King

As soon as he received the threatening letter, Hudson ordered the activation of an epidemic prevention plan. Unfortunately, it came too late.

The orcs not only issued warnings, but actually released the plague. When the letter came, the plague had already spread among the coalition forces.

The complex composition of the coalition forces directly made Hudson's epidemic prevention plan unsustainable. After all, he could only restrain the people in the logistics department, but could not control the army on the front line and the mixed mercenaries.

Especially this plague is accompanied by an incubation period. Before the virus broke out, not a single trace could be found.

The occurrence of a large number of non-combat attrition quickly attracted the attention of the top leaders of the coalition forces. Even the investigation into the corruption case has become old news.

"The despicable orcs have released a plague in an attempt to force us to withdraw our troops through such dirty means. What do you think of this?"

Marquis Sunil's question stunned Hudson.

The expected criticism did not occur. Instead, he asked everyone for their opinions. Apparently, the Frankish Kingdom's current desire to fight was not as high as he imagined.

If you want to continue this war, just a plague will not be enough to make the first kingdom on the mainland retreat.

Judging from the current situation, most of those who died from the plague were ordinary soldiers with weak resistance. Even if aristocratic officers who are successful in cultivation are attacked, they can usually save their lives.

The Priest's Great Purification Technique also has a certain effect on plague. The only problem is that the sequelae are so severe, and the number of priests who can cast the Great Purification Technique is too small.

"After continuous research by the priests, it can be basically determined that this plague is the black evil disaster that has been rampant in the mainland for decades.

In human history, there is another name - the Black Death.

The current lethality is not as terrifying as the legend says, and that’s because it’s still winter.

For a short period of time, we were able to barely control the plague, but once winter turned to spring, the situation worsened dramatically.

If the war is delayed until summer, the full outbreak of the Black Death will pose a fatal threat to most knights and magicians. "

Blake said with a serious face.

The Holy See has the deepest research on these strange viruses. It's just that these are usually considered taboo methods and should not be used unless absolutely necessary.

In the past history of internal strife in the human race, everyone has maintained the most basic rationality and has never resorted to such crazy methods.

The enemy this time is obviously someone who doesn't follow the rules. The plague, which killed indiscriminately between friend and foe, was released.

Listening to the people's curses and complaints, Hudson silently became a member of the public. It is understandable to adopt any means for the continuation of the race.

There is no point in understanding, and when it's time to take action, Hudson will not be soft-hearted.

“If we can’t delay it, let’s fight it quickly!

While winter is not yet over, try to inflict as many casualties on the orcs as possible. By the time spring begins, the orc empire may have collapsed. "

Hudson suggested bravely.

The war has progressed to this point, and it actually doesn't make much sense to continue.

The Orc Empire's vitality has been severely damaged. Even if it takes a hundred years to cultivate, it will be difficult to return to the pre-war level.

Without the fertile orc prairie, and with only a barren land, the development potential of the orcs has been substantially weakened.

Even if one day all the orc races are unified, the Alpha Kingdom will no longer be the frontline of the human race.

According to Hudson's idea, the best choice is to just put it away now and pack up and go back to each home.

Just because of the interests of the kingdom, he still had to fight hard and couldn't let the war end so quickly.

The corruption case has not yet come to a conclusion. If the war ends at this moment, all the pressure will be concentrated on the case itself.

As the head coach of the Alpha Kingdom Army, Hudson had to jump out and perform at this time no matter what to prove that he had worked hard.

"Earl Hudson, you think too well. Affected by the plague, the movement speed of the army has been greatly affected.

Especially your logistics department is extremely slow. If the fighting continues, I'm afraid we won't even be able to guarantee what the soldiers will eat for their next meal! "

In response to Blake's merciless satire, Hudson's face looked very ugly, but deep down he was extremely happy.

It's okay to be opposed, that's what he wants to see. In this war, he had obtained everything he wanted, and there was no need to stay and waste time.

"Earl Hudson, although Blake's words are unpleasant, they are not unreasonable. The current situation is indeed not suitable for the coalition forces to continue to deepen.

The plague has been released. According to the orcs, if the war continues, they will open a passage to hell and attract powerful people from other planes to come.

As the overlord of the continent in the previous era, it is not surprising that the Orc Empire controls several space portals.

Once they open the passage, it will be a threat to all creatures on the entire Aslant continent.

As the war progresses, the Orc Empire has been severely damaged and can no longer threaten the hegemony of our human race.

It is better to give up when things are good, accept the mediation of various races on the mainland, and then consider other issues after digesting the orc prairie. "

Marquis Olafur persuaded with a smile.

