30 km past the border between the Handal Union and the Inbury Duchy.
The Union's main army marched further south.
The army was led by Lord Aubrey.
The leader of national affairs was leading the army as the commander-in-chief.
In general, if an emperor or king leads an army, it would be called an emperor-led military expedition. But Lord Aubrey was neither an emperor nor a king.
As the name suggested, the Handal Union was a 'union' of 'countries'.
It is formed around a council called the 『Ten-member Council』 and was made up of people representing the ten core countries of the Union.
Lord Aubrey was appointed as the 'Governor' and the wartime 'Commander' by the Ten-member Council.
In workplace terms, Lord Aubrey was the president and CEO, and the Ten-member Council was the shareholders.
Ten years ago, immediately after Lord Aubrey was appointed as the wartime commander and governor after the Great War, the Ten-member Council was overwhelmingly stronger in the power relationship between Lord Aubrey and the Ten-member Council.
Of course, that was natural because the Ten-member Council held the right to appoint the governor and commander.
But in the next decade, the power relations had reversed and now no one in the Union could stand up against Lord Aubrey's power.
How did he diminish the power of the Ten-member Council?
In the first place, the members of the Ten-member Council were the kings, grand dukes, or dukes of each country that made up the Union.
All but one of them had been replaced in the last decade.
Some died of illness, some were attacked by thugs and never returned, and some died in a coup d'état.
Of course, there was no evidence that Lord Aubrey pulled the strings.
There were none … but the new seats at the Ten-member Council were not hostile to Lord Aubrey.
After all, it was beneficial to submit to Lord Aubrey and maintain the top position in their country.
As long as the Union government was entrusted to Lord Aubrey, their power within their own country was guaranteed.
Ten years ago.
The Union was defeated in the 'Great War' with the Kingdom.
However, even during the Great War, there were some battles that the Union won.
Many of the battles that were won were those that were led by Lord Aubrey in his thirties.
Essentially, Lord Aubrey was not a politician but a person who belonged on the battlefield.
In any world, famous individuals had aliases.
'God', 'Genius', 'Emperor', 'General', 'Flying Dutchman', etc … or 'Explosive Blaze Magician'.
And the only alias that Lord Aubrey had was … 'The Great General'.
"Your Excellency, that's the City of Crew. That means we are 35 kilometers into the Inbury border, but there has been no organized resistance. What does this mean …"
"Lamber, the Duke of Inbury, is utilizing a scorched earth tactic. He will never give in even at the expense of his entire country … he is fighting with that determination. It's a foolish but dreadful strategy. In fact, wasn't there no food left in the occupied towns and villages, let alone people? I was surprised that they even buried the wells."
Lord Aubrey said, chuckling.
The national power ratio between the Union and the Duchy was 20:1, and the nominal war potential ratio was 15:1.
Even though it lost in the Great War, the Union was still one of the three major powers.
The Duchy could not put up a decent fight.
If 'decent' doesn't work, they had to do something extraordinary.
And that was the scorched earth tactic.
To establish a scorched earth tactic, it was not enough to simply drawback their army and eliminate the sources of food along the enemy's path.
What was absolutely necessary was to 'hit the enemy's supply line'.
In other words, the Duchy army would attack supply units somewhere between the Union's front line and their homeland … that was clear.
And Lord Aubrey was aiming for that.
The question was when would they attempt it? And where would they aim for?
He could narrow down the locations where they would strike to some extent.
He had a grasp of the terrains suitable for surprise attacks and there were not many.
The question was when.
The sooner it was, the easier it would be to deal with.
Over time, the initial sense of tension would diminish and there was a possibility that their response would fail.
So how could he bait them?
One method was to hasten the marching speed of the vanguard.
The vanguards of the Union were all on horseback.
The vanguard unit was marching straight toward the Duchy capital at a speed that was unmatched by infantry.
In other words, his threat was 'If you don't attack the supply unit quickly, the Duchy capital will fall'.
Of course, the Union would not win and the war would not end even if the Duchy capital falls.
That was not the case, but the 'capital' was also the icon of a country.
It was easy to imagine that the unifying force of the Duke Inbury's family would rapidly decline if the enemy captures the capital.
It would turn into an issue of … whether there will be any Lords or people who will cooperate in the counterattack when it is eventually staged?
As such, they would want to avoid the fall of the Duchy capital as much as possible.
Or, even if it falls, they would want to hold it until it was near the final stages of the war.
The Duchy capital was the final piece to hold until the end.
The rook and bishop in shogi or queen in chess.
Losing it in the early stages would discard any chances of victory.
"The Duke of Inbury would, at the expense of everything, never bend to our army, but will the Lords and the people have the same spirit?"
Lord Aubrey's soliloquy only reached the ears of Lamber next to him.
A room in the Duchy capital of Aberdeen.
"The marching speed of the Union army is at the worst speed we can imagine …"
Intelligence Secretary Joseph Salieri concluded his report with that.
The Duke of Inbury, Loris Baggio, listened to the report with a frown from beginning to end.
He would not display that expression in front of other subordinates.
His usual dignified demeanor spoke of 'Everything is within the range of expectations. Don't worry', but in front of Secretary Salieri, who is a long-time acquaintance, he couldn't prevent his true feelings from surfacing.
"They … their vanguard unit alone is one-third of our entire army …"
"There are about 3,000 vanguard units. It seems that there are not only knights but also adventurers advancing on horseback."
Secretary Salieri squeezed out the words to inform Loris of the latest information he had.
"Even if the Union has troops at their borders with the Empire and the Kingdom, those are probably second tier and below, and the elite will be sent to this battle. 『When it comes to the Union, their swords and spears are unrivaled』… As sang through the ages, the strength of their physical professions rivals that of the Empire."
"Oh, I know. You plan to say that if we don't react properly, this vanguard unit alone is enough to take over the Duchy capital, right?"
"Yes. Of course, it won't be that easy because we have the 『Green Storm』…"
"No one knows how many shots that can fire or how durable it is."
Loris gave a loud and deep sigh.
And continued.
"Is there no choice but to accelerate the actions of the raid team?"
His face was deeply distressed.
A highway about 20 km from the Union-Duchy border on the Duchy side.
A large Union supply unit was heading south.
There were fifteen military wagons and about 60 escort personnel.
There, the first large-scale battle after the start of the war would soon be held.
Arrows and attack magic flew all at once toward the Union supply unit.
"Enemy attack!"
A voice immediately rose from within the supply unit.
"They're finally here. Deploy the 『Windjammer』. Raise the smoke signal."
The escort captain's command was transmitted and the Magicians who were strategically placed in each wagon channeled magical power to the alchemy tools at hand and deployed the 『Windjammer』.
At the same time, smoke signals rose from various places.
It was a signal that the supply unit had been attacked.
Naturally, the Union forces would gather once they see that signal.
The Duchy's raid team naturally saw that the Union supply unit released their signal.
To burn the supplies before the Union reinforcements come.
That was their role.
They knew from the start that it was a fight against time.
"Hurry! Release the fire arrows. Magicians attack the wagons with Fire-Attribute too."
The commander gave instructions to thoroughly annihilate the target by burning the supplies together with the wagons.
Fire arrows or fireballs flew toward the wagons to engulf the supplies in flames.
They landed without any mistakes … but before they reached the wagons, they struck something.
"What!?"
All fire arrows and fire magic were repelled.
The raid captain looked toward the magic squad captain next to him.
"That's similar to a 『Wind Defensive Film』. It may have been reproduced using alchemy."
The words of the magic squad captain plunged the raid captain into despair.
『Wind Defensive Film』was the magic on the body surface of Wyverns that blocked all physical and magical attacks.
That alone was the reason why Wyvern subjugations were surprisingly difficult.
Not only monsters but some national treasure-class items could create a pseudo-Wind Defensive Film. The one in Whitnash in the Kingdom was famous, but … to think there would be one here?
"Shit. Switch to melee combat! We don't have time, defeat them quickly."
Impatience was evident on the commander's face.
