Chapter 166: Chapter 166

Although it was difficult to compile precise statistics since the muster was still underway, according to the dispatches, the army being assembled by the Old Faith Alliance numbered over sixty thousand at a conservative estimate.

When this was announced, those gathered in the reception room let out low sighs.

“No, where did sixty thousand suddenly come from…”

“Certainly, that neighborhood plays on a different scale.”

Considering that during the past Pendian civil war, the princes had each fielded an army of around ten thousand, and Cheryn’s forces had never exceeded five thousand even at their peak, it was indeed an overwhelming disparity.

Considering that it reached that level even without the active participation of the lords of western and southern Libert, it was terrifying.

It was possible because Libert possessed overwhelmingly vast land and a massive population compared to other nations in the Arman Alliance.

As silence fell, Cheryn added to prevent morale from dropping.

“Of course, many of them are merely untrained draftees. Though we cannot ignore them given their numbers.”

Beside her, the old chancellor, Baron Lavayan, reported softly.

“Thanks to our steady military buildup, the standing army directly under the royal family recently exceeded ten thousand. However, considering local public order and the defense of the Demonic Realm region, we must leave behind at least four thousand of them.”

“Then on our side, it’s about six thousand, is it?”

Roden muttered softly.

Considering that all of them were professional warriors trained and equipped with proper magic gear, it was a formidable force, but even taking that into account, a nearly tenfold numerical gap was not easy to overcome.

At that, Abras, who was standing nearby, nodded and spoke.

“It seems we, too, will have to conscript additional troops.”

Fortunately, Pendia had pursued various reform policies since the last civil war, becoming wealthier and more powerful than at any point in its history.

Drafting able-bodied men during the old days of utter devastation would have shattered families and society, inflicting immense harm, but now they possessed a foundation capable of bearing it.

Considering the kingdom’s current finances and population, the bureaucrats judged that an additional twenty to thirty thousand men could be conscripted.

Hearing that, Colun whistled.

“Goodness, when did Pendia’s population grow this much? At this rate, it will be the largest army in the kingdom’s history!”

It would probably take combining all the forces of Conrad, Elvin, Duke of Morayen, and Cheryn from the past Pendian civil war to reach such a number.

At this, an official cleared his throat and spoke.

“Truthfully, were it not for the recent increase in monsters from the Demonic Realm, we could have mobilized another ten to twenty thousand men. In our current state, it is difficult to conscript men from the east.”

As everyone rejoiced, saying that this gave them a fighting chance, Baron Lavayan pronounced in a cold tone.

“However, I must state in advance that such conscription will severely impact Pendia’s internal affairs in the long run. Not to mention the costs of supplying them, able-bodied adult men will be unable to participate in societal work.”

“We are not the only ones suffering such inconvenience, so there is no need for great concern.”

The one who answered was Cheryn, seated upon the throne.

“Our true strength does not stem from combat magic gear. It comes from lighting up the dark, aiding agriculture, and taking responsibility for construction, sanitation, and health. The longer the war drags on, the harder it will be for them, not us.”

Just as she said, the armies of Ajun and Libert were also the result of wringing their nations like wet rags.

Merely maintaining them would cause their countries to stagger, and if Pendia succeeded in thoroughly defeating them, they would never dare assemble a force of similar scale again.

Roden nodded and spoke.

“Fortunately, cooperation on Horais’s end has fallen through. Sir Hakan’s army is still growing with our support.”

Libert had reached out to Horais, their long-standing adversary, requesting support, but regretfully, the western steppe was in turmoil due to an emerging force that had recently appeared.

Hakan’s tribe was taking control of the entirety of southern Horais, backed by Pendian magic gear and abundant goods from Meln Port.

Among steppe warriors who already possessed a strong desire for magic gear, this emerging force gained tremendous popularity, and above all, having a chieftain of Golden Clan bloodline was a major factor in their appeal.

Handing over the vast spoils of war, especially warhorses, gained from expanding their influence in exchange for supplied goods was a bonus.

