"And the one next to Bursen?"
"Looks like it's Briol."
"Briol? Puhaha, the so-called country of knights. That title's just an empty name the king got for swinging a sword well. Why would a king even be good at swordsmanship? Does that make any sense? A king should just govern properly, not go around swinging blades. What is this, a land of butchers?"
Yuri carefully recorded every word he said.
Bursen, a fishy-smelling backwater. Fish caught in a net.
Briol, a nation where butcher bastards live.
Holy Kingdom, a group of swindlers who sell gods to make money.
Joachim, a pseudo-state where a bandit leader plays king with a couple of mountain strongholds.
Klein, perfume-sellers turned beggars after civil strife.
And so on...
From start to finish, the man insulted everyone, slandering each kingdom one by one.
His gossiping was so masterful that even Yuri, who prided himself on his skill in slander and schemes, was at a loss for words.
The soldiers, wanting no part of it, raised their flags and left, heads bowed.
The adjutant gave a nod.
"I see."
But that wasn't the end.
His tongue charged forward like a bull with its tail on fire. If you judged by eloquence alone, he was a fearless general.
"And the Empire? They're just the same."
"S-Sir…"
"What, hunting Orcs? Don't make me laugh. I don't get why they suddenly gathered all the nations. It's just called an Empire, but it's no different from a local gang leader's turf. I think the emperor's gone senile, and the crown prince is…"
Yuri eagerly took notes on the Empire part. He freely recorded the man's criticism of the Empire, which claimed to be the suzerain nation.
The adjutant beside him, as if this were routine, closed his eyes and let the words pass in one ear and out the other.
As the man paused to catch his breath after his long tirade, Yuri took the moment to make his presence known.
"Oops, my hand slipped."
Snap! Yuri's pencil broke clean in half.
Startled, the man and the adjutant turned to look behind them.
"Oh no, such a precious pencil…"
As he said that, Yuri carefully folded the paper and tucked it into his coat.
His actions made it clear what he had just been doing.
"Wh-Who are you?"
The man ran over, eyes wide.
"Where are you from? Were you hiding like a rat? Whose side are you on, listening in and even writing it down…?"
Looking at Yuri's shabby appearance, the man jumped to conclusions and began questioning him aggressively. But the adjutant, studying Yuri more closely, looked uncertain and tried to stop the man.
"Sir, please, calm down—"
"Calm down? What's there to calm down about? A rat like this needs a beating to shut his mouth."
His words were as reckless as his actions.
He shoved the adjutant aside.
"Make this bastard kneel!"
"Sir. We don't even know who he is yet—"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Yuri reflected for a moment.
Why did most people he met for the first time assume he was just a low-ranking soldier?
Even accounting for his practical outfit, the assumption was excessive.
There were frontline knights who dressed like this, and besides, his appearance exuded nobility.
"Look at the way this bastard's standing, all lopsided. Look at that thuggish face. He's clearly some commoner who's been rolling in the dirt. No class, no grace."
Yuri came to a realization. It must have been the habits he picked up during his mercenary days.
"Sir, please…"
"You, got no complaints, right? Then take your beating."
He suddenly threw a punch.
Watching the clean motion aimed at his face, Yuri understood why this man's behavior was so arrogant.
Considering his age, the guy was definitely gifted.
Well, no one coming to fight Orcs would be weak.
But the world is full of more geniuses than you'd expect.
Yuri casually caught the punch and threw him in a counter move.
Thinking Yuri was just a grunt, the man had let his guard down and was tossed to the ground.
"Huh?"
Yuri wagged his finger side to side.
"Weak."
"Y-You—!"
"What's your name?"
"H-How does a soldier—"
"I am Yuri Briol, third prince of Briol, and commander of the Briol army."
"…Huh?"
The blood drained from the man's face.
Since the adjutant had called him "sir," the man must have been someone of lower rank.
Yuri approached him and looked down.
"The name of the man who dared raise his fist to me?"
"I-I'm…"
When Yuri poked him in the forehead with a finger, the man flinched awkwardly. Yuri pulled out the paper and waved it.
"Speak. Now."
"A…"
His face twisted. He had realized he'd been caught with his pants down.
"You're not thinking of stealing this, are you?"
"N-No, that's not it…"
"Think carefully. As you said, our Briol is ruled by a butcher king."
"That's a misunderstanding."
"Plenty of those going around."
Yuri unfolded the paper and began to read aloud.
"Bursen is a fishy-smelling backwater, the Holy Kingdom is a bunch of hypocritical merchants…"
"Truly a misunderstanding! I didn't mean it. I was just—"
The adjutant quickly stepped in, almost on his knees before Yuri.
"Your Highness. Please, this is a misunderstanding. The young master was just letting off stress from the war with some mindless talk. I beg you to discard that paper. Please, I implore you."
He even slammed his forehead against the ground. A loyal adjutant indeed.
The man followed up.
"Y-Yes, that's right…"
"No."
Yuri furrowed his brow.
"Who said anything? I asked you who you are."
"I…"
The adjutant tapped the man's shin. It was a signal to just speak.
The man tightly closed his eyes and said,
"Liberda Allied Army, Sven Gane."
"Your title?"
"Eldest son of Count Abra."
"The son of a count."
Yuri took the broken pencil and began scribbling down the name.
Sven panicked.
"What are you doing?!"
"Collecting leverage."
"You said you'd forgive me—!"
"When did I ever say that?"
"Ugh…"
A flicker of inner conflict crossed his face.
Yuri immediately kicked Sven in the gut.
"Gah!"
"Can't control your killing intent?"
Yuri looked down at the fallen Sven.
"Just now, you were thinking about slitting my throat, weren't you?"
"Never, absolutely not…"
"Try it."
