Prepared, Forgotten Lands (5)
The king narrowed his eyes as he listened to the report from the land of the barbarians.
“You mean the first battle is over?”
“That’s right.”
“But why do you say there is no damage? Didn’t they say that hundreds of barbarians were attacking?”
No matter how great a strategy is, there will always be damage.
Even more so, it was natural that small injuries would follow even in operations using geographical features, and it was even more strange that there were no casualties if it was an all-out war.
But apparently that’s what the report said.
“I don’t know the details. However, the only thing is that Prince 1 personally led the Knights of the Sun to participate… … .”
“her… … That’s what he said… … .”
“It is said that the report that came to the garrison in the first place was only brief information. After that, His Highness moved quickly for the next operation… … .”
“Right.”
The king was silently stroking his chin at the attendant’s report as to what he was thinking.
After a bit of silence, he suddenly uttered a new murmur.
“Allen, sixteen years have passed since he learned the sword.”
“Yes, Your Highness the King. I know that usually the education of the sons of nobles also begins at that age.”
“But at some point, he didn’t reveal his skills.”
“… … yes?”
The subordinate, not understanding what he meant by not revealing his swordsmanship skills, asked back.
However, the king thought again.
“It was around this time last year. The guy who used to come running to me and brag about his skills when he was good at it, didn’t come looking for me anymore.”
“Perhaps it was after the coming-of-age ceremony, so you’re doing well on your own… … .”
“… … .”
Swoop-
In an instant, the king turned his gaze to look at his subordinates and opened his mouth.
“How did you see his talent?”
“Well, I remember that the 1st prince I knew had a special talent for swordsmanship from a young age. To the extent that you can actually use Aura at the age of 20… … .”
“Right, it certainly did.”
Hearing that answer, the king’s eyes flashed strangely sharp.
“He obviously used his aura at the age of 20. What a great talent. But even so, do you think that one being is enough to lead the Sun Knights into battle without damage?”
“… … I think it probably won’t make much of a difference. In the first place, all of them are strong people who can use Auras.”
“Then why didn’t the Sun Knights suffer any damage?”
“that… … .”
The attendant was speechless.
It was really weird the more I thought about it. It was clear that they did not suffer any damage in a situation where they were obviously at a disadvantage in numbers.
And it was the same with things that happened in the past.
“Not a single death occurred until we returned from the unexplored northern hinterland. Even when I led the soldiers to capture the griffons, that didn’t change.”
“Does His Highness the King guess that the first prince is hiding his power?”
“It’s not a guess, it’s a certainty.”
Even if it’s a coincidence the first time, it’s never a coincidence if it happens again and again.
I had already guessed it roughly due to the previous events, but this time it was as if I had put a wedge in that ability.
If so, it was truly amazing.
“Expert… … No, it might be more than Master.”
“… … !”
“Current events cannot be explained otherwise.”
In other words, it was said that he had already reached that level since he was 20 years old.
A 20-year-old sword master?
It was nonsense. To say it was absurd was an understatement.
But really, everything was pointing to it.
‘… … What are you hiding?’
as a fathered one. And as the king of a country, it was something to congratulate.
However, if such a weak and naive guy hid it, there must be a reason.
Something big enough to change even his personality.
‘… … Allen Esteban.’
So, as a father. I couldn’t help but worry.
It was difficult to guess what he was holding in his heart.
“… … .”
… … So, the king buried this incident in the turmoil.
At least until we know this firsthand, publicizing this matter will not happen.
* * *
A fortress that rises between the northern outback.
It was a place made by saving and saving scarce resources, but today the scenery looked strangely rich.
Between the darkness where not a single moonlight was revealed.
A man’s mouth, looking at the burning torch there, curved long as if tearing.
“I thought Esteban’s idiots would come in again.”
The man was a shaman-class shaman who was trusted by the khan among those precious shamans.
Even when he was placed in a place like this, he did not feel comfortable.
The war was in full swing, and to exclude such a high-level manpower from the battlefield was practically a demotion.
But was the wait of several months a springboard for a leap forward?
Contrary to his judgment, who thought that this fort would be useless, Esteban’s knights really pushed their heads in first.
An opportunity to bring and dedicate your major to Khan.
Those prey came to him by hand.
“Keuhehehe, sooner or later you will be able to rise to the position of priest.”
Since we sent the great warriors together, the results should come out quickly.
The man was satisfied and turned around.
“… … hmm?”
But that was then.
Suddenly, something shimmering in the darkness caught his eye.
Did the torch reflect all the way to the other side? I was confused and brought my face closer, but the mysterious light was rather deepening.
and… … .
hooked!
