Chapter 143

Chapter 143

By capturing the direction based on distance traveled and surrounding terrain, recalculating it with factors such as sunrise, sunset, and constellations, you can relatively accurately determine your current position.

Even if possessing a map with a wide margin of error, it is nevertheless a military map. Despite its inaccurate scale, it boasts the maximum amount of information that can be displayed on the surface.

Thus, Ivan could calculate both his current position and the maximum marching distance to where Taurus could be seen within two days.

Along the infiltration route, ten villages lay within the marching range in a radial pattern. Among them, five villages would likely have been plundered.

Vertmon must have fallen.

Without any prior preparation, the invasion from a region far from the front line was not something the local militia could respond to.

Ivan was walking through the burnt village.

Thud. Again.

One charred corpse was crushed underfoot. It was a cleanly broken femur. Female, and at least adult-sized.

A long shadow stretched over him. A structure blocking the setting sun was watching him. He turned his head.

There were bone piles.

Direct guardsman from Tumor?

The footprints around were from adult Tauruses. Among Tauruses and orcs, only the Tumor guardsmen engaged in such inefficient activities as this.

While other magical creatures like necromancers or demons might sometimes perform magical rituals, Tauruses did not.

These foolish tribes saw humans as food.

Therefore, it is abnormal to pile up bodies and burn them, with some bodies grotesquely hung on poles. This was a ritual for Tumor.

A high-ranking mage capable of overseeing rituals is leading this group.

The level of threat they posed needed to be escalated. At least a battalion-level commander would lead an elite unit of at least a thousand troops to conduct the invasion.

Passing through villages with no survivors, Ivan once again unfolded the map in his mind.

Red dots, originating from the Bernini Mountains, were gradually spreading out radially. Like the black plague contaminating the blue meadows.

Moramdong, Leudmiyu, and Demongmor could still be classified as safe areas.

He stretched his legs and chewed on a nutrition bar. He visualized the territories still in the early stages of invasion and considered where the survivors in these territories might flee.

Moramdong, the nearest, was a small territory of about four villages. Leudmiyu might have a somewhat fortified stronghold. The vast plains stretching from Demongmor lacked a proper defense line.

If they were to withstand the rotation with the demon army, at least this sides forces would need to be equal in strength. Tauruses lacked the mobility of cavalry.

In that case

Moramdong alone wont be enough. At least four territories need to come together.

Assuming hes not there, to hold back the current Taurus forces with the troops from nearby territories alone, at least four small regional territories the size of Vertmon would need to come together.

Once those territories were gathered and the minimum military strength was secured, what would the Counts attempt to do to stop the demons in front of the gathered lords?

Gathering under the name of Etarique and restraining the Counts.

With that, Guillaumes plan to be revered as a hero who saved the country and aimed for Saint Mathilde would collapse.

The demons would fight him, and Ivan would head towards the crisis-stricken Saint Mathilde, rallying the forces of the gathered lords.

All Guillaume could do then was to resist these lords with his own troops. That would be the end of his masquerade. From that moment on, he would be nothing more than a rebel.

In noble politics, legitimacy is crucial.

If Guillaume, who lost his legitimacy, attempts a rotation, that moment will be his last.

Dispersing scattered troops requires much time and effort.

But cutting off enemy leadership from among concentrated forces is a familiar task. Would Guillaumes camp be any more difficult to penetrate than the royal palace of Dragon General?

Ivan stretched his tongue and relaxed his body. Just as he felt the nutrition bar melting in his mouth, he kicked off and started running.

*

Consisting of several hamlets and a few trading villages, the small territory of Vertmon collapsed before noon on the day after Tauruss invasion began.

Only a few survivors, including Lord de Noar, managed to escape Vertmon. They barely retained about fifty citizens, including five knights.

Where in the world What on earth is happening!

Wasnt there a story that Duke Etarique had retreated to the Bernini Mountains? If you want support, shouldnt we go there?

Whats the point of us running separately!

Lord de Noar shouted at his attendant and immediately regretted it. One of the few vassals who had stayed by his side. Even at this moment when the territory was lost, just the fact that he hadnt left him alone deserved recognition.

Lord de Noar took a deep breath and looked around.

