Chapter 212

Finally arriving at Randenburg, the city was mostly empty except for some residents and a few guards.

Most of the border lord’s army, led by Marquis Ludwig, had already headed to the barrier.

So, after a quick meal and a bath, we had to head straight to the barrier as well.

—

The Berengeiria Barrier still stood tall and firm, boasting a height of 30 meters.

Except for the soldiers patrolling, who had increased three to four times in number, nothing else seemed to have changed.

At this point, is it even possible to cross that?

“Wow… it’s so high…”

Seeing the barrier for the first time, Rana stood there dumbfounded, her mouth agape in awe.

Her head tilted back, her eyes shining as she looked up at the top of the barrier. It looked like if someone just tapped her forehead, she’d topple right over.

“It is indeed strangely high. To stop Ka`har’s cavalry, even a third of that height would have been enough.”

“Were they planning to fight giants or something…?”

Her reaction was the same as mine when I first saw the barrier, and I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

“It looks high, but I’ve heard there have been occasional attempts to climb it. To leap over it alone, you’d need to be at least a grand warrior… that is, a master-level knight. But in other words, if you’re a master, it’s doable.”

Well, it did seem possible for me too.

Not that I could leap over it in one jump, though.

I could just prepare a few spears, stick them into the wall, and climb up.

Though if I slipped, I might end up looking like a squashed tomato.

—

“Thank you for coming, Lord Medean! The Marquis of Randenburg is on top of the barrier. Do you need someone to guide you?”

Since my arrival was already well-known, the knight on guard saluted me respectfully as soon as he saw me.

“I have Nigel, so I’m good. But actually, I need a favor regarding this girl.”

I pointed at Rana, who was getting off the carriage.

We had moved together up to this point, but now that we’d arrived at the barrier, I planned to have Rana focus solely on healing in the rear, as originally planned.

What lay ahead was a battlefield where thousands would clash.

Healing so many people would surely accumulate good deeds, and her holy power would grow stronger too. Two birds with one stone, right?

“This is Rana, a healer from the Shaulite Church Order. She came here to treat the wounded, so I’d appreciate it if you could take her to the field aid station where the healers are gathered. She’s like a sister to me… so please keep her as safe as possible. Can I count on you?”

“It would be an honor!”

Honor, huh?

If anything happens to Rana, I’ll hold you responsible.

“Then I’ll be on my way! Be careful, everyone!”

“Yeah, you be careful too. If anything happens, grab any passing knight and mention my name. They’ll figure something out.”

I waved at Rana as she headed toward the barracks with the knight.

Will she be okay? Even so, soldiers on the battlefield can be rough…

“…If you’re that worried, should I look after her until the battle starts? I was feeling a bit awkward about meeting the Marquis of Randenburg anyway.”

“Ah, really? Hmm… then I’ll leave it to you. Leo… no, Rene.”

Rene. It was the alias Leonor suggested when we arrived in Randenburg.

In the Empire’s language, it means “the reborn one,” or so I heard.

There was a monster with that name in a game I played once…

After sending her off, Nigel and I made our way through the barracks.

It was quite amusing to see the soldiers around us snap to attention and salute as we passed.

I pretended not to hear the whispers behind us.

“Ka`har has invaded… can we really trust their princess?”

“The Marquis must have his reasons. And now, she’s not the princess of Ai-shan Gi-or or whatever, but Lord Medean.”

“The Thorn Princess…”

“The Carnivorous Beast… they say she skewered hundreds of our men and roasted them…”

“…No way. That must be enemy propaganda. Would Sir Nigel have just stood by and watched that?”

…Let’s just pretend I didn’t hear that.

—

Marquis Ludwig stood atop the Berengeiria Barrier, dressed in his usual uniform, gazing beyond the barrier.

His eyes seemed to look not at the enemies camped in front of him, but beyond them.

Behind him stood three knights, guarding him side by side. One of them was a man I’d seen before.

A somewhat flippant-looking master-level knight. I remember him wielding dual swords against monsters. His name was Hayden, I think.

The other two knights also exuded a similar aura, so they were probably part of the “Swords of Randenburg.”

The ten masters under Marquis Ludwig.

Noticing the sound of someone climbing the barrier, the three knights turned their gaze toward me.

