A Man Caught In A Whirlpool Of Desire (8)

The beastkin who received the orders relayed to each unit thought they were troublesome, but none of them could defy the command of the divine messenger.

Moreover, the beastkin had realized just how reassuring an incompetent enemy commander was as an ally. So the beastkin vaguely understood the divine messenger’s intention.

“Captain, what do we do if that guy happens to die or gets badly injured?”

He was probably talking about the guy called Duke Balsen. It was a combat situation. Since even firearms were being used, it was only natural to worry that he might be hit by a stray bullet and end up in trouble. Bella, the captain of the guerrilla unit who received the question, answered as if it was nothing.

“We use the treatment medicine we received and keep him alive.”

“…Do we really have to keep him alive?”

“We benefit only if he lives. You saw it, did you not? The foolish Imperial Army’s behavior… I think a stupid guy should continue serving as the enemy commander.”

Bella’s thinking was firm, and it did not take long for that will to be relayed to the unit. Moreover, Bella and the beastkin had understood through a single battle just how terrifying the power of the weapons they could use was.

The situation was similar in the other units as well.

Gamung, the beastkin commanding the First Battery, turned around at the newly relayed order and ordered his subordinates.

“We will move the mana cannons again. This will lead into the next operation, and this time we must aim carefully before firing. Observers must thoroughly share Duke Balsen’s coordinates, and we must make sure not to shell that area. That is all!”

At that moment, there was a beastkin who asked Gamung a question.

He was a beastkin of the same Ho-in Tribe, and he was a beastkin who ranked second among the tribe members.

“Chieftain Gamung, why must we keep that worm called Duke Balsen alive?”

“They say that if a stupid guy stays alive, the sacrifices among our allies decrease. Is that not indeed a reasonable statement?”

“Is that guy the stupidest one?”

“It seems so. That is why an order came down saying we must definitely keep him alive and have him return to the Empire. It is a strict command from the divine messenger, so observers must respond thoroughly so we can absolutely follow it!”

The beastkin said they understood and began lowering the mana cannons from the tower.

Orders like this were being carried out similarly at eight gun turrets. For humans, moving the huge mana cannons itself would be very difficult, but the Ingrad Domain Army, which was freely moving the cannons by bringing along beastkin capable of using powerful strength, such as bearfolk, moved in perfect order toward the final operation site to greet the advancing Imperial Army.

In the meantime, high up in the distant sky, the rangers who were watching the Imperial Army’s movements were using message magic tools moment by moment to report the enemy’s movements, and new orders were being delivered to the ground forces as well as the close-combat unit that would intercept any Imperial Army forces that might remain in the rear.

“A message came from Volv. They say it is our turn to step forward…”

The beastkin mobilized as the close-combat unit were whale beastkin. Ten thousand of them, excluding the personnel who would defend the fortress and the wall, were carrying out the operation. And as a close-combat unit, they needed troops with powerful abilities who could block and hold the Imperial Army’s rear, and the whale beastkin had been mobilized for that purpose.

They could operate on land as well, but instead, they had the weakness that they could not transform into beastkin form.

However, against humans, even without transforming, their enormous bodies of three meters already showed overwhelming combat ability at the level of monsters, so they could be called a terrifying tribe.

Among the land beastkin tribes, the Sain Tribe was known as the strongest, but the whale beastkin were a tribe that showed power strong enough to face the transformed Sain Tribe to some degree even while the whale beastkin themselves were not transformed.

Thirty thousand of such people had been mobilized as the close-combat unit, and Volv had been appointed as their leader. Oliver and Herman, who would assist him, each led ten thousand of their tribe members and began moving toward the First Rest Stop and fortress.

The distance was not very far, and even though they were moving over land, their stride was so wide that it did not take very long for them to move to the operation area.

Moreover, the iron armor and equipment they wore were equipment that would normally be worn by “knights,” and to achieve this, even Briden artisans had been invited to arm them.

It was a situation where the words “armor made as if it had been stamped out by pouring financial power into it” fit perfectly.

It was the moment when a unit of three-meter steel giants walking with clanking sounds made its debut on the continent.

“It seems everything is proceeding smoothly. Will you go and see it?”

“Hmm, the magic tool I asked you to make before, is it still in the experimental stage?”

It was a question about the spirit-image transmitter using Search magic, and Hare spoke.

“It would be simple if we just used a familiar, but what you spoke of, my lord, was literally a tool that everyone could see… Honestly, although the concept itself is simple, the magic formula is too complicated, so it needs time.”

“Then receiving the image seen by the familiar using Image magic and Search magic is the best option, correct?”

“That’s right. Do you want to see it?”

Rather than going out to the battlefield myself, I thought cheering for our allies who would now carry out the final operation was best. I had sternly warned those I entrusted with frontline command not to kill Duke Balsen alone, so I believed they would certainly do well, and by now, I thought they would be watching for an opportunity with the Imperial Army that had left the fortress in sight.

