"Well... do you know what happened in just one short day after you fainted?"
Catherine said excitedly:
"After sunrise, in just one day, without exception, all the major cities in the southern Holy Kingdom controlled by the Holy Court chose to actively surrender to us!"
"Now... the southern Holy Kingdom, which was originally almost entirely occupied territory, was completely liberated in just one day!"
"Hehe... originally our influence in the northern Holy Kingdom was already far stronger than the Holy Court's, and with this change in the south... without Blood Clan assistance, the Holy Court with only a small portion of small cities in the north can no longer compete with us!"
Looking at Ileina beside her, Catherine grinned:
"Hehe... who could have thought—last week when Northern Fire held meetings, Princess Ileina was still emphasizing the need to prepare for prolonged war, and now the Holy Kingdom is basically completely liberated!"
"Ah?"
Elashia was so startled she jumped straight up from the bed.
"So fast?"
If she remembered correctly... the Holy Kingdom's liberation should have been something that happened many years later...
Moreover... Northern Fire's victory speed absolutely shouldn't have been this fast...
Seeing Elashia who was having some difficulty understanding the current situation, Ileina also smiled:
"So... Shia, you really helped tremendously."
"Actually, the Holy Capital's fall couldn't prove much. Although losing the capital was indeed quite a blow to the Holy Court, it was completely insufficient to make the Holy Court, which had Blood Clan aid, directly collapse."
"But..."
Looking at the bright sunlight outside the window, Ileina smiled:
"The sun's appearance not only instantly dropped the Holy Court army's morale to freezing point, but also made the weapons the Blood Clan provided them completely ineffective..."
"The Holy Court's authority was originally built almost entirely on powerful armaments, and now... their armed forces are no longer superior to Northern Fire's."
"The southern Holy Kingdom's terrain is mainly plains, and the few mountainous areas where people can survive are basically all under our control. After losing powerful armament support, the remaining Holy Court forces with nowhere to hide choosing surrender became inevitable."
"This is why the Holy Court collapsed so quickly in the southern Holy Kingdom."
After hearing Ileina's description, the half-understanding Elashia asked somewhat confusedly:
"So you're saying, before the Blood Clan joins the war... the Holy Court is already powerless to organize a counterattack?"
Catherine smiled proudly:
"Exactly!"
Ileina supplemented:
"Moreover... the Blood Clan's main forces are basically not on the border between our two countries."
"Believing that the Holy Kingdom could no longer organize forces capable of threatening Blood Clan territory, they currently have no troops deployed on the border at all."
The militarily ignorant Elashia nodded confusedly again.
Seeing that Elashia didn't understand the implications of Ileina's words, Catherine smiled and explained:
"That means, after the Blood Clan learns of this explosive news, they won't be able to organize counterattack forces for nearly a month!"
Elashia asked somewhat strangely:
"Why do you say that?"
"Wouldn't they send armies to help the Holy Court regain control of the Holy Kingdom immediately after getting the news?"
After hearing Elashia's words, Catherine laughed heartily:
"Hahahaha... it's not like that, Empress Elashia."
"Mobilizing armies of this scale... is very laborious."
"War isn't a brawl where the leader shouts once and can send all armies to the battlefield."
"War mobilization, logistics support, follow-up arrangements, equipment distribution, march routes... arranging all these things takes a lot of time."
"If the Blood Clan had prepared, they could achieve rapid strikes, but now..."
Catherine smiled triumphantly.
"They still don't know what exactly happened in the Holy Kingdom!"
"Don't know what these blood-suckers' reaction will be when they learn that the puppet they spent so much effort cultivating collapsed in just one short day."
Elashia nodded somewhat half-understanding.
"So you're saying... this period will become relatively peaceful?"
She didn't really understand Catherine's explanations, but she at least knew now—no force could threaten them in the near future.
However, Ileina shook her head.
"No... for Northern Fire, the challenge has just begun."
As Northern Fire's leader, Ileina was too clear—Northern Fire's greatest "enemy" now was no longer the armed Blood Clan or Holy Court...
Northern Fire's real "enemy" now was the people!
Managing those villages in the mountains, Northern Fire, skilled in guerrilla warfare, was naturally adept at.
But managing cities... this was the first time.
Since she returned to the Holy Kingdom at age twelve, she had been very clear—what she truly needed to do wasn't just overthrow the Holy Court and drive away the Blood Clan.
These were all just processes.
Northern Fire's true purpose was to bring peaceful and prosperous daily life back to the Holy Kingdom, not just achieve battle victory.
However... the very embarrassing thing now was—Northern Fire currently had almost no experience managing large cities...
Thinking of this, Ileina asked the bewildered Elashia:
"Shia... as Elasia's Empress, can you guide us in managing cities?"
"Ah?"
Ileina's words made Elashia's face change dramatically!
Have me manage cities? Really?
If she, this Elasian mascot, managed the Holy Capital... Northern Fire would be finished!
Elashia thought about it and felt she now had to let Ileina know—she really didn't understand politics and military affairs!
"No... Lena, don't have such strange fantasies about me..."
Elashia hurriedly explained to Ileina:
"My rule over Elasia comes entirely from that skill that can control people's hearts. All of Elasia's specific government affairs are managed by my aunt..."
After Elashia's thorough explanation, Ileina, finally understanding the truth, said somewhat apologetically:
"Really sorry... Shia..."
Emerging from the excitement of Elashia waking up, Ileina only now remembered that Elashia seemed to have no real ability to manage a country...
Seeing the somewhat disappointed Ileina, Elashia smiled and comforted her:
"It's fine, Lena, you should trust Miss Adelin..."
Being extremely familiar with game characters, Elashia was very clear that although Adelin's political abilities couldn't compare with seasoned politicians like Alexandra and Candice who were over two hundred years old, with her rich experience and natural intelligence, managing the Holy Capital would definitely be effortless for her.
"True..."
Ileina nodded, preparing to say something more, when Adelin, who had just roughly handled the power transition issues, also walked in.
However... Adelin seemed somewhat different from usual.
Her eyes, usually occupied by calmness and precision, looked... filled with excitement?
Even her walking was bouncy... really somewhat damaging her usual serious and meticulous image.
"Hey, what's wrong with you."
Seeing this Adelin who was completely different from usual, Catherine asked somewhat fearfully.
However, Adelin ignored her words and walked straight toward Elashia.
Then... she said words that made Elashia's heart skip a beat!
"Empress Elashia! Please help me govern the Holy Capital!"
"With your help, the Holy Capital will definitely get on track immediately!"