SWNOVELXO Chapter 183
“Alex, what on earth is that in front of my eyes?”
Walter’s Army was sneaking along a narrow path to suppress the Orc tribes in the north. The terrain was rugged, making it a good location for ambush attacks, but the Demon King’s Army didn’t dare to engage with Walter using pathetic surprise attacks. Instead, the Commander of the Demon King’s Army, the Gargoyle Queen, set up a fortress by the gateway in a location that the Northern Expeditionary Force had to pass through to block Walter’s Army.
The Hero was feeling an increasing sense of annoyance. When he heard that the Gargoyle Queen had taken control of the army, he had secretly hoped that he could just charge in and defeat the orc legion one by one without any proper strategy or plan.
Knowing that there was a political rivalry between the Succubus Queen and the Gargoyle Queen within the Demon King’s Army, the Hero thought that their public feud would ultimately make the Gargoyle act violently and foolishly. The reality, however, was different. The Demon King’s strategy was successful, and the Succubus Queen, as the acting regent in the Demon King’s Castle, was quite adept at controlling the actions of the Gargoyle Queen.
If enough animosity was present, it would instead be easier for the attacked side to unite, and internal matters would become simpler. In contrast, the expanding side would confront suppressed issues and groan in the face of fights they had previously ignored. Nevertheless, the fact that they had to keep moving forward was the worst part of all.
“A fortress, huh? Looks like the Gargoyle has built it up.”
“Who doesn’t know that? Look at this. I avoided the mountains to take the road, and there’s a mountain on the road too. I would have rather climbed a mountain with a few friends. The path was rough, but the battles were much easier.”
“Are you talking about the time you were leading the heroes and smashing the heads of the Demon King’s officers? I’m a bit envious. I also wanted to fight like that.”
“By the way, how are we supposed to break through that?”
Walter sighed as he looked at the gate placed between the mountain paths. Phineas Marbellius, the Elf Army Commander, approached Walter and said,
“The anxiety in the Eramenia Army is serious. Everyone wants to do something. It’s as if they wish for reassurance that they are contributing to their homeland’s safety in their own way, not turning a blind eye while their country is under attack.”
After hearing the words of Commander Phineas, Walter nodded, acknowledging the truth in his statement. Rumors had spread throughout the army that a number of dragons had already set off to destroy Eramenia.
As Commander Phineas predicted, there were no soldiers wishing to return to their homeland, even defying Margaret’s orders. However, the fairies of Eramenia, who valued honor, did not want to remain as passive bystanders while their homeland’s military stood ready to fight. Although their intentions were appreciated, it left Walter feeling somewhat troubled.
“I expected as much. But I don’t want to waste Elven troops in a place like this.”
“The gate looks sturdy. If we clash with the Empire’s forces, the losses will be significant. If we are going to expend forces anyway, let us be the first to test it.”
“Then proceed as you wish. Jenis!”
“Yes, Hero.”
At Walter’s call, Jenis stepped forward with her staff. The Hero adjusted his glasses and pointed at the gate blocking their path with his finger.
“Smash it. Let’s see how far we can go.”
“Let’s give it a try. If this doesn’t work, honestly, I have no idea how we’re supposed to break through the gate.”
Jenis walked out in front of the legion with her staff extended forward. Even though the Great Sage had stepped forward to invoke magic personally, the Demon King’s Army showed no signs of movement.
“Star’s Radiance!”
With the Great Sage’s shout, a massive blue beam shot straight towards the stronghold blocking the path. Boom! A loud noise erupted, and smoke billowed from the gate, but there was no sound of something breaking or shattering. Even though the smoke had not cleared completely, Jenis clicked her tongue, convinced that the attack had not landed properly.
“What the hell! Not a single scratch! It’s as if Rose Caprice is blocking the path!”
Grumbling, Jenis stepped back again. Walter nodded in agreement with Jenis’s words.
“If Rose were in a position to be deployed on the battlefield, I would attempt a direct assault.”
“There might be a slight possibility of that. But don’t be too disappointed. If we do something like that, the Gargoyle Queen would surely come down to block us herself. Forget about trying to break through with siege towers or cannons. The defensive magic covering that gate is too strong; there’s simply no way to overcome it while dealing with the forces guarding the gate. It’s completely blocked.”
That was simply the case, as Jenis said. Alex, Phineas, and Walter all fell into serious contemplation upon hearing the Great Sage’s conclusion. While the Empire’s army took a moment to reorganize, the Demon King’s army was given ample time to prepare their defenses. Until now, they had faced little difficulty in pushing back an unprepared Demon King’s army, but from now on, such battles could very well become a repeated ordeal.
They needed to find a breakthrough. If they couldn’t find an opening this time, they would be destined to be caught in the same situation repeatedly.
“But we don’t absolutely have to go through this gate. There might be a route we can take while encircling this place.”
Alex suggested. Walter shook his head while taking off his glasses.
“That’s not entirely impossible. But if there’s a mountain path large enough for a separate battalion to take, or if it’s a proper road, we’re too far from the main force. It’s unfortunate, but Alex, we currently don’t have any officers capable of commanding large-scale troops to undertake separate missions. Likewise, there are no generals we can trust with a separate detachment away from the main force. The suggestion to circumvent is too risky.”
In fact, if one looked closely, there were competent generals or battalion commanders in the Empire’s army. However, since the Northern Expedition began, Walter’s paranoia had escalated to a near-manic level. He seemed incapable of trusting any officer or commander other than the Hero party or Eramenia’s generals.
For instance, he trusted that with just a small territory, Park Jeongjae would be able to stop a legion of ten thousand Orcs, but he didn’t think there was any general among the Imperial commanders who could exercise independent command and face off against pirates.
