TL/Editor: raei
Status: 5/week mon-fri
Illustrations: none
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Ian had a brief conversation with Count Francis.
"To think my father would join hands with black wizards."
"You must be disappointed..."
"It's so typical of him that I can only sigh."
"?"
Count Francis reassured Ian by showing no disappointnt whatsoever about Duke Roxlan's madness.
He already had the duty to lead the vassals as Duke Roxlan's proxy.
A stable mindset was a hundred tis better than wavering.
"How is His Imperial Majesty?"
"Ah... he's been kidnapped."
"?"
Count Francis opened his eyes wide, and Ian had nothing particular to say.
When black wizards brought a dragon and carried the Emperor off...
What could Ian's companions have done? They had no effective counterasures.
Ian felt responsible for this incident.
But abandoning the battlefield to chase after the Emperor would be incredibly foolish.
Who knew what traps the black wizards might have set?
Right now, Ian needed to focus on the battlefield.
"I heard a dragon appeared and created chaos. It seems the Emperor was kidnapped during that confusion."
"...With a dragon, there's nothing to be done."
Count Francis could only respond like that, at a loss for words.
Special equipnt was needed to catch a dragon.
The Count knew that there was no answer when a dragon suddenly dropped from the sky.
"I'll try to resolve the Emperor's situation as soon as the battlefield calms down."
"You will?"
Count Francis showed a surprised expression before quickly reverting to his distinctive vampire-like smile.
'And he calls himself a devout Heaven's Faith believer.'
The Count had naturally investigated Ian's background.
He'd gathered so strange information about Ian being a "Guardian Saint of Coffee," but...
Overall, he'd learned that Ian was friendly with Heaven's Faith.
'What a truly diligent young man.'
Count Francis was also a fairly devout Heaven's Faith believer.
As a high-ranking noble, he sotis had to devise dirty sches...
But that made him all the more devoted to praying to god and confessing his sins.
The Count personally sponsored several monasteries.
Ian's devout behavior greatly pleased him.
"Fighting black wizards won't be easy."
"Light never bows its head even when darkness deepens."
"Oh..."
Ian had simply habitually quoted a phrase from an ancient book he'd read at the university—
But Count Francis found Ian's answer extrely satisfying.
This young man, intelligence shines through his every word!
This was only natural.
Ian was an exceptional wizard. How could a renowned wizard possibly be thick-headed?
But the Count didn't think that far.
People tend to see twice the beauty in the actions of those they like.
Count Francis appreciated intelligent people.
"Let know if you need my help."
"Thank you, Count."
The Emperor's situation was beyond the Count's control now.
He needed to focus on the matter at hand.
"Let's go to the conference room."
"Yes, Your Grace."
Like Ian's companions...
This was also Ian's first ti participating in such a large-scale battle.
He had plenty of combat experience.
But he hadn't fought in a major human vs. human battle since the recapture of Talian.
Now he faced an enemy force of approximately 3,000 n.
"Report, Sir Pyrak."
"Yes, Your Grace."
Compared to armies of 1,000,000 n in so Eastern world, Western dieval forces numbering in the thousands might seem insignificant.
But a thousand n is actually a much larger number than one might think.
"After the initial collision, seven units engaged with the enemy."
"What's their status?"
"They've sustained damage but are still deployable."
The two armies had clashed, and seven of Roxlan's units had engaged the enemy.
Each unit varied in number and equipnt, making it impossible to calculate the exact casualties.
However, if one unit (company) comprised roughly 100 n, then approximately 700 n had fought, by rough estimation.
"Approximately 100 n have died, and twice that number are wounded."
"..."
The reason for the "approximate" death count was that missing soldiers were included among the dead.
They simply counted the unit's numbers, and those missing were presud dead. Who had ti to count corpses individually?
Later, if survivors returned to their units, the death count would decrease.
"Not good."
Out of Roxlan's 700 n, about 300 were dead or wounded.
In a single engagent, nearly half the army had been decimated...
Fargar's army was undoubtedly strong.
"Thanks to our widely deployed formation, we were able to minimize casualties."
The result of the initial engagent favored Fargar.
"How many soldiers remain?"
"About 2,500, Your Grace."
"...Not enough."
Of course, 2,500 soldiers would be more than enough to defend Roxlan Castle.
The problem was... the people outside the castle.
Those within the castle walls would certainly survive, but residents outside would beco targets for plunder and slaughter.
"Another 2,500 soldiers will gather within a week."
That was good news.
But it didn't help the imdiate situation.
In a week, the entire territory could be reduced to ashes and more.
And the rcenaries Duke Fargar had hired were exactly the type who would commit such atrocities.
"We'll need to conduct interception operations."
"A wise decision, Your Grace."
Count Francis gave a textbook answer, and Sir Pyrak seized the opportunity to shower him with praise.
Surely, such minor expressions of loyalty accumulated to influence promotion!
"Select those who can ride horses and form a cavalry unit."
"I've already selected candidates."
For reference, "those who can ride horses" = "those who have their own horses."
The principle is that soldiers pay for their own equipnt...
"Have them fight with the goal of buying ti."
"Yes, Your Grace."
The strategy eting could be summarized as 'doing what needs to be done.'
Elaborate tactics like 'Baron Kim will ambush with 100 n on the hill, Baron Jeong will block the path with 200 n...' were the domain of tacticians like Zhuge Liang.
Most wars involved battles that followed common sense.
There was little communication between units anyway.
See an enemy?
Oh? Should we fight? That level of battle was most common, with tactical decisions limited to determining when to fight.
