Chapter 267

The biggest reason a person does something foolish is that they are foolish.

However, the biggest reason an organization does something foolish is often because it is the least foolish option available.

“No matter how I think about it, we have to retreat immediately.”

“There are two identified bloodline nobles. The risk of annihilation has become too great.”

“Didn’t you say the witch hunters were nearly exterminated? What on earth are we holding on to?”

Thus, the officers of the Land of Lanzo reached a conclusion.

“We all know this is a foolish act.”

“Yet why does it seem like the general doesn’t know this?”

No matter how they thought about it, their military felt more like General Brnoa’s personal army than an organization.

The officers of Lanzo were the Republic’s finest elite.

They were officers of a country that had fought a long war against the great power Doroysen for centuries, a military group that had succeeded in cultivating superhumans devoid of mana, and the hands and feet implementing the grand goal of the superhumanization of the entire populace.

They were turning ideals of faith, patriotism, philanthropy, and equality into divine power.

If successful, this plan could finally erase the remnants of heterogeneous races from this land.

“……Maybe this is part of the high command’s plan.”

“Are they testing how much can be done with just regular troops?”

“Even so, 100,000 is too much. Are they planning to sacrifice all these young people?”

All military activities of Lanzo were also a stage in executing that plan.

Of course, all of this was closer to a vague nation-building ideology than a systematic plan.

‘Someday, won’t humanity possess a power entirely differentiated from the heterogeneous races?’

‘Someday, won’t those worthy of power be able to obtain it?’

It was more accurate to see it as hope, ideals, or the direction of national policy rather than a concrete plan.

However, as the intruders moved toward their homeland, the doubts in the officers’ hearts, unable to retreat, grew larger.

“……Senior. Do you know that the ancient God of Radiance faith also had a tradition of burnt offerings?”

“Hey, hey. Shut up. You’re going too far.”

“The tales of sons and daughters sacrificed by priests are quite common in ancient texts. They’re even mentioned in the scriptures.”

They had too many reasons to fear the Empire.

“The knight who came last time was the infamous enemy knight. They say he battled dozens of holy knights in Solletarass.”

“Remember how the night sky turned red then? They say they forced the intruders westward. Not many fire mages were involved; it was a single fire mage. Yeah. That bandit, Duke Valencius. He supposedly killed the Sword King Ensis.”

“A lot of witch hunters died this time. They said 80% vanished. No! They were surrounded by witch hunters, and even had a sound-damping barrier set up, yet there’s still a magician who could use magic. Isn’t that a disaster if they turn in the plains?”

“In reality, our Republic is indeed strong, and it’s typical for enemies to bring along a few superhumans. When they fight our soldiers, our soldiers play with them. But they’re bringing fewer regular troops now.”

The junior officers could not comprehend why the army would not retreat in this dangerous situation in the eastern region of the Republic.

***

The dissatisfaction had piled up enough.

“Why? I mean, really, why? Isn’t the Republic established to save lives?”

“Are we supposed to watch our land get devastated because of an attack on the Empire?”

“Our parents also live in the eastern region.”

They sent forged orders to the rear units, causing them to block the intruders instead of joining the front lines.

The military police officers noticed this.

“What kind of nonsense is this?”

Forgery of orders, insubordination, personal use of military matters.

All these were serious crimes punishable by execution under military law.

“Hit them!”

“Destroy them!”

“You damn bastards.”

Of course, the junior officers didn’t go quietly but led their soldiers to beat up the military police and throw them into the horse feed troughs.

Dissatisfaction was already piled up enough.

Now, it was a situation where fear stacked on top of the dissatisfaction.

And in that crucial moment, the high-ranking officers were squabbling.

“General Brnoa! Let’s say, for argument’s sake, you’re okay with the invasion. But why insist on a full-scale war instead of guerrilla warfare?”

“The Empire’s magicians and knights are few but powerful. Our soldiers are many but relatively weak. If we engage in a full-scale war, blood will flow like a river!”

“We need to scatter! We obviously need to scatter. We have to take advantage of our numerical superiority. First, occupy each village, spread the spirit of freedom, equality, and philanthropy, and then recruit troops to target the major cities. Isn’t that the standard tactic of the Republic?”

“Our victory isn’t about killing the Empire’s knights; it’s about liberating the oppressed serfs, isn’t it? Don’t you dare worry about supply lines being cut by the knights’ guerrilla warfare! Didn’t you see in Doroysen? If the rear’s provinces are threatened, knights can’t do anything!”

The term ‘argument’ might not have been appropriate.

One side was clearly making valid points, while the other side was just bragging.

Brnoa roared, shaking the meeting tent.

“Don’t speak nonsense!”

The officers turned red and groaned.

Brnoa looked to the heavens and shouted.

“What our Republic needs now is a symbolic victory that proves the spirit of freedom, equality, and philanthropy is right! We’re mobilizing a grand army of 100,000!”

Eventually, one officer couldn’t hold back.

Daniel yelled as if in agony.

“It’s the general who is talking nonsense! I’ve said it several times that our victory is not about annihilating the enemy but about disrupting them! A symbolic victory through a plains rotation? What on earth does that have to do with the spirit of freedom, equality, and philanthropy?”

“Daniel!”

“I’ll say everything I want to say. Why is it that every two hours during meetings, the general goes to his tent and comes out after about ten minutes? Do you have a lover or some drugs hidden there?”