Shan, who had been standing quietly listening to the discussion, asked Cheryn.

“Will you summon Baron Satru back, Your Majesty?”

“No, it is better to let him continue his current mission. Maintaining his power as Hakan’s Great Warrior will yield greater benefits for us.”

If Hakan’s power collapsed and Horais stabilized, even the lords of western Libert could join the holy war, and they also had to consider the possibility that prominent tribes of Horais might enter as mercenaries.

Therefore, Baron Satru, Lug, was left to remain over there.

“An army of this scale probably will not come marching all together in a single body.”

“That would be unrealistic in terms of sustainment capacity and efficiency. They will likely try to open multiple battlefields.”

“They might attack East Solod Castle, the Atima River, and Meln Port all at the same time…”

“Libert might entice the pirate nobles of Ruman to strike at our sea lanes. Communicating with them in advance to prevent their interference, whether through threats or persuasion…”

Even after that, they continued to debate through the night.

About how to navigate the storm right before their eyes.

*

News of war spread in an instant, gripping all of Pendia in tension.

People who had already suffered through the civil war sighed in weary frustration at the thought of fighting again, but many agreed that this was bound to happen eventually anyway.

After all, it had already been several months since their Lord Protector raided the Kingdom of Ajun, killed its king, burned down the royal palace, and rescued Princess Cassia.

Rather, one had to admit those brutal Ajun bastards had held back for a remarkably long time.

“War, huh…”

“They say conscription officers are coming to the village soon. Want to go check it out together?”

“I failed the soldier test last time, I wonder if they’ll pick me.”

“The requirements will probably be less strict than back then. I would have passed if I were just 3 centimeters taller! This time, I’ll prove that being short doesn’t mean I can’t fight.”

And there were quite a few who grew excited over this situation.

Above all, wasn’t war the very arena for those wielding blades to advance in the world?

Among the soldiers and knights who had participated in the past expedition to Ruman, quite a few had obtained immense spoils and titles, so many expected similar opportunities to arise.

Students at the knight academy were also greatly excited by the news, noisily chatting with one another.

“Finally! The time has come to put what we’ve trained into practice!”

Inside the dining hall of the knight academy.

Dike, a boy who had once represented the Old Faith forces of western Pendia, shouted with his fist clenched tightly.

Then Vivian, a girl munching on bread across from him, tilted her head and spoke.

“But aren’t we still too young to participate in a war?”

“The Lord Protector had already accomplished legendary deeds at our age. What’s so young about seventeen?”

The boy who had once regarded Shan as an enemy and hated him had unwittingly become his ardent supporter.

In the past, he would have likely lamented his plight at being mobilized against an invasion by his fellow Old Faith believers, but his admiration for his idol had swallowed up even his religious convictions.

At this, Feyuv, the leader of the Altoan students eating alongside them, nodded.

“That’s right. Besides, most of us have mastered Fighting Spirit by now.”

Before they knew it, a full year had passed since entering the knight academy.

Most of the students belonging to the first class had awakened Fighting Spirit.

Considering that it usually took trainees from knightly families years to awaken Fighting Spirit under traditional apprenticeship, it was remarkably fast.

This was not only because the students themselves were handpicked talents from across Pendia, but also the combined result of Darkal’s instruction and the overwhelming support of the Pendian royal family.

After all, ordinary knight trainees could not afford to use expensive alchemical potions to heal or strengthen their bodies once a week.

Even this paled in comparison to Shan, who had mastered Fighting Spirit in a mere six months, but his case was far too exceptional.

And before long, word spread that the students of the knight academy would actually be formally knighted and sent to the battlefield.

Upon hearing that those who had yet to awaken Fighting Spirit would have to continue training in their second year, several students wore anxious expressions.

Principal Darkal, who was set to retire soon, gathered the students and announced with a stern expression.

“As I have said before, even if you were rigorously trained here, you are still greenhorns! Never become arrogant! If any of you think you are hot stuff, remember your sparring match with the Lord Protector!”

