The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

The demons' conquest of the eastern border went very smoothly, even too smoothly. Wherever the black mist went, almost no one could resist. The local lords were either killed, fled, or surrendered.

The demons don't even need to worry about governance or rebellion, since most of the people have turned into monsters. Moreover, the nobles in the Eastern Territory are exceptionally wealthy despite their low productivity and production levels, with their granaries overflowing with rotten grain.

This meant that the demons no longer needed to worry about supplies. The offspring of the demon gods could eat people, and ordinary demons could live off the inheritance of these nobles for a long time.

This meant that the demons hardly fought any battles in the eastern region, and wherever they marched, that became their new territory.

But Antipas wasn't very happy, because the black mist was beyond his control and began to drift in all directions. Although it didn't have much of an impact yet, this feeling of being out of control made Antipas uneasy.

For example, the black mist is now drifting uncontrollably toward the capital. Although the demon army was supposed to symbolically attack the capital according to the original plan, this uncontrolled black mist is now subtly igniting Antipas's ambition.

It was clear that the queen in the capital had made preparations in advance, but as soon as the black mist arrived, the human army was as vulnerable as the receding tide under the shadow of this desperate monster.

The performance of the Kingdom's army further fueled Antipas' ambitions. As expected, the Northern Legion's terrifying fighting spirit was just an anomaly; this was how a normal army would behave when faced with a wave of monsters.

Moreover, the human princess has already promised to throw the capital into chaos, leaving it unable to attend to the war in the east. Doesn't that give the demons a chance to launch a direct attack on the capital?

Although, as the princess requested, the demons' attack on the capital was just a show, and the two sides would put on a good show after the princess appeared, before retreating and jointly dealing with the Northern Territory, restless ambitions are the hardest to quell. Moreover, just as Lind thought, Antipas had stayed in the Eternal Frozen Lands for too long, and he would never let go of any more territory he could take.

Antipa glanced at Altaïr, who was already half-mad beside him, and said, "I will designate a safe harbor for you, but I need more super-tier magic."

......

In the royal capital, Lilith was already extremely busy. According to the information sent by her brother, those monsters were afraid of holy water. As long as there was enough holy water, the monsters' attacks could be significantly curbed.

The old man has already transported the holy water over via the now-operational railway, but some sections of the railway are still under construction, and the situation remains far from optimistic. Not to mention that Lilith's side doesn't have many tools for distributing holy water, the Kingdom's army is far inferior to the Northern army, their legs go weak at the sight of monsters, and very few dare to step forward to fight.

The psychological impact of those monsters was vividly demonstrated on the Kingdom's army. Most of the Kingdom's soldiers could only instinctively flee in terror when they saw the monsters, and they couldn't use the holy water even if it was available.

Furthermore, with the strange fog gradually approaching the capital, Lilith's pressure was mounting.

At this very moment, some outrageous rumors began to circulate in the capital, directly attributing the deaths of Augustine III and Crane to Lilith, with detailed accounts and even the specifics being gradually perfected.

With the demon army approaching, Lilith's situation is becoming increasingly dangerous. Although Lilith now wields immense power due to the influence of the North, she has not yet had time to consolidate this power before the entire capital is thrown into chaos once again.

"Your Majesty... the demon army has crossed St. Covenant Castle and begun its march towards the capital."

Nora reported to Lilith with great concern that although she did not know the exact relationship between His Majesty and the North, she still hoped that His Majesty could seek refuge in the North.

"Send more guards, and find someone to negotiate with the demons again to see just how far they're going to go."

"But Your Majesty, if we send more troops, the defenses of the capital may be..."

"If the demons are allowed to enter the vicinity of the capital, it won't matter how many defenses the capital has."

Nora sighed and could only nod, saying, "I understand, Your Majesty, but you must be prepared; your safety is the most important thing."

Meanwhile, in the capital, some Augustinians also received Claire's message. These Augustinians were Claire's former subordinates, collaborators, or other trustworthy individuals.

These people were all Claire's trusted confidants; Claire even excluded her own elder brother for fear of leaks.

Some of them have not yet been dismissed and still control part of the palace's defenses. After all, the palace is someone else's home, and Lilith is not so arrogant as to interfere with the Augustins' defenses.

The message given to these Augustins differed from the rumors circulating outside. Claire claimed that she had captured Lilith's elder brother Barnard in the East and had learned from him that the Governor of the North was actually Lilith's distant cousin. Both of them were descendants of the old empire and were plotting to restore it and eventually have the Governor of the North ascend the throne.

Regardless of its authenticity, this single piece of news is enough to make the Augustins lose their minds.

No wonder Her Majesty the Queen is not in a hurry about the succession and has been working hard on it. It turns out that Her Majesty still has the claims of the old empire.

No, power must be taken back from the Queen, by whatever means necessary.

Moreover, the current public opinion is overwhelming, making it the perfect opportunity to bring Her Majesty down.

Does the demon invasion even matter? What matters most is whether Capet still bears the Augustinian surname.

Moreover, Claire also mentioned in her message that she had a way to make the demons retreat.

In other words, as long as Claire's plan is followed, a coup is launched, Her Majesty the Queen is deposed, Claire is brought back, and Claire then forces the demons to retreat, it will prove that only Augustine can save the kingdom.

When that time comes, those rumors that weren't true will become true.

To put it bluntly, it only takes a moment for someone to fall from the clouds to the mud.

As for the North, Claire also claimed that she had a way to stabilize the North together with the demons. The Augustines also felt that the relationship between the North and this queen was not that close. What Lilith could give to the North, the Augustines could give in the same way, or even more.

Isn't this governor trying to rebuild the old empire? As long as the kingdom still belongs to the Capetians, these Augustins are even willing to give the title of the old empire's rightful heir to the North for free.

Claire, however, envisioned a more ideal scenario: she could leverage the influence of various factions, including the demons, to maintain a balance with the Northern Territory, thus achieving a mutually satisfying outcome.

Although doing so would shrink the kingdom's territory considerably, at least the kingdom would still bear the name Augustine, wouldn't it?

The conspiracy has begun anew.

Of course, Barnard never revealed the family's biggest secret until the very end: the relationship between Lilith and the Governor of the North was all fabricated by Claire, including the Governor's ambitions.

Claire just didn't know that when you say the other side has weapons of mass destruction, what if they actually do?

What if the governor of the North is not only close to Lilith, but also has ambitions to annex the entire kingdom?