The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 31

When the support troops were marching the long road towards the Terra Barrier, Duke Zeke, who had left the Terra Barrier after transferring command to Marquis Vonk by imperial order, arrived in the capital as well.

Even within the Empire, the arrival of a Marquis was a significant event, but his entourage was surprisingly small. This was partly because they couldn’t spare many troops to defend the Terra Barrier, and partly because they deliberately traveled light for speed. Having ridden his horse non-stop to the capital, Duke Zeke immediately sought an audience with the Emperor.

“I, Sigmund Zeke, have arrived by order of His Majesty the Emperor.”

“You’ve come sooner than I expected. Let’s see… I’m not sure how long it’s been since we last met face to face like this.”

“Five years ago, His Majesty the Emperor personally visited to comfort the soldiers. So, it has been four years since I last saw His Majesty. Please forgive my perceived disloyalty.”

“What disloyalty? If leaving your post to carry out my orders is considered disloyalty, then there would be no one in the Empire loyal to me.”

With that brief exchange, they acknowledged their reunion after several years. Before delving into the main topic, the Emperor dismissed all the guards from the room.

The matter they were about to discuss was not for others to hear. The Emperor’s guards hesitated at the order to leave, but when the Emperor questioned whether they suspected Duke Zeke’s loyalty, they had no choice but to retreat outside the room and establish a perimeter to prevent intruders.

“Your Majesty.”

“You’re going to ask why I sent Marquis Vonk, aren’t you?”

“…That’s correct. Marquis Gunter would have been a better choice.”

If Duke Zeke was in the north, Marquis Gunter was in the south. If Duke Zeke was the Empire’s shield against monsters, Marquis Gunter was the sword wielded against those who threatened the Empire.

However, even without Marquis Gunter, war wasn’t imminent. Peace had reigned for a long time, and the Empire’s power was considerable. In that context, Duke Zeke was questioning why Marquis Vonk had been sent instead of Marquis Gunter.

“Are you implying my decision was wrong?”

“Not at all! It’s just that sending Marquis Gunter would have been a slightly better option.”

“Marquis Vonk is certainly not ideally suited as a commander.”

The Emperor surely knew what Duke Zeke knew – in fact, he likely knew it better. The one who wields the sword must know better than anyone else when and what kind of sword to use. In that sense, the Emperor believed that Marquis Vonk wasn’t as poor a choice as it seemed when it came to fighting monsters.

“But it’s also true that no one can match him when it comes to standing at the forefront and fighting.”

“The Terra Barrier isn’t a place that can be defended simply by fighting well.”

“Your subordinates will compensate for his shortcomings.”

“…But.”

“I know what you’re worried about. But I have full confidence that Marquis Vonk will fulfill his role.”

The Emperor was well aware of how dangerous the Terra Barrier was, and he also knew that the forces stationed there were insufficient to defend it without a Master-level figure. [A Master is a highly skilled warrior or mage].

If the forces had been sufficient, he wouldn’t have kept a Master tied to such a place. As such, the role that Duke Zeke had been fulfilling was undeniably significant. However, the Emperor believed that Marquis Vonk could adequately substitute for Duke Zeke.

‘It’s impossible in the long term, but Vonk is capable enough to be Zeke’s temporary replacement.’

Even the Emperor considered Marquis Vonk to be close to a failure as a commander. If it were a war between humans, he wouldn’t have entrusted command to Marquis Vonk, no matter how urgent the situation. Marquis Vonk himself could confidently break through any obstacle head-on with only a sword, regardless of the opponent’s tactics, but his subordinates couldn’t.

However, the Terra Barrier was a war between humans and monsters, not humans and humans. It was unlikely that monsters would set traps, but even if they did, it wouldn’t matter. There was a solid barrier for defense. Furthermore, he hadn’t completely ignored Zeke’s concerns.

‘He’ll act as he pleases at first, but eventually, he’ll adopt Zeke’s methods.’

The reason for thinking this wasn’t simply intuition. It was a prediction based on everything he knew about Marquis Vonk. His pride in his martial prowess would ultimately lead him to the most effective path.

“Don’t worry too much. Marquis Vonk is one of the swords I can wield, just like you. Besides, don’t you trust your subordinates?”

“…I trust them.”

“That’s all there is to it. There are times when you have to trust your subordinates as a leader.”

He couldn’t argue any further after the Emperor said that. As the Emperor said, he had no choice but to trust his subordinates and the Emperor’s judgment. With that crucial matter settled, Duke Zeke’s attention turned to the next issue.

The reason for sending Marquis Vonk to the Terra Barrier, even with the risk of problems, and for summoning him to the capital. The imperial decree that Marquis Vonk brought only stated that he should transfer command and come to the capital as soon as possible, so Duke Zeke didn’t know the reason.

“Then what is it that I must do?”

