Chapter 207.1. Respective Ambitions And The High Priest

-???’s POV-
At the central headquarters of the emerging religion known as Yggdrasil, located on a solitary island, inside a grand palace constructed from enchanted trees, there was a vast building with a luxurious design reaching high into the sky. 
In the deepest part of the building, where the High Priest resided, several people engaged in a heated argument.
Observing the scene with a cold gaze from behind a screen, the Guru regarded them as foolish people.
“What’s going on, Ymir? Despite having such funds, soldiers, and many weapons prepared, you still couldn’t defeat even one of the saintesses!”
Standing on the wooden floor, a man who was noticeably overweight shouted in anger, his face turning red as he spewed out his insults. 
He was so portly that he could be mistaken for a sumo wrestler, and his clothes get stretched to the limit, on the verge of bursting open at any moment.
Opposing him with an anxious tone of voice was Commander Ymir, clad in black attire and wearing a silver mask.
“This was also unexpected. Who could have foreseen even with such a massive force, we couldn’t kill a single Sena? In the end, the only achievement was the assassination of the captain of the Royal Guards. I, too, am disappointed, Shinmora-sama.”
“Unexpected? That’s not enough of an excuse! Do you have any idea how much we’ve lost? No, Surtr hasn’t returned. The depletion of our human resources is too severe! Surtr is my daughter! You promised to protect her!”
“Surtr-sama expressed a strong desire to try out the new model and didn’t listen to my advice.”
“It was your job to forcefully stop her even if necessary!”
“I won’t hold you responsible. Surtr-sama herself has committed to taking responsibility. If you were so worried, wouldn’t it have been better if you had joined the battle? I’ve heard you possess a splendid sword, or is that just a rumor?”
“Hmph! Where did you hear that?”
Ymir shrugged his shoulders and gave a sharp answer, causing Shinmora to narrow his eyes and fall silent. 
It seemed he didn’t want anyone to know he was hiding a sword. 
He looked around anxiously before sitting down.
The High Priest, seated on the other side of the screen, watched this scene with a slight smirk. 
He wanted to keep his possession of the Sacred Artifact, Laevateinn a secret. 
Once he collected all the Sacred Artifacts, he intended to betray Nidhogg and seize all the artifacts for himself, heading to other countries.
He was a genius in the field of magic tool creation, and he had profited from manipulating the naive Surtr and selling magic weapons.
As evidence, while his daughter had become an internationally wanted criminal, he remained unlisted. 
He was a cunning and despicable man.
However, Nidhogg’s operations benefited from his cunning, and his magic prowess was unquestionable.
The overweight man might seem foolish and appear like a petty criminal based on his actions and words, but that was not the case.
“Regarding the losses this time, thanks to the materials and magic tool blueprints I provided, they were somewhat get mitigated, don’t you think?”
“You’re diverting the focus of the conversation! I blame the defeat in this battle!”
Although Shinmora countered Ymir’s words, his previous vigor vanished, and he seemed to have given up on pursuing the matter.
“In this battle, we also gained many insights. It might serve as a hint for Solomon Group’s extensive utilization of demons.”
Ymir directed his gaze towards the men sitting in a distant place. 
Several individuals in robes nodded in response.
“Yes, it’s the proposal you mentioned. With the assistance of magical tools utilizing nests created by higher-tier insect-type monsters, we have been able to command a large number of lower-tier insect monsters.”
With Imiru’s newly introduced concept of commanding spells and the use of magical tools, the research on Solomon’s control over monsters had made significant progress.
“Furthermore, the pressure exerted by numerous insect-type monsters also allows us to command other types of monsters. We can consider this experiment a success. While we initially planned to conduct experiments in the dungeon, now we can proceed with further experiments.”
Although the original plan was to conduct experiments on commanding monsters, thanks to the materials Ymir brought, the research on Solomon’s techniques had made significant advancements.
The High Priest observed this and thought that if they found a monster tamer capable of commanding insect-type creatures, they might be able to trigger the dungeon stampede sought by Duke Kanna.
Despite the destruction of the Washizu family and the loss of transportation methods, they still could initiate the stampede as planned.
“Frost Giants turned out to be useless! Despite the exorbitant amount of money spent!” 
“That’s indeed true. If we couldn’t defeat a single enemy despite the substantial amount of money spent, there will be no buyers. However, I believe we have contributed to the advancement of the technology of magic weapons combining monsters’ physical bodies and magic tools. By selling those materials, we might be able to recover the losses incurred this time.”
“Crap, one after the other…”
Ymir replied calmly, having already prepared his response to Shinmora’s accusation.
Upon hearing that they could recover the losses, Shinmora fell silent completely. He must be calculating things in his head.
“Indeed, Imiru’s words make sense. Besides, Surtr was just a weakling who couldn’t fight. Even if we don’t have the weakest among us, it shouldn’t make much difference, right?” 
Hrungnir taunted, whose brain seemed to be made of muscles.
“If it’s about creating magical tools, I have some knowledge too. So, I would like to assist in my limited way as a replacement for Surtr, who died in battle.”
Surtr had contributed to Nidhogg’s supply of magical tools over the past few years. However, with Imiru’s assistance, he could help them, albeit not on the same level as Surtr.