In contrast, the Union supply unit.
Following the instructions of the escort captain, 『Windjammer』 was deployed on all wagons.
It was an alchemy item that formed a 5 meters radius dome and its surface was a degraded version of the 『Wind Defensive Film』.
Naturally, the creator was Frank de Verde.
As for why it was a degraded version …
The Whitnash item, known to generate the 『Wind Defensive Film』, could defend against almost all magical and physical attacks with only a small amount of magical power channeled into it by a Magician.
The items loaded on these wagons similarly only required a small amount of magical power from the Magicians but the duration of the 'Film' was at most one hour and its strength was about one-tenth of the original effect.
Even a genius alchemist like Frank de Verde couldn't help but release items with this level of performance as he had minimal development time and it was in parallel with the development of the artificial golems.
Nonetheless, none of the modern alchemists have been able to reproduce this 『Wind Defensive Film』, so Frank's ability to complete it during his spare time was still extraordinary.
Once the 『Windjammers』 were deployed, all the escort personnel entered the domes.
As long as they remained in the dome, they didn't have to worry about ranged attacks.
In that case, the Duchy Army could only rely on close combat.
"They're coming! Defend yourself. It's our victory as long as we buy sufficient time."
They didn't have to win.
While they attracted their attention, reinforcements could be deployed around the Duchy troops to surround and annihilate them from the outside.
In fact, it would be worse if the raiding party left too quickly.
A few seconds after the long-ranged attacks stopped, the captain of the escort unit prayed tensely.
That the Duchy Army would not leave.
That they would challenge them in close-quarters combat.
and...
As expected, the Duchy chose close combat.
Naturally, a smile appeared on the face of the escort captain.
"Your Excellency!"
In a hurry, his aide Lamber rushed into the tent.
"What happened? Did the Duke of Inbury surrender?"
"You know that will never happen."
Lamber was dumbfounded by Lord Aubrey's joke.
"Shouldn't that be the only report that would garner such surprise?"
"Haaa … I would like to report. A supply unit was attacked 20km in the Duchy territory. However, as originally planned, the enemy raid team was surrounded and annihilated. Two escort personnel were killed and six were seriously injured. The enemy casualty appears to have exceeded 300."
Lord Aubrey replied to Lamber's report with slightly raised lips.
"Fufufu … Although it was as expected, it feels good when the plan goes well. Well then … this has significantly reduced the number of hands that the Duchy can play. They may aim for the supply unit once or twice more, but this first group was probably their most elite within the raid parties. From the next attempt onwards, it will be more difficult, you know? What will you do, Duke of Inbury?"
The muttered words in the second half were so soft that even Lamber didn't hear it.
"What do you think the Duke of Inbury will do?"
"… I have no idea. But there's only one thing left that he can count on."
"Reinforcements from other countries?"
Lamber nodded and answered.
"That's right. To be exact, it's reinforcements from the Kingdom. Of course, the current Kingdom does not have the leeway to send an official army with the Knight Orders. In that case, only adventurers will be dispatched … Master McGrath will probably lead the adventures from the City of Rune."
"To think we would face him once more …"
Lamber frowned.
Lord Aubrey, on the other hand, had a clearer smile with his lips raised more than before.
"A battle is 90% settled before the battlefield. Train the army, gather them, deploy, arrange for supplies, and appoint excellent frontline commanders. That's it. The battles on the battlefield are just confirmatory works."
"I don't want to be told that by Your Excellency, who overturned the battle situation for those confirmation works on the battlefield many times in the previous war …"
Lord Aubrey chuckled at Lamber's amazed tone.
"It's also true that it can happen. Or just a few heroes can overturn a battle."
"Heroes like Master McGrath."
After nodding three times, Lord Aubrey muttered.
"The borders between the Duchy and the Kingdom will be sealed soon. Kingdom adventurers may face the corpse of the Duke of Inbury if they take more time than expected to cross the border. The battle starts before the fighting begins … Hugh, what are you going to do?"
-x-X-x-
Eastern region of the Kingdom of Knightley. Four days to the border town of Red Post.
Along the way, the expeditionary force that departed from the City of Rune was joined by those that marched from other southern cities.
"It's quite a spectacle."
Abel, who moved up next to Ryo, commented as he stared at the 'wagon line' behind Ryo.
"What is it, Abel? Even if you come here, I won't give you food, you know? Because Hugh told me time and time again to only give out food for breakfast, lunch, and evening meals."
"When did I unknowingly turn into some starved adventurer …"
"Even if you try to steal the food after distracting me, I set up a trap that freezes the culprit instantly. Don't think of stealing anything."
"Why did you set up such a terrifying trap …"
Abel looked at the wagon line with a renewed look, perhaps afraid of the trap.
Of course, there was no such trap.
Not long ago, when Hugh, Abel and the other leaders were having a meeting, a scoundrel touched the wagon.
Since Ryo's wagons were completely sealed, it was naturally impossible for others to open them, but it was a good opportunity so he froze him as a warning to others.
The facial expressions of the fellows who seemed to be friends of that person also froze at the same time … which Ryo found entertaining.
After that, it was unavoidable that rumors spread among the expeditionary forces that you would freeze if you touch the wagon.
"Hey, Ryo."
"What? Money again?"
"No, I've never asked you for money! Wait, didn't we have this conversation before?"
"I can't help but to reuse the same jokes over and over again … it's hard to make up new routines."
"What are you even talking about …"
Abel had a very exhausted look.
However, he was curious about something so he took a breath to calm down and asked Ryo.
"On top of the wagon … isn't there a lot of people seated?"
"Good job in noticing that. I believe those who are easily tired are sitting there. Don't you see the ice staircase there to make it easier to get on and off?"
The appearances of the wagons were also slightly different from when they left the City of Rune.
Although it was a little steep, there were ice staircases that allowed people to climb onto the wagons from the outside.
"There are many Magician-like folks after all. The vanguards have the physical stamina but the rearguard …"
Abel commented as he looked at the top of the wagon line.
"Well, it can't be helped. By the way, the first person who asked to get on top was …"
"No way … our …"
"Yeap, it was Rin."
"Oh..."
"Next was Rihya."
"Ohh …"
"Finally, Warren."
"Ahhh … no, that's a lie! Warren would never ask for that."
"As expected of a party leader. You know your members well."
"Oi..."
Abel now had an even more exhausted look than before.
"Ever since we entered the eastern region … there are so many."
Abel commented as he looked at the people passing by.
"Probably the people of the Inbury Duchy. Coming to the Kingdom to escape the war."
There were quite a lot of people coming from the Inbury direction, not carrying large luggage but only what they could carry.
Meanwhile, they saw two covered wagons coming from the front.
"That's rare, fleeing with two covered wagons … a merchant?"
Ryo turned his attention to the coachman of the leading carriage after listening to Abel's words.
"Sharfi?"
He involuntarily said.
The man on the coachman seat turned to Ryo with a surprised look.
"Ryo?"
The man muttered and hurriedly stopped the carriage.
And shouted out loud.
"Ryo!"
It was Sharfi, a former Order of Assassins executive who was now part of Gecko's escort team.
Boys and girls popped out of the carriage, probably because Sharfi's cry was heard and the carriage stopped.
Then they found Ryo and shouted too.
"Teacher Ryo!"
A boy who was just ten years old jumped at Ryo.
Other children gathered around Ryo and were pleased to see him again.
"Everyone..."
They were the children who worked at Gecko's merchant company, including Ryo's five disciples.
"I'm glad you are okay..."
Ryo's eyes were faintly shining.
"Take them to the southern part of the Kingdom?"
"Yes. Gecko instructed me to do so. To Rune and Acre. He has secured places in both cities."
Sharfi answered Ryo's questions.
Acre was the largest city in the south and the capital of Marquis Heinlein's territory.
"We were able to cross the border, but there were rumors that the Union had advanced to the border shortly after we crossed."
"I see. Well, I'm glad everyone is safe. Also, is Gecko still in the
Duchy?"
