The North’s tactical meeting began.

"The troops on the flank should be moved to the rear."

"Won’t that put Dondra in danger? If Dondra falls, our supply lines will be at risk."

Their earlier grumbling forgotten, the generals were all business. They spread a large map on the round table and debated heatedly, moving chess-like pieces around. It was a difficult atmosphere for Simon to interject. He lacked expertise in army management, supply, cold-weather preparations, and the geography of the North, and the rampant use of jargon made it hard to follow. He just sat next to the Grand Duke, nodding along.

"We have to strike the eldest brother!"

"I’m telling you, we need to break the second one first."

While he couldn’t grasp the finer details, Simon understood the gist: among the Northern God’s undead, there were the ’Three Brothers’. They were all powerful, named undead who had reigned as the living terror of the North for ages. Each was a ’hive’ entity, sharing command over the undead from the Northern God. It was impossible to advance to the Northern God’s domain without eliminating all three.

And the Grand Duke had been working for a very long time to do just that.

"As you all know, the Northern God is a clever one. It has been measuring the range of my arrows for a long time," she explained. Holding a quill, she drew a large circle around Vilkenos, the capital. "It has repeatedly calculated my range by sending named undead to the outer regions to be killed by my arrows. If it judged that I had aged or grown stronger, it would send another to the same location. The reason it’s so obsessed with my technique is..."

She put down the quill, a smirk playing on her lips. "To ensure that the ’first brother’ is not hit by my arrow. But I’ve been drawing my own picture as well."

This time, she picked up a quill dipped in red ink and drew an even larger circle than the first. "The actual range of my arrow is this much."

This was information the Northern God didn’t have. The Grand Duke had invested much time and power to grow beyond its expectations. The Northern God was underestimating her. This could be a decisive move.

She picked up the chess pieces scattered beside the map and placed them on it with a series of sharp clicks. "As planned, we will first lure out and eliminate the three brothers. Great General."

"Yes, Grand Duke!" Ganiro, the second-in-command of the North, bowed his head.

"The army led by the Great General will advance to the northwest. You may take as many of the North’s elite warriors and standard-bearers as you wish."

"Yes!"

Placing a white bishop on the map, she then picked up a white king. "The 2nd Legion, which I will lead, will go due north." She set down the king and pushed both pieces toward the top of the map. "The Northern God’s response to this is obvious."

This time, she moved a black piece. "It will send the first brother toward the Great General, and against me, it will send the second brother, who is immune to my arrows."

The generals nodded in agreement. Simon stood to get a better look at the map.

"Of course, the Northern God will only allow the first brother to fight outside the range of my bow. It will only permit pursuit up to that point."

The red-bearded general turned his head. "This seems to be the same strategy as always. Do you have a more specific plan?"

"I do. Our target is the ’first brother’," she declared. "After I tie up the second brother with the 2nd Legion..." She grabbed the white king and slowly pushed it to the right. "I will run toward the first brother’s location. The clever Northern God will sense my jet-black has moved and will try to retreat the first brother. But I..." She stopped the piece. "Can shoot and hit him from a much greater distance than the Northern God thinks. You all must ensure that the standard-bearers plant their flags on the first brother’s forehead at the opportune moment. If you do that..." A smile touched her lips. "We can kill him."

The generals murmured, stroking their chins. Just then, Ganiro’s eyes sharpened. "But Grand Duke, this plan has a major flaw."

"Speak."

"It’s all well and good to throw all of the North’s forces at the first and second brothers." He took a black ’rook’ from off the map and placed it on the territory. "But what do you plan to do about the third brother?"

"Hm..."

"If the generals, the standard-bearers, and even the 2nd Legion are gone, there will be no army to protect our lands. The third brother, who guards the northeast, will immediately march his undead south." The black rook moved deep into their territory. "If he moves at full speed, within two days..." The rook toppled the castle’s flag in the center of the map. "Even Vilkenos will be in danger."

The generals let out grim groans.

"Indeed, the third brother won’t just stand by."

"The scale of his undead will be no less than the first and second."

Hearing this, the Grand Duke bared her teeth in a grin. "Don’t worry about the third brother! I have a trump card."

"Don’t tell me that trump card is..."

The generals’ gazes turned to Simon, who just gave an awkward smile.

"Listen well. The one who entrusted this boy to me is Lady Nephthys of Kizen." The Grand Duke raised her hand and roughly messed up Simon’s hair. "Of course, she didn’t just leave him here. The North received compensation."

"Compensation, you say..."

Her teeth flashed. "Twenty thousand undead. Lady Nephthys promised a large-scale undead force."

"Ooooooooh!" The generals shot up from their seats and cheered.

’What in the world are you talking about?’ Simon stared at the Grand Duke, horrified. She secretly signaled with her eyes, as if to say she would handle it.

"Well, this boy is just a bonus, really. It seems Kizen and the Dark Alliance have decided they can no longer leave the Northern God unchecked. A large-scale force is coming soon. This is also information the Northern God doesn’t know."

Great General Ganiro looked puzzled. "But it will take time to form so many undead into a legion..."

"Of course, we received them as hive-system undead. With hive entities, we only need to legionize a few, and the rest will follow my orders. Don’t be too surprised if you feel a different jet-black from them."

The generals clapped. "As expected!"

"The Dark Alliance is better than our homeland of Kalos! They would never abandon the North!"

