Wizard Volume 3, Chapter 5 Part 1

Volume 3, Chapter 5 Part 1

Chapter 5: In the Shadow of the Hero, the Enemy Stirs

　The Royal Army and the Northern Alliance were confronting each other on the plains near the Naylor Frontier Count's territory, a long way north of the Imperial Capital.

　As far as I could tell from a distance, the Northern Alliance had less than five thousand troops, and the Royal Army, unusually, seemed to have more than twice the number of troops.

　True to the king's policy, Alec first recommended surrender to the other side, but it was rejected as a matter of course. If they would have surrendered here, they would not have turned against the kingdom in the first place, so it was only natural.

　However, the nobles on the kingdom side seemed to be furious that they had rejected the kingdom proposal, and when we received the report that they had rejected our recommendation to surrender, they all looked disbelief.

「There was no way that a kingdom that had defeated the regular army of the Demon Empire could be defeated by a mishmash of armies created by a few fools. But what are they thinking, trying to fight a war they can't win?」

「I don't care about that! It is clearly an insult to us that they refuse to accept the surrender message sent by us, the superior force, without even sending a messenger!」

「That's right! We'll show those who don't know their place what we're capable of!」

　Unlike the nobles who kept repeating their belligerent statements one after another, Alec seemed to be against the assault. Well, now that he's declared to the king, he probably wants to take on the challenge with a plan to minimize the damage to the army.

　However, the nobles of this country seem to prefer defeating the opponent head-on as an extension of traditional knightly combat. I've been holding my head and letting out a sigh since the nobles have been proposing a thoughtless assault without any constructive ideas.

　Sagami isn't here because he's on a reconnaissance mission for the enemy, but I'm sure he's opposed to a frontal assault. If not, there is no point in going to check the enemy's strength.

「Master ...... Why are there so many short-sighted people in the kingdom?」

　Olympia, who was standing by my side, secretly overheard. She had worked as a commander in the Demon Empire, so she probably couldn't understand their thinking, shouting about fighting like an extension of single combat.

「These guys stopped fighting in the days of knights. They still believe in fighting where individual prowess has a great impact on the battle, especially with a non-standard being called a hero as a companion」

「Is that how it is? It certainly seems that Master alone can annihilate the opponent, but ......」

「If I did that, it would become my credit, wouldn't it? This time, I'll just go behind the scenes.」

「Sigh, I understand. ......」

　She nodded with an unconvinced expression on her face, and began to watch the meeting again.

　There was a majority in favor of a frontal assault, and a minority that said it was better to wait and see, but given the difference in numbers, it looked like the ones who had stopped thinking would be right.

「Hold on, everyone. His Majesty the King wanted the kingdom's soldiers to suffer as little as possible. Even though we are outnumbered them, the damage will be greater if we meet them head on. It is better to take them by surprise and reduce their strength, and wait for Sagami-dono's return to consider the formation. ......」

「What are you saying!? The only way to show the strength of the kingdom is to defeat the enemy head on! If you make surprise attack in a battle where the prestige of the kingdom is on your shoulders, it will be a disgrace for generations to come!」

「Pride is certainly important, but we must avoid losing the lives of our soldiers unnecessarily, right?」

「If you're not a knight, you can always be replaced! The morale of the troops will suffer if the person in charge is worrying about such details!」

　It was an auspicious opinion for Alec, but unfortunately, the nobles, who had stopped fighting in the age of knights, didn't seem to listen to his stance as the opinion of a weak man. The opinion of the majority had become so strong that no one could stop it.

「This is not worth talking about. How could you defeat the Demon Empire with this?」

「Don't say it. Many of them didn't take part in the last battle. They're just trying their best to get a little more credit this time.」

「A frontal assault will only cause more damage. They probably have the 1st Magical Corps embedded in their army almost intact. I think we have the advantage in terms of the number of troops, but I don't know how they can think of charging in without the support of the magicians when we have only half as many magicians as they do.」

　Well, even a fireball from an ordinary magician would be powerful enough to blow away two or three full plate knights. In addition, the First Magical Corps is said to have some of the most elite people in the Demon Empire.

　Simply put, there was no chance that the assault would succeed. It would be lucky if we could reach the enemy.

