More than two months have passed since the Sacrifice of the Chosen One, and the Arcane Council has not traced the origin of Griffith's qualifications for being selected at all. The Senate has not even asked in detail which God's Hand he is.
This situation was caused not only by Salorian's influence, but also because it was not a good thing to know too much about the secrets involving the gods.
Griffith flipped through the papers on his desk. He received letters from all walks of life, met for interviews, or exchanged views on the situation. Well-established people from different walks of life sent him congratulations on becoming the Hand of God, or generously provided information they had.
The problem that had long plagued Griffith suddenly shifted from insufficient intelligence to too much to deal with. This left him in urgent need of a group of secretaries and staff to assist him.
One of the most important letters was an encrypted communication from Roland. The legendary warrior invited him to Qiming County to participate in the upcoming National Assembly, which will be held at Roland's base camp and will be attended by representatives of a wide range of citizens. Needless to say, this was a rebellion meeting.
After the failure of the tripartite consultation meeting of elders, wizards, and citizen representatives at the beginning of the year, street fighting immediately broke out in the streets of Bijalan. After a series of events such as the return of the Dark Lord, the fall of King Aurelius, and the withdrawal of the regicide from the capital, street fighting broke out. It also subsided.
Griffith was attending the Rite of the Chosen at the time and did not witness the chaos. However, everyone knows that this war that broke out in a hurry and ended hastily is just the beginning. The citizens who have not achieved their goals cannot escape the newly introduced taxation bill and will inevitably come back with greater determination and strength.
They have people, money, materials, Roland who has been planning for a long time, and the support of the unfathomable hermit.
Griffith read the letter and burned it on a candlestick. As a knight of the Senate and the nobility, participating in such an illegal assembly cannot be mentioned on the stage, and must be done secretly.
Tina, who was stranded in Bayerland, also sent a letter, reporting the information about the "Hermit" that Griffith was most concerned about.
According to the citizens——
“The Dark Lord is back and resurrected.
"He is omnipresent and omniscient, and powerful and loyal believers follow his orders to beat up the nobles and their lackeys. Blind and foolish people cannot see Him, and only the wise and brave can follow His shadow."
What is this?
Griffith has read dozens of letters, and there are various descriptions of this dark lord. Some people say that he has white hair and white robes, and holds a holy fire in his hand. Some people say that he is bald and noseless, wrapped in black clouds and lightning, and with a single The magic wand waved forbidden spells, and some said that He had brilliant armor and held a glorious holy sword, or that His true body was actually a dragon, breathing flames from its mouth.
These messy eyewitness testimonies insist that they have seen the true face of the Dark Lord. They say everything except that the Supreme Lord actually has no clothes.
Tina is quite honest. She admitted that no matter how hard she tried, she could never see the majestic face of the Supreme Being. Whenever she hears that the Supreme Being has appeared in a certain place, she rushes there, but when she gets there, the Supreme Being appears in another place.
Therefore, the hermit's true abilities and appearance are unknown to Griffith. The only certainty is that, according to official military intelligence reports, the Dark Lord's psychic energy traveled to Verona and was hidden there.
There seems to be a problem... Griffith tapped the table for a while. Soon, he gave up his guess and shouted to the door:
"Please come in."
Desai immediately opened the door and saluted the captain. My sister Saya, whom I hadn't seen for a long time, stood aside as if she had just done some strenuous exercise, waving to her brother.
"Desai comes first, Saya also comes in, now sit on the sofa."
Desai looked reserved, nodded stiffly to the chief's sister, and then quickly walked into the reception room.
He is Griffith's eyes and ears left in the Storm Squadron, responsible for recording the squadron's daily training and operations, and reporting on the frontline battle situation.
This work was originally assigned to Desaix and Gilles de Es. However, for some reason, the young man from the Ess family assassinated the king and injured Count Larmore. After that, he escaped without a trace. disappeared.
