Divine Kingship

Chapter 573 Actors, take your positions! [Rome x Resort √ Holiday]

Rand has already received intelligence from within the city.

Rand can now give a rough assessment of the overall stability of the capital city of the Kingdom of Bolen.

If we express it in numbers...

If a stability of 100 represents unity and cohesion, and a stability of 0 represents chaos and disorder, then Land estimates that the stability of the Bolen Royal City is currently around 80.

Most people are fairly confident in holding the port, but some are plotting to escape through it.

As for why so many people still have the confidence and determination to defend the city.

That's because many people don't yet have a real sense of what war is coming.

All of this happened too fast.

If a country's capital were to be attacked, it would require several rounds of mobilization, and the quality of life would decline to a certain extent.

Due to Rand's unorthodox tactics, many of the troops who retreated to the capital of the Kingdom of Bolen, as well as the residents of the capital itself, had not yet truly experienced the brutal reality of war.

The able-bodied men in the family were conscripted to fight, their property was ordered to be confiscated, and they were robbed by thugs due to the chaos.

The underlying nature of war will always remain the same.

"Tell the spies in the city to be careful and don't assign them any missions for the time being," Rand said to Elsa.

Elsa has always been in charge of security and intelligence work for the Sanctuary forces.

Now that the national war has begun, Elsa has also taken over the Frostmoon Kingdom's intelligence work against the Bolen Kingdom.

Logically, this kind of work should be done by nobles, so Rand gave Elsa the title of lord.

Rand is now fully capable of bestowing titles upon the high-ranking members of the Holy Land, and these titles would include actual fiefdoms.

But doing so doesn't really make much sense, thanks to Ellie's family management, although no one really likes the whole family living together all the time.

But at least everyone considers each other family.

Of course, there are degrees of closeness and distance, but this also makes everyone's status as lovers and subjects far weaker than that of members of the Nicholas family.

Yes, the high-ranking members of the Sanctuary have all joined the Nicholas family, so it's perfectly acceptable to refer to them by their surname, Nicholas.

For example, Lysa Nicholas.

Therefore, none of the high-ranking members of the Holy Land accepted any fiefdoms or went to other places to become local nobles.

Elsa nodded in agreement.

Seeing that Rand had no other plans for her, she disappeared to run errands.

Meanwhile, Rand continued to deploy his forces: "The men are almost all here. Our attack is about to enter its second phase. We'll officially launch the siege tomorrow and put more pressure on them."

“We should also start harassing them on the sea route.” Rand continued to make arrangements. “Our fleet is far weaker than that of the Kingdom of Bolen, but our allies’ fleets are gradually in place. We can start harassing their shipping routes and prevent them from getting supplies too easily.”

"As for psychological tactics, His Majesty the King and I will be fully responsible for them."

Rand's deployment was completed quickly, and the nobles of the Frostmoon Kingdom had no objections to it and immediately accepted the order.

The main purpose of this meeting was to ask the nobles of the Frostmoon Kingdom to contribute their efforts.

If this plan goes smoothly, then the Kingdom of Bolun will be destroyed.

Although Marcus promised Rand that it could go anywhere in the south, since the country has contributed this time, Rand certainly won't take it all for itself. But then again, since these nobles want a share of the profits, they will definitely need to contribute even more.

The capital of the Kingdom of Bolen will not be an easy city to conquer, even if Rand intends to focus on psychological warfare to undermine the city's defenses from within.

This does not mean that external attacks will not require expenditure.

Material conditions determine consciousness; to undermine the enemy's spirit, inflicting physical suffering is essential.

Empty talk and persuasion will not have real persuasive power.

……

After completing the work arrangements, Rand didn't linger in the conference room and went to the film shooting location.

The actors and director are all in place.

The prop master and lighting technician had been waiting for a long time, of course.

"The core of this commemorative drama is actually very simple: to publicize the tragic plight of the resistance fighters and the wonderful life of those who surrendered," Rand said succinctly.

"Everything serves the needs of war, aiming to undermine the enemy's will to resist. It should be easy to understand and doesn't require much artistry," Marcus, wearing a director's hat and holding a pipe in one hand, added.

