In The Name Of Ingrad! (6)

As I watched the people leaving for every part of the country, how should I put it?

I felt as if I had washed my hands of most of the things I had to do. There were only a few things left now, and among them, the part that bothered me the most was, as expected, the matter of the Relief Group.

Ulde and five thousand whale beastkin had already departed as an advance unit, and following them, fifteen thousand were scheduled to be sent in order as soon as their preparations as the middle unit were complete.

In reality, that, too, would clearly be sent in just a few days, but even because of the Relief Group’s original purpose, we were separately preparing a detached unit by pulling out personnel to help Linda.

Thanks to that, the number of troops had dropped sharply, but it could be called fortunate that there was currently no being that could be called an enemy right away.

“It will take fifteen days to send all the units. That is quite tight.”

Even this was moving while shortening the distance by using gates, so in reality, compared to marching on foot, it could be called an incredible thing.

“They will not be able to endure on land for long. Will it be all right?”

“I heard that the sea is not that far in the direction Ulde is going, so would it not be fine?”

Moreover, we had sent them carrying a large amount of moisturizing essence that had recently been improved again and again. From what I heard, Ulde had said that they might be able to endure on land for at least six to eight months.

However, recalling what he had said, that they still needed to return to the sea because there were cases where moisture containing salt was needed, I said to Wijel,

“Since this is a war against the Demonic Tribe, which can be called a chronic problem of this continent… it does bother me, but I think Ulde will do well. Moreover, with their armaments, did we not learn how terrifying they were in the last war?”

In reality, because whale beastkin did not participate in the arena and such, the measure of their strength had been ambiguous, and that had been the reality preventing us from attaching the description “strongest” to the whale beastkin unit until now.

But we had confirmed the whale beastkin’s tremendous firepower in the middle of war, and since it would not be easy for beastkin with similar equipment to withstand such absurd attacks, the description “strongest” had been yielded to the whale beastkin unit.

There did not seem to be any particular sign that they disliked it. The tremendous power they had shown was enough to lightly suppress such complaints, and moreover, they had equipment issued to them separately.

“How strong are whale beastkin, I wonder?”

I asked Wijel a question that occasionally made me curious, and Wijel let out a deep sigh at my question and said,

“Whale beastkin are not agile. They are a sturdy and extremely strong tribe. The weight of their equipment, which Your Majesty is worried about, probably will not cause any problems.”

“I never imagined they would even take greatswords with them.”

I knew that the greatswords alone weighed easily fifty kilograms. Fifty kilograms sounded nice, but it was no different from two-thirds of my body weight.

Even if I was not the skinny type, considering that I weighed over seventy kilograms on average, it probably meant that whale beastkin possessed tremendous strength, enough to grab me and lightly swing me around.

“The weight of the equipment they are carrying alone will easily reach four hundred kilograms. It would be correct to see each person as carrying four hundred kilograms, including the steel-plate armor, greatsword, extra-large firearm, and supplies.”

“….Ugh, I am sick of it. How can they carry all of that…?”

Wijel also seemed slightly puzzled about that. In any case, while preparations for the whale beastkin were steadily proceeding, Wijel asked me,

“Due to this decision, the Demonic Tribe will also come to pay attention to our Ingrad. Commerce may be disrupted. Is that truly all right?”

There was no way I did not know how much money the Black Gold Merchant Company was earning in the East Continent. However, if we diverted the goods to other continents, even if it was not as much as in the East Continent, it remained unchanged that we would earn a considerable amount of money. And now, the Demonic Tribe was no longer the same as before either, and they were in a situation where they were establishing the value of “gold coins.”

According to Volv, in about half a year, the earnings might become similar to those of other continents, or otherwise, it might become too dangerous to conduct commerce at all. So in reality, there was not much that could be called a loss.

When I told him this, Wijel agreed and said,

“I thought they would not trade peacefully forever, but this is fast. Did someone intervene?”

“Even if that is not the case, perhaps it is right to say that they are developing their own economic sense.”

“An economic sense. That is interesting.”

“The Demonic Tribe are potential ‘enemies.’ Moreover, the Information Guild sent this, saying that strange rumors are circulating. Read it.”

Wijel read through the document I gave him, stroked his chin, and fell into thought. Then he asked me in a serious tone,

“What does Your Majesty think?”

“I think it may be true.”

“As expected….”

The document stated that the gate they had destroyed might be pierced open again. That was because it contained information that “vibrations,” “screams,” and the sound heard when metal struck stone and the like were echoing through the mountain range.

So I had intended to summon the retainers with this and discuss it separately, but first, I had asked Wijel.

“The Demonic Tribe are persistent. If they realize it is a useful passage, they will certainly try to open the gate again. How would it be to inform Atoon and the Mirkas Federation of this fact and have them prepare?”

“There is that as well, but in front of it… there is a city where the Relief Group gathered many people. It is a place where people who are now barely maintaining a minimum livelihood are living, so I am truly displeased at the thought of it being swept up in war again.”

“….It sounds to me like you are saying we must prepare the army.”

“You probably heard correctly.”

