Mythology: Ragnarok

Faced with these questions, Agreed could only retort, "Time is like water in a sponge; you can always squeeze some out. You can balance your spiritual practice and family life."

Milton gave him a strange look, then teased, "You're a genius! I'd call you the 'Time Management Master.' You weren't practicing while you were making your baby, were you? Keep practicing, at this rate you probably won't live more than two years."

Agreed grabbed a pillow and threw it at Milton, yelling, "Can't you wish me well for once? Stop insulting me! What are you trying to say?"

Milton slapped his forehead, only then remembering the purpose of his visit. He then pulled out a map of the human kingdoms, spread it out in front of Agreed, and said, "Those beasts from the Church of Light are really quick. The day after we eliminated the Mind Flayers, the beast tide in all the human kingdoms naturally disappeared. Seeing that the situation was not good, the Church of Light took advantage of the fact that other countries had not yet recovered from the joy of the disappearance of the beast tide and launched a surprise attack on other countries."

According to reports, the Church of Light mobilized its most elite force, the 'Holy Knight Judgment Corps' (the Church of Light's ace force, composed entirely of paladins), and led all of the Church's troops on a long expedition. A total of 250,000 troops swiftly and decisively annihilated 'Polweilan,' one of humanity's strongest nations. Using Polweilan as a center, they then waged war against surrounding kingdoms. Soon, all the western human kingdoms fell, leaving only a few small, remote countries that miraculously survived, but their demise was only a matter of time.

Agreed looked at the map and calmly analyzed, "If they were smart, they should have stopped their attack by now."

Milton asked, puzzled, "Why? Shouldn't they take advantage of their momentum and conquer as much territory as possible while they're advancing triumphantly?"

Agreed chuckled and then analyzed, "I was just saying that if I were their commander, I would withdraw the troops now, because we have already conquered enough territory. The more land we have, the more time it will take to rebuild. Taking too much will definitely lead to indigestion. You have already controlled half of the human kingdoms. If you digest that well, swallowing the other half is only a matter of time."

Conversely, if this continues, the battle lines will be stretched too thin, making support and supplies impossible to guarantee. And those countries aren't fools; they will soon unite to resist. The Church of Light, with its forces scattered, will inevitably be defeated. Moreover, their rear is all war-torn land, without fortifications, reinforcements, or logistical support from the masses. What does that mean? Once the front lines are defeated, the Church of Light will have to give back whatever it has swallowed, and may even be outmaneuvered, causing its own territory to shrink even further.

However, if their continued march is a good thing for us, it means they are a bunch of fools who will soon bring about their own destruction.

“But… what if they stop expanding as you think?” Milton couldn’t help but ask.

The air suddenly grew heavy. Agreed took a deep breath and slowly replied, "Then... we must act quickly. The longer we drag this out, the lower our chances of winning become. Think about it, he has land about a hundred times larger than Avalon, which means that theoretically, if he develops well, his army could also be a hundred times larger than Avalon's. If they start by waging war and amassing a formidable army, then these Eastern nations, each with their own agendas and unable to unite, will be defeated one by one and ultimately fall to the iron heel of the Church of Light."

Milton thought for a moment and then retorted, "It can't be that bad. The Griffin Empire in the East alone has 600,000 troops, which is more than twice the size of the Church of Light's army. The people in the West have been displaced and it will take at least 20 or 30 years for them to settle down and rebuild their army."

“I don’t recommend you think that way,” Agreed cautioned. “If it were me, I would import a large number of slaves and mercenaries from the East through mercenary recruitment. After all, the Church of Light has nothing left but the money it has plundered, and slaves and mercenaries are not subject to the control and restrictions of those countries. As long as they are offered substantial rewards, their army size can double in less than a month. Although the combat power of this army is not comparable to that of the regular army, it should not be underestimated. In addition, there is the most important factor in population development: ‘refugees.’ Those people whose families have been destroyed by the war will definitely flee eastward. If the Eastern countries accept them, they will be burdened. But if they are overwhelmed and refuse to let them in… the Church of Light can use its most proficient methods of brainwashing and appeasement to make these refugees, who already have nowhere else to go, return to the land that rightfully belongs to them and be grateful to the Church of Light for rebuilding their country!”

Optimistically, it will take them at least eight years to rebuild their territory, at which point their total military strength will surpass that of any other country.

And then they would have the confidence and resources to defeat their opponents one by one, and time would be on their side.

Milton was now sweating profusely with fear, but he still tried to reassure himself, saying, "The Church of Light might not be what you think; they don't have that kind of intelligence."

Agreed countered, "I don't think a power with tens of millions of people would be unable to understand this; that's conventional thinking."

“Don’t you have some misunderstanding about conventional thinking?” Milton said, rubbing his forehead. “A gambler who makes a lot of money will never think about quitting while he’s ahead. The vast majority will bet even more. Human desires are like a snowball rolling down a mountain; they only get bigger and bigger until they become a terrible disaster that devours them.”

Agreed sighed and replied, "I hope so. Keep an eye on the intelligence from the front lines these next few days. Let me know immediately if there are any movements by the Church of Light. This will determine how I spend the next few years."

Milton nodded and left the room. Afterwards, Agreed lay on the bed, restless, and fell into a deep sleep, no longer cultivating. In his dream, he saw the iron hooves of the Church of Light trampling his home. Those bastards of the Church of Light destroyed everything he had once again. The memory of his parents dying tragically in front of him resurfaced before his eyes.

Agreed woke up with a start. He looked out the window and saw that the sun was already high in the sky. He sighed with lingering fear and grabbed a towel to wipe the cold sweat from his body. Just then, Yubaba pushed the door open again and asked as usual, "How are you feeling? Are you still in pain? You look... very tired."

As she spoke, she tidied up her things, preparing to check on Agred's condition again.

Agreed simply replied, panting, "Nothing, just... a nightmare."

Seeing Agred's haggard appearance, Yubaba could only earnestly advise, "This is not good. Your mood is very important during your recovery. Don't think about those things. You can't help much with all your injuries."