Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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【”To think it would be this incredible…”】
Looking at the miserable state of the rampart that was once Macbarn’s pride, Nikolai couldn’t help himself from smiling wryly .
Then again, perhaps this insane strength was appropriate when speaking of someone who could face a large portion of Asgard’s army all by himself .
【”…By the way, I sure wonder what we’re supposed to do about this now . ”】
As he pointed his finger at the destroyed rampart that was supposed to protect the capital in case of an attack from foreign enemies, Nikolai gave Kurats a big smile .
Of course, there was no trace of a smile in his eyes .
Macbarn could be joining a war soon; the country could not afford to waste the national budget on fixing a wall .
【”Y-yeah, t-tell me about it――”】
After getting carried away and accidentally destroying the capital’s defenses, Kurats could only smile while drops of sweat ran down his forehead .
【”Where did you get the rocks to build the rampart?”】
【”Well, I believe the nearest place you can get them is at the Betwana mountains, around 25 miles (40km) east from here . ”】
【”Then sorry, but would you mind clearing the rubble here while I go bring some of those rocks?”】
【”―― Come again?”】
Nikolai was perplexed by Kurats’ unexpected suggestion .
What in the world was he saying?
Though Nikolai wanted to ask that question out loud, he could clearly see that Kurats was being completely serious .
【”B-but, when would you have the time to do this, sir Mathers? The war is still ongoing, won’t you be kept busy by the battles?”】
If Kurats leisurely took his time to rebuild the rampart, Lapland would be destroyed .
What would be the point of going as far as sending reinforcements only for Lapland to end up being destroyed?
【”It’ll be fine . I’ll be done by the end of the day . ”】
【”Is that so…?”】
Not knowing what more to say, the king entrusted his body to the back of his chair .
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After receiving a map of the area, Kurats rushed out of the capital like a gust of wind .
He very soon arrived at the Betwana mountains, where he was faced with a massive, granite cliff .
【”Looks easy enough to cut . ”】
『You could have fixed the wall without going out of your way to come here if you just used the smelting spell . Wouldn’t that have been better?』
Bernst was grumbling .
Kurats had a treasure trove of magic spells at his disposal and he was not using them .
Bernst would have been able to fix such a rampart in no time . He would have even given it stronger physical defense and magic defense properties .
And yet, Kurats, with his simplistic mindset, had decided to go pick some rocks instead . Bernst was far from pleased .
【”No, I’m still worried about my magic control . ”】
If Kurats were to mess up the smelting spell and bring more destruction to Macbarn because of it, he would lose all face .
Besides, if Bernst’s complaints were about making the process look flashy or grandiose, Kurats was certain that his physical prowess would be more than astonishing enough .
『You meathead… . !』
Bernst knew that the magic control that was needed to transform chemical elements and refine stones with a millimetric precision was far more astonishing than any simplistic feat of strength . However, Kurats was not able to understand the greatness of such a spell .
But that was most likely due to the subpar level of this world’s magic techniques .
Not paying attention to Bernst’s complaints, Kurats put some of his magic power in his hand and ran towards the cliff .
【”Aaaaaaaaaah!”】
With the aid of his magic power, he improved the speed and strength of his hand, making it sharper than a razor and mightier than a hammer .
He jumped 30 feet (10 meters) up and swung his hand towards the cliff, creating a crevice that went all the way down to the ground .
The hard granite was cut through like a soft piece of meat, 30 miles up (10 meters) and 60 miles (20 meters) from left to right .
『The ‘Air cutter’ spell would have been plenty enough, this was a waste of time…』
【”Who cares? It was great!”】
Around two hours had passed since Kurats left towards the east .
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Down on the land overlooked by the capital’s ramparts, a massive object was approaching . It seemed to be some sort of hill .
【”H-he really did it!”】
Nikolai fell down on his chair from shock .
His reaction was only natural . It was already unthinkable that someone was able to do the round trip to the Betwana mountains in two hours, let alone doing it while carrying a 30 feet-high mass of granite .
Kurats was quickly coming closer, but from the eyes of those were not in the know, it looked like a massive rock was approaching by itself .
【”W-what’s that?”】
【”It’s… a rock? How is it moving?!”】
【”We’re going to get crushed!”】
When he realized that the citizens were starting to panic, Nikolai hastily called out to Rodrigo and some other knights .
【”I want all the knights to immediately go out and guide mister Mathers . And tell the people that there is no need to be afraid . ”】
【”Yes, your majesty . ”】
When Nikolai gave the order, the knights snapped out of their shock and went to join Kurats outside the ramparts .
Once they arrived, their eyes were stuck between shock and amazement as they looked up at Kurats and the massive lump of granite he was carrying .
【”So, where should I put this for now?”】
【”Please wait until we finish cleaning up the rubble…”】
From this day on, those who had witnessed the astounding spectacle in Macbarn’s capital started calling Kurats ‘Betwana’s divine arms’ .
