Ch.110Magic Corps #7

“Huff, huff…”

At the training ground behind the mansion, two people stood in rather contrasting positions.

One was Randall, half-kneeling, leaning on a broken sword stuck in the ground while catching his breath.

The other was Helena, standing calmly before him.

“Whew! Did you cross another wall in such a short time?”

Randall broke into a cold sweat as he stared at Helena’s right hand, or more precisely, the black aura gripped in it.

It was understandable that he’d be surprised, experiencing something like this for the first time. I had been the same.

“It’s not grand enough to call it a wall. I merely gained a small insight, that’s all.”

“How modest of you. To my eyes, it hardly seems like a small insight. To think you could extend and wield just your aura…”

From the moment Helena threw her sword to create a distraction, to when she wielded her black aura to break Randall’s sword in half.

It was truly a brilliant, unexpected move, and the knights surrounding the training ground couldn’t stop praising her.

“Anyway, I was able to learn from witnessing excellent swordsmanship. Thank you.”

Randall remained on one knee and bowed his head to Helena.

While his gesture seemed respectful, it also gave the impression of a newly knighted fledgling knight.

Helena seemed a bit embarrassed by this, as if it made her feel awkward, and she took Randall’s hands in hers to help him up.

“We still have a long way to go… but I’m glad I could be of help to you. The Central Knights becoming stronger means His Majesty’s safety is that much more secure. By the way, how is Lord Solus doing?”

“Very well, of course. The Commander is always lamenting missing good opportunities…”

It was impressive how she displayed loyalty despite having no real interest in the king, smoothly leading the conversation while flattering Randall.

Even though I had seen this several times before, it still felt fresh.

“…That’s good to hear. I’d like to chat more, but we shouldn’t drag this out any longer.”

“Yes, understood!”

After enjoying their conversation for a while, Helena suddenly adopted a solemn demeanor and began directing the knights.

From relocating their station to setting up tents for barracks.

All to ensure sword training and drills would proceed without a hitch.

.

“Good! Ten-minute break!”

“Yes!”

Resounding replies echoed throughout the encampment in response to Helena’s command.

The armored knights sat down on the ground to cool off, and Helena ordered the servants who had come to help with odd jobs to fetch water.

“Thank you. I was just getting thirsty.”

The knights expressed their gratitude each time the servants brought them water.

None of them were abusive or responded unpleasantly.

While part of it might have been because they were reluctant to mess with the Duke’s servants, fundamentally they were people who knew how to show respect.

“By the way, I really envy the Grand Duke.”

While sitting with the knights and drinking water, one knight muttered with a genuinely envious expression.

He was one of the knights I had been practicing hand-to-hand combat with.

Gulp. After emptying half of the leather water flask handed to me by a servant, I tilted my head and asked:

“Because you have Helena as a wife? That would be understandable…”

“No, that’s not it.”

The knight flatly denied it, as if it really wasn’t the case.

Even though her shadow of obsession might obscure her merits, he must know that women of Helena’s caliber are rare.

Yet he responded this way, which suggested he must be quite afraid of Helena.

Probably because of the notorious rumors about her treatment of men.

“A-hem. I see. Then what are you envious of…?”

“Being able to train with the Duchess every day—that’s what I envy. It’s the optimal condition for improving one’s skills. I don’t mean to suggest that the Grand Duke’s skills or sense are lacking, but in such an environment, it would be strange not to improve.”

“Ah, so that’s what you meant? You certainly have a point.”

I smiled casually and brushed it off as if there was nothing to be concerned about.

While it could have sounded quite rude depending on how one took it, our familiarity with each other over time had built mutual trust and understanding.

Moreover, if we had been on awkward terms, he probably wouldn’t have approached me like this in the first place.

“By the way, the Duchess grows stronger with each passing day… it’s truly frightening. Especially that aura she used against the Deputy Commander in the training ground—it gave me chills.”

“You felt that too? So did I. Even for a master, wielding just the aura alone was something I couldn’t have imagined.”

“And that’s not all! Just look at the intensity of that aura…”

Once one knight opened the floodgates, the others around him chimed in as if they had been waiting for the opportunity.

Before long, the atmosphere had become as bustling as a marketplace.

I quietly observed this scene before approaching Randall, who seemed to be coming over to quiet things down.

“Randall. Could you wait a bit before quieting them down?”

“Pardon? Well… if the Grand Duke requests it, of course I will, but may I ask why?”

“Inspiration is as fleeting as a momentary spark that quickly disappears, but it can also be significant enough to change one’s life. From what I can see, the knights engrossed in this discussion seem to be receiving such inspiration.”

There are things gained through training, but there are also things gained through conversation.

I carefully made my request while pointing this out, and fortunately, he seemed to understand readily.

It seemed Randall had been thinking along similar lines.

“You make a good point. Then I’ll let them rest a bit longer.”

“Thank you. I’ll speak to Helena about it, and Randall, please take a moment to sit down and rest too. You may have come as a representative of the knights, but you’re not the only one responsible for this gathering.”

“…Hmm. Thank you for your consideration.”

Randall and I turned our backs to each other, each heading our separate ways.

Randall to mingle with the knights, and I to approach Helena to extend the break time.

“Is that so? Sure, why not.”

Helena readily agreed to my request, and as a result, the break only ended after about 20 more minutes had passed.

Afterward, we formed pairs and engaged in continuous sparring, occasionally switching partners or holding team matches.

That’s how we spent a week.

“This concludes our first training session. Take tomorrow off to rest. We’ll begin a different type of training the day after.”

“Training… you say?”

As the sunlight turned crimson in the late afternoon.

