Chapter 228

#228 Episode: The Tin Knight and the Tower of Greed (8)

“Urgent news! Urgent news!!”

“What’s going on?”

“The 21st Battalion has been annihilated!”

“What?!”

As powerful competitors fell one after another or were expelled due to blunders, Teur Lognir, now considered the most likely candidate for the next Master of the Tower, made a grimace.

He received the report from his subordinate, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

The contents of the report were truly horrific.

4th Grade Wizard, Bruha Lognir, is dead.

Moreover, the 3rd Grade Wizard and the capable knights assigned to protect him were also wiped out.

While the forces below 2nd grade managed to survive, with the upper echelons completely obliterated, they could only strategize by merging with other battalions.

But above all…

“…A pitiful-looking magical automaton just barged in, messing about the castle before beheading Bruha and fleeing?”

Teur was taken aback.

Wondering where to start criticizing, he decided to ask the most immediate question.

“Then why is this news only reaching me now? If a battle broke out, shouldn’t there have been a report sent here first?”

“Uh, um, at first, they didn’t think it was report-worthy, and when the situation grew serious, they lacked the capacity to report.”

The Gray Old Man and the North Witch had retreated to the Tower of Control to prepare something, and Teur had been assigned as their deputy to oversee the front lines.

And naturally, there were no reports sent to the headquarters about things like ‘the guards on watch discovering a trespasser.’

Those were matters the local commander would decide on, to be summarized in periodic reports later on. If every little incident was reported in real-time, the headquarters would be buried in work and suffocate.

In that sense, not immediately reporting something as minor as a single magical automaton entering a castle guarded by thousands of troops was not entirely illogical. The outcome, however, was the worst-case scenario.

And the bad news didn’t stop there.

“Commander Hrunal of the 24th Battalion has fallen! The culprit is Gale Elilraz’s enchanted knight, the White Knight!”

“Upon receiving a request for support from Commander Hrunal, the 26th Battalion encountered an airborne ship while en route! They attempted to shoot it down but were instead attacked! The enemy forces appear to be terrifyingly powerful Lion Duke’s Bloodline soldiers, possibly reinforced by enchantments!”

“No matter how many enemies we defeat, new troops kept being deployed from the ship, and given the bizarre appearance of the soldiers and the lack of corpses left behind, there are reports suggesting they might be undead!”

“Additional battles have erupted! During the engagement with the enemy soldiers, large-scale curses and poisons exploded on the battlefield! Based on the malicious spells affecting both sides, it’s clear there’s a necromancer, one of particularly wicked caliber!”

“Large troop movements have been observed from the Tower of Guardian!”

“Update the map immediately.”

At Teur’s calm yet stern command, his subordinates quickly began adjusting the pieces on the map.

The result was clear.

“…It’s not just a 4th Grade Wizard; no, they’re specifically targeting ‘Lognir.’”

The units led by Bruha and Hrunal were among the elite, which could make it seem like they were only aiming for significant, powerful strongholds. However, there were weaker units among those affected that were not even stationed at specific forts but were in transit.

The commonality? They were all led by Lognir’s bloodline.

Furthermore, the battalion commanded by individuals elevated to 4th Grade not as Lognir’s heirs but as their spouses had not sustained any losses, making the intent blatantly obvious.

“Are you saying our military intelligence was leaked?”

“No, if that were the case, they wouldn’t be moving alone; other ambushing forces would have joined in for a more effective invasion. There must be some means of detection.”

That was a rather threatening attack, Teur thought.

If the enemy consisted solely of the Tin Knight and his crew, eliminating them wouldn’t be too difficult.

By pooling the scattered troops to form a perimeter, even if the enemy had agile advantages, a war of attrition would work in their favor.

But now, the Tin Knight’s team had the Tower of Guardian backing them.

The Tower was showing threatening movements that suggested they could invade from any front, and it was highly likely this was not just posturing.

If they pulled troops from key points to allocate elsewhere, they would undoubtedly launch an all-out assault without mercy.

Teur fell into deep contemplation.

The Gray Old Man and the North Witch who had returned to the tower were in seclusion for preparations, and during that time, he had full authority over troop movements.

He initially believed a standoff would be maintained until the Old Man returned, focusing on preserving the status quo…

“…Sticking to the old strategy despite changing situations would be the act of a fool.”

Teur began moving the pieces symbolizing forces from the Tower of Control on the map.

He pulled back troops positioned along the boundary with the Tower of Annihilation and allowed those previously stationed there to move freely to crush the enemies.

The expressions of his subordinates shifted as they saw the reconfiguration.

“Sir Teur, doing that will leave us vulnerable to the Tower of Annihilation.”

“If they turn their blades towards us, things could spiral out of control!”

“Preparing for worst-case scenarios is important. However, unlike Annihilation—which may ‘betray’ us—the threat right in front of us is immediate. If left unchecked, we don’t know how much damage could escalate, so we need to deal with it early.”

“But it’s just one ship, isn’t it?”

