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”…and we shall take our worlds back from the foul demons. We will drive them back into the Inferno that spawned them and finally eliminate them for good!" Hoeth was making an impassioned speech to the Grand Assembly, drumming up support for a large-scale attack on the scourge that remained a large threat with Netherworld's withdrawal. Even without the involvement of Selendil and Dee, the Underworld had always been a more insidious threat than a direct military one.

"He's not bad at making speeches," Karna admitted. She could feel the mood of the room shifting towards her rival's position. It was likely that the Assembly would put a lot of power behind Hoeth's attack, and not just because he was a good speaker. The gods and separate factions could sense an opportunity. Karna and her allies had already struck a blow against the Netherworld, which everyone assumed was behind the retreat of the scourge, so why not take the opportunity to strike another decisive blow?

“It helps that Eldrazor is also embracing the idea and joining in on the attack.” The Harpy, who had come to stand next to her by the railing on the balcony, added. “Having two of the frontrunners for the position of the emperor both endorsing the attack goes a long way towards getting different groups behind it. Especially since the two famously don’t get along.”

The Harpy wasn’t speaking loudly, yet his voice carried in an odd way that allowed many of the nearby people hear everything. It was clearly a skill of some sort, as his words were not overlapping with Hoeth’s speech, allowing anyone interested to listen to both. It was also clear that Hoeth wasn’t privy to his words, nor was anyone in that part of the Assembly. He was spreading information on purpose, but only to select people.

“It’s a logical decision, if a bit hasty, so I’m not too surprised that they’ve both stumbled into the same idea," Karna commented, staying relatively neutral on the topic. "Still, it's rare to see the two of them cooperating on anything."

“Some would say that the two princes are feeling pressured by your recent military victories and are trying to gain similar glory of their own to even the score. Some might even say that now that you’ve paved the way, they’re trying to capitalize on your achievements by going after an easier target.” The Harpy suggested a little provocatively. It felt almost like she was being interviewed by a news source. In many ways, this might be just that, only the Harpy was serving the function of the news organization, and gathering and disseminating information was part of his job.

“If they manage to gain military victories, then they’ve done the work to earn the glory. Part of being an effective commander is all about seizing opportunities. The timing is a little interesting, but their motivations largely don’t matter as long as they produce results. That’s what it’s all about after all. Results. If the two of them do well and deliver on what Hoeth is currently promising, then I wish them good luck. If not…well, I hope too many lives will not be lost to satisfy whatever ambitions they might have.” She made sure to word her answer in a way that emphasized that the two of them would be responsible for the result. She even gave a bit of support in the form of wishing luck, just to make sure no one would be able to claim she didn’t want them to succeed. She simply also made sure that they would have to carry the burden of failure as well.

“You did imply that you don’t fully agree with this path either though? And you will not be taking part either?” The Harpy questioned, digging a little deeper.

“I’m not sure I’d go so far as to say I disagree with their plan in general terms, though we might disagree on the execution. We did have our own plans in motion for another crusade since our previous one was such a success, but the withdrawal of the Netherworld has made us put those plans on hold for now. Hoeth is taking a risk, as we do not know exactly what the Netherworld is planning. If we pull too many forces from the other fronts to attack the Inferno, then we might leave ourselves vulnerable to a surprise attack from other sources. We just don’t know what the Netherworld is up to, just to give an obvious example. On the other hand, risks often come with commensurate opportunities. If the Netherworld truly has isolated, then this could be a very good chance to neuter the Inferno for a long time to come. There is a chance that this turns out to be a really good idea. We simply don’t know yet. So, with both Hoeth and Eldrazor going off to fight the Inferno, I’ll focus on defense instead, in case something does go wrong. I’m sure the two princes can manage the attack without my assistance. And if they can’t? At least we’ll find out.”

What she didn’t say, and what could be read between the lines, was that while she didn't begrudge the two princes gaining their glory, she wasn't going to let them benefit from hers. They wouldn't be able to use her special skills to make their job easier. What she and her allies had accomplished with a relatively small force was spectacular, especially with little to no losses. If the two princes were not able to keep the same up with more power and military might behind them, it wouldn't reflect well on them. Or it would make her accomplishments even brighter in comparison.

