Chapter 274 - Chapter Fifteen: The Volunteer Army
Mid-August.
The maintenance of the highway leading to Regnentes was complete, and the Engrio army began its march.
Already, Servetus's subordinates had advanced to the border. The three hundred spiders newly released into the forest should reach the basin tonight, and while five pairs of aerial cavalry and [Aerial Scouts] kept watch overhead, twenty thousand soldiers advanced along the highway in the forest.
The vanguard consisted of two thousand people, mainly light infantry. Next followed the main army. The composition was five thousand heavy infantry, and three thousand archers and magic soldiers. King Seldic led the main army along with the royal guards. The main army led the transport unit. The ten thousand reinforcements from the continent formed the rearguard. They were divided into groups of five thousand each, with a transport unit sandwiched between them. The soldiers from the continent were equipped with various types of troops except for magic soldiers, and could take independent action at any time. A characteristic feature was that, unlike the island's archers, there were crossbowmen, and the light cavalry could also use crossbows.
According to the information gathered by Seldic, the target basin had become almost uninhabited after being attacked by a swarm of spiders, and the Sertoria Central Army had lost its magic soldiers and archers and was pinned down in the Royal Capital. The ten thousand soldiers of the Medioland army, the greatest of those reinforcements, had been destroyed. Reinforcements from the Morandine army could not be expected, but together with the nobles of the eastern district, they should be able to block Finis and Northern Gram, which seemed to have newly formed an alliance with Medioland and Sertoria. And for Septanaquila and Sertoria, where most of the influential high-ranking nobles had promised internal cooperation, he had given instructions to Mortimer. The war should begin soon.
"There seems to be a rumor that Henry and Eleanor of Sertoria are gathering a volunteer army in Regnentes."
Seldic was marching on horseback. He was surrounded by royal guards and scouts under his direct control. He called one of those scouts and asked.
"Yes, they are said to be at the site of a deserted village northwest of the basin."
"It's likely a trap."
"Probably. What shall we do?"
"We can't just leave them be. I'll send Servetus. There's no need to pit ordinary soldiers against two former heroes. I'll speak to Servetus directly."
"Understood."
"Also, Harold likely intends to conduct scorched-earth warfare in the basin. The match will be decided by whether our army can emerge from the basin."
"In that case, shall we scouts also explore the north of the basin in advance?"
"Yeah, I'm counting on you."
"Understood."
The man who had brought his horse close galloped toward the vanguard to give instructions to the scout unit.
Next, Seldic called one of his staff officers.
The called staff officer was a person who communicated with the Church daily and led the priests who had gone to war. He was, so to speak, in the position of the director general of the field hospital, and he himself could use recovery magic.
"What happened to that facility proposed by the Church through Mortimer?"
"I did not send people from those I lead, but had the Church send twenty people. The guard soldiers are as before, and we have brought in the immediate food and supplies."
"If I recall, it was near the border with Sertoria. Within the territory of Margrave Mortimer?"
"Yes. The Margrave said he would prepare it himself."
"I see. The soldiers of both countries will not mingle, I presume?"
"Yes. It has been communicated that it is covered with a high fence, and any soldier who enters will be punished."
Seldic nodded lightly upon hearing those words.
About a week after starting the march, they reached the border. The checkpoint had already been removed, and the trees around the station had been cleared away.
The highway itself was sufficiently wide, and they could camp if they pulled off to the side. They stopped the march and began preparations for the night camp.
When Seldic entered the station, leaving his staff officers waiting outside, Servetus was waiting.
He sat directly in a chair and lightly crossed his legs. When Servetus offered water drawn from a jar into a bucket, he soaked a hand towel and wiped his sweat.
"Servetus. Can we consider it safe until the basin from here on?"
Servetus looked into the King's eyes.
"Please be at ease. The three hundred newly released spiders will reach the basin tonight. Since I have chosen those that are stronger and larger compared to the ones released last time, I humbly suggest that there are no forces capable of suppression in the basin, let alone the scouts lurking in the forest."
"Then, should we just invade by taking advantage of the confusion?"
"Yes. From here, the basin is a week's distance. The first fort is already gone, and the highway has been maintained. There should be no one to block Your Majesty's forces."
Seldic changed the crossing of his legs, looked away from Servetus, and looked out the window. The green of the forest trees was deep, shining in the sunlight. He instinctively narrowed his eyes. The departure was in May, when the green of the trees was still a pale color. Before he knew it, it had become midsummer.
"I hear Henry and Eleanor have come to the north of the basin. Servetus, can I leave it to you?"
Servetus's eyes gleamed suspiciously.
An opportunity like this does not come often. Releasing the monsters was originally intended to discourage the fighting spirit of the people of the Kingdom of Sertoria. If he killed the two former heroes, that goal would be much closer to achievement.
