[To magi accustomed to defensive warfare, your proposal, though novel, did not win their widespread approval.]
[It was too risky.]
[Even Lord 'Auton de Lautrec', who had just been acting quite aggressively, thought so.]
[Even they could not deny the feasibility of your proposal. Since the five major ports in northern France were already firmly under control, and the entire country was completely undefended with nowhere to hold, choosing to break into smaller units, infiltrate the enemy country, and create a deterrent was indeed a viable strategy.]
[But they had never thought of putting themselves in danger, let alone sacrificing themselves for their country.]
[They only wanted to protect their own territories.]
[They also could not trust you—you were, after all, only eight years old.]
[At this age, perhaps only in Konoha would people think you were fit for the battlefield.]
[You complain internally.]
[To your surprise, Nicolas Flamel, who had just seemed rather conservative, reversed his stance and expressed his support.]
['You were born extraordinary, so naturally, you can do things that ordinary people cannot.']
[That is what he said, and he seemed to genuinely believe it.]
[His assessment of you was still extremely high.]
[So high that even you, who were very confident in yourself, felt it was a bit exaggerated.]
[Although the number of people was small, you ultimately decided to take action.]
[Observe the era, integrate into the era, and act within the era.]
[This is the meaning of the simulation.]
[...]
"So in the end, it's just the few of us?"
In the northern part of Paris, at the edge of the city surrounded by the Wall of Charles V built in 1383 to resist the fierce English attacks, under the towering city gate, horse-drawn carriages came and went in an endless stream. Some were nobles or citizens fleeing from areas even further north than Paris, hoping to use Paris's high and thick walls to defend against the conflict that could erupt again at any moment. Others were just passing through, heading further south.
But as far as Lu Kang could see, the flow was basically only from north to south, never from south to north.
It was obvious.
In this kingdom, even the peasants in the muddiest dirt had realized that war was about to break out again.
It was an unavoidable trend.
Yet, at this moment, Lu Kang seemed to be going against the current. He turned his head to look behind him, a dissatisfied expression on his childish face.
Behind him, there were indeed only a few people.
A few French magi who had agreed with his strategy and decided to follow him to infiltrate England for a 'tactical base trade'.
"Not satisfied with just a few people? How greedy you are, little Victoire." A voice, with a lilt at the end as if it were swaying, rose up. Prelati leaned down to look at the small boy who wore the mature expression of an adult, and couldn't help but find it very interesting.
She flicked her beautiful silver hair and said, "Did you think that so-called magi would be the type to risk their own lives?"
She reached out and poked Lu Kang's cheek.
Lu Kang spoke with a confident yet expressionless face, "Risking our lives?"
"This can hardly be called 'dangerous'."
"Hahaha... that's it, that's the expression. It makes me want to see a look of terror and anger on your face even more, little Victoire!"
Prelati said, then suddenly turned her head. "Speaking of which, I didn't expect you to join in... Miss Isabelle de Rais."
At this moment, the young woman with black hair and cold, pale skin, who was suspected to be closely related to Gilles de Rais, the follower of Jeanne d'Arc who would eventually fall into black magic, was indeed among the few magi who had followed them.
She had a cold temperament but wore a smile. "Although the de Rais family has a tradition of magecraft, in essence, our family was first established by accumulating military merit as 'knights' and being granted a title within France. It is only natural to participate in such a matter of bringing glory to the country."
"Oh... but I heard that the one who inherited your family's path of the knight in this generation is your very young little brother, Gilles de Rais—that's his name, right?"
Prelati tilted her head, her expression feigning innocence and cuteness.
Isabelle lowered her eyes, struggling to keep her eye from twitching. If she hadn't heard of this great alchemist before, she might have really thought the person in front of her was a pure and innocent young girl, and not an old monster who had lived for ages.
In comparison, Lu Kang, who was really only eight years old, remained calm throughout.
"Miss Isabelle de Rais," he interrupted Prelati's idle chatter, not giving his wicked teacher a chance to tease others.
He then immediately called out the names of the other magi present—
"'Ash' Pierre."
A tall, thin young man in black leather armor, who was silent and taciturn, took a step forward.
"'Lady Raven' Marguerite."
A voluptuous middle-aged woman in revealing attire curtsied slightly.
"'The Mute Bellmaker' Jean."
An old man with graying hair and a stooped figure straightened his messy beard.
Old, weak, sick, and disabled. Apart from Isabelle de Rais, none of them had surnames, only their magus aliases and first names. It was obvious that these three were first-generation magi from true commoner backgrounds.
Their origins were far inferior even to Lu Kang, who at least had noble blood from his mother's side.
But precisely because they were not lords or nobles with territories to protect, they could afford to take risks. And because they had no territory to defend, this operation was, for them, an opportunity to earn future assets.
Facing Lu Kang, the young boy who had been so highly praised by Nicolas Flamel, the spiritual and de facto leader of the French mystic side, and knowing from their years in the mystic world that there were many monsters who defied common sense, they did not dare to underestimate him because of his age.
Instead, they responded respectfully, "Present, Mister Victoire."
"We await your instructions."
"Since everyone is here, let's set off," Lu Kang said. "We'll go to the nearest port first."
Since the plan was to 'infiltrate' the Kingdom of England, they naturally needed a ship.
No one had any objections to Lu Kang's course of action. Everyone, except for Lu Kang himself, even Prelati, thought the same.
They thought that the purpose of their mission was to acquire a ship.
So that they could cross the English Channel.
And infiltrate the enemy in reverse.
[The group of six of you leaves Paris, heading north against the flow of people fleeing south.]
[The target is the port of Calais, two hundred and fifty kilometers away.]
