Divine Kingship

Chapter 617 We have a mole, but it's okay, because...

In the central military camp, the command tent was illuminated by the lights of the ruins, making the entire tent as bright as day.

"His Majesty Rand has sent word that they have discovered the Restorationists' plot against our World Tree. We should immediately cease hostilities with the Royal Court and then work together to protect the World Tree." Vanilla rested her hands on the edge of the table, gazing at the map.

In front of her table stood five or six elven noble generals clad in armor.

"What a joke! We've fought this far, how could there possibly be any room for maneuver? If we let go of the initiative we have now, we might not be able to gain the upper hand again later." An elven noble general spoke up in opposition. His family had already suffered considerable losses in the war and desperately needed to gain some results to make up for them.

The other elven noble generals looked at him with surprise. Now that the surprise attack on the royal court had succeeded, the reputation of the vanilla governor's army had reached its peak.

Are they now questioning the decision of the Vanilla Archon? Besides, they don't want anything to happen to the Elven World Tree. If something happens to the Elven World Tree, then the Elves will have no defenses against humans in the future.

Although they didn't believe that the two sides could stop fighting now, it would be foolish to refute Vanilla's idea at this time.

“That’s an order,” Vanilla said coldly.

"We absolutely cannot accept..." The general who wanted to object was beheaded by Xiangcao's guards before he could finish speaking.

Political activities must adhere to political principles.

In the military camp, one must naturally abide by the rules of the army. If a general disobeys orders, Xiangcao can kill him without mercy.

Besides, Vanilla had already given him face during his previous political activities.

If there are still people who don't understand the situation and want to oppose her, then killing them directly is perfectly acceptable.

"So, do you have any objections?" Vanilla's eyes were fixed on the remaining generals.

The remaining elven generals thought the opponent was somewhat foolish, and since they hadn't wanted to oppose vanilla in the first place, they all shook their heads to indicate that they had no objection.

“Very good. Now arrange for a message to be sent to the military commander on the other side. I want a ceasefire.” Vanilla immediately gave the order.

"Yes!" the generals agreed, and then went to make arrangements for the ceasefire.

After finishing writing the letter and arranging for someone to send it out, Xiangcao looked at the empty military tent and breathed a sigh of relief.

She was still very bad at arguing, let alone killing someone directly.

Unfortunately, there are many things we have to do now.

Her Majesty Rand is not one of the elves who is concerned about these matters; she absolutely cannot hold Her Majesty Rand back.

Vanilla sat in her seat, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Summer had arrived.

The Elf Forest is a suitable place to live, but it is quite hot in the summer.

After some time, Nidhogg arrived at the tent: "Rand said the World Tree really has a problem?"

"His Majesty Rand's message indicates that many evil forces are plotting to destroy our World Tree, and they should be making their move soon," Vanilla corrected Nidhogg.

"Damn it," Nidhogg frowned. "Just as I expected, it had to be at a time like this."

As expected, the Restorationists decided to take action during this period when the Royal Court faction and the Reformists were locked in a fierce battle.

This strategy is actually quite reasonable, and Nidhogg would have made the same choice if he were a decision-maker in the Restorationists.

The royal court faction and the reformists were unable to counter this.

Even if the royal court knew that the Golden World Tree was in crisis, it couldn't just watch the reformists develop indefinitely.

If this period of delay continues, the reformists may grow to a size that the royal court will find difficult to defeat.

As for the reformists, if they don't take the initiative, who knows what offensive strategy the royal court will adopt after assembling a large army?
If the reformists find themselves in a passive and disadvantageous position, how should they deal with it?

Now that we have a common enemy, how can we stop the fighting?

“How do you plan to persuade the people from the Royal Court?” Nidhogg asked, frowning.

Clearly, how could the royal court faction believe that a ceasefire at this time was not a scheme by the reformists?

How could they not suspect that this was a plan by the reformists to launch a swift and decisive attack once the royal court faction had lowered its guard?

The royal court faction and the reformists are now incapable of trusting each other.

If either side backs down, there is a risk of direct annihilation.

