Ch.304Chapter 304. The Blind Spot of a Veteran (4)

“What are you saying? Suddenly pulling back troops…? What kind of nonsense is that?”

Despite facing Epinel’s confused expression, the soldier didn’t avert his gaze as he reported.

“It’s true! There was a tremendous roar like lightning striking, and suddenly the fortress collapsed…!”

“Are there any witnesses?”

“There are no direct witnesses… but why would I lie to you, General?”

It certainly didn’t seem like a joke or a hasty report without evidence.

Though she wondered what on earth was happening, she knew that just hearing about it wouldn’t reveal anything.

“Can you guide me there immediately?”

“Ah… yes! Understood!”

Epinel quickly assembled an expedition team and headed toward where Serpina’s fortress was said to have been.

It was strange.

She felt like her heart was racing… for the first time in a very long while.

* * *

“This is…”

The place Epinel arrived at was Serpina’s fortress.

—No, more precisely, where Serpina’s army had been stationed.

It was, quite literally, devastatingly collapsed.

While she was momentarily shocked by the catastrophe too severe to even approach—

“What… could have happened here? It’s as if there was an earthquake…”

“There were no signs of that. If there had been an earthquake, it would have been detected at our Valhalart Castle.”

“Then why on earth…??”

As Epinel stood bewildered witnessing the incomprehensible situation, a familiar voice came from behind her.

“…you came…!”

“Yurie…?”

The soldiers following Epinel all saluted the head of state walking up from behind.

“Emma… Erinandorf, they helped us…!”

“What…???”

“How else can you explain this situation, Epinel? The enemy fortress suddenly collapsing like this?”

“No, but conversely, there’s no proof that Emma or Erinandorf helped—”

“There is!”

Yurie shouted loudly, cutting off Epinel’s voice.

“I told you they appeared in my dream! That a path to the heavens had opened, and we just needed to add our sincerity! This is the proof! You must know that if we can connect with the heavens, magical powers can be freely used!”

“What would I know about… Wait, you don’t mean—”

“Yes.”

Yurie closed her eyes and nodded vigorously.

“Remember the ‘miracle’ that Swen performed when he was with the Brans army? When he called down stones from the sky, he was performing a ritual to the heavens. And he is not a magician.”

“So there’s only one conclusion.”

After saying this, she knelt down on the spot.

The sight of soldiers all kneeling in unison after their highest leader, without knowing why, was in some sense a magnificent scene.

Yurie, unconcerned with the gazes of such soldiers, looked up at the sky with sparkling eyes—

“It worked! Our sincerity worked! The path to the heavens has opened!”

Epinel, the only one not kneeling, carefully asked.

“So… you’re saying something like stones fell?”

“I don’t know about that! But it’s certain that some power acted to make this fortress collapse!”

“Is that so…??”

“Yes. That’s how it is.”

Epinel was uncertain—but she couldn’t deny it.

The fact that Yurie’s explanation seemed somewhat plausible. Beyond that—she found herself hoping Yurie was right.

Normally she would have examined the situation more seriously, but for someone who had been prepared to inflict maximum damage on Serpina’s army before dying in what seemed like an unwinnable battle, Yurie’s claim felt like a ray of light in a hopeless situation.

Is it absurd?

Just a few years ago, if anyone mentioned magicians, everyone would sneer, saying “that’s just a legend.” But now no one denies the existence of magicians.

The first magician who appeared in the northern continent, and the second magician who revealed himself in the southern continent. Along with numerous eyewitness accounts from soldiers—the existence of magicians was clear reality with evidence.

The concept of “connecting with the heavens” was similar.

In fact, a man named Swen, who was once an ally, had a history of calling down stones through rituals. If that wasn’t solely due to his ability but truly through connecting with the heavens, what guarantee was there that we couldn’t create the same miracle?

Decisively, it wouldn’t benefit Serpina’s army to stage such a farce. The best approach for her would be to bring an overwhelming army capable of easily crushing the Aeshus forces like cake, rather than wasting time on such nonsense.

If Epinel herself were a commander in Serpina’s army, she was confident she could defeat a weakened nation like Aeshus within a week if given just 200,000 soldiers.

So could it really be… that we’ve connected with the heavens?

As Yurie said, could Emma and Erinandorf be helping us?

That’s right. Just as magicians suddenly appeared in other countries… couldn’t our country experience such miracles too?

And so, Epinel’s heart was rapidly swaying.

* * *

Similar incidents continued to occur afterward.

Whenever Serpina’s army built a front line for invasion, vivid testimonies kept coming in about the front suddenly collapsing.

Soon after, intelligence reported that soldiers from Serpina’s army had suddenly begun deserting en masse.

The cause they cited was persistent nightmares and auditory hallucinations.

Particularly important was the content of these nightmares.

The news was that many people testified about ‘a blue-armored female knight hunting for their heads.’

And Epinel and Yurie knew better than anyone that Emma always preferred to wear blue armor.

“Do you understand now, Epinel? That our hearts have connected with Emma and Erinandorf?”

“Perhaps it really is so…”

“That’s why we need to convey our hearts more sincerely. There’s no point in preparing for war—we can’t win. We’ll just be captured and killed! Even if we inflict losses, we still can’t preserve our nation.”

“But! We have comrades! Comrades watching over us from the heavens! And the world has begun to recognize that we sincerely think of our comrades at every moment!”

“Hmm…”

Just as Epinel was wavering.

Bang!

A one-armed woman burst into the audience chamber and walked toward them.

“Anima…?”

“I heard everything. Is it true you’re expanding the altar, Yurie?”

Yurie answered Anima’s question in a cold tone.

