Chapter 137 - Disposable Pawns

Young Lord Lutenia had grown up under his father, a commander, and had lived his life keeping one thing in mind.

War is waged through numbers.

No matter how exceptional a knight, no matter if he was a hero worth a hundred men, before war he was nothing more than a single number.

Young Lord Lutenia had studied as a commander, and he had experienced and learned that well enough through his own experience.

If he had only possessed proper knowledge about demonic creatures, he might have narrowly beaten Olivia and become chief of staff.

As he stepped onto this battlefield, there were three things that surprised him.

'Dragon spawn.'

The first was the dragon spawn.

Valdrova's attendant Luri, and the administrator Isabella.

Because of the long peace, and because he had spent most of his life only inside the imperial capital, he had never had a chance to properly witness their power.

He knew Luri had flown in like a comet and broken through the imperial magic circle.

There had been assessments that she possessed not only martial force, but could also emit dragon fear much like a dragon, and that anyone who fought her head-on would surely have had a hard battle.

How many imperial mages and responsible officials had been executed over that incident?

'As expected of a descendant of Silverwind, she is incredibly fast and strong.'

In truth, she seemed more than capable of dealing with the demonic creatures on her own.

Even though she was moving more passively than the other humans, that much was plain to see.

He turned his eyes to the other dragon spawn, Isabella.

'As expected of a descendant of Iorga, she is precise and skilled.'

She wielded water magic, taking care of weak points so the formation would not collapse.

Luri and Isabella.

With just those two, he wondered if these demonic creatures might be dealt with in no time.

But the reason they were not doing so was clear.

Because this was a human war.

The core of this operation was the magical engineering tactical infantry.

It was to confirm how effective soldiers armed with magical engineering rifles, the tactical infantry, would be in a human war.

'Magical engineering rifles... They certainly have impressive power.'

That was the second factor.

He had rated them highly enough when he first saw them, but even that had been an underestimate.

It meant that even without high-grade personnel like knights or mages, they could fulfill the most important role in war.

That alone had tremendous value.

'If they could be modified a little more, and simplified...'

They would be able to play a major role not only in killing demonic creatures, but in human wars as well.

As expected from a commander’s family, his desire for conquest welled up first.

'And the one leading all of this is that man.'

He quietly turned his head and looked at the third factor.

There, a man with gray hair and blue eyes sat on horseback, casting magic.

'Ferda Valdrova...'

The dragon spawn and the value of the tactical infantry were both astonishing, but still not as much as Ferda.

Because he was handling all of this.

'And he is only nineteen years old...'

The fiancé of Grand Duchess Valdrova.

Those words should have meant he was trash even among trash.

Yet the dragon spawn followed him, and he had even created weapons capable of opposing Demons.

Was that all?

Ferda himself was also an outstanding mage.

Not only had he become 4th Circle in a mere year, he had mobilized 1st and 2nd Circle users, people not even treated as mages, and drawn value out of them.

'These aren't things a mere piece of trash could do, are they?'

What kind of place was House Rosnova that they had cast out a man like this?

The idle curiosity was enough to make him want to bring it up in small talk.

"Commander Lutenia."

Ferda called him, and the thought fell apart.

Caught off guard, Lutenia let out a rather stupid sound.

"Y-Yes?"

"How about we advance now? It seems things have been cleared up to some extent."

Ferda asked politely.

As he said, the number of demonic creatures had fallen considerably, and the mothers were exposed.

If they were going to advance, now was the right time.

Young Lord Lutenia raised his sword upward and shouted.

"Two battalions, split advance! Secure the mothers!"

And so they succeeded in securing two colossal demonic creatures.

Isabella sent the news by telepathic message, then spoke to Ferda and the operations staff officer.

"It seems the 1st Regiment has also occupied its target with ease."

"What about the other locations?"

"The far eastern alliance and Eri's Adventurer Party are all in the process of occupation and are only waiting for orders."

All preparations were complete.

Young Lord Lutenia gave the order.

"Tell them to begin."

"Understood."

A small number of troops were selected to bring down the colossal demonic creatures.

5th Circle mages, who were needed to feed them Supernova.

And five knights were assigned to guard the mage and strip away the thick outer hide.

The 5th Circle mages of the 2nd Regiment were the gloomy witch Echidna and the administrator Isabella.

Isabella, a dragon spawn, had no problem thanks to her unique friendly air, but Echidna was different.

"Hehehe, maybe because they're imperial people, there are so many handsome men..."

The laugh of the gloomy, wicked witch could hardly be called that of a bashful maiden standing before men.

The knights were horrified.

'I never thought I would live to escort a witch.'

'O light of purification, protect us from that wicked witch's curse.'

