“Speak! Speak!”
Thud.
He stomped his foot, shaking the tent. Duke Gisert was not foolish. He wasn’t stupid enough to shift blame onto others. He had always fulfilled his duty as a monarch.
But at this moment, he too was filled with rage and had no choice but to raise his voice.
Whoosh!
An immense wave of qi. It was considerable power for a single stomp.
But even with this power…
“Where in the world is Ofern’s strength coming from!? They could create magic weapons. But those are used by people! People!”
He couldn’t stop Ofern.
Ofern, having revealed their power, was strong.
It wasn’t simply because they were armed with magic weapons.
Even the Iron Scrolls could be said to be a step below the Servants. Because even if you poured out the magic of the Iron Scrolls, the Servants could withstand it.
The Servant was what Earl Ofern, an Aura Master, had been confident he could overcome.
But the result was…
The moment Ofern and his house revealed their strength, the tide of battle changed instantly.
He thought the signal to stop was because they lacked power, but that wasn’t it.
Ofern had sent the signal despite having power. It was a signal to stop here and divide the House Owen’s territory. A signal that if they moved further, the Royal Family might intervene.
They ignored that signal.
And the result was the last three defeats.
Earl Ofern began to reveal his power. House Gisert was pushed back.
Of course, Gisert had his excuses.
The power that made House Gisert a ducal house, the power that allowed them to be invincible only in their own territory, was only possible beneath the Gisert lands.
That was the covenant and the price they had set.
House Owen hadn’t yet fully entered Gisert’s domain.
Therefore, Duke Gisert was in a position where he couldn’t fully exert his power. Even so, the consecutive defeats were still painful.
‘I simply cannot understand.’
He couldn’t understand.
Everyone thought the same as Duke Gisert.
“The people have grown stronger. The knights’ power is different, and the soldiers’ caliber is different. Where do you think that came from?”
They were powerful. It wasn’t just Earl Ofern alone; everyone had grown stronger.
Even if armed, most couldn’t use the weapons. Giving a fine sword to a child’s hand only made it a dangerous weapon that could harm the holder.
But not the knights and soldiers of House Ofern.
“……I saw even what seemed to be elite soldiers who had learned an Aura Cultivation Method. Is that a mistake?”
“No.”
Aura. The later you learn it, the harder it is to reach a high level.
However, the difference between one who has learned Aura and one who hasn’t is like the difference between a superhuman and an ordinary person.
Even if one could handle just a little Aura, a human became stronger.
By Rayrn’s standards, it was a third-rate Aura Cultivation Method at best.
He had simply released something created from a lower concept to some elite soldiers.
“Is there any among us who would give away an Aura Cultivation Method?”
……
It was impossible for other houses. It was inevitably a shock.
An Aura Cultivation Method.
To them, it was power, the power that allowed nobles to be nobles. It was the power that protected their authority.
And someone who looked like a mere soldier was using it.
No, could those armed with magic weapons be called soldiers? They were already too strong to be called soldiers.
If they advanced just a little further…
They might become knights.
Though called soldiers, they were actually at the level of squires that knights brought along.
The power Rayrn had easily released held that level of difference.
There was no other way to bridge that gap.
“Increase Servant production further.”
“Your Grace! We are already producing at maximum capacity given the current situation.”
“More!”
……
“It’s not just a matter of sacrifice. There’s a risk of rampage. As you know, Servants are…”
“Enough!”
Cornered, even a rat will bite a cat.
But Gisert was not a cat, but a beast. A tyrant among kings.
Sometimes, tyrants will do anything for their goals.
“This is an order. What is your answer?”
“……I obey.”
Three shocking defeats.
Cornered, House Gisert was moving to bite Ofern.
But…
Whether his direction was the right one, no one in the tent could know.
Because House Gisert’s enemies were not only Earl Ofern before them, but many others.
The monsters of the Northern Mountain Range were famous. They attacked whenever there was an opening.
That was precisely why Rayrn creating a castle was nothing short of a miracle.
Without the formation, the magic, and the martial arts for subjugating monsters—if any one of these three had been lacking, building a fortress at the northern entrance would have been impossible.
But that only applied to Rayrn. The North was still practically unexplored territory.
Therefore, the march led by Gajei should have been arduous.
“It’s too quiet.”
“It’s because the Black Crows scouted the path ahead.”
Even with six thousand men marching, not a single monster attacked.
If only there had been a well-made road, they would have felt like they were moving inside a secure territory.
But this road wasn’t free.
“Besides, I heard His Lordship normally has this area cleared and maintained.”
“Normally?”
“Think back. How many times have we subjugated monsters here?”
“……True.”
Rayrn had consistently subjugated monsters through the Academy and his soldiers.
He had been persistently carrying out the insane act of turning monster corpses into specialty products.
As a result, many monsters around the barrier had been wiped out. Although the Northern Mountain Range was such a monster paradise that they were quickly replenished with new ones.
‘We really killed a lot.’
Gajei had killed an enormous number of monsters, enough to make him proud.