If we kept sending the army outside too much, there was a high concern that problems would occur with our own country’s safety. However, the surrounding countries were not in good enough circumstances to pay attention to our side, so I had made the decision.

Before a notification, this was merely sounding him out.

“How many troops do you wish to send?”

I wondered whether, with roughly the number of people mobilized for the war against the Kingdom of Josephine, it might be possible to block the gate for the purpose of “defense,” and asked,

“I heard the newly scheduled human army for training was fifty thousand, correct?”

“That is correct.”

Would sending them to the front line against the Demonic Tribe be the right decision?
I thought for a moment and then said,

“Let us organize twenty thousand-man units commanded by those with three Rad stars or higher, five Ranger hundred-man units, and twenty thousand human troops. In the case of humans, let us select them mainly as artillery and engineers, and if they move with bricks I will make here through Construction and build a defensive fortress, I think they should be able to respond without difficulty.”

“…..Bricks, you say? There will be quite a lot. Moreover, because of the weight…”

“I have something in mind, you see. I will do a little experiment and let you know about that later. For now, please understand that we will prepare the army. I will bring up this matter separately at a retainer meeting.”

“Yes, Your Majesty…”

I disliked the circumstances of having to mobilize the army for war continuously, but I thought that rather than responding after a disaster struck, it was right to prepare to evacuate people or divert the waterway before the embankment collapsed.

After that, the next day, I had to gather all the retainers and hold a meeting about war mobilization, but it continued to run into difficulties.

“….I am opposed. I believe our own country’s safety is the top priority. Is my thinking wrong?”

Several retainers agreed with Debik’s words. Among them, the unexpected person was Murumur.

“That is correct. If that many personnel are diverted outside, great problems will occur with the safety of our own country, whose area to defend has widened. Furthermore, because of the difference in physical abilities between humans and beastkin, disruptions may occur in operations and the like.”

“Lady Murumur thinks that humans and beastkin moving together is the problem, then?”

“That is correct.”

Murumur spoke firmly, so I asked the reason.

“I would like you to explain it in a way I can understand. I am someone who believes that humans can display sufficient ability through training as well. I want to hear the true reason, not a forced argument.”

“First, the operational concepts of beastkin and humans are different. Mobility is also a problem, and there is also a large difference in terms of stamina. If a human army is mixed in and operates together, the beastkin may advance too far ahead and become isolated, or the humans may fail to move nimbly and create noise and the like, exposing their position to the enemy. This is a matter that has been proven through the arena, so please take it into consideration!”

In the end, I knew that problems could not help but occur because they were humans and beastkin. However, I wondered whether it would not be enough to apply and operate various operations differently according to the method of operation.

So this time, I asked Wijel a question.

“Wijel, do you judge that the two armies cannot be mixed?”

“I also judge that it is better that they not be mixed. However, I also think they can fight together on the same battlefield.”

At Wijel’s words, Murumur and Debik glared at him and growled for him to explain the reason. Only then did Wijel point to several terrains and speak.

“If the beastkin are deployed on this front line, and the human army, which will mainly consist of artillery, is deployed and operated in these wide open spaces and high hills here and here, that will be enough. Moreover, the Rangers will take care of relaying the coordinates and such where artillery fire is needed. In the case of the beastkin unit, if we use an operation where they fight by striking and withdrawing from the front with their swift feet and agility, luring the enemy to positions where artillery will fall, would we not be able to produce results?”

“Is that not a crude operation that anyone could make?”

At Debik’s counterargument, Wijel said,

“Because it is an operation anyone can make, I think they can be operated separately. In any case, unless a melee breaks out, the artillery has no reason to approach and face the enemy, and if the forces are operated separately, I think there is not even a reason for the beastkin to pay attention to them. In the end, because their branches are different, it means they can play active roles together in one war.”

After hearing Wijel’s words, Murumur and Debik were about to argue again, but first, I let the three of them take a breath and then said,

“I understand why your opinions are clashing, so let us do it this way. Lady Murumur and Debik, please take charge of the beastkin unit and advance this way.”

“Y-Your Majesty?”

The two were flustered, and this time, I spoke to Wijel.

“Wijel, I would like you to lead the human troops this time. Can you do that?”

“….If you order me to, I shall do it. However, will complaints not come out?”

There were people like Aenia as candidates to lead the human troops into war. That was because, since she had become a Master, I had intended to prepare a place where she could gradually achieve merit.

Moreover, I was thinking of Branne and Garea as the people who would take charge of the supply unit and rear support unit. At the very least, I wanted five Masters to be on the battlefield against the Demonic Tribe.

The reason was because of the being called the “Demon King” that Mia had told me about. She said that it did not seem as if someone had sat in her empty seat, but since this side could be an extremely important location, the Demon King might personally lead an expedition.

That was why I made the decision, and I planned to have Gamung and several others wait at Ingrad’s border as well, following procedures so that they could go support at any time.

“I hope the Demonic Tribe will turn back without being able to do anything. So this is the time when I need everyone’s help. Understood?”

In the end, the retainers nodded, and afterward, unlike the initial purpose, the scale gradually grew, and it was decided that even the “navy” would be mobilized this time.

The unexpected sortie of the “sea fortress” had been confirmed.