrupt.”