"Tell me about the situation in Verona, Level 2 Captain," Griffith tapped the map and said, "I have received many victory reports. Beyeland's legion is invincible, but why is the battle line heading east? Retreat to the rear?”
"The battle lines don't lie, commander," Desai straightened up his chest. "Last year, Count Chalon's army was still preparing to attack Sofia (an important town in the west of Verona) and pacify the entire territory of Verona. Now, the army has Having retreated to Hascovo (the transportation hub in central Verona), by the end of this year, they will definitely be able to successfully enter the Old Town (the Beyeland territory in the easternmost part of Verona).”
According to Desai's report, Beyeran's regular regiments and allied forces were unable to deal with the elusive rebel forces. The vast land of Verona is like a desert absorbing water, constantly swallowing up the well-organized military formations and abundant supplies; as the difficulties increase day by day, the discipline of Bijeran's army becomes worse and worse, and many places, from field troops to city defense troops, begin to disintegrate.
If this situation continues, it won't be long before the situation in Verona will collapse. This is a result that the Senate and the Arcane Council cannot accept.
"I judge that it won't be long before Homemon Watts will organize another spring camping trip in Verona," Griffith said. "As long as the most energetic young nobles are sent there, under the supervision of Shutoral, Attack. The Senate will definitely think so."
"You mean..." Desai had a bad idea.
"The Senate will definitely reorganize the offensive. They have no choice," Griffith said. "If the Legion cannot launch an attack, then let the Senate's own people do it for them."
"But the legion, the legion's strength is insufficient..."
"Yes, the Legion has already suffered heavy losses in Verona. The battle situation is too unfavorable for the Senate, so more troops must be gathered." Griffith smiled, and then began to think.
Saya sat quietly on the sofa drinking juice and listening to the two people talking. Seeing her brother lost in thought, she stuck out her tongue at Desai and glared.
Desai stood straight on the spot, not daring to look left or right. The report did not shy away from Saya. It is indeed against the rules for ordinary people to participate in military intelligence meetings, but it is obvious that the Ravenel Knight wants the daughter of the Brandon lower knight family to become a member of the Ravenel family. She was destined to follow the Hand of the God into society, marrying a young man with a bright future, binding Lal Nair to a powerful ally.
But I have to control my eyes, and I can’t see things I shouldn’t see again. Oh, by the way, what kind of ability prevents me from ever going up the stairs, otherwise it won’t be... Desai resisted the urge to cover his face, and slightly Shaked his head.
Griffith was completely unaware.
Beyeland has 24 regular regiments. They are the field army that responds to crises around the world. They are responsible for combat missions around the world with the support of headquarters, auxiliary corps, bases, logistics and city defense forces. Among these 24 legions, ten legions will be deployed on the front lines and fortresses of Odessa and Sevastro against the Orcs, three on the eastern front of Atana, three in the southern province of Emmon, one in the southern border, and the direct jurisdiction of Bijerland. and three in total reserves. Just one and a half of these twenty legions were annihilated by the orcs last autumn and are in urgent need of reconstruction. Only four legions remained that could be deployed to Verona.
Each legion consists of 4,000-5,000 well-trained soldiers, led by officers and Beyonders, and equipped with iron armor, artillery, cavalry, various weapons and sealed objects. If they can't cope with the war situation, building a new legion will be a staggering expense. Beyeland's already difficult financial situation is bound to worsen.
Verona is the sore of Beyeland. If the Senate's reorganization offensive was thwarted and another army was wiped out, the barely maintained balance would collapse.
The Senate knew this, the Elves knew it, Commodus knew it, the Dark Lord knew it, and all the Hands of God knew it. The ownership of the miracles has not yet been decided, and the battle between the gods has not yet decided the winner. The node that determines the balance is that the first battle of the gods must take place in Verona.
Griffith's decision was made.
…
"Did the entrance exam go well?"
After the meeting, Griffith took Saya and left the campus. Since freshmen taking exams are not allowed to live in dormitories, Saya has to stay at Griffith's home in Baltimore town at night. There they can change clothes, take a break, and attend the on-campus welcome dance in the evening.