Even so, they were professionals, and protected her without showing their disgust.

They all wore anti-demon amulets received from Blue Eye and finished their preparations.

"From this moment on, everything depends on your role! May fortune be with you!"

The mages and knights assigned in advance each approached a colossal demonic creature.

After forming an encirclement, the knights and mages approached the colossal demonic creatures.

The sharp aura of the elite knights smoothly peeled away the outer hides,

and six stars exploded along the border of the Grand Duchy's territory.

While the soldiers were drunk on victory from their first battle, the staff officers held a meeting.

They had won the battle, but they had not won the war.

Because of the distance, they heard each other's voices through the crystal balls they had been issued.

Olivia spoke in a satisfied voice.

-Phase one of the operation ended smoothly.

Phase one had been the plan to raise morale through overwhelming firepower.

-Is it a festival mood over there too?

"It is practically another Start of Spring Festival. If we push forward with this momentum, I believe we can eliminate all of them without causing many casualties."

-I think so too.

Olivia seemed unsatisfied with something.

Lutenia noticed and asked her.

"If the chief of staff has a good plan, we will accept it at any time."

-This is a matter worth discussing with the operations staff officer, so I will say it. Based on what I felt just now, I think our forces are excessive.

"Looking at the results, it is true that they are excessive."

Lutenia felt the same.

The forces here were elite knights, and even if they had learned different tactics and martial arts, they had all mastered the basics.

When command began, their basic principle was to obey orders and become one.

-So on that note, I believe we need to make the operation bolder.

"What do you mean?"

-As we feared, the colossal demonic creatures are showing strange behavior.

It could only be called something they had predicted.

Striking all six at once had also been to minimize damage in case the demonic creatures showed strange behavior.

-If there is one difference, it is that the demonic creatures are spreading out. Unlike when they headed toward the Empire, it feels as though they are literally dispersing widely.

"They are spreading instead of trying to gather together... They are no different from a plague."

"They are a plague. They are things that eat away at the continent."

Olivia's voice held anger.

-Still, the one fortunate thing in this misfortune is that it is going as I expected.

Unlike those who had argued they would protect the mothers, the one who had argued they would spread out had been Olivia.

It was a scenario she had predicted after constantly researching and studying the habits of demonic creatures and related records for a month.

-So we can respond as well. The current situation is extremely good. This is the time to be greedy.

Greedy, was it?

She had already obtained command of the army and even the tactical infantry, so what else was she trying to be greedy for?

"What kind of greed do you mean?"

-If the demonic creatures do not gather together, I intend to divide the troops one more time. Into subjugation battalions that will eliminate the colossal demonic creatures, and pursuit battalions that will chase down and defeat the demonic creatures trying to spread toward the small villages.

They had already been divided into groups of about a thousand, and now she wanted to divide them even further.

-From what I have confirmed, the tactical infantry are highly valuable, and I judge that even four hundred soldiers can safely face the demonic creatures in the field.

"In the worst-case scenario..."

-Of course, that number was chosen after assuming that worst-case scenario as well. The main force can hold out well enough.

If Olivia guaranteed that the main force was safe, then the same was true for Lutenia.

"Of course, I am fine with it, but..."

Lutenia turned his eyes to each platoon leader.

Every one of them avoided Lutenia's gaze and hesitated to participate.

This was a chance to earn merit, but no one readily stepped forward.

It was only natural.

Rather than saving a few dozen more people in small villages, it was obviously safer and would earn greater merit to kill a colossal demonic creature.

The small villages were disposable pawns, and even if several hundred died that way, it would not be a problem.

-If the 2nd Regiment opposes it, I will say no more.

If Olivia had only said that, they might have decided to stop right away.

-As a Princess, and as a commander who has taken up the sword to protect this land, I simply do not wish to let a single life be wasted.

Unlike her gentle voice, the content was forcing the duties of nobles and knights upon them.

She must have persuaded the 1st Regiment with her own hands in that way.

In that place where no one could readily open their mouth, someone stepped forward.

"The 2nd Regiment will go as well."

The one who volunteered was Ferda.

-Regent Ferda will go? It seems we would lose some of our strength...

"The operations staff officer is handling command anyway, and I do not think there will be much of a problem even if Luri and I leave."

Since he had moved passively with that in mind, he judged that leaving the tactical infantry behind would be enough to handle it.

"As you said, before I am the Regent of a Grand Duchy, I am a subject of the Empire, and I cannot simply watch fellow subjects die."

-Thank you, Regent. Then I will understand that the 2nd Regiment will also form pursuit battalions and defeat the demonic creatures.

More conversation followed after that, but none of it was useful.

