Wortenia Senki (LN) - Volume 27 - Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2: The Poison Known as Doubt

“My lord! The heavy cavalry led by Viscount Orglen launched the initial assault according to plan. Sir Morgan then charged the enemy’s main camp and took down Raul Giordano!”

When Ryoma heard the report from the Igasaki shinobi, who had confirmed the information via Wezalié’s Whisper, his face lit up with a smile. This was the best possible news for the Mikoshiba Grand Duchy Army, which was outnumbered. The defeat of Raul, the commander of the enemy’s central division, would further weaken the already waning morale of the enemy troops following the explosion.

“So, Chris has taken down the enemy’s second-in-command! And Viscount Orglen did well too. It seems he fulfilled his role as decoy admirably,” murmured Ryoma, nodding in satisfaction. These successes proved that his strategy was proceeding smoothly. “Have the others already received this information?”

“Yes, sir! Lady Ecclesia has already been informed through the Wezalié’s Whisper,” said the shinobi.

“Good! In that case, spread the word that Chris Morgan has slain Raul Giordano. We’ll shake the resolve of the allied soldiers with this news!”

With a slight nod, the shinobi activated Wezalié’s Whisper again and relayed Ryoma’s order to the communication team in a secure area at the rear. Ryoma nodded approvingly as he watched.

Being able to transmit orders with such precision, according to the situation, is a huge advantage.

Normally, mounted couriers would race to deliver messages. That was the common practice in this world’s wars. However, having couriers constantly moving across the battlefield was highly dangerous, as interceptions could prevent orders from reaching allied units.

Messengers were typically well-trained knights or warriors, and multiple couriers were often dispatched with the same message to mitigate the risk. But these issues vanished with a communication device like Wezalié’s Whisper. In that sense, it was only natural that Nelcius and the dark elf thaumaturgists, who developed the device at Ryoma’s request, took pride in their creation.

Though, there’s still room for improvement. Communication only works between paired devices, which limits us... We’re managing by relaying information through communication hubs, but it will eventually need to be upgraded.

Indeed, although Wezalié’s Whisper was an extraordinary tool by this world’s standards, since Ryoma was accustomed to the convenience of modern technology, it still felt somewhat cumbersome. The fact that only paired devices could communicate with each other ensured security but, as with this battle, required additional setup to transmit orders effectively across the field. Nonetheless, that minor issue would be addressed later because Ryoma was focused on strategies to secure victory in this war.

“So, when can we expect Laura and the others to arrive?” asked Ryoma.

“They’ve already departed Jermuk. Due to the blast zone, they’ll need to take a detour, so their arrival will take some time,” confirmed the shinobi.

Ryoma considered the situation. Is a detour necessary? The crater formed by the Fire Drake’s Breath must be quite deep.

Without a survey, they couldn’t know the precise dimensions of the crater. Given the explosion, crossing directly through the blast zone would be reckless.

The real issue is how much of the enemy’s forces remain.

Originally, the allied forces on Lubua Plains exceeded one hundred thousand troops. The vanguard of five thousand war elephants had been annihilated, and Raul’s central division had likely suffered significant damage. Yet the allied forces still had their rear guard, led by Supreme Commander Accordo, and reinforcement units from their home base on standby. Even excluding the reinforcements, combining Bruno’s unscathed rear guard with the remaining troops from the central force meant they were likely still facing over fifty thousand troops.

Of course, this is a rough estimate, but it shouldn’t be too far off, thought Ryoma. Based on this, the arrival of Laura and her troops was vital to his own army of forty thousand men. I’ve entrusted the Malfist sisters with five thousand soldiers for protection... Whether their unit joins ours could significantly alter the course of the battle.

Considering the difference in troop numbers, leaving the five thousand soldiers stationed with the Malfist sisters unused felt wasteful. As such, waiting for the twins to regroup before launching an assault would be wiser. Over time, the morale of the allied soldiers might recover from the blow they had been dealt. Of course, Ryoma knew that wouldn’t actually be the case.

Reality isn’t a strategy game where the “encourage” command instantly replenishes a unit’s morale bar.

Yet, reality often defied expectations. Launching an immediate attack might be the best option.

