21st Century Archmage

Chapter 131: The Stage is Set

“The imperial army is moving through the Havis Kingdom?”

“They are moving at quite the rapid pace.”

“They are accustomed to war, so it’s only natural.”

“500 wyverns, huh… What terrifying bastards they are. Just how many wyverns do they have?”

Most of the information coming in piece by piece was sent in absolute secrecy from the Havis Kingdom. Currently, my knights were frowning while looking at a map of Nerman and the continent, dazed by the news that 500 wyverns were headed our way.

‘The continent’s assumption of Laviter’s wyvern numbers is wrong. If there are 500 wyverns with just two of the empire’s corps, if you add up the other 6 formal corps and even their two provisional corps, just how many wyverns does that make?’

A kingdom was said to have five hundred at most and an empire twice that, but the Laviter Empire possessed an enormous wyvern force far too different from what was commonly known. They really were deserving of the title of the continent’s strongest empire.

“Is everything going well with the observation forts near the Kovilan Mountains?”

“It is not enough, but forts have been constructed in a total of seven places.”

I wasn’t afraid of the enemies, but it would be really tricky if they attacked in a pincer. Denfors was the heart of Nerman, a location we couldn’t give up. It would be terrible if Laviter flew over the Kovilan Mountains and attacked while I was absent from the city. We were already hard-pressed to defend ourselves on one front, so we couldn’t divide our forces on two fronts.

“How are the skills of the new Skyknights?”

“They’re not yet as good as one would like, but they will certainly be able to pull their own weight.”

Nerman’s primary knights were gathered in the office. Sir Shailt, the person I had charged with training the new Skyknights, made his report with a reliable voice.

Irene, who had been listening quietly on the side, turned towards me. She was representing the Imperial Knights in this meeting. “Is there anything we can do?”

“Please take care of your safety as well as the safety of the two royalties.”

“Alright…”

We could use every wyvern we could get, but the safety of Denfors and her guests was important too.

‘The Imperial Skyknights and the paladins are here, so I can rest assured.’

The Imperial Skyknights and paladins would not hesitate to offer their lives for the sake of royalty and the Saintess. The reinforcements at my back were unexpectedly strong.

“I presume you have already ordered the spring plowing to continue until further orders?”

“I did as you ordered, sir.”

Only mana users could control dravits. We were low on knights, but even so, we couldn’t abandon the spring plowing.

“How is the placement of the ballistas we received from the dwarves?”

“Around 100 were installed in Denfors, and an additional 50 were added to Gadain Castle.”

‘Those numbers are a bit low.’

Ideally, I would have liked to plaster Denfors’ castle walls with ballistas, but the amount of mithril the magic furnace could melt and the number of dwarves who could work with mithril were both limited. In addition, the ballistas could only be used by knights capable of using mana. In one thing or another, there wasn’t a single thing that wasn’t lacking.

‘I suppose all that’s left is to wait for them to cross the border.’

The enemies weren’t familiar with Nerman’s terrain. We only had plains, an ‘easy’ terrain that invited carelessness, but that was the reason why the plains were such tricky terrain. Without anything to serve as a landmark in the endless plains, it was easier to lose one’s sense of direction.

“We’ll conclude the meeting for today with this. Other than Sir Derval, everyone should return to their assigned stations!”

“Yes, sir!”

There was a rare nervousness on the faces of the knights. It was completely different from when we fought with the Havis Kingdom nobles. This was a battle with the Laviter Empire, the strongest nation in the continent. Taut nerves were unavoidable.

“Whew…” Once the knights left, I let out a long breath.

“My liege, are you alright?”

“I think I was tensed up without realizing it.”

“That is only natural. I have not told you, but to be honest, I haven’t been able to sleep these days.”

“That’s why I told you to get married. You’re already pretty old, so if you keep going like this, you’ll die alone.”

“How could I get married before my lord? Also… there’s no way a lady would like me.”

Unlike when I was with other people, I could relax around Derval.

“Don’t worry. Once this war ends, I’ll find you a lovely lady.”

“Well, you don’t have to do so…”

Despite his words, Derval looked rather eager. I felt my tense nerves relaxing at that sight.