Telling them not to be arrogant was the usual nagging old men directed at the young, but the instruction to remember their sparring match with the Lord Protector struck deeply into everyone’s hearts.

When the students dispersed, Samel (Darkal’s nephew and designated next principal) approached and spoke in a worried tone.

“I am truly not sure if sending those children to the battlefield is right. They could become fine knights if we raised them for just a few more years…”

Though they had built up their bodies through potions and grueling discipline, they were still at an age with plenty of room left to grow.

Both physically and in terms of skill.

Even though they had all awakened sufficiently strong Fighting Spirit, it would be a shame for them to perish early on the battlefield.

Darkal shook his head at his nephew’s concern.

“There is no need to worry about that!”

“Have you heard something from the Lord Protector?”

“The students will be deployed to the east, not the western front! Of course, fighting monsters is hardly safer than fighting humans, but at least it is better for building real combat experience!”

“Ah…”

At his words, Samel finally let out a sigh of relief as if understanding, and nodded.

If the students were deployed to the east, experienced knights assigned to the east could be pulled out to reinforce the western front, making it better in terms of military strength as well.

Of course, for the students’ growth, building a stronger foundation would have been better than jumping into somewhat dangerous combat against monsters, but given that this was total war, it could not be helped.

While everyone else was taking risks, they could not leave them completely safe simply because they were students.

Even more so when they were not students learning other subjects, but students learning how to fight enemies and protect the kingdom.

*

As Pendia entered war preparations, Shan became endlessly busy.

This was true even though he entrusted a significant portion of his workload to Roden as before.

Reallocating armies, managing the resulting loss and replenishment of supplies, and organizing newly drafted reserve forces.

Day after day, paperwork piled higher and higher on his office desk in the royal palace.

Thanks to that, even though he went to work every day and stayed in the same building as Cheryn, seeing her face was hardly easy.

During meetings, it was official business so private conversation was difficult, and whenever he had free time, he had to discuss military matters with Roden and other royal knights.

Cheryn was also busy handling all sorts of duties as queen, in addition to inventing various war magic gear and conducting personal research.

Even tasks she had previously delegated to subordinates to some degree had to be personally verified during wartime.

As such, a rare moment of spare time that arose one afternoon was quite precious.

Having found break time at almost the exact same moment, the two sat together in the lounge of the Red Palace.

Rather than sitting opposite each other or side-by-side, Cheryn was perched on Shan’s thighs, embraced in his arms.

“I’m dead tired.”

“Me too.”

As Cheryn murmured lamentations while snuggled in Shan’s arms, Shan, wrapping his arms around her neck from behind, agreed.

Haa… the two let out deep sighs, then giggled at the amusement of making the same sound at the same time.

After that, they engaged in minor small talk.

“Cassia has been completely engrossed in swordsmanship training lately.”

“The princess?”

Shan could not imagine that frail young lady swinging a sword at all.

At his puzzled attitude, Cheryn gave a bitter smile and spoke.

“Yeah. She said if Meleo isn’t killed later and is captured alive, she wants to take revenge personally.”

“Ah.”

“Since that’s a request I can grant if we can bring him in alive.”

In any case, if they were to install Count Glusa (who was currently undergoing education) in his place, they would need to humiliate the current king as much as possible.

A husband murdered by the wife he used to abuse was the absolute height of humiliation.

Whether Cassia would actually have the nerve to slit his throat when the moment came remained to be seen, but few things altered a person as easily as deep resentment.

Given that a demure lady who had received a thorough Old Faith upbringing had taken up swordsmanship training, her resentment was hardly shallow.

After that, the two conversed about topics such as Roden and Venoa’s child, due in a few months, and the aftermath brought by the engagement between Viscount of Treba and Asha.

They intentionally avoided talk of war or current work.

Those were tiring topics they had discussed time and again even outside of this place.

How long had they chattered like that? After a sudden silence fell, Cheryn abruptly brought up a topic.

“Many people will probably die, won’t they?”