"It seems that he will provide supplies to the last minute …"
Sharfi commented and shook his head several times.
His expression showed that …. he felt Gecko should just escape quickly.
"I guess being a merchant who represents the country can be difficult. For the time being, the priority is to ensure the safety of these children. Rune is the city where I live. It's a very nice place. Perhaps because it's a remote area, the city has an atmosphere that easily accepts foreign things. The children will fit in."
In the end, while Ryo was talking on the spot, the wagon line stopped so the expeditionary force was on a temporary break.
As such, Ryo was able to see his disciples' progress in magic.
He was honestly surprised that all five were able to produce fairly hard ice walls.
Once again convincing him that consistent hard work was the most important.
After sending away the covered wagons led by Sharfi, Ryo's expression was visibly brighter.
Until now, although it wasn't dark, someone who had interacted with him for a relatively long time like Abel could tell that he was concerned about something which cast a shadow on his facial expression.
"Were they Ryo's disciples? They called you teacher."
"Yeah. They're very honest kids. They seemed to have kept practicing every day even without me, and they were able to create fairly hard ice walls. They might even block Abel's sword."
"Are you serious..."
Children in their teens capable of producing very hard ice walls … frightening.
Abel secretly trembled a little, imagining the future.
"Oops..."
Suddenly Ryo muttered.
"What happened?"
"I should have also taught them
"No, please don't."
"Now, isn't there no longer any reason for Ryo to go to the Inbury Duchy?"
Originally, Ryo was trying to verify the safety of his disciples.
It turned out that they met before crossing the border and were safeguarded in their country, so he no longer had to go to the dangerous battlefield.
"Well, that's right. But as long as I'm hired as the luggage carrier, I'll ensure the delivery of the food, weapons, potions, and other supplies on the wagons. I forced Hugh to let me join the expeditionary force after all."
Ryo possessed a strong sense of duty in that aspect.
Or was it natural because it was a contract?
"Well if I change the setting of the wagons from 'follow me' to 'follow Abel', I don't necessarily have to go."
"Yeap, don't do that."
Ryo was such a guy.
Since parting from the evacuating children, the number of refugees from the Inbury region visibly decreased.
"I think it's because the Union was said to have closed the border."
"Probably. The Ferro River marks the border between the Kingdom and the Duchy. A few bridges span across that river between the two countries."
"Now that you mention it, that's true …"
Ryo had also crossed the border.
"Ryo, did you forget to withdraw money when you went to the Inbury Duchy?"
"Yeah … that's a sad memory. It's a shame that it caused the destruction of the assassin's village."
Ryo shook his head, saying so.
"Assassin's Village … was there such a thing …"
"But this time I've already withdrawn the money! I've grown too. The assassin's village was in the eastern part of the Kingdom."
"Hey, what do you mean by the eastern part!"
Abel responded violently to what Ryo added at the end.
It may be natural for him to be surprised that there was an assassin's village in his country.
"You don't have to react so violently. They also had to live, so it can't be helped."
"No, that's not the issue …"
"Or are you pretending to be the King's second son again? Abel is already an adult, so you're no longer the age to play pretend prince."
Ryo deliberately sighed deeply and shrugged his shoulders.
His actions irritated Abel.
While having such idle conversations, the expeditionary force arrived at the eastern border city of Red Post.
They arrived but …
"People are overflowing out of the city …"
The Red Post had become a refugee city.
-x-X-x-
Aberdeen, the capital of the Inbury Duchy, is a city which stands on a flat plain.
It is located at the center of the Avant Plain, the largest plain in the Duchy, and the Donicles River, which has one of the largest basins in the central countries, flows immediately to the east.
Originally a merchant city in terms of location, it does not have a particularly impressive fortress-like capacity to intercept large armies.
Aberdeen was now surrounded on all sides by the Union forces.
The main Union forces led by the Commander-in-Chief Lord Aubrey were encamped on the north side, and the other three sides were so heavily fortified that not even a mouse could escape.
"Your Excellency, it's been twenty-four hours since the call for their surrender. It's already past the deadline they were given, yet there's been no response whatsoever."
Lucien, the central military commander of the Union forces, gave the report.
It was a report, but at the same time pushing for a decision.
He was requesting for permission to attack.
"Well, I suppose not. Fine. I give you permission to attack."
Unless something unexpected happened, that was as far as Lord Aubrey would go with his instructions.
From then on, Lucien and the other frontline commanders would make decisions on the spot.
(Sometimes I wish I could go too…)
The nostalgic feel of the battlefield…originally a soldier, Lord Aubrey was sometimes struck by a feeling akin to nostalgia when he stood on the battlefield.
In a way, he may be a 'battle junkie'.
The Union forces attack began.
Considering what would happen after the fall of the capital, they were not to attack the city walls, but to break through the gates, which were easy to repair.
In the case of a 'capital', both the city walls and gates are usually protected by some kind of defensive magic.
In most cases, alchemical tools are used so that magic users of any attribute can activate the defensive mechanism as long as they channel their magic power into it.
Of course, it is also a given to have 'magic stones' that store magic so that it won't be a problem even if there is no Magician on standby to perform the operation.
Naturally, Aberdeen, the 'Ducal Capital', is also equipped with such a magic defense mechanism.
The type is the very common 'Wind-Attribute Defense Magic'.
But…
"Captain, the northern wall defense mechanism is not activated! "
Nigel, the captain of the garrison, received a distressing report.
The alchemy tools and stones in the central command center were working fine.
However, the 'Wind Magic Defense Mechanism' had not been deployed in some parts of the northern wall.
And by some parts,
"The castle gate…"
It's impossible for a failure to occur only at that particular point.
"Those Union dogs must have destroyed it."
The city had been sabotaged before they knew it.
Perhaps during the twenty-four hours that they had been given to surrender.
At this point, Nigel, the captain of the garrison of the Duchy, had a decision to make.
The castle defense, of course, consisted of soldiers stationed on the ramparts, as well as Magicians.
With their efforts, the castle might last some time.
At the same time, it might not.
The adversary was the 'Great Commander' Aubrey.
He may even break through the castle gates in a single blow, now that the magic defense mechanism was down.
If that happens, it's all over.
"Goddamn it. It's a little early, but activate the Green Storm. Hurry up! "
"Your Excellency, it's just as you planned, the gate's defense mechanism appears to be down."
"They must have neglected to perform a last-minute check. Well, I don't suppose they would have been able to fix it in time even if they did, and the main cause is probably because they are short on manpower to begin with."
"It's the ducal capital, and yet they are short on manpower?"
Lamber asked Lord Aubrey.
"That's right, it's the ducal capital, even then."
Lord Aubrey replied, raising one corner of his mouth slightly.
"Now then…I guess they should be preparing their ace in the hole right about now."
Lord Aubrey's mutter was so quiet that even Lamber, who was standing next to him, couldn't hear it.
"Captain, Green Storm has been activated. Enemy cavalry should be within range in ten seconds."
"Good. The first shot should be an attack covering a wide area, reduce their numbers as much as possible! "
"They'll be within range in…three, two, one."
"Fire! "
At that moment, a green light emanated from the tallest spire standing in the center of the capital, Aberdeen, and in a flash, it cleaved the approaching Union cavalry beyond the northern ramparts.
The cavalry was instantly mowed to pieces and splattered on the ground.
"First shot, successful."
"Whoa! "
Cheers echoed through the central command center.
Nigel, the captain of the garrison, who was trying to maintain his composure, also made a fist pump gesture.
Although they had conducted test firing several times, that was the first time they initiated a full-scale bombardment.
The weapon, which had yet to fully pass its integrity checks, had done its job magnificently.
"Come on now, you vile invaders. I'll turn you barbarians into mincemeats as many times as it takes."
The captain's soliloquy was louder than he had expected and was heard by Meredith, the second-in-command, who was standing next to him. And those around him.
"What the…"
The green beam was visible to the main Union forces.
And how it decimated the vanguard cavalry in a single flash.
Even Lord Aubrey couldn't finish his sentence.