“Have any confidence?”

“I am simply putting my faith in you, my liege.”

Derval’s trust in me was on the level of a fanatic. But this was why I liked him. It was human nature to do their best for the sake of those who believed in them.

“But the numbers are too great, aren’t they?”

“To be honest, 200,000 is an unimaginable force. Nerman’s whole population is just over 550,000, so 200,000 troops is just…”

Derval shook his head to and fro.

‘There really are a lot.’

Nerman had just 10,000 formal soldiers. The old people and those who had many mouths to feed were all turned into reserve forces in the recent military reorganization, and if you took them into account, we had a total of 30,000. Our saving grace was that at least 3,000 of those formal troops were cavalry, and we had a lot of knights who could use mana.

‘Elite troops are good and all, but a certain level of numbers is necessary too.’

It wasn’t like we were trying to shoot the movie Sparta. Making a legend of defeating 200,000 with 30,000 was a bit far-fetched. If things went awry, we would lose the majority of the territory’s youths and turn into a territory specialized in the production of widows.

‘There’s no helping it, I have to ask for help.’

It looked like Nerman would be safe for a while as long as we could survive the upcoming crisis. Bajran’s gangster emperor was a bit worrisome, but he was someone who would aim for prey bigger than Nerman.

“Derval, it would be nice if we had reinforcements, right?”

“Reinforcements? The rumors must have already spread far and wide throughout the continent, so who would help us? Even mercenaries would not come even if we offered them bags of Gold.”

I didn’t trust mercenaries anyway. In the beginning of last year, we brought in a lot of mercenaries, but at least half of them sought their freedom and left. They were people who lived like tumbleweeds riding the wind. Such people were even less reliable than me.

“If, and I mean if, I could bring some reinforcements, would you accept them? No matter who they are?”

“If they are willing to help, then I would gladly revere troops from the Bajran Empire as my elders.”

Derval loved the territory as much as I did.

“Then I’ll be back.”

“Pardon? A-Are there really reinforcements willing to help us?”

“Huhu, I’m gonna go into the mountains to negotiate a bit with the demon beasts. I just have to tell them they can eat until they burst for a few months if they help us.”

“… My liege.”

Derval took my joke with a doubtful look, but I couldn’t tell him yet. I couldn’t tell him who I was planning on bringing as reinforcements.

* * *

War horns rang out in two long peals.

Clank clank clank clank clank.

There, on the expansive plains, stood an army 200,000 strong, all equipped with well-maintained armor and weapons. The troops of the Laviter Empire were standing in perfect textbook formation.

Whoooooosh.

It was early spring, but the remnants of frosty air had not yet dissipated. The cold wind swept through the ranks of the motionless soldiers.

Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

The heavy cries of wyverns could be heard in the air.

Swoooooooooooooosh.

And then, hundreds of wyverns flew over the tops of the soldiers.

It was an impressive sight. These were the wyverns of the Third and Seventh Platoons of Laviter’s Western Corps. Flags bearing a Gold Dragon, an emblem signifying that they were formal imperial corps wyverns, were clasped under their wyvern armors. It was a sight that could easily strike terror into an enemy’s heart, inciting them to flee. The imperial corps’ wyvern swarm had as many wyverns as most kingdoms had altogether. As they flew, they cast a massive shadow on the ground, as if filling the sky with dark clouds.

Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Among the flock came the loud cry of a certain wyvern.

Swoooooooooosh.

From within the hundreds of rapidly flying wyverns, appeared several Gold Wyverns. They circled the 200,000-man army once, as if casting down a blessing.

“YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!”

Upon seeing the Gold Wyverns that represented the Laviter Imperial Family, the soldiers raised a cheer so loud the very earth seemed to quake. They raised their swords and spears, screaming in elation due to the Gold Wyverns.

Flap, flap, flap flap flap.

And then, under the gazes of every soldier there, the Gold Wyverns slowly landed in a clearing made by the soldiers.

“Saluuuuuuuute!”

Once the wyverns landed safely with the sure beats of their wings, dozens of officers and hundreds of knights shouted a salute, putting their right hands to their hearts and bowing their heads in a show of knightly respect.

