Episode 334 Episode
Ill. All-out war (2)
There was no longer any need to advance while forcibly securing a course. Allied reconnaissance, accompanied by a spiritist, began searching for the fastest route to High Mac.
While the injured who participated in the Sheltion subjugation were recovering, a large amount of drinking water was supplied from Yunin Oasis.
It was just the right time, as the water spirits of the spirits were not able to draw water as coolly as they did in the desert, and most of the supplies were taken by Randall’s vanguard.
It was Rugal’s blue sword, not the soldiers of Yunin Oasis, who drove hundreds of desert elephants carrying drinking water bottles.
Yuma smiled bitterly at the thought of Barpa, the commander of Oasis, who had been attached to Amanzo, and the children who laughed and chatted at the school he built.
Naturally, when the real war began, there was little reason to laugh heartily.
It was not the duty of soldiers and soldiers to laugh. It’s for children who go to school.
Thinking so, Yuma drank a bar of clean water from the Blue Swordsman.
“The captain said to say hello to Yuma-sama.”
“okay. Do you have anything to tell about the situation in the rear or other battlefields?”
“Even on the frontlines before the Central Desert, large and small battles are constantly going on in many areas. However, in the rear, rather than fighting demons, the main focus is on bandits and thieves who crawled out at this time.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“However, it seems that there are occasional suspects in the rear countries as well. In addition, I understand that while His Majesty was away, the control of the civilians was poor, causing some problems with public order.”
Rugal was currently on a detour to High Mac aboard the giant ship ‘Heart of Kantra’ for the emperor himself.
Because of this, even the members of the Blue Sword said they hadn’t heard of anything after that.
“Your Majesty was accompanied only by the White Sword and the elite Imperial Army. Princess Lhasa is taking care of government affairs as Her Majesty’s proxy, but I’ve heard that crooks are running the game.”
“Princess Lhasa shouldn’t have to worry. Because you’re tougher than you look. Rather, I’m worried about them. When Emperor Rugal dies, I will never let him live.”
“I’m just waiting for us, Your Majesty’s blades, to take the lead and cut their throats.”
Dispensing took place over two days. In addition to drinking water, the bodies of the desert elephants who arrived later were filled with military boots, oil and other supplies.
Most of the strategic points before the Central Desert, including Yunin Oasis, were already secured by Yuma.
Thanks to this, such a smooth distribution was possible.
But even so, Yuma had no choice but to praise the eastern countries’ ability to procure supplies.
‘Perhaps in the same situation, the empire would have had numerous setbacks in the administration and distribution due to various payments. Bandits and thieves must have been much more active than in the east.’
After defeating Amanjo and returning to the west, Yuma thought that he would have to replace the incompetent officials full of table talk and obstinacy.
When the supplies were over, the blue sword returned to Yunin Oasis without a break. This was because there were many areas in need of supplies besides the Allied Central Army.
“I wish good luck to Yuma-sama and the allied forces.”
“I wish you no luck.”
Thanks to Cheryl’s generous treatment, the wounded were quickly able to get out of bed and get up.
However, not all of them had the same rigid body as Yuma, so it took a little more time to fully recover.
“Oh, you’re still alive like this.
Why is it that he who faced Sheltion himself is fine and we are still on crutches?”
Natalie joked as she walked out of the medical barracks. Until yesterday, she was the one who had to cross the risk of high fever and infection every morning.
“Natalie suffered. Can I smoke a pipe now?”
It was the most pleasing tone of Yuma’s voice in recent years.
“Yeah, don’t say anything. Sheryl, how toxic that girl is, I’m the kind of person who would die without a pipe, and she won’t let me take a sip?”
Yuma took out a golden pipe from her bosom and held it out to Natalie. It was a pipe given to him by Maha Trisha and was saved for a gift to Natalie.
After taking a sip from the pipe, Natalie opened her eyes wide and put on an expression of indescribable rapture.
“What the hell is this? Is this the kind of scent that comes out of a pipe?”
“The Dragonlord gave it to you. You said you would send enough to the Puang Merchant? You should be able to smoke to your heart’s content when you return.”
“It kills me. Haha anyway, why am I being like this to protect the little ones? When I was protecting Evan, I got stabbed in the side after being maimed, and this time I risked my life to protect Ballinan, so I was captured by dragons.”
As soon as he woke up, he heard that Ballinan had obtained Sheltion’s Dragon Heart and went to take the dragon’s test.
“I must have been secretly fond of the little boy. Usually, it seemed like I was going to die doing so, so I ended up calling him by name as if he were my younger brother.”
“Kyle’s class system is actually meaningless among our colleagues.”
“When Ballinan dies and comes back, there is nothing but a dragon. I’ll put you in front of you, and I’ll hit you one by one. Anyway…
Now, the bastard who used Evan to pierce my side is right in front of me.”
“The scribes probably expected Amanjo to be in Rimt Castle in High Mac. They said that there is no place like Rimt Castle for the giant creatures that dig burrows, which is the means of transportation for the Demon Army troops.”
