—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Prime Minister! Five thousand reinforcements have arrived from the Great Forest!”
“…”
Lorraine, elected Prime Minister of the Southern Republic, sighed as he heard the news.
It was good news.
It was, but…
“How many horses did they bring?”
“Thirty.”
“Hmm… What about their armor?”
“Most of them are equipped with chainmail and leather armor.”
“…”
As expected, the Great Forest had only sent foot soldiers.
They needed heavily armored knights on horseback to counter the enemy knights.
They had successfully crushed the suppression force, but now it was the Imperial army’s turn.
They needed a different level of military power to defeat them.
“What’s the status of the blast furnace?”
“It’s been shut down due to a delay in iron imports from the Kingdom of Trud.”
They didn’t even have the resources to produce more weapons.
The South had the largest blast furnace and forge on the continent, but they had become useless after the Empire’s blockade cut off their iron ore supply.
He should have stockpiled more iron before launching the rebellion, knowing that the Kingdom of Trud would be unreliable.
But Lorraine knew that regrets were pointless.
“And here… A letter from the Great Forest Elder Council.”
A single sheet of paper covered in flower petals lay on his desk.
Lorraine picked it up and touched a red petal with his finger.
The petal instantly withered, turning black and crumbling to the ground.
The petals would wither when exposed to high temperatures.
It was a common method used in the Great Forest to seal letters.
Lorraine unfolded the letter and started reading.
We congratulate you on your independence.
We are deeply impressed by the bravery of the Southern Republican Army, which successfully repelled the suppression force. But there will be many more challenges ahead in maintaining your independence.
To show our support, we are sending more reinforcements, which you may use as you see fit…
It wasn’t anything important.
They were simply praising the Southern Republic for fighting the Empire in their stead.
If they were so grateful, they should have sent elite troops.
And of course, they couldn’t resist asking for Elixir at the end.
It was well known that the Great Forest had been desperately searching for Elixir in recent years.
To think they were so desperate that they would mention it so blatantly in a letter…
Perhaps one of their important elders was ill.
If he could provide them with Elixir, he could truly form a ‘strong alliance’ with the Great Forest.
Receiving support from their main forces wouldn’t be a problem then.
“I wonder where I can find Elixir…”
It was pointless rambling.
He knew it was a pipe dream, but he still said it out loud.
Even though he knew his advisors were looking at him with troubled expressions.
“Hmm… How is Darius doing?”
“Are you referring to the Vice-Commander’s eye?”
“Yes.”
“It’s been stitched up properly. There’s no risk of infection.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Vice-Commander Darius had been captured by the suppression force to lower their guard and lead the rebellion from within the castle.
But those barbaric bastards had gouged out his eye and tortured him.
He had almost lost Darius, a figure revered by all beastmen in the South.
Of course, the beastmen would still follow his command even if Darius died, but he would never be able to achieve the same level of unity between humans and beastmen.
He was relieved that Darius had survived, even if his fighting strength was reduced.
“How is the fortress?”
“Prime Minister… Was that a pun?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“N-nothing, sir.”
[T/N: it’s a Korean word thing it has no meaning in English so don’t think about it too hard]
The advisors lowered their heads as Lorraine snapped at them.
As expected, Duke Lorraine, or rather, Prime Minister Lorraine, wouldn’t make jokes.
“The suppression force’s fortress is on the verge of collapse.”
“Don’t exaggerate. Didn’t I say I would behead anyone who inflated or downplayed their reports?”
“It’s true, sir. We’ve built the siege weapons, and all that’s left is to break down the fortress walls. It should fall within ten days.”
“I heard there were intruders who snuck into the fortress last night.”
“Yes, sir. We believe they were attendants of the Saintess.”
“…”
Lorraine was relieved to hear those last words.
There were no surprises after all.
The suppression force, which once boasted two thousand soldiers, had been completely annihilated.
“So our next opponent is the Imperial army.”
Lorraine sighed, looking out at the vast plain through the window.
Now that they had defeated the makeshift suppression force, the Emperor would mobilize the Imperial army.
They had a large number of cavalry, so they could hold their own against a single legion.
