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The one who flies above the one who jumps (3)

Returning to the fort they had left during the day, Elom’s troops laid down their weary bodies in the shabby barracks.

Elrom, meanwhile, reported the results of today’s battle to General Frederick using the communications scroll.

I could have gotten help from Illesis, but for now, her rest is more important than saving scrolls.

“I can see mercenaries from the Imperial Army side of the battlefield. Judging from the number being more than one or two, it must have been a formidable budget… … .”

“I heard it too. Originally, the imperial army didn’t have that kind of capacity. We’ve already dispatched spies to investigate, so keep focusing on mobile defense.”

Frederick’s voice vomited from the communication scroll was slightly brighter than usual.

Even so, Elrom’s troops defeated more than 10 players in just one day.

If this was a normal-scale war, the commander-in-chief of the opposing side would have committed suicide.

Of course, the imperial army isn’t stupid, so I’ll be on my guard from tomorrow… … .

If the activities of the enemy players are reduced, the allied forces will be able to breathe.

Elrom, who knew that well, jokingly said to Chris, who was sitting next to him.

“If we win this war, it’s as if we’ve won first place.”

“If you win, that is.”

Chris responded briefly, showing alertness, not humility.

The prime minister he knows is not a person to bet on a no-win fight.

So, you have to assume that you still have at least one or two hidden cards.

Wouldn’t the mercenaries he’d witnessed all day be the tip of such a hidden card?

Chris had been thinking that way even before returning to the fort.

Of course, since Frederick is conducting an investigation, the answer should come soon.

‘It takes a national budget to hire enough veteran mercenaries to be deployed on all fronts. If that amount of money moves, there will be no trace left.’

Frederick is right.

Right now, the most important thing is to focus on mobile defense and definitely reduce the player power of the Imperial Army. Anyway, the mercenary army can’t block Chris’s path.

Chris and Elrom ended communication around that time and headed to the barracks for tomorrow’s battle.

In front of the barracks that the unit members worked hard to organize, a bard played a lute and harassed the sleeping soldiers.

Chris quickly chased him away and headed inside to where Illesis and Tyrone were.

Even if it rained, the spot where the rainwater wouldn’t leak was occupied by Elrom and Chris.

Illesis, who had been waiting for Chris sitting on the floor with her traveling cloak, raised her head.

“Have you been? Did the meeting go well?”

“No big deal. This kid is still sleeping… … .”

Chris pushed the snoring Tyrone away and lay down next to Illesis.

As long as the imperial army doesn’t do anything harsh, today’s routine will be repeated for the time being.

Before long, the cramped quarters were filled with the breathing of sleeping comrades.

The sound of the bard’s lute, which resumed playing, brought Chris’ eyelids down.

* * *

the next morning.

Surprisingly, Chris woke up lightly and hurriedly left the fortress with his troops.

By the time the sky was covered with dawn, they had breakfast on horseback after sweeping through one of the Imperial Army’s outposts.

Tyrone, who was chewing beef jerky next to Chris, was delighted with the easy victory.

“Aren’t these things any better than yesterday?”

“I know. The Imperial Army seems to have a lot less talent than expected.”

I’ve noticed since I served in the Imperial Army before, but the Imperial Army is surprisingly weak.

The soldiers are highly motivated and well trained thanks to their salaries, but there are not enough officers to command them.

From noble mtl dot com

Most of the manpower capable of serving as a field commander in Breton was from the vested class, but the other day, the Prime Minister wiped out the vested class to centralize the empire.

Although the newly established Imperial Army had combat experience gained from conquering colonies, the opponent would not have been able to study it because it was too weak.

Of course, as Breton is an island country, the proficiency of the navy cannot be underestimated.

However, the battle in the mountainous area is very advantageous for the allied forces.

The coalition of coastal nations, including Basilonia, fought and roamed this place as if it were their own front yard.

Elrom raised the morale of his subordinates with a tone that seemed to have a hint of remnants from serving in the Imperial Army.

“Imperial forces are idiots who only look shiny and do not properly supply the front line. The soldiers are strong soldiers, but the leaders don’t care!”

“Look at this bastard.”

Chris laughed and agreed with his opinion.

No matter what the commander of the Blue Shields did, the Imperial Army’s leadership did not even send reinforcements to Elom’s troops, which were holding out well.

Because of this, he and Elom had to fight a difficult battle with an army lacking both archers and wizards.

They even covered up the knife fight between the officers in broad daylight, fearing that they would be reprimanded. All the loyal and responsible soldiers are pulverized during the Prime Minister’s purge, and now only bat-like humans remain.

It would be even more strange if those guys flexibly counterattacked Elrom and Frederick’s strategy.

Chris set his sights on his next destination, confident that an easy victory would follow for at least a few days.

Unfortunately, however, Chris’ predictions were spectacularly wrong.

The imperial army, which had been swayed by Elrom’s troops, could not come up with a proper countermeasure even after a week.

No matter how incompetent the opponent was, at this point, Chris and Elrom couldn’t just like it.

“What the hell are these kids doing?”

Chris sighed as he placed the freshly killed corpse at his feet.

It’s something to be happy about winning easily against an opponent, but now I rather empathize with the soldiers of the Imperial Army.

Of course, the Imperial Army wasn’t playing for a week.

The problem is that the answers they came up with are all wrong.

Even in the Breton Empire, those who were superior to the players, who were few in number, were cut down by Chris’s sword as soon as they appeared.

