Chapter 261

Brnoa immediately sent out hundreds of reconnaissance squads as soon as he crossed the border.

“First, we must observe properly to strike effectively.”

All the scouts were agile and outstanding warriors capable of blessing themselves with prayer.

They operated in pairs of 2 to 5, equipped with daggers, spears, thick cloaks, emergency potions, and biscuits.

Their main mission was to scout a few days ahead of the soldiers of the Land of Lanzo Republic and report any unusual situations, as well as to survey the supply routes from their home country.

“Fourth report. Squad 6 in charge of the Magical Realms. No signs of flooding.”

“Confirm. Please continue to keep a close watch.”

The Magical Realms were the most precarious of situations, and naturally, their reconnaissance range included the Magical Realms.

If the Magical Realms were to flood, both the advancing soldiers and their supply routes would be completely destroyed.

“Oh my.”

“That valley beyond is our land again.”

“God of Radiance, watch over us.”

“How can a person commit such an act?”

“Valenciaunos!”

Thus, the scouts could see clearly.

Fwarrgh!

The Bandit Duke Valencianus was setting the entire field ablaze, driving away the bizarre monsters toward his beloved homeland, the Land of Lanzo Republic.

Kugugugu!

Thousands of strange creatures were rampaging westward.

What was happening right before their eyes was just the beginning, but their imaginations did not stop there.

“Ahh!”

“Help me!”

“Mom!”

They imagined the villagers near the border who would soon be trampled under the hooves of those otherworldly creatures and the citizens of major cities who would be gored by their horns days later.

“That Bandit scum!”

The giant fire spirits strolled through the burning fields, laughing in a way reminiscent of Valencianus.

“Hahaha!”

The audacious and arrogant laughter echoed in the ears of the reconnaissance members like a haunting refrain.

In the swirling flames, they envisioned a certain fantasy.

“How dare the lowly ones defy the Imperial Court?”

“Indeed. Who asked them to invade the Empire?”

“Bow your heads and submit.”

“You will be slaves forever.”

The Bandit Duke, dressed in a grand uniform, looked back at them with a smirk in his golden eyes.

The scouts reflexively cursed, yet they knew they had no time to be cursing.

“We must report immediately.”

“Launch all the carrier pigeons!”

“We need to send word to headquarters as well. Issue an evacuation order and redirect the reinforcements to defense—.”

“First, inform Commander Brnoa and the reinforcements. Ensure this letter is sent, even at the cost of your lives.”

* * *

Dozens of reconnaissance squads scattered across the Magical Realms moved busily like disturbed bees in a beehive.

Sererassie and Valencianus cast a brief glance at them before turning away again.

From the mountains, the scouts appeared as little dots, but the two could discern those dots clearly.

“Brother, there’s no need to kill them.”

Sererassie rolled her eyes.

“Of course not. I would rather help them return quickly to report.”

Valencianus grinned wickedly.

“What did you just say?”

Then Brnoa fell down dramatically like a lead actor in a play.

“Commander!”

“Say that again! What has that Bandit Duke done?”

Brnoa cried out in a panicked voice, and the messenger, trembling, managed to deliver the message.

“A fire mage presumed to be Duke Valencianus has gone berserk in the Magical Realms. Currently, around 1,200 of those strange creatures are charging toward the Land of Lanzo Republic.”

Brnoa bit his lip until it bled.

“Just when we were almost there.”

Unless the two nations intentionally nurtured the trade city, the border area was largely undeveloped, devoid of significant villages or towns.

Borders were often determined not by lines drawn on a map but by natural boundaries such as mountain ranges, valleys, wetlands, or seas, making the region inhospitable for habitation.

However, now, if they advanced just one more day, it would be legitimate Empire territory.

In the knights’ domain, which boasted a population of tens of thousands, even a barony would have prosperous towns, with thousands of serfs groaning under a single knight’s rule—an imperial territory.

Brnoa spat brutally.

