Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Genius Divine Archer Who Became a One-Man Legion
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The prince's rebellion, which he thought would end quickly, dragged on far longer than expected.
There had been a time when Prince Byron, who had been pushing forward with overwhelming force, suffered a major blow from an unexpected counterattack by Prince Ethan.
The throne of Artian Kingdom had been vacant for quite some time, leaving the entire kingdom in considerable chaos.
It was then that Diel Pankrai appeared like a comet, completely turning the tide.
‘But I don’t know much about him…….’
Rian had met him only once, and even then, it was just a distant glimpse like any other soldier.
He didn’t have much information on him.
Just his name, and that he was the youngest strategist in the kingdom’s history. And,
‘There were rumors he was a commoner…….’
Nothing was certain.
That was because when Diel first appeared in the kingdom, he had concealed many aspects of himself.
Rian even wondered if Diel was his real name.
Rian simply recounted what he had seen that one time to Adelson.
“……It’s like being told to find a single gold coin in a sandy field.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No helping it. For now…… I’ll do my best to find out.”
“Thank you. It’s very important to me.”
He wasn’t planning to get involved in the power struggle.
Much less side with the third prince.
For now, he decided to think only of himself.
‘If Diel comes to the Arrowhead Unit…….’
If that happened, the Arrowhead Unit would gain even greater strength.
Rian’s knowledge was helpful in battles now, but what he knew were only the major events.
In detailed, nuanced situations, a strategist who had studied tactics was essential.
“Alright, then. Let’s go meet the mage I hired. If attribute enchantment isn’t possible, we’ll need to find another way quickly.”
“Oh, and please keep everything about Walter strictly confidential.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll keep it secret from Vex if possible.”
That was enough.
Even if other mages noticed the attribute armament, without a weapon capable of attribute enchantment, it would be useless.
That’s why they hadn’t gone to the mages of the Magic Tower for testing.
Rumors of attribute armaments from the Hamel Merchant Guild had already spread through noble society.
It wouldn’t be strange if it had reached his ears.
‘He’s probably wasting time trying to enchant attributes onto some weird equipment right now.’
Rian let out a chuckle and followed Adelson to meet the mage he had hired.
It was said she was staying and eating with the merchant guild, so meeting her was no trouble.
“……Is this her?”
It was just that she was a bit different from what he had expected.
* * *
“Is this the report?”
Dwayne looked over the documents Maincen had brought.
The papers summarized the recent Saleron battle.
As he read through them, an unexpected word slipped from Dwayne’s lips.
“Eagle Company?”
“Yes, it’s a unit under the 3rd Battalion. Oddly, Baron Biovan Terol of the 2nd Battalion was in command of the Saleron battle, but suddenly the Eagle Company from the 3rd Battalion intervened.”
Moreover, there were more than one or two strange points.
‘They crossed the Isis River and arrived at Saleron ahead of time, then ambushed without notifying anyone of their arrival?’
Even stranger was that the 2nd Battalion seemed to have coordinated perfectly, waiting in the far rear of Saleron for the battle to begin.
And in the first engagement,
‘The Eagle Company of just three hundred tied down over two thousand barbarians…… and in the meantime, the 2nd Battalion joined and crushed them…….’
Was such a tactic even possible?
Forget possible or not—it was an insane strategy to begin with.
If coordination with the 2nd Battalion went wrong, they could have been surrounded and slaughtered by two thousand enemies.
Crossing the Isis River didn’t make sense to begin with, and after that, they kept executing plans as if shot in the head with an arrow.
“Captain Raymond…….”
He had heard the name before.
A commoner who had risen to captain, known for his stubborn nature that had earned him many enemies.
But that stubbornness was likely what allowed him to climb to that position without wavering.
He stayed out of politics entirely, so he couldn’t be taken under wing, but he also posed no risk of becoming an enemy.
From Dwayne’s perspective, the kingdom having such a soldier was a good thing.
‘But…….’
Stubborn could also mean rigid.
Dwayne looked over the investigation materials on Raymond.
“Something’s off.”
“What do you mean…… sir?”
Maincen asked at Dwayne’s mutter.
Dwayne didn’t answer and kept scanning the documents.
Because in all previous battles Raymond had participated in, there wasn’t a single bold or irregular tactic like this.
He wasn’t without strategy, but they were mostly textbook, orthodox methods.
The sudden change was too suspicious.
“And why did they fight Galrel’s forces in the second battle out in the open field?”
“That’s strange too. It seems like overconfidence after the first victory led them out into the field…… but we couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason.”
“……Biovan must have intervened.”
Here was the secret to how the 2nd Battalion returned so quickly.
‘Biovan was backing the third prince.’
It was a hasty decision, but it turned into a divine move in the end.
The 2nd Battalion’s faster-than-expected return made targeting the third prince’s rear impossible.
But what stood out again was the mention of the Eagle Company.
They had pinned down enemy commander Galrel, surrounded him, and killed him.
It didn’t make complete sense, but he grasped the overall flow quickly.
Then Dwayne looked at Maincen in front of him.
“But all this was done by the ‘Eagle Company’? No specific standout contributor?”