...
"Is it really necessary to stand guard here?"
The Port of Calais.
This was one of the five major seaports of France facing the English Channel to the north, and it was also a channel firmly controlled by the English for a potential French counter-attack on the English mainland.
For the Kingdom of England, as long as they controlled these five seaports, they would be in an invincible position, whether they chose to attack or not.
Therefore, more than ten years ago, when the war briefly ended, England was willing to give up many of the cities it had annexed within France, but it still firmly held control of these five major ports.
And as one of them, the Port of Calais, being the closest to the French capital of Paris, was considered special among the five.
Because of its geographical location.
From here, it was extremely convenient to travel either by land to Paris or to follow the ocean currents to the English mainland.
Also because of its huge cargo throughput.
England relied on this place to transport a large amount of strategic materials to the front lines, and also to transport plundered goods back to their country.
And even more so because of its crucial conceptual importance in 'thaumaturgy'!
At this moment, several magi from the Kingdom of England were secretly guarding this place.
Faced with the confusion from his colleague, one of them scolded, "Do not speak such disrespectful words."
"This port is of utmost importance to Lord Trambelio. This operation was personally ordered by Lord Trambelio himself!"
Trambelio.
A family with a long lineage on the mystic side of the British Isles.
It was said that their bloodline could be traced back to the classical Arthurian era, nearly a thousand years ago. The Crest passed down by this family was also inclined towards the foundational—that is, foundational, but also all-encompassing 'versatility'.
In this generation, they had produced a genius born with over a hundred Magic Circuits, assessed as having the potential of a Grand, a genius of geniuses no less than the current Lord of the Department of Law and Politics, 'Barthomeloi'.
His name was Edmond Trambelio.
This time, the war on the reverse side between the English and French mystic sides was also being led by him.
It was said that he was preparing to advance to 'Grand'—
And with that, to become one of the Lords of the twelve departments of the Clock Tower, the highest institution of learning for the mystic world, and one of the core members of the Magus Association.
Hearing his colleague's words, the magus fell silent.
Although all magi aimed for the 'Root' as their ultimate goal, the work required to reach the Root was immense. Before that, it was necessary to acquire sufficient status and resources to perfect the family's Magecraft Foundation and further evolve the family's inherited Crest.
And this time, the resources that Edmond Trambelio wanted to seize...
"Is it the remaining 'Mystery' of the entire nation of France, released through the 'mouth' that is the Port of Calais?"
To pass down the foundational as a Magecraft Crest.
The Foundation it was connected to must be ancient.
The 'Mystery' required to make it evolve further must also be unimaginably immense!
Only the power of an entire nation could possibly satisfy its requirements.
But then again, given France's current situation, with both the mundane and mystic sides in dire straits after nearly a hundred years of war, even that Nicolas Flamel had been warned by the Magus Association for illegally using the power of the Philosopher's Stone and had almost been given a 'Sealing Designation'—where would they find the strength to come and destroy the arrangements here?
Although he fell silent, the magus still didn't think much of it in his heart.
He looked up at the wide port, where the sea breeze blew strongly, and ships came and went in the channel. On the dock, paved with wooden planks and inlaid with huge stones, figures moved back and forth.
This was just a corner of the Calais dock.
The surroundings here had already been set up with formulas by Trambelio to repel ordinary people.
Those present here were all magi from the branch bloodlines of the Trambelio family, dispatched by Edmond.
There were quite a few of them, a hundred in total.
A hundred magi.
Although they were only from branch families, each magus had inherited a Crest and was quite powerful.
He really didn't believe that the current France had an equivalent mystic power to contend with them!
Unless that great alchemist, Nicolas Flamel, personally intervened...
Hmm... wait a minute?
"Over there, is that someone—?"
This magus, who also belonged to a branch bloodline of the Trambelio family, suddenly blinked.
In his sight, a figure appeared, ignoring the repellent formula set up by Trambelio.
As if dispelling a mist, tearing open a curtain.
From far to near.
Arriving in an instant!
"Enemy attack!"
The magus shouted instantly.
Flames, water, disruption, and concealment—without his reminder, the other magi had already noticed and had attacked in an instant.
The high-speed operation of their Crests, the instantaneous activation of their circuits, the refined prana poured into the formulas recorded in their family's inherited Crests—transformed into a tangible tide that affected the world.
A hundred magi attacking at the same time.
It was like a flood even more vast than the tide faced by the dock!
In the blink of an eye, the situation was chaotic.
After the blink of an eye, the chaos was torn apart.
The figure that had approached from afar walked out from within it.
A young and childish figure walked out.
And a shadow that seemed to fear no mortal dust also walked out.
...
One born extraordinary fears not the mundane.
—The Thrice-Great
[You arrive at the Port of Calais and instantly inscribe your clothes with complex formulas, linking them together to form a moving sanctuary of mystery.]
[A thought becomes law, an idea becomes a technique.]
[The power of Mental Magecraft is initially demonstrated in this era.]
[The sanctuary of mystery repels all 'mystery' beneath it.]
[You look up and see,]
[Countless mysteries surge, transformed into tangible forces under the drive of magecraft, crashing down.]
[There is smoke, but there is no harm.]
[You are completely unscathed, and you just want to laugh.]
"A hundred magi, is it..."
"As expected, my senses were correct."
"This port is indeed of utmost importance to the English mystic side's operation this time."
And since it was important, then destroying it was only natural.
It was even an inevitability!
Lu Kang's mind was set.
Although he was only eight years old, with as many as forty-six main Magic Circuits operating at high speed, his entire being, like an angel, like a god, was tinged with a faint, thin glow!