"Y-Your Excellency, what in the world was that…"
Lord Aubrey's excellent assistant, Lamber, was also confused.
To think that the Inbury Duchy was hiding something so catastrophic.
"A magic weapon, I suppose."
Lord Aubrey, as if mustering everything he had, said.
Magic weapons…are high-powered weapons created through a combination of magic and alchemy and designed for use on the battlefield, hence they're called magic weapons.
However, in this era, there were not so many weapons that were catastrophic enough to be called magic weapons.
To produce magical phenomena on a scale large enough to be used on the battlefield required a rather advanced level of alchemy, metallurgical technology, and a deep understanding of magic.
It would be extremely difficult for even the three major powers to attain all of those requirements.
The bottlenecks lie within 'advanced alchemy' and 'deep understanding of magic'.
Advanced alchemy aside.
The alchemist had to be on par with Kenneth or Frank.
On top of that, a 'deep understanding of magic'…in the central nations, it is understood that 'if you recite a fixed chant, the corresponding magic will be invoked'.
Nothing more, nothing less.
That was their understanding of magic, as they knew it.
In such a society, in such a world, it was very difficult to obtain a 'deep understanding of magic'.
That was, unless you were some kind of weirdo like Ilarion, who was obsessed with magic itself….
For these and other reasons that were difficult to overcome, there were not many weapons in reality that could be called 'magic weapons'.
However, as a fairy tale, there were stories that the floating continent of the 'Great Empire Babylon' was home to numerous magic weapons, and that the 'Holy Sword Astarte', the weapon of the Hero, was in fact a magic weapon.
Such a thing, which could be called a magic weapon, now appeared before his eyes and reaped one of the calvaries in his army.
Except for Lord Aubrey and Lamber, not a single person had uttered a word.
(A magic weapon uh…now, this is a surprise. I knew that the level of alchemy of the Inbury Duchy was progressing, but I wasn't expecting this…. Hmm? Alchemy? Now I see, come to think of it, an artificial golem can also be called a 'magic weapon' I suppose?)
Lord Aubrey thought about it and gave instructions to Lamber, who was standing beside him.
"Lamber, I want you to go quickly to the rear and fetch Dr. Frank."
"R-Roger that, sir."
With that, Lamber hurried off.
Dr. Frank ... is the genius alchemist, Frank de Verde himself, who has succeeded in manufacturing an artificial golem.
"Kuh-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Waahahahahaha. Unbeliveable! "
Frank de Verde laughed hysterically the moment the green beam sliced through the vanguard cavalry.
Those around them did not condemn him, but simply looked ahead at the flash of light and were speechless.
In the midst of all this, Frank de Verde continued his monologue.
"Wow, I mean, this is simply unbelievable! That has to be 'Vaedra', right? It can't be, can it? I can't imagine the Vaedra just now being…a finished product. Then what is it? Is Kenneth there? Did Kenneth also give up on the Kingdom and defect to the Duchy? Nah, that's highly unlikely. He cherishes his parents way too much. No way he'd set for another country leaving his parents behind…but then, how did the Duchy come to possess a Vaedra imitation? The most likely explanation would be that…the research results were stolen. That's very possible. Kenneth himself wouldn't do anything that dumb, but it's quite possible if the research results somehow got leaked from the place where he submitted them. Bloody hell…what a scummy thing to do, stealing people's accomplishments. Well, either way…"
Then he grinned and continued.
"It'll be a good test run against Vaedra."
With that, Frank de Verde chuckled.
Then Lamber arrived, having carried out Lord Aubrey's orders.
"Your Excellency, I have brought him as requested."
Frank de Verde spoke out quickly even before Lamber could complete his words.
"I need to deploy the golems."
"Doctor Frank, of course, that's why I called for you. Just that, I would like to know what that green light was."
Lord Aubrey assured Frank that he would grant his wish and tried to elicit information about the green light.
"Fine, that thing is called 'Vaedra'. An imitation of Vaedra to be precise…anyway, it's Vaedra."
"Okay, so what is Vaedra?"
"It's the Kingdom's 'Secret Weapon'."
Dr. Frank grinned with one side of his cheek as he said this.
Lord Aubrey was extremely surprised when he heard that.
The Kingdom's secret weapon was somehow in the Duchy.
(No, that's not important right now. The fact that the doctor seems to know quite a bit about this Vaedra of a thing is proof that we are still much in luck. As for the Kingdom's magic weapon, it's either the Doctor developed it back when he was in the Kingdom, or the other genius, Baron Kenneth Hayward did. Either way, it seems likely that the artificial golems can handle it.)
Just as Lord Aubrey was thinking deeply about this, Dr. Frank came up with additional information.
"That thing utilizes wind-attribute magic to create explosive wind shockwaves. And each shockwave cuts so finely that, it appears as if it was chopped up several times, but…I'd like to try a few things. As for the golems, one of them might break, but seeing as it is a battlefield, sacrifices are inevitable, right?"
"Sure, I'll leave that part up to you. If you were asking me to sacrifice the lives of my soldiers for a test, then I will definitely have some reservations, but a golem, please, by all means."
Lord Aubrey immediately responded to Dr. Frank's request, assuring him that it was all good.
"Perfect. Deploy the first golem! "
Dr. Frank shouted to a small alchemical stone in his left hand.
It was an alchemical stone for communicating with his subordinates in the Golem corps.
It was the same device as the one Dr. Frank had created when he was still in the Kingdom, only equipped with a mana stone for storing magic power inside, separate from an external mana stone, so that even those who could not use magic could operate it.
Of course, Dr. Frank himself, being an alchemist, could also use magic…and in fact possesses dual attributes, fire and wind.
So the idea of placing a mana stone inside another mana stone, wasn't for his own convenience.
Nor was it for anyone else.
It seemed doable, so he simply tried it out.
And when he tried it, it worked out fine.
That's all.
Dr. Frank was not a mad scientist.
He would hesitate to do something that might cause trouble for someone else…he might eventually do it, but he would not go so far as to destroy someone else's life in the pursuit of his interest.
But so long as it's nothing too serious…if he had the inkling to experiment something, he simply does it.
Dr. Frank, Frank de Verde, was that kind of guy.
-x-X-x-
"Captain, the enemy is on the move."
After the Green Storm beam, Deputy Captain Meredith came running to report to Garrison Commander Nigel, who was receiving a report on why the magic defense mechanism at the castle gate was not working.
They immediately climbed to the top of a nearby rampart.
From there, they saw.
"What is that ..."
Meredith, the second-in-command, muttered to himself.
But Commander Nigel knew what it was.
Or, more precisely, he thought that was probably 'it'.
"It must be the newly developed artificial golem."
As a Garrison Commander of the Duchy, he is also privy to some highly classified information.
Among them, the most important information to pay attention to in the defense of the capital this time was the artificial golem, which he was briefed by the Intelligence Bureau Secretary Salieri.
Perhaps that thing approaching slowly was the golem in question.
"Let's hurry back to the central command post."
Nigel, the garrison commander, said and ran down the rampart with Meredith in tow.
There was no way to stop that thing except with Green Storm.
And it couldn't be the diffusion-type beam like the previous one.
However, one thing in particular was bugging Nigel.
The fact that only one artificial golem was approaching.
"Testing the waters huh?"
Even if that was the case, if they managed to destroy that thing completely, the opponent would be at a disadvantage..
Nigel made up his mind.
"Aim and shoot with the convergence-type beam."
The marksman nodded to the garrison commander Nigel's instructions.
From the central command post, which was set up at a high altitude, one could see directly over the city walls.
From beyond the northern wall, the artificial golem was slowly making its way toward the capital.
(From the way that light reflects off of it, the exterior is metal…probably steel. Basically, the green storm diffusion-type beam, which is meant for anti-personnel use, would not be able to penetrate it. However, if it's concentrated, it can easily pierce even steel. Even steel would be nothing but paper when hit with such power.)
Nigel was thinking that in his mind to reassure himself.
