In a certain village near the end of Baron Muro's territory...
"Was there any movement from the enemy?"
"No, they're remaining still."
"It's been weeks since then, so why are they're still not doing anything? Are they waiting for reinforcement?"
Two knights were currently having a leisure conversation on top of a poorly made watchtower.
"That's possible, but it also might be that they're simply increasing their numbers. Have you heard of what happened to the female knights in Nero's group? Instead of being killed, they were apparently taken into the enemy camp."
"I heard of that... They'll probably be used to increase their goblin soldiers..."
"What a horrible fate... All that military training, only to be used as playthings by those monsters."
"This is why I don't support women being in the army. They'll only get used to increase the enemy's number if they get caught."
I heard the two's conversation from below the watchtower. Having no reason to stop them, I just let them be.
They might be talking nonstop to each other, but it's not like they're slacking in their job. I can see that their eyes were diligently watching out for monsters outside our make-shift stronghold.
"Marcus!" another soldier called out to me out of nowhere, "A messenger from Root's here!" he said in ragged breath once he got close.
"Umu, then you stay here with the other guards. I'll go meet with that person."
I was expecting the messenger to arrive today, so I didn't act surprised. In fact, the only reason why I'm outside patrolling was so I could immediately meet with him in short notice. It wouldn't be good if he arrived while I'm training or while I'm shining my armor.
I went to the village chief's house where the messenger was waiting.
Since the villagers have already been evacuated, we're free to use all the houses for our own sake. The village chief's house, which was the largest structure in the village, now serves as the base of operation for our small battalion. Although it's the home of the person with the highest position among the villagers, it isn't exactly any different from its neighboring houses. It's still just a slightly bigger shack than normal.
"Marcus, sir," the knight guarding the door to the house greeted with a salute.
"Is he alone?"
"No, he's with two adventurers."
They must be his guards. It's reasonable for him to bring them, considering how dangerous the road to this place is with all those bandits and monsters randomly appearing.
"Umu, just in case, you should come with me inside," I nodded and knowingly suggested.
Just like the Lord's brother Jonah, I'm not exactly aversed in the topic of business and politics. All I am equipped with is the knowledge in regards to war. Considering that the messenger this time will surely bring information regarding the soldiers who will be sent by the other Lords, the topic of politics will definitely be included in our conversation.
"I might miss some things, so you should listen in for me too. Just focus on the unnecessary political stuff."
"O-okay..." the guard knight reluctantly said.
"Do you have a pen?" I asked.
"Huh?" he raised his brow, confused by my question.
"It's fine if you don't have any, it's just a thought."
With those words, I opened the door and finally entered the house. Just as what I was told, there were three people welcoming me inside. Two of them were easily recognizable as adventures. They look rough and tough, most likely, they're veterans from the guild. The third scholarly-looking person must be the messenger.
"You must be Marcus? My name's Chester Prankster, a representative from the loyal capital," the scholarly-looking man said.
As expected, he would be a noble. Nobles usually won't be sent as messengers in war, but this time is an exception. The enemy right now is the Dark army, so they would obviously want to take some credit in participating in their defeat.
Besides, it's not like they're the same kind of messengers who will be sent to negotiate with the enemy. They'll only be assigned the task of giving and confirming information between the army composition. The risk they will be taking is pretty much non-existent.
With that said... What's the deal with that huge staff?
Typical of a noble, he's wearing eccentric clothing, but in addition to that, he's also wearing a cape, a whole bunch of colorful rings, a pair of glowing earrings, and even a thin crown on his head. Then there's the staff he was holding, which was even taller than his height. To put it simply, his appearance was just way too much.
"Hm? You must be wondering why I'm holding a staff? Fufu! Of course, I did not only came here to be a simple messenger, I will also be participating in the up-coming excursion. I'm a disciple of the Royal court mage, so you can expect me to back you up with some high-level offensive spells."
That would explain his appearance...
"Frankly, I think you're all overestimating the enemy. If they all just consists of goblins and trolls, then I can overwhelm them by myself. I only need a few mana potions," he arrogantly said.
"No, they don't seem like any ordinary goblins or trolls, they wore armor and they were somewhat resistant to magic. The trolls in particular... They're generally already resistant to it, but they're even more so now."
"Hmph! Or so I heard!" he puffed his chest and groaned.