「If they don't listen so well, shouldn't we force them to give the order already?」

「It was Alec who would make that decision. I won't move myself unless I'm asked to do something.」

　I've been overly decorated because of my performance in the previous battle. If I were to stand out any more, I might be accused of something else. If I move on Alec's orders, most of the credit will go to him, so until then, it's wise to keep quiet and watch the meeting.

「Speaking of which, ...... Count Werner, if you could use that magic that stopped the dragons and giants of the Demon Empire, wouldn't it be easy to win without causing any damage?」

　A nobleman who seemed to have participated in the last battle asked me about it. It is certainly possible to stop any and all actions of the enemy soldiers if I use a <Delay>. Even the dragon species, which has a much higher resistance to magic than humans, stopped, so stopping a mere soldier is no small feat.

「I see, you have found a good point. But it's impossible to use that magic.」

「Why not?」

「It's a magic that puts a lot of strain on the body when it's activated, and it will take more than a month or two to be able to use it again. That's why I can't use it now.」

「I see, Well, in that case, I don't blame you.......」

　In fact, there is no load on the body, and on the contrary, it is not a magic that consumes so much magic power, but I'll keep that to myself. I'm not going to let them treat me like a handy magic tool.

　In addition, the control alone would be too much for a magic that targets a large area, and there would be no time to use the detection magic. I can't cross such a dangerous bridge if I don't know where Elle is watching me.

　And more than anything, I don't like the idea of relying on heroes to fight. Regardless of the battles at the Gurta Fortress or the Istrian Fortress, we need to be able to fight through this battle on our own, even if we are outnumbered.

「Well then, I guess we have no choice but to charge. I think we need to attack them before their formation is completely intact. We don't have enough food and rations to waste in a long formation.」

「Count Gilflea seemed timid, so I think it would be good for us to take command. What do you think, gentlemen?」

　Many of the nobles agreed with this opinion that completely disrespected Alec. For the nobles who were frustrated by the fact that only the heroes were getting the credit, this would be a good opportunity to take the credit away from them.

　Nine out of ten of them will be wiped out run off, but it's good to give it a try. If they're not dead, they can recover. Well, I don't think we can afford to bring back the bodies.

　After the discussion, it seems that the assault force will be headed by the nobles who proposed the plan. The plan seems to be to cut into the enemy lines with a cavalry unit that emphasizes mobility, and after disrupting the front line, have a melee battle with infantry to fill the gap in the number of magicians between the two sides, but the cavalry that stands out will probably end up being targeted by the magicians.

　Of course, it is said that some magicians will be brought along to counter the enemy's magics, but since magicians' battles are basically about numbers rather than quality, it is obvious that bringing along a number that does not even reach three digits will be useless.

「......!」

　Alec slammed the desk and walked out, unable to contain his anger at the way the meeting was going, as if his presence was being ignored rather than his opinions being listened to.

「Don't you have to stop him, If you're going to give the credit to that guy?」

「It's understandable that his subordinates don't want to listen to him. Don't stop him.」

　Besides, I don't think Alec will be able to take credit this time. I hope the nobles will sacrifice themselves to enhance Alec's reputation as much as possible.

「Then let's get ready to go!」

　Finally, the nobleman who had been in charge instead of Alec announced the end of the military conference. Now that the meeting is over, I'll kill time with Melvina and the others until Sagami comes back.

※

　The next day, before Sagami could return from scouting the enemy's forces, the assault troops began to invade the enemy lines, but the results were disastrous.

　The nobleman led more than half of the army's cavalry into the field, but less than half of them were able to return to their own positions. Moreover, according to the report, the damage inflicted on the enemy army was almost zero. It was a complete defeat for which there was no excuse.

　In addition, it seems that some of the nobles who went along with the assault were taken prisoner. If they had at least been killed, we might have been able to raise morale by calling it revenge for the enemy, but they really are useless.

　Everyone except me who was listening to the report of the returning soldiers looked pale. In particular, those who had supported the assault could not hide their surprise. They hadn't thought about what would happen if the assault failed at all.