Curiosity, wariness, competitiveness. Their different eyes looked at me, then they smiled warmly upon seeing Nigel following behind.

[ Hoh. So those are the Swords of Randenburg. Their aura seems quite impressive. ]

“Not bad in terms of momentum, but the evaluation seems a bit harsh, don’t you think? At that level, he’s pretty strong even by the Empire’s standards, right?”

[It’s not like he’s at a level where he can’t win.]

“Yeah, that’s true.”

If they all came at me at once, I’m not sure, but one-on-one, I think I could take all three of them.

—

“Welcome, Count Median. It’s been a while since I last saw you. Was it since Einfeld?”

“Probably… If you missed my face, you should’ve come looking for me a bit sooner. Instead of just letting me go like that.”

If you had arrived just two days before the Imperial Palace collapsed… things wouldn’t have gotten this bad.

“I had no choice either. The monster attacks were strangely frequent, delaying my movements, and then I received news of Ka`har’s advance. At the time, I didn’t realize the situation in the capital was so urgent, so after much deliberation, I had no choice but to turn back. Who could’ve predicted that Isabella would collapse the palace, flee, and start a rebellion?”

Well, even I, who knew her somewhat, didn’t see that coming.

“…So, what’s the enemy’s status? We need to crush them as soon as possible and suppress Isabella’s rebellion. If we’re not careful, even the fairies might invade.”

“Fairies…? What are you talking about?”

I explained Ferne’s warning to the puzzled Ludwig.

The information that if the civil war dragged on, the fairies might also break the peace treaty and target the Empire.

The basis was just Ferne’s words, but… if it actually happened, the consequences were crystal clear.

The Empire was already at its limit, dealing with civil wars, monster attacks, the northern invasion, and the threat of Ka`har.

Even in this crisis, with Or-han possibly showing up, they couldn’t even spare a single Imperial Army unit for the east.

If Alvheim invaded, they’d have to move all remaining forces to the west to stop them, but doing so would leave the entire Empire defenseless against monster attacks.

“Hmm…”

Clearly not good news, as Marquis Ludwig let out a long sigh.

“I’ll have to send a letter to His Highness… How to handle this… Ah, right. That’s it!”

As Ludwig sucked on his magic herb, deep in thought, he suddenly exhaled smoke and shouted, as if something had come to him.

Did he come up with a usable plan?

“Wasn’t one of your friends running a business in the capital? That half-blood from the Red Copper lineage.”

“Asha? What about her?”

“Yes, that was her name. I’ll advise His Highness to contact her. The Red Copper lineage is one of the great families of Himmell, so through her, we can convey our intentions to Himmell.”

Himmell. A republic jointly ruled by the great families of half-bloods.

Though small in population, their unique technology and trade had made them a fairly powerful nation.

“As you warned, if Alvheim attacks at this point, the Empire has no strength left to stop them. However, the half-bloods have more than enough strength.”

“So you’re asking Himmell to either keep Alvheim in check or outright attack them?”

“Exactly. The details of the negotiation will be up to His Highness Leopold, but if we can secretly agree that Himmell will attack Alvheim the moment the fairies strike the Empire… at least we won’t be completely overwhelmed.”

Well, half-bloods and fairies have been long-time enemies, so with the right incentives, they might agree to the Empire’s terms…

But isn’t that just lighting the fuse for a world war?

“Not to mention, the Holy Kingdom won’t just sit back and watch either. They share a border with Alvheim, after all.”

World war, indeed.

Except for the Kingdom of Panam in the south and the Dragon Kingdom in the northwest, every nation would be dragged into the war.

Lacey would’ve loved this.

…Speaking of which, where is that woman now? She didn’t seem to have been captured by Isabella, but I haven’t seen hide nor hair of her.

“Now that we’ve settled the matter of the fairies, let’s get to the main point. You asked about the enemy’s movements? Look over there. They’ve set up camp beyond the barrier, waiting for us to make a move. You can see it clearly from here.”

I followed Ludwig’s pointing finger.

At the edge of my vision, I saw numerous tents densely packed together.

Familiar tents. I’d seen them several times when I first arrived here.

Ka`har’s military encampment.

They were there.