While Luxuria was filled with fervent ardor, the situation was more complicated in Wratharis.
In the first place, the citizens had not been interested in the war. There was already small friction with Envilya and Southern pride so they saw no interest in declaring outright war against Luxuria.
What had lured them in the past was the false information about Camelia’s loss of power and what kept them was the pride of the Wolf King.
From another standpoint, the approval rating of the Wolf King was simply not that high. This did not matter in a pure monarchy like in Lustburg or the other kingdoms, but for Wratharis that was a mix between a Republic and a Monarchy, this made it so many of the easy decisions he could have taken were met with a strong backlash.
One of the things that helped the Citizens keep faith was that war beasts were all extremely patriotic.
Even if they did not like the current ruler, they were ready to fight and sacrifice themselves for the country. Even killing themselves if it was necessary would be nothing but an honor.
So even though they did not want war ... .There was no way they would let foreigners occupy their territory.
This was the belief that keep them.
But now….
Things got messy.
“Hey…Did you see?”
“Yeah… It was…”
“But what if she is a fake?”
“Are you crazy? Is there anyone who dares to disguise as Blessed?”
The fact that a projection from Lustburg managed to appear in the capital Wratharis was a surprise enough.
But what they witnessed after was earthshaking.
The princess was alive.
The princess was a Blessed.
There was no fear of it being a scam. It was impossible for anyone to even dare act as a Blessed.
It was blasphemy to such a high level that all those that dared to try were struck down by thunder and reduced to ashes in an instant or were cursed and lived in such a condition that they killed themselves to escape their suffering.
In this world, it did not matter whether one was a believer or not.
Faith was personal and not enforced.
But no mortal could overstep and disrespect the goddesses.
This was why they knew — This was real.
This was why they knew — That a new wind was starting to blow.
The eyes of many people started to flicker.
Those who had been dissatisfied by the reign of the wolf King.
Those who had been loyal to the previous king.
—Or simply those who saw an opportunity to climb to a different tree and possibly reach a higher level in their life.
As war beasts, direct rebellion against a blessed was impossible and the King was not some helpless cub that could be manipulated.
But a new queen might be different.
It was then, a new screen flickered in the sky.
Everyone looked up, wondering if it was another message from Lustburg but this time it was none-other than their own King.
[Citizens of the Republic. The time of war is upon us.]
Unlike the crazy and unbridled appearance he would show sometimes, Lupus was nothing but dignified as he spoke this time.
[Not only has the Kingdom of Luxuria been our enemy since time immemorial, but they now have a design for our beloved country.]
Righteous anger swirled in his eyes as he spoke loudly,
[My fight for the throne was one sanctioned by divine authority and recognized by the goddess. Calling me a usurper is insulting the goddesses]
He continued,
[But this time it's not about me. My dear niece had been captured and treated as a slave by the royal family of Lustburg for years!! How dare they!? I have been asking to recuperate her for months now but they never gave me a positive answer.]
A sad smile formed on his face,
[This is why I decided to fight. This is why I decided to go to war. Because the royal family can never be sullied. We were once slaves! We fought for our freedom and finally obtained it after hundreds of years of sacrifice!]
His words echoed in the hearts of many. After all, even though no war beast from that period were still alive, it was well-known fact that, like humans and the dwarves, they used to be nothing but slaves and were used as Cannon fodder.
[The worst. Now that my dear niece awakened as a Blessed. The Prince of Lustburg dares to call her his fiancee!!? How many more humiliations do we have to suffer from!?]
Lupus did not say more but those words were enough to make the thinking of many people go wild.
Lustburg was keeping the princess imprisoned.
If it was the truth, currently they were simply using her as a puppet and if Lustburg won, Setsuna would be a puppet King under Lustburg's order.
[If you do not wish to become slaves once again.
If you do not wish to let the royal family be humiliated.
Fight! It's time for us to fight! And this is why, on this day, I hereby declare war on Lustburg!]
The blood of many boiled.
They were called war beasts.
They may hesitate when the reason to fight was unknown.
But, once they designed a clear enemy, not even death would stop them from fighting.
Of course, people were not stupid.
They could smell that something was fishy.
But in the end, the vast majority left their emotions to take control of them.
—---
After the urgent broadcast ended, Lupus closed his eyes as he fought to get his wrath under control.
From the moment he had sensed the awakening of Setsuna, he had been ready.
He knew that this identity would create a schism between the force of Wratharis as many people were still loyal to his brother.
But at the same time, he had been ready to use it to his advantage.
After all — Setsuna had indeed been a slave for years in Lustburg. From his spies, he knew that she was treated very well in fact.
But did it matters? A slave was a slave and this was a very touchy subject for war beasts.
He had also indeed called Lustburg to give him back Setsuna and they had refused.
Obviously, it was for his selfish reasons. But once again no one needed to know that.
With this board, it did not matter if Lustburg used the chess pieces that were Setsuna.
All it would do would be to help him make even the neutral warriors and those against him join the fray in the hope of "saving" Setsuna from the clutches of the evil Lustburg.
But now. Something was fishy.
Why use such a great piece now?
Why throw away the chance of causing Chaos while in the war by making an announcement so soon?
Lupus frowned…
There could only be three reasons to discard a powerful piece.
One was obviously to put a trap.
The second was that the opponent was simply too stupid.
As for the last — it was simply because what he considered a powerful piece was not considered as such by his opponent.
Lupus' breath grew harsh.
He could feel the power of destiny swirling and he knew that a great pivot was incoming in his destiny.
"Firstly, call Shuten Doji and Sun Wukong. We need to discuss the activation of the war troops and the division of the army for the different fronts."
He muttered to himself but a shadow moved away in the instant he finished his order.
"As for the rest of you…Investigate! Investigate who sneaked up a broadcast device from Lustburg in our capital!"
Even as he spoke, he looked in the direction of the Great Shrine.
Anger swirled in his eyes and lightning covered his body.
It seemed like it was time for him to make clear whether this priestess would stay neutral or become an enemy.
Though…He was sure that the answer was already clear from the get-to-go.
"I need more firepower."
The incoming crisis was great and while he was sure that Sun Wukong and himself would be enough for the high-end power, he decided that he needed one more assurance.
'I guess I need to use it.'
He stood up and walked towards the Treasury of the royal family.
He wished he never had to use it.
But he knew that he needed it to get an absolute edge.
It was time — to use Wratharis' divine weapon.
(AN: Okay guys I will be honest. While I do plan to make the war as good as possible with planning on both sides, please don't expect something like Kingdom level strategy or Code Geass.
For one, this ain't a war novel and two I am not smart enough to write such war with so many strategies.
Anyway, let's see how it goes.)
