The witch thought I am a Demon God
Chapter 955 - 491: Abolition of the Treaty with the Frankish People

Chapter 955: Chapter 491: Abolition of the Treaty with the Frankish People

Upon learning that the Hearthstone Witch had not killed anyone, Ivita breathed a sigh of relief and said to the Hearthstone Witch, "Then return half of their property back to them, any problems with that?"

In the Hall of Discussion, confronted with the gazes of many nobles, the Hearthstone Witch pondered for a moment. "Very well. I can return half of their property to them."

The nobles breathed a sigh of relief; at least they were given a lifeline.

Ivita nodded. The actions of the Hearthstone Witch were reasonable after all—since these nobles were suspected of treason. Though it was verbally stated that there would be no pursuit, it was impossible for there not to be any consequences.

Taking all their property would have been too much, but this degree was just right.

Ivita did not forget to use Mind Magic to say to the Hearthstone Witch, "Give two-thirds of the plundered property to me."

The Hearthstone Witch’s face turned red, her heart twisting in agony, but indeed, the property did not entirely belong to her. Without Ivita’s authority, she could not cut into all the nobles within the Royal Capital.

The Hearthstone Witch replied with Mind Magic, "Your Majesty, can we not split it evenly?"

She made one last effort to negotiate.

Ivita decisively refused.

He had to provide for a large family, while the Hearthstone Witch was just one person; how could she compare.

The Hearthstone Witch was greatly disappointed but said nothing, understanding the rationale behind it.

Ivita returned to the matter at hand. "Hearthstone Witch, what is the current situation in the western territories?"

As the Hearthstone Witch traveled between the front lines and the Royal Capital, she was intimately familiar with the war situation, and most of the Royal Capital’s understanding of the front came through her. The remainder was through scouts released from the front lines.

At this point, the Hearthstone Witch frowned and spoke gravely, "Your Majesty, the situation at the front lines is quite bad."

"Our finances and military strength are inferior to the Kingdom of Frank. Furthermore, the disgraceful conduct of a certain traitor has resulted in low morale among our troops. Plus, they have a Witch Marquis on their side. I have dueled with three of them within their troops, and another, more formidable Witch Marquis hidden in the shadows has attacked with resplendent starlight, with the power of the stars themselves, defeating me multiple times and preventing me from assisting our troops."

"Currently, the situation is very unfavorable to us. If nothing changes, time will not be on our side."

Ivita nodded. "The Frankish people’s sudden invasion caught us all off guard. However, we still hold an advantage. The witch you mentioned before has now been subdued by me."

The Hearthstone Witch and the nobles in the Hall of Discussion all looked up in astonishment.

Especially the Hearthstone Witch, who had clashed with the Aries witch several times. Each time, the Aries witch was able to defeat her from a thousand miles away without showing herself, and she could barely ensure her own escape.

Yet to her surprise, after Ivita’s trip to Yodo City, he returned claiming he had subdued the Aries witch.

Ivita said, "In our favor, we hold the moral high ground—we are the unequivocal victims. Now, you all must declare publicly that the Frankish people were the first to breach our treaty. We do not recognize any of the agreements previously signed with their country, and any land they have taken from our country in the past must now be returned to us."

Some nobles in the Hall of Discussion became excited, while others were filled with apprehension.

Ivita continued, "The second matter, the Frankish have an aggressive nature. You are to go to the Empire and invite the lords within it to join us in a coalition against the Kingdom of Frank."

On this point, no noble objected.

After all, the Frankish people had a notorious history. In less than sixty years, they had annexed dozens of small feudal countries, committing atrocities and genocides, making the neighboring countries extremely wary of them.

There had already been many joint military campaigns against the Kingdom of Frank.

It’s just that the situation for Alsace was unique this time, turning against both The Emperor and the Kingdom of Frank simultaneously, leading to isolation.

Ivita said, "Third, to support the front lines, I will set up a massive Magic Array in the Royal Capital to summon meteors from the sky to attack the Frankish troops. This involves many rare stone materials; you must follow the list I provide and exhaust the national treasury’s reserves to collect the materials."

"Hearthstone Witch, go to the front lines and tell the King of the Ancient Tomb and the Iron Mountain Knight, as well as Minister Marcellino Bowman and Grand Justice Kulatos Pritzker, to temporarily battle and retreat, leading them to the uninhabited saline-alkali soils of Sek County."

The nobles and the Hearthstone Witch promptly acknowledged Ivita’s commands.

Ivita had to invoke large-scale magic without letting the battlefield take place in the residential areas of Alsace Kingdom. The best strategy was to move the battlefield to the land of the Kingdom of Frank, but since that was momentarily unfeasible, the plan was to have his own troops feign defeat and move the battlefield to the desolate wasteland of saline-alkali soil.

The governance of Alsace was very autocratic; the Hall of Discussion could decide nearly everything without the need for approval from any council or agreement from regional meetings of each major area.

Therefore, Ivita’s orders here were equivalent to a command to the entire kingdom, and the counts of Alsace, regional judges, and nobles would abide by his commands.

Of course, with his King’s Right unstable, there would certainly be those who would resist openly but defy him in secret.

Now, with the war raging in eleven counties of western Alsace, those distant from the war in the eastern counties would feel the war was unrelated to them. Asking them to muster troops and pay taxes would make them uncomfortable, feeling as though they were cutting their own flesh to fill others’ deficits.