Tonight is a full moon. Not only the spiders he manipulates, but also the power of the Revenants will be filled. If he killed the two and, with the same momentum, destroyed the fort that would be the exit of the basin, the first-class merit of the priests of the Ruined Town would be engraved upon the entire Engrio army.
"Please leave it to me. I shall surely strike down the two of them."
"Umu. Is there anything you need?"
"If it pleases you, please allow me to release the remaining hundred spiders toward the two."
"Do as you wish."
"I am grateful."
Servetus bowed and left the station.
Entering his own tent, Servetus called his subordinates.
"We are going to kill Henry and Eleanor. I shall go myself."
"Your Eminence. Is it not dangerous?"
It would be a confrontation between ultra-high-level magic users. The elderly Eleanor would be no match for the Revenant Servetus. However, the opponents were masters of war even more than magic. Moreover, Henry was with her. Depending on the situation, Harold might also be there. This attack was like falling into the opponent's trap.
The attendant tried to stop him.
"This is no time for such talk!"
However, Servetus raised his voice and pushed through. He had already told Seldic he would go. He could not say he would stop now.
"We shall throw all the forces we can muster at them. We go riding the spiders. Everyone who is here now will come together."
"Ha! Understood."
Realizing that persuasion was impossible, the attendant hurriedly ran to gather their comrades.
Before long, all the priests of the Ruined Town participating in the attack gathered in Servetus's tent.
It was everyone accompanying the Engrio main force in this war.
The fighting force consisted of one ultra-high-level magic user, three high-level magic users, five mid-level magic users, and ten monster tamers.
Originally, there had been another ultra-high-level magic user and two high-level magic users, but they had been struck down by the Regnentes scout unit during the removal work of the black trees. As actual fighting force, they had already suffered nearly a forty percent blow.
"Tonight's target is the north of the basin. As you all know, it is the place where there are rumors that Henry and Eleanor of Sertoria are leading a volunteer army. Pay no heed to others and only attack and kill the two of them. We shall depart riding the spiders. Tonight is a full moon. While confirming our position by the moon, we shall once head north, then bypass the east of the basin and go to the north. Everyone, do not be careless. Even if we are wiped out, we must surely strike them down."
The subordinates were all prostrate. It was a departure of the Council Chairman himself. If this attack failed, joint combat with the Engrio army would be impossible. If that happened, the revival of the Great Southern Church and the overthrow of the Great Northern Church, which could be called their long-cherished wish, might have to wait for many more years, no, more than a hundred years. They could not afford to lose here. Everyone resolved to be destroyed in the midst of the battle with the former heroes.
"Then, we depart!"
"Ha!"
The spiders had already been gathered in the nearby forest.
The black-clad priests left the tent, entered the forest, straddled the spiders that had been summoned, and began to run through the forest.
The swarm of spiders formed five lumps centered around Servetus and the others, and they advanced in a horizontal line.
If one used [Subordination], one person could manipulate more than thirty spiders. Nevertheless, the reason he had ten monster tamers participate this time was so that even if they were struck down one after another in the battle with Henry and the others, someone else could immediately take over, and because he thought that collective action toward a clear goal was necessary, rather than just simple orders to attack humans.
The monster tamers acted in pairs. One pair would manipulate twenty spiders.
One of those pairs consisted of those who manipulated the spiders of the main force of Servetus and the others, and they intended to deliver the finishing blow to the target with the spiders' mobility and magic.
They continued to run for one night, rested from the next morning until noon, and began to run again after noon had passed. The monsters were spiders, and those who manipulated them were Revenants. They moved at almost the same speed as horses, and the distance they ran in a day was longer than that of horses. Neither water nor food was necessary. As long as they were rested during the morning, they could continue to run for the rest of the time. They moved skillfully through the forest while avoiding trees, sometimes jumping from branch to branch.
Late at night on the second night, they emerged at a point thought to be directly east of the target location.
When Servetus raised one hand high as a signal, the entire group stopped.
He had the spiders climb trees to confirm the surrounding terrain. They had occasionally confirmed their position like that until now.
If they went too far north, it would be Sertoria. They were not the Engrio army, and since they were invading from the Regnentes side, it likely would not become a political issue with Sertoria, which had not yet started the war, but the effect of the surprise attack would be lost. To surely kill Henry and Eleanor, they must not let the two escape.
Confirming that they had reached the point to change direction, Servetus looked at the stars to confirm the western direction and had the unit advance westward.
When the moon, close to full, began to tilt in the western sky, there was a magic reaction in the sky ahead. It was flying at a height that could not be detected unless one was an ultra-high-level magic user like Servetus.