Once the meeting was concluded, everyone returned to their tents to prepare for another march tomorrow.

When Ferda returned to his tent, a transmission signal rang from his personal crystal ball.

-Can you hear me?

It was Olivia.

Was it because he had been hearing Chief of Staff Olivia's voice for a while?

When she spoke in such a feminine tone, it felt quite different.

"I hear you clearly."

-As expected, they are all cowards. With so little spirit, I wonder why they make such a fuss trying to win my favor.

Men who were all talk.

Olivia muttered that quietly.

"Did you contact me just to gossip behind their backs?"

-We are breaking the ice with a shared topic of interest. Let us proceed with a backroom meeting between us.

A backroom meeting.

As it happened, there was something he wanted to ask her.

"You said you would protect the small villages. Was that your real intention?"

Olivia was faster than anyone when it came to weighing profit and loss.

She must know full well that the small villages were of no help.

The fact that she had gone out of her way to suggest this operation meant she was aiming for something else.

-Of course not.

As expected.

-What I am aiming for is something else.

"What are you aiming for?"

"In short, it is said that when troubled times arrive, an extraordinary person appears. I intend to draw in that hidden extraordinary person."

Did she think there was such an extraordinary person in a small village?

"Who is that?"

"The Sage of Water, Hellus Phobidas."

"Ah."

The moment he heard that name, Ferda let out an exclamation.

The sage who had appeared like a comet, Hellus.

How much effort had he made to win that man's favor?

The Empire had been the same.

The imperial princes who had competed over the right of succession had also struggled desperately to bring him in.

It seemed Olivia intended to snatch him away in this opening.

"Now that I think about it, he did live in the east."

-It seems Regent Ferda knows of him as well.

"I do."

-When one hears the name of the Sage of Water, people usually become excited or nervous, but you seem somewhat lukewarm, Regent. I suppose he is not a very meaningful person?

Well, he had taken out the real substance long ago.

Hearing Olivia's words, it seemed she still did not know that he was a figurehead, so he sidestepped the question.

"If you want to recruit that sage, would it not be better for you to go instead of me, Princess?"

-Based on the analysis, he does seem to have a rather lecherous side. They say he likes women with blond hair, blue eyes, and large breasts so very much... I only described someone, but does that not sound like anyone? Hehe.

"..."

-It was a joke, a joke. It is something you could simply laugh off, but you are silent, so now I feel awkward. Are you like this when you talk to Her Highness the Grand Duchess too?

"There are often times when I find myself at a loss for words."

That was usually Ferda's own problem.

Because when he chose his words, silence would settle in.

-Because the sage is there, I hoped Regent Ferda would go. Since you accepted, I thought you had calculated that far, but it seems you were not aiming for the sage?

"Yes."

When he already had the real thing, bringing in that greedy fat man would only increase food expenses.

-Then what is the reason you are stepping forward, Regent?

"It is just as I said. I am merely going out to protect the small villages."

There was no hidden intention.

No, there was an intention, but it was not one he could blab to Olivia.

-So you intend to firmly establish the image of the virtuous ruler of Hestia village.

Olivia spoke in a satisfied tone.

-Do you know something?

"What?"

-I am lying down. In bed.

It was out of nowhere.

"I am sitting."

-I am lying down and listening to your voice, Ferda.

"You are behaving far too improperly for etiquette."

-Hehe. I want to fall asleep like this. But I cannot seem to fall asleep.

Olivia let out a long sigh.

The faint rustle of silk sheets tickled his ears.

"That means your tension has not eased yet."

-Yes, that is true. A war like this is, after all, a harsh place for someone like me.

She said that while living in a political world far harsher than this.

-I am the chief of staff.

"That is correct."

-If I fail to command properly, there will be setbacks.

"That is correct."

-You do not want a situation where I give strange orders, cause chaos, and everyone is wiped out, do you?

"... That is correct?"

What was this woman trying to say?

-So may I ask you for just one thing?

"Please speak."

-Would you tell me good night?

"... Must I?"

Ferda asked reluctantly.

-Yes. You must.

Ferda thought for a moment, then shook his head.

It was not something that needed thought in the first place.

It was not as if she were asking him to recite a magic spell, and was it not only eight syllables?

"Sleep well."

-Yes. You sleep well too, Regent.

With one last satisfied breath, the light disappeared from the crystal ball.

Ferda also lay down.

Ferda was just as busy.

The demonic creatures were moving even now, at this very moment.

To catch up with them, he had to prepare for tomorrow.

The imperial palace operations room.

"What the hell does that mean!!"

Alexander's scream-like roar rang out thunderously.

"My corps was wiped out by demonic creatures!?"