A total of twenty gun turrets had been made along the road to this place.

I thought it was now time for the artillery and domain troops, evenly deployed across the remaining twelve gun turrets, to be waiting for the Imperial Army that would stretch out in a long line.

I had also received a report that the whale beastkin in iron armor were moving, so I had no doubt that among those who entered the fortress, the only one who would truly be able to return outside alive would be Duke Balsen. Thinking of how the fact that this war had ended in a massacre in a single day would spread through the Empire to the entire world, I grew curious about how the public would evaluate our domain.

“It may be a little earlier than scheduled, but could you relay this to Linda? Tell her she may begin.”

“The war is still in full swing, though?”

“I already think it is over. If it is our army, which has prepared for a long time, there is no way they will lose to the likes of the Imperial Army. And everything will be handled according to the operation.”

“But what is Ms. Linda preparing…?”

“That, you ask…?”

As my words continued, Demina and Hare asked whether I had thought that far ahead, and while shaking her head, Hare did not forget to relay a few words through message magic to Richard so he could move Linda.

At that time, Richard, who had received the message, looked at Linda and spoke.

“He says you may begin. But will this method really work?”

“The lord’s judgment always brings about the correct result. I believe that even now, it will surely produce a splendid result.”

“What a dreadful faith.”

“Does Richard not believe in the lord?”

“No… The lord I think of… seems like someone whose inner thoughts cannot be known.”

“He does have that side. Now then, shall we go?”

Richard said he understood and followed Linda, and the two went straight to the Information Guild and commissioned them with a priority request, using an enormous sum of money to ask that one piece of information be delivered across the entire continent.

“Is it truly… all right to use this content? The war should have only just begun… right?”

The head of the Information Guild, who looked at Linda as she made the request with an expression of disbelief, had no way to contain his complicated feelings.

That was because coming to the Ingrad Domain had been the gamble of a lifetime for him. But when he saw the enormous promissory notes before his eyes, he could not help but swallow.

There were as many as five notes worth ten thousand large gold coins.

“With this amount, you will be able to release all the information we wish to deliver, correct?”

It was an amount that was more than enough. Honestly, this might not be a job that required such a large sum. The world currently had a great deal of interest in the conflict between the Ingrad Domain and the Empire, so they would instead want to obtain information by even paying a premium. But the Ingrad Domain was giving him a large sum on its own to spread information?

The head of the Information Guild judged that unless they had extraordinary confidence, they could not do something like this, and soon, he accepted the promissory notes, returned four of them, and spoke.

“One of these will be enough. And if this information is truly fact… the continent will be in an uproar…”

“We thought it would only be a matter of time before it became known anyway. It is right to spread it when it has an impact.”

The head of the Information Guild said he understood and immediately began relaying the information Linda had handed him to the guild’s mages, and Linda left the Information Guild with a bright smile while thinking that she had saved money.

After that, before even an hour had passed, there were two pieces of news that struck the continent.

One was the news of the Imperial Army’s crushing defeat.

“Is it true…? That Ingrad Domain suffered no damage at all, and the Imperial Army took a devastating blow…?”

“There is a rumor that the source of the information is Ingrad Domain. Moreover, they say a ‘new weapon’ even appeared, so I do not know how much of it we should believe, but it seems the Empire is also moving quickly.”

Wherever two or more people gathered, everyone began talking about similar things, and the next thing they talked about was the hidden identity of Ingrad’s lord.

“Is he really the company head of the Black Gold Merchant Company…?”

“I told you he is, did I not? To think he is the owner of that merchant company gathering up all the gold in the world… I am jealous and frightened…”

“They say that is not all. Were there not rumors that Masters died one after another in this war against the Empire?”

“What about it?”

“Actually, Viscount Ingrad saved all the Masters and had them captured alive!”

“What in the world… Why did he do that?”

“They say he judged that with humanity being pushed too far by the Demon Tribe, it was not right to kill Masters.”

“Heoheoheo…”

People’s attention gathered, and eyes began turning toward those who were currently exchanging the story. Then stories naturally flowed out.

“Did they not say that Viscount Ingrad practically won this war?”

“That is right, but why?”

“In truth, the war broke out because the Empire was jealous and envious, so they say that if not for the Empire’s interference, he wants to help in the war against the Demon Tribe. Since he cannot send troops because of the Empire, they say he will send large amounts of supplies needed for the war, including treatment medicines, and he reportedly declared that he would release the Masters in time with that as well.”

“Is that true?! What will he do if they target Viscount Ingrad again?!”

“They say he still said that he had no choice but to make that decision for the sake of humanity.”

The words of the two people spread to the surroundings in an instant. And although they gradually began swelling in size with all sorts of stories being added, the two people who first began talking had already quietly disappeared from the venue.

Things like this were happening all over the world.