POV: Aisha Greyrat
Why do I feel like this war mobilization is going too smoothly?
I mean, there should be some difficulties, right?
Maybe internal opposition. Maybe troop dissatisfaction. Maybe some logistical problem appearing out of nowhere. Something.
Instead, my current problem was that there were too many volunteers.
A lot of them.
Of course there were volunteers.
As soon as Taes announced a war mobilization, everyone wanted to show their worth and loyalty.
Maybe that was due to the meteoric rise of the Kingdom of Gaia overall.
Many of them wanted to jump on the bandwagon, seize the opportunity to become part of something grand.
Some were simply loyal.
Others wanted to prove something to their families and friends.
And others just had a particularly sharp suicidal instinct.
As Helios drew closer and closer to the upper courtyard of the Iron Legion Headquarters, I could see the enormous numbers gathered.
Even looking from above, it was already possible to notice the excess.
It was a lot of people.
Well, at least the problem was not a lack of willingness.
Anyway, as soon as Helios landed, I jumped toward the courtyard and continued toward the Meeting Hall without wasting time looking around.
Taes was already waiting for me with two stacks of paper in hand. Ghislaine stood beside him, watching me closely.
She said nothing right away. She only followed me with her eyes as I approached the main table.
"How many came in the end?" I asked.
Taes handed me the first list.
"Well, you only asked for elites, but honestly, that's kind of broad..."
I took the list, tapped the edge against the table to align it, and started scanning the names.
Veterans of other wars. Experienced mages capable of using Chantless Magic. Dragon Knights. Saint-Level swordsmen. Several Iron Legion warriors with different specializations.
I looked at Taes suspiciously.
"These are the elites? There's no way you couldn't narrow it down more than this..."
Taes gave a short smile, one that mixed exhaustion with a trace of satisfaction.
"It seems even you underestimated the Kingdom. What did you expect? It's been years of training and battles, and you just announced a great source of merit in Begaritt. A lot of people are going to want to go."
"Wanting to go is not a selection criterion."
I kept reading, separating them into three piles.
Ghislaine glanced over my shoulder for a moment, her tail swaying curiously.
I had already decided on the way here that I would not take more than three hundred, and that was already me being a little generous.
Begaritt would not be a safe battlefield.
There would be monsters capable of destroying cities while fighting each other, Hitogami's apostles prepared, people from the Dragon God Faction involved to a certain extent, and a resurrection ritual in the middle of all that.
If I filled the operation with too many ordinary soldiers, not only would it take longer, it would also draw more attention than necessary.
Without taking my eyes off the list, I said:
"The vanguard will consist of no more than three hundred."
Taes let out a tired sigh.
"I figured you would say that."
Ghislaine pulled out a chair and sat beside the table.
"Do you already know which of the Twelve Kings are going with you and which are staying?"
"More or less. But yes, for the most part."
I separated a few more names, reviewed the main pile twice, removed three, put one back, and only then handed Taes a final list. He pulled the sheet closer and checked it quickly.
"Two hundred and ninety for the vanguard."
I nodded.
Taes then picked up another report from the table and continued:
"The first mounts are already being prepared. If we keep it to just this number, we leave before dawn."
I nodded without thinking much about it. At least that was working as it should.
Ghislaine asked:
"How are you going to divide the troops?"
I set the papers down and looked at the map.
The vast deserts of Begaritt were spread across the table, with specially marked locations such as the Ever-White Oasis, travel routes, and more populated areas.
"Three main functions," I said. "The vanguard will be the spearhead. But we also need a support line capable of continuing to operate independently. And the rest will organize the evacuation of Begaritt's populated regions by sea."
Taes raised an eyebrow.
"Evacuate a continent?"
I smiled ironically.
"Have you seen what Master's fights are like? Actually, even without him, there are other monsters who can make this war escalate out of proportion. It's better to be ready, starting immediately."
Taes lifted his eyes.
"So soon? That's going to scare a lot of people."
I rolled my eyes.
"Scaring them now is better than burning the corpses afterward, don't you think?"
Taes looked at me for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"As you wish."
At that moment, a wind suddenly blew inside the room, stirring the lighter papers and making the flames of the magic lanterns tilt.
An instant later, Verdia entered the room humming cheerfully.
She looked around, greeted everyone with a light wave, and then turned to me.
"Hello, everyone! Atoferatofe is on the way, Aisha."
