episode_0187

“The orcs have settled down not far from where you are now! It not only threatens the people of the nearby Kingdom of Barnoa! It is a threat that could endanger the capital, the heart of this country! Your families, and by extension this country… … .”

The crown prince approached the place where the troops were gathered and began a speech to begin the subjugation war, just as he had informed me that the subjugation war would begin.

The purpose seemed to be to boost the morale of the soldiers. If what was being subdued now was not a village of monsters, orcs, but a stronghold of a group of thieves, fellow humans, it could have been a justification objective.

“Oooo-!”

But whatever the reason, the crown prince himself came forward and gave a speech to the knights and soldiers, but the entire army shouted as if they were one.

And then, at the crown prince’s signal, the troops immediately began to move. Toward the place where the orc village is located.

Another cheer erupted as they saw the troops starting to move while making noises. It was the sound of people who had come to watch the subjugation battle nearby.

In particular, among them, people belonging to villages or cities located around the villages where the Orcs were settled were very enthusiastic. They were happy to hear that the Orcs who were a threat to them would now be wiped out.

Moreover, they weren’t just cheering. They were chasing after the troops at a little distance.

“No matter how open the subjugation war is… … Still, isn’t it too crowded?”

I felt a moment of confusion as I watched people moving along with the subjugation war troops, but I couldn’t help but nod.

This is because it occurred to me that, unlike my previous life, in this world where there is a lack of fun things to enjoy, even Yeongjijeon is a spectacle. Previously, when there was an exhibition of Viscount Deputy’s territory, many people came to see it.

Considering that, it was not unreasonable for the subjugation battle to become something of a spectacle.

It seemed like there weren’t just onlookers, as you could often hear people praising the crown prince.

And, when the troops and onlookers had moved away a little, the Crown Prince approached, taking a sip of water, perhaps because he had been speaking so intently.

“What on earth have you made?”

“Yes?”

“It makes me wonder if they used an elixir when doing something like quenching. How on earth do soldiers suddenly become expert?”

The Crown Prince grumbled lightly, saying that he had a hard time calming down the extremely excited soldiers.

He even added that it was even more difficult because the knights who should have helped originally appeared agitated, perhaps because the soldier had reached expert level while holding a weapon.

“That… … . The weapon itself can hold a certain amount of mana, and because of that, it has barely reached the level where it can be made tangible. You may not know if you get the feel for it, but you can think of it as a shortcut that is impossible with an ordinary sword.”

“Isn’t that alone great enough? There will be no treasure for those who cannot overcome that precarious wall and become an expert. Is it okay if I designate this as a strategic item?”

“Oh.”

I couldn’t help but be shocked for a moment when I heard that it was designated as a strategic item. If it was designated as a strategic item, it would be very difficult to sell it, so there was nothing we could do.

Still, the crown prince probably didn’t mean what he said, so he smiled and waved his hand.

“It’s just a joke. Isn’t it going to be sold to the noble faction anyway?”

“Sales will be the same as before.”

“Then that’s enough.”

The crown prince nodded and lightly tapped my forearm, as if the noble faction, which prioritized its own interests rather than following the royal family, was increasing its power.

“Now let’s go watch the subjugation battle.”

Upon hearing the crown prince’s request to watch the subjugation battle, the troops immediately tried to move. But the Crown Prince did not budge from his spot.

“Viscount Steel. How about we watch from up there?”

For a moment, I didn’t understand what the word “up” meant, but I soon realized that it meant watching the subjugation battle while riding a zombie wyvern.

Since it wasn’t too much of a stretch, we immediately rode into the sky with the crown prince on a zombie wyvern. To be honest, I had no intention of marching just to watch the subjugation battle.

Anyway, as we climbed into the sky with the knights guarding the Crown Prince, we saw quite a few things.

A vast forest, an orc village located in the center, troops approaching at a fairly high speed, and onlookers following them at a certain distance. It all came into view at a glance.

“I felt it a little while ago, but it would be really useful for reconnaissance.”

The crown prince, who had all of these things in his sights, looked at the zombie wyvern as if he wanted it very much.

The Crown Prince, who was looking at the zombie wyvern for a moment, turned his head to me.

“How can you not sell just one?”

“Ah, uh… … .”

It can be used not only for reconnaissance, but also for evacuation in emergency situations, and can also be used to move at high speeds, so the Crown Prince showed that he really wanted it. To the point where he said he wanted to buy one even if it meant paying money.

It goes without saying, but I couldn’t just give it away just because I wanted a zombie wyvern.

No, to be exact, there was nothing I couldn’t give. There were just so many prerequisites that had to be done to give it.

Since it was not someone else but the crown prince who was the next king, giving it to him was not a bad choice. By giving him a zombie wyvern as a gift, you can strengthen your friendship or receive that much benefit.

Moreover, it was clear that the crown prince would have no choice but to consider me important in order to maintain the zombie wyvern that constantly consumed my dark magic.

‘I don’t plan on doing that, but if a situation arises, a zombie wyvern could be a good weapon.’

Additionally, the zombie wyvern could have been a failsafe for me. In fact, it is useless unless the crown prince is against me.