I’d usually wait for everyone to regroup before launching a full-scale attack. But that would take too long. If only those two were here to support me directly...

Under normal circumstances, the Malfist sisters would never leave Ryoma’s side during a major battle like this. As both protectors and commanders, the sisters’ extraordinary skills made them invaluable in critical situations. However, today Ryoma had needed to send those trump cards elsewhere.

Did I make a mistake by entrusting this to others? Ryoma mused briefly before immediately dismissing the thought. That was not an option. This strategy requires perfect timing and the precise activation of the joint spell. There’s no one better suited for this than those two.

It all came down to prioritizing the elimination of the war elephants, which possessed overwhelming combat power. The sheer size of those beasts alone was staggering.

A conventional army would be helpless against those beasts. They’d simply be trampled without a chance to resist.

A war elephant’s very presence radiated a sense of dread, paralyzing soldiers before they even attempted to fight. Except for the elite, most would drop their weapons and flee. In the worst cases, they’d freeze on the spot, only to be crushed mercilessly. But the archduke’s army was an exception.

Our heavy infantry, clad in armor reinforced with enchantments, would at least hold their ground for a while...

Ryoma had invested plenty of time and resources in training his army to this standard. The Wortenia Peninsula, their home base, was populated by creatures even larger than those elephants, so his troops were not easily intimidated.

At least they wouldn’t simply flee. But that only applied to beasts that acted on instinct alone. A memory of nearly a hundred elephants, controlled and directed by human handlers, posed a completely different challenge.

In many ways, I had to consider more than just eliminating these war elephants. Winning efficiently is key.

Charging head-on without any tactics would risk heavy casualties even if they managed to win. Ryoma had various strategies to minimize these losses, but entirely avoiding casualties would be nearly impossible.

And those casualties would impact the course of the battle after eliminating the elephants.

The war elephant corps functioned as a trump card and a sacrificial pawn for the allied army.

From what Lady Ecclesia told me, the southern region fears and despises those outside the kingdoms. They seem to endure severe discrimination, thought Ryoma. While the reason for their alliance remained unclear, Ryoma understood that deep-seated prejudice could not be easily erased. No matter how it appears on the surface, I doubt the allied generals truly view those who live outside of the kingdoms as allies.

The gap in formation between the war elephants and the following troops suggested as much. With a force of over one hundred thousand, there was no need to keep such a large reserve at the rear. If Ryoma were commanding the allied forces, he would have placed more troops near the front line as a contingency. Yet Bruno Accordo, the commander of the allied army, chose not to do that.

Accordo left a large gap between the war elephants and the central forces... If our front line were broken, they couldn’t pursue efficiently.

This distance also left the central forces safe from the explosion caused by the Fire Drake’s Breath that Ryoma had unleashed. The conclusion was clear: Bruno wanted to conserve his army’s strength.

They’re hoping for a mutually destructive clash between us and the outsiders, thought Ryoma. Bruno’s plan to pit enemy against enemy had been thwarted, and Ryoma considered this a significant victory. Of course, it was a gamble.

Ryoma was confident in his plan’s success because he had prepared extensively. But he also understood that luck would always play a role in the final outcome, no matter how well-prepared he was.

While I prepared for all possible contingencies, there was no guarantee that things would unfold as planned.

Once Ryoma’s army absorbed the initial charge of the elephants with a horizontal formation, his army shifted to a V-shaped formation to guide the war elephants toward a trap rigged with Fire Drake’s Breath buried in the ground. A single misstep could have resulted in the elephants overrunning the front line, making this risky. The Malfist sisters had coordinated their spells to ignite the Fire Drake’s Breath at the perfect moment, obliterating the war elephants. Any delay would have rendered eliminating the elephants impossible.

Because of this, I needed Laura and the others in a location with good visibility to execute the spell at just the right time.

After much consideration, the city walls of the fortress city of Jermuk were chosen as their vantage point. That decision came with a cost. It tied two officers capable of leading their own units to that position. Yet, complaining was pointless at this stage.

I had anticipated this turn of events from the start. Rather than risk changing strategies now, I should let them continue in their role as a mobile strike force.