Well, at least everything went well over there, I thought.
"Any unforeseen issues along the way?" I asked.
Verdia seemed to hesitate for a moment and then sat down, tossing her hair to the side.
"Well, that depends on what you consider an unforeseen issue... it just so happens that Atofe is excessively excited for war. She's coming expecting a great battle. She's always been like that, but it might be a destabilizing factor for you, I'm not entirely sure..."
I looked at her.
Verdia had met Atofe during the Laplace War, four hundred years ago. For her to point that out specifically, it had to be relevant.
I replied:
"I'll keep that in mind... maybe leave her with someone who can keep her under control."
She was only one of the people Verdia had alerted and mobilized.
Her versatility with her spirits was immense, especially Aerion, who had already been nicknamed Sky Traveler by those who saw him.
With him, Verdia could fly and travel as fast as the wind. The same was true for some of the other spirits; each of them had a specialty.
For example, while Aerion could manipulate winds and hurricanes, the spirit Gaia could manipulate large quantities of earth or rock in a malleable way, creating and undoing large structures or even mountains given enough time, which made her an important logistical asset.
And Nixie, the water spirit, could calm storms and manipulate ocean waves, which greatly helped the Kingdom's naval fleets.
Of course, there were also spirits more geared toward combat, such as Ifreet, who could manipulate and create flames on a large scale, in addition to being able to transform into fire.
All of that made Verdia an important strategic asset, as well as a powerful battle mage.
It was with these Summoned Spirits that Verdia managed to rise so much in the rankings of the Twelve Kings, even while being almost a pure mage.
Of course, I had my own Summoned Spirits.
But they were still trump cards I intended to keep hidden for the time being.
I turned my gaze back to the papers scattered across the table, scanning each of them one more time.
This time, everything seemed to be fitting together very well.
Maybe that only made me more suspicious.
"Right... we have practically everything in order... any word from Master?" I asked.
Ghislaine replied:
"He said that he and Eris were advancing as fast as possible. They're facing some demon monsters at the moment, but there shouldn't be any major problems."
Taes shrugged.
"Well, it's Rygar. He'll come out alive somehow in some crazy way no matter what. Actually, from a certain point of view, it's better that they went after Rygar and not us..."
I could see Taes shiver slightly right after saying that, probably imagining what it would be like to withstand the combined assault of the Fighting God and the Technique God.
Well, I couldn't say he was wrong.
It would be an especially bad situation.
Even considering everything else, there were only a few capable of offering real resistance.
And, at least as far as I knew, I was the only one on our side with enough firepower to truly kill any of them.
And that did not mean I could defeat them in combat.
In fact, I was not confident about that at all.
So I answered, looking at the map of Begaritt again:
"You may be right, but we still need to stop Hitogami's plans in Begaritt. Whoever Hitogami is planning to revive is probably strong enough to change the game. If not, he wouldn't be dedicating so much effort to it. Our priority is to prevent the emergence of another variable and eliminate all of Hitogami's apostles. As long as they're dead, Hitogami has lost his fangs and claws..."
Verdia, Ghislaine, and Taes fell silent.
The three of them looked equally determined, each in their own way.
Then, after a small smile, Ghislaine said:
"Nina asked to be part of the Vanguard. I'm not going to give my opinion on that, decide for yourself."
Saying that, she left the Hall, probably going to get ready.
I stared at the space where she had been standing a moment earlier, saying nothing.
Nina.
Of course.
Verdia smiled gently and said:
"Regardless of what it is, please don't be so harsh about it..."
And then she left as well.
That ended up serving as Taes's cue to leave without saying anything else.
He just gathered his papers, cast me one last brief look, and left the Hall too.
In the end, I was alone.
Nina wanted to go to the Vanguard.
I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes for a moment.
Honestly, I already knew what she was thinking, it was pretty obvious.
She had leaked critical information, even without knowing it. Master was in Dragon God's Hole, and Badigadi and Laplace had been sent after him precisely because of that.
Even if she had not been aware of what she was doing, that did not change much. And Nina knew that very well.
She wanted to do something useful instead of staying in Gaia waiting for the result of a war that had, in part, been pushed in this direction by something that passed through her.
I rested my chin on my hand and kept staring at her name.
Well, after all, I was the one who told her to contribute, so denying it now would make no sense.
In any case, this was not going badly at all.
If everything went well, this war would be the end of the line for Hitogami.
----
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