Divine Kingship

How exactly did they manage to do that in Chapter 567?
RAND doesn't need to prove its military capabilities to anyone.

That was something he needed to do when he was just starting out.

Rand had several good plans for the war between the Frostmoon Kingdom and the Bolen Kingdom.

But since the first plan succeeded, the rest became much easier.

However, such a swift victory has made many things seem strange.

For example, Rand actually intended to plunder some people and land from it, but now it's not so easy to plunder.

There's also the matter of the New Holy City. The New Holy City sent two knightly orders to assist the Kingdom of Bolun. According to Tan'er's battle report, the Frostmoon Kingdom's army defeated one of the knightly orders, but the other knightly order was not found.

It seems that the plan to weaken the pragmatists in the new Holy City has not been very successful.

Of course, compared to the victories achieved.

These are nothing to worry about.

"Just proceed with the follow-up work as usual," Rand said at the meeting. "If we can quickly capture the capital of the Kingdom of Bolen, we can try to force the Bolen royal family to surrender."

"If the capital city cannot be captured after a long siege, then we should first take over the territories we have already conquered."

The high-ranking officials of the Holy Land have all indicated that they are aware of this.

Then Rand asked, "Any other questions?"

"So we really won?" asked Bishop Kahn.

As allies of Rand, the Torch Church's Nascent Soul faction naturally dispatched a significant number of troops to join the war.

Bishop Kahn did not doubt that Rand was incapable of bringing victory.

But this was a win that came way too fast, wasn't it?

It's so fast it feels unreal.

Bishop Kahn was a former cardinal, and to have reached that position, he must have been a man of great learning.

Bishop Kahn was also very knowledgeable about the wars that had occurred in history.

But just like this time, the war is happening at an absurdly fast pace.

Bishop Nakahn had only seen him in wars between knights and villagers.

But that wasn't war at all. It was a one-sided massacre, with fully armed knights fighting against villagers whose weapons were just pitchforks.

But the Kingdom of Bolen is different. The Kingdom of Bolen has city walls and knights, but in this war, in front of the soldiers of the Frostmoon Kingdom, are they as vulnerable as the villagers?

“That’s true, we can discuss it at this meeting,” Rand said. “Essentially, it’s about exploiting time differences and taking things by surprise.”

"When our troops had just amassed a third of their strength."

Most people in the Kingdom of Bolen believe that we will wait until the entire army is assembled before starting the war.

In the eyes of most outsiders, my military strategy has always been conservative, and defensive counterattacks and positional warfare are what I excel at.

When only one-third of the army has been assembled, it should be our side guarding against a surprise attack from the Kingdom of Bolun, rather than our side launching an attack.

Because an attack at this time is likely to be defeated by the enemy due to the disparity in troop strength, and then it may turn into a situation where the Kingdom of Bolun is defeated one by one.

The Frostmoon Kingdom has a military advantage over the Bolun Kingdom.

In this situation, we should theoretically proceed with even greater prudence and caution.

Therefore, the Kingdom of Bolun was unlikely to realize that we could launch an attack at this time.

Then, in addition, we chose an unconventional route of attack—a portion of our troops traversed the dense forest, outflanked the enemy, and then launched a surprise attack from the front.

This created a pincer attack.

On the front, a super-elite knight order and a magic knight order wielding standard-issue staffs fiercely tore through the defensive line.

Furthermore, because many military nobles of the Kingdom of Bolun were assassinated by our people, the command was thrown into disarray, and the transmission of messages was intercepted by our army, causing the enemy to be unable to react in time... and that's how we won the victory.

Many of the Bohemian troops were unaware of what was happening.

They were surrounded by us and forced to surrender.

"In short, a more detailed battle report will be sent to you later... for internal exchange and learning purposes only, do not circulate it outside." Rand clapped his hands. "Then the meeting is adjourned."

……

Go back to a few days ago.

After admiring the photographic crystal, tasting the fine wine sent from the southern estate, and enjoying a massage from a beautiful maid, Marcus began to check on the war situation.

