“…That’s some great confidence.”
“If what I saw is right, magic is the power that changed history.”
Aranju Dolan didn’t seem interested in what the Wizard was saying. What mattered to her was the current Danyum and what Deimerit is now.
“If it’s such a great power, can you drive out Black Scale?”
Yan shook his head as if it was a question he had expected.
“That would be hard to do.”
“Why? I don’t know how strong your power is, and how many soldiers your power can replace, but I have soldiers I can deploy right away.”
“You’re talking about those whose morale has hit rock bottom and aren’t even armed?” Yan elaborated. “The current Black Scale is hard even for me to handle. And Night Sky is a formidable god. Given Night Sky has great interest in magic and Wizards, I can’t easily make a move against them.”
“…Hm.”
Aranju looked at Yan with suspicion, but couldn’t find a point to criticize.
“Are you saying that you could protect Danyum given enough time? And what about driving away Black Scale?”
“That’s a difficult question.”
“What part?”
“For example, let’s say Black Scale conquers the whole continent. Wouldn’t it be hard for Danyum to be the only exception to the newly established order?”
Aranju replied, “You’re a defeatist.”
“But it’s not a baseless assumption, is it?”
“…It isn’t.”
It seemed obvious that the five allied nations would triumph over Black Scale. However, the writings were now on the wall that Black Scale would be the victor against Danyum. While it was the only nation being put into the difficult situation and made to surrender, there was no guarantee that the five allied nations were going to win.
‘Is it simply because Danyum had internal issues? Or is it just Black Scale’s luck?’
Aranju couldn’t be certain. Lakrak the Apostle was still alive and well, and Black Scale’s army was also powerful. While the rest of the alliance would join forces to attack Black Scale, but that didn’t seem enough.
Yan said, “But I’m not finished talking.”
“Then what?”
Aranju made eye contact with Yan.
Yan continued to say, “There’s a need to clarify what it is you want to protect.”
“What do I want to protect?”
“If it’s the country named Danyum, that would be difficult.”
“I suppose so.” 𝘪𝑎.𝘤𝑜𝘮
“Do you still serve the god called Limitless God?”
“…Yes, for now.”
“Hm. In any case, I don’t have enough power to stop a fight between the gods.”
“Then what is it that you can protect?”
Yan replied, “The people of this country.”
Aranju gulped as if that was an unexpected answer.
“…Even if the country disappears, the people aren’t going anywhere. Why do the people need to be saved?”
“You’re understanding it wrong. You would know if you’ve learned the history of Danyum and the other countries. Those who do not follow any god were attacked and persecuted in the name of the gods of all the countries in this continent. And the same was true for our species. Do you think you and your descendants would be able to live peacefully with your country taken away, and the land conquered by a god that isn’t your own?”
“Then how would you save the people?”
Yan made a fist.
“With power.”
“…Power.”
“No one can ignore us if we have power. What needs protection isn’t the country or the god, but the people. And we are the people. People need to have power.”
Aranju slowly asked, “Is that power magic?”
“Yes.”
Aranju sat at the edge of her desk.
Yan urged, “There’s not a lot of time to think about it. I had to use magic to evade the gods’ scrutiny to come see you. You need to make the decision before the sun rises.”
Aranju felt her head throbbing. She knew that the choice she would make tonight would determine many things.
After a while, Aranju raised her head.
“…Okay. I’m done thinking.”
***
“It’s been a while, General Vasen.”
Vasen blinked at the messenger who had brought Kyle’s answer from Orazen.
“…Long time no see, Hunting Minister. I didn’t expect you to be the one to come this far.”
Standing in front of Vasen was someone with red eyes and white scales. It was Deyanin.
“We’re at war, so there’s nothing keeping me busy. If a minister cares about banquets or hunting in time of war, they would be scolded by His Majesty. Therefore, it’s natural for someone who has nothing to do in the castle to go out instead of those who are busy.”
Vasen laughed at Deyanin’s casual way of putting it.
Vasen knew that Deyanin was Kyle’s hands and feet under the table, so the fact that Deyanin had come this far meant that this was a matter that Kyle was very interested in and considered important.
“Did you say it was Aranju Dolan? You can stop caring about the new queen of Danyum now.”
“Hm.”
Vasen nodded.
Vasen had continued to perform well as a general, winning the battle at Dilpa Gorge and more. However, Vasen was still a royal, and he had been the crown prince before. If he also took on diplomatic duties, the ministers would surely get anxious. Therefore, Kyle sending Deyanin as an envoy was a measure to protect Vasen. And it was also true that Deyanin would be better than Vasen at this.
“We were able to recruit more soldiers while you were in battle. We might be able to somehow move Danyum’s soldiers by negotiating with Danyum’s queen, but there’s no guarantee for that, and you must know…the armies of the other countries are already on the move.”
Vasen nodded.
The armies of the other countries had been on the move after Black Scale entered Deimerit. Red Fruit, which could be considered Danyum’s closest ally country, sent an army of 20,000. Mangul, which was fairly far away, sent 24,000, and Golden Eye sent 18,000. All together, there were a total of 62,000 troops marching toward Deimerit. As each army had departed from different locations, the speed at which each army was marching was also different in order to match their arrival time, but they were all expected to arrive within a month.
