Chapter 128
Translator: Raizu
Editor: Shirayuku
Chapter 128 – Northern Expedition
It’s been about three weeks since Ares first arrived at Fort Troia . He didn’t have many other activities aside from running the soldiers through some training . On the other hand, the barbarians often made appearances near Fort Troia, but never really went for a full offense . The two sides were pretty much stuck in a stalemate .
Ares took Shion to the top of the rampart to see the situation .
[There is a sea in that direction . ]
[Nn . The northern sea is indeed situated just beyond the grassland . ]
[I wish I could get there somehow . ]
[Arcadia is a land-locked country… having a shoreline will certainly lead to a large scale development… if we aren’t careful about it . ]
[Right, they will most certainly seize both the frontier territory and the shoreline from us . For thec『Empire』, reaching the shore has been, in a sense, a long-time wish after all . ]
Ares chuckled .
Presently, the frontier received barely any attention due to its known status as an 『Undeveloped Land』 . Adding to that was the fact that Grants itself had long been known as the 『Cursed Land』 . The impression that the people at the Royal Capital had was that it’s an undeveloped land where wild magic beasts, demons and bandits run rampant . It’s said that you’d be lucky to be alive after setting foot on this poor land .
[Because of that, I was able to develop as much as I want without too many prying eyes . ]
Of course he knew that there were still some spies coming in to check the real situation . But he had the 『Dragon’s Eye』acting as counter-espionage . The spies captured sometimes submitted becoming a source of information .
But now, the situation has changed a bit .
A greater number of spies had been sent to the frontier lately, be it by the Royal Clan, aristocrats, the church forces and even from other countries .
The reason being the mass migration .
The capital had sent many messengers to better understand the state of the frontier territory . But none of them managed to enter Grants due to security reasons . That’s why they at most stayed in Redgear, awaiting for news from Grants… but of course the response was already obvious .
“Don’t know . ” or “Aren’t those peeps simply spread out in the three former countries, including Redgear?”
That’s how it went .
But this great unknown… and the fact that the lord of this frontier territory is 『that』Ares Schwarzer, of course it became a source of curiosity to those who hold power .
So even if their spies kept missing in action, they simply sent even more spies .
[Not yet, we mustn’t let them know yet… at least in 3 years . By then, we must have already calmed the barbarians, and in addition to having a shoreline and creating a stable foothold in the eastern continent… only then we’ll let the entire continent know of our true form . ]
Shion chuckled at Ares’ words .
[The entire continent is going to be in deep trouble . ]
[Might as well . At that point, I think the entire continent is probably already in deep trouble . ]
During that conversation, the two noticed something coming from behind them .
[Zekka . You’ve returned?]
[Yes, milord . It actually took longer than expected . ]
It was Zekka, emerging from the shadow .
[Then let’s hear the report . Shion, sorry, but can you please gather up the main personnel?]
Ares said as he turned around, now heading to the council room .
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Ares urgently summoned the officers of Fort Troia to gather .
[Zekka is back . After confirming the information he got, we’ll arrange a plan accordingly . ]
Ares announced first . The attendees’ face became solemn .
Ares had all officers stationed in Troia Fort to avoid unnecessary clashes with the barbarians until they obtained more reliable information .
was what Ares often says .
[Well, everyone has gathered it seems . So, Zekka, please . ]
Zekka obeyed and began his report .
[As per Ares-sama’s order, I have investigated about three matters . One about the leader of the barbarian army that attacked us twice the other day . Two about the foreign warrior who was with the army leader . And three… regarding the current leader of the barbarians, the Barbaric King Amqa .
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Zekka paused to take a breath before continuing .
[Firstly, regarding the army leader… the man’s name is Batu . The young chief of the Wind tribe . ]
[He is the Wind tribe’s chief…?]
Roland groaned . The Wind tribe is one of the two largest tribes among the Northern barbarians, rivalling that of the Steel tribe .
The heroic king Jamka, the first to obtain the title of Ran, also belonged to this tribe .
[It’s hard to believe… that they’ve also fallen to the Steel tribe…]
[A few years ago, the Steel tribe attacked and defeated the Wind tribe when they were at their weakest state . Since then, the former has been using the latter as a vanguard against tough adversaries . ]
Everyone groaned after hearing Zekka’s report .
[Batu is a legitimate successor to the previous chief Bahar . His valor is praiseworthy, was fair to the many tribes under the Wind tribe and he’s also a perceptive man who aimed for a better future . But now…]
[How did Amqa manage to elude such a good man?]