Even if you are told 'it's okay' and 'you've got this', and you also think so yourself, truth is, you will never know unless you actually try…especially when it comes to latest technologies.
"Enemy golem in range in ten seconds."
The report from the observer snapped him back to reality.
And
"Three, two, one, in range, sir."
"Fire!"
With that command, the green light shot out from the spire again.
But this time, instead of reaping the whole area, a single green light, as thick as a man's arm, flew in a straight line into the artificial golem's chest…and pierced it.
The piercing light eventually diffused and disappeared.
What was left of the artificial golem, fell backwards slowly.
"Enemy destroyed."
"Woooooooow! "
The cheers echoed through the command center, even louder than when the initial attack had succeeded.
Even the enemy's secret weapon was useless in front of it.
Moreover, it shot through perfectly.
They might actually have a winning chance….
Even those who remained thought that victory was hopeless due to the difference in strength.
So it was natural for them to feel a surge of hope.
This time, however, the cheers did not last long.
"Incoming, enemy artificial golem reinforcements!"
The observer's voice drowned out the cheers in the command center.
"How many?"
Nigel, the garrison commander, was the first to calm down and asked.
"Enemy count…approximately twenty."
"Same as in the briefing uh."
According to the information Nigel had gotten from the Intelligence Secretary Salieri, about twenty artificial golems were confirmed to exist.
Those were it.
But then came the million-dollar question.
(Why send more out when I just demonstrated a perfectly executed shot? It's their top secret weapon, isn't it? It was a single focused shot, so maybe they thought they could get through with numbers? The adversary is the infamous General Aubrey, I can't imagine him coming up with such a halfwit tactic…this is driving me crazy.)
Nevertheless, there was no other option but to fire the green storm.
"Intercept them using convergence mode. Fire as soon as they are in range. After that, you may fire continuously as soon as you are ready."
"Roger that!"
It was better to allow the gunner fire continuously than to have Nigel give instructions every time.
In fact, those twenty units were a threat.
Although they seemed to be moving slowly, it was quite possible for them to seize control of the castle gates.
The artificial golems of the Union were approaching in a four-row formation, that was, four in the front row, four in the second row, and so on.
(That's…when the green storm pierces the first row, depending on the power output, it might be able to take down the golems in the second row of as well.)
Nigel, the garrison commander, thought so.
"Enemy golem in range in ten seconds."
The observer announced, following the same reporting procedure as before.
"What about the situation besides the north side?"
Nigel asked the observers regarding the other defenses.
"No movement on the east side."
"South side, no movement."
"West side, no movement."
Nigel felt that something was amiss, so he asked the observers, but nothing came up.
(I have a bad feeling about this…)
A hunch, a feeling of discomfort, or simply premonitions…they can be said to be conclusions made unconsciously by the brain based on a person's previous experience and knowledge.
As a veteran on the battlefield, Nigel could not ignore them.
It was only natural that he had been saved by such premonitions in the past.
That being said, he had no other choice but to fire Green Storm for the time being.
"In range in, three, two, one, fire!"
To Nigel, it looked as if the front of the enemy golem's chest was glowing white at the moment Green Storm was fired.
Then Green Storm reached the golems in the center, and…thought he saw some white spherical light, and the beam flew off in the wrong direction.
"What the hell?"
"Shot…failed."
Nigel's outburst and the observer's report brought a heavy silence in the command center.
However, this was interrupted by a report that followed.
"Enemy golems, movement speed has increased. They're running! "
"Ughh. Gunner, fire as soon as you're ready! Prepare the flag signals, inform the ramparts to take defensive actions. Hurry up! "
The central command post suddenly plunged in a flurry of activity.
After giving his instructions, the garrison commander, Nigel, called his second-in-command, Meredith, to a corner of the command post.
"Meredith, this doesn't look good. So as planned, I'll leave the magic stones to you."
"But commander!"
Nigel's order made Meredith let out a small cry.
"Meredith, that's an order! Go get ready. And soon as you confirm the capture of the city walls, execute your duty as swiftly as possible. Got it? The very survival of the Duchy rests on your shoulders."
The last bit, commander Nigel said it more softly.
"Commander…"
"My fate is tied to the Duchy's. I am trusting you with it."
With that, Captain Nigel sent his second-in-command, Meredith, out of the command center.
Three shots had been fired since the Green Storm was initially repelled, and all three of which were also repelled.
After the white light was generated in front of the golem's chest, Green Storm was repelled by something invisible and disappeared.
The artificial golems seized the city gate and began to strike, causing the gate to fly open without much resistance.
The main Union forces, having confirmed this, launched their remaining cavalry and invaded the capital at once.
While opening the city gates in each direction, they occupied the central command post and secured the spire.
It did not take long for the entire Duchy to fall into the hands of the Union forces.
When the capital fell, Meredith, the garrison deputy commander, was already riding his horse south of the capital and heading further south.
"Commander…I'll be sure to deliver this."
He muttered, holding down his bag with something in it carefully.
-x-X-x-
"The Ducal castle is deserted."
"The magic weapon on the spire was destroyed."
"The total number of remaining residents is about 500."
Reports were sent one after another to Lord Aubrey.
However, the reports were not good.
(As expected … The Duke's family slipped away. The magic weapon was also destroyed. Well, it can't be helped.)
Lord Aubrey sighed lightly and walked to the square in front of the central command post.
His escort chased after him in a hurry.
Even though they had occupied the ducal capital, it cannot be said that there were no hidden archers or magicians.
If anything happened to Lord Aubrey …
Lamber, who was watching by the side, could understand the hardships faced by the escorts.
Lamber suffered from the same hardships.
However, no matter how many times he said it, Lord Aubrey's behavior did not change.
He would say, 'Oh, all right', but in actual fact, he doesn't do anything about it.
If he was a genuine politician, he might be more concerned about his life, but Lord Aubrey was originally a man of the battlefield.
He had no experience as an adventurer, but he had traveled to countless battlefields.
As a result, he may have come to take a lighter outlook on life.
No matter how careful you are, when you die, you die.
It was a blunt way of saying but … Lord Aubrey came to have such thoughts.
The surrendered garrison sat in the square.
At the front was the garrison captain Nigel.
Lord Aubrey stood in front of Nigel.
"I am Aubrey Hubble Coleman. I'm the Union Commander-in-Chief. Can I hear your name?"
Clearly, garrison captain Nigel was surprised.
That was because Aubrey took the trouble to name himself.
And with his full name.
Even though it was the ducal capital, in an occupied city, identifying yourself in front of just the garrison and asking the other party's name was an act that rarely happened.
The Aubrey that Nigel heard of was a haughty and arrogant man, although he was called an outstanding Great General.
That kind of image was imprinted on him before he knew it … or was the man in front of him just playing another persona?
In any case, he could not disregard the top figure of a country after they named themselves.
"I … I'm Nigel Madden, the captain of the ducal capital garrison. They are my subordinates … I don't care about my life, so could you please stop harming them and the people of the city?"
Nigel greeted him and bowed.
"Captain …"
Sobbing and soft mutterings were heard from the garrison members.
"Hmm. Lamber, are we harming the people?"
"No, in the name of Your Excellency, all harm to the people and looting is prohibited. So far, no reports have been made. In our army, detection of any such acts will lead to decapitation regardless of position."
"There you go. I guarantee the security of the people in my name."
"I-is that really true …?"
"Hey!"
When Nigel asked, it was Lamber who was furious.
Lord Aubrey replied calmly.
"It's fine, Lamber. It's natural to be worried. But Nigel, think about it. We're trying to rule the city. Is there any good for us to earn grudges from the people? What's more, for example, if you all are slaughtered here … if that reputation spreads to the surrounding cities, wouldn't the resistance of the other cities become more stubborn? Not only from a merciful standpoint but also for governance, there will be no harm to the people or looting. Rest assured."
After such a reasonable explanation, Nigel was relieved.
"I only want to ask one thing. I hope you can answer …"
"I am unable to answer certain matters due to my position."
Nigel answered Lord Aubrey's question, scrunching his face.