With only a few gasols, five knights, and barely fifty retained citizens, it meant that the thousands of residents of the territory had all fallen into the jaws of the demons.

They wouldnt all have been wiped out. It had only been barely a day since the invasion began.

But Lord de Noar wished they were all dead already. Living under the dominion of demons without protection was more horrifying than dying.

Oh, Lord.

He drew a sigh and spoke.

After entrusting ourselves to Moramdong, we must request support from Duke Etarique and Saint Mathilde. If we just retreat on our own now, who will protect us? RêAd lateSt chapters at novelhall.com Only

Isnt your word too lofty to guarantee, given the Dukes reputation?

I dont guarantee.

Ivan tossed his blood-stained sword aside. Its teeth were broken. He picked it up carelessly. This was the appearance. Weapons, after all, had to be meticulously maintained.

Instead, prove it. Dont risk your lives to buy time here. Its not enough even if you gamble at a more valuable place. Let all the nearby territories know about Duke Etariques testimony. The Duke is still fighting in the Bernini Mountains even at this moment.

So the front line has been pushed back to Bernini too!

Now leave. Gather your army under the Dukes name and come back. Make sure to secure Moramdong as a front line within five days.

Ivan accepted a sword from the foremost knight and turned around. The knight who handed over the sword looked at his own hand with a dazed expression.

It was taken away before he could react. He didnt even realize the approaching hand. Just that alone could gauge the opponents skill, so the knight looked at Ivans back with a somewhat subdued gaze.

Ivan inspected the sword once and spoke softly.

Youve maintained it well.

Its a time when theres still much to use it for.

Excellent.

The knight suddenly asked Ivan.

Do you have a reason to risk your life? Youre from Krasilov, arent you?

Do demons differentiate humans by nationality?

Ivan chuckled and sheathed his sword at his waist.

Or perhaps it was a returning hero who saved humans by distinguishing them by nationality.

You speak as if youre about to become a hero.

Thats not possible.

But I can follow along.

Ivan struggled to swallow his words. He remembered the last words of Jill Ber. Even then, and in that era, wasnt there no enemy that wasnt a hero party?

He still couldnt think that way. It wasnt about inferiority complex; it was simply objective self-objectification. Inferiority complex was an emotion that people like Jill Ber had.

He would save these people. For his own purposes. Not out of regard for the existence of Tyles or the lives of the villagers.

Only for his own purposes. To restrain the Counts and eliminate one of them. It was purely for political reasons.

So he couldnt boast of being a member of a hero party himself. The heroes and their companions tried to save anyone they could for no reason other than their mere presence.

Normal people couldnt follow those lunatics. Because there was a civilian life for civilians. Therefore, Ivan was content with the role of a bystander.

Therefore, although Ivan considered himself an objective modern person rather than a hero party member, he temporarily entertained his friends nonsense.

Anyway, isnt he selling his friends name?

I am grateful for your dedication.

With an impressed expression, the baron bowed his head, and Ivan stopped his steps again.

Oh. Just one more thing.

Speak.

Where does your loyalty lie?

Of course, its toward my lord and this country. For the great millennial royal family of glorious Tylesse.

Without hesitation, the baron answered Ivans question.

Thats enough. He thought.

That was the end of the conversation. The baron cajoled the citizens and left the road.

Alone, Ivan resumed his steps and thought.

I should arrive within half a day since I didnt erase the traces.

He had prepared the road by mixing the traces of fleeing villagers with the scattered bodies of the few Taursus trackers.

Now they would rush in. Towards where he was.

Can he face alone about a hundred well-trained Taursus, including at least a centurion?

He can. Hes done it before.

Instead of confronting them head-on, if he engages in delaying tactics and slowly wears them down, he has faced twice their number.

Then what if he faces the gathered Taursus, who are forming a blockade and attacking?

He can. Hes seen it done.

Even when Jill Ber was in a state far from full recovery, even in the situation where he had just received the basic knight training.

Can he do something even a young boy has seen done once?

If hes seen it at least once, hes never had difficulty imitating it. The training he received was for such purposes.

Ivan checked his weapons and lit a fire in a suitable place. He rummaged through wet branches to make enough smoke rise.

He roasted nutrition bars over the fire and chewed them coldly. With cold eyes, he scanned the horizon connecting with the forest.

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