“Keep it off… … .”
A pile of cold iron was mercilessly lodged in the middle of his heart.
There was no time to escape, no time to resist. The shaman collapsed to the floor without being able to scream once.
From noble mtl dot com.
Sussuk-
And then, two figures appeared in the darkness.
A black robe wrapped around the body. And the golden deck glimpsed between them made them guess their identity.
A knight whispered, quietly scattering the blood on his sword.
“This is number 2. Vice-captain, we’ve taken care of what appears to be the commander.”
non-woven-
-I checked. to proceed with the operation.
“I will follow your orders.”
After that, communication was cut off.
Bennett Refre, who was watching the communications from behind, closed the hem of his robe and broke into a cold sweat.
“Phew, I almost got caught.”
After all, what’s the point of having a commander here instead of anyone else?
Fortunately, it was a mess because they were careless, but if they had woken up and were vigilant, there would have been a commotion.
At that time, the knight who retrieved the sword slapped Bennett on the shoulder and said.
“Sir Bennet, this is not the time to be like this. Move quickly.”
“Ah, yep. All right.”
They moved quickly and headed towards their next destination.
Killing the commander from the start was an unexpected gain, but I still haven’t achieved all of my goals.
… … Meanwhile.
After receiving the communication, Roder approached the knights who were hiding in the dark.
To be precise, it was aimed at Prince 1, who was silently gazing at the castle between them.
“Your Highness, it is said that the 2nd group killed the commander of the fort.”
“hmm.”
The first prince nodded nonchalantly.
However, his gaze was directed towards the fortress, and he did not move at all.
Roder was suspicious of that appearance and asked.
“Is anything going on?”
“You cheated on the numbers, too.”
“… … yes? What are you talking about?”
Roder asked back at those words that were so incoherent.
Only then did Prince 1 begin to look at Roder.
“It means that I lied about the number of troops remaining in the fort.”
“Ah, so you’re referring to the information you got from the barbarians who were alive.”
“okay. There are at least a thousand troops left.”
“… … .”
However, Roder’s doubts were further aggravated.
It was completely incomprehensible to say that there were about a thousand troops remaining several kilometers away.
‘Did you grasp it by feeling?’
It was too far for that.
No, even if it were possible, it would be impossible to figure out the numbers one by one… … .
Despite Roder’s doubts, Prince 1 only smiled.
“Looks like he was trying to harm Esteban somehow.”
“ah… … yes! If you trusted that information and approached blindly, you would have definitely suffered damage from the troops that came out in an instant.”
“Even so, nothing changes. The battle proceeds as planned.”
“All right.”
Of course, setting aside the questionable method of revealing the enemy’s existence, the first prince’s horse was Roder, whom he fully trusted.
That was when I was shaking my head.
non-woven-
– Controlled the entrance and beacon of the citadel.
Breaking the silence that had settled in the darkness, the next communication from the knights was heard.
Roder nodded with a serious expression and looked at the first prince.
“They say preparations for battle are over.”
The prepared operation was to seize the interior in advance and induce a melee. At the same time, block the beacon to confuse the communication system with other forts.
That’s why he secretly sent the articles in.
However, this time too, the first prince stood still despite hearing the report that preparations were being made.
“Let’s rush in.”
“All right. If so, what will His Highness do?”
“I have other work to do. You should be able to take on this much.”
“… … Ah yes! All right.”
Roder blindly nodded and led the knights to quietly advance.
After all, he also knew that he would not deviate from the will of the first prince.
“… … .”
Left alone, I slowly watched the scene and then turned my head.
A wizard appeared there before he knew it.
It was the magic tower lord, Elade.
“Your Highness, do you really not need to help?”
“If you can’t do even such a simple task on your own, Esteban’s name as the strongest knights will be a waste. If you use the terrain features, they should be able to overcome it enough.”
“Heh heh, so you want to check their growth yourself.”
“Let them think whatever they want.”
I replied and moved on.
It wasn’t wrong, but it was also true that I had work to do.
A small smile appeared on the lips of the Mage Master who followed.
“It was unexpected that a fort was built in the land of barbarians, but it might be surprisingly useful.”
“If we obtain all the nearby forts, we can use them to seize this land.”
“Time will matter.”
“No problem.”
It was because he had called the lord of the mage tower separately for that purpose.
The corners of my mouth, hidden in the darkness, slowly began to curl.
“It will be a true battlefield that I haven’t felt in a long time.”
The scene, where only bloodstains and corpses were rampant, was all too familiar to me.
“We’ll take care of everything before morning.”
“All right.”
Eventually, the bodies of the two disappeared in the dark, caught in a swarm of light.