**[ Count Duo.**
**Count Duo's territory was a plain where small hills rose here and there.**
**Because trade with the Elves was its main industry, the village roads were well maintained.**
**The village encircled the castle in a ring, giving the layout an advantage in close-quarters combat.**
**One medium-sized village stood above the castle and another below it, guarding the entrances. ]**
“Did you hear? Not only the villages that served as entrances, but even the villages around the castle have fallen.......”
While they were marching again, whispers came from behind them.
Desi wanted to walk in silence without saying anything.
The more he heard, the more he could imagine only a bleak future.
Hearing about the battlefield's current state was more grueling than walking under the blazing sun.
“I overheard the knights talking. The Orcs have even occupied the small villages, and the castle is completely surrounded!”
Desi swallowed unconsciously.
“Why are we going to reinforce a place like that?! At that point, they should just give up!”
As if voicing Desi's heart, someone began to shout in anger.
“Apparently, the trade route connected to those Elf bastards runs behind it... To protect that route, they say Count Duo's lands must be defended.”
“Fuck! Those Elf bastards are not doing anything, so why us?!”
The mood was grim.
Heat made the ground shimmer, and anxiety and fear spread on those heat waves.
They marched carrying complaints and unease.
The sound of their footsteps felt like lifelines snapping one after another.
***
When they reached the vicinity of Count Duo's territory, they halted for a while.
Urgent discussions passed back and forth within the officers' camp.
“Our total force is currently 450. Sixty cavalry, sixty archers, 160 conscripts, 120 infantry, and fifty volunteers.”
The inside of the camp was bright in the sunlight, yet every face was marked with shadows just as deep.
Ar, seated in the chair at the center, had fallen deep in thought.
No, he seemed to be steeling his resolve.
”Sir Ar. At this scale, it is a battle with no chance of success.”
Sir Jangk spoke to Ar with a worried sigh.
It was a realistic assessment.
Most of the soldiers were ordinary people who had been conscripted less than a month ago.
The knight order sent from the Royal Palace numbered only fifty, aside from the archers and cavalry.
“Even so, we must do it. You know as well as I do. If this place falls, even the possibility of aid from the Elves will be cut off.”
The air inside grew heavy at Ar's words.
“What about the mana stones?”
“We have mana stones imbued with water spells, frost spells, and fire spells. Ten of each, thirty in total.”
Mana stones.
They were essential tools carried by mages to use magic.
But even ordinary people who possessed mana stones could use magic, because mana stones were vessels that could hold mana.
If a mage filled a mana stone with mana and an elemental spell, anyone could cast magic through that stone.
However, mages were cut off from the outside world, so some had been smuggling them out for exorbitant prices.
One mana stone filled with mana and a spell cost as much as a grand estate.
“Our first objective is to retake the Southern Gate Village.”
The light faded from Ar's eyes, and a coldness entered them.
***
Sunset covered the sky.
Purple bled into the red glow, transforming it into the dark blue sky of evening.
With the troops gathered in one place, their gazes darkened along with the sky.
“All units! I will explain the operation!”
Ar climbed atop a wooden crate and began to shout.
Tension wrapped around everyone.
“We will attack and retake the Southern Gate Village. We will divide into two forces: the First Vanguard for the initial entry and the Second Wave for the supporting entry!”
Everyone stirred at Ar's words.
“A-Are we really doing this?”
“Can we do this with our numbers?!”
A small seed becomes a tree.
Anxiety was the same.
The anxiety of one or two people spread and spread, leaving the troops not with tension, but despair.
“Focus!!!”
Ar shouted as though struggling against that despair.
A brief silence pressed down upon the troops.
In that silence, the sunset had already passed over Ar's face, leaving the shadow of the dark night sky behind.
“That is right. We are walking to our deaths. You who are not even well-trained soldiers... will die like dogs.”
At Ar's words, no one could speak.
The anxiety and despair they had always felt were beginning to be dyed with fear.
“But! Then what will you do? The Orcs have invaded our land!”
As if denying the crowd crushed by anxiety, Ar strained the veins in his neck.
The dark blue sky was not reflected in his eyes.
“If we cannot stop them here, there will be no aid from the Elves. The Orcs' advance will not stop!”
As though shouting beyond the crowd, toward the distant sky.
“Will you lead that fate!! Those Orcs, into the village where your families are waiting?!!!”
He cried out toward the future.
He did not stop, spitting his words as though denying the future that would come crashing down upon them.
