Ch.656I Saw It Clearly With My Own Eyes, I Tell You.

Orhan’s Red Scale was gone, so I wondered if Ludwig might have a dragon scale hidden away somewhere, but unfortunately, he didn’t have anything like that.

Apparently, Landenburg only possessed one masterless silver sword.

“Is that possibly one of the Great’s Twelve Knights’ swords?”

“Indeed. It’s a relic left by Lord Berengaria.”

That’s no use to me.

I can’t use Karma of Murder techniques with a silver sword, and according to Rotholandus, even among descendants, only those recognized by the sword can properly wield the weapons of the Twelve Knights.

If I tried to use it, it would just be an ordinary silver sword.

And it seems none of Berengaria’s descendants can wield that sword. If someone could, they would have made it known far and wide by now.

“That—”

I was about to say it was just an expensive decoration, but a sudden thought made me close my mouth.

Come to think of it, wasn’t it mostly the Ka’har’s fault that the sword became a mere decoration?

The Landenburg family were apparently descendants of Berengaria, but Ludwig’s children who should have inherited the family both died at the hands of the Ka’har. Hersella’s homeland had effectively cut off Berengaria’s direct bloodline.

“Well, finding a proper owner must be rather difficult.”

“We’ve been looking for suitable candidates among related families, but without much success. Since there’s a risk of succession disputes over Landenburg, we’re mainly looking among powerless children… After I’m gone, please find someone and take them in.”

Ludwig continued as if he’d been waiting to say this. Judging by his concern about succession disputes, he seemed determined to pass the Landenburg territory to me, even if the sword found another owner.

“By ‘take them in,’ do you mean adopt them and pass Landenburg to them?”

“Precisely. I can’t force you, but if you grant this request, I’ll be content even in death. After all, you don’t intend to have children, do you?”

That’s true. Unless Imperial magic advances enough in the next few centuries to enable test tube babies or parthenogenesis.

…Ophelia might be capable of it, but whatever method she’d use probably wouldn’t be normal, so let’s move on.

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

I gave a noncommittal answer as I put out my finished cigarette and shrugged. Ludwig seemed satisfied with even this vague response and nodded.

—-

Anyway, without being able to obtain a weapon comparable to dragon scales in Landenburg, I needed to somehow repurpose what I already had to fight Orhan.

I explained to Ludwig about my spoils from the previous battle—the Red Scale—along with how it had cracked halfway and become useless after just one swing.

“Then it needs to be repaired or remade.”

“Easier said than done. Unless we’re talking about a Dwarf, this isn’t something we can entrust to an ordinary blacksmith.”

And the only Dwarf I know is far away in Extrashafel.

“Then we should entrust it to a Dwarf. Leaving it as is would only make it a burden. Leave it to me. I’ll send a trusted knight with the finest steed to the islands. I’ll cover all expenses.”

Ludwig replied calmly. However many days it might take to get the repaired Red Scale back, it would be better than leaving it unused like a decoration. He wasn’t wrong.

“Oh, that’s very kind of you. While you’re at it, could they melt it down and reforge it instead of just repairing it? The large odachi is quite unwieldy.”

“As you wish. A weapon that might behead Orhan shouldn’t be uncomfortable to handle.”

Ludwig nodded readily, and I took a piece of paper on the spot to write a simple specification.

A short, narrow blade easy to handle with one hand.

A hilt long enough to grip with both hands if needed.

Prioritize strength above all else, and make at least three blades.

“You’re planning for breakage by preparing several in advance?”

“That’s right. If that thick odachi had its blade completely shattered, restoring it to its original form would probably make it unusable after two strikes anyway.”

Rather than that, it seemed better to assume they’d be disposable and increase the quantity. It might be cumbersome to carry them all, but still.

I briefly considered asking for winter armor in the specifications for Asha, but I gave up, not knowing how many days it would take to make three swords plus armor.

The armor’s performance could be somewhat substituted with the protection of my blessing anyway. Though I don’t plan to strip everything off like last time.

—-

“Lord Haschal, you’re back!”

“Where did you go so early in the morning, miss?”

When I returned to my room after finishing my discussion with Ludwig, I found two uninvited guests.