“That would be…… Raymond, wouldn’t it?”
“No, not him. The style is far too different.”
Maincen began to sweat profusely at Dwayne’s words.
Sweat dripped down his chin as Dwayne asked,
“You don’t know?”
“Th-that…… I…….”
Dwayne’s gaze felt suffocating.
Maincen racked his brain, recalling the information he had gathered.
“Th-there is! There’s one odd detail: a squad leader soldier was suddenly promoted to 100-Man Commander!”
“……There’s no mention of that here?”
“He was just a regular soldier…….”
“A squad leader promoted to 100-Man Commander, and no proper investigation?”
Thud.
Dwayne tossed the documents to the floor. He said to Maincen,
“If your next report is like this, I won’t need to see you again.”
“Hiiik!”
The icy, blade-like chill in his eyes made Maincen flop onto his butt without realizing.
Maincen slammed his head to the floor.
“I-I deserve death!”
“Get out.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Maincen hastily gathered the scattered papers and bolted out like his soles were on fire.
Dwayne let out a small sigh watching Maincen waddle away.
‘From 10-Man Commander to 100-Man Commander…….’
And a mere regular soldier at that.
Even looking back through history, such dramatic promotions were rare.
Especially since he wasn’t a noble, but a ‘regular soldier.’
“They should have hidden it better.”
Contrary to thinking things would go smoothly, Dwayne’s expression hardened coldly.
* * *
“Galrel is dead?”
His unkempt black hair fell to his waist, and his bare upper body bore quite a few scars.
But more eye-catching than the scars was his physique.
Not particularly large-framed, yet his muscles looked as hard as rock.
The hegemon ruling the northwest.
Demian, called the Western King of the barbarians, asked his subordinate kneeling on one knee.
“So, what about the food?”
“……Pardon?”
“I’m asking what happened to the food we were supposed to get from Saleron.”
“Well, with Galrel the great warrior’s failure…….”
Before he could finish,
Boom-!
With a sound like a hammer striking rock, the subordinate’s body flew backward.
He was flung completely out of the tent, clutching his smashed nose as he staggered up.
Drip.
Blood poured down, but he couldn’t even comprehend what had happened.
Demian gestured lightly at the subordinate, who couldn’t hide his shock.
Whoosh!
The subordinate knelt before Demian again.
Demian said,
“Galrel dying means he was weak enough to die. But what’s this about failing the mission?”
“Whoa~ That’s harsh, our chief.”
Then someone strode into the tent.
She wore clothes made of black tiger hide that barely covered vital areas, her beast-like gleaming eyes most striking.
“Irelta, what is it?”
“I heard already, chief. Galrel got done in? Ha, that guy. I knew a day like this would come eventually, always showing off without knowing his limits.”
He sighed softly and approached Demian’s side. He said,
“I’ll go take care of Saleron.”
Irelta gestured for the subordinate kneeling before Demian to leave.
When the subordinate glanced at Demian, he nodded.
Once the subordinate left, Demian asked,
“What about troops?”
“No need. Why waste good warriors? The ones who failed should take responsibility. About a thousand survived from the ones Galrel took, right? That’s plenty.”
She drew closer to Demian, cautiously placing a hand on his chest.
“But…… if I do well, I want a reward.”
“Irelta.”
Her hand, sliding downward, paused. Pouting as if bored, Irelta stood.
“I’ll be back within a month. But think about what I said today.”
Demian watched her leave with a faint smile, his expression impassive.
Once she was gone, Demian rose.
Galrel’s death wasn’t a huge loss. However……
“Galrel is dead…….”
Was there someone in Saleron capable of killing Galrel, who bore the title of great warrior?
He needed to look into it.
* * *
“Ah…… Is this her?”
The moment Rian saw the mage Adelson introduced, he couldn’t help but reproach himself.
‘I thought I wasn’t like that…….’
He hadn’t realized he held such stereotypes. But to make an excuse—not just in Artian Kingdom, but in other kingdoms too, women’s advancement was severely limited.
So he had naturally assumed it would be a male mage.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Silvia.”
“I’m Rian. Nice to meet you.”
Rian hid his fluster and bowed politely to Silvia.
Reading his mind, Adelson chuckled softly.
“Surprised she’s a woman?”
“Pardon? No, not at all. Never crossed my mind.”
“Your face gives it away even if you pretend otherwise, heh heh. I was surprised too when I first met Silvia. Never heard of a female mage before.”
“…….”
Swallowing the ‘me too’ inwardly, Rian looked at Silvia.
She appeared around his age.
‘Over twenty, right?’
Yet still stuck at 1st Circle—that suggested two main reasons.
Mediocre talent,
‘Or no support at all.’
Sadly, it felt like she’d been denied support just for being a woman.
Moreover, a mage with the aptitude ending up under the Hamel Merchant Guild suggested she was an orphan or had run away from home.
But that didn’t matter.
‘All I wanted was talent with attributes anyway.’
Just infuse the attribute she could wield into the armament.
A simple task, but one only a ‘mage’ could do.
Rian pulled out the sword he had brought and set it on the floor.
“Shall we begin?”