𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟕𝟒.1: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐝𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 (3)
While Oswald was fighting in the east, the Imperial Empire was focusing on recovering from the Great War and the civil war that followed.
Of course, the relatively less damaged south and east were producing military supplies and medical supplies and exporting them to the east. As a result, the economy, which was once concentrated in the west and center, has now gradually shifted to the east and south, leading to a boom based on superior industrial capabilities.
At the same time, the authority of the lords was weakened, thereby guaranteeing more autonomy to the fiefdom residents, and the right to change residence was also sold more cheaply, increasing the middle class to only 1/10 of what it was before.
Because of this, the population, which had been evenly distributed in the past, is now moving in large numbers to the economically prosperous east and south, causing a population concentration phenomenon.
Originally, the lords would not have welcomed such behavior. . . However, for Emperor Valentine, who wanted to strengthen the imperial power and weaken the power of the provinces, this was a very desirable phenomenon.
Of course, the decrease in the agricultural population could lead to difficulties in food production. . . But that part was solved by making and selling or renting agricultural golems, allowing farming to be done without the need for a large population.
In the west, a great deal of time and expense was spent on recovering from the direct hit of the Great War and the subsequent civil war. Of course, the relatively safe Iberian region was enjoying a boom of its own, like the east and south, by selling recovery supplies.
In fact, in some ways, it was someone’s misfortune that others benefited, which was somewhat unethical, but the way of the world is that when someone benefits, someone else loses.
“Are you doing well?”
The regular communication that had been coming for several days had also stopped. The last communication said that he would be attacking the enemy in earnest. . . There had been no contact since then because the battle was so intense.
“Damn. . . . . .”
Moreover, she had recently started to feel sick. Oswald had gotten her pregnant during his two-week vacation before being dispatched. . . Since he had been gone for over five months, she was probably five months pregnant.
Even the priest of the Order had confirmed that she was having twins. Perhaps that was why it had become a little difficult for her to fulfill her duties as the Countess of Valencia lately. The Marquis of Winchester had sent one of the butlers of the Marquis’s family to act as the proxy ruler of the Earl of Valencia’s territory.
And Alicia went to the Winchester Principality to prepare for childbirth. She spent her time there without feeling lonely with the help of her mother-in-law, the Marquis, and lived a stable life.
In the meantime, news arrived from the east. The Imperial expeditionary force and the Plague’s army had clashed, and in the process, the Plague’s forces had been significantly reduced.
Of course, the Plague Demons were still active, and news also came that the commander of the expeditionary force, Oswald, was also alive. It was reported that both sides had exhausted a great deal of strength and were reorganizing.
To that end, Emperor Valentine decided to increase the size of the expeditionary force to help the Qin Dynasty, which had recently become a vassal of the Imperial Empire.
Currently, only one army corps of the army and airborne troops had been dispatched. In addition to this, it was decided to dispatch two additional tank corps.
A tank corps composed of only tanks, unlike an armored corps.
In preparation for the Great Chaos War, priests had been used to cast spells on both the armor and the shells, and recently, military priests had been riding on each tank as crew members.
Through them, it became possible to attack with even greater power by applying holy power to the shells in real time. Of course, a lot of money was spent on training these military priests. . . But their anti-chaos war power was almost unmatched.
In addition, the Stormtrooper Corps was also decided to be deployed in this expedition.
Since it was a unit composed of expert-level chimeras, there were few soldiers who could perform as well as they could in the anti-chaos war. Moreover, they could recover from any wound in an instant because they had a troll’s heart transplanted into them.