[According to the investigation, we found out that Amqa took the old chief Bahar, along with several women and children of the Wind tribe as hostages . Batu had no choice to follow his order around . ]
To summarize Zekka’s report, a few years ago, the Steel tribe attacked the Wind tribe’s settlement . Amqa caught them by surprise since Batu and most of their elites were away . The old chief Bahar fought back, but was defeated, leaving the settlement in shambles . The women and children were taken hostage and now, Batu and his men had to endure the humiliation to keep them alive .
[Hmm… Batu of the Wind tribe… I think we can come up with something to deal with them . ]
Ares then motioned Zekka to continue .
[The foreign warrior that Ares-sama has been worried about… is a man called Shu Shiranui . ]
Listening to that name, Ares was hit by a sense of familiarity .
[… . did he hail from the far east island nation?]
[Yes . He’s a warrior who came from the far east islands . Apparently he’s been helping Batu because it’s beneficial for himself . ]
Zekka replied obediently . But Ares’ mind seemed to be elsewhere .
[Shiranui… is it that Shiranui? Could it be that… he’s the descendant of that sage Shiranui? How nostalgic…]
[Milord?]
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[Ares-sama?]
Feeling suspicious of their lord’s reaction, Shion and Sigurd called out . Woken up from his reverie, Ares chuckled and apologized .
Zekka then resumed his report .
[Unfortunately, nothing more is known about this person . In my understanding, we are going to try to persuade the barbarians, aren’t we?]
[Yes, indeed . We’ll surely meet again on the battlefield so let’s use that chance . ]
Ares chuckled .
[And lastly… Regarding the barbaric king Amqa . ]
And thus, Zekka started telling what he had gathered regarding this man named Amqa .
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[Hmm… I never thought that the『Serpent of Darkness』was involved in this . ]
Ares sighed after hearing Zekka’s report .
Zekka’s information revealed something surprising . Even among the Steel tribe, Amqa was excessively destructive and ferocious . One can only wonder how someone like him could become the chief of the Steel tribe .
According to Zekka, he gathered together people with the same inclination as himself, murdered the previous chief and replaced him . Since then he’s been ruling the Steel tribe by force . Shortly afterward, he began his conquest against other tribes, ambushing them one after another .
However, force alone shouldn’t be able to unite the barbarians in such a short period of time . So how was it even possible?
Zekka decided to look into it, and found out that there was someone standing behind Amqa . It was thanks to his plans and sometimes his sorcery that Amqa was able to achieve everything .
Ares then asked Zekka some other questions before coming to a conclusion .
[We have the bigger picture now . As it turns out, the barbarians weren’t as monolithic as they seemed to be . There is the 『Ki』of this man named Amqa, supported by the 『planning』and 『magic』of this other mysterious man from behind the shadow . That’s certainly a lot of things to digest . ]
Ares laughed, then said to everyone .
[I will now adjourn the council for today . Everyone… please be ready for battle at any moment’s notice . ]
The atmosphere changed when everyone heard the last part . It’s clear to them that Ares was meaning to tell them to prepare for war . With this, they’re finally going to wage war with the northern barbarians for real .
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[I will hold another council come tomorrow . So be prepared and don’t stay up too late . ]
[ [ [ [ [ [ Yessir! ] ] ] ] ] ]
Everyone nodded to Ares’ words .
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Four remained in the council room; Ares, Shion, Sigurd, and Zekka . They stayed to discuss the plan they should take against the northern barbarians .
[First we need to do something about the Wind tribe . This is already a given . ]
Shion nodded in agreement .
[There are also those people among the barbarians . Should we try to isolate them or is it alright to just crush them all off together with the barbarians?]
Ares nodded .
[Barbarians are barbarians in the end . We also need to crush those people completely . Moreover…]
Ares paused before finishing his sentence . Guessing what’s going on, Sigurd spoke up .
[Is Ares-sama worried about that foreigner?]
[……… . . ]
[When Ares-sama heard his name earlier, you reacted as if Ares-sama recognized it . Is it something to do with that?]
Ares smiled at Sigurd’s question .
[I guess so . If it’s the same Shiranui that I know of… then he’ll be a tough opponent . One that we can’t defeat if we aren’t serious . ]
Sigurd and Shion were speechless after hearing that .
[Well, in any case, we won’t know unless we tried . Shion, have you devised a solution?]
[Affirmative . Then allow me to explain…]
Ares, Sigurd, and Zekka listened intently to Shion’s strategy . And thus, the fire of war that the barbarians had ignited is about to be doused .