Chương 561: 71
After the War Chapter 19
The time for the big appearance had almost come. Neia sat beside Renner in a small confidence room with a large remote viewing screen right in front of them.
There were three other Apostles with them in the room: Liadan, Clementine, and Zesshi.
All five of them watched a gathering of Earth's leaders called the United Nations emergency meeting. The main topic they discussed was the disclosure and subsequent arrival of Nazarick's representatives.
Most nation leaders already knew and were either made aware of what's about to come or were part of the cult already.
"How big of an opposition are we expecting?" Neia asked.
Renner took out a world map of the Earth and unrolled it before her peers. Everyone had seen it before and already had a rough idea of what each continent and major country are called.
"Let's start with establishing which areas Nazarick will control immediately." Renner pointed at the Americas. "The United States of America and the South American Federation are ours. That leaves the very north, this middle part, and most of the southwestern part in potential opposition."
She then pointed at Europe. "Most of this continent will be in our control, leaving only small pocket areas unaccounted for. But there is a large chance those countries will join as well. The same goes for the Northern part of Asia."
Renner moved her finger to the Southern part of the continent. "China is likely to be the area that will require a full invasion. Zesshi, will you be the one organizing it?"
"Mother plans to get involved directly. I will deal with smaller areas, and if I prove myself, then I'll be dealing with this continent… Africa." Zesshi leaned closer and pointed at areas that were left to her.
"I see. I will send all the relevant data to you then. If Lady Bukuma is getting involved, then Lord Ulbert will provide the intelligence data himself." Renner said adding. "Onto the inner opposition."
"Our local subordinates have identified seventeen organizations that need to be eliminated. Most will be dealt with internally but just in case, Clementine, you will provide backup and coordinate where Lord Peros' chosen should strike."
"I know the drill," Clementine replied with a yawn.
"I hope so. It is critical that no major mistakes are made during the takeover." Neia said.
"If Renner did her job well, we will have no problems eliminating anyone on the list," Clementine said, straightening up in her chair. "I'm not taking a fall for intelligence department fuckups."
"Every immediate opposition is accounted for and arising ones will be added to the list posthaste. There will be no dissent in countries that join Nazarick." Renner said.
"We cannot fail our masters," Neia said and then turned to Liadan, who had just listened to the conversation without any input. "Are the cleansing rituals ready?"
"Lord Blue Planet, together with Lord Tabula, are in the central tower, ready to activate the cleansing network. I am joining them the moment you will announce the miracle." Liadan responded in a quiet tone.
With that, all five turned their attention back to the screen. Those who would bend their knee had already clarified their position, and now the opposing country leaders were voicing their opinions.
'Few more minutes and that world will be in the light of the Gods.' Neia started to get excited.
If once she shied away from speaking to the public, then now she had fully embraced it. After all, the God who sat at the top of the pantheon had chosen her, and doubting Emperor Ainz was heresy.
"Looks like it's our cue to appear." Renner said the moment the last of the speakers had finished his speech and the Secretary-General of the United Nations announced their arrival.
Neia stood up, took a long breath, and followed Renner out of the room.
Outside in the corridor, all seven of her undead servants and all seven angels waited for her standing in a line next to fourteen human-looking demons who were part of Renner's retinue. In front of the demons stood Climb clad in shining plate armor.
Renner and Neia took their positions at the end of both lines as the guards would be the first to walk through the portal. Climb quickly walked to the end of the line and assumed position right in front of Renner.
"Ready?" Renner asked.
"I am ready. Let's go." Neia answered with determination.
Just as her master had taught her, Renner cast an interdimensional gate spell and motioned for guards to step through.
Their procession appeared right on the central podium in front of the attendees. The armed guards positioned by the walls made no attempts to move.
Neia stepped forward, putting her hands on the speech booth, and leaned closer to the microphone. Renner assumed position beside her and whispered, "Listen.^"
Hearing that Renner had given the command to the attendees, Neia started her speech. "I am Neia Baraja, the Apostle of Life and Death and I have come on behalf of the Empire of Nazarick and the Gods who rule it. The Gods, in their infinite mercy, have chosen this broken world to include into the Glorious Empire of Nazarick..."
As Neia spoke, Renner whispered commands of obedience and repeated certain parts of it for greater effect. The sensitive microphone picked up her whispers, broadcasting them to billions of people as almost everyone awake at the moment was required to watch and vote.
Of course, the outcome of said voting was already fixed to reflect the willingness to join.
According to Nfirea's research, for weak-minded beings like humans, it was enough to just watch the recording for her commands to seep into the unconscious parts of the mind.
"...Those who bend their knee to the Gods will not only be spared but rewarded with a better world where no one has to go hungry. Where even the lowest of the low have a place in society…"
Neia's speech went on. Renner sent a message to Liadan to warn her that the speech was almost done.
The cult member responsible for the broadcast was setting up the live view of the towers for the audience to witness the almost instantaneous restoration of the sky above the major cities whose leaders were warned beforehand to not hesitate when Neia asks who is willing to join.
"...those wise enough to submit to Nazarick's rule will be granted the first of the many gifts the Gods will bestow upon this broken world. Now step forward and voice your willingness to serve!" Neia finished her speech, almost shouting.
As if on cue, several national leaders stood up and one by one announced that the people of their countries had agreed to join the empire. For the most part, there were no surprises. Some of the representatives of smaller nations that weren't in on the plan also joined Nazarick, most likely knowing they could not stand against the united might of the leading countries and the mysterious empire that had come from another reality.
Of course, some world leaders denounced the whole event as a farce and declared they would not fall for such a pathetic charade orchestrated by their rivals.
Neia paid no mind to them and pointed at the massive screen behind her. Which showed the live feed of the towers. She theatrically lifted both arms in the air and shouted, "Witness the might and glory of the Gods!"
