Ch.261Mobilization Order (2)

After our participation in the war was essentially confirmed, our frontier settlement naturally had to dispatch troops according to the mobilization order.

Of course, being a frontier settlement would be perfect for creating excuses to quietly shirk this obligation, but despite appearances, if I as the future lord were to pull such a stunt, my standing within our faction could be instantly ruined.

Therefore, partly to set an example for other knights, partly to prevent any strange political attacks when I eventually inherit the successor position, and partly to establish my reputation through military achievements, I decided to participate.

Especially in this situation where various military forces and soldiers from across the domain would be gathering, showing some accomplishments could imprint a positive image of me in their minds.

Father also mentioned that this was an extremely useful opportunity, as I needed to solidify my position as successor soon. For someone like me, overflowing with confidence in my abilities, this was truly laying out the perfect stage.

Therefore, my decision was to follow Father’s orders and mobilize all the best forces available.

Hannah, Gretel, Corin and the chimera living in our village, Lucius… my father-in-law, Droop with his custom powered suit, and three Golem Armors. Leading a total of nine intermediate-level fighters, I thought we might even be granted independent operational authority.

Especially since we also had Metal School mages from the maintenance team, Lord Malakai Falten who would participate in a non-combat capacity, and 24 crew members to operate the Golem Armor’s weapon containers.

In short, given our substantial military power, we were likely to receive our own independent organization, which was what I actually wanted.

Father also said he would try to organize us separately as a “special operations unit” or something similar, and above all, our forces required a “special” organization different from other soldiers.

Therefore, the final composition of our dispatched forces was easily completed.

Me as the commander with my mount Gus. Corin and the chimera, Droop Bazirite reborn as a tactical weapon in his custom powered suit, along with Hannah and my father-in-law handling reconnaissance.

Additionally, the Basilisk Platoon consisting of the crew of the Golem Armor ‘BASILISK’ for supply and fire support, with Gretel as deputy commander.

We also had Lord Malakai Falten and his automata serving as our maintenance team.

Supply issues would be resolved by loading large quantities of necessary provisions in the extra space of ‘BASILISK’, while common supplies like food… were arranged to be provided by Father.

Furthermore, the issue of protecting the village while most of our main forces were away had also been somewhat resolved.

“…Pierre, can I entrust this to you?”

“Yes. I’ll do my best.”

Pierre, who wouldn’t be helpful as a pure military asset regardless of his status as a descendant, would remain in the village and focus on maintaining security along with the guards who were also decided to stay behind.

Of course, since this village isn’t particularly peaceful enough to be secured by lower-ranked fighters alone, I relied on my connections in the knighthood to summon an intermediate-level fighter to take responsibility for the village during my absence.

“I’m counting on you.”

“Of course, Lord Pantrien.”

Lady Knight Leana Pantrien, whom I had recently used as the target of my last initiation ritual. Gone was her somewhat arrogant demeanor of the past; she had transformed into a rather serious person who now addressed me respectfully and accepted responsibility for the village.

However, my reason for summoning her wasn’t just this.

Leana Pantrien was a knight from the special knightly family ‘Pantrien’—from the same family as branch leader Delil Pantrien, who had raised a rebellion in the name of independence.

Of course, the Pantrien family, despite being called a family, was actually a group that trained intermediate-level warriors and had formed into a family structure.

While blood relations weren’t unheard of, most shared the surname through adoption and marriage—a large-scale organization that trained numerous intermediate-level warriors and operated as an interest group under the name of a family.

Therefore, sharing the same surname didn’t necessarily mean they knew each other, but I thought she might know something more than I did…

“…I’ll tell you everything I know.”

It seemed she did know something, as Lady Leana Pantrien, after a moment’s hesitation, began to explain everything she knew about this Delil fellow.

From how his name became known within the family after he achieved success by becoming an intermediate-level fighter, to the possibility that he had likely severed ties with the family by now.

“You say he was the family head’s son?”

“…That’s what I thought, but it turned out not to be the case.”

Among these stories, what stood out most was related to Delil Pantrien’s personal history—the secret of his birth.

Originally believed to be the child of the Pantrien family head and his wife, it was later revealed through periodic magical examinations that his father was not actually the family head.

In other words, his mother had committed adultery and had a child with another man.

Consequently, someone who had been considered the next family head suddenly fell to the lowest position. Given the circumstances of his birth, he naturally became an outcast within the family and eventually fled.

Of course, just hearing this much makes it sound like a common success story of a troubled life, and that’s indeed how I consciously perceived it.

However, my intuition suggested that there was something closely related to this.

The secret of Delil Pantrien’s birth. I felt that digging deeper would certainly reveal some profound inner workings, but there simply wasn’t enough time to delve into such minute details.

Yes, time was already running short.

We needed to rush to the battlefield immediately, so rather than focusing on this, we had to concentrate more on arriving at the battlefield on time.

※ ※ ※

After resolving all potential problems that might occur in my absence, we finally moved our army for war in earnest.

Although there was this separate element of Delil Pantrien’s birth secret, as mentioned earlier, we had to move our forces to the assembly point within a week.

The currently designated battlefield was the city of Colland. However, since soldiers gathering from various parts of the domain couldn’t assemble directly at Colland, which was to be the target of the siege, we decided to establish a separate assembly point.

And toward that assembly point, our group was moving while minimizing resource consumption.

Those with mounts rode them, while others climbed aboard the Golem Armor that still had some capacity—that’s how we moved on foot.

Since there was no one in our current state who would suffer problems from being somewhat overworked during a long march, we steadily proceeded toward the assembly point step by step.

Of course, nothing particularly eventful happened during this process.

More precisely, there were incidents, but they were resolved so easily they might as well have not happened.

With more than 10 intermediate-level fighters among our members, any trouble was too easily handled, allowing us to reach the assembly point somewhere in Colland Barony after an extremely pleasant journey.

The assembly point resembled a typical campsite, especially with temporary drainage ditches dug and tents set up, enhancing that impression.

With five whole days remaining until the end of the assembly period, it wasn’t particularly strange that the personnel were somewhat sparse.

Of course, since our group was originally from Colland Barony, it didn’t take us very long to arrive.

However, there was one force that had arrived at the assembly point even before us, and the flag they were flying was… a flag indicating the lord of the barony?

‘…What’s this?’

A signal that Father had arrived here much earlier than expected, perhaps having rushed here with just his cavalry.

As I was feeling puzzled by this sight, a familiar face approached from over there.

“…Sir Gafrang?”

“Yes, it’s been a while. Young… Sir Alzar.”

The middle-aged knight who still held the position of captain of the lord’s guard, one of Father’s closest confidants. His presence here likely meant that what the flag indicated was true…

“The Baron is waiting for you.”

“I see, understood.”

Upon hearing Sir Gafrang’s words, I finally grasped the situation and followed behind him.

I headed toward the notably splendid tent at one corner of the encampment where Father was said to be staying.