"What is the progress?" I asked Zela, as we rode through the forest.
"The town has been locked down. The reinforcements are moving toward the destinations, the teams leave for their designated places…" Zela recounted everything.
It had been half an hour since we had started moving and it would take us around an hour more to reach the Bram Valley.
"Why are coming to fight Remus?" asked Valentina suddenly.
I turned to her, but didn't answer immediately.
She is not the only one who has asked this question. I am asking this question to myself, repeatedly.
In all the planning and everything, I have never counted myself fighting. I always thought I would be in the safety of the castle, but here I was riding to fight against the horde.
"It is my responsibility," I said after a minute of silence.
This is the only answer that felt right.
I conceived the plan from the beginning, went to Oksall for it, and in the past two months, I have brought it to reality.
I felt the responsibility for it.
That is why instead of running back to the castle like I had decided. I am riding the horse toward the most dangerous battle of my life.
If the information is right, then it would be even more dangerous than anything I had faced before, including the undead army and bloody plants in the Navr's dungeon.
Half an hour passed and when I sensed another group coming toward us.
Soon, they became visible and joined our groups.
As they did, their skills spread into our making, making our horses go slightly faster and their gait more stable, along with making riding a little more comfortable.
"Adviser, I had not thought you would personally come and even bring Mage Valentina with you," said the old man as he brought his horse beside mine.
"Neither am I, my lord, but conditions are so grave that we all need to contribute, as it may be," I replied, and he nodded.
He contributed a lot.
Half of his people had already been at Bram Valley for more than a week and now, he had brought another group with him, including his son.
He and my sister had given the most in the defense, while some, like Lockridge, had only sent a token.
Even those he sent were one of the weakest.
I wish I could say there are only a few like him, but no, more than half of the nobles did the same.
Thankfully, the southern Barons didn't hold back. They had sent every man they could and also the things that could help in defense.
Finally, we could see the Bram Valley.
It is the place edge of our boundary. Half of the valley is in Oksall's territory, while the other half is in ours.
Which makes it a prime spot in our joint defense.
Because if it had been wholly in our control or control of merchant states, we wouldn't have been able to defend it.
The relations between the Merchant States of Western Zenid and the Harsoth Empire had only started to thaw. There are still many restrictions. One of the biggest is that we couldn't take the armies into each other's territory.
It would be a grave violation of sovereign rights, and an exception is impossible with our current relations.
We have applied for that and didn't get permission, which is why we chose this spot to stop the monsters.
Here we could fight together, and armies could move freely as the boundaries are not perfectly demarcated.
There is only one line.
One side belongs to merchant states, and the other belongs to the empire and I could interpret it in a hundred ways.
We have freedom here and there won't be any complaints from higher-ups on both sides.
There is an army of four and a half thousand standing there.
Two thousand men are from us, fifteen hundred are from Blackwell, and the rest thousand are from the baronies. 70% of which were contributed by the southern baronies.
Soon, we entered the valley, and it was beautiful, with lush green hills and a small stream of water flowing through the middle.
It is such a peaceful scenery, which is going to be going to be destroyed in a few hours.
The battle won't spare anything.
We stopped as we reached the army and got off our horses.
Blackwell was already there, and also my sister. I also saw Alaric, her friend, and familiar people from many baronies.
Only two leaders have come personally from Baronies. My sister and Baron Harrods, while others have only sent their men.
"Lord Blackwell, Baroness," I greeted. "Adviser, I had not expected you would be participating against the horde," he said, looking at me with surprise.
Not only him, but even my sister looked surprised.
"I also did not, my lord, but we all have to do our parts," I replied. He seemed to be taken aback a little by my words, but nodded.
"So, what is the progress of the horde? Did we have an accurate number?" I asked.
"According to scouts, the number of monsters seemed to be between three to five thousand, and they will be here in an hour," he replied, and I nearly sucked my breath.
I really hope the number isn't at the maximum or we will be truly fucked.
The monsters are dangerous, and like us, they also have a different level of powers.
The powerful ones are truly dangerous.
"Did we know anything about horde leaders or powerful monsters in it?" I asked, and his expression became serious.
"Majority of the monsters seemed to be Grade 1, but many Grade 2 have been spotted. The leader is definitely a Grade 3, and it might not be only Grade 3 there," he replied.
I wanted to curse badly, but I controlled myself and laughed.
"It seemed like the monsters were really coming with the intention to wipe us out," I said, bringing a smile to their faces.
"In the past few days, the scout that Lord Blackwell hired has noticed some strange things in an extreme magic region."