The Kingdom of Trud had managed to hold out against an entire legion with far fewer troops.
As long as their opponent wasn’t Roman’s Third Legion…
…that demonic bastard’s legion…
…they had a chance.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“What is that?”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Is there mana fog or something? Why is the mana concentration in the sky so high?”
Fort Four, before dawn.
The mage mercenaries tilted their heads, looking up at the sky.
They rubbed their eyes, wondering if they were seeing things.
They woke up their sleeping comrades, and soon dozens of mages were gathered, staring at the sky.
They ignored the suspicious gazes of the passing soldiers, focusing on analyzing the strange mana fluctuations, and then—
“H-holy shit! It’s a rune! A rune!”
“Fire attribute…!”
…they started panicking.
The least likely scenario had become reality.
A massive rune, infused with at least 100,000 mana, was being completed right above their heads.
“What’s its power?”
“Shut up! I’m calculating it now!”
“We need to report this…”
“Wait!”
The mage, about to run to the soldiers, was grabbed by a strong hand.
“We can… We can dismantle it, right? We’ll be rewarded if we do.”
“Ah…”
It was a tempting suggestion.
They had betrayed the suppression force, so they weren’t fully trusted by the rebels.
But if they dismantled this massive rune, they would surely earn recognition.
If they became heroes of the Southern Republic’s independence, they wouldn’t have to worry about being branded as traitors and hunted down by the Imperial family. They could live comfortably in the South.
“You’re right! There’s no need to be scared!”
“It’s going to be dismantled anyway! We have the numbers!”
The mercenaries, finishing their calculations, started analyzing and dismantling the rune.
Their expressions gradually twisted in horror as they stared at the sky, their necks craned.
They had thought it would just take a long time because of its massive size…
But no matter how much mana they poured into their calculations, they could only decipher a small portion of the rune’s core.
After struggling for over two hours, they reached a conclusion.
It was impossible to dismantle.
Not that it would take a long time, or require a lot of mana.
It was simply impossible.
“How long until it’s completed?”
“Based on its completion rate… around this afternoon.”
“Report it. Quickly. We need to inform Duke Lorraine… No, the Prime Minister.”
They couldn’t delay the report any longer.
Something unusual had joined the suppression force.
And that madman was about to rain fire from the sky, bypassing the protection of the castle walls.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“The siege plan has been moved up! The Commander-in-Chief has ordered us to break through the fortress before noon today!”
Before dawn, Fort Four.
Vice-Commander Darius gathered the sleepy soldiers and relayed the news.
The suppression force was about to launch a magic attack on Fort Four, and if they failed to stop it, there would be massive casualties.
Of course, they hadn’t informed the residents of the castle, in case it was a bluff.
If they captured the caster of this rune after taking the fortress, the problem would be solved. There was no need to cause unnecessary panic.
“The enemy has less than forty knights left! Once we breach the fortress walls, victory is certain! We’ll gather on the plain at dawn and launch the attack!”
“Waaaaaaaa!”
He had thought they could ignore the remnants of the suppression force…
But if they had such a trump card, they couldn’t afford to wait for them to surrender due to a lack of supplies.
They had to attack immediately, using every siege weapon at their disposal.
The operation would commence at dawn.
As the first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon, Darius, leading the reconnaissance team, set out to inspect the assembly point.
He could see the enemy camps surrounding the fortress in the distance.
“They’re having a blast.”
Darius, using his keen beastman eyesight, examined the camps and sighed.
Their defenses were abysmal.
The guards were dozing off.
The spearmen on the front lines, who should have been ready to deploy, were leaning against each other, fast asleep.
It wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
The enemy had launched a surprise attack from the fortress last night.
They must have been exhausted after spending the entire night on high alert.
“They deserve to be crushed… Huh?”
At that moment, Darius couldn’t believe his eyes.
The main gate of the fortress was opening.
Dozens of mounted knights emerged from behind the gate, forming ranks.
How could they…? They should have been demoralized and cowering inside the fortress after losing their Commander-in-Chief…
“Holy…”
They started charging towards the infantry camps at a ferocious speed.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[Your Text Here]