Even at this very moment, monsters caught in the formation were dying from exhaustion, or being torn apart by the blades of the suppression force training.
This area was included in that.
“But still, monsters should be crossing over soon, shouldn’t they?”
“He said he would take separate measures. It’s just that they’ve been activated.”
It was clear that Rayrn hadn’t left the territory he had worked so hard to gain unattended.
‘What method could it be?’
Just as he had shown the miracle of creating a barrier with magic, he had surely done something similar this time.
Thanks to that, it was convenient for Gajei.
Even though this was his first time leading a large-scale march of six thousand soldiers, there weren’t any particular difficulties.
The occasional trial and error actually became an experience for him.
‘I don’t know how far His Lordship intends to go…’
But someday, this kind of experience would become blood and flesh for Gajei, who would have to lead the Iron Fist.
At this moment, he was remembering every detail and endlessly striving.
“By the way, I wonder what His Lordship is doing.”
“Don’t you think he’s already doing something else ahead of us?”
“Hmm…”
For Gajei, it was unfortunate that his lord, Rayrn, who would acknowledge his efforts, wasn’t here, but it couldn’t be helped.
He could only do what he could do.
“If there are no monsters, we can increase speed. Full force, double time!”
“Double time!”
Clank. Clank.
At Gajei’s order, the soldiers’ pace quickened.
A remarkably fast speed for traversing the Northern Mountain Range!
‘……I’ll arrive first.’
Gajei was moving in haste.
***
Meanwhile, Rayrn was actually moving faster than Gajei thought.
“Heh… huff.”
“Let’s go a little slower!”
Only the mages who had to follow him were dying.
Mages were users of magic, not physically developed individuals.
But whenever they got tired and asked for a brief rest…
“If you coordinate buff magic well, it’s fine. Do double casting to stack them, and occasionally extend the casting time, okay?”
“……That’s easier said than done!”
Rayrn would shut them up with nonsense.
Multi-casting, extending casting time…
Even just multi-casting, using multiple spells at once, was no ordinary feat.
If someone could use Fire Magic and Wind Magic together, even a D-Class would be powerful, so why wouldn’t they use it?
The mental energy consumption for that was considerable, so it was better to use higher-class magic instead.
But on top of that, he was telling them to occasionally do overlapping casting to extend buff time.
-It’s not like I have mana to spare!
-How long has it been since I rose to C-Class!
-How does he have that much mana?
If it were just talk, it might be one thing, but Rayrn actually did it.
“……Hmm. Is it hard? It’s easy?”
And he looked like it really was easy. An expression like a fish taking breathing in water for granted. He was confident.
In reality…
‘My magic circles are indeed thick.’
Rayrn’s effort of building up his mana circuits thickly from D-Class was now bearing fruit.
Furthermore, he was even strengthening his circuits using internal energy.
That was why his fifth circuit, obtained only recently, was already thick.
‘How could the other mages know the truth?’
“Enough. Haste! Haste! Gulp.“
“……Haste! Huff. I’ll drink a potion.”
“Granted. Let’s go!”
Ruan, with her pride matching her skill, barely managed to keep up, but the other two mages couldn’t. The two mages newly assigned from the Magic Tower branch.
And and Renen were mages who had just reached the middle of D-Class!
Both had been renowned prodigies at the Enchant Magic Tower.
‘Wasn’t Ruan, the Tower Master’s disciple, improving her skills while staying by Rayrn’s side?’
So the Enchant Magic Tower had sent these two.
It was a consideration to help them improve their skills, as they too had to lead the next generation alongside Ruan.
But in reality…
-This is hell.
-I’d rather be in Magic Tower classes.
For them, it was nothing less than a ticket to hell.
“Kuh…”
“Huff… huff.”
While they gasped for breath like mad, Rayrn advanced endlessly without stopping.
“I can’t… I can’t go any further!”
Even Ruan, with her strong pride, declared surrender around that time. Rayrn gave a slight smile.
“Then let’s stop.”
“Huff… huff. Thank you.”
“No. This is our destination.”
“……Damn it.”
His smile was a clear smile, the kind he wore when he got what he wanted.
‘Now, let’s have some fun.’
The first of Rayrn’s plans to gather insufficient soldiers was about to be executed.
“Nice view!”
At the entrance to the Northern Mountain Range, on a spot on a massive mountain ridge that leaned toward House Gisert’s territory.
Rayrn was taking it easy.
The moment he installed the formation, the monsters that had been rushing toward them all fled elsewhere.
Even lord-class monsters, as if sensing Rayrn’s mood, stayed buried deep in their dens.
‘What method is that?’
‘What is it?’
Ruan and the mages wanted to learn that method, but Rayrn had no intention of teaching them right away.
Instead…
“You’ve all filled up your mana by now, right?”
“……Yes.”
He was about to move to the next step.
He had been looking at the scenery. To others, it seemed like madness just to enjoy the view, but…
‘It’s convenient for calculations.’
He was simply making calculations for the future.
Rumble—
Rayrn began to amplify his mana.
That was the start of a new turning point.