He wasn't truly indifferent to the war; if the Frostmoon Kingdom suffered a defeat in the war against the Bolen Kingdom, the Thorn Family would obviously also suffer losses.

But he was "injured" after all by the assassination attempt, wasn't he? This is a good opportunity to strengthen the cohesion of the Frostmoon Kingdom and give Land a little more say.

Although Marcus always acts according to his conscience, he is not the kind of selfish person who would disregard everything.

On the contrary, Marcus is quite considerate of the big picture.

This is why someone as lazy as Marcus was able to be a good king of the Frostmoon Kingdom.

Since Rand has enough prestige and the full support of the Marquis of Black Brown and the Marquis of Buck, the temporary disappearance of King Marcus will not lead to the collapse and chaos of the country.

In this context, and amidst the ongoing war, RAND's influence would actually increase.

Because if Marcus were sober, even if he said that all war matters were to be left to Rand, there would still be nobles in the country reporting to him. In some battles that required determination and perseverance, there would be nobles who were unwilling to accept Rand's orders and would come to ask the king for instructions.

After all, Marcus was still the king.

With Marcus here, it would be difficult for the Frostmoon Kingdom to become a one-man show for Rand.

However, if Marcus is "assassinated and his fate is unknown," and Rand is acting under the pretext of avenging the king, then Rand's command will be much easier, and it will be difficult for any disobedience to occur in the short term.

If the war drags on and morale begins to waver, then Marcus can step in to appease the people and offer support; this would be the safest strategy.

Using this strategy is a win-win situation: Rand wins, Frostmoon Kingdom wins, and Marcus wins too.

Of course, Marcus was also worried that Rand was under too much pressure, so he wrote to Rand to tell him not to worry and to express that he and the Thorn family would fully support him.

Marcus fled to his manor to rest, leaving Rand to work hard. He was a little guilty, though, because if he didn't support Rand, Rand might quit.

Then, Marcus received the report.

Under the command of General Tanl, appointed by the King, the vanguard of the Frostmoon Kingdom decisively defeated the Kingdom of Bolun. Bolun's lines were easily torn apart like paper, and in just a few weeks, the Frostmoon Kingdom's army had already reached the gates of Bolun's capital.

The Kingdom of Bolen is now trapped in its isolated city.

Marcus initially just said "Oh," then sat bolt upright in surprise: "What? You won?" He hadn't been writing to Rand for very long, and by the time he calculated, the vanguard had only just assembled.

That's how you won?
The Thorn Clan intelligence officer who came to report didn't know what had happened either, but the battle report from the front lines was indeed like that, and he had even checked it himself.

They won inexplicably. The intelligence personnel had no idea how the soldiers on the front lines managed to get through the dense jungle to the enemy's rear, nor how they managed to tear apart the Bolen Kingdom's defenses in such a short time.

Therefore, the only answer was: "Yes, we won, but we don't know how we won."

Marcus didn't think this was due to the intelligence personnel's incompetence or inaction. He simply nodded to indicate that he understood, and then began writing to Rand. He knew he had to ask him properly now, and he figured his leisurely time of playing dead was about to come to an end.

On the same day, Ellie, far away in the White Kingdom, and the king, prince, and princess of the Takagi Kingdom all received the news.

Ellie also found it somewhat outrageous, but she was quite familiar with Rand's plans, so she wasn't too shocked.

Ellie also needed to appear calm and regal to appease the ministers of the White Kingdom.

During this time, Ellie, in Berlan's body, has served as the White King without making any mistakes. Berlan is a rather aloof person, and many things are difficult for Ellie to handle; she can simply refuse.

As for national affairs, Ellie is quite good at them. Although governing a country is different from governing the Moon Phase Duchy, Ellie is a new-era talent who has not only received royal education from the White Kingdom but has also been influenced by Rand. She has a lot of experience in governing a country.

There were no problems in this regard during this period, so although some maids and ministers felt that the great White King would occasionally become a bit eccentric, no one had any doubts overall.

Because the White King still possesses the demeanor of a king as always.

Just like now.

