Chapter 719: War? (6)
The higher the rank in the Kingdom’s Army, the more positions were occupied by non-superhumans rather than superhumans.
This arrangement was partly intended to keep superhumans, who possessed power far beyond that of ordinary people, in check. However, that wasn't the only reason. It followed the same logic as not changing the places of the fist and the brain simply because the fist was harder.
No matter how strong one was, managing the tens of thousands of troops was an entirely different matter, and more often than not, it proved impossible. After all, people are people, regardless of how unbiased they claim to be. Humans are ultimately limited to seeing the world from their own perspective, and thus, superhuman commanders would frequently issue unreasonable orders to ordinary soldiers without realizing it.
Those commands often resulted in massive losses for the military. Having experienced this firsthand, the army and government significantly reduced the number of superhuman generals, determining that it was more appropriate for ordinary humans to lead other ordinary humans.
As a result, no matter how exceptional a Military Mage or mana user might be, most only advanced as far as colonel, with only a select few rising above that rank.
Yet, the reverse of this decision meant that some superhumans still occupied senior positions within the military. This principle extended to the command center, where powerful superhumans aligned with the army could be found even now.
“...”
“...”
“...”
However, none of them could move.
Even when the warlock, who had boldly declared war on the Kingdom’s Army in broad daylight and had launched an assault on the prison, suddenly entered the command center, they remained frozen in place.
The only part of their bodies that moved were their eyes, shifting to look at each other, desperately attempting to make sense of this situation.
How had Dave, who should be fighting the army on the outskirts of District A, arrived here?
In those brief yet seemingly endless moments, they exchanged silent glances, arriving at a single conclusion: they had no idea.
Everything happening now was beyond their comprehension. Physically, it made no sense for Dave to appear here in the central city hall from the outskirts of District A in just a few minutes. Furthermore, they hadn’t even heard the sounds of battle or received any reports during his approach. No matter how monstrous his strength, shouldn’t there have been some noise?
Yet Oliver had simply arrived, as if he’d just come up from a floor below.
This incomprehensible situation caused a fear distinct from war, a strange terror that gripped the officers in the command center.
But in stark contrast to them, Oliver casually walked into the room, tapping his quarterstaff on the floor without any trace of tension or fear, appearing almost bored.
He walked through the ranks of high-ranking officers in the Kingdom’s Army, grabbed a radio from next to Brigadier General Billy Crowley, and took a seat in an empty chair.
Throughout this, the radio continued to chatter noisily.
“...Reports indicate that the creatures summoned by Woodcutter Dave have caused extensive damage in District A, resulting in numerous casualties...”
Click.
“...Some speculate that the zombie army which attacked Landa was a plan long prepared by Woodcutter Dave. It’s believed that his acquisition of the contaminated zone in District F provided him with a large quantity of corpses—”
Click.
“Yes, this is what I think. This situation has been brewing ever since the Black Magic Faction was established at the Tower of Magic. According to my sources, many warlocks already had secret agreements in place—”
Click.
Each time Oliver changed the radio channel, an urgent news report filled the air, with each story casting Oliver as the villain. The high-ranking officers swallowed nervously, their throats tight. They’d heard these broadcasts earlier, but hearing them with the person in question present brought an entirely new weight to it.
“Aren’t you all going to leave?”
After flipping through the channels, Oliver abruptly asked.
The tense people in the command center didn’t understand him at first, but they soon recalled: Oliver had demanded that everyone except the commander, Brigadier General Billy Crowley, leave as soon as he’d entered.
Despite their desire to flee, they couldn’t simply walk out. Whatever happened, they were soldiers of the Kingdom’s Army, and that fact kept them from running.
No matter how terrifying it was, they couldn’t abandon their commander and escape.
So, they continued to watch Oliver, preparing themselves to respond if necessary, even though they weren’t sure if they’d be able to make a difference.
Then, Oliver spoke again.