“Anima. Are you still going to insist on your solitary opinion?”

“No… How can connecting with the heavens make any sense?! What Swen did back then was just magic! The concept of connecting with the heavens doesn’t exist!”

“It wasn’t magic. He’s not a magician.”

“You can’t completely prove that!”

“And you can’t perfectly prove that ‘the concept of connecting with the heavens doesn’t exist,’ can you?”

“T-that’s… just splitting hairs. Yurie! Please come to your senses!”

“You’re the one who needs to open your eyes, Anima. You…”

At that moment.

Tears began to flow from Yurie’s eyes.

Unable to imagine she would cry, Anima turned pale and closed her mouth again.

“Erinandorf went alone to rescue you when you were captured by Serpina. He charged into enemy territory alone, risking his life. Emma insisted we must save you even if it meant kneeling before Serpina. Those two… did all that to save your life, so how… how can you speak so cruelly?”

“I, I…”

She couldn’t bring herself to say: I never asked for that. I never wanted everyone to act that way for me.

“You’re too cruel. Really… too cruel. Finally, the heavens understand our army’s, our comrades’ unjust circumstances. Finally, our turn has come… and yet…”

“…Anima. Come with me.”

Watching the situation, Epinel intervened to let Yurie regain her composure alone, then took Anima outside the audience chamber for a private conversation.

“Epinel. You’re not going to say the same thing as Yurie, are you?”

“Before that, let me hear what you think. What do you believe is causing all this?”

“I… well.”

Anima bit her lip hard as she explained.

“I think it’s all Serpina’s staged act. She’s the only one who could cause all this.”

“The fortress suddenly collapsing?”

“There are magicians. It wouldn’t be difficult to use magic to make it appear collapsed.”

“I see. What about the deserting soldiers?”

“That… they could have spread rumors among the soldiers, or just spread rumors to make it look like desertion. There are many ways.”

“And continuously letting front lines collapse while wasting supplies and time—that’s all staged too?”

“How else can you explain the situation? Emma and Erinandorf in heaven fighting for us? Such things can’t possibly happen!”

Epinel sighed briefly, then looked directly into Anima’s eyes and said:

“Fine. Anima. Let’s say you’re right. You’re smart, so you’ve thought this through and answered accordingly. But one question remains.”

“Why?”

“Why would Serpina stage such an act? What does she gain from this charade?”

“…!!”

Anima turned pale and couldn’t answer.

She too had easily reached this question. But she couldn’t derive an answer. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t see what benefit Serpina would gain from such actions.

“Anima. As you know, we can’t defeat Serpina’s army. We have no magicians, and our forces are overwhelmingly insufficient. We’ve lost the hearts of many territory residents, and their soldiers’ morale is probably higher. You know this well—that’s why you argued for making peace with Serpina, right?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“Then from Serpina’s perspective, she could just push in with her forces and be done with it. Why would she stage such an act? To mock us? Anima. I despise that woman, but I know she’s not like the Brans daughter who wastes time on inefficient matters. You know that too, don’t you?”

Seeing Anima unable to answer, Epinel grabbed her wrist and said:

“…Anima. Come with me for a moment. I have something to show you.”

* * *

The place they arrived at by carriage was a ruin near Valhalart Castle.

This was one of Serpina’s front lines where a very small fortress had stood.

“This is…”

It was similar to the previous fortress in that it was completely collapsed.

The difference was… the blood splattered everywhere, the smell of blood penetrating enough to tear one’s nose.

Under the rubble were crushed armors indicating they belonged to Serpina’s army, and inside… rotten flesh too deformed to recognize.

Truly, a horrific scene reminiscent of their academy days.

“Anima. Let me ask you once more. Do you think Serpina staged this and did this to her own soldiers?”

“…”

“Well, I know Serpina wouldn’t bat an eye at sacrificing her own soldiers. But right now, no matter how coldly you think about it, she has nothing to gain, right? I’m betting against that possibility. If there is something to gain, Anima, can you explain what she could possibly get from going this far?”

“Epinel…”

“If you can’t explain, I’ll follow Yurie’s claim that a path to the heavens has opened. After all, Yurie is our leader, and there’s no law saying our army can’t use powers similar to magic that others use.”

Anima couldn’t say a word to Epinel as she turned away.

—No, rather at this point, even Anima started to entertain ‘that thought.’

‘Could it… be true?’

Could Emma and Erinandorf really be using their power to save us?

Could Yurie’s prayers have reached them?

That thought was too sweet, yet completely without context.

* * *

After that day.

The Aeshus army used all resources originally meant for war preparation to expand the altar.

The occasional news—that Serpina’s army was in great confusion due to an unknown power, with even rebellion attempts near the border—was nothing but sweet music to Yurie’s ears.

When she heard about divisions within the occupation forces over abandoning the invasion, she became even more convinced.

Finally, we’ve connected with the heavens.

The heavens haven’t forsaken the friendship of us five!

‘We will overcome this! With the power of our comrades, we’ll overcome this trial… and with my own hands, I’ll take the life of our enemy, Serpina…!!’

—At that moment.

“My lord…!!”

During the sacred time of prayer, a soldier came running in a hurry.

Yurie stopped praying, and the armed guards standing nearby rushed to intercept the soldier.

“What is this about! I said no one is to be admitted during prayer time!”

“Urgent news! I know I’ve committed a grave sin… but this must be delivered…!”

“…!!”

What entered Yurie’s field of vision was the vivid red armband the soldier was wearing.

What it signified was only one thing.

—It didn’t take long for Yurie to realize how foolish her belief had been that they could overcome their trials simply by building altars and praying.