When Niacle attacked the Kuzan Castle and when they fought against Ragatino, the Demon Army used the tunnel dug under the desert.
The planners believed that at least a plain or a vast land equivalent to that was needed to operate a giant creature digging such a burrow.
Excluding the desert area, there was only one area that met the conditions and even had a function as a fortress.
Allied spirits were constantly in touch with Randell’s troops, who had departed first using the wind spirits.
Randell’s troops, who received the information, were also on their way to Rimt Castle.
In addition, Randell’s troops had already been credited with killing many of the officials who acted as the eyes of Amanjo in Inse during the march.
“Rimt or Ramt, let’s kill that son of a bitch and go back to the West. If Ballinan passes the test and has a special relationship with the dragons, he will demand that these tobacco leaves be sent to the rose society every day.”
That strong-willed Igor was still in a position where he could only walk with crutches.
The captain of the red sword, Tane, still couldn’t take a step out of the medical barracks, and Yeats Herdin Marker was no different.
Of the elite wizards who followed Aidan, 27 survived.
The wizards who woke up from the backflow of magic were so miserable that it was unthinkable that they were from Western aristocratic families.
“Sir Yuma, we will return to our family.”
It was Hands who had first cried out for Master when he saw Barlinan in a confrontation with Sheltion in the Gray Forest. Hands could not hide his sorrowful expression and continued to look down.
“Brother Aidan passed away, and the youngest son is missing… Besides, my classmates and colleagues are dead over twenty.”
Yuma did not inform the wizard group of Aidan’s betrayal. It was the same with the fact that Vali Nun went to the dragon’s test after obtaining Sheltion’s dragon heart.
Fortunately, no mage was awake at the time Aidan betrayed him, so it was possible that it was a white lie.
Of course, if Barrynan passed the test and returned to his family, he would naturally come to know, but there is no need to tell the uncomfortable truth right away to those who have to go through a series of sad events and return to their family.
“Go to Kantra Imperial Castle and show this letter to Princess Lhasa, the emperor’s deputy. I’ll take you safely to the west. I will attach some escorts to the Kuzan Imperial Castle.”
“Ugh, Sir Yuma… If Sir Val Linan could have been saved, I don’t think the road back to me would have felt so heavy and far. Sobbing! I lost two of you, Bocchan!”
“Once the war in the East is settled, I will go to the West and find the Povian family myself.”
When Hands showed hesitation, Yuma put a hand on his shoulder and asked why.
“I would like to ask you one favor.”
“Tell me.”
“Please attach a few people so that we can retrieve the bodies of our comrades and return.”
“I will.”
After the wizards left, the march resumed. By that time, even the wounded had recovered to the extent that they could put off their crutches and ride horses.
At the speed of the soldiers marching, it took a month to reach the rim.
During the march, the Allied Forces rescued some of the civilians hiding in the ruined village and were able to wipe out the evil demons and thieves.
It was not uncommon to see possessed people wandering along the roadside or forest after losing their group.
However, the vanguard led by Ragatino was annihilated by Mantu, so they couldn’t face the demon army.
Both the commanding staff and the soldiers felt that something was strange.
‘No matter how much you think about it, the demon army is too small…
Around that time, Royce and the bookkeepers from each country went to the command post holding papers that calculated the population and troops in the region after the Central Desert.
“It’s not just the demon army that is small, the population itself is too small. In the few villages we passed through, we found a few survivors, but the number of corpses was absurdly small compared to the size of the village.”
I wondered if the civilians had fled, but there was no evacuation procession discovered by the reconnaissance team. Commander-in-Chief, I think… Amanjo seems to have recruited civilians in some way.”
When Lois said, Yuma sighed and touched his forehead.
So, it means that what we have to kill can become a good citizen. Damn it… what is the possibility of sacrificing all of those people?”
“I looked for traces of the ritual with Rakir-nim, but there was none. Not yet.”
Lois and the bookkeepers pointed to a number on the paper with their fingers.
It was a figure far exceeding the allied force of 50,000.
“What is that number?”
“This is the number of residents living near Himac that we inferred by finding administrative documents among the supplies. It’s not accurate, but even if we assume that only about 10% of them have become soldiers…
“100,000. Twice us.”
“That’s right.”
“Whoa. Of course, the militaryized civilians will probably be possessed, so they will far exceed the combat power of ordinary soldiers.”
“But on our side, there is a variable called Emperor Rugal’s reinforcements.”
Yuma snapped her fingers.
100,000 demon soldiers.
Seeing that Mantu, who had become a berserk warrior, defeated thousands of demons by himself, it seemed that the allied forces led by himself and Randel would not be able to deal with them.
“Assuming the enemy’s minimum number is 200,000, not 100,000, and our reinforcements are far behind, is there a trick you can come up with in that situation?”
“doesn’t exist. Except for the commander-in-chief and deputy commanders and other top-notch unmanned people working miracles.”
When Lois answered without thinking, the other bookkeepers nodded.
—————————————
