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186. Childhood Friend – The True Heir

“Honor or money. Which one are you?”

It was a timely question. The warrior, faced with Cesar’s inquiry, fell into deep contemplation.

Expectations were swirling in the hearts of the soldiers. Victories upon victories had sent the enemy fleeing, and only a day remained until reaching their stronghold, the capital.

The warrior opened his mouth after serious consideration.

“I should say honor as a proud Dwinor warrior… but honestly, it’s hard to choose.”

“You’re not alone in that, huh?”

A warrior from the Norang Tribe chuckled, stroking his recently shaved clean chin.

“I choose money. I never knew the world was this vast. More importantly, that a man can have more than one woman—that’s unfathomable in our tribe.”

“Ha ha! So you’re planning to win a reward and get married anew?”

The warriors surrounding them burst into laughter. The Norang warrior, accustomed to polyandry, flushed with embarrassment.

“Married anew? We don’t even have that concept. We just live with those we resonate with…”

The Norang Tribe sets out to the sea to catch fish.

In this tribe, women tend to be born with a more prominent talent for mana-infused physiques.

Consequently, warriors and great warriors are often female, and as a result, many have died.

While fishing at sea, they would often encounter sea beasts resembling crocodiles or salamanders. When these monsters clung to their boats, trying to capsize them, the warriors would struggle to shake them off, but it was often the female warriors at the front who ended up dying first.

This had a decisive impact on establishing polyandry. With fewer women and their strength, they ended up taking the role of the family head.

“You really don’t get married?”

“That’s right. We hold a festival at the end of the month. It’s a toast before heading to the sea, and if one were to consider it, that’s marriage. At this time, you can confess to the woman you liked… but with so many husbands, it’s often the case that the wives might feel disappointed.”

Rev, who had been quietly listening from a distance, felt his face grow warm. He knew that the warrior’s words had been significantly toned down.

On the other hand, the warriors who didn’t know the inner workings looked quite intrigued.

“Wow. Isn’t that like paradise? Some can’t stand their wives, but if you can switch at any time… ha ha ha. I’m envious.”

“Envious? The competition is fierce. Unless you’re a big shot like that general over there, it’s hard to catch someone’s eye. That’s why I choose money. If I had realized the world was this vast and that having one woman exclusively was a given, I would have come out a long time ago.”

“I’ll admit that I won’t disagree with you on not knowing about this vast world. Ha ha ha.”

The warriors burst into a ruckus of laughter. The barbarians of the Orun Kingdom, who had lived in isolation to avoid enslavement, found themselves in awe of the shining civilization.

A massive city. A bustling crowd. If there were a saying about a frog in a well, it would certainly apply to them.

“Alright. Another friend opts for money. So, Hatu, what about you? Honor or money. Which do you choose?”

Cesar turned towards Hatu, whom he met in the Baruga Tribe, offering him the choice.

“Family.”

Hatu didn’t choose either money or honor. Blushing, he said,

“My son and wife are the most precious. I want to go back soon.”

Silence fell. The warriors let out a low “Ooooh~” in admiration.

Cesar lowered his head momentarily. Rev thought he frowned for a second, but it was a misunderstanding. When the lieutenant lifted his head again, he was smiling as usual.

“You rascal! You’ve truly become an adult ahead of me! Ha ha ha. This guy’s newlywed!”

Cesar wrapped his arm around Hatu’s shoulders. “Ah! What’s with this?” The young man squirmed as the warriors took turns giving his backside a light smack.

Just then, a squeak! sounded as Sinis swooped down. Not knowing where to land, she flapped around briefly before crashing into her master’s head.

“Stop it. Be quiet.”

Rev waved his hand while leaning against a tree. With the situation being so optimistic, the previously boisterous soldiers fell silent.

Cesar removed a letter tied to Sinis’s ankle. Upon confirming it bore the seal of Prince Leo, he presented it to the captain.

“…”

However, the captain’s expression wasn’t normal. He read the letter and looked puzzled before reading it again. Yet his face remained in shock.

“Captain? What’s wrong?”

Rev didn’t reply. He handed it over so they could read it for themselves, and Cesar gasped.

“So the war is over?”

It relayed that Nevis had been abandoned. The soldiers, who had been listening intently, stirred, and Rev shook his head cautiously as he responded.

“…That can’t be. Everyone up! The rest period is over. Contact each squad and tell them to approach Nevis. Never let your guard down.”

Ten messengers from the Thousand-man Commander squad bolted out. Rev gazed at the southern horizon, murmuring softly.

“This can’t be this easy…”

*

The capital Nevis of the Orun Kingdom was situated in a basin.

Enclosed by mountains, there was a small plain, and the soldiers led by Rev cautiously emerged from the mountains.

Before them stood a gigantic city. Beginning with a few shabby farms, the buildings progressively grew larger, obstructing their view.

“Prepare for urban combat. The enemy may be hiding, so we must thoroughly search the buildings.”

At Rev’s command, hundreds of squads dispersed, infiltrating the outskirts of Nevis for reconnaissance.

Rev joined them, noting that there were indeed people in the streets. However, they were all women or the elderly, creating a somewhat bizarre sight.

‘Did they draft all the adult men?’

After interrogating the remaining citizens, inferences confirmed his suspicions. There had been a massive draft right after the war, and an eviction order had been issued a month or two prior.

But why? ─ the question warranted a rise to Rev’s throat, but the citizens had no answers. He bit his lip, feeling the uneasy anxiety creep up.