Under the devoted respect from the nobles and knights, a man descended from the Gold Wyvern at the very front of the entourage. He was wearing an airplate made of gold and mithril alloy. His red cloak, a symbol of his royal identity, fluttered in the wind.

“All men, raise your heads.”

The words were spoken quietly, but were full of authority. The nobles and knights of the Laviter Empire raised their heads.

“The Third Platoon and Count Halsvaine are humbled to be in the presence of Your Highness!”

“The Seventh Platoon and Count Harntes humbly greet Your Highness!”

“We humbly greet Your Highness!”

Once their highest superiors, the platoon leaders, gave their greetings, the other nobles and knights greeted the Prince.

“Let us do our best together.”

As soon as the subjugation of Nerman was finalized, Prince Alskane discarded his impatience. He was still young, but he had more than enough majesty as a member of the Imperial Family.

“Please come inside. Your Highness, and Your Excellency, the Commander.”

Prince Alskane was not the only noble presence there. Duke Yanovis, who had been appointed Commander by the Emperor himself, was standing next to the Prince.

“Your Highness, let us go inside. We will begin a planning meeting right away.”

“No, it’s fine. You are the Commander of this subjugation army, are you not. Pay no heed to me and chair the meeting. I will go look around the surroundings.”

“Please do as Your Highness wishes.”

Prince Alskane was giving way to Duke Yanovis. It seemed he had matured in no time at all. If only he did not go into hysterics regarding Kyre of Nerman, he looked perfectly fit to become the emperor right this moment.

Alskane merely received greetings from the men before getting back on his wyvern and going aloft in a flutter of wingbeats. Imperial Skyknights followed him, sticking to him like shadows.

They flew westward, in the direction of the bastard Alskane wished to subjugate even one hour faster.

“Please, take me with you!”

“It will be dangerous…”

“Dying for the Great Guardian Warrior would be our clan’s honor!”

“Please take him with you. That is what Lokoroïa-nim would want as well.”

‘I would take you even if you didn’t insist, dude.’

This was why I came to the Aishwen Tribe of the Temir. When I told them that Nerman was in trouble, Kantahar strongly requested that I take him with me, and Kantahar’s father, Chief Merkada, gave his permission.

“There are wyverns I haven’t seen before outside. Where’d they come from?”

Casual speech came flowing naturally from me. Lokoroïa had told me that the position of Great Guardian Warrior was nearly on par with her own, so I should treat all Temir tribesmen as my subordinates.

“That is all thanks to you, Great Guardian Warrior. Lokoroïa-nim granted us three wyverns, saying that we were the ones who led the fated Great Guardian Warrior to her.”

‘The lass sure does things cleanly.’

When we were hunting, she looked as valiant as Jeanne d’Arc. Despite her youth, she was clear on rewards and punishment.

“Relay this letter for me.”

“This is…?”

“It is a very important letter. Once you pass it over, Lokoroïa will take care of things on her own initiative.”

“Understood!”

He wasn’t even my subordinate, but the chief responded as surely as if he really was one.

‘Lass, I trust you.’

I could also go to her in person, but I feared what she would do when she saw me. However, I absolutely needed her help. We needed a 1-ton hammer to hit Laviter in the back of the head.

“Is there anything you need to prepare?”

“No, sir. We can leave right now.”

I wasn’t joking when I said it was really dangerous, but Kantahar was excited. He had asked me to take him along back when I returned to Nerman last time, but I refused him. It would be a pain in the ass to explain if he spilled the beans about me being the Great Guardian Warrior. However, it was different this time. There was a time and place for everything.

The time to reveal that I had become the Great Guardian Warrior of the Temir folk had come.

“Then let’s go.”

“Yes, sir!”

Kantahar had apparently seen it often, because he smoothly imitated a knight’s response.

‘Try your best, and I’ll formally appoint you as a knight.’

Derval, or rather, no one, knew that Nerman’s population far exceeded 550,000.

* * *

“Count Irene fled?”

“Yes…”

“And she took my lovable little siblings and went to Nerman?”

“…”

The voice of the master of the Bajran Empire, Poltviran, was dangerously low.

