Chapter 214 - Rally (5)

Chapter 214 - Rally (5)

A storm was brewing across the continent.

Everyone was preparing in their own way for the imminent bloodbath: the Aenia Empire led by Arthus, the Allied Powers created by Henry, as well as the three free cities that had declared independence.

The people of Deucekain were driven by self-interest and had ambitious goals, but they knew nothing about what was at stake.

The most imposing force out of all was certainly Arthus’ imperial army.

“Have you heard the rumors? The Aenia Empire will initiate a full-scale contest of the continent.”

“I heard that the Holy City of St. Hall and the Mercenary City of Faesiling have already sent reinforcements...?”

“Who said that?”

“The son of a blacksmith in our village told me he saw the paladins marching.”

“The paladins of St. Hall must be the Sun Warriors. To have them join the conquest... This might just write a new chapter in the history of the continent.”

Rumors spread like wildfire across the entire continent. This news had also reached Vivaldi, Enkelmann, and Monsieur, the cities that had declared independence.

“Continental conquest?”

“Damn it! That means this place is no longer safe either, right?”

“Hmm, but I heard from a friend of mine that the Aenia Empire is conscripting soldiers like crazy.”

“Well, that was expected, so it can’t be helped.”

“Yeah, but I guess we’re better off here, ‘cause I heard that over there they only serve hard, unsalted cornbread.”

“Damn...”

That was the current situation.

As the prices soared and food became scarce, many people had chosen to relocate somewhere where they could have better meals as they had already given up on their lives.

Thus, the support for Vivaldi’s city army, which had been expected to decrease based on how fast the imperial army was being mobilized, increased by the day, the number of soldiers constantly growing. This was the same for Monsieur and Enkelmann.

“Is everything going well?”

“Ah, Archmage!” exclaimed Vant.

A few days after the Allied Powers meeting, Henry checked up on all the things he had prepared so far and then returned to Vivaldi. There, he made the final preparations by assessing the performance of the assembled city army and inspecting the reinforced walls.

“How many soldiers for the city army do we have?”

“As you’ve mentioned, if we go based on the scale that ten men form a platoon, a hundred men a company, a thousand men a battalion, and ten thousand men a corps, we’ve got a total of about eight battalions so far.”

“Eight battalions? That’s a lot more than what I was expecting. I thought we’d have around five battalions.”

“At our current pace, we should be able to assemble a corps in a few days.”

“It's probably not a good idea to accept a bunch of random men all at once, but who cares... They're about to go into battle anyway.”

“Battle...?”

“What, you think I've recruited a city army to do some charity work? You've heard the news about the empire, right? If I’m not mistaken, they’ll first attack Vivaldi, not Monsieur or Enkelmann.”

“What? Why would they go for Vivaldi first? I heard that Monsieur and Enkelmann haven't even gathered four battalions yet.”

“That’s exactly why they’re going to strike here first. If the strongest city falls, the other cities with smaller armies will naturally surrender on their own.”

“...”

As he listened to Henry's explanation, Vant realized that he had been completely mistaken about this. He had expected Vivaldi to be safe from the empire’s first attack thanks to the large number of troops gathered, but instead, the strength he had built had only become poison.

Vant looked downcast.

“Don’t be so glum. You think I'm going to let this place fall?”

“But...”

“I’ve already connected the teleportation gates. If we lose the battle, I’ll help you escape, so hold on as long as you can. That’s your job here.”

Vant had no intention of running away. If he fled before the war broke out, Henry would obviously track him down and catch him in no time. If he tried to flee during the war, he would be chased by the empire. Vant really had no choice but to fulfill his duty.

“Alright...” replied Vant in a feeble voice.

It had been said that when it came to raw strength, Balak came close to Valhald, but that was just a rumor that Valhald himself had denied. Of course, he wasn’t denying the fact that he was stronger, but he had denied the rumors because they had never had a proper fight to actually confirm who was stronger, which proved Valhald’s integrity.

Everyone soon nodded, and Henry cast a spell.

Oong!

Emerald-colored mana filled the entire space inside the mountain as Henry cast the spell, which was followed by a massive roar.

As the concentration of the mana grew stronger, Klever’s groans grew more intense.

Rumble!

The entire hollow shook. Emerald-colored sparks flew everywhere, and the more intense the vibrations got, the harder everyone gripped their swords.

Boom!

Just then, thick smoke filled the area, and slime splattered in all directions.

It was Klever.

“Ha...”

A soft groan of relief was heard, and then...

Swoosh!

Something heavy flew from within the smoke.

Boom!

“...!”

Ronan was the target. Unable to withstand the sudden impact of the object, Ronan was blown away into the distance, slamming into the wall.

“Ronan!”

Swoosh!

The object was none other than the Black Punisher, which shattered Ronan’s armor before returning to its owner’s hand.

The enraged Punishment King, released from the powerful seal, emerged from the smoke, letting out a tremendous amount of murderous aura.

“Was it you guys?” asked Balak. It was merely a rhetorical question, and instead of asking anything else, he merely stared at the familiar people before him, grasping the situation.

“Damn, you still have a good sense of things,” replied McDowell with a bitter smile, admiring Balak’s mettle.

Even though he had just been released from the seal, Balak had still managed to quickly determine who was the weakest among them and strike him down first.

His attack had worked perfectly, as Ronan had barely been able to withstand the destructive force of the Black Punisher the moment it hit him.

This could only be described as a Balak having great intuition.

“There are many who deserve to die, I see.”

With the Black Punisher in his hand again, Balak looked around. Then, in accordance with his personal values, he quickly made a decision.

Death.

Whatever his past connection was with those in front of him, it was already bad enough that he had been kidnapped and sealed away. However, all of them stared at him with killing intent, gripping their swords.

This alone was reason enough for Balak to kill them all without any hesitation.

“Henry?” asked McDowell.

“Yes?”

“Do we have to keep him alive?”

“Yeah, I’d very much prefer that.”

“Why?”

“Because it would be a waste to kill a talent like Balak.”

“...Talent, my ass,” McDowell cursed in response to Henry’s demands.

However, Henry wasn’t wrong. Balak was a formidable warrior, and it would be great if they could somehow get him on their side.

“Let’s go.”

Sonic McDowell decided he would make the first move.