The witch thought I am a Demon God
Chapter 1003 - 514: The Imperial Parliament and Approaching Universal Law

Chapter 1003: Chapter 514: The Imperial Parliament and Approaching Universal Law

Inside the military tent, Louis XI’s face flashed with severity. "Report to me every person who’s contacted my brother. Moreover, after this matter is past, he must die. It won’t be long before someone realizes the technique I’ve used."

"This Iron Mask is no longer of any use, but rather a liability."

"How goes the battle at the front?"

The Chancellor’s face was rather ugly as he said, "It’s different from what we imagined. Damn Alsasians’ army not only didn’t fall into disarray, but even the plague we prepared in advance hasn’t erupted."

He stole a glance at Louis XI before daring to continue. "Because of this, although our army has pushed forward with all its might, we’ve advanced a mere eight kilometers in the past few days."

"The Alsasians have constructed many small fortresses on the path we must take, making them exceedingly troublesome to clear."

"However, the good news is that we finally forced out the Alsasians’ Dragon Riders and the Divine Locust Knight Regiment. Compared to our country, Alsace Kingdom is feeble, their reserves insufficient; if we can exhaust these two knight regiments, we may have a chance for a swift victory."

Louis XI frowned.

He knew all too well the words his old friend hadn’t said. It was his mistake that caused the Kingdom of Frank’s attack to falter.

Not only that, in this period, he had lost soldiers and generals, and even the Aquitaine female heir that had been in his grasp had vanished without a trace. The troops he sent to ’escort’ the female heir also kept reporting back that they could not find her.

The Chancellor, who had remained silent up until this point, suddenly said to Louis XI, "Now, both the Church and the Empire are targeting us. Although Queen Catherine holds the Imperial City with a stable political landscape and sufficient finances, it seems we still need to consider how to deal with the spread of the Black Death and the condemnation from the Church and the Empire, Your Majesty."

"We’ve already lost the initiative; perhaps we should consider a temporary retreat."

The Archbishop pointed at the sand table inside the tent. "It’s possible to invade the Empire from Alsace, but there are also other routes; if one were to go through Lower Burgundy, we could likewise invade the Empire."

Louis XI, seething with anger, said, "It’s possible to bypass Alsace, but we’ve already paid so much here. Are you suggesting that I admit my plan to use the Great Lord of Black Death has failed?"

"Moreover, Lower Burgundy is mountainous across its territory, making troop transportation extremely inconvenient. Plus, as long as Alsace Kingdom stands, it’s like there’s a sword hanging over our path to the Empire—a sword that, if not removed, will not allow my heart to rest."

"Let me reflect on what mistakes I’ve made." Louis XI, seemingly tired from standing, subtly signaled with his eyes for a maid beside him to help him sit down on a chair. "Upon self-examination, I find I’ve made no mistakes; the main issues have been with the execution by those below."

"My ministers have misled me."

"If the original twelve nobles had fully obeyed my orders, many things could have been initiated faster, and the plan would have been less likely to fail. This time the reform of the Great Lord of Black Death failed because there are those among us who still harbor divergent loyalties. Is this an error I can control? No."

"Issue my orders, execute Sirs Bogue Tud, Gerda, and others. Someone must be held responsible for the failure of this plan. Let it be them."

The Chancellor and the Archbishop, both old men, exchanged glances, seeing helplessness in each other’s eyes. Louis XI’s harsh character had always been this way, and they had grown accustomed to it.

It seems all mistakes are made by others, while he himself works the hardest and suffers the most.

They both couldn’t be bothered to say anything, as the ones dying were just nouveaux riches who’d climbed up from the civilian class.

"Alsace might seem like just an ordinary kingdom, but due to its centralized power, it’s among the strongest. These days, it had already been almost defeated by Jalen and his men, yet unexpectedly, an Ivita emerged to reorganize the nation," Louis XI mused. "Archbishop, Chancellor, my two old friends, we’ve lost the initiative, but there’s still a way to remedy this."

"I still have a method to act before my greatest enemy, Oyo III—completely disregard the Black Death."

The Archbishop and the Chancellor hadn’t expected Louis XI to make such a decision.

The Archbishop quickly said, "Your Majesty the Emperor, our Kingdom of Frank is currently the most severely afflicted. On our lands, it’s not only the people who are infected, but flowers, trees, and even the veins of ore are becoming living beings. Even if the Great Lord of Black Death were to disappear from now on, we do not know how much time and resources it would take to eradicate those mountains, rivers, and forests that have been transformed into life."

"If we continue to ignore this, I fear... our kingdom will completely decline."

Yet Louis XI spoke with full confidence, "Archbishop, that is the thinking of common folk. But don’t forget, I’ve presently only deployed more than fifty thousand troops and three knight regiments, using merely a tenth of the Kingdom of Frank’s strength."

"I can still mobilize more knight regiments."

"And don’t forget, each person or thing infected by the Black Death only strengthens it. The Black Death is a concern for all humanity, the entire Magic Dark Forest Universe—not just our Kingdom of Frank. I will not only refrain from cleaning up the Black Death, but I will also exacerbate it. Once the Black Death infects the entire Kingdom of Frank, it will be momentous and irreversible, and the entire Magic Dark Forest Universe will completely lose hope."