“General, there are no enemies here. We sent a search and found no enemy troops at the walls. The gates are destroyed as well.”

A report from the Thousand-man Commander. Rev nodded and said, “I must see for myself.” He headed toward Nevis’s north gate.

Indeed, the Thousand-man Commander was right. No one was atop the eight-meter high walls, and the shattered gates hung forlornly from their hinges.

Rev climbed the wall. He instructed the Commander to search inside the castle and took a tour around the desolate Nevis.

Only then did he catch on to the enemy’s intentions. Rev stared intently at the mountains surrounding Nevis.

{Tracking Skill} pointed towards the western, southern, and eastern mountains. Most of the nobles and knights supporting the King and the Twin Princes were hiding as if surrounding Nevis.

So, this was a trap. They were surely waiting for us to occupy Nevis as bait.

Soon, the arriving sorcerer confirmed Rev’s suspicions. A barrier had already been placed around Nevis to nullify the mana roads, which was preparatory work for a “siege war.”

It seemed they aimed to challenge them with a siege, having stationed barriers all around since they likely fell short in magical combat…

It made no sense.

The defenders had the overwhelming advantage in a siege. The gates had been smashed, but they could simply block them with soldiers, and the advantages of the castle would remain effective as long as they engaged in the siege.

But why surrender it?

It was too big to be referred to as bait. He recognized it was a trap, yet the house deed dangled like bait, so he couldn’t resist taking it.

‘Could the enemy have misjudged this, or was there something I didn’t know?’

Sitting in the watchtower, Rev continued to contemplate. The suddenly warm sunlight reddened his skin, but Rev remained unmoving.

“Um… General. What should we do? The search isn’t complete, but it seems there are no enemy troops inside the castle.”

Perhaps unable to bear the heat, a Hundred-man Commander asked. Rev, unable to find a reason despite his thoughts, shook his head and snapped out of his musings.

“Tell Cesar to contact the main base. Inform him Nevis is completely empty. However, until this search is concluded, do not enter, and send search parties to those mountains over there, over there, and over there. The enemy must be hiding. Observe their movements, but there’s no need to get too close. Be sure to ascertain how much siege equipment they’ve prepared.”

Rev issued his orders.

He ordered the soldiers to look for explosives that might be hidden in the castle walls and set up barricades at the gates. He instructed them to evacuate all citizens because there might be spies among them.

Rev came to a conclusion. While he couldn’t determine why they forsook the advantages of defense, they had set their sights on taking Nevis, and it was imperative that they did so.

Capturing a king is inherently difficult.

If he ran away, it was game over, so instead of capturing the king, the formal way would be to gain the support of the nobles constituting the kingdom.

Yet despite the rebels pushing their front lines forward with consistent victories, why had they failed to garner noble support? Because of the knights.

The royal knights who had swept through the eastern territories were still roaming the various fiefs. As a result, the nobles declaring neutrality were hesitant to assist in the rebellion. They feared their territories might be attacked.

However, what if the rebels occupied the capital and proclaimed it?

Many nobles would turn their backs in unison. In such a case, there would be no need to chase; the king’s limbs would surely be severed as he fled.

Of course, the enemy wouldn’t be ignorant of this. That means…

They were confident in a siege. They even kindly set up a barrier to neutralize the mana roads (which they would have had to do anyway) and left the castle empty, indicating their intention to achieve success in the siege.

This was what Rev was pondering. He was bewildered by where their confidence stemmed from until he snagged a lead.

Thinking back, the enemy had not sent reinforcements to the frontlines. They were probably busy stalling with untrained recruits and letting the knights rouse the rear.

Why hadn’t they sent in reinforcements?

One could surmise that they believed they lacked sufficient magical power to engage at the frontlines.

Thus, they had prepared these barriers and solely readied for a siege. They likely spent the last two months churning out as much siege equipment as possible. The reinforcements stationed in Nevis must have been trained by the newly recruited soldiers on the tactics for siege warfare…

‘Then this is the end for them.’

Rev cracked his neck side to side. He exhaled the unease with his breath and began to busily move around inside and outside of Nevis.

However, nothing strange was found. In fact, Rev was well aware of the existence of underground passages beneath the royal palace in Nevis, hence not anticipating any defensive issues.

There were debates, but over several days, the main forces steadily entered Nevis.

Entering through the north gate, they cautiously distributed supplies within the castle and only allowed in just enough soldiers. They were wary of any sudden ambushes.

Meanwhile, the enemy had stopped hiding their intentions. Leading countless pieces of siege weaponry down from the mountains, they fortified positions to the west, south, and east.

It truly appeared they intended to engage in a single decisive siege battle. They had many knights, which was advantageous for small skirmishes (they had smashed the gates), yet even with a castle on their side, their magical forces were incapacitated, thus not asserting that either side held overwhelming advantages.

But if they had the castle, they could have been more advantageous, so why had they given it up…? The reason soon became apparent.

The northern section of Nevis was already occupied by the rebels. Most of the soldiers had entered, but fearing a prolonged conflict, they were stuffing in supplies, even if just a little more.

Naturally, their focus was on the movements of the enemy surrounding them on three sides. Rev and Leo focused on pinpointing the positions of major figures using {Tracking Skill}.

Then one day, the northern supply route was attacked. Though it didn’t incur significant damage, Rev and Leo rushed up to the walls in surprise. The enemy remained unfazed. The attackers bore the flag of the red shield…

“It’s Duke Tertan’s House!”

The army of Duke Rupert Tertan, the Count of the western border of the Conrad Kingdom.