episode_0307

* * *

After the fortress fell.

As I expected, the first strange rumors to start circulating were from our military side.

“They say they built an altar on the Aesir side?”

“Is it true that you communicated with the sky?”

“There’s no way an earthquake would have only occurred in such a localized place! If it weren’t for the bookworm, it would have been a disaster.”

The soldiers were quite agitated, thinking that if they had not retreated, their lives would have been in direct danger.

This would be especially true for our soldiers. They were the ones who had seen how magic worked on the battlefield and how opponents were knocked out without even being able to do anything with it, closer than any other country’s soldiers.

It was only natural that, always in the position of exerting omnipotent power over the opponent, being caught up in that omnipotent power felt much more frightening than being in the position of someone who originally had no power.

Soon, a small number of deserters began to appear among the soldiers.

Of course, this was also something that was under my calculations.

In a country with a conscription system, desertion was a crime punishable by death – but I asked Serpina to make a show of catching deserters, but not actually catching them.

And he instructed them to spread rumors, adding plausible details like ‘a dream about having a nightmare about a blue knight’.

There is a saying that a horse without legs can travel a thousand miles. Rumors spread much faster than the spread of an epidemic.

The only silver lining was that there weren’t that many defectors that would be fatal.

I was secretly worried about how we should deal with the situation if our army ended up revealing more than what we gained from Yuuri’s deception, but it was safe to say that we were lucky in this regard.

During all this process, he did not forget to spy on the castle of Balharat.

The scouts I sent out every so often for intelligence brought me just the news I was waiting for.

“They were mobilizing all their manpower to expand the altar! It seems that they succeeded in communicating with heaven, just as the scribe said… … .”

A few days later, more news came.

“The enemy’s morale is sky-high due to the miracles that keep happening! It seems like the situation is completely opposite to ours.”

“Are you training or preparing for war?”

“I don’t see that kind of appearance… …they are expanding the altar.”

“I see.”

I answered with the most serious expression I could muster.

Honestly, I wanted to go somewhere and get compliments. It was quite hard to hold back laughter.

I feel a little sorry for Yuuri, but… … I never thought you would dance on the palm of my hand like this.

‘I don’t feel sorry for her, but if we don’t do this, we could be in danger.’

It was true that I had no regrets. She sold me out, and just like I thought last time, it was a completely innocent problem for me.

At first, I was surprised that she could sell out her subordinates, but when I thought about it, it was funny how I, who was under her but always thought about when it was time to leave, was abandoned by her.

What I was more concerned about was ‘the losses our army would suffer if we just invaded.’

‘It might not be as big of a deal as you might think, but honestly, if someone on our military side dies or something, I’d rather not do it.’

In fact, even now, Crancys, who was seriously injured in the war with Chel, was unable to return to the scene.

Considering the extent of his injuries and his age, it was entirely possible that this moment might be the last we would see of him on the battlefield.

Even though the country was large, the talent pool was depleted due to repeated rebellions, so each and every soldier was precious.

So this time, I have no choice but to tease Yuuri.

In this chaotic world, I cannot live like a noble immortal. If this were a game, I would have played the concept, but to me now, this world was a vivid reality itself.

‘Yes. Don’t be weak-hearted, you have to be sure.’

When the national power of the Aesir Army was at its lowest point due to excessive expansion.

It is not too late to aim for that moment. As time goes by, it is on our side as a powerful nation.

‘Then shall we move on to the next step?

* * *

“Hello.”

“Hello… …!”

“You’re here, Swen. Reika.”

Irene welcomed me and Reika as they arrived in a carriage.

This was a small fortress whose construction began immediately after the existing fortress collapsed.

In fact, it was a small building closer to a fortress than a fort, and it was constructed as quickly as possible, with only the shape of the building in mind.

Of course, the situation was such that I had stationed soldiers and even ended up withdrawing them at my insistence. I hoped that the spies on the Aesir Army would see this scene.

“I heard this fortress is going to collapse too.”

“Yes. I’m going to break it down. You know the general idea, Irene, right?”

“Well, that’s right. But I don’t know why you told me to prepare those… … .”

Irene pointed to the barrel behind her with her finger.

Several barrels were filled with rotten pork and fresh pig’s blood.

It was prepared as military supplies, and in the case of the meat, it was discarded due to lack of thorough management – the blood was something I had specially requested to be brought fresh.

In fact, the foul smell had already started to emanate from here, so Reika, who had little tolerance for such situations, frowned.

And next to it – there were old armor pieces made of iron, also worth discarding, rolling around.

“That’s enough. You two, please step back.”

I put on my gloves and stuffed the rotten meat into my armor, then sprinkled fresh blood on it.

This process was much more mentally draining than I had expected… … but it was not the time to be picky about the means and methods in order to show a more realistic scene.

In the modern era, actions that would have been detected by a mere thorough investigation would not work in this era. No matter how much you looked at the flesh lying in the ruins, you would not think they were human. In the first place, there was no way to thoroughly explore the ruins, which were not even where their own army was buried, but were located strictly in the middle of enemy territory. Of course, if they were to be ambushed while exploring, their lives would be in danger.

at that time.

I heard a rummaging sound so I turned around-

I saw Irene and Reika following me and doing the same thing.

“It’s okay if you step back.”

“How could I just watch you, Swen, suffer alone?”

“Oh, that’s right… … ! If you do it alone, it’ll take a lot of time… … Three, the three of us should finish it quickly! ”

Since you said it like that, I didn’t even think about stopping you.