A few days later, Nikolai mobilized his forces, as requested by the Lapland kingdom, and then personally wrote a letter to the Elsrid kingdom, as it was a neighboring country .
And then, two weeks later .
The Lapland kingdom, the Elsrid kingdom, the Macbarn kingdom and the Mountbatten kingdom all signed a military alliance between the nations of the north, and jointly declared war against the Asgard empire .
After their defeat in Berglund, the Asgard empire’s army retreated to Turku, a strategic base south of Lapland, in order to get some rest .
They had suffered great losses in their last two battles . And worst of all, the morale of the soldiers, who once took pride in not knowing defeat, had plummeted .
They started thinking that maybe they were not so strong after all .
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Cabernard could only bitterly watch these doubts eat his soldiers inside out .
【”We’ve lost 40% of our mage troops . Even if we get reinforcements, it might be difficult to get back to even 70% of our initial numbers . ”】
Cabernard frowned as he listened to the report of the squadron’s divisional commander, Navarre .
Cabernard knew that the only reason the losses were so big among the mages was that they were specifically targeted by the enemy, but it was still difficult for him to accept this death toll .
The mage forces were normally the safest branch in the army, as they were to be kept under the protection of the heavy infantry .
Contrarily to their immense fire power, their defense was quite low . For that reason, they never went to the front line, and were not supposed to be directly involved in the squadron’s battles .
But all of those expectations had been nihilified by Kurats’ massive rocks .
His intervention alone had been enough to annihilate hundreds of mages .
【”And now, 50% of our magic canons are gone, too . Adding the 20% of heavy infantry who are also gone, we’ve lost 20% of our forces in total . ”】
As far as the number of soldiers was concerned, Asgard’s forces still held an overwhelming advantage over Lapland .
The problem was that the mages and the magic canons were their main fire power, and they had taken too many losses on that front .
Only a good combination of both those aspects of their forces would be able to inflict any sort of damage on that monster . Cabernard had to accept the fact that it would be too dangerous to fight without first recovering his army’s losses .
【”How are you holding up?”】
Brigitte came to see Cabernard, with a dejected expression on her face .
【”Not well . But you don’t seem to be feeling all that great either . ”】
【”Most of my forces are cavalry . We’ll take too much damage if we go for a withdrawal . We won’t be able to defend ourselves . ”】
The great mobility of Brigitte’s ranger squadron came at the price of its defense .
If she pushed her soldiers too far, that would immediately translate to great losses .
【”Berglund was too far away . Was I too impatient to succeed?”】
Thinking about it in retrospect, even though the count of Berglund had broken his allegiance to Lapland, there had been no need for Asgard to intervene immediately .
Had they simply left things as they were, Lapland’s forces would have damaged each other, leaving Asgard’s side enough room to leisurely start its attack afterwards .
【”We’ve been humiliated enough as is . You’re not planning to quietly retreat and give up, are you?”】
Brigitte drew closer to Cabernard with a fierce look in her eyes .
The fact that she was almost defeated and was forced to run away from Frigga had greatly wounded Brigitte’s pride .
As someone who also had the word ‘white’ in her title, she shared a form of rivalry with her .
【”After what happened in Berglund, I’m afraid Macbarn and Elsrid are also going to start taking action . We’re back to square one . We can’t afford to lose again . ”】
Even if Lapland received reinforcements from its allies, Asgard’s side would still be more powerful, especially with the recent addition of Brigitte’s ranger squadron to the overall numbers of Cabernard’s forces .
However, his army was currently right in the middle of Lapland, which gave the enemy a geographical advantage .
It was prudent to assume that this advantage would be enough to counterbalance the power difference between both sides .
Moreover, if Asgard side were to lose in the next battle, it would hurt the dominant standing of their military force .
【”You really think those cowards are going to make a move?”】
【”They will . If they see that monster in action, there is no way they’ll sit still . ”】
Kurats was a strategic weapon who could change the course of a war by himself .
His presence would be much more encouraging than the intervention of an army of ten thousand soldiers .
No king would ever think of trying to make an enemy of a man like him .
【”Maybe you’re right . Good grief, who’d have thought things would get this ugly in such a remote country…”】
【”Tell me about it . Nothing I’ll say to his majesty will justify struggling so much against such a small kingdom . ”】
The second Cabernard said the words “his majesty”, Brigitte felt a chill run down her spine .
If Cabernard were to fail to bring results in this war, he would not be the only one to receive punishment .
Brigitte was once a mere soldier, who had climbed her way up the ranks until she reached her current position . She had no intention to be demoted now, after all this time .
【”Now that I’m out as a trump card, do you have any kind of last resort left?”】
Cabernard’s fourth squadron did not have any hero like Brigitte, who could shift the course of a war by herself .
Cabernard was renowned for being a strategist, but that alone was not enough . He was extremely incompatible against an opponent like Kurats .
All he could do in response to Brigitte’s straightforward question was scratch his head with a bitter smile .
【”I did prepare something but it’s going to take me a little while to get it done . It really pisses me off that I have to give Lapland even more time…”】