“I don’t mind if everyone stays. How about you, Brigadier General Billy?”
Rather than issuing threats or preparing an attack, Oliver looked calmly at Billy Crowley, the highest-ranking officer in the room, and asked again. His tone was so strangely even that it was hard to tell if he was mocking or threatening, but somehow, it sounded as though he genuinely wanted to know if Billy was comfortable.
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Billy, who seemed to struggle with the attention before finally replying reluctantly.
“Everyone, leave...”
“A-are you sure—”
“—I said, everyone leave!”
Billy barked the order, and Oliver added reassuringly,
“I won’t harm anyone, so don’t worry. I only came to have a conversation.”
Though it sounded absurd to suggest he’d overcome an entire army just to talk, none of the officers argued and followed orders, filing out of the room. After all, this situation was already far removed from anything normal.
The footsteps of the departing officers echoed as the door closed behind them, leaving only Oliver and Brigadier General Billy Crowley alone in the room.
As the number of people in the room decreased, a deeper silence descended, which was soon broken by Billy’s steely resolve.
“Ask your questions. I’ll cooperate as much as I can.”
His determination meant that he was now willing to acknowledge the stark difference in power between him and Oliver and seek a way to survive by any means necessary.
After all, as long as he lived, he could regroup and prepare for a counterattack—
“You’re not listening to me.”
“...?”
“I told you earlier, I won’t harm you. There’s no need to force yourself to talk out of fear that I’ll hurt you. I don’t enjoy those kinds of conversations.”
Billy, who had been mentally preparing his defenses, hesitated.
Though he had reached his position through connections, he was still a brigadier general. He had a discerning eye, and he could tell that Oliver was being sincere.
Oliver had no intention of harming him.
That left Billy confused. Then why had he come here? And why did he want to have a conversation with him?
Sensing his curiosity, Oliver continued as if he were reading his mind.
“In fact, there’s no need for a conversation at all. I can learn most things simply by observing.”
It was a blatantly arrogant statement, but Oliver’s following words indicated he wasn’t merely boasting.
“Billy Crowley. Thirty-seven years old. Your father was a professor, and your mother a homemaker. Born into an average middle-class family, you enrolled in the Royal Military Academy and graduated with a rank of 168th out of 324 students—an unremarkable score.”
Billy froze.
“Rather than forging your own path, you relied on connections to advance, eventually grasping the hand offered by Puppet.”
The astonishing accuracy of his information rendered Billy speechless.
Initially, Billy had planned to brazenly deny anything Oliver said. However, when faced with such precision, curiosity replaced his desire to refute.
“...Did you investigate me?”
“I could, but I didn’t need to. It’s all things I can discern by observing you.”
“If you already know everything, then why are you even talking to me?”
Oliver shrugged.
“Well, I’m not sure. I’d just rather hear it directly from you.”
“So, is that why you wanted everyone else to leave? To make it easier to talk?”
“That’s part of it. Judging by what you’ve said, you admit to accepting Puppet’s offer. Why did you take his hand?”
“I have no reason to answer you.”
Billy retorted, only to quickly realize the futility of his stance.
“Of course, I wouldn’t need to hear it anyway—it’s likely the same reason as anyone else’s.”
Billy hesitated once more. He seemed to particularly despise being labeled as ordinary or just like everyone else.
It made sense. He had joined the army seeking significance.
“At first, they probably made you feel special,” Oliver continued, “likely through a high-ranking figure related to Puppet, rather than Puppet himself.”
“When you’d grown somewhat accustomed to it, Puppet himself must have appeared, subtly, so you wouldn’t feel any resistance.”
It was clear how Billy Crowley had eventually encountered Puppet through a royal intermediary.
“By then, you couldn’t refuse his offer. You knew that the hand extended to you was Puppet’s, yet you couldn’t just reject it, could you?”
The description was so vivid that it felt as if Oliver had witnessed the scene himself, rendering Billy speechless.
