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Vol 01 Chapter 28-2: Magic Warfare

「Good! We got them!!」

Gram picked up the hawk he shot down. His skill was as impressive as ever.

「Gununu… I was planning to take it down myself,」

Tetra, who had returned her soul to her body, stood up, clearly frustrated.

「I even ate those bitter herbs,」

As she said this, she pulled out the soul-drift grass from her mouth.

「Haha, how about that? The surprise attack was perfect!」

「As expected of Lulu. You’re the strongest!」

Gram praised Lulu, who had returned.

The barrier set up around the village proved useful. There are various types of barriers, one of them, is able to alert of the approach of an animal possessed by a magician. I had them prepare such a barrier in advance. Then, when we received the warning that something had entered the barrier, we saw three hawks in the sky…

Honestly, I don’t want the village’s defense facilities to be seen. Thus, I had our three best magicians take action. Since it was just a short flight outside the village, there was hardly any worry about them not being able to return.

「But was it okay to kill them? This means we’ll be antagonizing King Ferme.」

Tetra said with concern.

「It’s fine. It’s rare, but sometimes magicians on missions die after being attacked by the possessed animal’s natural predators. King Ferme wouldn’t think that a village with only about a hundred people would have three high-level magicians. Besides, the moment they sent scouts; it was clear they intended to attack us.」

Negotiations have, to a large extent, already broken down.

「After we eat, you should rest up. There’s no need for you three to do anything more right now.」

The construction of barriers and curses can be managed by several of the other less skilled magicians.

But animal possession is something only these three can do. It would be problematic if they were incapacitated.

「Then, to prepare for the next mission, be my arm pillow.」

「Sorry, but I have things to do.」

I need to check the pitfalls and inspect the weapons that make use of the black powder.

「…You’re always busy, I’ll have you make time for me later.」

Tetra puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

But before that…

「Iarl, could you go to King Rosais’ Country and request reinforcements? I would like to have a backup plan.」

「Understood.」

◇

With that, Iarl headed to King Rosais’ Country.

However, the report Iarl brought back upon his quick return was not encouraging.

「King Rosais has had a seizure and collapsed…」

「What! Then what about the reinforcements?」

「That’s the thing… At the same time King Rosais collapsed, King Ferme’s army of four hundred moved. Additionally, the surrounding countries and several of the country’s lords are making unsettling movements… The earliest reinforcements they can send would be in three days…」

Three days… Wouldn’t it all be over by then?

Well, that’s fine. It’s still within expectations.

「Leader! The check on the black powder is complete. There are no issues.」

「Nii-san! The horses are in good condition. We’re ready to go anytime.」

「The stockpile of arrows and food is secure!」

Ron, Roswald, and Gram reported one after another.

For now, there are no problems.

「Good, the pitfalls and barriers are also fine. We’re ready.」

All that’s left is whether things will go according to plan.

「Make sure to prepare some wheat as well, just in case we can reach an agreement.」

「Is there even a chance for that?」

「If they’re willing to settle for forty percent of our harvest…」

Up to sixty percent of our harvest (based on the two-field system), we would be able to survive without problems, that much is our bottom line. But anything more than that is impossible.

「Almus-san!」

A voice came from the gate. It was Iarl.

「King Ferme is gathering soldiers. I couldn’t determine the number, but…」

「So they are intent on fighting. What about Boros and his group?」

「They say they’ll rise up depending on the situation.」

Boros’s faction numbers about sixty people. They’d be quickly defeated in a direct battle.

They need to carefully assess the situation before rising up.

◇

「King Ferme, the magicians have not returned.」

「What do you mean? Were they attacked by some predator?」

It happened occasionally, but hawks used for reconnaissance sometimes were attacked by their natural predators during missions. Because the magician was the one in control of the body, their vigilance tended to be lax. It was rare, but not unheard of. And given the terrain of the forest, the possibility of being caught off guard was high.

「Or perhaps…」

King Rosais and the young man named Almus may have joined forces.

However, this possibility seemed slim. If three of Ferme’s magicians were defeated by Rosais’ magicians, it would mean that there are more than three magicians dispatched to that village.

Lately, Ferme had sent magicians to scout King Rosais’ Country multiple times. Due to that, he had a grasp on the number of magicians that came out to intercept.

There was never a day when they were missing three people.

Moreover, even if they had formed an alliance, it was unnatural to station three precious magicians in such a remote village.

Another possibility could be…

「Maybe that village has three high-level magicians? No, that’s impossible.」

It was unlikely. Even in King Ferme’s Country, there were only nine.

They were probably accidentally killed by a predator. It was just bad luck. That meant the same predator could still be lurking around the village. It could lead to the same outcome again.

It might be safer to give up on reconnaissance.

「There are six magicians left capable of animal possession… Let two of them focus on the defense of the country. The other four will be deployed in the fight against King Rosais.」

The magicians nodded at Ferme’s instructions, one by one starting to chew on the soul-drift grass.

「The troops are also ready.」

「Good, you take two hundred men and occupy that village. This time, bring the battering ram. Make sure to bring plenty of archers. I will follow later with four hundred. The forest makes it difficult to advance with a big army. You attack King Rosais’ capital with those two hundred. Crush them.」

One of the generals, the one ordered by King Ferme to directly attack King Rosais’ capital, hesitantly spoke up.

「King Ferme… could I perhaps have a hundred more men? The enemy has at least a thousand…」

「No, they have four hundred at most.」

Ferme declared decisively.

「The patricians of King Rosais’ Country have been completely hesitant since the last defeat. They won’t cooperate with King Rosais. That means he can mobilize at most two thousand, considering the losses from the last battle. I’m already inciting King Evile and King Belvedire’s countries, which border King Rosais’ Country. Well, they’ll probably just gather troops at the border… But King Rosais will have to dispatch at least a thousand each to deal with this.」

King Ferme continued, grinning.

「And I’ve requested the ambitious patricians of King Rosais’ Country to mobilize their troops. Well, they won’t actually move them unless I win though, so I deliberately incited those patricians publicly, that way King Rosais would be wary of them and would have to leave at least five hundred soldiers to keep them in check. He will also have to leave at least a hundred soldiers to guard the palace so the only soldiers he will be able to move freely will be four hundred.」

The generals involuntarily held their breath.

The goal was to occupy the capital of King Rosais’ Country and secure food supplies.

There was a fair chance of victory.

「Then next time, let’s raise a toast in King Rosais’s palace. Cheers!」

Ferme raised his cup filled with wine high.