The Grand Duke took a new chess piece from her pocket. "The forces sent by Lady Nephthys will arrive in three days at the latest." She slammed a red chess piece—neither white nor black—down in front of the black rook. "With this hidden force, we will lure the ’third brother’ deep into our territory and crush him. If all goes well, we can eliminate not only the first, but the second and third as well. No, we ’must’ eliminate them."

"Indeed!"

"I declare," she announced, spreading her arms wide. "We will sever this feud that has lasted for hundreds of years. Within two weeks, we will eliminate the three brothers, enter the ’Abyss’ where the Northern God resides, and expel it."

The generals’ eyes widened. She gathered all the pieces and swept them into the jet-black circle at the northernmost tip of the Frost Field.

One general spoke up. "I agree with taking down the three brothers, but isn’t it too hasty to go after the Northern God as well? After securing a favorable position, we should take our time and..."

"No," the Grand Duke said coldly. "Let me be clear. If we don’t seize the opportunity right after we defeat the three brothers, we will have no other chance. We might have to wait another few hundred years."

The Ancient Undead Northern God had a limit to its consciousness and couldn’t mass-produce undead stronger than the three brothers. However, if they were eliminated, it could create replacements within a few months.

"And the Northern God has divided control of its forces among the three brothers. If they are defeated, all undead except those directly under the Northern God will fall into command chaos. We must aim for that moment." The Grand Duke rose from her seat. "I will say it again. The North will eliminate the Northern God within two weeks and put an end to this long war."

With a sharp clang of steel, the order to march was given. All the generals raised their weapons.

"For the liberation of the North!"

---

It was a meeting that made even an outsider like Simon’s blood boil. He felt as if he had shouldered a small part of the responsibility for the North.

The generals went outside to prepare for war, while Simon and the Grand Duke returned to her office. As soon as she entered, she threw off her armor with a loud clang and changed back into her embarrassingly comfortable attire before sprawling on the sofa.

"Gr-Grand Duke."

"What is it?"

Simon pointed to himself. "That ’third brother’... don’t tell me..."

"Yes. I smoothed it over, but of course I plan to entrust the third brother to you." She stretched her arms and giggled. "He’s the weakest of the brothers. Are you afraid, even with five Ancient Undead at your command? Seventh Legion Commander."

"I’m not afraid. It’s just..." Simon scratched his head. "I’m a little surprised that you trust me this much."

Throughout his lessons, she was quick to hit him and call him an idiot, yet she trusted him enough to entrust the fate of her home to him. Above all, the two-week deadline coincided with his stay in the North.

"You’re still slow-witted. I don’t trust you."

"What?"

She tapped her forehead. "I trust myself, your teacher. I will forge you into someone usable before the final battle."

Simon burst out laughing. "Then I’m in your care."

"Alright then..." Her eyes sharpened as she was about to say something more. She habitually picked up her bow and moved to the window. Simon was now used to this. She condensed jet-black into an arrow and shouted, "Godric, window number 12—"

Before Godric could arrive, Simon pulled open one of the office windows with ’Cloud’ and smiled. "Number 12 is right here, isn’t it?"

She smirked and aimed her bow. After firing the gale arrow, she turned back to Simon playfully. "To make even a slow-witted fool sharp, my teaching must be quite remarkable."

Simon smiled and retorted, "How about becoming a professor at Kizen later?"

"That would be nice, once the North is pacified and my mission is over. Come outside." She slung the bow over her shoulder and gestured. "I’ll make you into a proper Legion Commander within two weeks."

---

The two went outside and walked, first discussing ’Geheim’. Simon explained the strange power Erzebet had displayed just before he was hit by the Grand Duke’s arrow.

"Could that be Erze’s Geheim?" Simon asked.

"It could be Geheim, or it could be that undead’s inherent ability. Has it manifested since then?"

"No, we’ve tried a few times, but it failed every time."

She gave a mischievous smile. "I can shoot another one at you if you want."

"I’ll pass." The pain in his abdomen was still throbbing.

Soon, they stopped walking. "So, we agreed to consult on one Ancient Undead’s Geheim per day. Are you going to bring out Erzebet?"

Erzebet had already gotten a big hint, so he planned to work on that. Simon spoke to the gray ring on his finger. "Come over here, Prince."

He opened a subspace and took out a zombie. The moment Simon touched the ring to it, a jet-black lightning bolt struck the zombie’s body with a low rumble. A huge mass of jet-black expanded, and the zombie’s form distorted, changing into the figure of a small child.

[En-trance!]

The child zombie, dressed in a neat young master’s outfit, appeared, striking a pose with its palm covering its forehead. Seeing this, the Grand Duke let out an interested "Oh?"

"An interesting Ancient Undead. It looks powerful, but that doesn’t seem to be its true body."

"You have a great eye." Simon told her about Prince. "A crown that controls all the zombies in the world, an immovable main body in the Deathland, and the ability to possess other zombies regardless of distance. On top of that, it has nine lives?"

A look of surprise flickered across her face. "This is the most peculiar Ancient Undead I’ve ever seen."

[The most ’special’ Ancient Undead, you mean! More! Praise me more!] Prince crossed his arms and acted smug.

The Grand Duke pointed at Prince and looked at Simon. "I have an idea for this undead’s Geheim."

"Really?"

"No, even if it’s not Geheim, it would be best to succeed. It could become the strongest technique in your legion."

Simon and Prince’s eyes lit up.

"What is it?"

[What is it! What is it!]

She bared her teeth. "What else? You’re going to blow this thing up with Corpse Explosion."