But behind this smile, there is something unquestionable. The Frankish Kingdom, the Holy See, and the Iliban Kingdom do not want to fight, so other forces naturally know what to choose.

Facing the common will of everyone, Hudson will naturally not die. After representatives of the forces in the coalition expressed their attitude, he followed the trend and went downhill.

After the military meeting ended, the pressure on the Logistics Department suddenly increased. The coalition forces were not prepared to continue the offensive, and their eyes were focused on logistics.

Naturally, the first ones to bear the brunt are the Northland nobles who are deeply involved in major corruption cases.

The more in-depth the investigation team investigated, the more evidence they found, and many small and medium-sized nobles were directly arrested.

Amid the turmoil, the five Dukes of the North were also trembling, fearing that they would be trapped at some point.

…

"The alliance investigation team has started to arrest people. We filed a complaint, but the command headquarters did not respond at all. Obviously that bastard Hudson is preparing to betray us!"

Duke Pias roared.

No matter how powerful the alliance investigation team is, it must abide by the rules of the game. Without the acquiescence of the Alpha Kingdom, they would have no right to arrest people directly.

In the current situation, it is obvious that the higher-ups have reached an agreement and deliberately allowed the alliance investigation team to come and arrest people.

It's not that the Northland noble group didn't try to resist, but after the investigation team presented evidence that the arrested persons were reselling military supplies, everyone was intimidated.

None of them, including the five dukes, dared to forcefully oppose the alliance investigation team in public. The kingdom's intervention, which had high hopes, is now not even a shadow.

"Pias, calm down. Perhaps the key to this matter is no longer on the front line, but on the political game behind the scenes.

Earl Hudson was no fool. Even if I have a grudge against you, I will not retaliate in this way.

Taking a closer look at what has happened in recent times, it is obvious that they are directed at our family. Such a large-scale layout is obviously not something that Hudson has the ability to plan and implement.

With the ability to accomplish so many things, besides our good Majesty, how many people in the kingdom can do it? "

Duke Kavadia asked with a solemn expression.

No evidence is needed, just judging from the development of the situation, this is very much like the work of Caesar III.

The only problem is that the flaw is a little too obvious. With a little reasoning, you can associate it with him, and there is no necessary cover-up.

But for a conspiracy, whether to expose oneself does not seem to be that important.

This time's pit cannot be said to be able to bury the nobles of the North in one fell swoop, at least it will make them miserable.

As more and more people are imprisoned, there will always be someone who cannot withstand the pressure and eventually betrays a few of them.

Once you fall into it, you will not be able to control your life or death.

Based on their past style, if everyone doesn't add insult to injury at times like this, it's all a matter of face. It is almost impossible to expect the kingdom to come to the rescue with all its strength.

"We can't sit still and wait for death. If we continue to investigate the current situation, it will only be a matter of time before we are exposed.

In other words, several of us have been exposed, but the alliance investigation team did not rush to take action against us due to political considerations.

But this won't last long. The battle on the front line has stopped, and now only a group of mercenaries are left, still making their final efforts.

The Orc Empire has nothing to worry about now. The alliance's appetite is nothing more than the occupied prairie. The subsequent truce negotiation process should be relatively smooth.

Once the armistice treaty is signed, the coalition forces do not need to worry about logistical turmoil, and our families will be really in danger! "

Duke Pias said worriedly.

The painstakingly planned "fire dragon burning warehouse" only delayed the progress of the investigation team and did not erase all the evidence as expected.

As the investigation deepens, there is more and more evidence against them. A large number of Northland nobles were imprisoned due to corruption cases, and Pias was really panicked.

"Judging from the current situation, there is a high probability that we will not be able to hide. Rather than letting the alliance investigation team find out, it is better to just confess.

The Alliance won't directly kill us, right?

If you find someone to do some activities, you might be able to make big things and small things smaller. There is only one corruption case, so just make up for the shortfall. "

Duke Jagiellon said angrily.

Theoretically, there is nothing wrong with "lenity for confession." But the current situation is obviously different. It involves the game between the Alpha Kingdom and the Alliance, and it is inevitable to make a fuss about them.

"Stop dreaming, Jagiellon.

Unless we expose all the domestic nobles' reselling of military supplies, the Alliance will not be able to let us off easily.

Once we do this kind of thing of betraying our colleagues, how can we survive in the country in the future?

Even those behind the scenes against us know how to abide by the rules of the game. It is just a secret plan and promotion, rather than directly presenting evidence to the investigation team.