Ryoma’s only option was to secure victory with the cards he currently held. The battle proceeded according to his plan, and there was no need to disrupt that flow.

“All right... We’ll rendezvous with Lady Ecclesia and take down their central forces. Then, without waiting for Laura and the others, we’ll wipe out the rear forces!”

With that, Ryoma advanced his forces toward the rendezvous point with Ecclesia. He suspected that Chris had utterly crushed the enemy’s fighting spirit after destroying the war elephants and killing Raul Giordano. The next steps would be to eliminate the central forces, then ride that momentum to target Bruno Accordo’s command base. That would checkmate the allied forces. A cold smile crept onto Ryoma’s face as he spurred his horse forward.

In war, eliminating the enemy commander offered a distinct advantage. While this was common knowledge, the opportunity to take down a commander in battle was rare due to their constant protection.

War is ultimately a battle of wills.

Weapons and fortresses had their place, but the will to fight was essential. Striking fear in the enemy’s heart was Ryoma’s ultimate goal. The obliteration of the war elephants wasn’t done just for the sake of it. Rather, it was about instilling terror in the enemy.

Anyone can kill if they have the absolute will to do so.

Killing wasn’t just about being physically strong like Ryoma; anyone determined enough could achieve it. The choice to act—or not—reflected one’s values. Few chose violence willingly.

War is a choice. And the key to victory lies in breaking the enemy’s will to fight.

People went to war believing they had something to gain. To win, it was vital to make the enemy believe they had nothing to gain by fighting.

Defeating Raul Giordano at this juncture may seem too fortunate, but his death has certainly tilted the scales in our favor.

For a brief moment, Ryoma smiled—a self-serving and somewhat dark display that might seem unfitting. However, the smile faded quickly as he realized the implications of celebrating a rival’s death. Even if he didn’t intend to show it, Ryoma knew that Raul’s death meant life for his own troops.

War, after all, was a zero-sum game.

Ryoma understood that expressing such sentiments openly could damage his reputation. At the same time, he couldn’t deny his satisfaction with the outcome. Even when someone spoke the truth, it could still sound annoying to others.

Expressing joy when happy also depended on the time and place. Honesty with one’s feelings was not always the best course of action. From there, it was only a matter of how one chose to act based on this understanding.

That said, Chris and Leonard are competent... Taking those two under my command was indeed the right choice. They’ve done excellent work. While I wasn’t entirely surprised by Chris since we’ve clashed before, Leonard’s strength was only rumored. But after breaking the encirclement at Jermuk, he’s proven himself twice in a row. As expected from someone Lady Helena personally vouched for.

Chris Morgan had previously served as Helena’s adjutant. Although not yet a hardened veteran, he had some battlefield experience. Most importantly, Chris and Ryoma had already fought together, each understanding the other’s prowess as warriors. In that sense, there was little to worry about with Chris’s abilities.

On the other hand, Viscount Leonard Orglen had a unique personality.

He was a cousin of Diggle McMaster, who currently served as prime minister of Rhoadseria. Unlike the famously martial McMaster, Leonard was more renowned as a man of culture. In fact, he was so talented that he had once taught Lupis the arts.

Leonard was a refined individual who loved wine, women, and the art of poetry and music. His experience leading troops likely didn’t go beyond occasional skirmishes against local bandits or monsters in his territory. In the Kingdom of Rhoadseria’s high society, he was a popular figure—a dashing and notorious man of many lovers. In contrast to his cousin Diggle, who remained loyal to his wife and didn’t keep a concubine, Leonard seemed frivolous. He appeared like a slightly reckless middle-aged man, which gave him the reputation for being cultured yet shallow. As a politician, his reputation was low compared to the reserved Prime Minister McMaster.

Though rumored to have great martial skill at court, Leonard lacks much battlefield experience.

Still, Leonard didn’t impose heavy taxes on his people. He had the resolve and competence to lead troops against bandits or monsters when needed. Perhaps Leonard Orglen’s knack for handling things flawlessly stirred some resentment among others.

