Path To Godhood Begins With Marrying Wife And Gaining SSS Rank Skill Chapter 665:Acting According To The Situation

When Ethan returned to the camp, he found out that Crown Prince Haster had been looking for him. However, it was already quite late into the night, and most of the army had already settled down to rest after another exhausting day of marching. Ethan decided not to disturb the Crown Prince at such an hour and returned to his own tent, planning to meet him first thing the following morning.

As soon as the sun rose, Ethan headed toward the central command tent.

The guards standing outside immediately recognized him and stepped aside.

"Marquise Ethan."

"His Highness is waiting for you."

Ethan nodded politely before lifting the curtain and walking inside.

The command tent remained as orderly as ever. Maps, reports, and military documents were neatly arranged across the large table while several officers quietly stood along the sides awaiting orders.

Standing before the map was Crown Prince Haster.

The moment Ethan entered, Haster slowly turned around.

For a brief second, he gave Ethan a rather strange look, as though trying to confirm something. However, the expression disappeared almost immediately, and his usual gentle smile returned.

"You are here, Ethan?"

His voice remained warm and friendly.

Ethan stepped forward before giving a respectful salute.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

Haster waved his hand casually.

"No need to be so formal."

He looked at Ethan with curiosity.

"I heard you disappeared yesterday."

"Where did you go?"

Ethan thought for a brief moment before deciding there was no reason to hide it.

"I went to take a look around the battlefield."

Haster's eyebrows rose slightly.

"Oh?"

"And what did you find?"

Ethan's expression gradually became serious.

"I found something strange."

"The battlefield is covered with Miasma.There are countless dead bodies left behind, and dark smoke is slowly rising from them."

"The land itself has started rotting."

"I even saw the Miasma moving toward living people."

"The only reason it couldn't approach me was because a light barrier automatically protected my body."

As Ethan spoke, the expressions of several officers quietly changed.

The atmosphere inside the tent gradually became heavier.

Ethan continued speaking.

"I don't know how long this has been happening."

"But if nobody deals with it soon this could become extremely dangerous."

He paused briefly before looking directly at Haster."I think we should begin cleansing those battlefields as soon as possible."

Haster quietly listened until Ethan finished speaking.

A deep sigh escaped his lips.

"I wanted the same thing."

His eyes slowly drifted toward the large map spread across the table.

"In fact..."

"That is one of the biggest reasons why we chose to march through Xylos instead of reinforcing the border directly."

He pointed toward several marked regions on the map.

"The Miasma has already spread across an enormous area."

"It has become increasingly difficult for large armies to continue fighting there."

"We cannot remain locked in a stalemate forever."

"We had no choice but to change our strategy."

Hearing this, Ethan frowned slightly.

"But..."

"Isn't this situation beneficial for Arcadia?"

"The longer this war continues..."

"The greater the losses the Allied Army will suffer."

Haster slowly shook his head.

"It would have been like that..."

"If not for the Demon War."

His voice became noticeably heavier.

"You see..."

"We cannot afford to drag this war on forever."

"If we delay much longer Arcadia itself will begin falling apart from within."

His fingers slowly tapped against the map.

"We need to force the other Empires into a compromise as soon as possible."

"No matter how many sacrifices it takes."

He looked toward Ethan again.

"To be honest..."

"The appearance of the Miasma almost became a heaven-sent opportunity.We all know what usually causes something like this."

"The Heretics are most likely acting behind the scenes.They probably intend to harm both sides.They are waiting to harvest the aftermath."

He let out another quiet sigh.

"But before worrying about them..."

"We first have to survive."

His eyes became calm.

"If we all die..."

"What difference does it make whether the Miasma remains or disappears?"

"The dead cannot protect anyone."

His words made Ethan fall silent.

After thinking carefully, he slowly nodded.

Haster's reasoning made sense.

If someone was already dying from illness, worrying about wealth or the fate of the world meant very little.

Survival always came first.

Only after surviving could someone worry about everything else.

Even so...

A small doubt still lingered inside Ethan's heart.

He still wondered whether Arcadia truly had no connection to all of this.

Or...

Whether everything had happened exactly as Haster described, and another force had simply entered the war to harvest the benefits.

While Ethan remained lost in thought, Haster quietly walked over.

He gently placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder.

"Ethan..."

"My friend."

"I understand your worries."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"How could I not know what you are thinking?"

"You are worried about the innocent people who will suffer because of this."

His expression softened.

"After all..."

"Ruthiana already lost many people because of the Miasma."

"I know you still remember that."

Ethan remained silent.

Haster lightly patted his shoulder once more.

"That is exactly why we need to work harder."

"We must force the other Empires to sit down and compromise."

"The sooner this war ends..."

"The sooner the Churches can finally step in."

"And the sooner this land can be cleansed."

For several moments, neither of them spoke again.

Both simply stood before the enormous battlefield map while silently looking at the countless marks covering it.

Each mark represented another battlefield which meant another round of sacrifices.

Another place where countless people had already lost their lives.

Though Ethan didn't like what was going on, Haster's words made sense. All of this would only become a nuisance if the Empire managed to survive. After all, since when could a dead person worry about whether the world would be doomed or not? If they couldn't survive this war, then nothing else would matter. Thinking about that, Ethan slowly nodded to himself.

Haster glanced around the command tent before speaking calmly.

"Call everyone here."