"When everything calmed down, I planned to go and take a look," said Leila, after seconds of silence.
"Is it expanding?" asked Valentina, making my expression stiffen.
"The scout couldn't tell, but he is sure the reason behind the disturbance is not something as normal as the emergence of a new leader," she replied.
Everyone's expressions turned serious, hearing that, but I could also see some faint excitement in the eyes of my sister and Blackwell.
The extreme magic regions expand and shrink. It is not rare, but not common either, but when these things happen, they rile the monsters and also present opportunities to people who are daring enough to get them.
We were talking when Major Jarvis came with the old man, who was present with Blackwell when the Count met with him at Blain.
"Adviser," greeted Major Jarvis, with a little more respect than usual, before turning to Valentina.
"Thank you for coming Mage Valentine. A Geomancer like you will be immensely helpful against the monsters," he said.
"I am Mage Major. Though I would be more than happy if I reach Level 30 after this battle, then you can definitely call me Geomancer," she said, bringing a smile to his face.
Specializations didn't consolidate before Level 30. So, they could only be called by specialized archetypes after reaching level 30, which is especially hard for the mages.
Experience and battles are not enough; they also need to have knowledge of the field they are specializing in.
It was why, despite fighting hundreds of battles, many mages were never able to cross that threshold in their life.
Major Jarvis took Valentina; he needed her help before the monsters arrived.
We have already made the preparations for the monsters. There are traps and trenches, sharp wooden spikes that would even bear the holes in the tough hide of the monsters.
Aside from that, there is another surprise, which is our biggest weapon against the monsters.
It is best to be used in a space like a valley, where monsters will be in big numbers, with a little freedom. Such conditions are bad for us too, but the disadvantages are worth it, seeing our strategy.
"Mister Silver, there is a message from Lola," informed Zela, and there is something in her expression.
"She reached the Baron Homer's castle, right?" I asked. It is the only way she could send a message. I had already sent the message to Homer, and he promised me her safety.
So, there shouldn't be any problem.
"Yes, she did, but on the way a few minutes after we left, Fang escaped from her arms," she replied.
"He escaped?" I asked back, not believing what I heard right, to that she nodded.
It was the first time he had done something like this. He never escapes, he might wriggle in the arms of people he doesn't like, but never escapes.
"They tried finding him, but he disappeared," she added.
He had chosen the worst time to escape. Not only because I couldn't go searching for him right now, but also because the monster horde was coming and if any monster came across him, they might attack him.
"Inform all the teams; give them his description and ask them to capture him, if they see him," I said, this is all I could do.
"Half an hour; the horde is half an hour away," the loud voice informed the army.
Everyone had already gathered in their respective places, including me, who was in the middle. My sister, Baron Harrods, Alaric, Stone, and a few others are at the front, while Blackwell and Valentina are on the hills.
I only have Jon and Zela for my protection.
I wish Shaun had been here, but he was with Ina and Andrea, along with Hugo.
Stena is in a city, while Eli is in Castle Radcliff.
Time passed, and I got updated on the horde's progress. They are coming toward us; they get attracted to places where people are, and we are also burning a few things that attract the monsters.
"Ten minutes," informed the guard.
I was looking ahead when I heard a small commotion behind me and a few seconds later, a group of guards came with one of them, holding a small wriggling monster in his arms.
"It is a good thing, you have notified us Adviser or some of the people unfamiliar with him might have shot him," he said and handed me Fang.
"Thank you, Captain Oliver," I said to the man.
He nodded and walked back to his position while I turned to the little monster in my arms, who was looking at me with puppy eyes.
"You have no idea how much trouble you are," I said to him.
It is a good thing; the captain handed him to me. As there is no place safe here. I couldn't just leash him to the tree or put him in the box, which would definitely get him killed by the monsters.
He is not safe with me too, but it is still the safest place for him on the battlefield.
"You will listen to me now," I said and touched his head with my fingers and closed my eyes before activating the Command Projection.
A few seconds later, I opened my eyes and placed him down where he stood with alertness.
Fang is a puppy-sized dwarf monster. He had not been trained to fight, nor I wanted him to be.
I have been training him as a companion.
I hope I will be able to protect him. I had asked him to stay around me and avoid any monsters.
He might be able to do it, he is much faster than he looks. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have been able to get away from the guards, chasing him.
Cry!
A few minutes passed, and I heard the first cry of a monster. It came from a red bird, which is bigger than me.
It is not alone, behind it is a whole group.
Instantly, the whole army becomes alert, ready to attack the monsters at command.