「Wh-What are we going to do? I can't believe we couldn't even get a shot at them! No, if we were annihilated by an enemy that was even more outnumbered than us, then we would be responsible.......」

「Eeii, after all the talk, you were defeated in a hapless manner! We're in no position to do anything about it! And how dare they add to our troubles by having them captured by the enemy!」

　The scene of them shifting their blunder to the captured nobles is truly ridiculous, even though it was half-expected. If you have time to waste on such useless things, why don't you come up with some constructive ideas on how to defeat the enemy?

　Alec couldn't seem to help his face from relaxing in happiness at the sight. For his part, if he could get the enemy to surrender here, he would get more than enough credit to make up for their blunders.

「If I had returned earlier, I might have been able to stop this foolish charge. ......」

　Sagami seems to be regretting that the reconnaissance he risked his life for did not arrive in time, but it is impossible for an ordinary person to find out information about the enemy's forces in a day or two. It was only because of Sagami's excellent covert action that he was able to do so. It is also true that if he had been here, he would have definitely opposed the assault plan and might have been able to suppress the outburst of the nobles.

「There's no point in lamenting about the fact that it's over. I think it's better to think about what countermeasures we should take against the enemy's strength, which was more than we expected?」

　According to the information from the soldiers who had managed to return, the enemy's strength had turned out to be much stronger than expected. The enemy force, which they had underestimated to be only 5,000 strong, turned out to be all magicians.

　If what the soldier said was true, the enemy would have more magicians than they had used in the previous battle, just from the nobles in the north. Even if they gathered them from all over the north, they wouldn't have that many magicians.

　The nobles who couldn't believe the soldier's story assumed that he was exaggerating to justify the fact that he was helplessly beaten. However, this was proven to be true by the information that Sagami brought back.

「Countermeasures? What kind of countermeasures can be taken when two thousand soldiers were killed in the blink of an eye?」

「This is because a head-on collision. If an enemy is foolishly running at you across an unimpeded plain, it would be like asking you to kill them, no matter how you look at it.　In the same situation, I would have acted the same way.」

「There's no way to defeat five thousand magicians except by surprise or by attacking them with the same number of magicians! Or do you think you have a better idea, Count Werner?」

「I don't have any, but...... I'm sure Count Gilflea can get us out of this predicament.」

　One of the nobles, who was getting frustrated with the responsibility issue, tried to dismiss my words as a stupid thing to say, but this is a good opportunity to attack. If Alec plays an active role in a situation where everyone is in despair, he will be able to accumulate achievements while also gaining the popularity of those around him.

「M-Me? No matter how hero I am, it's still too much to take on five thousand magicians. ......」

「..........」

　Before Alec can say anything unnecessary, I have to check him with a glare. I'd like him to read my intentions a little better, but I know that's too much to ask of him.

(Alec-dono, we need to talk..)

(Mm, the oracle ......? No, this voice is Yard-dono. Do you have a plan?)

(It's not much of a plan, but there is a way for you to make the most of it.　After all, the plan is to have Alec-dono alone stir up the enemy lines. Naturally, I'll be cooperating behind the scenes, so there's no problem.)

(...... I see, so I'll trust you fully on this occasion, Yard-dono.)

　I looked at Alec, still connected to the telepathy. All eyes around him were fixed on him, but to the sidelong glance, he was not dismayed and stood proudly.

「Count Gilflea, is what Count Werner said true? I would be grateful if you could tell me what you think so that I can prove that it is not just a lie for the moment.」

「Yeah, dealing a 5,000 magicians is impossible for someone who's not very skilled, If that's the case, then I, as a hero, will go into the enemy camp alone and destroy their army. I'll leave everyone to the magicians I failed to defeat.」

　I telepathy the plan to Alec, who was glancing at me, and he was speaking it. He seems to be full of confidence as a brave warrior, with an imposing attitude on his side. The people who doubted him were pressured by the mysterious persuasiveness of his words, and not one of them raised a voice in protest.

「Now, I'd like you to prove to me in actual battle whether your words are not false.」

「Yes, of course. But I have some preparations to make, so I won't be leaving until tomorrow.」

「...........At present, we have nothing to cling to but your proposal, which seems absurd to us.」

　Everyone was satisfied, and Alec's plan for a single-armed assault was approved. He glanced at me from time to time, probably because he was worried about whether he could really take on five thousand magicians. But don't worry.

