“Prime Minister! An additional 5,000 reinforcements have arrived from the Great Forest!”
*Thud!*
“……”
Southern Republic.
Lorraine, elected as Prime Minister, let out a sigh upon hearing the news.
It was certainly good news.
It was good news, but…
“How many horses did they bring?”
“Thirty horses.”
“Ugh… What’s the status of their armor?”
“Most are chain mail and leather armor.”
“……”
Of course.
All the Great Forest provided were scrappy infantry.
To face the enemy knights, they needed heavy cavalry with full armor and mounts.
Having successfully crushed the suppression army, it was now time for the Imperial Army to step in.
To repel them, a combat power of an entirely different dimension was required.
“How’s the furnace operation status?”
“The iron imports from the Trud Kingdom have been delayed, so everything is halted.”
Moreover, there were no resources left to produce equipment.
Although the South had the continent’s largest furnaces and smithies, the Imperial blockade had cut off iron ore imports, rendering them useless.
If Lorraine had known the Trud Kingdom would dither like this, she would have stockpiled more iron before inciting the rebellion.
However, Lorraine knew well that such regrets were pointless.
“And here. A letter from the Elders of the Great Forest.”
A sheet of paper covered in flower petals.
As Lorraine picked it up, she pressed her finger against the red petals.
In an instant, the petals withered and turned black before falling to the ground.
The petals would dry up immediately upon contact with high temperatures.
It was a method commonly used by the Great Forest to seal letters.
Unfolding the paper, Lorraine began reading the letter straight away.
– To Prime Minister Lorraine Philip of the Southern Republic, congratulations on your independence. I am astonished by the bravery of the Southern Republic army in successfully repelling the suppression army. However, many trials await in maintaining independence. To support this, we are sending more reinforcements for you to command as you see fit…
There was nothing of great importance.
They were rushed to praise the Southern Republic for fighting against the Empire instead of the Great Forest.
If they were so grateful, they could send some elite troops instead.
– As I mentioned before, if you could provide us with elixirs, the Great Forest promises an even stronger alliance.
And at the end, of course, a request for elixirs was included.
It was well-known that the Great Forest had been desperately searching for elixirs in recent years.
To explicitly write about such urgency in a letter? One wondered if a prominent elder was ailing.
If they could procure the elixir, it would truly seal a ‘strong alliance’ with the Great Forest.
Receiving support from the Great Forest’s main forces wouldn’t be impossible either.
“Where can one just drop an elixir out of nowhere…?”
Utterly pointless ramble.
Knowing it was a futile dream, Lorraine still felt the need to voice it.
Even as her aides made awkward expressions beside her.
“Ugh. What about Darius?”
“Are you referring to the Vice Commander’s eye?”
“Yeah.”
“It was stitched up well. The risk of eye disease is gone now.”
“That’s a relief.”
Vice Commander Darius had been captured to lead a rebellion inside the castle and to keep the suppression army off guard.
Sure enough, the savage suppression army had tortured Darius by scorching his eye.
They had almost lost Darius, who was respected by all subhumans in the south.
Even if he died, the subhumans would still follow her command, but a human-subhuman unification like the one that existed when Darius was alive would never be realized again.
Combat power might be slightly reduced, but saving a life was a huge relief.
“How’s the fortress?”
“Prime Minister… Did you just make a joke?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
As Lorraine irritably questioned and looked back, her aides lowered their gazes.
Of course.
That Duke Lorraine, I mean Prime Minister, would never crack a joke.
“The suppression army fortress is currently on the brink of collapse.”
“Don’t exaggerate. Didn’t I say I’d behead anyone who inflates or downplays reports?”
“It’s true. We’ve only to build siege weapons and break down the fortress. It’s made of wooden walls, so it should fall within ten days.”
“Weren’t there some who snuck into the fortress last night?”
“Yes. I think they might have been attendants serving the Saintess.”
“……”
Upon hearing the last words, Lorraine felt relieved.
In the end, there was no unexpected turn of events.
The suppression army, which boasted 2,000 troops, had now been completely annihilated.
“Next opponent is the Imperial Army.”
Lorraine sighed as she gazed down at the vast plains through her lance.
Having toppled the makeshift suppression army, it was now time for the Emperor to mobilize the Imperial Army.
