Cthulhu Gonfalon

War was cruel and tough. No matter which side it was, war would be as such.

The humans might be under extremely great pressure, so much to the extent of the Kingdom of Light being on the verge of collapse, but the Orcs were not any better.

The Orcs’ productivity was not as good as that of the humans. But they had mobilized many more soldiers to go onto the battlefield on the Positive Plane to support the army.

The number of soldiers deployed was much too many, and therefore, it seriously affected the rear production.

The Orcs’ main business was animal husbandry, followed by farming. From the end of winter to the beginning of summer, the long period of confrontation between the two armies had caused them to consume a large number of rations. The ration reserves of the Orc Empire were almost exhausted.

If they were to continue being locked together in this state of impasse, while the humans might be able to persist for a little longer, the Orcs would not be able to hold out any further.

Emperor Ilo looked at the heavily guarded storehouses at the back of the army and sighed to himself inwardly.

Those storehouses for military provisions might be large, but there actually weren’t many provisions inside. If they were to maintain such a rate of consumption, it was estimated that in another month to a month and a half, the army would run out of food.

Backward agricultural and animal husbandry production, as well as the scarcity of manpower, caused rear production to fail to catch up in pace. To get rid of the immediate crisis, they had to ask the gods for help.

But… if they were to ask the gods for help, it would mean that they had to violate the rules laid down by the Master of Order.

Be it Emperor Ilo or the Orc gods, no one was willing to take that risk.

Now the situation was one in which the Orcs had the upper hand, they were reluctant to take any chances. Risk-taking was something only the underdogs would do.

It was just like how Lefon, the “Sky Devourer Canine,” had directly used his God Kingdom to damage the human’s God Kingdom, and without saying anything at that.

But… if they did not get any help from the gods, they might simply lose this battle on Earth.

Emperor Ilo frowned deeply and said nothing.

“Wait, just wait,” he told himself in the end. He said something as such to himself, “At least before I truly am at my wits’ end, I should not impose on the gods!”

East of the Great Wall, in the humans’ military camp, the atmosphere was very downcast.

Unlike the Orcs, who at least still had reports of victories coming in successively, the humans had been receiving a steady flow of bad news during the same period. There was simply no good news for them at all.

That place had been attacked this time, this and that human convoys had been attacked, many gods were still uncontactable, the troops that tried to attack the Orc army had failed and returned defeated… in short, there was not a single piece of good news at all!

If not for the fact that they knew how important this war was, and if not for the fact that they were deeply aware that there was no way out, many would have been tempted to simply turn around to return home.

At the regular military conference, the air pressure was as low as if it were going to rain.

“His Majesty, the Void Mask, has received another group of around 20,000 refugees today.”

“Let him take them away then. At least this can take some pressure off us.”

“But there are many places where various signs are appearing. There are many people who are unwilling to fight this war.”

“Those ignorant fellows! Don’t they understand that we are already standing on the cliff. We have no other choice other than gritting our teeth and persevering in our climb up to the peak. The moment we let go, we will fall to our deaths!”

“Those people are ignorant, but they are also the most straightforward ones. They find such things difficult to understand, and they are only able to see the benefits right before them.”

“So hateful! We are fighting and bleeding at the battlefront, all that’s required of them is nothing more than laboring at the back. They can’t even do something like that. They are simply crap!”

“During this time, there have been a lot of labor injuries happening everywhere. Because of the burden of heavy labor, there were already many injuries or even deaths. Here I have with me, the statistics—”

“Shut up! Such statistical data is useless! What we want is victory. For this, no matter what price we have to pay, it will be worth it!”

“Yes.”

“Why don’t we try to launch another large-scale attack? The things that our mages have prepared are relatively sufficient. It can last us through another great battle.”

“Those beasts are waiting for us to attack! If we attack now, we’ll be playing into their hands! What we should do now is to cause attrition, bite the bullet and wear them out! No matter how much pressure we are under, their pressure will only be greater than ours! You all have to understand that we have many countries with abundant resources, as well as strong industrial and agricultural production, backing us up. The Orcs only have that backward empire backing them up. Depending on the herds alone can’t possibly provide their army with enough resources to consume!”

“But they’ve made it this far. Maybe, they can still hold out for a long time…”

“No matter how long they can last, they will not outlast us!” said the leader of the allied forces of the humans, who was the king of the Kingdom of Light and also the incumbent archbishop of the Church of the Kingdom of Light. Because of an earlier attack by an assassin, he was only left with vision in one of his eyes. That eye lit up with a chilly glow. “Now, we are like two wounded beasts. Everyone’s bleeding. But they are more seriously wounded. Their bodies are not as strong as ours. If we go on with this war of attrition, victory will eventually be ours to claim!”

After a long silence, a young aristocrat asked, “But… the gods—”

He was only halfway through what he wanted to say when the people around him quickly cover his mouth.

The one-eyed king looked at them in a gloomy way and saw the man, who had his mouth covered, trembling all over.

After a long time, he said coldly, “The first military regulation, execution!”

With that, he concluded this military conference.

A moment later, a miserable cry was heard coming from within the conference room. Then the head of that young aristocrat was hung on the flagpole.

Article one of the military regulations prohibited the mention of matters related to the war of gods. This was regardless of identity. Anyone found in violation would be beheaded and displayed before the public!

The one-eyed king sat in his study in silence. His face registered a sullen expression, and the look in his eyes was ferocious.

He knew that everyone was under a great deal of pressure, but who could be under more pressure than him?

Those useless things!

Now was the time to fight this war of attrition. Even if it meant eating up the lives of his people, they had to endure till the Orcs could hold out no more!

It was tough for them. Now, it was also tough for the other Majesties. Everyone was going through a difficult time. Likewise for their enemies.

War was just something that was so difficult!

Without all these trying moments, where would there be victory!

The one-eyed king did not say anything. For a long time, he sat alone in the dark. Then he walked out of his study and headed to the prayer room.

Before the altar, he knelt and prayed earnestly.

“Great God of Light, the leader and hope for us humans. Please guide me as always; give me the courage and inexorability so that I can persevere, so that I can lead those weaklings who have grown weak and cowardly and who have started to exhibit emotions of withdrawing to persevere!

“We will win, and we will definitely not hold you back! Please fight in whatever way you want to. No matter what, we will persevere to the end. No matter what you require of us, we will do it!

“Your devout servant is now praying that you will prevail, and you will lead us to victory! For the sake of victory, no matter what you need, we will not hesitate to offer!

“All we want is nothing but victory!”

Outside the prayer room, the green jellyfish, that was invisible to the human eyes, watched everything in silence. His face was filled with sadness.