From the moment the Northern Expedition started, he had tried to keep everything under his control, and after Alex had lost thousands of troops during his absence, he became even more fearful of his forces becoming dispersed. Alex, knowing that Walter’s heightened paranoia had been partly influenced by his own defeat, could not criticize his attitude.
“I believe that if we broaden our perspective a bit more, there are many more possibilities. But if you think that way, there’s nothing I can do.”
Jenis was the only one in this place with the courage to publicly express her discontent with the Hero’s attitude. Yet, she couldn’t raise any serious objections to Walter’s strategy, and even if she did, Walter wouldn’t have listened. The authority of the Hero was absolute. Even more regrettably, Rose, who could rein in Walter and control his reins, was not present in this situation.
“Phineas, prepare a tunnel. Jenis, let’s aim below with earthquake magic. We need to go either over or under, and right now, you’re the only one who can fly in the sky. It’s too dangerous to ask you to fly alone above.”
“That’s true. I’m still quite vulnerable in aerial combat. A tunnel, huh? Let’s try it, but we need to hurry.”
Jenis sighed as she surveyed the dangerous mountain ranges around them.
“I had no choice but to choose this as the passage for the forces, but it’s a heavily treacherous choke point that would remind one of the north entrance of Eramenia. The enemy’s greatest strength lies in the vast mobilization of available forces. If we waste time getting stuck at the gate here, we could end up encircled and completely wiped out. While Ironclad Knights and battle wizards are guarding the path, I can’t say for sure if that’s enough…”
“I know, Great Sage. And I’ll judge what I need to do about my fight. Don’t get overzealous.”
As Walter growled, Alex flinched and took a small step back. Jenis looked up at Walter with a completely calm demeanor.
“You’re quite testy. You might want to tone it down a bit. If someone in a position like the Hero comes out with such an attitude, it could hurt a lot of people.”
“I said I can handle it myself. Do what you need to do. People are starting to look down on you for standing out as much as you have.”
As Walter grumbled, he brought his glasses back toward his face. At that moment, Jenis grabbed the Hero’s hand, which was about to put on his glasses, and stopped him. This sudden action from the Great Sage surprised Phineas and even Walter himself. The Hero lowered the hand he was holding the glasses with and asked,
“What are you doing?”
“Stop looking. You’ve seen too much. The future sight of the magic tool is unstable, and if not handled carefully, it could shatter a person’s mind. I don’t even want to know what the Hero has been looking at. But take a break. This isn’t a good idea.”
“The glasses aren’t just a tool for seeing the future. My natural talent is slightly less than yours, Jenis. I need this thing to think at the same pace as you.”
“No, Hero, you just weren’t born as a magician. That’s not in the realm of objective talent.”
For a moment, Jenis looked around as if searching for Rose, but soon seemed to realize that the Crown Princess couldn’t possibly be here, looking anxious and pacing back and forth.
Walter, with a tired expression, put the glasses he had been holding back into his robe.
“Maybe your advice might be correct. I’m sorry for being so touchy. Everyone is going through a tough time, so why… No, never mind. For now, just follow my orders. If the tunnel doesn’t work out, we’ll think about what to do next then.”
“I’ll call Bernard Silverpoint.”
“Bernard? Ah, right. I’d like to have a chat with Bernard. Good, I’ll wait here, so go. I’ll just… rest for a moment.”
Walter sat down heavily as if exhausted. Even a regular soldier could immediately understand what was troubling the Hero so much. Rose had been severely injured. She was hurt badly enough that she wasn’t by his side. It was the first time in his life this had happened, and it was hard to fathom that it could actually happen.
And the seemingly impenetrable iron gate naturally reminded him of the Princess of the Iron Wall. No matter how hard the Hero tried to disguise his inner turmoil, it was a situation where he could not appear at ease.
“Uh, Brother.”
“Be quiet, Alex. I’m not in the mood to talk right now. No, to be precise, I’m afraid that if I start talking, I’ll end up saying things I’ll regret.”
“Understood. I will… withdraw.”
As Alex hurriedly stepped back, Walter immediately regretted his words to his younger brother. The stress had piled up too high. If the Imperial Assembly were to summon Walter for some ridiculous reason right now, he could very well see himself drawing the holy sword and causing a ruckus, flipping the assembly upside down. Of course, he would undoubtedly regret such an act, so it would be better if that didn’t happen.
Jenis, who came walking toward the barracks in search of Bernard, also had her own complicated feelings. As she walked toward the station, the Great Sage took out a letter she had received from her superior not long ago and began to read it again.
“The detailed designs for HMS Victory have been completed. Construction is proceeding smoothly. The disassembly of the Magic Tower is expected to require some research.”
It was a letter sent from the command of the Magic Tower. The Magic Tower was independent from any institution within the Empire. The Assembly, the Royal Family, and even the Army could not meddle in the affairs of the Magic Tower as long as they did not provide a budget.
The construction of the ironclad ship was a project supported by the royal budget, so it wasn’t completely free of interference, but for other operations, it could be said that Jenis had essentially complete autonomy.
“What do we do, Professor?”
While the contents of the letter were positive, the expression on the Great Sage’s face darkened as she put the letter back into her robe.
“I need an anvil for my plans. A very strong and sturdy anvil.”
Jenis stopped her path and turned back toward Walter for a moment. In the distance, she could see the Hero, almost fainting, slumped over in a chair, starting to doze off.
“The current anvil is excellent, but I honestly don’t know how long it will hold up. I’m worried about that person. He shouldn’t be here. Not from the beginning.”