Chapter 134: Monsters Attack the Northern Empire as Well

(This is from a third-party perspective.)

Monsters do not only attack the Albion Kingdom. In the Vandle Empire to the north, the monster offensive was also intensifying.

The Vandle Empire had developed by focusing its efforts on domestic affairs such as commerce and industry, and its population surpassed that of the Albion Kingdom. Due to this large population, the number of people who could be mobilized as soldiers was high, and because industry was promoted, the troops were well-equipped; thus, the Imperial Army was strong.

However, although they had avoided a total famine, the fact that food could not be supplied in sufficient quantities cast a shadow over the nation. Like in the Kingdom, the Imperial soldiers were not full-time professionals. Usually, they grew wheat or worked as craftsmen in the towns. Because food was scarce and prices were rising, they could not always eat their fill. As a result, some were losing physical strength or falling ill.

Furthermore, with the increase in monster attacks, the soldiers on the front lines were becoming exhausted—not just in body, but in spirit. For example, in the territory of a certain Imperial lord adjacent to a monster-spawning demon realm, such conversations were being exchanged:

“Another monster attack?” “How many times does this make this month?” “There is no time for idle chatter! The monsters are already close. Your hard work is what protects the people.”

The superiors encouraged the soldiers, but the men were weakening. Although the Vandle Empire‘s army was somehow managing to repel the monsters, the number of those killed or wounded in action was gradually increasing.

Moreover, there was another cause for the Empire’s suffering. In the capital, the Prime Minister was reporting the matter to the Emperor. “Your Majesty, in the lords’ armies, the number of soldiers being moved from the front to the rear is increasing.”

“What has happened? Have the casualties suddenly spiked?” “It is not that. It is simply that the number of those leaving due to poor health is rising.” “Poor health? Is it tuberculosis…? That is troublesome.”

The tuberculosis that had been prevalent in the Albion Kingdom was also raging in the Vandle Empire. “In some of the lords’ armies, it seems that twenty to thirty percent of the soldiers are infected.” “Umu. This is a grave situation.”

Tuberculosis is a highly contagious disease to begin with, and it spreads easily in armies where people live in close quarters. Furthermore, those weakened by food shortages are more susceptible to illness. Tuberculosis had become a major factor in sapping the strength of the Imperial Army.

While the Albion Kingdom had the specific remedy created by William, the Vandle Empire had no effective medicine. Patients who contracted tuberculosis had no choice but to be isolated for recuperation.

The Imperial leadership felt a growing sense of crisis regarding this situation. The Second Prince, Ernst, was one of them. By the way, the First Prince was the son of a concubine, and it had not been decided which of them—the Second Prince, who was the son of the Queen Consort, or the First—would succeed to the throne.

The First Prince had gone to the battlefield as one of the generals of the Imperial Army. One could view this as him taking the initiative to face danger as the next Emperor, but one could also consider that the Second Prince, who remained in the capital, was being more cherished. The two princes were in a delicate relationship.

Ernst held complex feelings about being in a safe place and spent his days worrying about the crisis the Empire was facing. “The impact of tuberculosis is significant. If only we had the Streptomycin developed by Lord William in the Empire as well.” The Kingdom’s wheat could be bought through merchants, but the Kingdom did not permit the medicine to be sold outside the country.

“Even having the soap alone is a help.” Since the merchants from the Kingdom sold soap, the Empire was purchasing it in large quantities. “Ah, thanks to the soap, the spread of tuberculosis is being suppressed. And was that soap not also made by Lord William? As expected, Lord William is amazing.”

Just then, the Imperial Intelligence Department gathered information that Will was scheduled to be given the southern undeveloped lands as his territory and was being pitied within the Kingdom. This information reached Ernst‘s ears as well. “What? You say that prodigy, Lord William, is receiving a remote, undeveloped land as his territory!”

“Yes. The Intelligence Department says there is no mistake.” “I see! As I thought, the Kingdom only thinks of swords and magic and does not understand Lord William‘s value. In that case, there is a chance to invite him to the Empire.”

After thinking for a while, Ernst eventually made a decision. “I truly did not want to involve my younger sister in politics, but for the future of the Empire, it cannot be helped.” Muttering this, he presented a proposal to his father, the Imperial Emperor.