Cthulhu Gonfalon

Chapter 929: Military Deliberations (Part 1)

On the huge warship floating in the vast void, the Orc gods were having a meeting.

“The war on Earth is not going very well.”

“It’s not as simple as ‘not going very well!’ The advantages that the humans have accumulated over the years are much too great. Even if the Orcs have many ideas, they can gain nothing more than temporary advantages. However, if this drags on, their advantages will slowly be used up.”

“The food supply is already in danger.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it. The productivity of the Prairie is limited. And now, we are even understaffed.”

“Think of something even if there’s nothing you can do about it!”

After the “Sky Devourer Canine,” Lefon, died on the battlefield, the “Iron Mask Ferocious Spirit,” Snakenell, returned to power as the new Master God of the Orcs. Listening to the gods discuss and argue made him frown and his mind was filled with annoyance.

He was not the type skilled in strategizing to start with. When it came to fighting battles, his vocabulary was limited to nothing more than two lines. One was “Charge, charge, charge,” and the other was “Kill, kill, kill.” Both lines were symmetrical in form. Their meanings were simple and straightforward, which meant that he could not handle too many situations.

By contrast, the late Lefon had a clear mind and a meticulous way of thinking. The way he did things was far more organized than Snakenell.

Though Snakenell had always been unwilling to admit, as far as the position of Master God was concerned, Lefon was indeed more deserving than he was.

What a pity, Lefon was dead…

Snakenell sighed inwardly and said helplessly, “Stop quarrelling. If you all go on quarrelling like this, we won’t have an outcome even if you all quarrel till the next year.”

“In that case, what are your plans, Your Majesty?”

“Yes, you should make the final decision!”

Looking at the trusting and expectant looks the gods gave him, Snakenell could not help feeling a slight headache.

“The problem with the shortage of food is not difficult to resolve. We just need to get some food for them, that’ll do…”

“But this may violate the rules set by His Majesty, the Master of Order!”

It was only now that Snakenell recalled the crux of the problem and could not help feeling even more distressed.

“Why am I not the one who perished together with our enemies when we led our God Kingdom to war previously? It’s a complete blunder to let the wise die and leave the fool to hold the fort and run the show!” he thought.

He was secretly complaining in his heart, but there was nothing he could do about it. He could only try his best to rack his brain for solutions.

After a long time, he said, “Let’s go consult and discuss this with the Goddess of the Ocean. She should be able to provide enough food.”

“The Sea race?” asked the Orc gods as they looked at each other. There were even a handful whose eyes lit up at the mention of the Sea race.

The Main Plane was extremely vast, with a huge continent and a big ocean. The Sea race who lived in the sea had abundant resources, but they seldom had contact with the other races living on land.

If they could get the support of the Sea race, just the problem with food supply would definitely be solved!

“But… the Goddess of the Ocean is not very inclined to help us…” said a god as he frowned. “The Sea race and the others like us on the land don’t have much to do with each other. And because of her control over the Sea race near the coastal waters, the former Goddess of the Ocean often mobilized the Sea people into launching invasions. Although we were all fighting each other, at least there was still some form of contact between us. The current Goddess of Ocean has given up on the Sea race near the coastal waters all at once and focused on commanding the Sea race of the high seas. The contact with the land is so minimal that only one trading port at Garth City remains operational. It’s going to be very difficult if we want to persuade them to help us.”

“They are not obligated to help us. The dwarfs, elves and various races at the Marsh are willing to help us because they live on land too. The moment the humans gain hegemony, they are definitely going to put pressure on the places where the other races live in. However, the living space of the Sea people doesn’t overlap with that of the humans. No matter how hegemonic the humans are, they will not be affected…”

The gods fell silent. This was the crux of the matter.

The Sea race had no interest in matters of the land hegemony at all. Or even, if they were to see this from a business point of view, they were closer to the humans than the Orcs. So how could the Orcs possibly hope that the Sea people would choose to help them over the humans?

After a long time, one of the gods whispered, “How about we consult His Majesty, the Void Mask? He’s especially close to the Sea race…”

Snakenell shook his head. He had actually discussed with Lefon previously whether they should try to bring Sui Xiong into the situation. At that time, Lefon’s reply was, “The Void Mask is friendly and kind, but also very stubborn and extremely particular about adhering to his principles. Since he says that he is going to take a neutral stand, he is definitely going to stay neutral. If you want to get his help in this battle, the most reliable way is to get the humans to launch a massive massacre of us Orcs—that way, he will definitely do something because he can’t bear to see such killing. But Wuther will never do this, so we don’t even stand a chance.”

As these words should not be uttered beyond closed doors, Snakenell maintained silence.

After a while, another god said, “How about we try our luck with the other elemental races?”

“Elemental races? They are a little more inclined to our side. But what kind of help can they provide us with? The food that they produce are poisonous to the ordinary Orcs.”

The Elemental Plane was vast and boundless, so of course, there were many creatures of flesh and blood living on it. Theoretically, these living creatures could also be used as food. Yet in fact, they contained a high concentration of elemental power in their bodies. This was naturally great nourishment for the strong, but to the weak, it would be lethal poison.

Compared to the needs of absorbing this elemental power, the vast majority of the Orcs belonged to the “weak” category.

“Just come up with a magic array to draw out all the elemental power from their flesh. That should do.”

“This magic array is not simple… It’s not easy to draw just the exact right amount of elemental power. And it is a fact that it’s still poisonous all the same. If too much of it is ingested, one may directly become a pile of minced meat.”

“Isn’t there an Association of Mages over at the Republic of Northwest? They must have done some relevant studies. When it comes to studying magic arrays, they are considered to be in a league of their own.”

“The Republic of Northwest will not join the war. They are neutral.”

“But being neutral doesn’t mean that we can’t buy technology from them. If the humans want to buy things, they can go to the Republic of Northwest to make their purchases too.”

The Orc gods looked at each other. There were slight sparkles in their eyes.

Just as this god had said, though the Republic of Northwest was neutral, the Orcs were not going to ask them for military support, nor were the Orcs purchasing food or weapons from them for military purposes. The Orcs were only going to purchase some non-military technology. By right, this should still be considered acceptable…

The gods cast their gazes over to their Master God. Snakenell contemplated for a brief moment, then he approved the proposal.

No matter what, it was worth a try.

Then once again, he emphasized to the gods that the most important thing at hand was still to find all the human gods and strike them heavily before they had the chance to fully recover.

“In all battles on Earth, the humans are always the one who suffer in the end. Be it the elves, dwarfs or the various races of the Marsh… none of them will be able to help much,” he said this very solemnly. “But beyond the Main Plane, if we have the help of the various God Systems, we will gain the absolute advantage! So long as we find all the human gods, no matter how powerful the God of Light is, it will still be impossible for him to salvage such a crushing defeat!

“Dear all, ultimately, the key to this battle is that it’s not a battle of the humans, but that of us. If we win here, we can win on Earth too. But if we lose here, it will be pointless for the humans to win the battle on Earth! We must all be clear of our priorities and hold on to the focal points!”

Having spoken up to this point in time, the face of the Iron Mask Ferocious Spirit was already full of murderous intent as he said, “After annihilating all the human gods, no matter how many humans there are, they will become nothing more than food at our disposal. But if we lose the battle here, then I’m afraid out people may not even have the chance to escape… So we must win this battle! For the future of the Orcs, we all must do everything we can!”

The Orc gods responded in unison, all of them filled with a strong desire to kill.