Zeke had been doing the Emperor’s dirty work his entire life. If he had deliberately summoned him, it must be something only he could do. With a sense of anticipation, he waited for the Emperor’s words, and the words he knew but didn’t expect came out.

“Return to the Zeke territory immediately. And spend time with your family there until I call you again. Do you understand?”

#

It feels strange. Was I making that face just a year ago? I think I understand why the veterans didn’t try to befriend the newbies too quickly. If they’re making such a miserable face, I wouldn’t want to associate with them either. I was afraid that their despair would be contagious.

“You must be the wizards who came to support us this time. Nice to meet you. I’m Wonder, the chief wizard of the Terra Barrier. Some of you may recognize me, and some may be seeing me for the first time.”

“We greet the Elder!”

The scene from a year ago, which I barely remember now, is being replayed. The difference is that the number of newbies is quite large.

That’s because the wizard casualties this year were twice as high as last year, reducing the magical power from three groups of twenty people each (sixty people total) to barely two groups in terms of numbers alone.

Of course, it would be unsustainable without reinforcements. And whether that was the only reason or not, whether the negotiations between the Emperor and the Magic Tower had concluded, wizards were also being dispatched separately to investigate the magic stone mine.

“How many of them will survive by this time next year?”

“Well, four of last year’s classmates survived… If eight survive, it’ll be similar to our year.”

Four out of ten. A survival rate of 40%. Six people died in just one year. In Group A, Laurent and I survived, and one person each survived in the other two groups. Considering that this year had particularly high casualties, the Scorpion [A magical weapon] being deployed in the field with the supply of magic stones, and other factors, the survival rate would likely be higher than this year, if not lower.

“Alright, I’ll leave the rest to the group leaders. This old man will step down.”

The rookies, full of nervous energy, scatter and head to their respective group locations. Eight newbies are assigned to Group A. Among them, there’s no one younger than me – in fact, there’s no one younger than me among all the new wizards this time.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ild Negger, the leader of Group A. I don’t know how long I’ll be seeing you, but please take care of me while you’re here.”

“I’m Mario.”

“I’m Dante.”

“I’m Marco.”

After the new wizards introduced themselves, everything proceeded as before. He disappeared as if he had no intention of associating with those who hadn’t yet proven themselves. However, one thing was different: instead of scattering, they all rushed towards one place.

The magic stones.

The magic stones, which someone had been anticipating even more than the support troops, were being piled up in the warehouse under the supervision of Wonder and the wizards dispatched from the Magic Tower.

“I’ve been waiting a long time.”

“Including the field test period… It’s been almost half a year.”

“The battle strategy will be a little different from now on.”

“True. There are many, but we can’t just use them recklessly. The mine hasn’t been developed yet and is being replenished constantly, so if we conserve them when we have enough, we won’t be short when we really need them.”

Still, everyone’s eyes were filled with anticipation. We’ll definitely use them on a scale that seems like a red alert, although the scale of the yellow alert depends on the situation. In fact, the scale of damage varies greatly depending on the size of the monsters, so even if we don’t use the Scorpion for minor attacks, the damage isn’t significant.

“Okay, let’s get the Scorpion set up on the barrier first. We need to use it in a real battle to get a sense of how much is consumed in one battle, and what scale we need to use it on.”

The already busy Terra Barrier became even busier due to the arrival of the support troops, including personnel assignments and material distribution.

#

“It’s been a while, Renil. Has it been a month since the demonstration?”

“Yes, it’s been a month. I’m glad you seem to be doing well during that time.”

“Haha. Really? Actually, I haven’t been doing well. So many things have been happening, but I’m glad you think I’m doing well.”

However, I couldn’t join in on the busyness. I was given something else to do: talking to Evan, the chief of the dispatched wizards, about the magic stone mine. It’s partly because I’m the one who discovered it, but for some reason, everyone has left the magic stone mine to me. Perhaps it was a selfish desire to reap the rewards without any of the hardship.

“Can you tell me about the information that’s been compiled so far? I’ve received the report, but there may have been changes in the meantime.”

In reality, the magic stone mine was practically at a standstill. That’s because the change of commanders caused confusion, and no clear solution emerged no matter how many people put their heads together. Nevertheless, there was only one thing I could tell Evan.

“It seems that we can’t even begin development using ordinary mining methods.”

“Yes?”

Evan’s head is probably filled with thoughts about what that means. You can’t do it the ordinary way? However, the conclusion reached by the wizards of the Terra Barrier was clear: no matter what we do, there’s no way to protect a mine with a radius of hundreds of meters in the middle of monster territory. The cost would outweigh the benefits [배보다 배꼽이 더 커질 것이라고 – a Korean idiom meaning “the belly button is bigger than the belly”, implying that the secondary aspect is more important than the primary one].

“Here’s the method we’ve devised for mining the mine. Would you like to hear it?”