A man with a face that looked like a bandit had mated with a Werebeast, and a noble lady with a face that seemed to be a mix of haughtiness and vivacity.

It was Jahan and Leonore, who had completed their treatment.

“I went to see Ludwig. Apparently, we’re screwed.”

I answered as I flopped down on the bed. Leonore tilted her head as if she didn’t understand, but Jahan pressed his lips together as if he got the gist of it.

I explained to them my prediction that the Ka’har would attack the Empire’s mainland beyond Dane, and that our only options in that case would be either a scorched earth strategy on a national scale or a battle on the plains.

I also told them that the former was impossible, and the latter had little chance of success.

“Jahan. You, like ‘me,’ have attacked the west as a warrior of the steppes, and you’ve also fought alongside westerners. In your opinion, could we win a battle on the plains with our remaining forces?”

After a moment’s consideration, Jahan spoke.

“…In an army-versus-army battle, we would certainly lose. The Imperial army has been able to claim victories so far not because westerners are strong, but because they fought in conditions that completely neutralized the steppe people’s strengths.”

The Ka’har’s strength was obviously that most of their troops were cavalry—and each rider’s horsemanship surpassed that of the Imperial cavalry.

Free charges and withdrawals, and mounted archery even while retreating were their specialties.

In other words, if you could just keep their feet bound to the ground, they would go from being an unstoppable force to merely a formidable one that would still inflict heavy casualties.

The Imperial army knew their weakness well, which is why they only engaged the Ka’har in full-scale battles after forcing them into situations where they couldn’t utilize their mobility.

In the wall battles, the wall itself played that role, making it impossible to properly position while mounted. A bit earlier, when small detachments were eliminating scattered Ka’har forces, the enemy villages acted as shackles binding the warriors’ ankles.

What good would it do to ride at a distance and rain arrows? If the Imperial army ignored them and entered their villages to create slaughterhouses, their homes and families would all be gone.

However, the next battle would be on the plains where we couldn’t restrain their mobility. Jahan asserted that in such a case, the Imperial army would be devoured without even being able to put up proper resistance.

“But if those who have crossed the wall intervene, I’m not sure what would happen. A Champion might be left as a corpse after a cavalry division sweeps through, but Heroes of legendary caliber… as Lord Haschal knows, they can’t be explained by conventional strategy and tactics.”

Ludwig and I had reached the same conclusion.

Certain defeat in an army-versus-army battle. Therefore, to achieve victory against them, we would need to take down all their war chiefs before our forces were massacred.

“They’re still human, so when they’re exhausted, they can be killed by ordinary warriors. Frederick almost went that way, I heard. Not because of skill, but because he was overwhelmed by numbers.”

Leonore interjected.

Frederick… I believe he had retreated after defending on the wall ruins when his strength was depleted. It would be a terrible loss if he died fighting in an exhausted state.

“Speaking of which, what are Joshua and Frederick doing? Neither of them seemed to be seriously injured.”

“Lord Blake has shut himself in the training ground, blaming himself for letting Orhan escape. And Frederick…”

Leonore trailed off, glancing at me cautiously.

“What about Frederick?”

“He seems a bit… unhinged. Not insane, but how should I put it… he’s not in his right mind.”

Frederick has lost it? One of the Empire’s heroes who needs to take on a war chief or become a human artillery?

That’s very bad news.

“What happened? Don’t tell me he’s developed war trauma now? A man of division commander rank?”

“War trauma? Is that a Ka’har expression for cowardice, just phrased more politely?”

Leonore looked bewildered, as if hearing the term for the first time.

It seemed this world had no concept of conditions like PTSD. Well, even in my original world, the prevailing opinion was that it was just an excuse for cowards, so I suppose it’s not surprising.

“It’s not that he’s afraid of war, but he’s become strange. What did he say… ‘I saw a demon’? Apparently, he’s going around claiming there’s a demon hiding beneath the wall and insisting we thoroughly investigate the underground.”

“Ah…”

I could only let out a soft groan, unable to find words to respond. I had a pretty good idea why Frederick was behaving that way.

He said he was directly hit by the Field of Mortality.

Unable to—or perhaps unwilling to—connect that power to me, he seems to have decided to believe there’s a demon hiding beneath the wall.