Maybe by now, people have already dug a hole, just waiting for us to jump into it. "

Duke Diaz's words put all the contradictions on the table.

The dilemma faced by the nobles of the North seemed to be a case of reselling military supplies, but in fact it was a conflict accumulated in the past, which happened to explode at this moment.

External: The Alliance Investigation Team wants to use them as a breakthrough and find an excuse to kick the Alpha Kingdom out.

Inside: All the big forces in the kingdom who had issues with them were waiting to see their joke and add insult to injury.

"Ding-ding-dong, ding-ding-dong..."

The bell outside the door suddenly rang, interrupting the five people's conspiracy. In order to keep it secret, no one was left within a hundred meters of the camp, and the bell would be rang if something big happened.

"Sith, what happened outside?"

After rushing out of the camp, Duke Kavadia asked the young man in the distance.

"Duke, the Alliance Investigation Team is here. This time they brought a lot of people with them, including Archduke Efiero and Earl Hudson..."

The string of names spitting out of Sith's mouth made everyone immediately realize that there was a big problem. Just when everyone was thinking about countermeasures, the team appeared in their sight.

Obviously, the guards in the army did not stop the coming people, or they did not dare to stop them at all.

Looking at each other, the five people sighed helplessly. What is supposed to come will eventually come. At this time, no matter what happens, we can only face it calmly.

…

"Duke Cavadia, Duke Pias, Ya...will the five of you give your own account, or will we interrogate you?"

Marquis Jerome's words gave the five people an ominous premonition. In the world of aristocrats, everyone usually does things with a grain of salt.

Even if everyone is an enemy, they will deliberately restrain themselves in front of outsiders. There are very few such questions that directly overturn the table.

"Your Majesty the Marquis, we don't understand what you are talking about. Please explain, what do we need to explain?"

Duke Kavadia struggled hard.

Unfortunately, the trembling of his body revealed his inner uneasiness. Reason told him that with today's revelation, there was a high probability that the investigation team had obtained evidence of their reselling military supplies.

But the last bit of luck made them unwilling to admit their guilt. As a great noble of the human race, it is impossible to convict them unless there is concrete evidence.

Now it's a bet on how much evidence the investigation team has. If the evidence is not sufficient, throwing out a few scapegoats might be able to calm the storm.

"It seems that some of you are not ready to plead guilty. But it doesn't matter, we already have enough evidence in our hands.

This box contains the confessions of relevant personnel, the box on the right contains information before and after the warehouse was burned, and the box at the back contains the shipping time and transaction targets of the military supplies you resold..."

Bishop Kawehe's meaningful words gave the five people a glimmer of hope, followed by a burst of despair.

There is so much evidence thrown out that it is difficult to deny even if you want to. Even if they secretly have contact with the Holy See, it is impossible for people from the Holy See to directly come out to protect them at this time.

Even asking for mercy will only help you more and more. The only one that can really help them is the Alpha Kingdom.

After all, the case of reselling military supplies is both an international case and a major corruption case within the Alpha Kingdom.

As a sovereign nation, the Alpha Kingdom has the power to fight for their sole disposal.

"Grand Duke Afiero and Earl Hudson, are you just going to watch them slander the nobles of the kingdom?"

Duke Pias asked in panic.

As soon as he finished speaking, he secretly regretted it. It is obviously not what a wise man should do at this time to sow his enemies.

"Your Majesty the Duke, we only focus on the facts. What is true cannot be false, and what is false cannot be true.

Everyone is supervising and I believe the investigation team will give you an objective and fair result. Before that, I suggest that it is better for you to cooperate.

If you hand over the evidence of your crime, you can at least get a lighter sentence and avoid making a fuss and become infamous! "

Hudson said without changing his expression.

Nearly half of the evidence in the hands of the investigation team was sponsored by him free of charge, and the remaining half was provided by other parties.

There is no doubt about the authenticity, everything can stand the test. Being able to get it on the table today means that things have come to a showdown.

"Okay, everyone. If you dare to do it, don't you dare to do it?

As a member of the nobility, if you do such a crazy thing, the kingdom will regard you as a disgrace.

I don’t think there is any need to continue to remind you what to do next. The evidence is all here. If you don't want to, you can look through it yourself.

I hope you can shoulder the responsibilities on your shoulders, and don’t let your family be ashamed, and don’t let the nobles of the kingdom be ashamed of you! "

Grand Duke Efiero said indifferently.

If possible, he would not mind the Northland nobles mutinying on the spot. As long as they make trouble, the royal family can use the name of suppressing the rebellion to pull out this eyesore in one fell swoop.