Ar's cry bore down on everyone.
”Raise your swords to kill. Die to kill. For the families behind us!!!“
Silence filled the camp.
The soldiers stood there without anyone daring to speak first, their eyes fixed only on the ground.
It was as though the weight of reality would come crashing down the instant someone lifted their head.
But that silence did not last long.
“...We die to kill.”
Someone muttered those words.
It was quiet, but strangely clear.
“Yes... Running does not mean we will live.”
Beginning with those words, silence began to break here and there.
“We have family behind us.”
“My daughter is only five!”
“Yes... We have to stop them. That is why we came!”
The emotions that had been suppressed burst out one by one.
Those who had sunk to the bottom of anxiety and despair finally raised their heads.
Everyone began to deny it.
The all-too-clear future.
Death.
They gritted their teeth, intending to raise swords of defiance not for their own future, but for those who had waved and seen them off in tears.
One soldier whose eyes met Ar's gritted his teeth and grasped his sword hilt.
In his eyes flashed not fear, but rage and determination.
That gaze spread to the soldier beside him in an instant, and one spark caught on from one person to the next.
“Raise your swords to kill!”
Someone shouted.
“Die to kill!!”
Another answered.
With his head bowed, Kan was muttering.
“To kill..!!”
Hot rage surged up, and soon a roar arose.
The camp, which had been quiet with despair, rang out as though it had come alive.
They were people standing before death.
.
.
.
“I will now explain the tactics.”
Ar continued once the roar had ended.
“We will split into two forces. The First Vanguard will consist of forty cavalry, sixty infantry, eighty conscripts, and twenty archers.”
As a former member of the Aurelia Knights, he commanded them with practiced skill.
“The Second Wave will consist of twenty cavalry, sixty infantry, eighty conscripts, and forty archers. The First Vanguard's archers will take up position on the hill behind us and deliver a volley.”
Those who had received their placements drew short breaths, etching the living sensation into their lungs.
“The volunteers will be spread between each force, but the mana-stone operators must gather at the center and act together.”
One of the adjutants asked a question.
“The enemy Orc force is estimated at roughly 600. We are outmatched in fighting strength. How will we engage them?”
Ar nodded quietly and continued.
“We will choose a predawn raid. We will enter at dawn, when the fog is thickest. A small elite unit will remove the sentries on the outskirts of the village first, and the First Vanguard will rush in and secure the village sector by sector.”
He stopped speaking for a moment and looked over the soldiers.
“The Second Wave will enter twenty minutes later. The reason for this time difference is to deliberately draw out the timing of the Orcs' counterattack. We will calculate the timing to strike back against their offensive.”
Only the quiet sounds of breathing could be heard among the soldiers.
“When the signal flare rises, the archers will fire a volley of fire mana-stone arrows. The target is near the central square. That blaze will draw the enemy's attention. Then the follow-up force will enter from the flank.”
Taking a step back, Ar spoke.
“This operation is not perfect. Some of us may die. But if we do not win this battle, there will be no next time.”
At those words, the soldiers began to nod.
“Commanders of each force, take your positions. Volunteers, check the condition of the mana stones and report immediately. Archers, prepare to move to the hill.”
The soldiers began to move busily.
The air that had settled heavily was tense and sharp as a blade.
But what filled it was not fear, but firm resolve.
They were no longer people going to die, but warriors fighting to protect.
***
[Hey, are you really okay?]
Eirin's voice rang in Desi's head.
Having transformed into a ring, Eirin had kept talking to Desi.
[Why aren't you answering?]
‘Wouldn't it look like I'm talking to myself to everyone else, you devil?’
What Desi had learned from being with Eirin was that whenever Eirin changed her form and spoke, only he could hear her.
Glancing around at the others, Desi muttered very quietly.
“Be quiet. Do you know you keep ruining the moment?!”
Eirin giggled at Desi's words.
[Sorry, sorry. But you weren't talking, so I thought something was wrong with my ability.]
“So that's why you called?”
Desi wanted to stomp on the ring.
[Listen. I thought it would be better if no one found out about the ability called healing factor. A guy with no mana stones can heal at will? At that kind of speed? It probably won't go over well.]
Desi wondered whether Eirin was worried about him.
“Are you worried about me?”
At Desi's question, Eirin raised her voice.
[What are you thinking?! I'm only saying it because it'll become annoying if you get into trouble!!]
Their brief conversation somehow made his tension ease a little.
“Don't worry. I don't intend to draw attention.......”