“Count Silveron, do you see me as an idiot?”

At the same time as his enthronement, Poltviran had conferred Viscount Silveron to counthood.

Crunch, crunch.

The Emperor chewed loudly on a big, delicious-looking apple.

“What does Your Majesty mean by that? Your Majesty is more—”

Fwiiip! Bam!

“Agh…”

The apple burst into pieces on Count Silveron’s face, interrupting him.

“Kukukuku.”

The Emperor’s madness was like unpredictable sparks. The mad Emperor cruelly cut up one of the Bajran Empire’s few marquises and even brought downfall to his family. Not long had passed since Poltviran’s crowning, but his notoriety had already spread to the furthest reaches of the empire. Several dozen innocent noble houses had already suffered complete ruin.

“You should handle things properly so I can rest well. To think you would let those insignificant pests slip through…”

Inside the large Grand Throne Room, the ten or so Imperial Guards charged with protecting the Emperor and Count Silveron could feel the chill creeping into the Emperor’s bored tone. Once that quiet, drawling voice came out, tragedy struck. Such a sequence had happened dozens of times already.

“Didn’t you say the Laviter trash was advancing on Nerman right now?”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Then our empire cannot stand idle, either.”

Count Silveron carefully glanced at Emperor Poltviran. His madness now and back when he was the Crown Prince were entirely different. Not only had he become the emperor in status, but his madness had also grown to emperor-heights.

“…”

He had become the emperor, but Duke Ormere was handling all the important matters. So it was a surprise that Emperor Poltviran suddenly brought up the Laviter Empire, saying Bajran could not stand idle.

“Call them all in.”

“Pardon?”

“Inform all of our subordinates. We do not like that Krantz Kingdom ambassador who came yesterday. How dare he offer that pittance as a tribute. We shall use this opportunity to clearly show them the majesty of Bajran. Kukuku.”

Poltviran’s ridiculous nitpicking found fault with the Krantz Kingdom, a nation sharing a border with the Bajran Empire. The kingdom had sent over demon beast hides, mithril, gold, various gems, and more. They had sent Bajran a huge tribute to celebrate the new emperor’s enthronement.

But the Emperor they wished to flatter treated their tribute as a pittance. If the kingdom’s ambassador had heard such a thing, he would have likely kowtowed for forgiveness to the point of splitting his skull.

It was only a single command from the emperor. A single command could wipe a kingdom off the map of the continent.

* * *

“Y-You want us to arm all the slaves, my lord?”

“Yes. Do we have enough weapons and armor?”

“…”

When I ordered him to arm all of the Temir warriors we had previously captured as slaves, Derval stared at me with bewilderment, his expression asking how a sane person could possibly order such a thing.

“My liege, there are over 2,000 of them. And they are all people well acquainted with battle, all remarkable warriors. If we arm such men, it could spell the end of the territory if something were to happen.” Derval resolutely divulged his opinion.

“Worry not. They would jump into the flames of death at a single command from me.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

Because he was used to doing things out of nowhere and creating positive results, it seemed Derval had realized something.

“Didn’t I say it last time? That we have established a permanent peace treaty with the Temir folk.”

“But that…”

“I’m only revealing it now, but the Temir and I are no longer enemies. I have become their Great Guardian Warrior.”

“Great Guardian Warrior?”

Not much was known about the Temir tribes, so I wasn’t surprised that Derval was unfamiliar with the title.

‘Sigh, how am I supposed to reveal that I’m the lass’ pimp?’ I’d even received wyverns as a dowry from the Temir. There was no way out of it now. ‘If I can ‘sacrifice’ this body of mine to enable Nerman to flourish, why wouldn’t I?’

Actually, wasn’t it a truly noble spirit of sacrifice? It absolutely wasn’t because I wanted to do anything to that squirt Lokoroïa, really, I’m serious. There was indeed a time when I momentarily envied the friends of mine who had younger girlfriends, however, I would never voluntarily get involved with a minor like that. I simply resolved myself to walk the path of a mighty saint sacrificing his one and only body for Nerman’s sake. No, I had to think that way. I had to brainwash myself in order to block the thing called ‘a conscience’ aching painfully in one corner of my heart.