The staff involved in the photo-taking drama were under a lot of pressure and nodded to indicate that they understood.

Rand and Marcus personally oversaw the work, which is at the level of the Hand of the King and the King himself—a level that is indeed quite high.

Fortunately, not everyone felt the pressure of this hierarchy. Many of the theater staff who took photos did not recognize His Majesty the King of Frostmoon Kingdom, and did not have much of a sense of the power and influence of Rand.

Of course, they could still sense the importance that Rand placed on this.

The lead roles this time are played by Wind Chime, who had previously moved to behind-the-scenes work, and Vanilla, who is now a senior member of the Sanctuary forces.

Rand already had an idea for the play's theme.

【Rome x Resort Hotel √ Holiday】

The beautiful princess Vanilla from another country encounters Wind Chime, a former professional soldier of lowly status who has just been redeemed from captivity, at a resort.

The beautiful princess was of noble birth, but she lacked freedom. She wanted to explore the beautiful scenery of the resort, but was prevented from doing so by the opposition of her servants.

Wind Chime, a former professional soldier of humble origins, has little wealth but has redeemed herself and is now free. She is also quite familiar with the scenery of the resort.

The princess, finally unable to bear the burden of her status, seized an opportunity and escaped when the servants were not paying attention.

But how can a princess, unfamiliar with the place and its people, explore a beautiful resort during her brief period of "freedom"?

Just as Princess Vanilla was troubled, she met the former soldier Wind Chime.

Rand quickly finished recounting the plot, then looked at Marcus and the other members involved in writing the story: "Everyone, do you have any suggestions?"

The cast and crew members all felt a bit nostalgic, including Marcus.

No one was surprised by Rand's storytelling ability, because they were already familiar with it. The Scarlet Night photo drama that swept through the Frostmoon Kingdom and other surrounding countries was Rand's creation.

Of course, Marcus's artistic adaptation also played a crucial role.

It's not surprising that Rand can now casually compose a play plot that fits the current situation and has compelling content. No one is surprised by this.

But I'm still drawn to this kind of storyline.

To be honest, this way of thinking is quite bold. This world does not advocate free love, but here, a former professional soldier and a princess from another country still managed to spark some romance.

The final plot design of Rand is of course that the two will eventually separate, but the overall plot is still quite bold.

And everyone felt a little sorry.

Such a captivating storyline was actually an emergency creation born out of desperation to deal with the Kingdom of Bolen. This kind of work should have been polished and become a worldwide phenomenon.

However, it is clear that the current situation will have some shortcomings due to the haste.

"In short, the main point is that after the former professional soldier meets the princess of another country, the play introduces the Frostmoon Kingdom's policy of treating prisoners of war well and its policy of labor reform, and then mentions some of the cruelty of war and the injustice of the Bolen Kingdom." Rand emphasized again, "In short, because of the emphasis, this play is definitely flawed. It overemphasizes the treatment of prisoners of war and does not mention much about the stupidity of participating in the war and the meaninglessness of resistance."

Anyway, Rand can't think of a perfect play for the time being.

If the focus is on the pain of war and the folly of resistance, then a film like All Quiet on the Western Front might be more appropriate.

But this brings another problem: such an excessive focus on humanism can divide the relationship between soldiers and nobles.

After all, the soldiers fought to the death but gained nothing; the real benefits went to the nobles.

Soldiers in the Rand territory certainly have it much better; whether they die in battle or earn merit in war, they receive corresponding compensation and rewards.

However, most soldiers in the Frostmoon Kingdom do not have such benefits; once they die, they are dead, and the nobles do not care about anything else.

Even for knights, there was a high possibility that they would be forgotten by their lord after death, and their families would not be protected.

In stark contrast to the soldiers and knights who fought personally, everything the soldiers gained through their battles—whether wealth, land, or anything else—belonged entirely to the nobles, who would not share a single penny with them.

At most, some meritorious soldiers would be given a pitiful reward, which was completely insignificant compared to their life-or-death battles.

This has always been taken for granted by the nobles, and Rand cannot change that.