People likely see him as a man overly absorbed in the arts, for better or worse, mused Ryoma. Given all this, it was understandable that Ryoma harbored doubt toward Leonard Orglen, even if Helena vouched for him. That’s why I’m so pleased that he proved his capability through this campaign.

He may have been somewhat inferior to Robert or Signus, but that was only because those two were extraordinary. Chris and Leonard possessed rare strength that even the great powers watched cautiously. This made them valuable assets to House Mikoshiba.

Still, some concerns remained.

Leonard Orglen serves me as a retainer, but his heart still belongs to Rhoadseria, thought Ryoma, knowing that Leonard’s heart was filled with loyalty and love for his homeland. He also understood that Leonard saw serving him as a way to protect Rhoadseria indirectly. I don’t suspect he’d betray me, but I must handle him carefully.

Betrayal could stem from two types of motivation: ambition or the need to protect something dear.

The type driven by ambition was hard to prevent. No amount of wealth or land would satisfy such desires. Like pouring water into a bucket with holes, ambition knew no bounds. However, Viscount Leonard Orglen wasn’t one to commit betrayal out of selfish ambition.

If he ever betrays House Mikoshiba, it would be because I treated Radine, the last of Rhoadseria’s royal bloodline, cruelly.

This was an unconfirmed suspicion, and Leonard would likely evade if questioned. Still, Ryoma had a vague certainty that his intuition was correct.

Well, I have no intention of treating Lady Radine cruelly, so it shouldn’t be an issue.

Had it been the ungrateful Lupis Rhoadserians, Ryoma might have resorted to any ruthless means without hesitation. But he couldn’t take such measures with Radine, who trusted him completely. After all, it was his decision to place Radine on the throne. Ryoma Mikoshiba’s core belief was to repay kindness with kindness and respond to hostility with hostility.

Ryoma’s Mikoshiba unique perspective on loyalty and enmity shaped his essence. This had little to do with the conventional notion of good and evil. In a way, it was his personal creed—a guiding principle in his way of life. To some, it might have seemed overly self-centered or even arrogant. Yet precisely because of this conviction, Ryoma would never compromise on his principles. Even if the day when he brought down the Kingdom of Rhoadseria came, it would not be through violent conquest but through a relatively peaceful approach. Viscount Orglen would remain loyal to Ryoma if he didn’t betray his beliefs.

He understands that this path would ultimately yield the best outcome for the Kingdom of Rhoadseria, thought Ryoma.

For Ryoma, the Kingdom of Rhoadseria was little more than a burdensome nuisance. The kingdom was in disarray, with its lands beginning to decay due to the nobles’ unchecked power and the disastrous effects of Lupis Rhoadserians’s reckless attempts at centralization. Only the struggling people remained. Removing these obstacles and restoring the nation to a viable state would take considerable time.

This is a task that can’t be accomplished overnight.

It might have been faster and more reliable to raze it to the ground and rebuild instead of expending such effort to restore the kingdom. The ideal solution would be to swiftly dismantle the Kingdom of Rhoadseria and establish Ryoma Mikoshiba’s own nation in its place. Ever since he took control of the Wortenia Peninsula, most of his followers had envisioned this as their future. Even Lione and Boltz had asked him directly when he planned to establish his kingdom. But Ryoma had responded to such expectations from those around him with silence. Of course, he didn’t lack the desire to build a new nation with himself as king. In truth, this ambition had been his secret goal from the start, and he had prepared carefully for it.

But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to immediately conquer the Kingdom of Rhoadseria and claim it as the Mikoshiba Grand Duchy’s territory.

After Ryoma’s victory over Lupis Rhoadserians, he supported Queen Radine, appointed Helena Steiner and Diggle McMaster as chief ministers, and took other steps to ensure the Kingdom of Rhoadseria’s continued existence. The reason was simple. It was because Ryoma Mikoshiba lacked the power to fully control the nation.

While temporary occupation might be possible, maintaining permanent control would be far too challenging under the present conditions.