I thought that he would be the cowardly type, but it looks like that he's actually the opposite. He's one of the arrogant bunch. Nonetheless, the latter is always better. At least he will be of use in a fight.
"Well then, Chester-sama, shouldn't we start to discuss the heart of the matter?"
"Umu, let's do that," he nonchalantly nodded.
I listened carefully as he began to convey to me the details regarding the formation of the united army.
I learned that my lord's territory isn't the only place that's currently being assaulted by the Dark army, so to put that in consideration, the soldiers the neighboring lords will send will be split into two. The soldiers they will send was few in number in the first place, now, it will lessen even more.
Nero's batallion of soldiers was about a third of Baron Muro's entire army, that means we will need to at least fill that amount to gain back our full force. I'm confident that our reinforcements will fulfill that amount, but I wish they would be able to bring us even more.
I saw the power of the enemies myself, so I know just how outmatch we would be even if we managed to regain our strength. Even if we include the adventurers the guild would bring and the mercenaries Nolan-sama would hire, we might still not be able to do it.
I wish the capital will send their hero as well, but quite obviously, that would not be possible.
Chester-sama laid out a map on the table between us as he continues to talk. He pointed at the prominent points where the future excursion will venture into and instructed me to memorize them all. He also informed me of the tactics we will be using to infiltrate the enemy camp.
He should know that I'm the commander of all of Muro Barony's forces, so I felt insulted that he would think I would be ignorant of the things he just pointed out. Even so, I didn't voice my complaints, knowing that he's a nobleman I cannot exactly oppose. I also considered that I was simply being emotional and unreasonable, so I mentally shut myself up.
"The details have already been dealt with by Nolan-sama, so all we need to do now is wait. Once the preparation is done, the army will cross here and finally take offense against the enemy. We'll be joining them then."
"Whoever attacks first would be the Victor, huh?" grabbing my chin, I thoughtfully said.
Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be any sign that the enemy would move their forces any time soon.
"Let's talk about the lords who will send their help to us. You're a direct subordinate of Baron Muro, so you'll need to hear about them too."
Finally, the topic of business and politics has come.
"Obviously, there would be written and unwritten contracts that will come with the help of the other lords," Chester started.
From intangible favors to physical payments for each lord's help, we discussed all of them in detail. I could barely keep up. The information Chester-sama was providing was too overwhelming for me.
I'm now even more amazed by Nolan-sama, since he's actually the person who's dealing with most of the negotiations. He's undoubtedly worthy of taking his father's place in the future. Unlike Nero, his future is bright.
"Hm?"
"What's this?"
Our talk was abruptly interrupted by the sudden appearance of an earthquake. The grinding of the ground sounded like the growls of a humongous monster. I felt my skin crawl as the vibrations of the floor transfer into my body.
My spine froze as I felt a bad premonition.
Soon, the trembling faded away. I felt relieved for a second, but that relief immediately turned into panic as I heard the loud sound of horns being blown from outside.
"That is!" I exclaimed.
Don't tell me!?
"Emergency, sir! Incoming enemy army approaching!" a knight barged into the room and reported.
"What!?"
Everyone in the room froze in shock, only I, who saw it coming, reacted and took action.
"Quick! Call all the knights and soldiers! Get on the defense and man the bows!"
"Y-yes, sir!" the knight nodded and hurriedly moved to follow my commands.
"You! Get a horse and quickly ask for reinforcement! I don't care which town or city, just say to them that we're in an emergency situation!" I instructed the knight who was with me all this time.
"Y-yes, sir!" he nodded too and quickly left the room.
"Kuh..." I groaned in dissatisfaction.
We've been monitoring the movements of the enemy all this time! What happened to the scouts?
Tsk! I might be panicking over this too much. I should see the scale of the enemy's forces first before I come into any conclusion...
I pray to the gods that the enemies approaching us this time won't be too much for us to handle...
"What bad timing... I'm sorry for this Chester-sama, but can I ask you to come and help us on the defense as well?" I apologetically asked the still baffled nobleman.
"O-of course! I'll show you just how strong I am! I'll annihilate the enemy! Fufu, it was a good thing I bought all my mana potions with me..." he confidently said.
"Hey, don't forget about us! We're B rank adventurers! Those trolls won't be a match for us!" the two adventurers who have been silent all this time finally spoke and also declared their participation.
"Good," I nodded and affirmed, "I'll be counting on you three."