Ch.201Radiance of Fury (4)

We returned to Zirconia once more.

The Relief Knights couldn’t come with us as they had many preparations to make, but several members teleported to Zirconia with us, including a high-ranking knight who had been with the branch director.

“So this is Zirconia… Indeed, it doesn’t look to be in good condition.”

He muttered this while directing his subordinates and went outside the building, while I conversed with Major General Wellington.

“Major General. What will you do now?”

“First, I plan to gather the remaining military units under my command. With luck, I might be able to assemble enough forces to defend one city. The militia from burned villages and local defense forces who abandoned their bases would have gathered in Zirconia to survive. If we absorb them, we can restore our military strength in a short time.”

“That’s fortunate news. Well then, I’ll go check on my party members. I wish you good luck.”

“I express my gratitude once again, Knight of the Sun.”

I nodded, shook hands with Major General Wellington, and mounted my horse.

Although he was defeated in the last battle, it ultimately became a blessing in disguise as he survived the Night of the Dead, so I should pray that his luck reaches the heavens this time as well.

With that thought, I rode Bruiser toward the mooring tower.

With major renovation work underway on the Sky Warden, my soldiers were surrounding the work area, defending the region.

*

“Make way! Lord Victor has arrived!”

“Long live Lord Victor!”

I observed the enormously enlarged Sky Warden while receiving a salute from my soldiers.

Thanks to the bold decision to completely dismantle military warships for parts, the Sky Warden was transforming into a large, heavy warship, with its original disc shape now barely recognizable.

“The captain is here!”

“Berkman. How’s the progress?”

“About 30% complete, I’d say? It’s a major overhaul, so we still need more time. We’re also short on manpower.”

“Short on manpower?”

At those words, I looked at the poor people gathered outside the perimeter of my soldiers.

They had gathered after learning that we had purchased large quantities of food upon arriving in Zirconia. My army had been distributing perishable vegetables and milk to them to maintain a minimum level of public support.

“Are they of no use?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. What help could the poor provide in a field that requires mastery of rivet joining, arc welding, and beyond that, aerodynamics and mechanical engineering?”

“So they can’t even be used as labor force…”

I gazed at the poor with sharp eyes.

They were people who had belonged to the impoverished class even before the crisis began.

They were like the dregs of society, most of whom couldn’t even write their own names.

“We’re running low on food… Where’s Simon?”

“He’s inside the mooring tower, discussing with the scholars.”

“Discussing…”

I smiled slightly and headed inside the mooring tower.

The interior of the mooring tower, which had been kept clean until just a few weeks ago, was now filled with the stale smell of sweat and all sorts of clutter strewn about in disarray.

When I reached the top of the mooring tower, I could see Simon and other bearded men floating around beyond the transparent glass door. I stood with my arms crossed, watching their discussion.

Although I couldn’t hear their voices, it had been proven in the previous meeting that when scholars exchange ideas, brilliant solutions might emerge.

After about two hours, the discussion began to wrap up, and Simon, finally noticing my presence, opened the door to greet me.

*

“Sorry about that. I didn’t know you were here.”

“I didn’t intend to disturb you. So? What were you discussing so intensely?”

“Ah… nothing special. I informed the scholars about our current situation and asked for their help. We had a heated discussion about the methodology.”

“A moment… I’d say over two hours is hardly a moment.”

“Haha! A true scholar should be able to lecture for 36 hours straight without his saliva drying up.”

“That sounds quite dreadful.”

I drank some water to maintain moisture in my mouth and offered some to him as well.

Simon moistened his throat briefly, then approached me to share the progress they had made.

“Most of the scholars seem to be on our side now. There were a few skeptics, but they won’t disclose information externally.”

“Unjustified invasion inevitably leads to resistance.”

Simon nodded.

“By the way, how was the Relief Knights?”

“A high-ranking knight has already been dispatched. Along with his subordinates. The Relief Knights intend to get fully involved in this situation.”

“Good. That’s fortunate.”

Simon said while stroking his beard.

Needless to say, unlike the Coastal Margraviate, which is merely a regional state, the Relief Knights are an international organization spread across all 13 continents. The Margraviate’s parliament would desperately want to avoid being labeled a ‘rogue state’ by such an international organization.

“That aside, we need to secure food supplies. Any good ideas?”

“Hmm… Are we already running out of food?”

“We still have reserves, but they’ll be gone after this month.”

Fishing wasn’t an option as the fishing boats and fishermen weren’t in good shape, and we couldn’t use the airship to cast nets because it was currently undergoing modifications and couldn’t be moved carelessly.

The only option left was to import from outside, but rumors of undead infection in Zirconia had spread widely, preventing merchants from entering recklessly.

“Indeed… Even purchasing is difficult in this situation…”

“So, Simon, I’ve been thinking.”

“Oh?”

“Since we have a teleportation magic circle connecting Zirconia and the Relief Knights, why don’t we bring in food through there?”

“You mean to route through the Relief Knights… Not a bad idea. They wouldn’t have grounds to refuse since it’s food, not military supplies.”

The downside was that the magic circle wasn’t designed for cargo, so the transport capacity would be somewhat limited, but that could be solved by activating the magic circle more frequently.

If necessary, we could deploy Simon for fine adjustments, and the Knights would have their own mages as well.

“Not a bad idea. It would be good to pursue it. Especially in this situation, if citizens hear that there’s a way to secure food, they might restore some order.”

“Indeed.”

If people know they can get food, regardless of the source, at least a minimal level of order will be established.

The reason the poor outside weren’t rushing at us was because they expected to receive leftover food if they followed the rules.

“Major General Wellington is currently gathering defeated and deserting soldiers. If he succeeds, at least order within the city will be maintained.”

“We should pray for his success.”

I nodded and then left the mooring tower to find the high-ranking knight of the Relief Knights.

*

“Hmm. A good idea.”

The high-ranking knight readily granted my request to use the teleportation magic circle.

I just learned that the Relief Knights had planned to solve the supply issue using their own transport merchants and airships, but in that process, power holders like me who commanded private armies would inevitably be pushed back in the distribution.

However, they also knew that disaster would strike if the army wasn’t supplied with food, so allowing me to use the teleportation magic circle was tantamount to giving me implicit permission to wield enormous power in this city.

Having received permission, I sent Raisha to the surviving power holders and mercenary captains still attached to this place to ask if they were interested in purchasing food. When they expressed positive interest, I gave Simon the remaining money with orders to purchase food.

I specifically sent Raisha because she was a woman unbound by politics, and I sent Simon as the food purchasing envoy because he was better at negotiation than I was.

Moreover, because we had bought weapons at such cheap prices and were modifying what were essentially scrap warships, we had much more money left than expected. If I decided to pour money into it, I could potentially feed the entire city for months.

“Sigh… Is this what they call creative economy?”

The 30,000 gold coins given to me didn’t ultimately come from Avalencia and Perington’s pockets. In my case, it was settlement money according to a legitimate contract, so I had no obligation to return it, but seeing money earned in Zirconia going back to the people of Zirconia gave me a truly peculiar feeling.

“It’s already October of 1201… Time flies.”

I muttered this, waiting for Simon to return with the purchased food as soon as possible.