Chapter 1074 – #256_작은 전쟁
#1068
1.
Accepting the vice-commander’s advice, Herja successfully led the Lehar group in their disruptive operation.
Wearing necklaces that identified them as Solitudus Trading Company’s goons, they launched a preemptive strike on Gehenna.
Afterward, the atmosphere among the Lehar group, who had returned to their temporary hideout in the mortal realm, was almost festive.
They had not only delivered a historic middle finger to the Gehenna mainland, which had not experienced a proper invasion in hundreds of years, but they had also thoroughly messed with Lydia.
“Hahaha! I bet Lady Magnus’s face is a sight to behold.”
“Yeah, yeah. That coward only talks tough, but she avoids fighting while using all sorts of tricks.”
“Any pursuit from Gehenna?”
“Doesn’t seem like it yet. Those stick-in-the-muds are a bit slow.”
Herja knew that the vice-commander’s words weren’t just wishful thinking.
She had clearly seen how Gehenna had been flustered by the attack on Border Town.
They were being unilaterally beaten without even having a proper defense system in place.
The resistance they had faced when they attacked the Seoul branch of the Location Point last time was much stronger.
Although they had overwhelmed them with an overwhelming difference in forces, both the Sword Witch and the Way Witch had shown a swift response.
“So, Commander, what are we going to do now? Another attack like this? Or should we just start a war?”
“No.”
Herja shook her head at the vice-commander’s question, who was intoxicated with success.
Lydia had called her an uncivilized barbarian wife, but Herja’s animalistic instincts made up for her lack of intelligence.
And she had a good eye for the big picture.
That’s why she had controlled the level of the attack on Gehenna.
To ensure that the witches wouldn’t get hurt, that it wouldn’t turn into an all-out war, and that the responsibility for the sudden outbreak of war wouldn’t fall on the Lehar group.
“Why, Commander?”
“Then things will really blow up.”
“Wouldn’t a war be beneficial for us? We’d get tons of work.”
“That’s true, but we shouldn’t be the ones starting the war.”
Right now, Hexennacht would be applauding this exhilarating attack.
Gehenna would also be suspecting the intentions of the Solitudus Trading Company, the head, rather than the Lehar group, the tail.
But if the Lehar group, like a loser who had a lucky break, went beyond the first and second verses and into the overdoing it, Gehenna’s attention would shift from the Solitudus Trading Company to the Lehar group.
The troublemakers of Hexennacht, who had been saying, ‘Go on! Go on! Good job, Lehar group!’ would not help the Lehar group, who would become Gehenna’s primary target.
They might not even say, ‘Stop!’
“It’s better to make our move after Gehenna makes the first move.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yeah, there’s no need for us to step forward and become a free punching bag.”
If Gehenna responds strongly to this provocation, Hexennacht and Lydia will have no choice but to seek a response.
From then on, instead of being paid with passion, the mercenary group Lehar could move with reasonable compensation.
“If a full-scale war breaks out, we can just say goodbye to Lady Magnus and side with the New Qliphoth.”
Recently, Lydia seemed to have abandoned her ‘moderate’ title, but the orthodox hardliners of Qliphoth would warmly welcome the Lehar group.
It would also be a pretty good political publicity stunt.
It wasn’t like she had planned all of this out.
Herja was simply instinctively finding a way for herself and the Lehar group to survive.
“Ah, I wish a war would break out soon. Huh? Commander, where are you going?”
The vice-commander, who had spoken as if she wanted to go on a picnic soon, looked at Herja, who had risen with her massive frame, with a puzzled expression.
“You guys stay here and hide.”
“Where are you going, Commander?”
“To see Lady Magnus’s distorted face and check the atmosphere in Hexennacht.”
Right now, Herja was a returning hero.
Before this peak in her value cooled down, it was good to contact the big shots and get good terms.
Her ultimate goal was to secure a place for the Lehar group in the city, even without the support of the Solitudus Trading Company.
“If that’s the case, I want to go with you. I want to receive countless handshakes.”
“Then who will take care of the kids?”
“Is the commander going to have all the fun? If we go to the city now, we’ll be super popular.”
“Then you be the commander.”
“Hmph.”
Herja left the sulking vice-commander behind and headed towards the ‘gate’ of Hexennacht.
Unlike Gehenna’s gates, which had seized power in the mortal realm and allowed movement anywhere, Hexennacht could only be entered from major points that changed randomly.
Even with the increase in influence, there were about 10 portals compared to the 3 or 4 in the past, but getting there was still a chore.
Herja’s body soared over the blue sea and disappeared.
“She’s having all the fun by herself….”
The vice-commander, who was left alone and grumbling, suddenly received a call.
It was a call from an informant she had left in Hexennacht.
