About a month later, the Imperial Blue Army lost half of the stronghold it had built within the Gaisenfall Great Forest.
However, the Blue Army didn’t sit idly by; they expanded the remaining stronghold to prevent losing a foothold in the forest. Additionally, they sent in reinforcements from outside the forest to bolster their defenses.
At the same time, the Blue Army decided to reinforce the Great Forest Conquest Unit. Facing the Blue Army’s preparedness to endure until reinforcements arrived, the alliance of monsters and elves temporarily ceased their offensive, leading to a stalemate.
However, unbeknownst to them, another attack had already begun behind the scenes.
The series of events began abruptly when a certain type of medicinal herb was suddenly bought up.
Known as “Fukuretsuyukusa”, this herb bears cute red and white flowers and grows by accumulating sap in its balloon-like nodes. It’s harvested in autumn, and during this season, the sap (known as “Rinmin Gensen” in the Empire, named after its place of origin) is extracted and stored in barrels for a year’s use.
This herb is used in the preparation of various potions, primarily for treating illnesses.
In the somewhat sluggish Khenis Empire, those of middle class or higher have more opportunities to ingest potions for treating illnesses compared to other major powers. Fukuretsuyukusa harvested in autumn becomes a material for potions in high demand during winter.
This winter, a low-quality epidemic spread throughout the Empire, and the market inventory of Rinmin Gensen was already lower than usual.
Moreover, it was being bought up at an alarming rate.
The purchases weren’t made by specific merchants or companies but rather by five companies from two coastal countries in the eastern part of the continent, close to the borders of the Khenis Empire.
These were companies rumored to engage in slightly risky business for the sake of gold, and the Empire suspected they had smuggling routes into their controlled territories.
However, what they did this time was legitimate procurement… or rather, they bought it with such fervor that they didn’t mind paying a slightly higher price. The purchased Rinmin Gensen was transported via canals and then southward along coastal routes.
Almost simultaneously, on the southern side of the Gaisenfall Great Forest, rumors began to circulate in the Kingdom of Lugarut about an “epidemic spreading”.
And not only were potion ingredients scarce, but even existing potions and non-magical remedies were in short supply, causing prices to rise.
This situation also spread to the Cadennis Principality, which lay beneath the feet of the Great Forest Conquest Unit, neighboring north of Lugarut. Merchants from Lugarut had purchased medicine. There were signs that domestic merchants were starting to inflate prices and withhold sales due to the scarcity.
While the Empire wouldn’t typically allow trade between occupied territories like Cadennis and hostile countries like Lugarut, the three countries surrounding the Gaisenfall Great Forest had essentially formed a community for a long time. There were various “channels” in many senses, and the Empire’s Blue Army had yet to fully grasp and control them.
The Imperial Blue Army, which had many spies infiltrating Lugarut, immediately investigated the rumors of the epidemic.
After all, despite the rumors spreading, there were no signs of the epidemic actually spreading.
Was it panic caused by rumors, or perhaps economic conspiracy by opportunistic merchants aiming for profit?
The Imperial authorities discovered that the destination of the purchased Rinmin Gensen was the Kingdom of Lugarut.
The Imperial Blue Army concluded that the source of the epidemic rumors was multiple lords and merchants in the Kingdom of Lugarut and that there was a possibility they had made contact with the monsters claiming to be from the Dead Land of Ciel-Terra.
Just around that time, the epidemic actually began to spread in the Cadennis Principality.
＊ ＊ ＊
The sudden increase in rats was peculiar.
Surely, the first to notice were the cats of the Cadennis Principality.
The origin of the seemingly contagious disease was uncertain, but initially, it seemed to target the lowermost classes of society in Cadennis.
Like sharpshooting snipers, it preyed on those who lacked the luxury of sanitation, suffered from malnutrition, had weakened immune systems, and possessed no money to buy medicine, pay doctors, or donate to temples in hopes of divine intervention.