"The enemy's [Aerial Scout] has come! Everyone, stop!"
Servetus, who had come to the front, shouted and raised his right arm.
"[Magic Barrier]!"
Servetus deployed a magic defense above them. [Magic Barrier] nullifies magic in a specified space. If they were running, they would pass under the magic defense they had gone to the trouble of deploying.
Servetus decided to wait for the opponent's next move for the time being.
After a while, Servetus wore a fearless smile.
"Hmph. Those fellows. It seems it is not Eleanor. They are passing by as they are."
The movement in the sky was too defenseless. As they slowly advanced east in the sky ahead of Servetus and the others, they finally went out of the range Servetus could detect. If they were scouts, they should have stayed in the sky.
Unless it was an ultra-high-level magic user like Eleanor, they likely would not be able to perceive this movement either. The surprise attack had not yet been seen through. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the spiders began to advance again.
◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆
What Henry and Eleanor were using as a base was the community center of the village where Beatrix was the landowner, and in the forest around it, there were about a thousand soldiers calling themselves a volunteer army.
When Beatrix and Harrison, who had been called by Henry and the others, jumped in with [Teleport], Hans was drinking beer with several soldiers at the village community center.
Outside, soldiers wearing chain mail were carrying bags of wheat that had been harvested and threshed. Lyudmila's plan seemed to have produced brilliant results, with seven bags per field.
"Why are you here?"
The town guard should be a domestic defense force. It is strange to do farm work outside the country.
"It's the volunteer army. If ordered, we'll even do farm work."
"Volunteer army? You're the town guard."
"Right now, we're the volunteer army."
According to what she heard, everyone in the town guard except for those belonging to the Kingdom Army seemed to have participated. In other words, the rank of Hans, the acting captain who did not belong to the Kingdom Army, would be the highest.
"Then, are you the most important?"
"The most important is Henry-sama. Next is Eleanor-sama. After that is me."
"Isn't that amazing? You're directly under those two."
"It's not amazing. In short, we're just mercenaries. After all, the allowance comes from Regnentes. Though, it won't come unless we win."
While listening to Hans's carefree words, Will arrived.
"Hi, Beatrix. You've come. Bishop Harrison, thank you for coming."
After lightly raising a hand toward Beatrix, she exchanged a polite handshake with Harrison.
"I was called by Henry-sama."
"Umu. Did something happen?"
"The enemy will attack here soon, so he wants Beatrix and Harrison-san to support us."
"The Engrio army? I refuse to do war."
"Indeed, indeed."
Beatrix and Harrison both waved their hands.
"No. The opponents are spiders and Revenants, so it's monster extermination. You were with Harrison-san once before, weren't you? He said it's the same as that."
"Spiders?"
According to Will's story, the [Paratroop Jaegers] stationed in the village and the bowl users of the Regnentes scout unit were taking turns watching over the Engrio army and observing their movements. According to the information they brought, many priests of the Ruined Town departed riding spiders last night. When Eleanor immediately set out and tried to make contact, it seemed the target was this village... more accurately, Henry and Eleanor, and they would likely reach the vicinity of the village tonight.
"In other words, the Engrio army isn't coming. Only spiders and Revenants. It seems they are bypassing the forest east of the basin. Using magic circles infused with holy water and holy magic, we will repel them before they approach the village. He wants the two of you to help with that."
At Will's words, both of them decided to cooperate if that was the case.
In the evening, Henry and Eleanor returned. Both of them had been tracking Servetus and the others in broad daylight while riding in the bowl with the [Paratroop Jaegers].
"Harrison. Beatrix. You've come well. The opponents are monsters. They will come to the east of the village late at night."
"Thank you both for coming. Are the preparations I asked of Will ready?"
Beatrix pointed to the large barrels where she had stored insect repellent water and mold repellent water, and a considerable number of stones with magic circles drawn on them.
"Thank you very much. After this, we of the volunteer army will handle it, so please evacuate to the processing plant. But, if you like, why don't we fight together?"
"If we fight together, can we get an allowance? If we can, I might participate."
Beatrix asked Eleanor, who was inviting them. The work until now had been unpaid.
"If you participate in the volunteer army, the allowance will be paid if Regnentes wins. Weapons and armor are your own, meals are on us, and for one day of combat... from dawn to the next dawn... ten silver coins, and if you strike down a Revenant, one gold coin separately, and if it is the enemy leader calling himself Servetus, five gold coins will be paid."
"I'll do it."
"I shall also participate."
Beatrix and Harrison replied immediately.
"That's the spirit. The contract will be exchanged with Henry. The strategy will be told after the contract. Once the contract is complete, you will be under my command."
The two signed the contract prepared by Will.