Mythology: Ragnarok

Chapter 167 Attacking the Kingdom of Light

Agreed carefully reviewed the contracts. There were no unnecessary details, and the conditions were very simple: after signing the contract, Agreed could not kill any demons. The mechanisms of the soul contract and the curse contract both worked on the soul. Even with Agreed's cultivation level, he could not escape the constraints of these contracts after signing them. Otherwise, even if he did not die, his soul would suffer great damage due to breach of contract.

However, Agreed couldn't think about these things right now. His best option was to sign a contract and achieve a temporary peace with the demon.

Argreed readily bound his soul to the two contracts. Once the transaction was complete, the soul contracts disappeared and transformed into shackles within Argreed's soulfire.

Upon seeing this, Mammon stood up, clapped his hands happily, and said, "I knew you were a smart man. I look forward to working with you again next time."

Agreed nonchalantly replied, "I don't care about other demons, but I'm not opposed to a deal with you."

Mammon then produced a high-level parchment scroll (two-legged goat) depicting a summoning ritual and said, "That's wonderful! This is a magic scroll that can summon me without sacrifice. I look forward to seeing you again." The two then shook hands amicably, and after that, Mammon left the planet with Asmodeus.

But the vengeful demons were not about to let Agreed off so easily. Upon returning to Hell, Lucifer, the lord of the Sin of Pride, immediately began spreading news of Agreed to all the gods, according to the plan already laid out by the lords of the Seven Deadly Sins. He claimed that a necromancer remarkably similar to Tutankhamun had reappeared in the material universe. When that name, long since vanished, re-entered the ears of the gods, all the deities would surely recall the necromancer who had nearly destroyed the entire material world. At that time, the gods would naturally join forces to destroy Agreed. So, the demons' apparent reconciliation with Agreed was merely a ploy to eliminate this troublesome necromancer without firing a single shot.

Mammon could only helplessly look towards the Material World and whisper worriedly, "Little one, please don't die. I'm really looking forward to your future..."

In the days that followed, Agreed continued as usual, burying himself in his training while taking time to plan the country's development and relaxing with Heya. Years passed in this way until five years later when things began to change after Agreed had mastered the thirteenth-level forbidden magic.

After emerging from seclusion, Agreed first sought out Haya, whom he hadn't seen for a month, to reconnect with her, and then summoned his three subordinates.

Before long, Casa, Brecel, and Lester arrived before Agred and knelt respectfully, awaiting his instructions.

Agreed addressed the three men before him, saying, “Gentlemen! I have thought this over carefully, and I believe it is time to unify this continent, or rather, it is time to completely dominate this planet! That is why I urged you to come here to ask whether my Shadow Duchy is currently ready to accept the war I demand!”

Upon hearing Agreed's plan, his three subordinates were overjoyed and began to rush to report to him.

Kasa shouted first: "My king, the orc standing army has about 500,000 men, all equipped with the finest alloy armor and a full range of machinery and equipment. The giant dire wolf cavalry regiment has also exceeded 10,000 men. The orc army is willing to be the vanguard to unify the continent for you."

Immediately afterward, Brecel shouted defiantly, "My lord, the human self-defense forces of the Western Swamps are also well-trained. Their equipment is much better than that of the orcs, and as fellow humans, they can easily infiltrate human towns to cause all sorts of destruction. At the same time, the ragtag army composed of the southern kingdoms can also fight for you on the battlefield."

Lester continued, "My lord, thanks to the ample blood supply, the vampire clan has now grown to around 70,000 people. At the same time, the number of our familiar monsters is sufficient to conquer all directions. Whenever you need us, we will become your sharpest weapons."

Agreed nodded repeatedly in praise, "Very good, you have prepared very diligently. So... declare war! Let us make those guys from the Kingdom of Light feel despair once again!"

"Yes, sir!" the three replied in unison.

On that very day, the Pope of the Kingdom of Light received Agreed's declaration of war. Subsequently, hundreds of ghost dragons, accompanied by giant warg riders, swept through the border towns of the Kingdom of Light. At the same time, the orc army slowly entered the territory of the Kingdom of Light from the rear. Then, as planned, the army of the Duchy of Shadows dispersed into thirty legions and invaded the country from all directions. After that, a ragtag army composed of goblins, black races, ratmen, and other southern tribes also marched north to the battlefield to assist in the battle. Even the Kingdom of the Elfs, Xiscana, dispatched a large group of treants with elven soldiers to invade the Kingdom of Light from another direction.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Light was suffering repeated defeats against a monster army that outnumbered them by at least twenty times. Overwhelmed by superior equipment, numbers of troops, logistical support, and individual soldier quality, the Kingdom of Light seemed powerless to turn the tide. The army was frantically devouring the Kingdom of Light's few remaining territories with the force of wildfire.

In less than three days, the Kingdom of Light lost most of its territory. However, Agred's army was very disciplined and did not loot those towns. This was partly because of their strict military discipline and partly because the ordinary people of the Kingdom of Light were considered too poor by the soldiers.

Ordinary people rarely even had decent ironware in their homes, let alone valuables. The grain reserves in the town's granaries were not even as good as the military rations sent from the rear. As for the livestock, to be honest, the soldiers saw how pitiful the civilians were and, given the military discipline that punished such behavior, they didn't take any of the people's hard-earned money. After all, it wasn't worth being punished for such a small thing. Some soldiers even threw a couple of coins at the poor families before leaving, leaving the people of the Kingdom of Light somewhat at a loss.

"This isn't a war of aggression at all, it's just a poverty alleviation campaign!" This was the unanimous impression of all the ordinary people and soldiers who participated in the war.

However, as the army advanced deeper into the territory, Agred's soldiers finally encountered the wealthy clergy and lords, and thoroughly enjoyed the thrill of 'robbing landlords.' But later, the soldiers returned the stolen money to the people of the Kingdom of Light. Of course, this time it wasn't out of kindness, but rather Agred himself ordered them to do so.

Agreed was still the same cunning old fox, unchanged in the slightest. His brilliant scheme of "using other people's money to build your own connections" directly plunged the Kingdom of Light into a desperate situation of isolation and helplessness. The hearts of the people instantly turned to the Duchy of Shadow, and the Kingdom of Light began to disintegrate from within. The resentment that the people had accumulated over the years suddenly erupted, and they began to help the Duchy of Shadow invade their own country.

This reverse relief effort directly caused the Kingdom of Light to lose the hearts of its people. Ordinary citizens from all over the Kingdom of Light rose up and joined Agred's ranks. Don't blame them for their disloyalty. Just imagine your country can't even feed you properly, and then your enemies invade your country, treat you with courtesy, overthrow the nobles who oppressed you, and give you money to help you. What would you do then? Would you join them out of gratitude, or out of greed to gain more benefits?

In any case, the truth is that the Kingdom of Light was directly torn apart by external aggression and internal instigation in Agred. Beset by internal and external troubles, the army of the Kingdom of Light was rendered useless, and the Kingdom of Light had no choice but to gather all its remaining forces and retreat back to their holy city.

Three months later, only the Holy City of the Kingdom of Light remained, stubbornly standing amidst the flames of war and surrounded by a million-strong army.

Argrede arrived at the front lines at this time, gazing at the familiar city before him and muttering to himself, "Everything seems to have gone back to the way it was before, everything has changed yet it seems like nothing has changed..."