Through repeated attempts, Neia discovered that Remedios would only obey the burly man.
No matter what Neia did or said, Remedios refused to compromise.
Neia began to piece things together—Remedios had likely been utterly broken and subdued.
Around this time, Neia received a letter from Renner of the Sorcerer Kingdom.
In it, Renner instructed Neia to replace Calca and become the new Holy Queen.
Neia shared her intention to become the new Holy Queen with some of the rescue army's officers.
To her surprise, they were unanimously supportive, fully endorsing Neia as the successor.
Neia commanded the majority of the Holy Kingdom's soldiers—nearly 80% of its military was under her control.
Spreading the message was an effortless task.
Before long, news of the new Holy Queen spread throughout the Holy Kingdom.
Most nobles were displeased and refused to acknowledge Neia's legitimacy.
However, public opinion among the common people told a different story.
Many of the impoverished and suffering had received direct aid from Neia and her forces.
These acts of kindness were also widely publicized by those who had been helped.
Neia and her troops already had a positive reputation in the Holy Kingdom, and now, with the title of Holy Queen, she had earned the hearts and loyalty of the common people.
Neia renamed her forces the Holy Army, symbolizing divine warriors.
Of course, this was more for the sake of appearances. In truth, her soldiers' combat strength was not particularly remarkable, but they were still the most capable force the Holy Kingdom had to offer.
Most of Neia's troops were battlefield-hardened veterans.
Veterans possessed far superior combat capabilities compared to new recruits, primarily due to their unshakable mental resilience.
While veterans could remain calm in the face of danger, new recruits often faltered under pressure.
In a battle, if a single new recruit began to flee after an initial defeat, it could trigger a widespread rout.
Neia not only commanded a powerful army but also enjoyed overwhelming public support.
Despite the nobles' desperate attempts to resist her rule, their efforts were ultimately futile.
Neia officially became the Holy Queen, but she lacked capable generals to lead her forces.
In terms of individual combat prowess, Neia herself was unmatched, but she needed someone else to act as her sword—a reliable and powerful weapon.
Remedios, with her exceptional strength and combat skills, was the perfect candidate.
However, she was now completely obedient only to one man: the burly peasant named Bert.
Bert was an ordinary commoner with no family name, no noble lineage, and no prestigious titles.
He was a simple, honest farmer who had never considered Remedios as his possession.
In his mind, she was something lent to him by Neia—a responsibility entrusted to him, nothing more.
Bert had no ambition to claim her for himself and followed Neia's orders with unwavering loyalty.
Neia had one clear instruction for Bert: tame the beast. And in this case, the "beast" was Remedios.
She was utterly submissive to Bert but refused to yield to anyone else, retaining her independent will.
When the time came, it would be Bert's responsibility to bring Remedios under control and ensure her cooperation.
Meanwhile, many nobles continued to refuse to acknowledge Neia's legitimacy as the new Holy Queen.
However, as a follower of the Sorcerer King, Neia firmly believed in the principle of strength above all.
If these nobles refused to recognize her authority, the solution was simple: eliminate them.
Once enough dissenters were silenced, the remaining nobles would have no choice but to submit.
Thus, Neia led one army, while Remedios on the surface commanded another.
In truth, Neia had placed a group of clever strategists under Bert's guidance to assist in managing Remedios' forces.
These soldiers were originally part of Caspond's army, while Neia herself led the remnants of the Holy Queen's forces.
Their objective was clear: eliminate the disobedient nobles.
The Holy Kingdom had no need for nobles who refused to follow orders.
Neia's goal was singular—to unify the Holy Kingdom and transform it into a vassal state of the Sorcerer Kingdom, much like the Empire.
Under the protection of such a powerful nation, the Holy Kingdom would never again need to fear demi-human invasions, nor would countless lives have to be sacrificed in futile resistance.
Neia couldn't help but think of her father, who had perished on the borders of the Holy Kingdom, his body lost and unrecovered.
Little did she know that this tragedy had been orchestrated by Demiurge himself.
No one in Nazarick would ever reveal the truth to Neia because, in their eyes, she was nothing more than a lowly creature, the most inferior of servants.
Even Momonga and Peroroncino were unaware of Demiurge's actions.
Only Demiurge knew Neia's father's identity, and to him, the only human truly worth valuing was Princess Renner of the Re-Estize Kingdom.
Neia, in his eyes, was merely a weak pawn on the Supreme Beings' chessboard.