Rand could not betray his identity by saying that commoners and nobles are equal; that would be out of step with the times, where the economic base determines the superstructure.

“That will do.” Marcus was very tolerant of such imperfections. After all, the content was already very exciting. It would be unreasonable to demand perfection in every aspect. “As for making the soldiers and knights on the other side realize the futility and stupidity of their resistance, let magic and arrows do that.”

“Then let’s begin filming. Time is tight and the task is heavy, everyone get ready.” Marcus clapped his hands, and the crew members sprang into action.

Act One: Prisoner and Freedom

Scene 1: Reflections in the glass conservatory
Morning light streamed through the crystal dome, casting shimmering patterns of rainbow colors onto the pearl-embroidered skirt of Princess Vanilla. She knelt among the ferns, trimming roses with silver shears, but with each cut, a servant immediately collected the withered petals in a lacquered tray.

The mirrored wall in the background reflects twenty superimposed images, each of which is a princess wounded and imprisoned by the thorns of roses.

Lines:

Chief Attendant (voiceover): "Your Highness, there are wild bees in the locust grove, the timbers of the pier on the north bank are rotten, and the third step of the spiral staircase in the east tower is loose—"

Vanilla (interrupting, scissors hanging in mid-air): "So today's safe activity area... is still the greenhouse with a radius of 15 meters?"

As the scissors fell, she deliberately brushed against the back of her hand, and drops of blood fell onto the white rose. She looked down and chuckled softly, "At least red suits me better."

Scene 2: The "Freedom" of Retired Soldiers

The man dressed as Fengling hammered the last nail into the wooden board, wiped away the sweat of his labor, and, amidst the envious glances of those around him, marked the last empty mark on the points sheet. The labor foreman personally took Fengling to the resort's office and changed his status from prisoner to official resident of the resort.

The background shows the wind chimes working hard and a silhouette of a future life of freedom.

Lines:

A fellow prisoner in labor camp (with envious eyes): "You're free today—"

Wind Chime (smiling): "You'll be here soon too, won't you? The adults here are always kind and keep their promises."

Act Two: The Princess Who Crossed the Line

Scene 3: The Canary's Escape………………

It must be said that the plot was exceptionally well-designed and filmed under the direction of Marcus, who has a rich appreciation for art and extensive experience in photography. Even Rand, who had experienced the rich special effects of film performances in his previous life, was attracted by the scenes.

Rand was quite fortunate that such an interesting thing as a recording crystal existed in this world, which allowed him to recreate many of the entertainments from his previous life in this world.

Unfortunately, this is a serious time of war, and everything must serve the war effort, so this hastily produced performance is destined to be less than perfect.

However, Rand didn't care too much about it. He could just reset it after the war was over.

……

Meanwhile, in the outside world...

The real, bloody siege of the Kingdom of Bolen has officially begun.

According to RAND's requirements, the brutality of war should be used to assist psychological offensives, or rather, psychological tactics are meant to assist in frontal combat.

In short, propaganda and psychological tactics will not work if the soldiers and knights on the other side do not realize the pain of war.

The nobles of the Frostmoon Kingdom also shared this intention.

The previous war made Rand very famous.

Although such a great victory was achieved so quickly with such small losses, all the nobles of the Frostmoon Kingdom benefited.

But this also means that Rand's contribution percentage will be much higher.

Although Rand said he would not underestimate the contributions of the nobles of the Frostmoon Kingdom in this war, after all, even a skilled cook cannot cook without rice. Without the military and material support of the nobles of the Frostmoon Kingdom, Rand's tactics would obviously not be able to be implemented.

But the nobles of the Frostmoon Kingdom were also somewhat frustrated.

They finally made up their minds to start a war between nations.

They were mentally prepared to make a name for themselves in this war, determined to demonstrate their bravery and fighting spirit, even at the cost of their lives.

They didn't even get a chance to showcase their talents before it was all over...

Furthermore, although RAND stated that their share would not be reduced.

However, these nobles also had to agree on who got more and who got less.

The decisive opportunity to determine who gets more and who gets less is clearly the final siege battle.

(End of this chapter)