Episode 119: When the civil war had just begun, the strengths of the 1st and 2nd prince factions were so similar that one wondered how this could be possible.
This could be seen just by looking at the strongest power of the two camps revealed when the civil war began.
The Waltermime Knights numbered 1,000 and had only been rumored because they had never been mobilized all at once.
And the combination of about 200 Glacier Magic Tower wizards and the Douglas Knights was truly tense.
Moreover, the margraves guarding the borders of the kingdom’s eight sides were also supporting each faction half and half.
The elites of both armies only looked at each other’s weaknesses, and meaningless battles were repeated on the long external front lines stretching north and south.
However, as winter passed and spring came, and as spring ripened again, one force gradually gained the upper hand on the central front.
Although the soldiers participating in the battlefield could not feel it for themselves yet, the leaders of each force were gradually realizing this fact.
And it was even clearer to those who knew the original outcome of this war.
‘The balance is tipping slightly. ‘It’s a bit faster than I thought.’
Logan put down Nox’s war report worth 100,000 gold and pounded on the desk, lost in thought.
It is true that they tried to end the civil war faster than originally planned in order to minimize the waste of national power.
But the current change has been a little faster than he predicted.
‘Preparations are not over yet…’
Due to the knights accepted from outside, the number of knights again exceeded 150, and the basic training of newly selected soldiers was completed, so the number of regular soldiers exceeded 3,500.
1,000 crossbow cavalry units have been completely restored, so although the training of 10,000 vigilantes is not yet complete, McLane’s military power can be seen to have already surpassed that before the attack on Tomodo, at least in terms of scale, even with just regular troops.
That alone was more powerful than the military power of most margraves, so if it were to intervene in a civil war, it would play a significant role as a variable.
A powerful variable that can have a big impact on winning or losing.
But to put it another way.
‘That’s just it.’
I can’t be satisfied with that much.
Still needed a little more time.
Fortunately, the true face of the civil war that was called the worst war in the kingdom’s history in the previous life has not yet been revealed.
Now, only each other’s elite troops and mercenaries are dying.
Neither side mobilized conscripts, or ordinary citizens of the territory, into war.
It is still a time when the leaders of both forces have reason.
So I could wait for a while.
“I hope it can be completed quickly.”
“yes?”
“Ugh! What is it? How long have you been here?”
I was startled by the sudden voice, but fortunately it was a familiar face, Rick.
“What are you talking about? It’s been happening since a while ago… Huh? Really? You weren’t even listening to me right now?!”
“Ah… Haha. My head has been a mess these days. What did you mean?”
“…Ugh. What kind of vacation is this, you servant? I just have to work. They said they would let me rest when I came back from running errands for letters, but you are pretending not to know.”
“What are you talking about? It’s okay, rest. I have to keep my promise. Then.”
“Really?!”
At Logan’s words, Rick’s once dead face bloomed.
“…Are you that tired?”
“Hehe. Recently, a market opened in McLane Town. There are some interesting items coming in and there are quite a lot of things to see.”
“I thought you would just sleep when you were tired?”
“Even though I want to sleep, I guess I should have some fun during my vacation since my friend is upset.”
“Yeah, okay. Have a nice time.”
“…Aren’t you curious?”
“what?”
“I just told you that I was your friend… or do you think I should tell you that I’m your lover?”
“Uh, I’m not curious.”
“….”
“why?”
“Ah… well… that’s possible…”
The guy who had been snobby for some reason had a downcast expression on his face.
Logan chuckled, patted his shoulder, and placed a heavy money bag into Rick’s hand.
“Make Lila some clothes made of good silk and buy her some delicious food. It will be enough.”
“Lord Confucius…!”
“Why? You don’t want to receive it?”
“i love you!”
“Gross, man! Get off!”
“Right now, you too, Gongja, get some rest. With Eilen…”
“Shut your mouth, you bastard.”
“Why! No matter how much you’re a knight, you’re a fiancee
in name and name…” “What kind of date these days are…”
“We’re not even participating in the war anyway!”
