Ragna looked over the map pinned inside the tent.
"Hmph..."
In the war to come, military strategy held little meaning.
An endlessly sprawling grassland.
There, Okua was waiting.
Ragna swept his eyes over the crests of the thirteen nations entrusted to him.
The Empire's roaring lion always occupied the highest place.
Below it, the remaining kingdoms were listed.
In terms of military might, the Holy Kingdom or Bursen would likely come next after the Empire. But what caught his eye was Briol.
"Yuri..."
Ragna unconsciously smiled as he recalled the boy.
He liked Yuri.
The boy knew exactly what needed to be done, and executed it with precision.
He was already so complete, there was hardly anything left to teach.
Even the occasional arrogance he displayed felt more like confidence.
"Reminds me of my younger days."
Of course, Yuri now was already stronger than he himself had been back then.
If he continued growing like this, he'd truly become a monster.
Watching the boy made Ragna regret not having a child of his own. So instead, he wanted to set him up with his niece.
Yuri would surely be able to handle her.
Putting those two—whom no one could imagine ending up with anyone—together made the picture fall perfectly into place.
"Surprisingly fitting..."
In any case, it was something to think about only after killing Okua and returning safely.
Ragna hardened his expression and looked back at the map.
Despite being slaughtered time after time, the Orcs kept dispatching troops. Because of that, their march continued to be delayed.
But the Orcs' losses were just as severe.
What was Okua trying to do with black magic?
Ragna clapped his hands.
At that, the tent flap opened and a adjutant peeked inside.
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Bring me Aizen."
"Yes."
Aizen was a mage brought from the Empire.
Soon, the adjutant led him in.
His clean-cut appearance outside the robe didn't quite fit the usual image of a mage. He had exceptional talent in dispelling magic.
"You called, Your Highness."
Ragna got straight to the point.
"What's the most terrifying black magic you know?"
"Well..."
Aizen tilted his head slightly.
"I don't have much knowledge of the black magic Your Highness refers to. I've heard bits and pieces, but they sounded too absurd to take seriously..."
"And among those absurd rumors?"
"As Your Highness likely knows, resurrecting the dead."
Gert was a target under surveillance by the Empire.
After discovering it was a product of black magic, the Empire began regularly dispatching investigative teams to the land of the former Adelvine.
The results were gruesome.
Gert left no visitor alive.
"Then why is Okua stalling for time?"
"If he's truly using black magic, I can't say for sure, but..."
Aizen closed his eyes in thought.
"Perhaps he's trying to summon something?"
"Summon?"
"There are many spells that take time, but if it's something for warfare, that kind of magic comes to mind. It's only a possibility, of course."
"I see. Anything else?"
"Other than that..."
Ragna continued the conversation with Aizen.
Aizen was skeptical about black magic.
"If he really is using black magic, he must have acquired something related to it. A magic tome or an artifact. The plains used to be home to ancient kingdoms—he might've found a dungeon."
"Then is it a serious threat?"
"I don't think there's any need for excessive worry. Just my opinion, but I believe Okua has miscalculated."
"Miscalculated?"
"Even if he uses black magic, the Allied Army's magical power is superior."
He was brimming with confidence.
"Not just the Empire, but other nations have also deployed high-level mages. We won't lose to some shaman. I believe other mages feel the same."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Ragna nodded.
Magic on the continent had developed greatly.
Meanwhile, though the Orcs had shamans, they couldn't compare to real mages.
Sorcery was closer to a primitive form of magic.
"Is this because of the ambush?"
"Something like that."
"I hesitate to speak on military strategy, but don't you think there's no need to rush? It seems to me that Okua is exhausting his troops by falling into his own trap."
It was a reasonable point.
The battlefield is a place of constant deception.
Perhaps making Ragna rush was Okua's very aim.
Ragna nodded.
"Thanks for the advice."
"Not at all. I hope it was helpful."
"It was."
"An honor."
Aizen bowed and left the tent.
Left alone, Ragna leaned back in his chair, lost in thought.
Move too quickly, and he might fall into a trap. Move too slowly, and the Orcs might pull something off.
The conclusion was clear—he had to maintain a moderate pace while fending off the Orc assaults.
"In the end, nothing changes."
That was the same as what he had been doing.
Ragna muttered the name of the new force entrusted to him.
"The Outsider."
His existence helped Ragna remain composed.
He didn't know what kind of deal had been made, but Yuri had brought the Outsider into the Allied Army.
Considering how he rarely got along with anyone, it was certainly an unusual case.
The Outsider would become a formidable asset. It was like obtaining the strongest weapon to confront Okua.
Suddenly, he felt a desire to see him.
"Shall I meet him once?"
Ragna stepped out of the tent. The adjutant quickly followed.
It was a bright, moonlit night.
As they headed toward Briol's camp, the sound of clashing arms suddenly reached them.
"What are they doing?"
"The knights are training."
"At this hour?"
"Yes."
The adjutant nodded and added,
"It seems the third prince of Briol has stirred them up."
Ragna chuckled.
The Empire's knights in black armor were not only powerful, but also infamous for their brutality. They were often said to be more machine than human.
But take off their helmets, and they were just men.
Seeing another knight could spark a competitive spirit in them.
Still, who would believe their rival was an eighteen-year-old kid?
"I was surprised too."