“And it does give you the opportunity to improve your support here with the two princes and their closest allies gone.” The Harpy prodded again.

“There is that. Although bonds forged on the battlefield are often stronger than any deals made in backrooms or parlors as shown by our growing bonds with House Draconis.” She both admitted and deflected expertly.

“You already mentioned that it’s rare to see Hoeth and Eldrazor working together. What are your thoughts on this unlikely alliance?” He asked.

“Well, I doubt you could truly call it an alliance. This whole thing seems to have been machinated by Hoeth, and it does fit his style. I believe Eldrazor is simply seizing upon an opportunity and looking for any chances to take advantage of the situation.” Karna had no trouble throwing a bit of shade in Greed’s direction.

“Such as?” The Harpy prodded.

"Oh, you know how these power struggles can get. It could range from simply waiting for an opportunity to sweep in to claim all the glory, to putting Hoeth in his debt, and all the way to striking when Hoeth is vulnerable. Or he could genuinely believe in the success of this endeavor. It's not polite to impugn someone’s motives without cause or proof. What I do know is that if the two won’t be able to work out a workable chain of command, then there’s potential for trouble. Someone has to have the final word in case of contradicting orders. I do hope they can manage it, but will one of them agree to take orders from the other? I find that unlikely." After all, that would imply a submission of sorts already.

“Switching topics, there have been many rumors in the last weeks about purges conducted in various large Houses. Some have suggested that House Titannica was the originator of this trend, though it has been somewhat disputed by the fact that you also had a struggle for heirship. However, even in your house, the purge seems to have been more thorough than might have been necessary. Care to comment?” The Harpy asked, and Karna knew for a certain that this had become an interview of sorts.

“I cannot comment on the activities of other houses of course.” She hedged in a way that made it clear she would keep their secrets.

“Of course.” The Harpy smiled a bit to signal both acceptance and approval.

“That said, we had some bad apples in our house. Most houses would benefit from doing a bit of cleaning and reminding their members of what's important every now and then. We performed our cleaning and punished those that had transgressed. That was in addition to the power struggle of course, so the two events simply coincided." She implied enough without saying anything too incriminating.

“What kind of transgressions are we talking about? Note that I’m asking because it would be beneficial to know you had truly acted justly and that everyone involved was dealt with fairly.” The Harpy asked the obvious question.

“I will not go into details. However, I will point out that Shiva is one of the gods upholding justice, and judgement and karma are large parts of my divinity. We would've gone heavily against our divinities if we had not dealt with the situation in a just way. And I'm sure you can sense that I have no issues like that with my divinity." She flared her divinity slightly for emphasis.

“Granted.” The Harpy conceded easily. He had not expected a detailed accounting of the ‘crimes’. He’d simply wanted to see how she’d respond, and she’d done quite well in that regard. “And the other houses?”

“As I said, I can’t go into any detail, but it’s safe to assume our transgressors had accomplices. We simply informed the involved parties. Now, what happened after that is not our concern, and we certainly won't comment on individual houses, or about which houses might have been involved. However, I do want to point out that I wouldn’t want to pay too much attention to which houses had purges, as I know for a fact that there were houses conducting their own purges that we did not contact. I suspect they used an opportunity to hide their deeds among the crowd.” She didn't mention that many of those were likely the result of the information the other houses gained during their purges, and thus were also involved.

“You’re not worried about incurring the wrath of Mount Celestis? They did declare a moratorium on political scheming, and I would imagine purges like these would be included.” He suggested.

“I’m not worried, no. In fact, should they come and ask for clarification, which they haven’t so far, they would approve of our activities. The angels are big on justice after all, and I’m confident in being able to convince them of the justness of our actions.” In fact, Karna was pretty sure Lust just didn’t want to pick a losing fight with her. Especially not after they had cooperated with the crusade, which had bought the angels a fair bit of legitimacy. “We’ve already communicated with the Golden Order, and they have given us their approval.” That would go a long way to convincing anyone wondering.

“I appreciate your candor and hope we can have other discussions like this in the future.” The Harpy showed his satisfaction with a broad smile. This had been quite beneficial for him as well.

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“I have to hand it to Greed and Hoeth. They can arrange for an impressive military force.” Envy commented as she, Valor, and Karna watched over the army that paraded through the city on the way to the front.