“Sir Derval, it was a decision I could do nothing about. The Temir tribes have more powerful forces than we thought. The number of wyverns they own exceeds a whopping five hundred, and they have over 100,000 warriors.”

“!! F-Five hundred?!”

Just as I expected, Derval reeled at my words. Of course, it was a slight exaggeration, there were wild wyverns they could tame all over the mountains, so five hundred wyverns wasn’t that far off.

“As such, I forged a pledge with the Great Shaman ruling the Temir tribes, Lokoroïa. A pledge where we would create a permanent peace treaty… on the condition I would become the Great Guardian Warrior who protects her.”

Because I was going with the ‘this was unavoidable’ shtick, I established the mood with a grave tone.

“M-My liege…” called Derval with teary eyes.

The poster child of spicy Korean dishes, jjamppong, would be nothing without the addition of spicy pepper. In other words, I needed to nail in the hammer with one last seasoning that would fire up Derval’s heart, which was already swirling with emotion.

“Believe in me, Sir Derval. I will become a lord who will never disappoint Nerman and you all.”

“I-I understand. I will have them armed at once.”

“Thank you, Derval…”

“It is nothing. The sight of you fiercely loving Nerman… Even if this one died, this one would never be able to match you. I respect you, my liege!”

This passionate praise was something I could only get from Derval.

‘Huhu, thank you, Derval.’

I was nodding with a hard expression, but on the inside, I was incredibly happy. If Derval was this accepting, there wouldn’t be any complaints from the other knights, either.

“For now, send all the armed Temir warriors to Gadain Castle.”

“By your will, my liege.”

‘We’ll give up on the places we can’t hold. We cannot defend the entire territory.’

I would have liked to stop them right at the territory borders, but the fortress that was in planning there hadn’t even begun construction. As such, we would set the front lines around Gadain Castle, just like when we battled the Havis nobles.

“Has there been no further contact from the Havis Kingdom?”

“There has. They say that the Commander appointed for the Laviter offensive is one of the people from the empire’s 5 ducal households, a maternal relative of royalty, Duke Yanovis.”

“By Duke Yanovis, are you talking about the Mad Cow of Laviter?”

“Yes. He was the top contributor in the destruction of the Perkan Kingdom 30 years ago. He led a special squadron over the Bertz Mountains and occupied the royal castle. It was because of him that the Perkan Kingdom, which was holding up well against the Laviter Empire up to that point, could be brought to ruin in a short period of time.”

This was a story even I knew about. I’d heard of Laviter’s legendary knight while at the Bajran Empire’s knight academy. He was a war hero who took the wyverns of his ducal household and launched a nighttime assault on the Perkan castle, capturing the king alive and ending the war prematurely. Because of his massive height and bull-like face, he was called the Mad Cow.

“Nice, I wanted to see him once anyway.”

“They also said that a prince of the empire is participating.”

“A prince?”

“I believe you know him well, my liege. He is the previous master of the Gold Wyverns lounging in the covert’s front yard right now.”

‘Geh…’

To be honest, this war was completely my fault. The Laviter Empire wasn’t bored enough to attack Nerman without justification. It was all because I tried to kill the Prince, and stole their Gold Wyverns, the very symbol of Laviter’s honor.

“Haha, if we can catch him, that would be frickin’ awesome.”

“T-The Prince?”

“Well, not like it’s the first time…”

‘That brat, he hasn’t tasted enough hell.’ It was a shame I hadn’t stomped him to the point where he would pee at the mere thought of me.

“For now, I will arm the slaves, no, the allies, as you wish.”

“Choose good armaments for them.”

“Understood.”

There was a pile of armor and weapons in the warehouse in Gadain Castle, all gifts the Havis nobles had tearfully left behind.

‘The stage has been set, and we just have to wait for the extras.’

We had prepared ourselves for the Laviter invasion well ahead of time. We’d done our best with the defenses; there was nothing more we could do.

‘Shall I go for a little flight, then?’

I had no intention of letting them off lightly. This was my land. I would give any invaders a hot taste of hell… by putting my fingers up their ass!