"Of course I didn't intend to persuade them; there's no way we could persuade them." Vanilla's still somewhat youthful face revealed a sweet smile.

“Even if they agree to a truce with us, we will certainly not be able to let our guard down, and we will not be able to defend the Golden Tree at all,” Vanilla said. “Or rather, once we send troops to protect the Golden Tree, the Royal Court will definitely send troops to attack us.”

"Then why did you send a letter to the Royal Court?" Nidhogg asked, somewhat surprised. "Since it's completely impossible to cooperate in protecting the World Tree..."

“So I discussed it with His Majesty the Great Rand, and we came up with a solution.” Vanilla smiled and waved.

Nidhogg turned around.

A giant crow.

Its eyes are dark brown, and its feathers are jet black and glossy.

His eyes were bright and his size was almost the same as Elder Nidhogg's.

"A raven?" Elder Nidhogg asked, somewhat surprised.

Calling this a crow is really inappropriate; it's too big. Even the most ferocious birds and beasts wouldn't be this large. Such a size is beyond the normal requirements for survival.

Furthermore, there was nothing mysterious about this crow.

A very strange creature.

"Caw!" Crow Cola nodded, indicating that it was indeed a crow.

This reminded Nidhogg that Rand seemed to keep a raven as a pet, but he hadn't expected it to be so huge.
I just don't know what's so special about it.

"This is Raven Cola, His Majesty Rand's messenger. It is connected to His Majesty Rand's mind and can use His Majesty Rand's divine power to a certain extent," Vanilla explained.

"The specific process is a bit complicated and it's not convenient to explain it here. In short, through discussion and investigation, we discovered that we had a mole. Because we acted quickly, the mole couldn't easily pass on information, which is why we were able to launch a successful surprise attack."

“Now that we’ve slowed down, the news that I really intend to cease hostilities, even at the cost of killing a general, will soon reach the ears of the Royal Court.” Vanilla’s voice was very clear. “And with the letter I sent to the Royal Court, that will be enough to convince them that we really intend to cease hostilities to deal with the issue of the Golden World Tree.”

"As for why I was able to discover the traitor among us, it was naturally thanks to the power of His Majesty Rand's pet."

By this point in Vanilla's explanation, Nidhogg had already grasped the plan Vanilla and Rand had discussed: "So you plan to turn the tables on them, wipe them out in one fell swoop, and then deal with the Golden Tree problem?"

Vanilla nodded slightly: "That's right, it's our plan." In an ideal scenario, the reformists and the royal court would cease hostilities and work together to protect the Golden World Tree, which would naturally be the safest and most likely solution to the problem.

But what if there's absolutely no possibility of the other side agreeing to a ceasefire?
Naturally, the priority is to defeat the enemy as quickly as possible, and then lead troops to protect the World Tree.

It is the best solution when trust cannot be established.

However, with the enemy having already established a firm foothold and is advancing steadily, it is almost impossible for our side to quickly defeat them.

This would theoretically be a war that lasts for several years.

This is a war that will determine the fate of the Elf Forest.

Vanilla is confident of victory if it plays it safe, but now that the Golden Tree is in trouble, it has no choice but to use some tricks.

Now we have a perfect excuse to deceive the other party into believing something, don't we?

When Vanilla leads her army to support the World Tree, the Royal Court's army, eager to pursue, will naturally fall into the Reformers' trap.

As for that tiny possibility, such as if the Royal Court faction really intends to cease hostilities with Vanilla and go to support the World Tree together, Vanilla's scheme will not inadvertently harm the Royal Court faction.

We can all meet up under the Golden World Tree then.

This was a plan that Vanilla and Rand came up with.

At present, Vanilla and Rand consider this plan to be a foolproof strategy.

“A brilliant plan,” Nidhogg sighed.

Vanilla looked at Nidhogg, who was sighing instead, with some confusion: "Why is Teacher sighing? Is there a problem with the plan?"

Nidhogg shook his head: "There's no problem. I believe it will definitely succeed. It's just that we old folks are getting a bit useless. Young elves like you are the hope of the elven forest, but..."

"Just what?"

