I play a Evil God in Otome Game

Chapter 168 - 167: Dwarves

One week later, when news from the front arrived on Morringan’s desk, she coldly burned the report. Her gaze turned to Lucifer, who was perched on her desk in the form of a raven.

"How dare these insolent Dwarves interfere with our affairs? Truly infuriating," Morringan said, clenching her fists. Lucifer, however, was far more intrigued and contemplative.

The sudden decision of the Dwarves to choose a side and break their neutrality was odd but not entirely unexpected. After all, they were still a people devoted to one of the Twelve Great Gods.

Even so, the speed at which they changed sides was unusual. Neither Morringan nor Lucifer had anticipated this.

"There must be a reason for the Dwarves. No, a person must have changed their minds," Lucifer said as Morringan turned to him. Morringan leaned back in her chair, her gaze calculating.

"Who could it be?"

Morringan then looked at Lucifer with curiosity, waiting for an answer. Lucifer’s eyes narrowed, glowing faintly.

"It must be Balgrun, the Dwarven King’s advisor."

"Balgrun? Who is that?"

"A fanatic priest of the Twelve Gods’ faith," Lucifer replied, looking down in thought. Remembering Balgrun, he frowned. That man was such a zealot that he had sacrificed his twelve newborn children to the Gods and had thrown his wife into a volcano as a live offering to the Fire God.

This Dwarf was both a fanatic and a psychopath. The only reason he was in King Gormund’s court was because he was the Grand Master of the Ancient Hammer Sect.

The Ancient Hammer Sect was an extremist group of Twelve Gods fanatics. They were even more insane and psychopathic than the Nazis of the modern world.

To them, anyone who did not worship fire had to die. Anyone who was not a Dwarf had to die. Even short people resembling Dwarves had to die. Every other race had to die, regardless of whether they were their religious brethren or not.

If you were ugly, it meant the Gods had cursed you. Therefore, you had to die. Were you born with an illness? Then you were a defective Dwarf, and you had to die.

Their faith was so extreme that even Lucifer was reluctant to interfere with them. They were too fanatical. They had become immune to death threats through sheer zealotry.

They loved to burn and destroy. Wherever they invaded, they would exterminate all life but never settle there—because they believed the land had been tainted by its previous inhabitants.

Despite their small numbers, their influence extended across all the Dwarven mountains. Even the Dwarven King hesitated to challenge them.

After explaining this to Morringan, Lucifer fell into silent contemplation. Even if he was reluctant, that did not mean he would allow the Dwarves to continue interfering. Still, there was little that could be done for now.

One option was to frighten the Dwarves or pit them against another race, but that was nearly impossible. The Holy Mary Kingdom was at war, the Wargans were occupied, and the Elves were too isolated.

"What shall we do? We cannot allow their aid to reach the Republic," Morringan said firmly. "If this were after the war, I would prefer to deal with the Dwarves directly. But in our current situation, that is not an option."

"Still, perhaps we could ask Thomas—"

"No need. I already have an idea," Lucifer’s crimson raven eyes glowed. Morringan paused, then waited expectantly for him to continue.

"Dwarves are stubborn, skilled, and envious creatures. They despise anyone more talented than them and constantly strive to surpass them," Lucifer said. Morringan, however, did not see the relevance.

"So? How does that help us?"

The contents of the agreement were quite interesting. It was a treaty between the newly established Grand Duchy of Aurelion and the Empire. The agreement both shackled the Aurelions and strengthened the Empire’s authority.

With this treaty, the ruling power over the Aurelions would officially become the Empire. The governors and the High Court were already in place. The only thing needed now was for the Republic’s capital—soon to fall—to be taken.

Once the Republic’s capital fell, the opposing faction would be dissolved, and the Grand Duke, as the new ruler, would declare war on them, igniting a civil war.

During this time, the Empire would withdraw from the war and declare a ceasefire. The Republic’s army, already fragmented, would pledge allegiance to the Grand Duke, one general at a time.

After the civil war ended, the Grand Duchy would be declared victorious, and the Empire would grant them autonomy. The key aspect of this plan was to ensure that the people believed the Republic had lost to the Empire, while also allowing the Grand Duke to claim that he had outmaneuvered the Empire diplomatically, securing autonomy with minimal losses.

Through this, the Grand Duke would gain favor among some local factions, while the Empire would maintain administrative control without resistance.

The possibility of the Grand Duke rebelling had also been eliminated. The Grand Duchy’s army would be split and assigned to governors, ensuring that the Grand Duke himself would command no more than 50,000 troops at any time.

Meanwhile, the Empire’s military strength—both active and reserve—would exceed one million soldiers.

That was why Morrigan wasn’t displeased with the arrangement.

"That’s why the Republic must fall as soon as possible, and a new capital must be declared. After that, we should shift our focus to the Dwarves," Lucifer said while looking at Morrigan. She rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.

"Perhaps we can make them surrender without even taking the capital?"

Lucifer paused for a moment upon hearing this, then looked at her curiously, waiting for her to continue.

"The Republic refuses to surrender because they still believe they have a chance. If we extinguish that hope, they will give up," Morrigan explained. "What do you think about burning a city?"

"Easy to say, but hard to do." Lucifer dismissed the idea as impractical, but Morrigan objected.

"Why?"

Lucifer hesitated for a moment but didn’t hold back his words. "You’re not talking about a town, but a city. There are millions of people there. Their fear can only take us so far. Moreover, such an act would draw too much backlash."

Morrigan fell silent for a moment before adopting a more contemplative approach. "What if we use fear through stories?"

"Stories?"

"Yes. When you think about it, it sounds like a good plan." Morrigan then smiled. "Fear spreads quickly through stories. Tales of castles built from enemy skulls, of bathing in the blood of foes... things like that."

Lucifer pondered the idea for a moment. It was actually a solid plan, though conquering the capital through battle held greater strategic value.

"Alright. We’re attacking the capital in a month anyway. In the meantime, let’s spread fear through these stories. Of course, if this fails, we will attack as planned." Lucifer said with a small smile.

Morrigan’s eyes sparkled as she nodded.

"I will relay the orders to the Imperial Intelligence as soon as possible."

With that, Morrigan and Lucifer continued to discuss numerous other matters...