“Huh? The city gate is closed?”
2.
Erelim does not want a war between witches.
Neither does Lydia.
The reasons why the two oppose war are different, but their interests aligned at this point.
The secret pact between Duke Erelim and Lydia was neither difficult nor complicated.
What Lydia asked for was to calm the boiling public opinion in Gehenna.
The price was Herja’s head.
Duke Erelim was happy because he could quell the hardliners’ complaints without doing anything, and he was happy because he could avoid war.
On the other hand, Lydia was happy because she could secure peace in exchange for handing over Herja, whom she was planning to get rid of anyway.
Maybe Shin Siwoo would take care of it himself.
They were trying to settle the matter by making a win-win deal.
But things went wrong.
“Does that make any sense?! What were you guys doing? Were you just watching with your fingers in your mouths while that mess was happening at the front door?”
Lydia, who had received a report from her subordinate from Hexennacht in the mortal realm, was furious and yelled at the top of her lungs.
[I—I’m sorry—]
Due to the complete collapse of the gate connecting the mortal realm and the city, the call was barely made with poor audio quality.
The content was news enough to infuriate Lydia.
“What about the other bastards? What were Qliphoth and the others doing?”
[Th—that was because— they used a nuclear warhead in the magic— so they couldn’t act aggressively— for fear of causing too much damage]
“Those bitches who were too scared to do anything, what were they so cocky about normally?!”
[I’m—sorry.]
These idiots had their front door welded shut right in front of them.
By Shin Siwoo and his lover, Sharon Evergreen, just the two of them.
Let’s put aside the repair work on the ‘gate,’ which costs astronomical amounts from construction to maintenance.
Even with the enormous cost, the wealthy witches in the city could handle it if they split the bill.
But this was an unprecedented humiliation.
It was like having a testicle placed on their forehead.
“That bastard Shin Siwoo, he knows how to piss people off.”
He had been like that since the last time he had caused discord, and it seemed like he knew exactly where to kick to hurt the most.
Maybe this attack was also thoroughly calculated.
Shin Siwoo could gain the following from this lockdown.
First, the complete blockade of Hexennacht.
Since the gate was destroyed, about 70% of the city’s forces were trapped.
It was probably a forced overnight stay.
Thanks to that, the environment was very favorable for him to rampage in Central and South America, the base of his forces, where he had been worried about when support would arrive.
Second, reducing war sentiment and gaining honor in Gehenna.
The public opinion about war varies greatly depending on whether there are casualties during a provocation.
One life sways the temperature of public opinion more than billions or hundreds of billions of dollars in damage.
In other words, this was probably a deliberate retaliation.
If it wasn’t, there would have been at least one casualty.
Shin Siwoo was a baron of Gehenna.
In the name of a Gehenna noble, he carried out a limited retaliation, lowering the possibility of the series of events leading to war.
He released everyone’s anger with an overwhelming performance, preventing the escalation of conflict and even gaining honor.
Third, political turmoil within Hexennacht.
It goes without saying that even if there are no casualties, a military provocation is a provocation.
Hexennacht, who had suffered a humiliating teabagging, would be buzzing with talk of war.
Then, naturally, the voice of the orthodox hardliner Shin Qliphoth would gain strength.
It meant that Lydia would have to fight again to prevent war.
Shin Siwoo had taken all the benefits and left, saying, ‘I had a good time,’ and Lydia had to start the troublesome cleanup.
“Ah…. Shin Siwoo, you bastard…. Please stop….”
Lydia muttered as if she was out of her mind from being so pissed off.
“Mother. Are you okay?”
“No, not at all. I’m so pissed off….”
At that moment, Kiara cautiously approached Lydia.
Lydia buried her head in Kiara’s shoulder and pretended to cry.
Kiara, who didn’t know what to do, gently patted Lydia’s back and said.
“Mother, I’ve found the location of the submersible.”
This was the reason why she was in the mortal realm in the first place.
Since there was no way to retaliate, the only plan Lydia could take was to take his helper and lover, the ‘Witch of the Deep Sea,’ hostage.
“Really?”
Lydia, who had been wriggling freely like a mime actor, regained her cold expression.
“Yes, Mother.”
Kiara had done her best to fulfill her mother’s request.
“Hmm, I really raised my daughter well.”
That was exactly why she wanted to receive this praise.
But as Lydia’s child, she couldn’t help but worry.
She was confident that she knew her mother’s strength better than anyone, but would it really work against the Witch of the Deep Sea on the ocean?
“Mother, how about waiting a little longer and going with the other Werphanans….”
“Then we might not make it on time. You have to get the interest you’re owed on the day it’s due.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
Lydia replied with a confident expression.
“Of course, guide me to the location.”