He was grateful for the guaranteed safety of the people, but there were some matters he could not answer. Rather, most of them could not be answered.
"Why are there 500 people left?"
"...Ha?"
Lord Aubrey's question was too unexpected.
Nigel was wondering if he would ask questions about the whereabouts of the Duke of Inbury and the Green Storm, but his question was about the remaining people.
He said that he only has one question, and the question was regarding the people remaining … it was an unimaginable question.
"I knew your garrison would remain. Buying time is the most important strategy for the Duchy now. But then the people don't have to remain. In fact, most people escape first. But for some reason, there are still 500 people left. Some may have trouble moving, but even so, 500 people are too many to be accounted with that?"
Lord Aubrey's question was purely inquisitive.
In the first place, there was no need to ask questions about military matters.
Most things that were happening were within expectations. Nothing happened that deviated significantly from his guesses.
As for politics, there was no way a garrison captain would know.
Even less likely the whereabouts of the Duke and his family.
He didn't have to ask those things.
That's why he asked what he was genuinely wondering about.
"The remaining citizens … are those who would rather die here if they have to leave the city. Of course, some can't move, but many of them have nowhere else to go if they were to abandon their homes here."
"I see."
Lord Aubrey understood that feeling.
He had thought before he asked that there would be such people, but at most dozens of them.
He was wondering who the rest were, but most of the 500 people were in that category.
"This is a good city."
Lord Aubrey muttered and turned around.
"I guarantee the safety of the people and all of you. The food has probably been torched? My army will provide it. I pray all of you will peacefully be taken as prisoners of war for the time being."
Lord Aubrey announced and left the square.
The remaining garrison members were stunned.
And garrison captain Nigel hung his head.
In a sense, he was overwhelmed by Lord Aubrey's caliber.
"The whole Duchy may be swallowed by him …"
Fortunately, Nigel's mutter was inaudible to anyone else.
Lord Aubrey headed for the spire that rose in the center of the ducal capital.
The spire that emitted green light.
The wreckage of the magic weapon that Dr. Frank called 'Vaedra-like' must be there.
He heard reports that it was destroyed, but he wanted to take a look at it.
He went through some sentries to the top of the spire.
However, there was already someone there.
"Doctor, I knew you would be here."
"Lord Aubrey? Are you also interested? But didn't you say you don't understand alchemy at all?"
There, Dr. Frank was looking for something with his subordinates.
"Yes, I am truly clueless about alchemy. Still, I'm curious about that green light. I heard it's been destroyed, but I wanted to take a look."
"Fuha. As expected, a 'Great General' is different. Would you like to listen to what I think?"
Dr. Frank said as he sneered.
He wanted someone to talk to, but it is pointless to talk to a stupid person.
The best would be a like-minded person who understands alchemy, but there wasn't any present … his subordinates were not capable yet.
Then, it would also be fun to talk to a man who has a great mind, even if they don't understand alchemy.
"I would love to hear that! However, I would be grateful if you could first tell me about Vaedra itself."
"Hmm. First of all, it's a secret weapon of the Kingdom, a magic weapon that uses wind-attribute magic. It was designed by Kenneth. A fine weapon as expected of a genius, but … when I was around, it wasn't completed yet. It wasn't a matter of his ability, but mainly a budget issue. And a magic stone issue."
"Magic stone?"
Lord Aubrey tilted his neck inquisitively.
As he climbed up and glanced at it for a moment, there was no magic stone embedded in the weapon and there was no magic stone in the room. Including any evidence of smashed magic stones.
"To activate this weapon, you need a fairly massive wind-attribute magic stone, and two of them. Kenneth tried to manage with a smaller magic stone or a connection of magic stones … he might have accomplished that by now … but this weapon can't function with that. It's still an old design. I think they got their hands on that old design document."
"But that magic stone is …"
"Yes, not here. Someone took it away …"
Dr. Frank replied, shaking his head a little.
"I suspect a garrison soldier was instructed to do so. The reason to go the extra mile to do that …"
"Means that there is another weapon somewhere else."
Dr. Frank sneered with one cheek as he replied to Lord Aubrey's words.
"There are few special parts. The two massive wind magic stones would be very difficult to obtain … The only other special part is the magic formula. Kenneth's magic formula is abnormal, also very characteristic, and the magical formula used for this is …"
"It's Baron Kenneth Hayward's 'style'."
"Yup. I believe his research results were stolen. It's a pity."
Dr. Frank had a sad and lonely expression.
For those involved in R & D, having their research results stolen is an irreplaceable pain.
Dr. Frank knew that too.
"Dr. Frank, I have two more things to know about this."
"Hmm? You can ask anything. I'm free-loading off you in the first place."
Dr. Frank laughed boisterously.
He didn't act as though he owed him as his host.
Of course, Lord Aubrey didn't care about that either.
"Firstly, the range of this weapon."
"Oh … that's difficult. To be exact, it depends on the magic stone that is attached. However, by estimation, it's about a kilometer …"
"I see."
If there was another one, it was information that he had to know.
In any case, the other one was bound to be at the place where the Duke of Inbury withdrew to …
"The other question is about the golem's technique that intercepted this Vaedra-like weapon."
"Ho ~"
Dr. Frank squinted and sneered on one cheek.
"The Magicians claimed that it was wind magic …"
"Lord Aubrey thinks differently?"
"No, it's wind, but I feel there is something different from normal wind magic … it feels somewhat like a wind attribute that's closer to fire … I don't know if that exists. Well, in any case, something felt out of place …"
In response, Dr. Frank's eyes were wide open.
It could be said to be a very rare sight.
"I heard Lord Aubrey can't use magic at all."
"Yeah. It seems that I do not have the aptitude for it."
"But you could feel the difference … I'm really surprised."
Dr. Frank said and bowed to him ceremoniously.
It was a heartfelt and respectful bow, unlike in the past.
"Is it something to be complimented for?"
Lord Aubrey was more confused by that.
"Well, it's very rare. You reached the answer to your sense of discomfort through wisdom and knowledge, without any magic perception."
Dr. Frank has even changed his choice of wording.
That was how shocking it was. To the doctor.
"Wind attribute magic is a half correct and half greatly incorrect answer. Saying it is closer to fire is half correct too. To explain the Golem's defense, I must first explain defense using wind attribute magic … It will be a little longer, but is that okay?"
"Yes, it doesn't matter."
Lord Aubrey nodded.
"First of all, that's right … think of that alchemy tool that creates the wind defenses for the supply team. For convenience, it was named 'carriage membrane'."
"Oh … I know, but the name didn't seem to stick …"
"It can't be helped, because it was named that way."
"It was named … No way, was it named by…"
"Yes, by Lamber."
One arm of Lord Aubrey, a very talented aide, Lamber.
However, his naming sense is …
"Well … then it can't be helped. There's nothing wrong with it … it's just …"
"Yeah …"
Both Lord Aubrey and Dr. Frank turned away with bitter faces.
The two knew that the people in the field arbitrarily named it 'Windjammer' because of the awkward name.
That was definitely better …
The first to recover was Dr. Frank.
"So, that 'carriage membrane' generates magic from the alchemy tool placed in the center of the loading platform. As an image, it is similar to the image of a fountain."
The water of the fountain shoots up from the center and spreads as a thin film around it after it reaches a certain height.
"I see, that's an easy-to-understand analogy. The water in the fountain is wind magic, so it does not affect those inside the membrane."
"That's right. The national treasure item in Whitnash has the same basic development. So, although the 'carriage membrane' is a 'degraded version of the wind defense film', the mechanism is actually completely different from a real Wyvern's 'wind defensive film'."
"Hoho."
Lord Aubrey was never been an adventurer but had participated in Wyvern subjugations.
That was when he led the Knights Order and the Magic Corps and received a subjugation order from a superior.
He remembered having a terrible time.
