148 – Chapter 45. Sandstorm – 3
– 149 –
We reached the northeast of Kanbal, some distance from the Selmeyer border.
A vast oasis under the high rocky mountain of a large mountain range that serves as a natural border with the Holy Kingdom.
A bit far from there, there was a village that was not easy to access even by normal means.
Since the Holy Kingdom is also cooperating, we were able to safely enter the village by crossing the border to avoid any possible pursuit.
“There is no response to aptitude magic detected within a radius of 20km.”
“Then let’s go in.”
Helicopters landed side by side at the mouth of the village.
Surprised and confused, the villagers came out with old-fashioned weapons and gathered in relief when an off-road vehicle came along.
I got off the helicopter after tying up my long hair and organizing my clothes.
From nob le mt l dot com
People who saw me started to gossip with amazement.
It seems that a young child is surprised to get off the big helicopter.
The people who tried to approach me with an eye on me were frightened by the paladins and the soldiers behind me and backed away again.
I didn’t mean to threaten, but it’s hard to explain the situation because I don’t understand the language.
Fortunately, the interpreter came running and the conversation proceeded.
After talking for a long time with the old man with the white cloth on his head, the staff spoke briefly to the young man who got out of the car, and two boys and girls who looked like siblings, and then looked at me with surprised eyes.
Why is that person like that again?
Me first?
As he squinted one of his eyes and shot the staff, he approached cautiously and spoke to him.
“Erif. These people here are Erif-sama… They say you know what it looked like during the Shinma War.”
“What?”
When I sent a glance asking for an explanation, the staff took me in front of the old man without a word.
“Well, I don’t think it makes sense-“
[[I see the daughter of fire and wind]]
I was surprised once again by the fluent ancient language that came out of the old man’s mouth, and once again by the strong spirit affinity he felt.
[[Elementalist?]]
[[Heh heh. I’m sorry, but I’m probably not the kind of Elementalist you think of. Just… ….]]
The old man untied the white cloth that was wrapped around his head.
[[A natural blood line.]]
It had long, pointed ears that were longer than humans.
“I thought there were only elves near Kiriya in Ireland.”
“There are a lot of compatriots there, but our elves have settled and lived here in the Kabarun Desert after the Shinma War.”
“Aha.”
When I spoke elven clumsily with the interpreter’s bracelet, the old man was very happy and told the story.
When I participated in the Shinma War, I was only embarrassed and saw me from afar on the way out, settled in the desert with my compatriots, and was oppressed by the Kanbal royal family in collusion with demons, etc.
I was held for almost a couple of hours to listen to the old man’s complaints, but I was able to get a lot of important information.
Although the village of Tazar here is the core of the resistance, it is said that there is not only one village.
The capital of Kanbal was in the western part of the kingdom close to Selmeier, and the eastern part of Kanbal, which bordered on the smaller countries on the southeastern coast of the continent of Ireland, was far from the sphere of influence of the royal family.
It was in a position to make a lot of money through trade if only the borders were opened, but it was a poor neighborhood because of the kingdom’s isolation policy.
They agreed to join the Resistance.
“Is the reason there are no troops here because everyone is in the eastern part of the kingdom?”
“Yes. Our leader is now traveling around the provinces, gathering forces to fight against the royal family. To punish those who are cursed who are the kings of this nameless kingdom and the servants of the demons.”
Oddly enough, the situation was the exact opposite from that of the Eitian Empire.
The fact that it was a rebellion by local forces who were dissatisfied with the central government was the same, but those attached to the demons were the opposite.
“Then, is it worth doing with the Kanbal Kingdoms?”
The old man shook his head heavily at my question.
“As you know, they have demons attached to them. While we were gathering forces, these guys appeared from nowhere, building munitions factories and bases, and printing out weapons.”
It was the same with the last Eitian Civil War, but demons are really good at building bases on other people’s land.
If we can figure out a way, on the other hand, we can use it when we invade the Easel Continent.
“That’s why I asked for your help. I didn’t know that Erif-sama would come in person.”
Whether it was because they heard about my identity or simply because I was having a conversation with the old man, the villagers were treating us with the utmost respect.
I also continued the conversation while drinking the cool oasis water that people gave me.
“What kind of person is the captain?”
“This is my nephew. Although he was an elf, he was interested in the world, and he married a human woman. The siblings I met earlier are his children.”
“Oh. Those children.”
You said you looked young, unsuitable for a dangerous place, but you were a half-elf.
Like Ireana, the half-elves look very young considering their human age.
In other words, you are a little older than you look.
I’m not an adult though.
“The insistence that we have to bring people from overseas to help us has caused a lot of trouble.”
“No. They didn’t do anything wrong, what?”
“The royal gnomes have created a beast that hunts down elves. It is entirely our fault that those children came out and put them in danger.”
The old man bowed his head to me.
I was confused and waved my hand to discourage it, but on the other hand, I was also curious about the beast that chases the elves.