With all the knights covered in dust and breathing heavily, Randall, who was relatively composed, asked.

Somehow, I thought his appearance suited his title as Deputy Commander.

“Yes. After your day of rest, we’ll conduct more practical training.”

“And what might this practical training entail?”

“First, we’ll engage in guerrilla warfare with the elves in the forest, then battle on open ground, and finally, though somewhat limited, urban warfare in the slave village.”

Randall, who had asked the question, and subsequently all the knights, gasped in shock.

They knew how reckless it was to engage in guerrilla warfare against elves in a forest, regardless of other types of combat.

But Helena added that this was precisely why they needed the training.

She explained that without experience, they would die helplessly in such disadvantageous situations.

.

“Huff, huff…”

On the day of battle.

Eve, the commander of the slaves and leader of the magic corps, took a deep breath to calm herself.

The elves had been positioned throughout the deep, uncultivated forest for some time, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

She seems quite tense.

The female elf appointed as Eve’s adjutant for this battle thought to herself while maintaining a deliberately impassive expression.

Having long adapted to her unexpectedly comfortable life as a slave, she had learned to be mindful of appearances.

“We’ll begin now.”

Tap tap. Eve spoke while lightly tapping the round pendant hanging around her neck.

At a glance, it might seem like nothing more than a plain silver circle, but the reality was different.

It was a magic item inscribed with a magical formation that Eve had researched for days on end.

The magic engraved in the item was the Eye of the Sky, which provided a wide field of vision as if looking down from above.

Eve used this effect to see clearly through the forest and surrounding area as she spoke.

“Third platoon, go left, cross the river in the distance and circle around. We’ll flank their rear with a detour.”

“Yes. I’ll relay that.”

“Second platoon, split in two and block the front. Use the first and third squads as your axis, and have the remaining second squad focus on defense. First platoon, cover the rear for now, and when the second platoon retreats, prepare to pin them down with diversionary tactics.”

The elf used wind spirits to carry Eve’s voice, relaying her orders without omission to the forward combat units.

In an era without radios, they relied on elves’ exceptional hearing and magic as a substitute.

This was the main reason for having an adjutant.

“About thirty meters left. Nock your arrows.”

The arrows prepared for today had blunt tips, and magic attacks were directed at the ground for diversionary purposes.

While any training carried a risk of injury, these measures were taken to minimize that risk.

This training exercise was a war of annihilation, ending only when one side was completely wiped out.

They weren’t actually dying, of course—Helena, who was supervising the training, would declare them “dead” for the exercise—but the tension was no less than in actual combat.

Both the cautiously reconnoitering knights and the elves felt it.

“Attack.”

As if she had been waiting for the moment, Eve fired the signal for battle with a cold tone.

No sooner had the order been given than arrows imbued with elemental magic rained down, and the knights, who had been preparing for this, resisted quite fiercely.

After all, they too were elite knights who guarded the king.

The knights cut down trees with their aura blades and charged in the ensuing confusion.

They raced along the falling trees toward where they sensed the elves.

This was a tactic devised by Randall and the knights during their day of rest.

The tactic worked surprisingly well.

The terror of elves lies in the nightmare of elemental magic and silent arrows from blind spots, but by cutting down the trees that supported them, the knights disrupted their balance.

However, the elves were no fools and responded quickly.

Knowing they would lose nine times out of ten in close combat with knights, they focused on evasion.

When a knight approached, they would leap to the next tree, all while continuing to shoot arrows and cast spells.

Trees fell, and dust clouds rose with thunderous sounds.

The uninhabited forest of the duchy experienced an untimely chaos, which continued for two days.

In the end, the elves claimed victory in the forest guerrilla warfare, but the knights had resisted well enough to inflict more damage than expected.

Afterward, they took an entire day to rest and discuss the battle situations and tactics that had unfolded, and from the next day, they engaged in conventional combat that the elves would likely find disadvantageous.

“Charge! Charge!”

In open field battles, numerical advantage is crucial, and there are fewer variables.

So it was somewhat rational for the knights to charge enthusiastically, seeking revenge.

After all, the elven army was smaller in number.

The problem was that the elemental magic used by the elves was more than sufficient to create variables.

Additionally, with Eve’s enhanced vision, there were instances of unexpected ambushes.

Using earth spirits to create simple barriers, improvising mud pits to slow down the knights even slightly, and splashing muddy water like waves to obscure their vision.

From the elves’ perspective, who found it more appropriate to evade than to defend, the battle naturally became one of pursuit and evasion.

If this push and pull had continued, the elven side would have claimed victory, but ultimately the knights won.

The critical factor was being breached by a surprise wedge formation.

It was truly a moment that demonstrated the knights’ breakthrough power.

In the end, the elven side lost all battles except the forest guerrilla warfare, but all the knights unanimously declared that it had been extremely challenging.

They said that if they had been slightly lacking in strength or experience, they might have lost their composure in the chaotic battle.

Jion and Helena, as the organizers, were pleased with the cool-headed evaluations given after the battles, and they walked toward Eve, who was managing the elven slaves.

Though the elven group was worn out from days of fierce combat, fortunately, no one was seriously injured.

Helena praised the slaves and prepared many gifts for them to take home when they returned.

Since money used among humans was of little use to them, she focused on items they might appreciate, such as expensive silk and wine.

“It was so excellent that it’s hard to believe it was your first time. Truly remarkable.”

The couple did not hold back their praise for Eve, who kept apologizing dejectedly, and they also comforted her by patting her shoulder.

With the addition of alcohol, they unintentionally made Eve’s tears flow.

Perhaps because of this, the next day, the couple could see that Eve’s expression was quite bright as she rubbed her puffy eyes.