　There are some strengthening magics that cannot be used by those who handle magic, but there are also some that will make you absolutely unbeatable against magicians. This is a perfect method for Alec, who relies only on the magic in his sword and has no background as a magician himself.

「Master ......」

　After the meeting was over, I was caught by Olympia who was waiting for me outside. The anxious expression on her face was probably because she had heard about our plan earlier. If she had listened a little, she would have been able to hear the conversation in the tent, which was not soundproofed. But that didn't seem to be her concern.

「The movement of the enemy, don't you think it's strange?」

「If you think that the plan was to make them charge like that, underestimating that they were just a small army, it is natural that they are waiting for our movement, but you think that they might have other intentions, don't you?」

「Yes, if its me, I would raid the main camp after defeating the assaulting troops, because it is the most efficient way to attack before the army is rebuilt after the assaulting troops are destroyed. In addition, if the number of magicians is as large as I've heard, I can bring the main camp to a state of destruction at once with a large amount of magic firepower.」

「Well, you have a point. But considering that they only had that many soldiers, I can only assume that they are taking into consideration the possibility of being attacked while they are moving their magician troops.」

「I don't think that's all the enemy magicians there are. In the first place, it takes a lot of time and money to raise magicians who can be used in actual combat. In addition, even if they gathered magicians from the Demon Empire, there were not that many magicians in the Demon Empire's army. They must have used some means to make the soldiers available as magicians. If that's the case, it wouldn't be surprising if there were many more magicians.」

「Hmm, a way to make a sorcerer out of someone with no sorcerer background. ......」

「Do you have any idea what I'm talking about?」

　There are a few ways to get someone with no background as magician to use magic.

　One way is to use a magic tool to perform the magic. However, they would have to prepare enough magic tools for 5,000 people, collect the same number of magic stones, and run out of magic power after a few uses. This is not realistic.

　Next, there is the method of creating a magically enhanced person, which is the physical modification I did on Elle. With training, it is possible to make someone like Elle, who is not a magician by nature, capable of using ordinary magic.

　However, this method is only for improving one's talent, and as a magician, one still needs to train for battle. Even if Elle had started while she was still in the fort, 5,000 people would be too many. This was also unrealistic.

　And finally, the transfer of magic through contracts. A contract is made between a person who wants to use a certain magic and a magician who can use that magic, and the magician keeps the formula on standby. In other words, the wielder can use the standby magic at a distance by chant the words and making the movements decided upon in the contract.

　By using the magic pool, the magician can keep the formula on standby until his or her magic power is sufficient, so it is possible to contract with more than one person at a time.

　However, this method only shares the formula, so the total number of magicians remains the same. In addition, since the user does not know the remaining magic power of the magician, accidents often occur when the magician runs out of magic power.

　In addition, as long as the magic is activated remotely, it cannot be as powerful as the original due to the decay of magic power caused by distance. As long as they were fighting within the Naylor Frontier Count, it wouldn't matter that much, but if they were marching into the kingdom, the power would probably be less than half. In other words, this method is not useful.

　In conclusion, it is possible that they are using the methods I just mentioned, but I don't know which ones, and they all have operational problems. I'm thinking it might be the magic enhanced soldiers.

「Mumhh......Certainly, the second one seems to be the most likely, as long as it can be successfully cultivated. Just as well, there is a leading magician of the Demon Empire over there.」

　When I told this to Olympia, she seemed to have come to the same conclusion as me, after making a difficult face and groaning.

「However, considering the fact that the enemy is not advancing on us, we can't throw away the last possibility. This one makes sense why they can't get too far from their own camp.」

「I'm sure I'd appreciate it more if they could only use a single magic.」

　Well, the enemy army will be kicked to the curb by Alec tomorrow, so it doesn't matter which possibility it is.

　But in either case, there's a good chance that there are more magicians than the ones we fought. If all the remaining magicians had been rushed in and attacked, the kingdom's army would have had no chance. It's hard to imagine that the Demon Empire had such a technology in their hands, so Elle would definitely be involved.

　If she comes out, Alec won't stand a chance, so I might have to come out. If possible, I don't want to exert myself in the presence of people. I have to take into account the suspicious movements of the enemy, but I have to be prepared for the possibility.