Yuri released mana from his body using the mana method. The mana of the heart-soul slash began to seep into the surroundings.
The adjutant lowered his head.
He had realized that even if they both attacked together, they couldn't win.
"Sven."
"Y-Yes…"
"When you live long enough, you end up talking behind others' backs here and there. Isn't that right?"
"Y-Yes…"
"I understand."
Yuri looked around. There was no presence. Only the three of them were here.
Suddenly, Yuri reached out his hand.
"Let's shake hands."
Sven stared at him in confusion, then eventually took his hand. He could feel the damp sweat.
Yuri immediately let go and wiped his hand on his clothes.
"Do you know what a secret friend is?"
"Excuse me?"
"We're secret friends now."
Yuri tapped the chest where the paper was tucked.
"It means we help each other. If we get intel, we share it. If there's danger, we give each other a heads-up. It's mutual support."
"R-Right…"
"Don't think of it too negatively. This paper, you could see it as a weakness, sure, but looked at another way, isn't it a token of secret friendship?"
"If it's a token, shouldn't we exchange something—"
"You still don't get it, do you."
Yuri leaned in.
"Want me to just treat it as you getting caught?"
"No, no…"
"What could I even get out of you? You're not worth much…"
"…"
"All I want is for the Allied Army to achieve its goal and disband safely. You feel the same, right? So let's help each other."
Yuri patted him on the shoulder.
"Sven."
"Y-Yes."
"Go on."
Sven drooped and turned away with the adjutant.
Yuri clicked his tongue as he watched him go.
He had happened to catch him in the act and gotten leverage, but it was unclear whether Sven would be of any real use.
Still, seeing that his adjutant followed him so loyally, the Gane family likely wasn't small in influence.
Yuri muttered,
"You never know with people."
If he'd learned anything from his past life, it was that you could never predict people. Unexpected allies appeared, and those you trusted betrayed you.
That's why you needed contingency plans.
Yuri counted the number of flags.
All the nations had arrived. Now the real war would begin.
In his past life, Okua crushed the Allied Army and claimed one of the Ten Strongest positions.
That wouldn't happen this time.
Yuri looked down at his shadow.
"Asana."
He called his loyal retainer.
"Yes."
A voice responded from behind.
He turned to see Asana standing there.
He'd known she was guarding the area, but he hadn't realized she was so close.
Yuri didn't mind.
Failing to sense the last heir of the Assassin Cult wasn't something to be ashamed of.
"How long have you been there?"
"Since earlier."
"Looks like your skills have improved."
"They have. My techniques work better on the plains. Maybe because it's so quiet."
"Yeah?"
Yuri tilted his head.
"Anyway, so Balshad came all the way here."
"We found traces of him here."
Yuri had tasked Asana with tracking the "Outsider."
Since the only cities on the plains were Gid and Balshad, it wasn't strange that he'd passed through both.
"Do you think he's in Balshad?"
"I don't know. Quite a few people claim to have seen him. We'll find him soon. Or…"
Asana glanced around.
It was silent.
"He might already be somewhere, waiting for me."
"I heard he's not the violent type, but still, be careful."
"I'm not the one who needs to be careful, Your Highness."
"Yeah, I suppose."
The Outsider, one of the Ten Strongest on the continent, was an anomaly even among those elite warriors.
He came from the East, beyond the plains.
No one knew why he came to the western continent, but one day, he appeared out of nowhere, killed the then-member of the Ten Strongest, the Wanderer Zikman, and took his place.
Yuri had only one reason to seek him out.
"I need to find him before we face Okua."
Because he was the one who handed the Ten Strongest title to Okua.
Near the end of the Orc subjugation, he appeared on the plains and clashed with Okua. Witnesses say it was a bloody battle that ended in a draw.
Barely surviving, he continued to ambush Okua, but in the end, he was brutally killed.
Whatever the reason, the Outsider was an enemy of Okua.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Yuri intended to find and persuade him before fate played out as it had in his past life.
"Hurry."
"Yes."
Asana nodded. Finding him as soon as possible was important for Yuri's safety as well.
"And I saw the Rein Company. The merchant caravan was moving goods constantly."
"Yeah? They're doing well. I told them everything—if they mess up, that'd be embarrassing. If you need anything, just use my name and take it."
"Funds are sufficient."
War could be a money-making opportunity for some. Yuri had given information to Rein so they wouldn't miss out.
So far, everything was going according to plan.
Yuri said,
"If anything unusual happens, let me know."
"Yes."
Asana nodded. Her figure began to fade slightly.
Yuri shook his head. His eyes couldn't focus. He shut them tightly and opened them again.
No one was there.
Yuri chuckled. If an assassin like that targeted your neck, how terrifying would it be?
But even someone like Asana had to avoid true monsters.
"Still a long way to go."
In his past life, the Allied Army had been stopped, and the former Ten Strongest, the Outsider, had died.
Okua, that monster, had made it so.
But even Okua didn't dare defy the emperor.
Countless nations of the continent, numerous mighty warriors, had all bowed before the Empire's might.
The Allied Army was just the beginning.
A long, long road lay ahead.
"There's no time, no time…"
Yuri gripped his gauntlet.
There was no time to stand still.
He had started a new life, but there was still much he lacked.
He returned to camp immediately.
As he had ordered, his troops were focused on training. It was a completely different sight from the other nations waiting idly in the fortress.
"What are they even doing?"
"Unlucky to get this commander."
"Pointless efforts…"
Soldiers from other nations chuckled as they watched.
Yuri passed them and entered the camp. The knights training inside looked at him.
Among the onlookers, Yuri spotted a huge figure watching with an envious gaze.
Yuri grinned and called out to him.
"Sir Jose."
"Yes?"
"Want to join?"
His eyes widened, then he gave a bright smile.
"Yes."