Ch.212Arrival

Finally arriving at Landenburg, it was largely empty except for civilians and some guards.

Lord Ludwig and most of the border forces had already headed toward the Wall.

So we too had to head straight for the Wall after just a quick meal and bath.

—-

The Wall of Berengaria still stood firm, boasting its impressive height of 30 meters.

Nothing had changed except for the number of soldiers patrolling around, which had increased three or four times.

Is it even possible to cross that thing at this point?

“Wow… it’s so high…”

Seeing the wall for the first time, Lena gaped in amazement.

With her head tilted all the way back and eyes shining as she stared at the top of the wall, she looked like she might fall over backward if someone gave her forehead a gentle push.

“It certainly is unusually high. To keep out Ka’har cavalry, a third of this height would have been sufficient.”

“Were they preparing to fight giants or something…?”

Her impression was exactly the same as mine when I first saw the wall, which made me chuckle involuntarily.

“It looks high, but I’ve heard there have been occasional attempts to climb it. To jump over it alone, you’d need to be at least a Champion… that is, a Master-level knight, but that means it’s doable for a Master.”

Well, it seemed possible for me too.

Not that I could leap over it in a single bound.

I could probably prepare three or four spears, plant them in the wall, and jump up using them as footholds.

Though I might end up looking like a squashed tomato if I slipped.

—-

“Thank you for coming all this way, Baron Median! Lord Landenburg is up on the wall. Do you need someone to guide you?”

Since my arrival was already well known, the knight on guard saluted me sharply as soon as he saw me.

“I have Nigel, so that won’t be necessary. But I would like to entrust this girl to you.”

I pointed to Lena, who was getting out of the carriage.

We had traveled together this far, but now that we’d reached the wall, I intended to assign Lena to focus solely on healing in the rear, as originally planned.

What awaited ahead was a battlefield where thousands would clash.

Healing many people would steadily accumulate Good Karma and strengthen her holy power, so it would be beneficial for her too.

“This is Lena, a healing priest from the Church of Saulite. She came here to treat the wounded, so I’d appreciate it if you could take her to the field medical station where the healing priests are gathered. She’s like a sister to me… so please keep her safe. Can I ask that of you?”

“It would be my honor!”

What honor?

I’m basically saying I’ll hold you responsible if anything happens to her.

“Then I’ll be going now! Be careful, sisters!”

“You too, be careful, and if any problem arises, grab any passing knight and mention my name—that should help somehow.”

I waved to Lena as she headed toward one side of the camp with the knight.

Will she be alright? Even among soldiers at war, there are bound to be some rough characters…

“…If you’re that worried, I could look after her until the battle begins. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable about meeting the Margrave of Landenburg anyway.”

“Oh, really? Well… then I’ll leave it to you, Leo—I mean, Renault.”

Renault. That was the alias Leonore had suggested by the time we reached Landenburg.

It meant “reborn one” in the Imperial language.

There was a monster with that name in a game I played before…

After sending her off, I proceeded through the center of the camp with Nigel.

It was quite amusing to see the soldiers around us jump to attention and salute whenever they saw us.

I pretended not to hear their whispers behind us.

“Ka’har is invading, but can we really trust their princess…?”

“The Lord must have his reasons. And I heard she’s not the Aishan-whatever princess anymore, but Baron Median now.”

“The Thorn Princess…”

“The man-eater… they say she impaled hundreds of our men and roasted them…”

“…Surely not. Must be enemy lies. Would Sir Nigel have stood by and watched that?”

…Let’s pretend I didn’t hear that.

—-

Lord Ludwig Wilhelm von Landenburg stood atop the Wall of Berengaria in his usual uniform, staring beyond the wall. His gaze seemed to look past the enemy forces camped before him, focusing on something further away.

Behind him stood three knights in a protective formation, one of whom I recognized.

That somewhat frivolous Master-level knight. I remembered him wielding dual swords against monsters. Hayden, was that his name?

The other two knights exuded a similar aura to Hayden’s, suggesting they were all part of the “Swords of Landenburg.”

The ten Masters under Lord Ludwig’s command.

Sensing someone climbing up to the wall, all three knights turned their gaze toward me simultaneously.