※

　A little while after the meeting, I visited Alec downstairs and found him pretending to be in front of his tent. Judging by the lack of enthusiasm, he was probably nervous and anxious to do something about it.

「Alec-dono, can I have a word with you?」

「Murhh, what can I do for you?」

　Perhaps he was so focused on his training that he didn't notice my presence until I approached him, and he looked a little surprised. The sword he was using to swing was a magic sword he had been carrying since he was summoned. As I recall, he had said that it could activate the magic of five different attributes. I remember that they were all things that gave the sword an additional effect.

　Certainly, some of the abilities might be useful in a battle against a person, but this assault would require at least a broad attack against the military. If he were to cut down five thousand people one by one, he would run out of strength first.

「Alec-dono, lend me your sword.」

「Hmm? Sure.」

　I took a look at the sword he handed me, but it seemed that all of the techniques on it were designed to fight against people. It seems that the wind can put up a ward that can repel arrows and other long range weapons, as well as weaker techniques, but the rest of the techniques are really just to add attributes to the sword.

「What attribute do you use the most, Alec-dono?」

「The lightning attribute?」

「Why do you use the lightning attribute? It seems that the flame attribute can penetrate armor and other defenses.」

「The lightning attribute can disable an opponent just by crossing swords. On the other hand, flames will cut through your opponent's weapons and you won't be able to catch their attacks.」

　I was expecting him to say that lightning was cooler, but he gave a serious answer. It is true that considering that Alec was a former knight, lightning would have been effective against knights wearing heavy armor, so I can say that he is making the right choice.

　But what I want him to do this time is to fight a group battle of one versus many. A weapon that can only attack within the reach of a sword is of little value whether it is there or not.

　I'm going to let him choose a technique with the wind attribute, which has the image of an excellent wide area attack.

「It seems that it is difficult to activate the lightning attribute with this sword. The best match would be the wind attribute.」

　The wind magic on the sword now is a ward off arrows and an increase in sword speed. It's hard to take on an army with such a weak technique, so I gave it a <Wind Slash> and a <Gust of Wind>. This will allow him to knock down dozens of opponents with a single swing. In addition, for defense, I gave him <Wind Protection> and the <Advanced Nullification Ability>. If he was a magician, there would be a glitch that would prevent him from activating magic, but he was only a swordsman, so there are no problem. Finally, I engraved a mark for <Remote Viewing?.

　When I swung the finished sword in an unoccupied direction to test it, a terrifying gust of wind came up and tore the trees in the line of the sword's path into shreds, knocking them all down. It was just an attempt to recreate the magic that Adriana had used in the past, but it seemed to be quite powerful if used by the right person.

「Wha!?」

　This result made not only Alec, the owner of the sword, but also the people nearby stop and stare at the destruction marks. This would be useful enough to demoralize the opponent.

　When I handed the sword back to Alec, he stared at his own sword, his hands trembling slightly.

「.......Was the wind that I just saw invoked by Yard-dono?」

「No, it was a slight modification, but the root of it was the power of the sword. If you think I'm lying, you should check it out. You can easily activate it by swinging it while imagining a blade of wind.」

　When Alec nodded at my words, he swung his sword while activating the same technique that had been granted to him, and just like before, a gust of wind erupted, slicing through the objects in front of him and blowing them away.

「I thought I had used up most of this sword power when I defeated the "Red Scales" before, but I had no idea that this sword still had this kind of power sleeping in it. ......」

「But it was the fire attribute magic that the sword displayed, right? It is natural that no matter how many magic swords you have that can give you five attributes, if you don't choose the right formula for it, the power will be reduced.」

「I didn't know that.......」

　Alec was looking at the destroyed landscape with a shocked look on his face, but when he came back to himself after a while, the anxious atmosphere he had been in earlier had completely disappeared and his usual confident attitude had returned.

「This is exactly what I need to do to become a one-hit wonder! Yard-dono, I'm in your debt!」

「Yeah, if you do your duty, I have nothing to say to you.」

　This way, he won't get hit when he charges. I'll be able to send him off with peace of mind.

「It was the right decision to ask for Yard-dono's help after all. I guess my eyes were right.」

　It's not very pleasant to be treated as a handyman, but there's no point in damaging his good mood, so I'll tolerate him tapping me on the shoulder while spouting his annoying lines.

※

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