“I simply cannot imagine that the elven forests will be under the control of a human king in the future,” Nidhogg sighed.

“Don’t worry, Master. His Majesty Rand is someone who is willing to abide by the laws governing the world. He will not rule the elves too forcefully. His Majesty Rand prefers win-win situations to enslavement,” Vanilla said.

"hope so."

Nidhogg still sighed somewhat. He would never do anything to hinder the reformists' actions. Nidhogg knew very well that, at present, Vanilla's decision and Rand's decision were the most suitable for the Elven Forest.

……

Soon, news spread among the upper echelons of the Elven Reformation that Vanilla had decided to make peace with the Royal Court and then lead a group to the Elven Forest for rescue.

The elven nobles once again came to Vanilla's command tent to inquire about her thoughts.

However, after learning about Vanilla's attitude, they didn't dare to be too forceful in their tone.

Vanilla was clearly determined to rescue the Golden World Tree. They understood this perfectly well; for every elf, the Golden World Tree was a part of their life.

Elves are protected by the Golden World Tree from birth until the last moment of their lives.

When an elf dies, they become part of the soil and return to the Golden World Tree.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Golden World Tree is an integral part of the elves' lives.

If it weren't for the current war situation, none of the elves would hesitate to go to the rescue after learning that the Golden World Tree was in danger.

but.

In today's focal point of the struggle for power and desire.

The selfish instincts of intelligent beings will take over everything.

In fact, all the elves present knew very well that as long as they risked everything to rescue the Golden World Tree, the Royal Court would inevitably regain the upper hand in the struggle for power.

“No, Your Highness Vanilla, it’s not that we’re unwilling to stop the war, but what if the royal court attacks us when we decide to stop the war and go to the rescue? How will we face them then? And how will the elven forests, which are willing to support us elves, face them?” The elven nobles earnestly advised Vanilla.

Vanilla's face was icy cold.

"Without the Golden World Tree, if an external enemy were to attack us—such as the evil lurking in the darkness, the monsters, or even humans…"

“Even if we win the war against the Royal Court here, what will we do if we lose the Golden World Tree?” Vanilla questioned.

"The Golden World Tree was only attacked in a plot; it's not necessarily going to be in serious trouble. We can deal with it after we defeat the Royal Court faction; it might not be too late."

"The Golden World Tree has faced many threats throughout its history, yet it has always stood firm. We do not believe that the Golden World Tree can be destroyed so easily. However, our war with the Royal Court is very fragile, and a slight shift in the balance could lead to our annihilation."

“My mind is made up, there’s no need to bring it up again.” Vanilla’s words were like those of a headstrong tyrant.

Vanilla had naturally considered that those revivalists and cultists were mere clowns and posed no real threat to the Golden World Tree.

But Vanilla's goal is to destroy the Royal Court first, and then head to the Golden World Tree.

What happens next doesn't really matter; all she needs to do now is deceive the people sent by the royal court.

To deceive the royal court's faction, they first needed to deceive these elven nobles in front of them.

Clearly, there were quite a few elven nobles among them who were not staunch supporters of the reformists; some could even be considered traitors.

Vanilla also needs to take this opportunity to get rid of a group of less loyal reformist elven nobles, so that the Moon Kingdom's intervention in the future will be easier.

This is the only time to do it. Now is the time for a successful surprise attack, and when Vanilla's prestige is at its highest among the army and the elves as a whole.

Previously in Giantwood City, everyone believed that vanilla could change their lives.

Now, on this battlefield, everyone believes that vanilla can bring them victory in their war.

Therefore, even if Vanilla makes some decisions that they cannot understand, they will still be willing to support Vanilla.

If Vanilla were to wait until the initial fervor subsides, making such a risky decision again could potentially lead to a split within the reformist camp.

Seeing Vanilla's resolute stance, the reformist elven nobles had no choice but to remain silent.

At least now they're basically on Vanilla's pirate ship.

Meanwhile, the elven nobles who were actually the traitors hoped that Vanilla would make such a crazy decision.

Vanilla's will was carried out.

(End of this chapter)