“Then let me go on a date with that money….”
“I’ll have a nice trip!”
Uddangtangtang!
Logan shook his head with a wry smile and sat down again in front of the desk full of documents.
I have to finish all my work and practice, so I won’t have time to rest today either.
However, even though I was trying to concentrate on work, I couldn’t help but suddenly become concerned about Rick’s words.
vacation. date.
Those words that seemed to symbolize leisure felt awkward once again.
‘Just looking at the market…’
Logan laughed as he unconsciously remembered himself walking through the market with Eilen, then shook his head in shock.
It was not the time to be interested in what was possible in such peaceful daily life.
Eilen seemed to have felt something after the war and had been concentrating on training, so he was just satisfied with the town that had developed to the point of creating a market, which made him laugh.
‘It’s a market… Then, the number of outsiders must have increased considerably, so I guess I’ll have to pay more attention to security. Especially near the market or official residence.’
With that thought in mind, I turned my attention to myself.
* * *
“Silk! Imperial hemp! Fabric kills!”
“Come and taste the popular grilled skewers at Bypros Castle!”
“A steel bowl made by artisans! It’s sturdy!”
The center of McLane town.
The center of Cross Street, where the memorial to the fallen knights was located, was noisy with a large number of people.
The civil war that was sweeping the entire kingdom seemed to have been avoided here.
As the McLane family’s territory expanded to Bipros, people flocked to McLane Town to sell their goods, forming a market that was growing in size day by day.
It’s only been a year since the problems of shelter from the cold and food were resolved.
Because the residents of McLane Town had a lot of daily necessities.
“Wouldn’t our territory become more prosperous? Our Grand Duke is such an outstanding person.”
“Of course. There’s no time like these days to enjoy life.”
“Nothing like cancer. Haha. Anyway, the only thing left to do is for our Macline territory to take off, so come back as soon as you have something. I’ll sell it all!”
Raf, a man who was listening to the middle-aged broker’s words, nodded.
“Of course. I didn’t know it would be such a busy place, so I brought too little. Sigh…”
Raph sighed as he looked at the piles of fabric in the tent.
“Hmm? It must have already been rumored in Bipros Castle?”
“Ah. I was out of town so I was a little late in hearing the rumor.”
“Ah… kkeul. It looks like young people are diligent. I like being young after all.”
He might have wondered why he came here when he hadn’t heard any rumors, but the middleman didn’t want to offend the young worker who brought him this high-quality cloth.
And Raph also received the joke with a smile.
“I’m dying from exhaustion. The situation is the way it is these days… so I’m going to rest for a few days. Is there a good inn here?”
“Ah, then let me introduce you. There is a place that is clean and has good food.”
“thank you.”
Raph lowered his head and his eyes glowed faintly.
The streets at night were quiet enough to make you question whether it was actually McLane Town, which was noisy during the day.
Thanks to the large number of people and the resulting demand, a market was created and service industries such as inns were opening up one by one in McLane Town, but its history was still short enough for an entertainment district to enjoy the night.
So the first floor of one of the few inns that had the style of a pub was bound to be even more noisy.
“Hey, this place will become as big as a big city in a few years.”
“That’s right. It’s not a castle, it’s not an ordinary village, it’s a town. I really like the idea of who it is.”
“This is the Archduke’s idea.”
“Hey man. Do you believe all that?”
Buzz.
“Hey… customer?”
In the midst of the commotion, Raph naturally turned his head to follow the voice of the waitress calling him.
“Can I ask you to join us? As you can see, there are seats…”
“Oh who is this? It’s not Ralph!”
“Huh? Do you know someone?”
“Okay then.”
Raph smiled bitterly as he looked at his colleague’s face smiling at him, and the waitress walked away with a sigh of relief.
“Now it’s Raph, you rotten bastard.”
“Ralph speaks louder. Just be Ralph.”
It was always like this.
I’ve only met him not long ago, but he always gets on my nerves.