The players were scattered in order to waste the movement of the Elom unit, but as of now, dispersing power without much thought was the worst option.

The Imperial forces, lacking the firepower of the players, were unable to break through the Allied defenses.

Elrom’s troops took a leisurely break and easily defeated the players who had reunited belatedly.

Having lost so many players so far, the Imperials couldn’t even hold the line. The remaining players refused to sortie because they did not believe in the command of the upper level.

Thanks to this, Elrom’s troops were able to engage in full-fledged annihilation, rather than just attacking players as usual.

Even now the small number of troops is a very minor drawback.

The imperial army, which had been robbed by Elrom’s troops for the past week, was busy running away at the sight of their shadows.

On the other hand, when Elom’s unit appears on the Allied side, even the dying soldiers begin to fight desperately.

Even the conscripts, who did not know the tactics and strategies, even the letters, recognized them as much as they did.

The performance of the Elom unit was unrivaled to that extent.

After all, when only they appeared, the normal enemies ran away and the battle situation changed, so it would be hard not to recognize it.

Even Elrom’s troops, who had been roaming the entire mountain range, couldn’t be perfectly fine for a week… … .

If the Imperial Army heard the details of their damage, they would get angry and tell them not to take it seriously.

Returning to the fortress after winning a great victory as usual, Chris and his party ran into a bard with a lute and hurriedly ran away.

“Ah, lady! I made a song to celebrate the lady’s victory… … .”

“sorry. I have an important meeting soon… … .”

Illesis avoided his song and hurriedly headed to the meeting room inside the fort.

The bard’s singing skills were decent, but it was embarrassing to hear songs praising his specialty.

Elrom, who started communicating with Frederick as usual, reported today’s criminal record and waited for his reply.

Frederick, who tore the scroll for communication, heard Elrom’s report and was deeply troubled.

From his point of view, as an undisputed commander, the incompetence shown by the Imperial Army could not be explained logically.

“Maybe they’re deliberately joking around to attract attention and then land toward the shore?”

When Elom, who was similarly troubled, raised his opinion, Frederick shook his head.

“The security of the northern coast is still tight. Besides, the losses to the players are too great to be seen as a gimmick. It’s just the opposing commander’s stupidity.”

Chris naturally nodded at his conclusion.

But I couldn’t let go of the tension yet.

The commander of the imperial army may be stupid, but the prime minister who led this war is not such an idiot.

If he had been a person worthy of a fight without a chance, he would not have risen to the position of prime minister in the first place.

Frederick, who was silent for a moment, released the information he had obtained over the past week.

“Last time you reported on the mercenaries in the Imperial Army. I found the money line used to hire those mercenaries.”

“Oh, did that come out?”

Elrom asked with a smile, and Frederick replied with a heavy nod.

“okay. is the gold king. One of the Six Kings, King Geum, was on the side of the Imperial Army.”

“Gold King?”

Illesis, who was listening to their conversation from behind, tilted her head slightly.

Even so, the gold king was a person who hadn’t even appeared when Chris and the bard discussed the six kings before.

Chris decided to answer Illesis’ question as well as explain the situation to Elom, who was not familiar with the situation.

The reason why he and the bard hadn’t even mentioned the name of the gold king before was very simple.

King Geum had a completely different type of power from the other Six Kings, so it was difficult to put them on the same line.

“As the name suggests, he is a man with a lot of money. That’s why people treat them separately from the other five.”

“uh… How much money do you have?”

“Looks like there are enough kingdoms to deal with the united forces.”

Erom, who had at least a rough estimate of the gold king’s wealth, swallowed deeply.

“Ugh. But there is no direct force, right? Then isn’t it too much to overturn this war?”

“yes. No matter how much money you have, when the war comes, all you have to do is hire mercenaries. If you are losing a war, even that is not easy.”

Chris, a former mercenary, did not deny Elom’s words.

It is in preparation for war, not after it begins, that gold and silver really show their power.

I don’t know if the war is prolonged, but after losing most of the power like the current Imperial Army, there is nothing I can do even if I have money.

However, it was not that side that Frederick and Chris paid attention to.

Frederick gave a new lesson to the inexperienced adoptee.

“The gold king doesn’t have to concentrate right now. However, there is a possibility that the other Six Kings may have been captured, just like him. If a woman like the Demon King helps the Imperial army, we are finished.”

“Devil… … .”

Even Elom, who did not know much about the Six Kings, shuddered slightly when he heard the name.

Chris and Illesis, who have mastered the magic of sucking, close their lips nervously for other reasons.

“No matter how hard it is, it will be difficult to capture the demon king.”

“I guess so. For now, I’m looking for the actions of the other Six Kings. Be careful too.”

The midnight meeting ended with Frederick’s blunt greeting.

Elrom turned lightly and widened his eyes when he saw the slightly pale faces of Chris and Elesis.

“What? What are you both doing?”

“No, I’m just a little tired.”

Chris gives a rough look, and Elom nods.

“It’s understandable since you’ve been fighting hard for several days. We will leave a little late tomorrow, so please get some rest.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The two left the conference tent after leaving Elom to clean up.

Elesis, who was walking next to Chris, whispered in a very small voice.

“Isn’t it possible that Elgar-sama will raise your hand over there?”

“no way.”

Chris replied briefly and hoped she wasn’t wrong.

Perhaps because of the uneasy mind, the sound of the bard’s performance was heard louder today.