“First and foremost, we must inform headquarters. Launch the carrier pigeons immediately. Relay the news to the reinforcements. We must prevent a collapse from a surprise attack.”

“Understood.”

“And send witch hunters. I will have whoever that mage is killed. For the nefarious schemes using the Magical Realms, there shall be fitting recompense!”

“Consider it done. Um….”

The messenger cast a hopeful glance, seemingly waiting for additional orders.

Brnoa averted his gaze from the look.

“Off you go.”

The messenger left the tent, looking bewildered.

The officers gathered in the tent had similar expressions.

Dozens of eyes flickered like candle flames in the face of a typhoon.

“Your Excellency… will you not issue a retreat order?”

Daniel asked, representing them.

“……”

A suffocating silence descended upon the tent.

Brnoa remained silent.

* * *

“They’re not retreating.”

Helena, wearing brass armor with a rigid red fur crest that resembled an axe head, mounted her black-furred Baikon.

As the beast with two horns looked down the mountain, Helena’s aide and officers responded.

“They might not be able to retreat.”

“They may just be trembling, unsure of how to respond.”

“Well, they may not be so incompetent or callous. The Magical Realms have flooded already, and it’s clear that returning now would be too late.”

“Rather, strategically speaking, it would be wise to gather the reinforcements and swallow up this leaderless land. Once we advance a little further, we will encounter villages and towns without any great lords to protect them.”

The voices were laced with mockery and derision toward the enemy.

“Excellent analysis.”

Helena smiled with satisfaction as she looked down at the encampment.

Eight thousand troops from the Land of Lanzo Republic had pitched their tents by the lakeshore below.

“The front is open fields, and the back is blocked by the crescent-shaped lake and mountains, so they probably thought they wouldn’t be ambushed.”

A staff officer who had been the student council president in the academy and led large-scale brawls said.

“Dispersing reconnaissance squads everywhere was a wise decision. He’s not an incompetent commander.”

Helena nodded.

Two bodies, barely recognizable, lay trampled under the Baikon’s hooves.

Since Baikons were carnivorous, the corpses were largely chewed up.

It was a fortunate coincidence that they encountered several similar reconnaissance squads in these mountains.

Of course, there would be a routine reporting procedure, and hiding in the mountains would soon be discovered.

“In this urgent situation, we can’t expect such things. The homeland is on the brink of destruction.”

Helena sometimes thought that she must be the avatar or apostle of the war god.

“Otherwise, how could my heart race like this before an imminent battle?”

Her and Tenitia’s perspectives on fighting were similar yet different.

For knights like Tenitia, fighting was inherently a means to an end, a tool for proving their worth and glorifying their honor.

In contrast, for Helena, fighting was life.

“How can I do better, throw myself into it with all my strength, and if I fail, challenge again? What else could life mean?”

She smiled brightly, visible even through her helmet, and commanded.

“Battalion commander of the combat mages?”

“Yes, Your Excellency. Cantata is here.”

The mage who led a massive student gang bowed his head.

“It’s Commander, not Your Excellency. Yes, that’s not what’s important. You will cross the lake with your magic and launch an attack. We need to drain their spirit before the cavalry charges. I will assign heavy infantry to escort you, so take an appropriate position. Be cautious not to go too low, or you may be counterattacked.”

“Understood.”

Cantata saluted, and a group of mages followed along with the heavy infantry as they moved aside.

“Cavalry units?”

The heavy cavalry composed of bronze knights, Helena’s companions and those from the academy, came forward.

“Here they are.”

“Once the chaos ensues in the encampment of those magic-struck Land of Lanzo folks, we will bypass the lake and charge. Timing is crucial, and be mindful of encirclement.”

“Understood.”

“Understood.”

“I will do my best, Your Excellency.”

* * *

Helena issued additional orders to the infantry, priests, and sorcerers, gathering everyone’s attention with her small yet ringing voice.