Perhaps it was better this way—better for Neia to remain ignorant of the truth.
After all, in her darkest moments, it was Momonga who had given her the strength to carry on.
It was Peroroncino who had granted her power.
Knowing the truth would shatter her: on one side was the father who had raised her, and on the other, the Sorcerer King who had saved her from despair.
She would be torn apart, unable to make a choice.
Neia led her forces south, where the nobles had been relatively untouched by the demi-human invasion and Jaldabaoth's wrath.
The region remained largely intact, making it significantly more challenging to subdue.
Neia would need to personally intervene in these battles.
Meanwhile, Remedios, guided by Bert and his advisors, advanced north.
The northern Holy Kingdom was home to four major noble factions.
When the demi-human armies had first invaded, these nobles had taken vast amounts of wealth and supplies and fled.
After the demi-humans were defeated, they returned in disgrace, using their wealth to reestablish themselves as nobles and even absorbing nearby abandoned lands.
These nobles showed no mercy—they expelled every elderly person over the age of 45 from their territories, deeming them useless burdens, wastes of resources.
In their eyes, such people were nothing more than trash, consuming food without providing value.
They believed the elderly deserved to be cast out and discarded.
The actions of these nobles had earned the hatred of the common people.
However, with no food to eat and no alternatives for survival, the people could only endure in silence.
The four nobles banded together, forming an alliance to maintain their grip on power.
In a land where hunger was rampant, they shamelessly raised grain prices to exorbitant levels.
Countless people starved to death while these nobles hoarded enough food to last them ten years, refusing to lower their prices even slightly.
At first, they profited greatly, but as Neia's forces began distributing aid, fewer and fewer people bought from the nobles.
Eventually, no one came to purchase their grain at all.
Despite the mass exodus of their population, the nobles remained indifferent, convinced that Neia and her forces would eventually run out of supplies and come begging them to lower their grain prices.
But they never received Neia's plea.
Instead, news arrived of the deaths of Holy Queen Calca and Caspond, along with the declaration that Neia Baraja would be the new Holy Queen.
Neia, who had no noble title to her name, was immediately rejected by the aristocracy.
To them, nobility was inherently superior, and commoners were inferior beings unworthy of ascending to such a position, let alone becoming the Holy Queen.
Despite this resistance, Remedios led an army of 50,000 well-equipped soldiers toward the strongholds of these four nobles.
In response, the four nobles gathered 70,000 conscripted civilians, most of whom were untrained and forcibly dragged from their homes.
Of the 70,000, only 5,000 were actual soldiers loyal to the nobles; the rest were little more than a chaotic mob.
The nobles concentrated their forces at the location Remedios' army was expected to attack first.
Initially, Remedios had vehemently refused to serve as a general under Neia.
She swore she would never fight on Neia's behalf.
But Bert gave her two resounding slaps across the face.
Remedios didn't say anything further, but her expression was still filled with disagreement.
Bert then dragged her into a room and gave her a severe beating.
Afterward, Remedios obediently agreed to lead the troops, though she had no involvement in any decision-making.
All strategic planning was left to Bert and the advisors sent by Neia.
In reality, Bert's role in these meetings was merely to nod along and agree with whatever was said.
The army soon arrived at the territory of their first noble target.
Before them stood the first city—an easily defensible fortress.
A direct assault would undoubtedly result in heavy losses.
Although Remedios was little more than a figurehead, she was still required to attend the war council meetings.
She sat in the central seat of authority, with Bert seated beside her and Neia's strategist on Bert's other side.
The commanders began discussing the siege plans.
"Looking at the enemy soldiers' attire, they're most likely peasants who've only just put down their farming tools and been forced into military service. As a professional army, we cannot attack civilians!"
"So, General, what do you suggest we do?" someone asked.
"Simple. Kill the overseers who are forcing these peasants to fight. Once their oppressors are gone, the peasants will naturally surrender!"
The room fell silent as everyone stared at Remedios in disbelief.
It was clear to them that she had no grasp of military tactics.
Even if the soldiers were forcibly conscripted, on the battlefield, they would still fight for their lives.
Her suggestion essentially meant that they would have to endure attacks from the peasants while trying to reach the overseers behind them.
"That's utter nonsense," Bert shouted, standing up abruptly.
SLAP!
Without any hesitation, Bert struck Remedios across the face.
The sharp sound echoed through the room, leaving everyone stunned.
It was well known that the only reason Remedios was placed in command was because of her unparalleled combat prowess.
