“How deep is their influence?” Zich asked, and Weig shook his head.
“We don’t know exactly how much. We also learned about the Steif Fortress while looking through the documents, so we came to visit the Count for this reason.” Since the fortress was within the Steelwall Estate, they needed the Count’s collaboration to gain information.
Zich stared at Count Steelwall. The Count’s face looked like it was full of worries because of the current situation's direction. Even though he was trying not to show it, he couldn’t stop the slight changes in emotion on his face. That showed how dire he considered the current situation to be.
‘Nonetheless, that’s none of my concern.’ Zich did not have even the tiniest bit of concern for the Steelwall Estate as he looked to the Count.
“You heard what they said, right?” Zich asked.
“…Yeah.” The Count finally opened his tightly sealed mouth. His worried-filled voice slowly filled the room.
“Do you know anything about it?”
“I sent someone. I expect to see a report soon,” the Count answered. In other words, he didn’t know about the place that well.
‘There was no way the Count, who didn’t even know the Bellids were sneaking into Violsa, would know about a fortress that’s far from here.’ It was expected. Zich looked back at the documents again. They had only found out that the Bellids’ forces had penetrated the Steif Fortress, and there was no exact information in the documents. The documents only stated that the Bellids were planning to use their forces inside the fortress to further their plan, which was to crush the Horus Gorge.
Zich then stated, “Those fish-head worshippers must have become really fearless to try to artificially create a lake that covers three estates.”
“It seems like they have forgotten their places after sticking their heads inside water for too long,” Weig said.
“Sir Weig, please. Those guys never knew their place in the first place.”
“Oh yes. You’re correct, Saintess. Like you said, there’s no way those bastards would ever realize their place.” Weig immediately admitted his mistake. If Bellid followers had overheard their conversation, they would have raised their swords in anger and tried to kill them both—although their heads would have flown off from the mere attempt.
“It’s true that this issue is quite bothersome. If the Bellids have penetrated the Steif Fortress deeply, beyond our expectations, then we would have difficulties investigating the Horus Gorge too.”
“The situation there could be much worse than your expectations, Sir Weig,” Zich said.
People’s attention shot toward Zich.
“What do you mean by ‘much more than our expectations’?”
“If the Bellids have the entire Steif Fortress within their grasp, we would have to forcefully occupy the place.”
Shock rippled across the room. The Count and Trell opened their eyes wide, and Lubell and Weig also appeared stunned.
“Do you really think the situation could be that bad?” Trell cautiously expressed a contradictory opinion to Zich’s words, but his voice shook lightly.
“Who would have predicted that there were so many Bellid underlings inside the Count’s residence though?”
“…” Trell couldn’t retort.
“…Then, does that mean we might really have to go to battle to occupy the fortress?” Lubella sighed.
“In the worst-case scenario, I think so.”
“How high do you think the possibility is, Sir Zich?”
“I can’t make exact predictions since we lack information, but I personally think there’s a high chance—especially if you consider how much care and effort those guys placed into this plan.”
People fell into silence. The situation was becoming more and more serious. The Count covered his face with his hands. Beyond rage, the Count was starting to feel tired and lost. However, there was no time for the Count to linger in these feelings, and Zich said to the Count, “If we have to really attack the Steif Fortress, you can’t just dispatch some knights and soldiers like you have been doing. You have to send off an army. Will you be ready to do that at any time?”
“There’s no proof that the entire fortress is in the Bellids’ hands.”
“So are you going to move when you are certain? We don’t have much time. We don’t know how far their plan to destroy the Horus Gorge has progressed. If the gorge is broken down while we bide time here, there will be great damages.”
The Count pressed his temples like he was tired. His motions didn’t seem to relieve him one bit because of the sheer amount of burden he seemed to be feeling now.
“Trell.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Give an order to the central army right now and gather the Steel Spear Order of Knights and the Steel Sword Order of Knights. Prepare to do drafts just in case too.”
“I understand, sir.” Then, Trell excused himself and left the room.
“We should also make preparations,” Weig said to Lubella.
“Yes.”
Lubella and Weig also got up. Thus, Zich had no longer any reason to remain inside the room. He also wanted to avoid being left alone with Count Steelwall too.
“I will also excuse myself.” Zich got up. Like that, the sudden meeting came to an end. People worked on their own responsibilities and waited for the person the Count had sent to learn about the fortress’ situation to come back.
Several days later, they got the news that the person who had been sent to the fortress was killed by the commander there. At the same time, they also heard reports that suspicious movements had been spotted inside the fortress. Zich’s worst prediction had come true.