If it appears later, let’s capture at least one and send it to the laboratory.
It will be a good material to study the skills of demons.
After exchanging various stories, naturally, the topic of the future schedule came up.
“Erif. Are those of you who are with us the former troops sent from Selmeyer and Levalan?”
“No. We came with only the necessary personnel on the helicopter to come quickly to negotiate in advance. It is several times as many.”
“Hmm. How much will it be?”
“Before that.”
Before the full discussion, I have a few things to say to this old man who is the head of the village and the superior of the resistance leader.
“Let’s start with the story of demons in the continent of Ireland.”
A sharp gaze was seen through the old man’s bushy eyebrows.
It is difficult to measure the weight of our troops and the intelligence of the resistance forces.
We risk our lives to wage war, but the information they hold is directly related to the lives of civilians as well as soldiers.
The possibility of the resistance group giving out information is low now that a relationship of trust has not been established.
But we can’t give up our lives for free, so we threw the bait.
“Selmeier, Levalan, and Canael are already conducting a thorough search for suspected areas in their country. Since the northern empire already had power, we have some information about the demons in the territory.”
“Ummm.”
He said that he would solve it himself if he had a problem, so the old man stroked his beard with his deep face and was in thought.
If the information they have becomes useless, even if we leave right away, there will be nothing to say, so it might be better to disclose the information now and ask for a price.
In fact, the Empire was still cluttered, and except for Canael, which had a narrow territory within the continent, it was only at the level of selecting a suspicious area.
But, even within the Alliance, they probably won’t be able to tell you about the progress of the second-class secret.
The old man pondered for a while, and a gentle smile appeared on his lips.
“Half the spirits, the other half human beings, you are saying this.”
“Because we were originally born to wage war. And for the spirits of the spirit world, this level of negotiation skills are basic.”
“Hmm. Is that so. The spirits of the material world that this old man has seen wield only the power of pure elements.”
The old man shook his head as he said so.
“Good. I would like to inform you about the base of the demons hidden within Selmeier under Erif-nim, the ally Levalan, who came with you. And I heard that Canael, where Arumanan-sama resides, also has territory here in Ireland.”
“Yes. It’s a small city.”
The old man’s expression turned strange when he heard my answer.
He picked up some papers from the table behind him, said something to the young man standing behind him, and frowned.
“According to the data we got, it is by no means large enough to be in one city. There seems to be something wrong with Canael.”
“So?”
“Perhaps, there is a possibility that demons are deeply infiltrating the floating island that is Canael’s territory or the continent on the other side.”
The staff who was quiet next to me didn’t know the elven language, so it is said that when he saw me making a serious expression following the old man, he guessed that something unusual was going on.
“Find a way to contact Canael. It would be better if we could communicate directly with Arumanan.”
“The communication equipment here is poor, so it seems that you will have to go through the troops at the border once or go to the Holy Kingdom.”
“If you go through the headquarters, there is a risk of misunderstanding, so send a messenger and contact Canael from the nearest city. Contents is… ….”
After establishing a response system based on the information obtained from the resistance forces, we discussed how to respond to the Kingdom Army and the Demon Army over two days.
“Then, I wish you all the best in the future.”
“Yes. But should we leave a defensive force here?”
“No. Since then, we have been a nomadic people. I’m currently settling in Oasis, but I’m ready to leave at any time. We have also built a defense system to some extent, so we are able to deal with small units.”
“Then let’s keep in touch regularly. I will attach a spirit to you.”
“Oh, thank you.”
I summoned an intermediate wind spirit from the spirit world and made a contract with the old man and others who inherited the blood of the elves.
It was difficult to use communication as a substitute for communication during battles through contracts with spirits.
Because it consumes a lot of magic power and cannot deliver elaborate messages.
But it was fine for such a simple regular contact.
After receiving a brief report on the situation of the village through the spirit as a demonstration, we decided to exchange information on a regular basis every week.
“Did you say Jesker? I will contact you when I meet the leader.”
“Please, Erif-sama.”
After seeing off from the villagers, we headed back to the border area where we had left.
Now the destination was a small port town southeast of Kanbal.
We crossed the Holy Kingdom towards the place where the resistance forces were stationed, and passed through the small countries southeast of the continent along the outskirts of Kanbal.
All those who bordered Kanbal were princes of the Eitian Empire, so they were able to pass safely by contacting the emperor in advance.
A bitter laugh came out at his words, ‘Please fight hard even for our share.’
A small country town facing Kanbal.
The next day, thousands of foreign soldiers suddenly appeared and had a bustling night.
We loaded goods gathered from nearby towns and villages and arranged them at the border.
The vegetation of the wide plain slowly withered and turned into a wasteland, and at the edge of the horizon was a wide desert.
“From here on, it is the land of Kanbal.”
“Surprisingly, there is no such thing as surveillance?”
“The desert acts as a natural border.”
After giving money to the village youth who guided us to the border, we finally officially crossed the border of Kanbal.
It was the beginning of an irreversible march.