Fargar's army couldn't attack the castle — instead they would raid farms — so Roxlan's strategy was to prevent the raids.
What Fargar wanted was for Roxlan to be provoked by the raids and engage in a large-scale battle.
"Your Grace. There's another important preparation..."
"Speak."
Sir Pyrak spoke while glancing cautiously at the wizards.
"We need to prepare for magical attacks from the enemy."
Sir Pyrak spoke as politely as possible, lowering himself almost to the point of subservience.
It couldn't be helped.
If the enemy launched magical attacks, only allied wizards could counter them.
But wizards weren't soldiers...!
Shouting 'Block their attacks!' might be t with 'Why should I?' in response.
Usually, it was nobles who had relationships with wizards.
That's why Count Francis stood up.
And bowed his head.
He was addressing the wizards participating in the strategy eting.
"I believe Roxlan has treated you all well thus far."
The wizards nodded.
They had stayed in Roxlan as guests and received various subsidies from the Duke.
The reason nobles treated wizards with such hospitality was precisely for monts like this.
"For the sake of your friendship with Roxlan. Won't you lend us your power?"
The answer was virtually predetermined.
One by one, the wizards spoke to the Count.
"Roxlan's crisis is my crisis. I'll help as much as I can, Your Grace."
"I've been honing my skills for a day like this! You can count on us!"
Ian also addressed the Count:
"I won't disappoint you, Your Grace."
"...I'm counting on you."
Count Francis might not trust everyone, but he definitely trusted Ian.
After all... Ian would soon beco part of the Roxlan family!
Having a wizard as a vassal made him feel incredibly secure.
"Then I ask that each of you do your best from your positions."
"Yes! Your Grace!"
Ian rged his troops with the Roxlan army.
Though they were just a handful, they were better than nothing.
Sabui took the role of acting unit commander, while Belenka temporarily joined the cavalry.
"Good luck, Ian."
"You too, Belenka."
Belenka rode off, disappearing toward the cavalry unit.
It would have been good if Sir Salvador joined too, but...
"...Sorry. I'm... not in the mood."
"I understand, Sir."
Sir Salvador had fallen into sothing like depression after being defeated by a dragon again.
He'd always been a man who kept his distance from the secular world, fighting only monsters. Ian didn't want to force him to fight.
Sir Salvador would stop the black wizards in his own way.
Ian naturally joined the other wizards.
Roxlan had seven wizards in total.
"Originally there were eight!"
One wizard grumbled.
"Wasn't her na Stera...?"
"She ssed up badly and ran away."
Several wizards snickered.
They were definitely wizards, maintaining their cheerfulness even in this situation.
"Co on! Let's each share our specialties!"
The world of magic was vast and profound.
Since they couldn't predict what strange magic the enemy might use, they needed to prepare for every situation.
"I've studied air magic!"
"I'm a water wizard."
"I, um, handle fire a little..."
"I'm also a water wizard."
"My specialty is water magic too..."
Excluding Ian and Kira, three of the five wizards shared the sa specialty.
A wizard exclaid happily:
"That's fortunate! At least we won't lose control of the river!"
A small river flowed around Roxlan Castle for defense.
If there were skilled water wizards among the enemies, they would find it awkward to use the river.
But on this side, there were three water wizards.
Most likely, they wouldn't lose in magic involving water!
"She's a fire wizard. And I've studied shadow magic."
"Oh! Shadow magic!"
"Have you encountered the Mystery of Darkness?!"
The wizards looked at Ian with curious eyes.
The Mystery of Darkness was difficult to encounter.
It had properties of secrecy and concealnt.
Without natural aptitude, shadow magic was extrely difficult to learn.
"At least we won't be ambushed at night!"
The wizards divided into zones and began guarding the castle.
***
That night.
A small boat stealthily approached Roxlan Castle along the small river.
Ian shook awake a water wizard who had been soundly sleeping(...).
"Wake up."
"Huh... what? Is it my shift already?"
"Enemy approaching."
"!"
Ian quietly peered through the darkness.
A person in robes was muttering sothing toward the castle.
It was a magic incantation.
"Water magic! Water magic!"
Being a water wizard himself, he responded imdiately.
"I'll hold them off. Go call for help!"
"Wait..."
Before Ian could stop him, the water wizard hastily stripped off his clothes.
He imdiately jumped into the river.
Splash!
Ian watched the scene for a mont.
'...There's a huge skill gap!'
The difference between the enemy water wizard and our water wizard was noticeable...?
The enemy calmly used spells from the boat.
But our water wizard had to soak himself completely in water to use his spells.
Their fundantal familiarity with water was completely different.
Splash! Splash!
As expected—
When the enemy water wizard used magic, our wizard couldn't resist the spell!
"Blub! Blub!"
"..."
"Flowing water! Cough! Cough! Rise! My friend—"
[I don't know anyone like you!]
Ian was montarily dumbfounded watching the water wizard drowning(...).
Not all wizards have the sa skill level.
Especially since wizards are so rare, anyone with even a little magical ability could receive respect.
'He's going to get himself killed.'
Before the water wizard drowned, Ian quickly used his magic.
Skill Magic, [Water Wave].
"[Wave, move!]"
Ian's magic was swift and powerful.
Since it used a completely different thod than the Maronius language, it had the advantage of being unpredictable to opponents.
Sure enough, the enemy water wizard was caught off guard and lost control of the water.
The violent wave flipped the small boat over.
Our flailing water wizard shouted to Ian:
"Has reinforcent already arrived?!"
Ian answered while throwing a rope:
"No. I used magic."
"? Water magic?"
The water wizard blinked at the surging waves.
...That's better than my magic!
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