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Vol 01 Chapter 28-1: Magic Warfare

Roberto Ferme. That was the real name of King Ferme. Before his father died, he said,

「Listen, Roberto. Since you were born a man, you must aim high.」

Roberto followed these words. He used the position of his family to gradually expand his influence, bringing other patricians under his control.

Roberto’s lord, Ragou Aris, was a man whose only merit was his kindness, that led to continuous mistakes in his rule. Roberto used this to gradually gain the trust of the people as well.

Then, a famine occurred. It was a severe famine, to the extent that the peasants had to abandon many children. Ragou could not come up with any solution to it. This was something Ragou could do nothing about; there was no simple remedy or quick fix to reverse the famine and return life to the barren fields.

However, the irrational dissatisfaction of the people towards their unreliable lord continued to rise.

「Ragou is squeezing wealth from the people and living in luxury!! We cannot allow this!!」

Roberto encouraged the people’s dissatisfaction and put himself at the head of the protests. Many patricians, equites, and peasants agreed with him.

In no time, the rebel army led by Roberto surrounded and besieged Ragou’s residence, eventually capturing it. He succeeded in taking down Ragou, killing him.

However, one problem remained. The whereabouts of his wife and children—Ragou’s wife, his two sons, and his daughter—were unknown.

Roberto led his elite troops in search of them. He found them attempting to flee into the forest and killed Ragou’s wife and the two sons.

Then, as he raised his sword to kill the last child, he thought,

「She is still so young.」

Roberto looked at the girl before him—Tetra. She didn’t resemble Ragou at all. He remembered her being an exceptionally intelligent child.

The Aris and Ferme families were relatives, and Roberto had once taken care of this young girl.

Naturally, letting her live was not an option. Keeping her alive would bring him no benefit.

Since she would harbor resentment, making her his wife was not an option. But confining her also bore the risk that she might be elevated as a figurehead against him someday.

Letting her escape was out of the question.

Yet, in the end, he did not kill her. He let her go.

He assumed, that just a small child, unfamiliar with the forest, would be killed by wolves, succumb to hunger, or die after eating a poisonous plant.

He killed his own master, his master’s innocent wife and children, but spared the youngest daughter. His actions seemed inexplicable. Was there a sense of guilt, or was it an attempt at atonement?

Regardless, that small mercy would become the biggest mistake of his life.

◇

「A poor harvest, huh…」

Ferme lamented while looking at the fields. With only a month left until the harvest, it was clear that the wheat was in poor condition. Last year’s famine was barely evaded thanks to the tributes received from the village in the Romalia forest and grain plundered from King Rosais’ Country… It seemed this year might require the same actions.

As Ferme lamented, a soldier entered, holding a small tube.

The soldier handed the tube to Ferme.

「Is something the matter?」

The aide asked Ferme, who responded with a sly smile.

「It’s a message from the informant we’ve infiltrated in King Rosais’ Country. It seems King Rosais has fallen.」

Hearing this, the aide also grinned slyly.

「Well, he probably won’t die. It’s just his usual seizures. But it’s true he can’t command. We’ll invade King Rosais’ Country.」

「But we don’t have enough provisions for a campaign.」

Hearing his aide’s concern, Roberto smiled slyly.

「What are you talking about? Isn’t the purpose of this battle to secure those provisions? If we can prepare just enough food for three days, that’s sufficient. We’ll plunder the rest.」

Ferme gazed into the forest.

「We’ve avoided large-scale marches through the forest out of fear of the Griffon’s wrath. But from the last incident, I’ve understood something. As I expected, the Griffon’s territory is deep within the forest, and as long as we don’t violate that, there should be no problem. After all, he doesn’t complain about people living in his forest. Passing through shouldn’t be an issue.」

「What if those people are specially favored by the Griffon?」

「Impossible. If that were the case, the Griffon would have appeared the moment we demanded 80% of their reserves.」

Ferme stated confidently. Even when extorting an amount of food that could lead to starvation, the Griffon did not appear. This meant that the Griffon wouldn’t involve himself in this conflict.

「We’ll pass through the forest and launch a surprise attack on King Rosais’s palace.」

The aide’s eyes widened. Indeed, if they passed through the forest, they could do just that. Especially since King Rosais’s palace was close to the forest entrance.