“Is Asbestos still in a civil war?”
“I guess I’ve received recent news sooner. Apparently Asbestos’ internal war will end with the victory of the depraved man who killed his own father.”
“Hm.”
Vasen knew of Redin BR Oser. Vasen didn’t think Redin committing a sin against the heavens was a big deal.
‘If you wanted to be king that much.’
And Vasen had also heard the rumors that Redin’s father, Delmardin, wasn’t such a great person. But the unusual part was Redin’s background. Before Redin killed the king, he had very little power. However, he had almost dealt with all the other nobles by himself and was now steadily consolidating his place.
Deyanin said, “As if he’s favored by God.”
“It seems so.”
“Seriously though, apparently he’s going around saying so himself that he’s the apostle of Binding God.”
“I wonder.”
Deyanin calculated the time it would take Asbestos to prepare their soldiers after their civil war ended. It wouldn’t take long since there were already soldiers with actual experience.
Deyanin then said, “Anyway…the 5000 soldiers I brought isn’t much, but I know you will use them well.”
“I’ll try.”
“We also brought weapons that might help. Our arsenal makes sure we’ll have a steady supply of weapons, and 500 out of 5000 have completed their training for their use.”
Vasen wondered at those words and asked, “Did you bring cannons? If so, we could’ve gotten some here at Danyum. They’re similar in quality. And looking at the gunpowder alone, the shooting range is shorter, but less smoke is produced.”
“You can get gunpowder here. But the cannons we brought this time… They are cannons, but there are two types.”
“Two types?”
Deyanin nodded.
“One of them is an improved version, so the barrel is a little longer. That’s why it also got a bit heavier, but it should shoot a little farther and more accurately. Since it requires more gunpowder, we fixed the gunpowder flasks so that more could be put into it, and also so that the cannoneers could carry them around more easily than before. You could hear more about that from the experienced soldiers…”
“What else?”
“For the other one, we changed the size of a different component so it became a bit of a different weapon. The Technology Minister said it would be useful, but a few of the officers said they weren’t so sure about it. If the Technology Minister hadn’t insisted on it, we wouldn’t have even brought it. I think you should see it for yourself and decide.”
Vasen nodded.
“We can take a look and check. If it’s not so useful, take it when you go back.”
“Haha, what a joke.”
“I can’t make soldiers protect weapons that we won’t use. If we do, the enemies might use them, so we would have to melt them all. Then we would have to gather all of Deimerit’s blacksmiths for that.”
“…Then I hope it’s useful.”
With that, Deyanin got to his feet. Meeting Vasen wasn’t very important to him; not because Vasen wasn’t a key figure, but because while Vasen had his responsibility, Deyanin also had his.
‘I must complete the task that His Majesty talked about.’
So Deyanin went on his way to meet Aranju Dolan, as well as another person.
***
While Deyanin went to meet Aranju, Vasen met with the new soldiers that came before checking the new weapons that Deyanin talked about.
Lizardmen accounted for only 10 percent of all soldiers. Still, the soldiers were pretty good considering their limited training time.
At the temporary arsenal in Deimerit, which was secured by kicking out the nobles, adjutant Su-Heon had already been checking the weapons.
“Here you are, General.”
Vasen looked at the cannons that had been taken out of their boxes and laid out.
“Is this…the thing the Hunting Minister was talking about?”
“Yes. This is the improved cannon. I just did a trial demonstration, and the cannonball flies about fifty steps further than with the original cannon.”
“Fifty steps?”
It was hard for Vasen to hide his smile.
If it was a fifty step difference, with the cannons being fired in order, they would be able to shoot at least once more before the enemy approaches. That might not mean much when facing infantry or cavalry, but things would be different when facing the opponent’s cannon.
Su-Heon also smiled and said, “Yes. But what’s even greater is the other weapon.”
“What is it?”
“Follow me.”
Vasen followed Su-Heon to the backyard. As soon as they got there, there was a loud boom, accompanied by white smoke covering the backyard. Vasen had gotten used to the cannons and the smoke that came from the black gunpowder, but something else surprised him.
“The cannon is quiet.”
“Yes. It is quiet.”
As the smoke cleared, the soldiers who had just fired the cannons appeared. There was no big cannon beside the soldiers. The soldiers were holding them in their hands. They were the size of a forearm, and a long rod was attached to them, perhaps to prevent the cannon from recoiling.
“It’s small.”
“It’s small, and it can also be fired alone.”
“Alone?”
Su-Heon explained, “A trigger is put on it like the catapults used in Mangul. Gunpowder is prefilled, and the wick slowly burns. When you pull the trigger, the wick touches the gunpowder and fires immediately… Would you like a try?”
Vasen was interested, and he took the new cannon into his hands.
“What do you call this?”
“The technology officials call it a Hand Cannon.”
This content is taken from 𝘪𝘳.𝘤𝑜