With plenty of cavalry on their side, a war against a single division was very feasible.
Hadn’t the Trud Kingdom withstood against a whole legion with far fewer troops?
As long as the opponent wasn’t Roman’s 3rd Division.
If it wasn’t that demon’s legion, there was plenty of hope.
*
“What’s that?”
“What? Why?”
“Is there a mana fog? The mana density in the sky is strangely thick!”
In the dawn of a waning moon, at the 4th Castle.
The mage mercenaries craned their heads upwards.
Wiping their eyes just in case they were seeing things wrong.
They woke up all their sleeping comrades, and soon, dozens of mages gathered, staring up at the sky.
Ignoring the suspicious glances of passing soldiers, those analyzing the bizarre mana ripple were—
“C-Crazy! It’s a spell! A spell!”
“Fire type…!”
They began to panic.
The least likely possibility had materialized into reality.
A massive spell pouring out at least 100,000 mana was forming above them in an instant.
“What’s the power?”
“Shut up! I’m calculating!”
“We need the info fast…”
“Just a second!”
As a mage rushed to report to the soldiers, a powerful hand grabbed him.
“We just need to dismantle it, right? Then rewards will come.”
“Ah…”
That was a plausible suggestion.
Having betrayed and been employed by the suppression army, they weren’t trusted properly within the rebel army either.
If they could break such a large scale spell, they’d definitely earn recognition.
Once they become the foundation of the Southern Republic’s independence, they could live grandly in the south without being chased by the imperial court as traitors.
“You’re right! There’s no need to be scared!”
“We’re way outnumbered anyway!”
Finishing their calculations in their heads, the mercenaries all dove into the interpretation and dismantling of the spell.
Their expressions, which had been staring at the sky as if necks would break, gradually distorted.
What they thought was just taking a while because of the massive size took far longer than expected.
No matter how they poured mana into calculations, they could only grasp part of the spell’s core.
After over two hours of struggling, they concluded:
Dismantling it was impossible.
Not just taking a long time or needing immense mana, but completely impossible.
“How long until completion?”
“At this writing speed, probably this afternoon.”
“Report it. Quickly. Duke Lorraine… I mean, the Prime Minister has to know.”
They could no longer delay this report.
Something unusual had joined the suppression army.
And that crazy person was preparing to unleash flames from the sky, where the castle walls could not protect them.
.
.
.
“The siege plan has been moved up! The Commander in Chief has ordered that we break down the fortress before noon!”
As dawn broke,
Vice Commander Darius gathered the drowsy soldiers to convey the news.
The suppression army was launching a magical attack against the 4th Castle, and if it wasn’t stopped, there would be significant loss of life.
Of course, as deception was also possible, the residents of the castle were kept unaware.
After all, if they managed to capture the sieger by collapsing the fortress, it would all be resolved without causing confusion, or so it was thought.
“There are less than 40 knights remaining on their side! If we just breach the fortress, it’s a guaranteed victory! At dawn, we will gather on the plains and launch an assault!”
“Wooaah!”
Thinking it no longer necessary to worry about the weak remnants of the suppression army,
If they pulled a trick like this, they couldn’t afford to wait for supplies to run out and for them to surrender.
They had to mobilize all siege weapons to break through immediately.
The operation would commence at dawn.
As the red light slowly began to seep over the horizon, Darius went out with the scouts to check the assembly point.
In the distance, he could see the formations surrounding the fortress.
“They’re in real trouble.”
With keen eyesight typical of subhumans, Darius observed the formations and sighed.
Their defensive posture was a complete mess.
The supposed guards were all dozing off.
The first-line spearmen who should be on heightened alert were slumped together, asleep.
It was understandable, somewhat.
The enemy had launched a surprise attack from the fortress under the dark cover of night.
Having kept vigilant all night, it was clear they must have fallen into sleep as dawn approached.
“If they keep this up, they won’t have any excuse when they get wiped out…”
At that moment, Darius had to doubt his own eyes.
The fortress’s main gate was opening.
Emerging behind it were dozens of mounted knights.
They were marching out in formation from the fortress.
How could they, drenched in despair after losing their Commander, be coming out of the fortress?
“Oh my god.”
They began charging towards the infantry formations at a fierce speed.
