Chapter 69

The fight is over

Before leaving Bern City, Isaac left instructions with Mrs. Randolph.
He told her to have Bill monitor the movements of the City Council and to send a carrier pigeon the moment anything suspicious was noticed.
Since Bill couldn’t read or write the common language, he needed Mrs. Randolph’s help.

Isaac’s instructions proved effective.

The operatives Bill had placed throughout the city spotted distinguished guests from other territories arriving at the City Council building.
They also heard messengers calling for the recruitment of mercenaries.
Mrs. Randolph, too, picked up strange rumors from traveling merchants visiting her inn.
From the neighboring coastal city of Baldarin, near Oton Inn—
its councilor had visited the City Council building.
And accompanying that councilor was said to be the commander of a mercenary group called Akanlaufer.

Akanlaufer was a group made up of wandering mages with no affiliation.
They couldn’t find out why their leader and Baldarin’s councilor had come to the City Council.

But putting the information together, the conclusion wasn’t difficult.

The City Council was gathering forces.
The fact that they had even brought in Akanlaufer meant they were preparing to face Goethe itself.

After Violet mentioned, through a wind spirit, that mercenaries were gathering southwest of Bern City, Isaac confirmed it via the carrier pigeon sent by Mrs. Randolph.

After that, things were simple.

The City Council showed signs that they were willing to go all-out if necessary.
That also meant the Marquis was under psychological pressure.
Bringing troops to intimidate the Count was well within expectations.

All that remained was how to respond.

“Violet, go with Pallich and stop the mercenaries from gathering in Bern City.”
“…You trust me? I could just join them.”
“Then it can’t be helped. If that happens, you’ll end up helping produce and sell things like those for the rest of your life. If it makes money, the Marquis won’t hesitate to go even further.”

“….”

Violet looked at the glass sphere with a conflicted expression.

“Then I have one condition.”

In exchange for siding with Isaac, she made a single request—
that he retrieve a certain item from the Marquis.
Isaac agreed.
And Violet promised to follow his instructions.

Although two Weissmen left the estate to act, the Count did not move easily.
Acting on unverified information would be too significant a gamble.

“Not going to sleep?”
“If what you and that woman brought is true, letters will start flooding in on my side as well.”

The Count stayed up all night.
Such nights were common in Winterband.

At dawn, reports poured in from across the territory about messengers recruiting mercenaries.
The moment the Marquis’s letter was confirmed, the Count issued orders.

Servants were forcibly given leave.
Those who had to remain stayed in their quarters.
The guards fully armed themselves.
Even strategies were prepared in case the Marquis arrived with troops.

“You, continue as you were doing.”

The Count called Isaac and said,

“Haven’t you been trying to appear unfit as a successor? Drinking in front of servants and bringing maids into your bedroom?”
“You knew?”
Isaac looked embarrassed.

“Keep acting the same way in front of the Marquis.”

The Count didn’t elaborate.
But Isaac understood immediately.

It was consideration—
to make it seem as if the Count was behind the events in Bern City.
That way, Isaac would be free to move.
And if things went wrong, the Marquis would target the Count, not Isaac.

“There’s no need to go that far.”
“When you leave, take the maid you often call. It’s a good chance to stir up a scandal.”
“And what if it becomes a real scandal?”
“Then Valerich will decide.”

Valerich—a renowned sword bestowed upon the executor.
Currently, it was in the Count’s possession.

“That’s a terrifying joke.”
“If you want, I can make it worse. Keep talking nonsense.”
“No thanks. That sent chills down my spine. I’ll take Jonas with me when I leave. If the Marquis brings soldiers, it’d be troublesome if he became a hostage.”
“Do so, Isaac.”

“I know you have your own plan. But don’t overdo it.”
“…Yes.”

As discussed, Isaac acted like a reckless fool in front of the Marquis, even picking a trivial fight with a guard.

“The Marquis has entered.”
“Really?”

At Carlson’s words, Isaac moved immediately.
He left the estate with Carlson, Jonas, and Enette.

“Aren’t you one of the Marquis’s hired men? Who are you watching so closely?”

Waller chased into the garden and asked a mercenary watching Isaac.
But the man never got to answer.