If his only intention were to exploit the kingdom’s resources and abandon it once drained, similar to a scorched-earth strategy, the Mikoshiba Grand Duchy’s current military strength would suffice. However, permanent control was an entirely different matter. Many citizens may indeed harbor resentment or hostility toward the Kingdom of Rhoadseria after years of oppressive rule by the nobles. Few would quietly accept the sudden takeover of their homeland by a young upstart. Even without swords or spears, they’d resist the oppressor with their farming tools. Only a select few in the nobility would willingly accept Ryoma Mikoshiba’s rule. Those nobles, like Count Bergstone or Count Zeleph, had the foresight and open-mindedness to accept the young conqueror. While Ryoma was lost in thought, he and the cavalry unit he commanded arrived at the rendezvous point to meet up with Ecclesia and her detachment.

Ecclesia Marinelle, the general of the Kingdom of Myest also known as the Whirlwind, led a detachment approaching from the right, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Did I keep you waiting?”

She tilted her head slightly as she spoke, displaying a gentle, charming smile—hardly the expression of a warrior on her way to battle. To Ecclesia, the outcome of this fight was already decided. And Ryoma felt the same way. The only task left was to seal their victory.

“No, I’d say your timing is perfect,” Ryoma replied, shifting his gaze forward.

The wind carried the sounds of clashing swords and the screams of allied soldiers. Judging from the sight of the fallen banners that the coalition army had once raised, their central forces were beginning to crumble, losing unit cohesion. Most likely, the enemy soldiers had already begun fleeing the battlefield, desperately seeking any possible escape.

“Yes, you all have worked quite hard, so I should do my part as well. After all, I’ll soon serve under Lord Mikoshiba as a guest general. Don’t you agree?” said Ecclesia as she winked playfully.

In response, Ryoma grinned. “Well then, I suppose I’ll have to work hard enough not to be outdone by you, Ecclesia.”

Ryoma quietly drew his beloved sword from his waist, and the Muldahara Chakra at the base of his spine began to spin. With each breath, prana surged through Ryoma’s body. This process closely resembled the Small Circulation technique in Taoist practices. As prana filled Ryoma, the flow activated each of his chakras, one by one. Finally, the sixth chakra—Ajna, located between his eyebrows—began to spin as a supernatural power filled his body. Ryoma then raised his sword Kikoku high toward the sky. At that moment, a beastly roar erupted from the more than twenty thousand soldiers standing behind him, shaking Lubua Plains. The soldiers began to advance, the pounding of their horses’ hooves echoing as they moved forward to crush the enemy before them, following the command of their young sovereign. Yet the target of their blades remained unaware of the coming onslaught.

“Raul... Raul Giordano was killed by a knight of the Mikoshiba duchy? This must be some kind of mistake!” bellowed Bruno Accordo, commander of the Kingdom of Brittantia’s esteemed Gryphon Knights and the leader of the campaign against Myest, upon hearing the unexpected news brought by the messenger. His fury would have intimidated an ordinary soldier to the point that they wouldn’t have been able to respond coherently.

People had seemingly scattered like spiders, fleeing Bruno Accordo’s oppressive presence as he passed through the territories of the Kingdom of Brittantia. Bruno, known as the Man-Eating Bear, was a towering, bearded man nearly 190 centimeters tall and weighed around 150 kilograms. His sheer mass alone instilled fear in those who saw him. Despite his intimidating presence, his face was well-formed beneath the beard, if not handsome. Perhaps he could create a less frightening impression if he shaved and softened his expression with a gentle smile.

But such efforts would be futile. The fact that he had survived countless battlefields and taken myriad lives left an indelible mark on his body, infusing it with an aura that radiated a tangible pressure. Even without intending to, he intimidated those around him. Usually, Bruno consciously kept his voice low, aware of the effect his presence had on others. He had no such luxury this time.

Even with Bruno’s thunderous outburst, the messenger remained unfazed, determined to carry out his duty. Perhaps his mind simply hadn’t caught up to the whirlwind of changing events.

“There’s no mistake. The one who defeated Lord Raul was a knight named Chris Morgan!”

“Impossible... Are you telling me that Raul, feared as the Fiery Tempest and dreaded by neighboring kingdoms, has truly been slain?”

Bruno glared at the sky in disbelief.