“So, has it been confirmed?”
“Uh, it doesn’t matter how many soldiers there are, thirty for knights.”
“There are 30 knights and 150 soldiers.”
“That’s right. Cross-validation complete.”
As expected, the information investigation is extremely lax.
‘This guy is the best assassin.’
I was getting irritated.
He was a guy I would never want to have as a colleague unless I had seen his extraordinary strength as an assassin firsthand.
“What about execution?”
“Tonight.”
Despite the noisy surroundings, my colleague lowered his already quiet voice and answered.
Of course, the volume of the voice did not matter because they read the shape of the mouth through lip reading, but the content was the problem.
“as soon as?”
“Is there any need to hesitate? The only person who can stop us is that lord.”
“Still, shouldn’t we check a little more? I heard that Bipros’s dual swords were defeated once by a guy called the Archduke here.”
A chuckle escaped my colleague’s mouth.
“Do you believe that? He’s only 21 years old? Wow, does he have the potential to become a legendary Auror Master in the future?”
A sneer was evident on my colleague’s face.
“Still, I have to check.”
“I don’t think anyone was a knight. Tsk. If you’re scared, I’ll do it alone.”
“Ha…”
Raph’s face crumpled like it did when he first tasted the tasteless beer from this village.
I was once again irritated by the guy’s careless attitude.
But now the situation on the central front was not good.
What he meant was that this was not the time for this guy, himself, and even Jeff, who was not here, to be hanging out in this remote corner of the countryside for days on end.
And what he said wasn’t entirely wrong.
‘The only thing you need to be careful of is the lord and the wizard. There is no need to touch the wizard, so leave it aside.’
Raph let out a small sigh and nodded.
“However, I will leave the lord to Jeff and his subordinates, and the two of us will be with the archduke. Because he is the one who must properly show His Excellency’s intentions.”
“Tsk. Coward.”
My colleague clicked his tongue, but did not reject the offer.
* * * A moonlit night.
The northern official residence located a short distance from the center of McLane Town.
Masked people wearing black night clothes gathered in a nearby alley.
All secret movements. Despite the considerable number of thirteen, there was not a single sound of footsteps.
“I’m sure everyone confirmed their goals, right?”
Everyone in the group nodded to the small voice that could only be heard if they barely listened.
“It leaves a solid blow and falls right out.”
When life burns in the eyes of the masked people.
“So that the world can know what happens to those who disobey His Excellency’s will.”
As soon as the last words, a low voice, spread through the alley, their figures disappeared without a trace.
An unusually quiet moonlit night.
Logan’s eyes, which had sunk inside him in meditation, suddenly opened slightly.
There was no further change after reaching the extreme level of advanced Force user, so although I started to feel impatient recently, I wasn’t so immature that my meditation was broken in the middle of the process.
The reason my eyes opened was something else.
‘Living…?’
A very faint unpleasant feeling flowing through the air.
The senses amplified during meditation read this unpleasant feeling and woke me up from immersion.
‘It’s an intruder!’
As soon as Logan made his decision, he picked up the sword and put on the boots of the God of Wind and the gauntlets of great strength.
Ugh.
The instant increase in physical ability boosted my confidence, but I didn’t have time to put on all the armor.
At that time, I could already sense an ‘unpleasant’ presence under the window.
Okay.
Logan approached the window like a ghost without any sound or warning and quietly swung his sword.
Whoops!
The sword, blazing with golden force, cut through the wall.
“Big!”
At the same time, a soft moan was heard from beyond the wall.
Wow!
Logan jumped straight through the window.
I could definitely feel the touch… but
it was ‘shallow.’
I had to end it before I ran away.
Rumbling.
I could hear the wall collapsing behind me, but it wasn’t the time to pay any attention to it.
As he jumped, just before he hit the ground, a bright red sword over 2 meters long was coming in front of his eyes.
‘Force Blade!’
The uninvited guest in the middle of the night was trickier than I thought.