“After all, the undead are only under my control, and I also need to replenish my dark magic power… … . If there is a way later, I will tell you.”

Of course, all of those things were impossible because there was a condition that I had to be able to transfer the wyvern.

Maybe we can solve all the problems later, but right now it was a long shot.

“I see, it’s a shame.”

The Crown Prince was very disappointed, but there was nothing he could do.

In the end, the Crown Prince stroked the skin of the zombie wyvern’s back as if he was regretful for a long time. Seeing that, I thought I might have to make at least one of them separately when I get the chance later.

“Waaa-!”

“Die, monster!”

And, as the Crown Prince was spending his time regretfully, at some point, a shout suddenly rose from below and it started to become noisy.

This is because the troops who set out first reached the Orc village and started fighting.

The crown prince and I immediately took a position in the best place to look down from the zombie wyvern’s back and stuck our heads out. An orc colony was visible beneath the fluttering wings.

“Oh, the sword certainly holds up well. Cutting off an orc’s head in one go. I never thought a soldier would do that, not a knight.”

And, as the crown prince looked down, he was amazed as he saw a soldier cut off the orc’s neck in one go with a sword wrapped in mana that seemed about to go out.

Of course, I did not forget to admire the newly issued weapons. It may have been possible because he was a highly skilled soldier belonging to the Royal Guard, but it could not be said that there was no influence from the erythronium armor.

As if to prove it, the majority of soldiers who could not yet type mana showed an appearance that was no different from the soldiers who could type mana.

It was as if two soldiers were forming a team of two, taking on one orc and overwhelming it. One person would block the crude weapons wielded by the orcs, and the other would look for an opening and deal with the orcs.

A few soldiers who were out of sync even seemed to ignore defense and focus on attacking, as if they trusted the armor and shields they were given.

“Oh!”

The crown prince was startled when he discovered the image of a soldier being hit in the chest by something crudely wielded by an orc, whether it was an ax or a blunt object.

However, the soldier who was hit in the chest by the ax rolled around on the floor and jumped up. This was possible because the armor clearly deflected all of the impact, so there was not much actual damage.

“Just as weapons store mana, armor also stores mana, so an impact of that magnitude will not cause any damage.”

“That’s amazing. Is it possible to block arrows fired with a longbow?”

“Probably… … I think it wouldn’t be unreasonable to fight a siege alone while wearing full body armor. Put mana in the arrow, get hit by magic… … Unless you get hit by an arrow made of erythronium.”

The crown prince looked surprised at my words. Then he suddenly tapped my shoulder and made me look away.

“I hope arrows made of erythronium will only be supplied to the royal family. If armor made of erythronium is released on the market, shouldn’t there be a way to stop it?”

Even though it was impossible to secure erythronium weapons from the noble faction, there was absolutely no way to obtain them.

Although it may be difficult, there was a way to defeat a territory armed with erythronium weapons and take it as loot, or to secure one or two in small quantities through mercenaries or merchants.

It seemed clear that the crown prince was planning to prepare for when the aristocratic faction gathered weapons in that way.

Of course it wasn’t difficult, so I nodded. Since arrowheads do not have much benefit compared to the time it takes to produce them, there was no intention to make many from the beginning.

“That’s a good thing. Thank you. We will make up for the loss you will incur through other means.”

Moreover, they said they would provide separate compensation, so it wasn’t really a loss.

Anyway, I don’t know if it was because I willingly skipped over the part about arrowheads, but the crown prince watched the subjugation battle with a much more relaxed expression.

It was a sight to see soldiers and knights wiping out orcs in a manner that befits the word ‘destruction’.

Even if they were royals, there wasn’t much to see, and you could see them clenching their fists and exclaiming, ‘That’s right!’ and ‘You’re good!’

“Oh, the warriors are already showing up!”

As the crown prince was cheering instead of cheering on the soldiers, warriors soon came rushing in.

It may be because the regular entities were wiped out in an instant, but warriors who could be called special entities finally appeared.

And, of course, those warriors showed a very different appearance from the ordinary individuals from before.

I don’t know if it was because they were killing their own people, but the Orc warriors were furious. The guys, who had lost half their minds in anger, started running wild as if they had no regard for their lives.

But still there was no problem. Although a few soldiers were hit and flying around, there was no significant damage thanks to the mana-filled armor.

Of course, it was also thanks to the knights who took their place right after they flew away and cut down the rampaging Orc warriors.

“Viscount Steel! Did you just see it! Lord Muteni cut down the entire orc, including the weapon the warrior was holding!”

The crown prince, who watched the activities of the knights following him in person, seemed very happy.

Kwaang-!

And at the same time that the Crown Prince clenched his fists and gave a shout, a red flame rose in the air and flew towards Mutni, the knight who made the Crown Prince cheer.

There was a loud explosion sound and black smoke billowed out, and some of the nearby knights ran towards the place.

Since he was wearing full-body armor made of metal, he had to take it off right away to avoid damage from burns.

However, it was faster for them to arrive at the location than for the knight with his entire body covered in mana to jump out through the black smoke and hit the neck of the orc shaman who had sent the flames.

“… … Did you really use an elixir when quenching?”