But no one had ever attempted it before. All because of the fear of the Griffon’s wrath.

After all, many people believed the cause of the famine was the Griffon’s anger. That’s why they abandoned children in the forest as a sacrifice. Although the reality was that the cause of the famine was actually a curse created by their fellow humans.

「But what would we do in the event we need to retreat…」

An army must always think about the possibility of retreat. If defeated, annihilation becomes certain. They must avoid being cornered with no way out.

Of course, there are no such places in the forest…

「If it’s a stronghold you’re looking for, there’s one. The village that became part of our territory last year.」

「But it seems that that village hasn’t submitted to us.」

「Then we’ll just have to attack and destroy it. We will be able to secure provisions in the process, so it kills two birds with one stone.」

Once decided, actions were taken quickly. Ferme called over the magicians.

「Go and scout.」

「Understood.」

◇

Three magicians sent hawks out for reconnaissance.

The spell to possess an animal was extremely difficult. First, one must extract their soul from their body while still alive. An average magician wouldn’t be able to return to their body, resulting in their death.

Furthermore, there needed to be a heartfelt connection with the creature carrying the magician’s soul. A bond formed through daily care and upbringing from a young age.

With repeated training, one could see the world through a hawk’s eyes or smell through a dog’s nose.

Hawks have about eight times the visual acuity of humans. They were the best choice for reconnaissance.

「The defenses are stronger than when we last came here…」

The leader thought as she looked down at the village from directly above. Deep trenches had been dug, and both inside and out were bristling with sharp stakes and giant wooden fences.

The most troublesome were what appeared to be wooden watchtowers. Likely, they were equipped for shooting arrows, dropping stones, or pouring boiling oil.

「These defenses are too excessive for simple wolves.」

Meaning, these were military defense facilities. The target was… King Ferme’s army, of course.

The three magicians focused their attention on observing the village, imprinting its layout in their minds.

「We should have everything we need for now.」

There was nothing particularly to be wary of… no mercenaries or the like. The village’s population also seemed unchanged.

「We’re returning.」

To signal this intention, the hawk leader let out a cry and turned around. It happened just after they had turned their backs on the village.

「Screech…」

A scream came from behind them. Turning around, the magician saw a hawk one size larger than the one she was possessing, its eyes glinting fiercely.

In the large hawk’s talons was the hawk that had been scouting with her until moments ago. The claws were embedded in its throat, and from its motionless state, it was clear it was dead.

The leader gave a cry, instructing the hawk to flap its wings at full speed. It would be impossible to win due to the sheer size difference, so she decided to run.

「Damn! Why now of all times…」

The leader cursed her misfortune. It was extremely rare, but encountering the natural predator of the animal used for reconnaissance did happen. Concentrating too much on scouting often led to the magician neglecting their surroundings.

「We must escape quickly. If the animal dies while we are possessing it, we will die too!」

As she thought this, suddenly, the ally flying in front of her disappeared. Looking down, she saw her fellow magician and another large hawk engaged in a struggle.

Her ally desperately tried to escape the claws of the larger hawk. But unable to resist, the hawk she was possessing was slammed hard against a tree and killed.

「There’s another one!?」

In the midst of chaos, the leader desperately flew on. Her own life and that of her partner were in danger.

「！」

A shiver ran through the hawk’s body, and in a panic, the leader twisted to the right. A large hawk’s talons swept through the space she had just vacated.

「Even a third one!?」

Hawks do not form flocks. While encountering two might be chalked up to chance, the appearance of a third changed everything.

「They are magicians as well!」

The enemy hawks flew in a way that encircled the leader, gradually closing the distance.

「Why! There shouldn’t be three high-level magicians in such a small village! What does this mean… could they be magicians from the King Rosais’ Country?」

Either way, she had to report back.

The leader lowered her altitude. The enemy birds were larger than her own partner, so they should be less agile.

If she entered the forest, there was a chance to escape.

「Just a little more!」

Just as she was about to enter the forest, a shock ran through her entire body.

「？」

A thick stick was embedded in her chest.

The realization that it was an arrow and the moment the leader lost consciousness happened simultaneously.