“Ghh—”

There was already a hole in his neck.
That was the start—
the guards began killing off the Marquis’s mercenaries one by one.
Though they had humbly asked Isaac for guidance, they were seasoned soldiers at their core.

***

Isaac sat on a stump, holding a mug of mead.
His gaze stretched over the fields.

Planting potatoes in Black Goose Village was nearing completion.
The village children, newly free, played with a ball alongside Jonas.
Among them was Hinder, the nursemaid’s son.
They all looked healthy.

They had once suffered mana poisoning from the winter spiders that lived nearby.
Fortunately, there seemed to be no lasting effects.

“So, we just stay here a few more days and then return to the estate?”
“Nothing bad has happened, right?”

The nursemaid, Gisela, asked worriedly.
Isaac brushed it off, saying only that an important guest had arrived at the estate.
The political situation in Goethe and the Marquis’s schemes—
those weren’t things she needed to know.

“Yeah. Just a small disturbance, that’s all.”

Isaac spoke calmly.

Fresh grass sprouting, sunlight pouring down,
children running and playing.
It was a time he never had as a child—
a pure, innocent time he could never reclaim with an aged soul.

‘This is how they should have been.’

The boys sacrificed in the House of Mercy crossed his mind.

“Master! Catch!”

Hinder threw the ball to Jonas.
Jonas caught it and ran hard toward a spruce tree.

“Stop him!”

The opposing children chased after him.
But Jonas touched the tree first.

“Touch!”

“We won!”
“Wow, Master, you’re the best!”
“We always lost with Hinder, but since you’re here, we won!”

The children on Jonas’s side ran up and praised him noisily.

“Hey! I passed it to him!”

Hinder protested.

“No, it’s because you all did well.”

Jonas blushed.
He waved at Isaac.
Isaac waved back.

A time when children could simply be children.
To Isaac, it was something tinged with regret.
That’s why he wanted to protect it—
even if it meant shedding blood.

“It’s time to go.”

Carlson said, glancing at the sun high in the sky.

“Nursemaid, take care of Jonas.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll look after him like Hinder—no, even better.”

She nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Isaac spoke quietly and headed for the carriage.

“Is it really okay to take it this easy? By now, a battle should be happening in Bern.”

Carlson asked as he followed.

“We’re not going to Bern City.”
“…What?”
“Violet will handle things there.”
“You trust her that much?”
“I saw it.”

“Saw what?”
“The expression she made when she looked at that glass sphere. It wasn’t much different from how I feel.”

“We’re going to Valden.”
“Why Valden?”

Valden was a territory of Goethe, directly south of Vinfelt.

“There’s a guest we need to welcome.”

With that, Isaac boarded the carriage.

The five Weissmen swordsmen were all aura users.
As long as they weren’t surrounded or caught off guard, each could take on ten men alone.
Even against the forces of great noble houses numbering over a hundred, it wasn’t necessarily unfavorable.
They had around fifty men, including aura users.

But the opponent was no pushover either.

“Shields up!”

The shield-bearers of the great noble houses at the very front packed tightly together and raised their shields.
The rectangular iron shields were large enough to cover most of a grown man’s body.
They were scutums—also called tower shields—commonly used as standard-issue shields of the Imperial Army.

Between the gaps in the shield formation, crossbowmen took their positions.
Their formation was nothing like a street gang brawl.

“Those bastards are serious.”
“Are those vermin not coming?”
“What do you expect from a bunch of thugs?”

The swordsmen grumbled.

They had already sent word to all the city gangs—
if they didn’t want their hideouts exposed, they were to gather on the southwestern plains.
But so far, not a single gang had shown up—not even a passerby.

“Didn’t expect anything from the start.”

Gerald spat on the ground.

Weissman had wiped out the core forces of the other gangs.
If anything, they were enemies—there was no reason for goodwill.

“We’ll break through first.”

Pallich spoke under the blazing sunlight of the open plain with no shade.
The soldiers of the great houses were slowly advancing.

Soon, they would be within two hundred paces—
the effective range of crossbows.

Weissman had no weapons suited for long-range combat.
They had no plate armor, no chainmail, no shields.
At best, they wore worn leather armor.

But they had something else—
superhuman power.

