"Three days? Cough cough cough... Ugh~"

As Orpheus spoke, she coughed violently, looking at the sand table on the table. She saw that the area belonging to the Empire on the sand table had been compressed to half its original size... However, the last 50% of the area could not be broken through no matter what.

Right now, all she could feel was utter nausea... so nauseous that it made her upset and even made her want to vomit.

"Why does such a thing as a 'ruler' exist in the world?"

With these doubts in mind, Orpheus looked at the nine flags planted on the sand table with a troubled expression... They represented nine governors, governors with "seats" who possessed the ability called "Death Trigger".

Originally, Orpheus's idea was... if the non-human members of the duchy did not participate in the war, then the Empire's strongest fighting force, the [Consuls], would be of no use.

It's worth mentioning that the existence of the "Death Trigger" is not a fact known to everyone... Apart from the high-ranking officials within the Empire, only the monsters are fully aware of it.

The monsters gained this understanding at a tremendous cost...

This is also the reason why the monsters are completely desperate about the empire... There is no way to kill the enemy's strongest force - if we don't kill them, then the enemy will kill us; if we do kill them, then we will be wiped out, and the enemy can resurrect.

Now, having come into contact with something called the "Death Trigger," Orpheus is also deeply anxious. As the Speaker of the Duchy's Council, she naturally has the ability to see the whole picture from a single glimpse.

While the members of parliament inside the principality were already popping champagne and celebrating their partial victory, she realized a very serious point—a war that was destined to be unwinnable was meaningless no matter how great the current advantage was.

By the way, the best app for reading aloud right now is Yeguo Reading (yeguoyuedu). Install the latest version.

The current situation is that the duchy's army can advance slowly over the next three days, and the obstacles encountered along the way are not too serious... But every three sunrises and sunsets, terrible things will happen in the army formations, camps, and cities.

Perhaps a colossal tentacle will sweep everything into an unknown dimension, or a massive rift will devour everything, or icy winds and snow will freeze all life, or a shark lurking in the shadows will swallow everything...

In the final moments before their demise, all the troops of the entire principality could see was a governor slowly flying in from high above, and... the blood of the governors who had ended their own lives dripping onto the ground.

After that, everything came to a standstill.

The duchy suffered enormous losses, resulting in negative gains from the war... The army, which should have been swift and decisive, remained stagnant, barely managing to maintain its current lines.

However, if you don't use a large number of troops, or if you disperse the army to reduce losses, it will have the same effect.

"If the governors are changed every two days... will those people's 'death triggers' need to wait fifteen days before they can be activated again?"

As Orpheus pondered this, she gently bit her finger, listening to the conversations of the common people outside the house, their hopes for the future... but she only grew more agitated.

Because the duchy has no intelligence sources... the spies sent out are almost useless. This knowledge is completely blocked, just like being bound in a safe cocoon, with absolutely no relevant intelligence.

Or perhaps, she is the one trapped in the "cocoon," unable to see the whole picture.

"No, we can't gamble... If it were shorter, if it were just a smokescreen..."

Orpheus muttered to herself, her eyes vacant. Even though the weather hadn't warmed up yet, she was already sweating. Sweat trickled down her forehead, across her nose, and then down her snow-white neck.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The civilians outside the house...it's so noisy.

However, Orpheus couldn't think of any reason to stick her head out and reprimand them, because... the situation in the duchy was very good, and the councilors had already begun to compete for interests.

Yes, of course that's true. Even if we start now and end the war proactively, the duchy can be considered to have made a huge profit. So how could anyone not be happy?

But that's not the case...

The duchy could not conquer the last half of its territory.

The very fact that war is called war means that it is not something that can be ended unilaterally... The protracted war brought about by the extended battle lines was indeed within Orpheus's expectations.

However, the blitzkrieg failed to achieve its goal, and the empire's system underwent a sudden transformation. Even at the cost of significant national strength, unstable factors were eliminated... This was truly beyond her expectations.

This also means that Orpheus's originally confident "backup plan" has completely lost its effectiveness... Originally, she could have made a big deal out of the conflict between the "noble faction" and the "Illa faction".

Orpheus: So, why are the nobles of the Empire so useless?

Moreover, if this happens, the empire will be governed entirely by the [Illa faction], and we will need to start thinking about Illa's attitude... This is a really bad thing, because Illa now symbolizes the Demon King's territory.

This world... is truly absurd.

...

The reaping by the [Consul] is too swift, and due to the problems of the duchy system, each noble has their own troops, so their forces can never be deployed in the same direction on the battlefield.

More chips need to be staked in the war.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!