13 (17)

“I never liked Atila.”

“He slaughtered our tribe.”

“Atila is the Final King. Are you planning to betray him?”

The commotion grew even louder. The Huns were not yet firmly united. Louis needed them. If they remained in Gedria and lived there, costs could be reduced. Jordan, perhaps worried, whispered beside Louis.

“It is chaotic. Do you think they will really settle here?”

“We will have to see, but many of them will certainly remain.”

Louis replied in a confident tone. Gedria shone brightly. Late afternoon. The crowded city looked lively in some way. It was not only Louis who thought so. The city was changing rapidly. The benefits of developed civilization were wrapping around this remote place. All because of Louis’s decision.

‘My authority grows stronger day by day. At this rate, I could declare independence if I wished.’

Louis fell into thought as he watched the murmuring Huns. If they had remained silent, it would have meant Louis’s proposal had failed. The fact that heated debates were taking place meant his proposal was having an effect. His honor and reputation had grown hot enough to influence even barbarians.

It would be even more so within the Duchy of Eron. Louis viewed the future positively. He had secured Black Water, the finances of his territory were overflowing thanks to the Golden Age, and he had formed a strong alliance with the troublesome Atila. Louis intended to use Atila as a kind of mercenary. When Atila attacked and shook things up, Louis would reap benefits one by one. That was the essence of his plan.

Gedria, which Louis had occupied, was filled with wooden idols erected by various barbarian tribes. Louis did not touch them, though they were little more than skeletal frames. The soldiers had almost burned them down automatically, leaving them slightly scorched from the flames they had poured on, but otherwise they remained intact. Beneath the wooden gods stood a platform, and Louis stood upon it. But to the barbarians, Louis appeared greater than the gods. It might have been an illusion. Yet Louis’s Charisma trait and mana exceeding 100 were enough to overwhelm the crowd. Before him stretched every citizen of Gedria. At their flanks stood Louis’s army with spears raised here and there. Louis had thrown out the question, so the answer would come from them. Louis rose from his seat.

Beneath the banner bearing his house emblem, Louis was receiving a report. Coincidentally, two pieces of news had reached him. Because of the charisma Louis exuded while sitting silently beneath the roaring lion emblem, the barbarian who had come to deliver the message wore a terrified expression.

‘He is stronger than the Final King… Now I understand why the king wished to ally with the lion… He is a man on an entirely different level from the hollow King of Gaimer. And Gedria has changed this much. Even if Atila decided to reclaim this place, enormous damage would be expected.’

Originally, Louis had intended to return soon to his original ducal territory. But Atila had invited him. Whether to accept or refuse was one matter, yet Louis shifted his gaze to the letter lying beside him. It contained unexpected news. Before discovering Black Water, Louis had asked Orsini Spessart whether he had connections with Euclid. Just as Louis had expected, Spessart had a relative connected to Euclid. The letter came from that very person, yet its contents exceeded Louis’s expectations.

‘Archmage Euclid himself is coming here.’

He was the one who had triggered the special event and opened the Magitech Age. Louis had taken the initiative to prepare in advance for Magitech, yet what he caught was Euclid himself. The reason Euclid was coming was roughly clear. He was asking Louis for assistance. Louis would of course receive him.

‘Magitech…’

It could become the center of a new transformation. Even for Louis, that was an experience that made his heart race. At the same time, Louis wished to solidify his alliance with Atila.

‘Things are falling into place one by one.’

There were countless areas in Magitech that would require investment. There was also a variable here. Louis could invest points to forcibly unlock research, but mages belonging to Louis might also discover things on their own and add new developments. If Euclid came under Louis’s banner, he would surely add at least one or two breakthroughs to the value of Magitech. Louis summoned Euclid here. And within that plan, he also decided to accept Atila’s invitation. Atila might suddenly draw his sword. Louis was not a fool. If Atila wished to invite him, then they would prepare a separate place and meet there with equal numbers of troops.

Crossing Pantalist, Louis saw the traces of war for the first time with his own eyes. This was a rural area of Gaimer. When they visited a nearby village to obtain water, what Louis saw there was the devastation of war. In any case, when the villagers saw Louis’s family banner and the troops entering, they were so startled that they fell to the ground and bowed to him. Louis passed through that village and arrived at the appointed meeting place. Behind him, he had his army waiting. If anything happened to Louis, his cavalry would rush across the distance in an instant to assist him.

Six rangers kneeling before Louis reported to him one by one. They had thoroughly scouted the surroundings and even entered the area themselves.

“Your Grace. In the middle of the field, there is nothing but their ger. Only women, food slaves, and a small number of soldiers.”

Even the information window Louis received from the scouting party showed nothing but their ger, so Atila truly had invited Louis for a sincere purpose.

Atila’s camp. Their characteristic ger tents were scattered everywhere. The ger was a traditional Hun tent designed so it could be moved at any time. Various meats were roasting everywhere, and bright fires were burning throughout the area. They were already warmed up, enjoying songs and dances here and there. Even in such a lively scene, each chieftain could not relax his tense expression. It was because of the thought of Louis, who was said to be arriving here.