* * *
The Steelwall family began moving extensively as soon as news of the Bellids’ capture of the Steif Fortress. The Count immediately sent out all the forces he could send and formed an expedition team. The Karuwimans who heard this news sent out their holy knights and priests and joined forces with the Steelwalls. Of course, Zich was also part of this group. Hans, Snoc, Elena, and Lara also joined the expedition team, and Zich even dragged Greig in as well.
“Have you got some rest?” Even though Zich had practically dragged Greig around, Greig was slowly becoming more and more fatigued from the rigorous schedule. As such, he had given Greig a short break when he had gone to destroy the latest Bellid temple. Moreover, he also gave his disciples a break as well, so all of the party members were in peak condition.
“Yeah.” Greig replied calmly—no, he tried to reply calmly, but judging by his stiff expression and lower-than-usual voice, it was obvious that he was extremely nervous.
‘Well, it’s only natural.’ What they were going to do from now on was officially a war. It was only natural for Grieg to get nervous for his first intense battle. Even though he heard that the Countess was strongly against Greig participating in this battle, Zich completely ignored her. The Countess’ opposition was merely the buzzing of a fly to him, not even worth his attention.
Even though it would have been slightly cumbersome if the Count had also opposed Zich’s decision, the Count had actually accepted it without much hesitation. It seemed as if the Count had also made the same judgment, since the situation was becoming more and more serious. It would be better for Greig to gain experience despite the dangers. Moreover, there was a high possibility that they would win this battle.
Even though this was a war, their target was only the Steif Fortress. Moreover, the Steif Fortress was built to face enemies coming from the Horus Gorge. Thus, it was difficult for those at the Steif Fortress to face the Steelwall forces coming from the opposite direction. In addition, holy knights and priests were also participating in this battle, and Saintess Lubella and the strongest Karuwiman Holy Knight, Belri Weig, were even included in this group.
No matter how much Zich thought about it, there was no better opportunity than this to help Greig gain experience as the next successor. The Count was not so out of touch that he would miss this great opportunity, even while his head hurt from dealing with such a chaotic situation.
“That’s good to hear. I’m sure you’ll still feel nervous, but all you have to do is fight like you usually do. At least you won’t die.” Since Zich was still technically treating(?) Greig, Zich encouraged Greig by tapping his shoulders, unlike his usual self.
“Got it.” Greig also instantly nodded, also unlike his usual self. It seemed as if Zich’s treatment, which seemed like a complete scam, actually had an effect, as Greig was slowly moving away from his profligate lifestyle. Moreover, his attitude towards Zich was also much gentler than before; he didn’t look at Zich like he was looking at his parent’s sworn enemy.
After encouraging Greig, Zich approached his party members this time. “Hey, how is your condition?”
All four of his party members nodded in unison. Hans replied as the representative. “Sir, we’re in good shape.”
Zich carefully scanned all their faces and then nodded. ‘Well, it’s as expected.’
Hans and Snoc really looked to be in good condition. Their complexion looked bright, and they didn’t even look tired. Instead, they even seemed too relaxed in front of a war. However, this wasn’t the case for Elena and Lara.
‘I can understand why.’ Hans and Snoc had gone through all kinds of adventures while accompanying Zich, and both the wealth and the depth of their experience, as well as the challenges they had overcome, were far beyond their peers. However, this wasn’t true for Elena and Lara. Elena had joined Zich’s party much later on, and she had only studied at the magic tower. From what Lara said, it didn’t seem like she had much experience either.
Even though Glen should have helped Lara build experience for his ideal ‘hero party’, it seemed as if he had completely excluded and prevented her from gaining experience when he saw that she wouldn’t give up her sword.
‘The more I hear about that punk, the more he looks like a total loser.’ On the other hand, regardless of Glen’s personality, Elena and Lara probably felt a lot of pressure about joining a war against other humans. Of course, Zich was sure that talented people like them would be able to easily adjust. However, it was also true that they probably wouldn’t be able to display their full strength and might fall into danger. Even though Greig was in a similar position, the Count’s knights would probably protect him.
“Hans, Snoc.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Protect them in this battle,” Zich said to Hans while looking at Lara and pointed his chin towards Elena to Snoc.
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, I will!”
If those two protected them, Elena and Lara would at least not die, even in the worst-case scenario. Elena’s expression became slightly brighter, but Lara’s expression worsened instead. Their reactions reflected their disposition so well that Zich let out a small burst of laughter. ‘That’s the difference between a mage and a swordfighter.’
Mages normally attacked from the rear, and swordfighters normally stood at the front and attacked their enemies head-on. So it couldn’t be helped that they would have different thoughts about being protected. However, Lara didn’t complain, since she knew that this was not a situation where she could cling to her pride while she still lacked skills. Instead, she became even more motivated and passionate to hone her skills using this experience.
Like this, all the preparations were complete, and the expedition team headed towards the Steif Fortress.