The region known as the southern kingdoms was the western continent’s largest conflict zone, plagued by endless wars. Even the Kingdom of Tarja and the Brittantia Kingdom had repeatedly clashed over their shared border. Though they had temporarily allied to attack the fortress city of Jermuk through a third-party mediator, the fact remained that they were natural enemies.

For this reason, Bruno was perhaps more familiar than anyone with the strength of Tarja’s renowned general, Raul Giordano.

He may be overly aggressive at times... But as a military commander and warrior, he’s a man of exceptional skill, thought Bruno.

In the entire Brittantia Kingdom, Bruno was likely the only one who could face Raul Giordano head-on. Such was the level of Raul’s skill. And yet, he had fallen so easily.

This... This could be disastrous. The soldiers’ morale will be utterly crushed.

If morale shattered, there would be no recovering from this battle.

The thought of defeat crept into Bruno’s mind—a rare feeling for the Man-Eating Bear. If others could see into his mind, they would undoubtedly be shocked.

Even when forced into a hopeless situation, Bruno Accordo, the fierce general of the populace’s imagination, would rally his soldiers with intense resolve, encouraging them to fight to the end and turn the tide. But that was merely a projection, a myth crafted by those around him. Or it was more accurate to say it was an illusion that Bruno had carefully cultivated. Despite his fearsome reputation, the true essence of Bruno Accordo was more that of a strategist—a man who valued clever tactics over brute strength. Otherwise, he would never have devised a plan to lure the enemy forces into the fortress city of Jermuk to annihilate them. In truth, he was as sharp-minded and cunning as he was physically imposing and skilled as a warrior. But precisely because of this, Bruno could clearly see the grim trajectory of the battle.

What should I do? Is it time to withdraw after all?

Bruno would not have been as shaken if a stray arrow had killed Raul or if enemy soldiers had isolated and surrounded him in the chaos of battle. Such an outcome would fall under the realm of chance, unrelated to one’s actual abilities.

Of course, luck is part of one’s skill. If one digs deep enough into concepts like fate or destiny, there’s always a clear reason behind them. Yet when confronted with these terms, most people believe they lost due to something beyond their control rather than their own efforts and abilities.

This may have been a form of escapism. Based on Bruno’s long experience on the battlefield, he understood that this ability to rationalize was crucial for a person to maintain their psychological balance. If Raul’s death had been the result of mere chance, there would be little problem. In that case, the soldiers could simply mourn his misfortune as an unlucky fate that took him from them. The implications changed drastically if it came about from a duel in which he was defeated. No matter how one tried to explain it, the soldiers would interpret this outcome as the defeat of the formidable General Raul Giordano.

Even in duels, elements of chance are always at play.

The slightest thing—a gust of wind, the roar of surrounding soldiers—could impact the outcome. In that sense, random factors like fate or destiny were always involved to some degree. But just because that was the truth didn’t mean everyone would accept it. People believed what they wanted to believe. For soldiers risking their lives on the battlefield, their general was a symbol and an invincible champion. A champion’s defeat in a duel only confirmed their belief that the enemy was stronger. The more loyal they were to Raul Giordano, the more devastating the blow. This realization would surely dampen their fighting spirit, and they would have experienced a much greater shock if an unknown knight had defeated him. As it was, the destruction of their war elephant unit had already left a significant impact on the allied troops. Under these circumstances, Raul’s death was a severe blow.

“Who in the world is this Chris Morgan? I’ve never heard of such a skilled warrior in the Kingdom of Rhoadseria. Could he be a wandering fighter from another land?” said Bruno.

No matter how much Bruno doubted the messenger’s report, the fact remained: Raul Giordano had been slain by Chris Morgan.

“In the Kingdom of Rhoadseria, only Helena Steiner was known as a commander of any renown across the nations.” These words escaped Bruno’s lips, reflecting a natural suspicion. But no one around him could answer this question. Everyone remained silent, their heads bowed. What’s going on? I should have known about every notable warrior in Archduke Mikoshiba’s forces and the Kingdom of Rhoadseria.

Bruno had done his research on both the Kingdom of Rhoadseria and the Mikoshiba Grand Duchy. Given the geographic proximity of Rhoadseria to the Kingdom of Myest, it was the nation most likely to send reinforcements to Myest’s aid. Considering Rhoadseria’s recent political landscape, the Mikoshiba forces would surely be the primary players in any expeditionary army.