Today is the day of the entrance exam and the results are not out yet. However, just as the outcome of the battlefield has been decided before the war, the admission qualifications of many freshmen can be determined today.
"It's not bad. If you add Professor Salorian's recommendation letter, there will definitely be no problem."
What problems could there be if he could get a letter of recommendation from a demigod... Griffith held the already written letter of recommendation in his arms, preparing to submit it to Master Salorian for signature in the evening.
They walked side by side in the street.
"How long has it been since we last met?"
"Four years! You haven't been back home since you went to the Eastern Front."
That's right... Griffith could talk endlessly in the meeting, but he didn't know where to start now. He clearly missed his family so much, and he had so much to say, but he didn't know where to start.
They arrived at the hut on Huayue Street in silence.
"It's quite good!" Saya looked carefully at the elegant courtyard, the carefully selected curtains and carpets, and touched the beautiful porcelain on the table. She nodded with satisfaction, "Brother, you can do it!"
"Don't take it seriously, don't take it seriously," Griffith quickly became humble, "I usually don't take good care of myself, it's all..."
"So I praise you! As expected of you!" Saya spun around in the living room like a dancer, and then touched the oriel window facing the street. Suddenly, she discovered something and turned around to push her brother and push him into the bathroom: "You wash first, and then leave the bathroom to me. I want to soak for a while and attend the dance beautifully!"
Regardless of whether her brother wanted to or not, Saya threw the bathrobe and towel in and closed the bathroom door. Then he quickly came to the door of the living room, combed his hair, touched up his makeup in front of the mirror, took a breath, drank a glass of water, rubbed his face and stared at the door.
After a while, she took out a pamphlet from her handbag and read the dense index notes:
"There is no mistake~ She has rose-style blond hair, energetic blue eyes, good figure, tall and lithe, a super beautiful beauty, well, she is undoubtedly Countess Larmour!
"Only in love and war can you do whatever it takes! Brother, don't worry!"
"Dong dong dong!"
While Saya was talking, there was a knock on the door.
There was no class today, and Sonia had made an appointment to go shopping with Fiona. When she was shopping for a new pair of shoes, she heard Murat passing by and Rana who was helping to carry things whisper something - "Griffith, the new girl, Short skirt, wow!”
The countess suddenly remembered that she was going to attend a ball with her knight tonight, so she apologized and left. From a distance, she saw Griffith returning home side by side with a girl with a beautiful back.
When Sonia came to her senses, she was already standing at the door of the cabin and knocked on the door three times.
Ah, what have I done——! Why am I here? Griffith brought another girl home. This kind of thing has nothing to do with me. No, it has something to do with it!
The Countess' mind was in confusion and she wanted to turn around and leave on the spot. At this lightning moment, the door was opened, and the charming girl welcomed her with a sweet smile:
"Welcome, Sister Sonia! Please come in!"
Hey, who are you? Why do you know me? Why do you call me by my first name when you meet me for the first time? Why is it your sister? We are not a family... Sonia was confused and subconsciously walked into the familiar living room:
"Who are you?"
"I am Saya Blanton, Griffith's sister!" the charming girl said, "My brother always talks about you to me!"
Eh! younger sister! Griffith's sister!
Really, really? Does Griffith always talk about me to his sister? It's not allowed to talk about outsiders in intimate private conversations between family members... Well, wait a minute, they didn't treat me as an outsider. Saya also called me sister, doesn't it mean, means... It's okay, this is really sure!
Sonia was simply elated: "Where is Griffith?"
"He's here," Saya nodded and pointed to the bathroom, "He's taking a shower~"
The sound of rushing water could be vaguely heard, and Sonia's face suddenly turned red.
Saya stood on tiptoes, leaned close to Sonia, almost biting her tempting earlobe, and whispered:
"He is, in the bathroom, completely naked~"