The will that could cut through steel.
Aura.

Even if a rain of arrows fell—
even if cannonballs flew—
if five of them unleashed aura blades at once, they could intercept it with minimal damage.

Against mere dozens of crossbowmen, it wasn’t even a serious threat.

“Form an aura wall!”

The five swordsmen stepped to the very front, with the rest of the members lined up behind them.

“Freedom!”

Pallich shouted.

“Freedom!”

The Weissmen echoed.

“Waaaaah—!!!”

With a roar, Weissman charged forward.

Exiles driven out of the Republic by extremists—
yet they had never once lost in Bern City.

Five of them were former royal guards.
Among the rest were former elite soldiers.

Their morale was high.
Victory had long since become something natural to them.

A blue aura gathered along the blades of the five at the front, including Pallich and Gerald.
As always, that blue light would carve a path forward for them.

But their confidence turned into poison.

The aura blades that cut through the air should have shattered the incoming bolts,
and gone further to slice even the massive rectangular shields of the shield-bearers.

That was common sense.
That was what should have happened.

But—

Clang!

“…!?”

Pallich hastily deflected a bolt that had pierced through his aura blade with his sword.

His sharp eyes caught the deflected projectile.

It wasn’t a typical bolt made of wood and a metal tip.
From the fletching to the shaft and head, it was entirely made of black metal.

As it spun and fell to the ground, it briefly reflected sunlight—
the black metal shimmered with a green hue.

Dimezite.

A mineral that disperses mana.
Before it, both magic and aura lose their power.

“Be careful! What they’re using is—!”
“Ghk—!”

By the time Pallich realized the enemy’s tactic, it was already too late.

“Yakov! Giacomo!”

Two of the aura users at the front were struck directly by bolts.
One had his neck pierced,
the other his chest.

“Gaaah!”

Another swordsman, unable to restrain himself, surged mana through his body and leapt forward in an instant.

“Don’t!”

By the time Pallich shouted, the swordsman had already flown into close range of the enemy shield-bearers.

“Spears up!”

As if they had been waiting, the spearmen between the ranks raised their long spears all at once.

The swordsman tried to cut the shafts and unleashed an aura blade—
but the blade shattered helplessly upon impact.

The spears, too, were made with Dimezite-infused metal.

The falling swordsman’s abdomen was pierced by a spearhead.
The spearman collapsed under the weight, and the formation of the noble houses faltered briefly—
but quickly reorganized.

“Second rank, ready!”

In the meantime, the crossbowmen smoothly rotated their formation.

“Fire!”
“Fall back, fall back!”

Pallich shouted urgently as he deflected the incoming bolts.

Clang!
Clang!

He knocked away three bolts,
but the next two got through.

One lodged in his shoulder, another in his thigh.

As the leading aura user and commander,
he had naturally become the primary target.

“Pallich!”

Gerald stepped in front of him.

It was already too late to escape the crossbow’s range.
And in the open plain with no cover, Gerald was now the one standing at the very front.

The bolts would now concentrate on him.

“Move. Deflecting arrows is my specialty.”
“It’s too late.”

Pallich tried to stop him, but as Gerald said, it was already delayed.

“First rank, ready!”

The enemy rotated their crossbow formation once more.
Only the command to fire remained.

“S-Stop!”

At that moment, someone shouted in a voice nearly breaking into a scream.

The voice, coming from afar, was familiar to the commanders of the noble forces.

“Lord Fikel?”

From the western gate of the city, a group of people was walking out.

Their ragged appearance clearly marked them as slum dwellers.
But among them, three stood out—cleanly dressed, pale-skinned.

The heads of the great noble houses.

Each of them had a blade pressed to their throat.

“Stop! The fight… the fight is over!”

One of the noble heads shouted with a blank expression.

“Louder! Want to die? Shout like your life depends on it!”

Bill jabbed a dagger into his side.

While Weissman was facing the noble forces on the plains,
Bill had attacked the City Council with cooperating gangs.

It was Violet’s plan—
a strike at the nobles’ blind spot.

“…You despicable bastards.”

The noble head’s face turned pale with humiliation.

But avoiding humiliation did not come before avoiding death.

“The fight is over! Lay down your weapons!”