"The Wyvern's wind defensive film blows wind from the entire body. You can't tell the difference by appearance, but when you think of it as a protective mechanism, it's completely different. Once you break through the 'carriage membrane', there's no resistance. Whereas for the Wyvern's wind defensive film, whether it's an arrow or attack magic, they will always face wind magic as long as they keep moving towards the skin. It feels like you're pushing against a headwind. It makes sense that they would eventually lose their penetrative power."
"Ooo … I see. So, when subjugating Wyverns, we have to endure and reduce their physical strength. Until they can't maintain their wind defense film any further …"
Lord Aubrey replied by comparing his past experiences with the current story.
"Then, we talk about the Golem's 'that'. As I said, wind magic defense is largely divided into two main types. No, there were two types."
Lord Aubrey tilted his head a little at Dr. Frank's words.
"But the Golem's 'that' is neither type. It's a mixture of wind and fire attributes. Yeah, it's like … it's like a miniature lightning …"
"Lightning?"
"Yes, lightning. The lightning that flashes brightly in the sky. It's something that makes you feel like you would get a shock if you touch it … and, if it strikes a tree, the tree will burn? I utilized that lightning."
Dr. Frank spoke with a slight frown. It seemed difficult to explain.
"Protection using lightning … I can't imagine it, but it's an interesting technique. That can be used not only for defense but also for other things …"
"Lord Aubrey is truly wise. You see, didn't you feel the castle gate was destroyed too smoothly even though the magic defense mechanism was taken down?"
"Oh, I thought of that. I see, did you use the lightning to cut through the castle gate …"
Lord Aubrey replied, remembering the torn asunder gates he saw when he entered the castle.
"That's your answer. Well, a little ore is needed, but … it's relatively common in the eastern part of the central nations, including the Union, so I guess there's no issue. I wonder if that explanation is sufficient? If you want a more in-depth explanation … it will be difficult here. Also, since they were in operation for a long time this time, it will take some time to replace and readjust the parts of the 20 golems. The first unit that was shot down can be returned to the front line relatively easily simply by replacing the parts."
With that, Dr. Frank concluded his explanation.
-x-X-x-
Chapter 0173 Conference
-x-X-x-
Red Post, a city on the eastern border of the Kingdom of Knightley.
Previously, Ryo stayed at Red Post on his way to the Inbury Duchy as Gecko's escort.
And there, he helped remove the tattoo on the chest of the former assassin Sharfi.
Although they were at Red Post, the expeditionary force including Ryo had to remain outside the city.
Because the city was filled with refugees from the Inbury Duchy.
Initially, there were many refugees outside the city too, but most of them continued fleeing deeper to other cities inside the Kingdom.
"The refugee problem is complicated …"
Ryo muttered softly while watching such a scene.
What came to his mind were the refugees he saw in videos when he was on Earth, the host country dealing with the issue, and the conflict with citizens in the host country.
Helping just because 'they are pitiable so let's help them' was not enough to solve the refugee problem.
Ryo shook his head slightly and then walked toward a big tree he had his eyes on.
However, there was already someone there.
"A B-rank Swordsman adventurer reading a book of unknown origin with a scowl on his face …"
"Hey, I can hear you."
Abel said to Ryo, looking up from his book.
"What are you doing in a place like this?"
"I believe I was reading a book until I was disturbed by some Water-Attribute Magician."
"Abel still has a long way to go if you succumbed to that degree of disturbance."
"Yeah, I understand that you're telling me something extremely unreasonable …"
Ryo shook his head and spread his hands in an air that said 'sheesh'.
On the other hand, Abel argued with him while frowning.
Ryo's work was already complete.
That was because the food they brought from the City of Rune using Ryo's wagons were already gone.
The food that Ryo transported came from the City of Rune but it was treated as rations for the entire southern forces.
In that vein, food was also brought in from various regions such as the north, east, west, and center where the Royal Capital was located.
Among them, the food from the south was the first to run out because Hugh took the initiative in offering their food.
That was so that the food would be consumed as soon as possible and allow Ryo to dispel his wagons.
He tried to avoid it from being noticed, but … well, it was already too late.
"Even so, how long will the conference last …"
"No idea. Up until last week, we were talking about how to break through the border, but now we can't decide whether to break through the border."
The agenda changed because news of the fall of the Capital City of Aberdeen was received.
Of course, since they had not seen the situation in Aberdeen, there were opinions that the report of the fall of the Capital City was misinformation, disseminated to delay the expeditionary force.
It seemed that discussions were divided into three factions: 'Still break through the border', 'Nonintervention', and 'On the fence'.
Ryo, of course, but even Abel had not approached the central tent where discussions were taking place these days.
Guildmasters from each of the participating cities were gathered inside, and Hugh McGrath attended the conference to represent the City of Rune.
"Why is the discussion dragging on?"
"Oh … probably because the chain of command hasn't been decided. The commander hasn't been decided either."
Abel replied when Ryo asked.
Then, he started to explain about the adventurer's guild from each city.
"The adventurer's guild of each city has a 'ranking'. Although it is not documented outright, the first rank belongs to the Royal Capital headquarters. However, this issue stems from the Royal Capital headquarters sending a vice guildmaster."
"Oh …. If the guildmaster of the Royal Capital headquarters had come, that person would have taken command as the leader."
Ryo could somewhat imagine it.
"That's right. So, ranked below the Royal Capital headquarters are the four largest cities in the north, south, east and west, and the largest frontier city Rune."
"Oh! The Adventurer's Guild in the City of Rune has a high rating!"
Ryo was somehow happy.
Happy that the organization he belonged to was highly evaluated.
Most people are like that.
"Well, that's because Rune's guild has accumulated that much achievement. Unlike the guilds in each largest city, the frontier location meant that Rune's guild runs by a merit system."
Abel proclaimed proudly for some reason.
He may have been proud that his 『Crimson Sword』 was also included in the accumulated achievements.
"Each of the largest cities in each region sent their guildmasters."
"I recall Landenvia is the guildmaster for Acre, the largest city in the southern region. I met him once when I was in Kyradea's Adventurer's Guild."
Ryo remembered Landenvia, who he saw leading adventurers from Acre as they joined the expeditionary force along the way.
The man described by Goro, the Kona Village Magistrate, as 'the conscience of Kyradea'.
He was promoted from vice guildmaster of Kyradea to guildmaster of Acre.
"Oh, Landenvia is excellent. But the other guildmasters from the north, east, and west joined too so that's why they are all equal …"
"If we don't elect a commander soon…"
Ryo sighed softly.
Yes, the conference continued, but there was no progress.
Conferences usually don't see much progress.
"Guildmasters from each region, from Rune, and the vicemaster of the Royal Capital are of the same rank, but … it appears that the east and the Royal Capital favor attacking, the north and west favor withdrawing."
"Two to two. Eh? What about the south?"
"The south, or rather Hugh and Landenvia, are neutral."
Abel replied with a frown.
"Hugh seemed to have close ties with the Inbury Duchy so it's a little surprising. I thought he would want to attack everything."
"I'm not deciding for just myself."
Hugh McGrath's voice suddenly appeared from behind Ryo.
Usually, the person spoken to that way would be surprised, but Ryo, as well as Abel, were not surprised at all because they sensed that Hugh was approaching.
"Hey, you guys … at least act a little surprised."
Hugh felt depressed for some reason.
"The lives of 300 adventurers are at stake. Moreover, all of them are our elite, C-rank or higher … losing them would affect the survival of the Kingdom."
There are many forests and mountains in the Kingdom.
And on 『Phi』, forests and mountains do not belong to humans … they belong to monsters.
Adventurers subdue monsters that come out of such forests and mountains or enter those places to thin the number of monsters, which is said to prevent the outbreak of monsters.
If the elite adventurers disappeared, the cities may be overrun by the monsters that overflow from forests and mountains.
In fact, three hundred years ago, a country was destroyed after many of its cities were overrun in that manner.
"I can't decide based on my feelings. Moreover, the Union's general is Lord Aubrey. He's not an ordinary opponent."
"Does Hugh know Lord Aubrey?"
Ryo asked Hugh.
"Oh. We fought a few times during the last Great War."