His pale face flushed red with blood.

“Do you know where the Empire’s guerrilla forces are right now? Have you devised any countermeasures against the flying fortress brought by the bloodline noble? Are you aware of the situation of the reconnaissance squad that lost contact days ago? Why do you keep saying we can’t do anything whenever we try to act?”

Daniel’s words were precisely correct for the situation.

However, Brnoa knew more than Daniel did about the situation and was in a different predicament.

“How dare you challenge a commander’s orders!”

He understood that they desired blood.

Though they were wary of the Empire, the Republic, known for its piety, was also greatly feared.

If they couldn’t see the blood of the Empire soon, then the Republic would soon see blood as well.

If he failed to kill 100,000 subjects of the Empire, they would look to kill 100,000 subjects of the Republic to make up for it.

Moreover, Brnoa was both a commander leading 100,000 soldiers and a father of two children.

His sense of responsibility as someone who knew the truth, combined with the fatherly instincts, created a volatile synergy among those around him.

“Immediately imprison this bastard!”

The soldiers surged in and dragged Daniel away.

As Brnoa tugged at his hair on his way to his tent, the higher officers sighed heavily.

***

“This time for sure!”

Helena, having starved for three days, shouted as if she were a soldier who had been stopped three times before a grand feast, like an academy student who had seized the chance to meet a top musical actor in the capital, or like an Ivory Tower mage challenging her one hundredth experiment.

The bronze armor shone as though it were a gift from the war god, and the incantation circuit engraved on the massive bow roared fiercely, waiting for blood.

Below, beyond the crescent lake, lay the encampment of the Lanzo army.

The soldiers were ready to move, but the officers were floundering around in various ways.

Helena instinctively understood the situation.

‘Whether falling back or advancing, it will conclude as one of the two. We will go somewhere. But it’s not decided where. Individuals are prepared to move, but the army is not ready to move.’

‘It is perfect for a surprise attack. If I pour magic now, the formation will fall apart, and if I charge the disrupted formation with cavalry, they will completely collapse.’

‘Finally, finally, finally.’

Helena shed a single tear from beneath her helmet.

“My dream is coming true.”

It felt so unreal because she was so excited.

Her heart raced as if it would break through her ribs.

Is this what it feels like for an actor taking the stage for the first time?

With a single command, everything would begin.

The training she had undergone until now, the blood, sweat, and tears shed with the soldiers.

‘The thugs from the Academy and the unemployed graduates. I had to turn those who lived for their own sake into soldiers.’

It was the moment to see how valuable that was.

Helena looked at the sentinels and reconnaissance troops visible beyond the lake.

“Tell the magicians to ignore them and attack the main force. After the battle begins, they will be nothing-.”

She halted mid-sentence, and the messenger looked at her in utter bewilderment.

Helena had always been a commander who issued precise orders.

Yet now, Helena suddenly stopped speaking, taking off her helmet and furrowing her brow.

Her flame-filled gaze flickered like a candle in the wind.

“What the-.”

Then, the head of one sentinel flew off.

Red fluid and white fluid burst like a thrown melon.

From the angle, it was clear that something had been shot across the lake.

However, she had not yet issued the firing order to the magicians.

Helena reflexively recalled a name.

“……Valencius. That damned bandit.”

***

‘This magic tool is truly convenient.’

Rudi sat atop a giant tree by the lake and pulled the trigger of the dual barreled magic rifle Caspar.

Bang!

With each shot fired, a soldier tumbled to the ground.

‘Thanks to Princess Sererass. A semi-transparent liquid armor, indeed.’

Bang!

Her maid uniform had an incantation circuit of ‘blur’ engraved on it, and she easily slipped past both Lanzo reconnaissance troops and Helena’s reconnaissance troops to get there.

She smiled sweetly, finished loading with a flourish, and pulled the trigger again.

Bang!

Against her green eyes, the red glimmer flickered on the lenses of her monocle.

The monocle she wore was made by Marcus, inscribed with spells like ‘field of vision expansion,’ ‘heat sensing,’ and a bit of ‘x-ray’ which boosted her accuracy several times over.

‘Moreover, Lord Valen found this for me as well.’

Around Rudi’s neck hung a brass horn finished in silver.

It was a holy relic that set up a sound-dampening barrier in a certain radius.

Because she wasn’t a cleric, she couldn’t cast it over a wide area, but as long as the radius was wider than her aimed magic rifle, it didn’t matter.

So long as she could conceal the sound of firing, that was enough.

Bang!

Whomp!

The last sentinel’s head exploded like a rotten melon.

Rudi pushed the monocle up her nose and smiled brightly.

‘Now I should give some covering fire. Shall I crawl forward? But then they might complain that I’m being too dangerous…’

‘Still, I can’t let Lord Valen go into that perilous situation alone. Of course, the knight will be with him, but… I worry too.’

Worrying for a bloodline noble was the privilege of a bodyguard knight and a maid.

‘In this world, I think I’m the only one who remembers the Bell with her bangs down.’

With a bright smile, Rudi jumped down from the tree.

Thud!

Though the giant tree stood four stories high, her landing left not a trace.

Considering she was wearing high-heeled shoes, it was indeed a superhuman feat.

She strapped Caspar to her back, drew her six-shot revolver magic rifle Agathe and Sandworm’s tooth dagger, and leaped into the thicket.