The dying people she referred to were naturally limited to Pendians, not the people of Libert or Ajun.

Her goal was to become an empress who rebuilt the Arman Empire in the future, but other nations including Libert were objects of conquest, not possessions she was innately entitled to inherit.

Shan nodded without even thinking.

“They will, a lot.”

“Still, it’s a fight we must undertake. If only to preserve everything we’ve achieved so far.”

Having come this far, there was no choice to surrender or grow complacent.

Just as in the civil war, and just as during the invasion of Ruman.

Her words were addressed to Shan, but at the same time, they were a declaration to herself.

Murmuring words mixed with self-justification and resolve, Cheryn shook her head and spoke.

“Come to think of it, you were supposed to come of age next year, but things turned out absurd, didn’t they?”

Originally, the wedding of Shan and Cheryn was scheduled for early next year when he reached adulthood, but with war suddenly looming, it became difficult to promise a date.

If at least he remained in the capital, they could quickly resolve it with a simplified ceremony, but with high probability he would have to stay somewhere on the front line.

“Indeed. Regrettably.”

Since this was also a rather depressing topic for Shan, he answered in a gloomy tone, kissing Cheryn’s neck and breathing in.

Her hair tickled his nose as he sensed her scent, cosmetic powder, and faint perfume.

As he fully savored his favorite scent, Cheryn smiled and spoke.

“I heard before that Libert nobles dream of getting married in the grand chapel of the Western Holy See.”

“Ah, I heard that from Gillian before.”

Count Gillian of Meln, Roden’s brother-in-law, had lamented that it would have been nice if his sister and Roden could marry there.

Of course, under the current political landscape, such a thing was out of the question.

Pondering briefly why she had brought that up all of a sudden, Shan looked at Cheryn as if realizing something.

“Since we’ve been interrupted anyway, I’ve decided I want to get married there. What do you think?”

“That sounds fine.”

Saying it would be entertaining just imagining the expressions on the faces of the Old Faith priests when a witch and an Altoan married there, the two laughed together without either leading.

*

A few weeks passed as they passionately threw themselves back into war preparations after catching their breath and recharging.

Around the time when preparations were mostly complete and breathing room returned, news finally arrived that the enemy had begun to move.

Being able to receive news via communication devices from spies infiltrated in advance was a truly overwhelming advantage in war.

In the past, they would only have learned of it when spies who confirmed the enemy’s movements sent swift messengers or when rumors among the populace reached them.

Reading the dispatches coming in from various places, Roden drew his analysis onto the map atop the desk.

“The enemy currently appears to have divided their forces into four.”

This was somewhat anticipated.

Because the force of over sixty thousand gathered by the enemy was far too large to project into a single region.

Furthermore, if they stayed gathered together, they would inevitably have to face Shan, but by splitting into multiple columns, Shan could not appear on multiple battlefields simultaneously unless he could teleport.

“First, the combined forces of Duke of Morayen and Count Balik plan to strike at Count of Meln’s territory and, across the Armak River, mainland Pendia’s Ranpel region respectively.”

The first place he marked while saying so was southern Libert, and the eastern river dividing it from Pendia.

Seeing this, the knights groaned softly.

“Mmm.”

“We must block this place at all costs.”

If Meln Port fell, trouble would arise for Pendia’s southern naval command, and if the Ranpel region was captured, it would take less than a few days to reach the capital, Hasra.

Neither could be ignored.

“And the third corps is an army originating from central Libert, which seems poised to attack East Solod Castle.”

There was actually little to worry about regarding this direction.

Because well-fortified Solod Castle could easily hold out even if an army ten times its size descended upon it.

As long as they confirmed the enemy’s scale and deployed matching defensive forces, it could be considered virtually impenetrable.

While they nodded at that, everyone’s expression turned grave at the fourth line drawn by Roden.

Because this was an invasion route that was truly difficult to anticipate easily.

“And fourth, Ajun’s entire force is scheduled to cross the Demonic Realm and invade the Treba region.”