Curiosity, wariness, fighting spirit—their eyes, each expressing something different, looked at me before noticing Nigel following behind, at which point they smiled in recognition.

[Hmm. So these are the Swords of Landenburg. Their aura seems decent enough.]

‘Just decent? That assessment seems a bit harsh. Aren’t they quite strong even by Imperial standards?’

[Not strong enough that you couldn’t defeat them.]

‘That’s true.’

I could probably beat all three in one-on-one combat, though I’m not sure about facing them simultaneously.

—-

“Welcome, Baron Median. I can’t remember how long it’s been since I last saw you. Since Ainfeld, perhaps?”

“I think so… If you wanted to see my face so badly, you should have come a little sooner. Instead of turning back altogether.”

If he had arrived just two days before the palace fell… things wouldn’t have come to this.

“I had no choice in the matter. While monster attacks were strangely frequent, delaying our movement, we also received news of Ka’har’s advance. Not knowing how urgent the situation in the capital was, I had to make the difficult decision to turn back. Who could have predicted that Isabella would destroy the palace and flee, starting a rebellion?”

Well, even I couldn’t predict that, despite knowing a fair bit about her.

“…So, what’s the enemy’s status? We need to eliminate them as quickly as possible and move on to suppress Isabella’s rebellion. If we’re not careful, the elves might invade too.”

“Elves…? What do you mean by that?”

I told the puzzled Ludwig about Perneisia’s warning.

The information that if the civil war dragged on, the elves would also break the peace treaty and target the Empire.

Though the only evidence was Perneisia’s word… if it actually happened, the consequences were clear.

The Empire was already stretched to its limits with civil wars breaking out everywhere, monster appearances, the northern invasion, and the Ka’har threat.

The situation was so dire that they couldn’t even send Imperial troops to the east, despite the possibility of Orhan’s arrival.

If Alvheim invaded, they would have to move all remaining legions to the west to stop them, but that would leave the entire empire vulnerable to monster attacks.

“Hmm…”

Not pleased with this news, Lord Ludwig let out a long sigh.

“I must send a letter to His Majesty… what should we do… Ah, yes! That’s it!”

Ludwig, who had been pondering while puffing on a mana herb, suddenly exclaimed as if struck by an idea.

Had he thought of a viable strategy?

“One of your friends is doing business in the capital, isn’t she? That dwarf from the Red Copper clan.”

“You mean Asha? What about her?”

“Yes, that’s the name. I should advise His Majesty to contact that dwarf. The Red Copper clan is one of the great houses of Himmel, so through her, we could convey our intentions to Himmel.”

Himmel. A republic jointly governed by the great dwarf houses.

Though not heavily populated, it was quite powerful due to its unique technology and wealth accumulated through trade.

“As you warned, if Alvheim attacks at this point, the Empire lacks the strength to repel them. However, the dwarves have more than enough power to do so.”

“You want to ask Himmel to either check Alvheim or attack them outright?”

“Exactly. The details of the negotiation would be up to His Majesty Leopold, but if we could establish a secret agreement for Himmel to attack Alvheim the moment the elves strike the Empire… at least we wouldn’t be helplessly overwhelmed.”

Well, since dwarves and elves have been ancient enemies, they might accept the Empire’s conditions with appropriate compensation…

But wouldn’t that essentially be firing the starting gun for a world war?

“Additionally, the Holy State would not stand idle either. They too share a border with Alvheim.”

It really is a world war.

Except for the Kingdom of Panam in the south and the Dragonic Kingdom in the northwest, every country would be involved in the conflict.

Lacy would have loved this if she were here.

…Speaking of which, where is that woman now?

She doesn’t seem to have been captured by Isabella, but she hasn’t shown her face anywhere.

“Now that we’ve discussed the elves, let’s get to the main point. You asked about the enemy’s movements? Look over there. You should be able to see them camped beyond the wall, waiting for us to come out.”

I turned my gaze in the direction Ludwig pointed.

At the edge of my vision, I could see numerous tents packed closely together.

Familiar tents. The same design I had seen several times when I first arrived here.

Ka’har military tents.

They were there.