“Okay. Let’s finish quickly.”

And the three of them repeated this several times, until ‘old armor soaked in pig’s blood and filled with rotten meat’ was placed here and there in the fortress.

Irene, who had taken off her blood-covered gloves, said with a bitter expression upon seeing the sight.

“What a dreary sight, like a battlefield where a battle just took place.”

“That’s exactly what I was trying to induce.”

“This? A horrific scene with corpses lying everywhere… … ?”

“Yes. Now it’s going to get even more creepy, with the ruins here.”

“… … Well, I don’t know exactly what you’re preparing, but I have a set job to do anyway.”

“What is that?”

“Swen, helping you by your side.”

I smiled at Irene and then approached Reika.

“Reika-san, I’d like to ask you to do the same thing as last time.”

“Yes, net… … !”

So, like we did last time, holding hands, slowly stabbing the rapier into the ground-

Kukukukukung… … !!

An earthquake struck, and the small, poorly constructed fortress collapsed.

“Now it’s true that it can even cause earthquakes… … .”

Even though she had heard about it before, it was still different from seeing it with her own eyes – Irene stared at the tragedy for a long time.

And then, for some reason, he quietly muttered to himself with very sad eyes.

“Despite having this power… … .”

“Irene?”

“… … It’s nothing. Well then, let’s go back. ”

I thought about asking more, but I quickly left without pressing, foolishly believing that she would tell me when the time came.

* * *

And finally, the time of the final battle has arrived.

Information has come in that the Ashes Army has finally run out of funds to lend out immediately.

I immediately called Irene and Irian.

“Please prepare for sortie. We will invade immediately.”

“Invasion? But, sir. Wouldn’t it be dangerous to carelessly touch the Aesir Army, which has communicated with the heavens? Of course, I also have no doubt that our army will win, but I cannot rule out the possibility that we will suffer greater damage than expected… ”

“I agree with Irian. Why did I call you like this?”

I said again with a confident smile.

“I found a method of destruction. And a perfect method of destruction.”

“… … !”

“So please trust me. And―”

That moment.

With a clanking sound from the side, our master slowly walked towards us.

“Hello, my lord!”

“Meet my lord.”

Serpina waved to Irene and Irian, then put her hand on my shoulder and said.

“And, trust this body. You will be safe. The soldiers will be safe. Swen and I will guarantee it. As proof, this battle… … I will also participate.”

“Huh?! Are you saying you will take the position of Commander-in-Chief?”

“No. Let Irene be the commander-in-chief, and I will sit in the middle of the line. I won’t be a bother.”

Although she wasn’t a particularly great general, they knew that Serpina was not the type of commander to interfere with her allies.

“But my lord, that may be dangerous… … .”

“It’s not dangerous. If I don’t step forward myself, I won’t be able to calm the anxiety of the soldiers fighting for Yeo. And-”

Serpina spoke in a firm tone.

“Yeo will never die. As long as Swen is by my side, Yeo will be immortal. So don’t worry, Irian.”

“My lord… … .”

“Yes, I understand. I will prepare to go out immediately.”

Unlike Irian, Irene quickly understood and bowed her head.

Finally, our army advanced to the castle of Balharat with 198,000 troops.

* * *

What I did in preparation for this sortie was to repeat the same actions that, when viewed without knowing what I had done so far, seemed plausible.

First, he spread the gaps between the soldiers without any meaning. He instructed some soldiers to advance while drawing plausible patterns.

When I explained to them that all these meaningless preparatory movements were to ‘block the skyway of the Aesir Army that leads to heaven’, the soldiers believed me without any doubt.

‘I feel a little bad for making you go round and round for no reason.’

Still, I had to remain vigilant until the very end.

No, rather, this part was the most important. In order for the Ashes, the Yuuri I had seen, and the Epinel I had seen to move according to my plan… … this ‘spacing’ task was more important than I had thought.

An unnatural formation that seemed to have been deliberately designed to induce a surprise attack from the enemy. But it was okay.

Perhaps the enemy will notice. Since they mistakenly thought that ‘their prayers opened the way to heaven and created a miracle’, the strange behavior of the person named Swen may be ‘a trick to block our miracle’.

And that was my real gamble.

From what I heard from the intelligence, Yuuri had thrown the state affairs away and Epinel was now effectively leading the Aishas Army, so deceiving her was of the utmost importance.

‘Epinel, or anyone with an intelligence as intelligent as Anima, would be enough. They would definitely misunderstand. The rumors that have been leaked so far. The miraculous results that have appeared so far. And, these unknown actions… … They would definitely, definitely notice!’

―The blind spot of the old man. Because he is an old man, he knows exactly what results his actions will bring.

But I am the only ‘old hand’ in this world.

Anyone other than me can’t help but worry because they don’t know what the outcome will be.

I can’t make a decision. I keep trying to make the most rational decisions, but sometimes those rational decisions tend to be based on blind faith in what I see and hear.

Anima might realize that this is all a farce. Not just anyone can be a strategist for a country.

But I was sure. I was sure that she too would not be able to prove ‘why’ Serpina did this.

She probably won’t be able to convince Epinel or Yuuri. So―

‘It will happen as I think!’

――And it didn’t take long for me to realize that my thoughts were not wrong.

“Chae, Mr. Book! The Aesir army’s troops really did come out in surprise at the place you mentioned… … !”

‘……it’s okay!’

The moment when all the meaningless actions of me and the soldiers in our military finally shine―

It was at the same time the moment when we finally began to crush the will of the Aesir with our own hands.