Chapter 774: The War Takes a Turn for the Worse

At Blood Hill Manor, Melissa is entertaining her sons' tutor.

Henwell chose a highly unusual private tutor for his two sons.

Many people objected, but he refused to change his mind.

When Pabos and Hunter's holiday ends, Dalton escorts them back to school.

Melissa watches the boys leave, then says calmly, "Mr. Harry, remember that you are only a hostage."

"Your identity is sensitive. The church wants you dead, the Veil wants you dead, and plenty of people in Peace Haven want you dead too."

"You are alive because my husband showed you mercy."

"He could have imprisoned you. Instead, he made you the private tutor of our two sons. Few people would answer hostility with that much kindness."

Harry, the elder brother of Senar and the church's Eye of the Holy Spirit, is a hostage in Peace Haven.

He bows. "I am deeply grateful to the lord. He is the boldest and most broad-minded leader I have ever met."

"Peace Haven's rise is no accident. It is a miracle built by human hands."

"And the Blood Hill Lord is the pillar holding that miracle aloft!"

"I am even more grateful that you and the lord trust me enough to teach the two young masters what little I know."

Melissa turns to him. "Then don't betray our trust. Some matters belong to this family, and you would be wise not to involve yourself too deeply."

"Pabos is still growing. There are many things he cannot yet see clearly."

"If you try to guide him toward something he should not pursue, or lead him down the wrong path,"

"you will lose everything you now enjoy and return to a dark, damp cell."

Harry bows and promises to remember her warning.

After Melissa leaves, he sighs softly.

Family affairs?

The Blood Hill Lord has no family affairs!

Everything this family does shapes Peace Haven's future. Every matter concerning them touches on its rise or decline!

Harry stands outside Blood Hill Manor and looks out over his surroundings.

Unease stirs in his heart. Over the past three years, he has learned a great deal about Peace Haven.

Aside from a few core secrets, Henwell has made little effort to hide anything from him.

Harry knows he is watching an empire take root and rise before his eyes.

Henwell has accelerated that process while steering it around nearly every fatal detour.

Harry comes from the Abundant Continent, where the Groias Empire stands immensely powerful.

It surpasses every country on the Abandoned Continent.

Yet the empire has made no great advances for a long time. Its lofty starting point has left its leaders with no drive to improve.

Harry knows the Western Federation intends to use the Hundred-Year Calamity to suppress Peace Haven and force it down a path of the federation's choosing.

But he also knows that Henwell intends to build a powerful, centralized empire without enfeoffment.

The Hundred-Year Calamity will not destroy Peace Haven. After it passes, no one will be able to stop Peace Haven's rapid rise.

Harry can already see Peace Haven becoming a true state soon after the calamity.

The ravaged nations will be powerless to suppress it. They can only watch Peace Haven expand into a behemoth capable of swallowing them all.

If anyone still has a chance to stop it, that country is Vorry Kingdom.

Arius must move against Peace Haven within five years after the Calamity War ends.

Yet one question puzzles everyone: what exactly is Arius's relationship with Henwell?

What could have driven Henwell to risk his life to save him?

Will the schemes now being laid to drive them apart really work?

Harry doubts it.

He has made up his mind. Once he returns to the Western Federation, he will speak to his younger brother at once.

He will not urge Senar to move against Henwell. He will urge him to leave this troubled land as soon as possible.

Harry senses that Henwell will eventually turn on the Western Federation, the only power capable of restraining him.

Once Peace Haven takes Ogiro Kingdom and Lumir, its strength alone will be enough to pin the Western Federation in place.

If the empire and the church want to retaliate, they will have to pay dearly to mobilize personnel from the Abundant Continent.

Neither the empire nor the church holds the advantage in a prolonged war.

Besides, both have enemies of their own on the Abundant Continent.

They cannot devote all their strength to Peace Haven.

In the past, the empire and the church had a simpler answer to situations like this.

They sent professionals to cut the problem off at its source by killing the leader of the disobedient power.

Once Henwell advances to Glory Knight, that road closes.

Given Henwell's combat strength, surrounding and killing him would take at least three Glory-ranked professionals.

The Glory-ranked professionals native to this continent remain in hiding. They will not sell their lives to the church or the empire.

Anyone sent from the Abundant Continent would need to stand one rank higher, perhaps even two.

Only then could they wield Glory-rank strength in the Abandoned Continent, the land of divine fall.

Above the Glory Rank lies the Domain Rank, followed by the Sanctuary Rank.

What standing does a Domain-ranked professional have in the church?

Such a person is a Cardinal Archbishop, perhaps even the Pope himself!

And what of a Sanctuary-ranked professional?

Such a person is a Godsworn Bishop or a Holy Knight Commander!

Those two offices answer only to the gods. Even the Pope must salute their holders and offer his respects.

Would the church send such figures to risk themselves for an abandoned, remote continent?

These people also have powers and patrons of their own. A written order is nowhere near enough to compel them.

When the time comes, Harry's younger brother will surely be placed on the front line against Henwell.

Whatever happens, Harry does not want to see that.

He must get his brother out before the situation worsens.

Harry falls into thought, searching for a way to make it happen.

...

Time flies, and the Harvest Festival soon approaches.

Henwell has been in seclusion for more than two years, spending his fortieth birthday in spiritual dormancy.

Then another brutal battle erupts on the Northern Mountain Front.

Peace Haven draws replacements from two legions and sends them north to reinforce the two army groups. Every other military district enters a state of war readiness.

Peace Haven's two army groups suffer heavy losses in the battle. So do the Vorry army, the Iron Wall forces, and the other noble legions.

The reason is simple. The calamity's true horrors have begun.

The mountain demons have appeared!

They stand three meters tall, carry bone blades, move as swiftly as the wind, and possess terrifying strength.

Thirty thousand of them descend upon the Northern Mountain Front.

Every one of them possesses strength comparable to a professional, and they tear open gaps all along the defensive line.

If the Iron Wall forces and Peace Haven's two army groups had not fought desperately to seal those gaps, the Northern Mountain Front would have collapsed.

Another piece of news is buried beneath the scale of the bloodshed.

Duke Jansen is severely wounded, and his household guards suffer heavy losses. Arius has ordered them withdrawn from the front.