A ray of blinding, green light shoots into the sky from each tower clearing the skies over the cities for the first time in decades. Green grass sprouted in the few places where the ground was not covered in concrete.
People stopped on the sidewalks and looked up. Some more daring ones unstrapped their protective masks and took in breaths of outside air.
After a moment of stunned silence, the room burst into a cacophony of noise as delegates shouted over one another. Some professed their desire to join the Empire while others demanded that this new technology be shared for the good of humanity.
"Renner, can you shut them up?" Neia asked, getting irritated by the squabbling.
"Amusing, isn't it? They witness a true miracle and still find ways to deny it." Renner remarked and then stepped closer to the microphone. She took a breath, leaned in, and shouted. "Silence!^"
Obviously, no human could resist her order, and silence once again descended. Renner then took a step back and motioned for Neia to continue.
Neia immediately activated her eyes, filling the hearts of the delegates with dread they had not felt before. "You dare to question the feats of the Gods!?"
"Your so-called technology led to the ruination of your world! Those pathetic excuses of mortals who are foolish enough to stand in the way of Nazarick will be cleansed from this world together with the rest of the filth! But those who chose wisely today; rejoice, the servants of the Gods are coming to help you bring prosperity and order."
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The next few days after the announcement were bound to be frantic. Both Neia and Renner agreed to share the office in one of the imperial castles constructed on Earth.
One was built near the city of Washington. Another one in the outskirts of Tokyo and the one they were in was located on the border between France and Germany.
While Renner was on a video call with the CIA director discussing which targets needed to be eliminated first, Neia mostly handled the constant influx of the administrative staff that needed to be sent to various places of the newly acquired territories.
Both had a cultist assistant standing by their side as even after some basic training more often than not Earth-based technology proved to be uncooperative.
"I know you lack agents to manage that many operations at once. The Lord Peros' faithful with the Apostle of Murder in lead will assist with the hardest targets." Renner spoke in the microphone of the small headphones.
"I understand your assessment of potential risks, but if it comes to the worst we have the authorization to use Nazarick's armies. And let me assure you it will be more than enough to crush any militia or splinter force that arises."
"Unfortunately for now, using magic users for wide scale operations is not advisable. To my knowledge, Lord Tabula is working on the solution."
"Yes, update me if there are any problems."
Renner took off the headphones and gulped down a cup of coffee in one go. The rings of sustenance certainly helped but its effects weren't absolute.
"Did you receive Lord Demiurge's re-education camp plan?" She asked Neia just as her assistant picked up the empty cup and rushed away to make a fresh one.
"It's somewhere…" Neia dug into the pile of papers on her desk. "Ah, there it is. Now, who should I send it to?"
"Delray Corporation usually deals with prison construction and administration. Their CEO is one of the cult members and can start the construction process in a few weeks." Neia's assistant, a man in his early thirties dressed in a simple business suit, spoke up.
"Make sure it's not public knowledge." Neia said, handing him the plans.
"Of course, Lady Neia. Delray Corporation had not had any whistleblowers in decades. Additionally, mass media is carefully monitored to remove any negative opinion about the Empire." The man dutifully reported.
During the next few days, the situation was just as hectic. Both Zesshi and Clementine were constantly deployed in various hotspots.
The fact that on Earth, Nazarick held about seven times as many territories and had about three hundred times more people, compared to the prime world, didn't help either.
Entire armies of liches and skeletons marched through gates every hour of the day. The Emperor had created millions of them in the Katze plains in preparation for the Earth's takeover.
Save for quick showers and meal breaks, neither of the two had left their office for days.
During this time, the castle had gotten much more populated with mostly Nazarick staff in preparation for the inevitable arrival of Gods or the guild members.
With the help of her assistant, Neia managed to get the hang of how to efficiently use her computer. Just as she was about to send another email with orders to one of the presidents, Clementine waltzed into the office and sat down on her table.
Since she was just as busy during the last few days, she was pretty much covered in blood.
"Couldn't you at least wash before coming in. Look, you got blood on the reports!" Neia raised her voice.
"Waste of time. I'll take a bath when my job is over." Clementine waved her off.
Neia let out an annoyed sigh and returned to work in hopes that Renner would give Clementine the next assignments for her and the other assassins, and get her out of the office. Considering that some of the blood on her was days old at this point, she absolutely reeked.
"Did you know that some humans are absolute freaks?" Clementine turned and pressed her bloodied palm against a stack of documents.
Without awaiting any answer, she continued. "The last guy I had to kill had a thing for being tortured by catgirls. He came halfway through. Took all the fun out of it."
"Why are you telling me this?" Neia asked.
"Just keep a conversation going while Renner is busy," Clementine replied, then turned her attention to the former princess. "Your people are slacking off. You could have warned me about the guy."
"Since your target was marked for elimination, not blackmail, his fetishes were irrelevant," Renner replied without looking up. "Give me a second and I'll find your next job."
"You could have traumatized me!" Clementine replied with obviously fake shock.
"We have no time for your games. Here, a banking family in Spain. Leave none alive. And this is the rest of the list. Locals considered these targets too hard to handle." Renner ignored Clementine's antics and handed her about forty freshly printed pages of all the relevant information.
"Dry as stale bread." Clementine said, hopping off Neia's table and accepting the pages.
The moment she left the office, Neia's assistant increased the air freshener settings and called for a cleanup.
"With your permission, I'll retype the pages Lady Clementine smeared." He said, picking up the documents with the blood stains.
"Please do. I can't send them to the Empress in such a state." Neia replied.
With no end to the tasks ahead, even a little help was invaluable. Sure, within a month or so, the administration would be properly established and she could fully return to spreading the religion, but for now, more pressing matters needed to be addressed.
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