“As Puppet observed you, he probably drew you in bit by bit, acknowledging your talents and telling you he needed you. Then, by showing you others who had already allied with him, he reassured you that joining him wasn’t wrong.”
After all, wasn’t it just him and Dave here in this room right now?
“Puppet likely provided tangible rewards as well. One of those stars on your shoulder could have been among them. Didn’t it seem as if your future was guaranteed? Didn’t it feel as if you were becoming someone special? And he probably hinted at further rewards—perhaps not directly, but subtly enough that you understood.”
But what truly kept Billy from denying this story was his sense that if he opened his mouth, he’d fall entirely under Oliver’s control.
That tongue of his was dangerous—a devil’s tongue, just like the serpent’s in the Garden of Eden, tempting humanity’s weakest parts and leading them to ruin.
Billy had no desire to let this serpent’s words sway him, so he resolved to remain silent. But in that very thought, he realized how mistaken he was. If a disaster could be avoided by mere understanding, then it wouldn’t be a true disaster at all.
“Aren’t you curious?” Oliver asked. “About how I know all this?”
“…”
“If you want, I’ll tell you.”
“…”
“If not, we can just leave it.”
“How do you know?” Billy asked at last. “Is it because of those eyes?”
Oliver shook his head slowly.
“No, it’s because this is the method Puppet uses most frequently. With most people, this approach works well enough. Those with little self-confidence but endless greed… they’re common, really.”
Bang!
Billy finally lost his temper, slamming his fist on the nearby table and half-rising from his chair. Oliver’s words had struck a nerve.
“Common…? So ordinary…!?”
“Yes, people who don’t deviate much from the standard, who you’d find anywhere.”
“Ridiculous! Are you calling the Military Mages in the Tower of Magic, the druids, the Kingdom’s nobles, the Central Council’s politicians, even the Crown Prince—are you calling them ordinary people?!”
Billy, frustrated and at his breaking point, blurted out everything he’d been holding back. Under normal circumstances, he’d never be so reckless, but he trusted in Dave’s assurance that he wouldn’t be harmed. He was also driven by the heat of the moment, finding himself alone with the person provoking him.
Fortunately for Billy, Oliver didn’t show any signs of displeasure at his outburst. On the contrary, he appeared calm, almost as if he’d expected it.
“So, you’re saying that all those Military Mages in the Tower, the druids, the Kingdom’s nobles, the Central Council’s politicians, and the Crown Prince—are you saying they’ve all allied with Puppet?”
“That’s right! Even if you were as powerful as a monster, you’d never win against us! And even if you did, all you’d gain would be ruins, because we are this country…”
Driven to his limit, Billy unleashed everything inside him, panting heavily with exertion. Emotions once expressed tend to cool the mind, and as Billy’s anger subsided, he noticed something in his field of vision.
“The radio…?”
Billy muttered, staring at the radio Oliver held.
The news that had been playing was no longer audible. He wondered if it had been turned off, but the power was still on.
“In truth, I didn’t plan to go this far,” Oliver said.
“...What?”
“I have an agreement with Puppet. But on my way here, I made another promise—with an angry spirit. I promised to avenge it against those who’d wronged it. Otherwise, it would likely have torn apart District A entirely.”
“…”
“The problem, though, was that it wasn’t clear who it wanted revenge against. It was a druid who confined the spirit, but the one who taught them the method was someone else.”
Billy didn’t ask who that ‘someone else’ was. He already knew. Puppet was the one who had recruited the druids.
“So, after thinking about it, I decided to get revenge on that person too. I’d make them furious. Right now, the thing that would anger them most is having their work disrupted.”
Oliver tapped the radio he was holding.
“Our entire conversation has just been broadcast to the entire United Kingdom.”
“…”
“Everything, including how Puppet and the Crown Prince have joined forces.”
“You…”
“I just discovered I could do that.”
“You… damn…!”