Bert, on the other hand, was seen as a second-rate warrior—stronger than average, but with no remarkable speed or skill.
Most of the commanders present were either brilliant strategists or exceptional fighters.
By all accounts, Bert had no qualifications to even sit in this room.
Yet, he had just slapped the commanding officer in front of everyone.
Some officers instinctively wanted to urge Remedios to stay calm, but they couldn't think of any reason that would justify asking her to endure such humiliation.
After all, a slap like that, delivered in front of subordinates, was not something anyone could easily overlook.
Everyone thought Bert was about to be cut down, but Remedios didn't react at all.
Instead, she looked at Bert with a helpless expression, her eyes seemingly asking, "Why did you hit me?"
SLAP!
Bert delivered another hard slap across Remedios' face.
"Your plan was no good!"
"I understand!" Remedios replied, her voice devoid of any resistance.
On the contrary, her tone was filled with a sense of "I know I was wrong."
One self-assured officer seemed to piece together something in his mind. "Could it be that Lady Remedios has... a particular preference for this sort of treatment?" he thought privately.
"The meeting continues. Does anyone have any suggestions?" Remedios spoke again, as if the incident just moments ago had never happened.
The discussion resumed, and the strategist seated next to Bert proposed an idea.
"Based on my investigation, the enemy militia receives very little food—barely one meal a day. They are constantly hungry. We can throw steamed buns over the walls to break their morale!"
"I disagree. Wouldn't feeding them just make them more capable of resisting us?" Remedios objected without hesitation.
SLAP!
Another loud slap rang out as Bert struck Remedios once again.
This time, everyone stared directly at Bert.
His movements were slow and deliberate.
No one believed Remedios couldn't dodge such an obvious strike.
Even if she couldn't avoid it, she could have easily raised her hand to block it.
But she did nothing.
"You agree!" Bert said firmly.
Remedios fell silent for a few seconds before speaking up.
"I agree! Who opposes?" she said, adopting a commanding tone, as if she had never voiced her earlier disagreement.
The officer who had been observing earlier felt confident now.
He was convinced his assumption was correct—that slapping Remedios would make her obedient.
He stepped forward and approached her.
"What do you think you're doing?" Remedios asked, her sharp gaze locking onto him.
The man froze, suddenly intimidated.
Remedios' eyes looked as if she could kill him at any moment.
"Just grit your teeth and get through it!" he thought, steeling himself.
With a sharp breath, he raised his hand and swung it toward Remedios' face.
But the anticipated "slap" sound never came.
Instead, there was the sickening crack of breaking bone.
Remedios had grabbed his arm and snapped it with terrifying ease.
In one smooth motion, she drew her sword, ready to cut him down.
SLAP!
Bert's hand struck Remedios' face again.
"Stop!" he commanded.
Remedios looked at Bert, then turned her gaze to the man clutching his broken arm, trembling in pain.
"Get out!" she barked.
The man, having narrowly escaped death, didn't hesitate for even a second.
He stumbled out of the tent as fast as he could.
"The meeting continues. I support the previous proposal. Who opposes?" Remedios resumed her commanding demeanor.
The officers exchanged uneasy glances.
They couldn't shake off the image of what they'd just seen.
Everyone had witnessed Remedios' speed—she could have effortlessly killed everyone in the tent if she wanted to.
Yet, she hadn't stopped Bert's sluggish slap.
It was as if she chose to be struck.
"I oppose!" a voice spoke up. "The grain Lady Neia provided was earned through her hard work and sacrifice. We shouldn't waste it like this!"
Bert nodded thoughtfully and turned to the strategist beside him. "Sir, what should I do?" he asked in a low voice.
"Lady Neia's grain supply is incredibly stable. There's more than enough. Don't worry about running out," the strategist replied calmly.
As the two conversed quietly, Remedios spoke up again.
"Opposition is invalid! I'm the commander, and what I say goes!" Remedios declared firmly.
In her heart, she thought, "Neia worked hard to secure this grain. Then let her work even harder!"
"General, isn't this just abusing your authority?" someone dared to question her.
"So what if it is?!" Remedios shot back, her sharp gaze locking onto the man like a predator eyeing its prey.
The man felt a chill run down his spine, as if he were being stared down by a ferocious tiger.
The others in the tent turned their eyes toward Bert, waiting for him to raise his hand again and deliver another slap.
But Bert remained motionless, showing no reaction at all.
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