That’s why I gathered intelligence on the commanders serving under Archduke Mikoshiba. A general needs to know the enemy’s strength to devise strategies.

This was simply the responsibility of any commander.

Bruno had identified the two renowned warriors known as the Twin Blades, Robert Bertrand and Signus Galveria, as well as the famed mercenary Lione, nicknamed the Crimson Lioness. However, this was no easy task, since it entailed more than merely learning their names. He needed information about their battle histories and skill levels to determine the appropriate level of caution. Only a well-established espionage network could provide such intelligence despite Earth’s limited ability to disseminate information. It took time, effort, and, most importantly, money. The considerable distance added to the challenge because the Kingdom of Brittantia was in the continent’s southeast, while the Mikoshiba Grand Duchy’s stronghold, the Wortenia Peninsula, was in the northeast. This geographic separation posed a major barrier to obtaining reliable intelligence.

Despite overcoming all these obstacles to gather information, the name Chris Morgan had never come up.

An unknown warrior with enough skill to defeat Raul? Absurd... Could a warrior of such caliber truly go unnoticed?

But it was no surprise that Bruno lacked information on Chris, as very few even in the Kingdom of Rhoadseria knew his name. If someone did know of Chris, it would only be through his role as Helena Steiner’s adjutant. Almost no one realized that Chris was skilled enough to rival warriors like Robert Bertrand and Signus Galveria. This obscurity stemmed from Chris’s past, or more precisely, from his grandfather Frank Morgan’s lengthy service as Helena’s close aide. This was undoubtedly a source of pride for the Morgan family—a legacy of being trusted by a hero revered as the Ivory Goddess of War. But what some saw as honor, others perceived with resentment. Those who looked down on Helena as a commoner upstart could only view Frank Morgan’s legacy as a mark of unforgivable allegiance. General Hodram Albrecht, the leader of the then-dominant knights’ faction, despised Chris Morgan, leaving Chris to endure years of misfortune until Helena returned to active duty. Naturally, he had no opportunities to prove himself in battle.

This explained why Chris’s name was unknown abroad. But few people understood this backstory. If Bruno had specifically ordered an investigation into Chris Morgan, perhaps things would have been different, but when focusing on prominent warriors in the Mikoshiba forces, Chris’s name reasonably never came up.

Why... Why has it come to this?

In warfare, countless turning points exist. Bruno Accordo had built his record of victories on a principle of selecting the right paths through these turning points.

Where did I make the wrong choice?

Yet no one could answer his question. In fact, Bruno Accordo no longer had the time to search for an answer. Flying the crest of the twin-headed serpent adorned with scales of gold and silver, a unit that had annihilated the central division was now charging toward Bruno’s headquarters, thirsting for fresh blood. The advance was now like a black wave crashing forward. These soldiers had crept up, and by the time anyone noticed, they were already upon them and far too close to defend against.

“What are you doing? We’re under attack!”

“Infantry, raise your shields! Block the cavalry charge!”

Desperate cries echoed everywhere. But no matter how ready the troops might have been, there was no way the soldiers—already shaken by the tragic news of Raul’s death—could withstand this onslaught. A massive man in black armor led the charge. Riding a giant jet-black stallion, he and his mount seemed almost as one, cutting a path to the headquarters like a whirlwind.

“Kikoku, show them your power!”

With this shout, he drew a katana that exuded an ominous aura from its sheath. A blade wind suddenly swirled around him, cutting down the confused soldiers before they could grasp the situation. The eerie, resentful sound it emitted was like a cursed wail. Just hearing it would leave the faint of heart paralyzed with fear. Steel mercilessly slashed down on those frozen in place.

It was a scene straight out of hell, fitting the name Kikoku—“The Wailing Demon.”

“My arm! My arm!”

“What... What is happening to my body?”

“Hold on! Don’t die on me!”

Screams and cries of terror echoed across the Lubua Plain. Severed limbs were scattered on the ground, staining the earth a dark, bloody red.