“My brother, Duke Valencianus, intends to force them to retreat with a brilliant stratagem. There’s nothing wrong with that. Winning without shedding a drop of blood is true victory.”

For just a moment, a twinge of genuine fear mixed with her voice.

Though she was a capable commander in her own right, the thought of pushing all those monstrous beings out of the Magical Realms was something she could hardly entertain.

“The mentality is different. How did things come to this? I don’t even know how far he intended this to go. Accepting the proposal from that councilor named Eric might’ve been part of the plan all along.”

“But what’s certain is that if this goes on, the Land of Lanzo will be wrecked.”

“The attack by those strange creatures will inflict significant damage to the homeland. Supplies will be cut, and morale will plummet. An army in that state, regardless of how many tens of thousands, could never defeat us.”

“Tens of thousands of youth will perish, and the towns near the borders will be obliterated. Both the army and the nation will be uprooted. Just as we did to Doroysen, if we choke them economically…” it would be tantamount to conquest.

“In a year, I’ve half-killed two great powers from the West. Proper tactics would have taken years, along with untold blood and treasure.”

It was unimaginable what kind of thoughts could lead one to conceive of such atrocities.

“But if we can make them spill even a drop of blood while we lose only one or two drops, that in itself would be good.”

Most of Helena’s army consisted of those from problematic backgrounds, and they were not afraid of shedding blood.

“You have fought vainly for far too long.”

She knew their origins well and delicately pricked that part.

“So far, even your victories have yielded you nothing. The next day, new students would have come to take your rooms, classrooms, and bread. Even if you held your ground, the next day was all you had, and if you failed to hold on, you would have to face another threat.”

“That’s right!”

“Indeed.”

Voices of agreement erupted from all around.

“But if you win this battle, you will gain their tribute and wealth. The greatest business in this world is war.”

The atmosphere began to swell, and Helena’s voice grew more impassioned.

“What I desire is not riches, but victory. I will share the glory of triumph and wealth with all of you. Who will go with me?”

Since it was an operation planned around a surprise attack, there was no thunderous roar that followed.

However, the sight of hundreds of determined eyes fixated on Helena, coupled with hundreds of hands rising in unison, was all the more magnificent in its silence.

“We will attack when they begin moving at dawn. Rest in your positions.”

* * *

The night grew deep.

Eric quietly crawled out of the tent.

A servant of similar stature had dyed his hair blonde with beer and lay in Eric’s bed.

“The witch hunters are dangerous. Duke Valen could die. Then the Empire would have to retaliate in earnest for the sake of its prestige.”

“If this continues, it will be the end for the Land of Lanzo.”

“Am I committing treason or patriotism?”

Many thoughts flitted through his mind.

He was a politician who prided himself on having worked to protect the lives and properties of the citizens.

The calculations Helena had made echoed in his own mind.

“Duke Valenciaunos is truly… insane. To attempt to use the Magical Realms.”

“I don’t understand what Brnoa is hesitating over. If they don’t retreat, it will be the end of the Land of Lanzo.”

“If, if Duke Valenciaunos has predicted all of this…”

If he anticipated Eric’s arrival, pretending to help him gain Brnoa’s trust, then planning to assault the Land of Lanzo using the Magical Realms, it was a terrifying thought.

He felt even more frightened at the thought that such an arrogant and gaunt man could possibly do just that.

“Have I… sold my country?”

Eric slipped under the fence and stealthily took hold of a horse.

At that moment, a soldier suddenly emerged from the bushes.

“Councilor Eric.”

“!”

For a moment, Eric’s vision went dark.

However, the soldier spoke in a sorrowful voice rather than shouting.

“Please go.”

“…You.”

“I too resent the Empire. But this war has been strange from the start. I don’t understand why General Brnoa isn’t retreating.”

With increasing tears in his voice, he continued.

“I am from a village near the border. I have no idea what is happening or what should be done, but please, do something. Councilor, I beg you.”