Row after row of silver-clad immortals marched in unison with the gold-armored officers and elites of the Host, and the forces of the House were supported by the military forces of the houses and factions that had joined in on the attack. The private forces of House Asuryan in their flame and phoenix-themed armor and regalia were riding actual phoenixes above the marching troops, as the ascetic monks of the Golden Order floated next to the soldiers with their simple brown and red robes glowing with golden power. Many knightly orders rode magically enhanced mounts ranging from elven horses to serpents and constructs, and above them flew more knights on gryphons, hippogriffs, and all sorts of other flying mounts. Rows of mages on floating platforms and flying carpets were accompanied by elven rangers with cloaks that almost hid them even among the parade. Then came the war beasts and other more monstrous parts of the army. Even gods could be seen among the ranks. Millions of immortals wielding equipment that would’ve been magnificent in any universe, all marching to war.

"The trick isn't in creating a formidable force, but in using it," Valor commented. "If nothing else, our crusade proved that." They had accomplished a lot with only a tiny fraction of the force taking part in the parade, and they all knew that the forces in the parade were only a part of the whole. Logistics and camp followers didn't make for the greatest parade material after all, even though no one would dispute the importance of cooks or even those providing entertainment to the troops.

“In fairness, with a force like that they can just smash into the demons and get pretty good results.” Karna pointed out. “Not great, but pretty good.”

“Yes, but with a force that varied and disunified tactically and ability-wise, smashing is probably the most useful thing they can do.” Valor shook his head a bit. There was a reason the Host enforced uniformity. It was difficult to effectively utilize forces that had wildly varied capabilities and tactics. It was hard to perform complex maneuvers when every piece of your force moved at different speeds for example.

"That's a little unfair. Greed's not an idiot and I doubt Hoeth is either. They have enough skill in tactics to bring out the best in the separate forces and bring out the best in each. If you have a wide toolbox, you just need to know which tool to use for which purpose." Envy made a rare effort to defend Greed. Even if she had less respect for the man than for many other Sins, she knew Greed wasn't incompetent. "I mean, Greed isn't Pride, but he didn't become the foremost contender for the throne just because of his birth."

“And yet, we all know this whole thing will go tits up sooner or later.” Karna voiced what they were all thinking. “One of them will stab the other in the back eventually. The only questions are which one and when?”

“My bet is on Hoeth making the attempt and failing, which will allow Greed the chance to turn things around while still making his excessive self-defense seem legitimate. That might even allow him to kill Hoeth without the whole army dissolving afterwards.” Envy made her guess. She knew some things about Greed, and the plan she’d mentioned fit the man’s modus operandi.

“Even if that happens, it will look mighty suspicious anyway. The morale for continuing the attack will be shot, and I doubt Hoeth’s allies will be willing to give their 100% once their master is dead.” Valor speculated. “Assuming Greed has any brains, he would have to stop the attack at that point.”

“Which is why the important thing is timing. When will Hoeth make his attempt, and will he miss? Knowing Greed’s ability to survive, I’m willing to wager he will survive no matter what Hoeth throws at him.” Karna agreed with the other two. Despite her recent advances, Greed, or Eldrazor as he was known here, was Hoeth’s biggest challenger and old rival. The two had been brothers for a lot longer than Karna had been around in this life, and the two had a long history of bad blood. If Hoeth got the opportunity, he would almost certainly attempt to take his brother out.

“Assuming the two can keep it in their pants for long enough, what odds do you give their attack?” Envy asked.

Valor frowned a bit. “I’d give them very good odds to make large gains. The odds of them giving the Inferno a major blow are a bit more iffy, and I don’t think they will be able to destroy the scourge. I'm not so sure the demons have the same advantage of hidden rank 14s in stasis as the Netherworld does, but there's a reason this war has gone on for so long. If the Inferno was so easy to wipe out, it would've happened a long time ago."

"They did manage to wipe out the fourth scourge, did they not?" Envy asked, looking towards Karna.

“I’m not so sure about that.” Now it was Karna’s turn to frown. She’d long thought the disappearance of the fourth scourge was suspicious. The Growth wasn’t so simple to deal with.