Beggars afflicted by high fever trudged through the streets, seeking sustenance, only to succumb beneath bridges, vomiting until death embraced them. Their blackened, decaying corpses were devoured by rats and crows.
Gradually, the disease began to afflict individuals across all social classes. With medicine in short supply, priests were overwhelmed with prayers for deliverance from the epidemic.
By the time the Imperial Governorate of the Khenis Empire recognized the necessity for countermeasures, the infection had already begun spreading throughout the entire country.
Unfortunately, the government was still in a state of confusion as it was still in the transition period from occupation rule, and was unable to take effective measures.
To exacerbate matters, some of the medicine purchased for Lugaret fetched more than double its original price upon return. Even then, there wasn’t enough.
Priority was given to stocking up for the empire’s bureaucrats and soldiers, leaving little for the common folk.
Rumors flew about, alleging that someone was selling medicine through illicit channels to the Imperial Army, under the condition that they refrain from aiding Cadennis.
The Cadennis Principality was being swallowed by a vortex of dark chaos.
＊ ＊ ＊
A supply convoy delivering military provisions to the Great Forest Conquest Unit had loaded up soldiers who obtained leave and was heading north, having unloaded their cargo.
“Take a look at this.”
Inside the swaying carriage, a soldier, comfortably seated on a makeshift cushion with his belongings piled around him, showed a sensational headline to his fellow soldiers.
Surrounded by personal items and equipment, soldiers lounged around, indulging in various pastimes. Being relieved from duty and returning to the rear, they were completely at ease.
“Signs of epidemic outbreak in Cadennis, huh?”
“Is this a local paper?”
“They were selling them at camp this morning.”
The Khenis Empire, while annexing surrounding nations one by one, found it difficult to completely control civilian actions once those nations were incorporated into the empire.
Newspapers that once served as the mouthpiece of small nations, even after being assimilated into the empire, often obtained official licenses and continued to focus on local and regional events (in other words, their content didn’t change much).
The “Kamulhan Daily” he held was a newspaper published in the former Kamulhan region, now part of the empire, bordering the Cadennis Principality to the north.
The newspaper featured illustrations depicting the terrifying symptoms of the disease, and discussed the increase in infected individuals and the shortage of medicine in the Cadennis Principality. It also included comments from experts questioning the involvement of the “Rose Princess of Hellrage” who had appeared in the Great Forest… Accusations of demonic and monstrous activity during an epidemic were not entirely unfounded.
“It’s a disease where people die easily, right?”
“Yeah… it was a close call. Lucky to get leave at the right time.”
“How about that? By the time our leave is over and we return, things might have gotten worse.”
“In that case, I’ll request a transfer. Let the frontline be handled by those ‘second-class citizens’.”
“No doubt about it.”
The soldiers chuckled derisively.
They were all born and raised in the Khenis Empire, but the people of the newly conquered nations, until they earned their “citizenship” through labor, were treated as lower class. This was also true for conscripts in the military.
Handling dangerous tasks at the frontline was the duty of these “second-class citizens”.
If the epidemic were to spread further in the future, it was likely that the number of these “second-class citizen” soldiers in the Great Forest Conquest Unit would increase.
“Our medicine will surely be available, right?”
“But if it drags on, who knows what will happen?”
“Even if only the military remains safe, it’s no good. If the epidemic spreads at our feet, no amount of money will get people moving.”
“Oh, look who’s being intellectual.”
“Well, if medicine comes from the homeland, it should be enough to cleanse a small country like Cadennis.”
The soldiers bantered back and forth.
Overall, they viewed it as someone else’s problem.
They were safely ensconced within their secure zone, confident that they would be protected if anything happened.
Their assumptions were probably correct, but at the very least, it wasn’t someone else’s problem.
In the dimness of the carriage’s corner, there gleamed a pair of eyes.
A rat, wearing a vest and military cap, sat amidst the cargo with arms crossed, listening intently to the conversations of the people around it.