Then, after looking a little farther and remembering something in the past, Hugh continued his words.
"You are both ridiculous Swordsman and Magician, but Lord Aubrey is also a monster. His skill with the sword is quite good, but more importantly, he is a genius of war. He became the leader of the Union but, unexpectedly, he chose to appear on the battlefield … maybe it would be better to not fight and withdraw.
Hugh commented.
Both Abel and Ryo felt the conflict in Hugh.
That might be the reason why his stance was 'neutral'.
The situation changed three days later.
A carriage arrived at the Red Post Expeditionary Forces garrison.
On the door was a coat of arms where a sword and a staff intersected against the background of a shield. It was the coat of arms of the Kingdom's Adventurer's Guild.
The man who came out was a Magician in his mid-fifties.
With a height of 180 cm and a large staff that exceeded that, he glared at the area with a sharp gaze.
After surveying the surroundings, he entered the central tent.
"Gr-Grandmaster!"
When the man entered, the first person to notice, shout, and jump up was Josiah Onsager, vice guildmaster of the Royal Capital Headquarters.
Arriving by carriage was Finley Forsyth, the guildmaster of the Kingdom Headquarters Adventurer's Guild.
The guildmaster at the headquarters was customarily called the grandmaster.
As Finley entered the tent, all the guildmasters stood up and greeted him.
After he sat in the highest seat where the vicemaster of the Royal Capital Headquarters was sitting until moments ago, the other guildmasters returned to their seats.
"Gr-Grandmaster, that …"
A lightly raise right hand silenced Josiah, the vicemaster of the Royal Capital Headquarters.
And then, he uttered words seriously.
"Gentlemen, there is an order from the Kingdom Government. Cross the river and free the Duchy."
After he ended, there was a moment of silence.
"Ooh~!"
Before many cries echoed in the tent and broke the silence.
The guildmasters from the center and east of the Royal Capital were cheering while the guildmasters from the west and north had bitter expressions.
The south guildmasters, centered around Hugh and Landenvia, remained seated silently.
"Your Excellency, report from the western border of the Duchy. Today at 6 am, a group suspected to be Kingdom adventurers broke through the border. Our garrison abandoned the border bridge and withdrew to the western border town of Rednal. They are strengthening the defenses in the city."
Lord Aubrey tilted his head slightly to Lamber's report before speaking.
"Finally … I thought they would decide a little quicker, but it took an unexpected amount of time."
Lord Aubrey drank his tea.
"According to the report from our spy, the other day, a carriage with the guild emblem arrived from the Royal Capital, and then a strong attack was decided."
"Who arrived? Probably Grandmaster Finley Forsyth."
The corners of his mouth raised and he laughed.
"Well, Lamber, what should our army do now?"
Lord Aubrey put forth a test.
"Let me see. To wait-and-see."
"The reason?"
"Although the artificial golems are our trump card, apart from the first machines, it will take some time to bring them to the front line. Also, we have not yet identified the city where the Duke of Inbury is hiding, but the Kingdom's adventurers will receive information from the Duke's side, which means that if we look at the movements of the Kingdom adventurers, we will see the city where the Duke is. We can watch attentively as they gather and choose to annihilate them at our discretion."
Lamber confidently said.
However, Lord Aubrey had a disapproving look.
"O-oh? Did I make a mistake?"
"Half correct. We don't have to wait for them to gather. We can attack just before or just after they gather while they are still confused. Or we can guess where the Duke of Inbury is through the direction the adventurers' travel. Well, I have a clue where the Duke of Inbury is."
"Is that so!?"
As expected, Lamber was surprised by Lord Aubrey's words.
There shouldn't have been any reports of the Duke of Inbury and his army from anywhere.
"The southern city Fion. But it's just a prediction. I sent spies to verify but they have not reported back yet."
Lord Aubrey finished his remaining tea.
Fion, a city in the southern part of the Inbury Duchy.
Fion, under the direct control of the Duke, had a magistrate office, and Loris Baggio, the Duke of Inbury, was at the Fion magistrate office.
Currently, almost all of the remaining troops of the Inbury Duchy that could be mobilized were gathered in the City of Fion.
It was one of the plans from the beginning was to make the City of Fion the base for their counteroffensive, but it was a counteroffensive planned for after exhausting the invading Union forces through the scorched earth tactic.
However, the Duchy's army was in a difficult situation now that the capital fell much earlier than planned, almost the entire northern part of the Duchy was under the control of the Union, and attacks on their supply lines were repeatedly unsuccessful.
Despite the scorched earth tactic, the enemy Union forces were not exhausted at all.
The Union forces, which controlled the northern part of the Duchy and the area around the capital, had stopped their advance.
The advance stopped and they were fully establishing their supply lines up until the capital.
After the fall of the Duchy capital, Loris and other leaders of the Duchy thought that the Union would move to control various locations but were faced with an unexpected move.
They captured the Duchy capital in a lightning-fast assault but didn't advance further after that … it didn't make any sense.
"Why aren't they moving!?"
Loris Baggio, the Duke of Inbury, squeeze those words out as he stared at the map of the entire Duchy spread out on his desk in the meeting room of the Magistrate's office.
"There is nothing to be gained by taking their time during the invasion of an enemy country."
Loris' words were justified.
That was because as time progresses, the local lords and people from all over the country would usually protest and start rebelling.
There was no reason why Lord Aubrey, a person called the 『Great General』, would not comprehend that.
That was why they couldn't tell why he stopped and it felt ominous.
Of course, no one present could answer Loris's questions.
Nobody spoke for seconds.
The first person to speak was Salieri, the Information Bureau Secretary.
"Lord Aubrey may be thinking of consolidating his rule over the land in the north until the Duchy capital by colonizing with his citizens."
"!"
Loris and everyone else present were stunned.
They had evacuated as many of the citizens as possible due to the scorched earth tactic.
In particular, the cities and villages from the north to the Duchy capital, which were the primary routes for the Union forces to advance.
Many of the buildings were set on fire and their wells were destroyed.
They had to be thorough to prevent them from being used by the Union Forces … so in front of the weeping villagers … the soldiers also wept as they destroyed the infrastructure.
Therefore, that vast land became vacant.
Settling immigrants from the Union there …. was possible.
It was unthinkable that he would be satisfied with just taking control of the northern region and the Duchy capital but it seemed quite possible that he wished to secure his footing first.
"Salieri … has there been any evidence or information that appeared suggesting that?"
The magnitude of impact that information brought caused Loris to frown but he asked for confirmation.
"Immigration has not been confirmed. However, the construction of the road from the northern border with the Union to the Duchy capital is on an unthinkable scale. We have confirmed that laying work is being carried out for a nearly straight road 30 meters in width. There would not be a need to construct such a road for military use."
"I see..."
A road with a width of 30 meters was quite wide.
On modern Earth, it would be a road with four lanes on each side … in other words, it was wider than eight lanes. Like a certain oil field kingdom.
Again, silence covered the conference room.
The next break in silence wasn't because someone spoke.
It was due to a delivered report.
Salieri, who was given the report, read it and immediately passed it to Loris.
Loris read the report twice and nodded twice before speaking.
"Listen. About 300 elite adventurers from the Kingdom are marching to break through the border and join us. The commander is Grandmaster Finley Forsythe and the army has the hero of the Great war, Master McGrath!"
The report had a huge impact on the people in the conference room.
After a moment of blank faces.
"Uooo~!"
The cheers of the conference attendees reached the heavens.
That was expected since that was the first piece of good news that finally came to them after struggling for so long.
In particular, the name Master McGrath was on many people's lips.
Master McGrath was a foreigner, but in a sense, he was a symbol of independence for the Duchy.
Therefore, his popularity in the Duchy was enormous, and some people even claimed that if he came, there would be no doubt about victory.
It was also reported that the expeditionary forces of the Kingdom had already been contacted by the intelligence personnel and were being led to the City of Fion.
As soon as they arrived, the counterattack would begin.
Loris, the Duke of Inbury, had already made up his mind.
He understood that this could be their final battle.