‘What does he look like?’

‘Is it true that he handles a sword well?’

‘Rumors are always exaggerated. He might be nothing special. If he turns out weak, I will challenge him to wrestling and shame him.’

And there was a woman with a bright expression. The woman had trained and had firm thighs and hips. It was not a body that came from mere exercise. The woman whom nearby Huns watched with drooling curiosity was named Blanda. She had even visited Atila personally after pestering her father in order to participate here somehow. Her mind was focused solely on Louis. She was the bold type of woman who insisted on personally verifying any man she became curious about.

Thus everyone enjoyed the early evening darkness while immersed in their own thoughts, when several lower-ranking Hun warriors came running swiftly and shouted everywhere.

“Duke Louis is coming this way!!”

Though many things bound them together, the two who had never met face to face until now were finally about to meet. As soon as the crude temporary gate opened, the lion banner led by the rider fluttered back and forth. Behind it appeared Louis, bringing about one hundred subordinates as previously agreed. Louis wore relatively light attire, with only a longsword slung at his side as he rode his horse, yet there was no one who could fail to recognize him. A man with a scarred face who had been leaning against a ger pillar drinking mare’s milk liquor widened his eyes upon seeing Louis.

‘Strong. Strong enough to cross swords with me.’

A bearded man who had been touching a woman’s hips on both sides forgot about the women entirely.

‘Damn. He is no ordinary man.’

He looked at Louis and judged the martial prowess of those Louis had brought, and the force was truly formidable. That was natural, because at the center was Louis himself, emitting the most exceptional aura, with Sword Master Kaban Ferdinand following on his right and Mihoff following on his left with a cold expression.

Including Anok, there were three Sword Experts and one Sword Master, and even Orsini Spessart, who followed at the rear wearing a deep robe, was a high-circle mage whose magical power leaked out, catching the bearded man’s eye. To be honest, he had somewhat underestimated Louis while thinking about Gaimer, but now he regretted having taken things lightly. Even the hundred men Louis had brought were powerful enough to overturn everything here.

And Blanda, who had been frolicking beside Atila, curved her eyes. She nudged the side of the shaman called Mountain beside her and asked.

“That is Duke Louis, right?”

“………”

Mountain’s silence was confirmation.

‘He is handsome.’

‘And tall.’

‘And strong.’

‘Maybe stronger than my uncle… Hmm. Maybe not.’

And Atila watched Louis in silence. He stood up. It was to welcome Louis. Atila was also a Sword Expert. Moreover, he was a master forged in deadly real combat. Atila’s aura carried an unusually murderous nuance. Louis looked at the man approaching him.

‘So this is Atila, the one who once put me in such a difficult position.’

Louis and his party dismounted and approached Atila, and Atila stared straight into Louis’s eyes before suddenly smiling. If a beast smiled, it would look just like that. He extended his hand first, and Louis grasped it. It was Atila who spoke first.

“Welcome, Duke Louis. I am Atila.”

It was simple, yet his tone carried a distinctive accent one would remember for a lifetime. The vigor of the man seemed to flow through the hand that gripped his firmly. When Louis responded, enjoyment appeared in Atila’s eyes.

“I am Pontina Louis. It is a great pleasure to meet the king of the Huns.”

With Louis’s words, both camps began to heat up.

There was an empty seat beside Atila, with several vacant places around it. Louis took the seat of honor. Atila sat beside him. As Louis sat down, Louis’s Charisma trait suppressed Atila. The barbarians, who had never seen Atila’s aura suppressed before, thought it a rare sight. Atila thought so as well, yet he was rather continuing to confirm with his own eyes that the words of the ancient prophet were true.

“This Atila has prepared a small gift for you.”

Atila clapped briefly, and several Huns brought out a long cart. On the cart were neatly arranged bars of gold. It was a considerable amount. Giving that much purely out of sincerity, without conditions, meant he truly wished to maintain his alliance with Louis.

When Louis gave a signal, Jordan went over and touched the gold, his mouth stretching wide in delight. Louis had spent quite a bit of money transforming Gedria, and the gold Atila had given was enough to fill the gap.

“Thank you very much. But I cannot help saying it is burdensome.”

“Haha. The lion says he feels burdened? Then I must have done well.”

He poured mare’s milk liquor for Louis and continued.

“There were many pigs in Gaimer. When we flayed their hides, gold poured out like this.”

Just hearing a few words was enough to make one shiver, showing that he was indeed a man from a very different world. When Louis had stayed in Gedria he ruled over them firmly, so he had experienced less cultural shock, but now that he stood as Atila’s equal and was surrounded by a party full of their culture, he could not help feeling the difference. Music flowed, but there was no violin, no piano, nor any instrument Louis recognized.

A woman stared intently at Louis. Blanda. Her large eyes shone as she secretly watched every movement Louis made. She wore an excited expression, eager to speak with him.