The ambush by the Tin Knight and his team came suddenly, but that also proved their numbers weren’t that great.

If a large force made it to the Tower of Control, they surely would not have escaped detection.

The enemy’s size was likely small enough to evade surveillance—perhaps just the crew of one ship.

Conducting a massive troop movement to eliminate only a handful of enemies was the height of inefficiency.

“No, within just a few hours, such damage occurred. Instead of hesitating and allowing the damage to escalate, it’s better to strike swiftly. And prepare a message spell. Ensure it’s secure to avoid any eavesdropping.”

“Where should I contact?”

Teur calmly replied.

“All units at the battlefield, focusing on Lognir.”

***

《Ahead! Right in front! The blood of the filthy old man is there!》

《Ahead! Right in front! The blood of the filthy old man is there!》

《Ahead! Right in front─》

Clack-clack.

The rattling of bones and the noisy chatter of skeletons.

As the divination instruments for necromancy pointed to a single location, Dorothea remarked.

“Looks like they’re gathering in one spot? They seem to have figured out we’re only picking off the bloodline of the Master of the Tower.”

“Pretty quick on the uptake. Unlike us, they must have a lot of restrictions.”

An army, by its very nature, slows down as its size increases.

Just think about the chaos of transportation during a holiday—imagine that times a thousand; a military filled with foot soldiers and logistical requirements would be a nightmare.

And what about Dorothea’s group?

They only needed to take care of a mere four people: Dorothea, Adelheid, Gale, and Trot.

Thanks to Dorothea having ‘Hyden’s Gloves,’ they didn’t need to worry about resupplying. The airborne ship they boarded could move at speeds that made it feel dismissive of a normal horse, allowing them to rest even in transit, albeit with a slight drop in efficiency.

Ironically, the Tin Knight didn’t even need that “minimal rest,” excitedly cycling through battle after battle after battle—it was a schedule that could give one a headache just thinking about it.

Had it been a regular army, they’d have been completely crushed without even knowing what was hitting them. Yet, even if they lagged behind a few steps, their readiness showed how capable the enemy was.

To know what moves they were making as well.

Sophia stated.

“They’ve ignored the slow movers and have quickly grouped up only the high wizards who know flight magic or can move on summoned creatures. Dorothea, are the bloodlines gathered at the tower?”

“No, it’s half and half. Half are at the tower, while the other half are at the castle directly ahead.”

Upon hearing Dorothea’s words, the group looked towards the castle before them.

Captain Bill whistled.

“Wow, this looks like it’s going to be a big haul.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Having raided multiple castles before, the ambience of the one in front of them felt vastly different.

Its scale was colossal, not just a singular castle but divided into outer and inner walls with various annexes, complete with a bustling city inside the outer walls.

An overwhelming grandeur and splendor emanated from it.

Barring the one river beside it, it wasn’t particularly impregnable in geographic terms, but the sheer magical power emanating from its walls and beyond was unsettling.

“Ballascalb. It was the capital back when the Eolia Magical Kingdom was still a kingdom. It holds significant symbolic meaning for the Lognir family, so its magical defenses are likely top-notch. I doubt it’s lacking even when compared to the Tower.”

Gale shook her head, indicating that a frontal assault would be difficult.

If Gale, normally bold, was saying this, it must truly be complex to tackle.

“Tch, guess targeting only the leadership ends here.”

Dorothea clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, and Sophia gently reassured her.

“With this rapid movement, the enemy must have rushed a lot of forces here. They probably left the normal infantry behind and allowed only the high wizards capable of fast movement to join. The enemy’s front lines must have been quite disordered, so it’s best to pull back and assess the situation. There’s also the danger of encirclement.”

Sophia was not wrong.

If 4th Grade Wizards were holed up here, it would indeed be tough to target them. But conversely, that also meant they couldn’t actively participate on the fronts.

Forcing the enemy to expend their mobility like this and compelling tactical decisions felt like sufficient progress.

No, considering the havoc they had wreaked upon the enemy thus far, they had more than achieved their debts.

[‘Tin Knight’ insists that retreating now cannot be an option!]

But the Tin Knight’s thoughts were quite different.

[‘Tin Knight’ argues that the next time they meet, the witch’s power will grow even greater, and before that, they need to whittle away at the enemy’s forces until the control and guardians become mutually balanced!]

[‘Tin Knight’ asserts that a winning chance only exists if the battlefield is tailored so they can solely focus on the witch!]

It was rare for the Tin Knight to overrate an enemy this much, prompting astonished expressions from the crew.

Dorothea asked.

“So what do you propose? Are you going to storm the castle alone and wreck it again?”

[‘Tin Knight’ thinks that could be fun, but likely there will be numerous flaws during mana supply!]

The way it was voiced suggested he thought he could do it solo if only there were no gaps in the mana supply.

“So?”

The Tin Knight pointed his finger at Dorothea.

Specifically, at her right hand.

[‘Tin Knight’ exclaims that it’s romantic to use the ultimate skills of strong adversaries again on behalf of the team!]