The White Kingdom and Rand have always maintained a friendly relationship, with economic and political exchanges between the two sides.

After all, the jewel of the White Kingdom married Rand.

Moreover, the White King clearly thinks highly of the young duke, Rand.

The citizens and nobles of the White Kingdom also greatly admired Rand, because Rand had saved the White Kingdom's northwest frontier under extremely dangerous circumstances.

The people of the White Country are actually quite aware of Rand's military capabilities.

But the current situation is still completely incomprehensible and unimaginable to them.

Because from the gathering to the attack and then the advance to the outskirts of the royal city of the Kingdom of Bolun.

It took such a short time, which is roughly the time it would take to advance rapidly without any obstacles.

This outcome is equivalent to the fact that the Kingdom of Bologna had no resistance army at all.

The great White King Berlan Calant showed no shock whatsoever under these circumstances.

Indeed, the king was different from ordinary people like them.

“I was actually quite shocked by this as well.” Ellie was already used to mimicking Berlan’s tone.

Everyone looked at the White Queen on the throne. Although the White Queen said she was shocked, her expression showed no sign of shock.

Ellie, with a composed expression, said, "This battle is indeed very unusual, and we can discuss that later, but right now it's more important to consider the follow-up issues."

The ministers in the palace were all waiting for Ellie to continue.

“That is, although the land army of the Kingdom of Poland is no match for the Kingdom of Frostmoon, the Kingdom of Poland has never been known for its army. Their navy may become a terrible pirate after the country is destroyed.” Ellie’s consideration was very thorough. She was of course very concerned about the Duchy of the Moon, after all, she was the real Lady Rand.

The ministers didn't see anything wrong with the White King's concern about the war between the Frostmoon Kingdom and the Bolen Kingdom, after all, they were also very concerned, and after all, Rand was the White King's brother-in-law.

Furthermore, if the navy of the Kingdom of Bolun were to become pirates, it would also have a significant impact on the Kingdom of White.

Since the opening of Crescent Moon Port in Rand, the White Kingdom has had considerable maritime exchanges with the Duchy of the Moon.

When the Kingdom of Takagi received this news, the entire nation was incredulous, as none of them knew any of the inside information.

The prince and princess of the Takagi Kingdom could be considered Rand's students, and they were aware of Rand's erudition and abilities.

However, their understanding of Rand is far less than Marcus's.

But Marcus was completely baffled by this matter and immediately wrote to Rand to inquire about the situation.

As for the more distant New Holy City and the Dwarf Kingdom on the other side of the sea, they haven't received any news yet.

……

Time returns to the present.

After the meeting, Rand began writing back to those who had written to him inquiring about the situation.

For closer allies, such as Marcus, Rand would write in considerable detail.

As for letters from people who were not close to him or even strangers, Rand would only give a brief description or simply not reply.

After replying to all the letters that were worth replying to, Rand put down his quill and stretched in his chair.

Olena also put down her work and stood next to Rand to massage his shoulders.

But Rand stood up from his seat and then pressed Olena back down.

Now it's Rand giving Olina a shoulder massage: "You've been working harder than me lately, let me give you a massage."

Olena was always happy to take care of Rand and Ellie.

But Rand didn't take it for granted.

He was very aware of Olena's hardships and felt sorry for her.

Before the war between the Frostmoon Kingdom and the Bolen Kingdom began, while Rand went to the North to fight against the orcs and Grand Duke Vladimir, Olenna was busy with matters concerning the territory.

Now that the war has begun, Olena, as the scribe, has been busy.

In some ways, her workload was even greater than Rand's.

Olena was already used to all of this and didn't think she was suffering, but Rand saw it all.

Olena was forced into a seat by Rand, so she had no choice but to have Rand massage her shoulders.

As a top-level professional, her body does not tire easily.

But Rand's massage technique was not bad; at least it didn't have the opposite effect.

Moreover, Olenna could also sense Rand's feelings.

Therefore, he did not refuse Rand's massage.

As for why Rand's massage skills were considered quite good.

That's because sometimes Rand would press people down and eventually force them onto the bed.

(End of this chapter)