Chapter 669

Ludwig continued to ask Knut various questions after that.

The size and defensive facilities of the Dane cities along Ka`har’s expected march route, the number and composition of the civilians gathered there, the surrounding terrain and distances between cities, even the condition of the roads.

Knut answered all the questions to the best of his knowledge, and for the parts he couldn’t answer, Frigg, kneeling beside him, explained instead.

Being part of the Intelligence Department, he knew more details about his own country’s situation than expected.

Though the information wasn’t particularly helpful.

Most of the cities along the expected march route were just residential areas. There were few defensive facilities worthy of being called fortresses, and the civilians had never even held a sword.

Some cities were near mountains or forests, but they weren’t large enough to evacuate all the civilians.

“Hmm…”

Ludwig’s expression darkened further, like a black man in a cotton field.

Even he couldn’t find a suitable solution. No matter how much he racked his brain, there was nothing to rely on. Marching toward Dane was literally a march toward death.

No, from the beginning—

“Isn’t it already too late? Considering the time it took for Knut to come here and the time it would take for the Imperial Army to march to Dane… By the time we arrive, Or-han would have already swept through the cities.”

I had advised Knut to try to persuade Ludwig, but I didn’t actually expect us to save the people of Dane.

No matter how fast we moved, tens of thousands would already be dead. The cities closer to the Great Plains would have been wiped out by now.

I couldn’t outright tell Knut, who was bowing his head begging to save the kingdom’s people, “They’re probably already dead,” so I kept it to myself.

[Well… I’m not sure about that. The Or-han I know wouldn’t recklessly enter a city full of women without soldiers.]

However, Hersela seemed to think differently. Though her tone suggested she wasn’t entirely confident.

[It doesn’t make sense to retreat only the army in the face of an enemy advance. He would suspect an ambush. That Dane’s army used its civilians as bait to lure and annihilate the warriors who entered the city.]

‘…That makes sense.’

Having nearly died in a trap that sacrificed the barrier just a while ago, he would be more wary of traps than usual.

[So, Or-han would inevitably spend considerable time on reconnaissance. For the time being.]

Once he was sure there was no trap, he would start plundering. No one knew when that would be.

—

Through the questions about the Dane cities, Ludwig seemed convinced that there was no chance of victory by marching there, as the subsequent questions were on entirely different topics.

The combat power of the Rune Warriors, the power of the Rune of Domination, the defense level of Dane’s capital, the number of royal family members, and such.

Knut looked puzzled as to why he was asking these things, but Frigg, seeming to understand Ludwig’s intentions, began actively selling state secrets with a bright expression.

I had a feeling we’d be repeating what we did in Panam.

“Hmm… It might take some time, but perhaps…”

After a long deliberation that burned through the thick magical cigarette he was holding, Ludwig finally made a decision.

He agreed to deploy the Imperial Army if five conditions were met.

He didn’t give a definitive answer because marching into another country’s territory without the Emperor’s approval required a military council and the agreement of the legion commanders.

Specifically, the agreement of the 3rd Legion Commander, Frederick.

“Defeating Ka`har is one thing. Marching the Imperial Army beyond Dane’s borders is tantamount to the Empire invading Dane.”

Even though Ludwig had been granted full authority over the barrier defense forces by Leopold, deploying that legion into Dane’s territory required separate permission.

Strictly speaking, it could be considered a private misuse of the Imperial Army to invade another country.

Of course, getting Leopold’s approval now was impossible. Who knows how long it would take to deliver this news to Leopold in the capital and get a response.

So, as an alternative, he planned to first get Frederick’s agreement and then request Leopold’s post-facto approval.

As long as we win, Leopold would somehow cover up the fact that we invaded Dane on our own.

“What do you think? Can you agree to this?”

“……”

Knut looked troubled and couldn’t answer easily. He had come here just to request support, never expecting things to turn out like this.

The five conditions Ludwig proposed. Two of them were conditions he could accept without much thought.

Act as my subordinate for the time being.

Provide knowledge and techniques on Rune Magic.

These were conditions Knut could readily accept.

Acting as my subordinate was a given since he had asked for my help, and he already understood that the Imperial Army wouldn’t move without some compensation for Rune Magic knowledge.

He couldn’t teach the method of strengthening runes through human sacrifice, but Ludwig insisted that such evil knowledge must be eradicated. He said the Empire wouldn’t want knowledge that sacrifices people.

Well, if they started sacrificing people to boost magical output, Lacey would come running with holy flames in her eyes, ready to burn everyone involved.

The problem was the remaining three conditions. They were decisions that Knut, as a mere Holy Warrior, couldn’t make—conditions that would determine the fate of Dane.

“We’re in no position to be picky about methods, and there’s no other way anyway.”

Knut hesitated for a long time but eventually nodded, persuaded by Frigg. It wasn’t the way he wanted, but if it could save the kingdom’s people, it didn’t matter.

I found it amusing that he was agonizing over it when I’d be doing all the work.

—

Four days later.

I was looking up at the walls of Edricksa, Dane’s capital. With Knut, who looked like he couldn’t believe this was happening, and Frigg, who was curiously stroking the unicorn’s horn. No one else was with us.

To reach Edricksa in three and a half days, we had to move at a speed beyond common sense, and only Cascador and I could do that.

I flew across the sky carrying Knut like a sack, and Frigg had to ride the horse as if she were being carried, eating and sleeping on its back.

“…Unbelievable speed.”

Knut slumped onto the grass, letting out a hollow laugh.

When Ludwig explained the plan, he had reacted like it was impossible, but now that we arrived in just four days, all he could do was marvel.

—

Edricksa was more like a fortress built against a wide river than the capital of a nation.

The outer walls were carved from stone, with a deep moat connected to the river, and a rugged, flat inner fortress stood on a hill so high it was visible beyond the outer walls.

It wasn’t comparable to Exra-shapel, but it was a fortress that wouldn’t be easy to capture by direct assault.

Eight watchtowers stood on either side of the gate and around the outer walls, and the moat was so wide and deep that if the drawbridge were raised, the besiegers would have to recruit swimmers or build boats to cross.

If plunder was the only goal, they could just sweep through the farmlands and villages outside the moat and leave, but capturing the capital itself was a different story.

If the goal was conquest rather than plunder, they’d have to cross the moat, scale the stone walls, and capture the inner fortress… It was obvious that soldiers would die in droves.

“Who on earth did they build this fortress to fight against?”

I muttered sarcastically as I surveyed Edricksa’s overly thorough defenses.

It was clear this fortress wasn’t built to fight Ka`har. Unless Ka`har intended to completely annihilate Dane, they wouldn’t march this deep into the territory.

So, who was this fortress built to defend against?

The very existence of Edricksa Fortress revealed Dane’s hostility toward the Empire.