The adjutant cleared his throat and said,
"He killed three Orcs cleanly. In an instant."
"He did."
"For someone who's eighteen, that's just…"
"Impressive, right?"
"Yes."
"Don't worry. I'll see what I can do."
"Pardon?"
"I'd like to see him in the Empire's black armor."
"Haha..."
After sharing his true thoughts with the adjutant, Ragna headed to the training grounds.
The knights, swinging wooden swords in casual attire, stopped at the sight of his arrival.
"Looks like I'm interrupting."
"Not at all!"
The faces of the knights, now without helmets, were ordinary.
From youthful men to middle-aged ones with wrinkles at the corners of their eyes, they were faces you might commonly see on the street.
These men had earned the Empire's black armor purely through skill.
Ragna picked one of the wooden swords stacked in a box.
"Maybe I'll give it a go, it's been a while."
"Your Highness, that's…"
"Just for a moment."
Ragna pointed to the captain of the knights.
He bowed lightly and stepped in front of Ragna. The rest of the knights resumed their training.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
Ragna raised his wooden sword, recalling a scene from memory.
Following the Orc delegation, Yuri had cleanly cut down three of them.
Ragna could've handled three as well. But he wasn't sure he could've done it that quickly and cleanly.
Every move had flowed as if choreographed.
That was probably why the knight order was now training so fervently.
"Don't go easy on me."
The captain nodded.
He was a man of few words. But his skills were unquestionable.
Ragna and the knight captain exchanged a few bouts.
"Yuri Briol. You saw him, right?"
"Yes."
"What did you think?"
After a brief silence, the captain replied.
"He's skilled. So much that it's hard to believe his age."
Ragna agreed. Yuri was unusually seasoned for someone his age.
And not just in swordsmanship.
His decisions were quick, and once resolved, he executed without hesitation.
Who would've thought he'd cut off an Orc's head and plant a flag on it?
Brutal, yes, but effective.
It was, in a way, close to the Empire's style.
That brief incident had completely changed the knight captain's assessment of Yuri.
"He'll be dangerous once he grows more."
The captain, uncharacteristically, added a comment.
Ragna let out a low chuckle.
"If he's an enemy, yes."
"..."
Understanding his meaning, the captain gave a slight nod.
"All right, here I come!"
Ragna pressured the captain with his wooden sword.
Though it looked like he was being overwhelmed, the captain deftly slipped away and ended up behind Ragna. He moved with the smoothness of a snake.
An impressive skill indeed.
Ragna shrugged.
"That's enough for now."
"Yes."
The captain gave a short reply and bowed his head.
That was it.
Ragna muttered to himself.
"Not a sociable guy at all."
Ragna praised the knight order for their efforts and moved on. To reach Briol's camp, he had to pass through the territories of other nations.
With his hands behind his back, Ragna walked across the camp.
All who saw the red cape offered him a respectful bow.
"This is Bursen, isn't it?"
"Yes."
The knights Jonathan and Jose were worth keeping an eye on.
Bursen's influence seemed likely to grow in the future.
He passed through the next nation's camp.
As he looked around, he saw many young, talented knights. Some looked destined to make a name for themselves in the future.
Once the Allied Army disbanded, they would all return stronger.
Ragna suddenly had a thought.
If the Allied Army failed—
Each nation would lose its young, talented knights all at once.
That meant the loss of those who would carry the future.
A tremendous blow.
Who would benefit from that?
The answer was obvious.
He recalled the letter brought by the Orcs.
When Ragna first read it, he didn't think it was entirely absurd.
"Hmph..."
Caught up in thought, he let out a grin.
"So that's what it was. That guy…"
"Pardon?"
"No, just talking to myself."
If even he had been shaken for a moment, once the other nations started to doubt the Empire, the Allied Army would begin to fracture.
And the more dire the situation, the more likely that would become.
But then Yuri had killed the Orc delegation and insulted them.
He had erased all other options.
Now only one path remained.
Whatever the hidden circumstances, whatever schemes had been set in motion against him and the Allied Army, they just had to crush Okua and the Orcs.
With that conclusion, Ragna arrived in front of Briol's camp.
But something was off.
"What's this?"
A large crowd had gathered.
At first, he thought they were training like the other nations, but it wasn't that.
"What are they doing?"
"I'm not sure, but…"
The adjutant furrowed his brows and leaned down.
Occasional bursts of laughter and shrieks could be heard.
"Hmm…"
As they got closer, a familiar voice reached them.
"You cheated, didn't you? You had a card under there, didn't you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I know all your tells, and that just now—"
"I knew the prince knew my tells. I aimed for that."
"Well, I knew you knew that I knew your tells and aimed for that."
"I knew you knew that I knew—"
As Ragna approached, the surrounding soldiers and knights jumped back in surprise.
A path opened up.
Around a large table sat the prince of Briol, a mage, knights, and soldiers, with cards and cash scattered all over.
"Search his clothes! He's definitely hiding something!"
"Oh come on, got any proof? No? Then shut it!"
"Yeah? Cut me, see if I care!"
At that moment, Yuri and his mage were grabbing each other by the collar.
"You bastard!"
"Just 'cause you're a prince!"
Ragna cleared his throat.
Only then did Yuri and Ernando's eyes turn toward him.
The knights and soldiers sitting with them had already gone pale and were rising to their feet.
"Y-Your Highness?"
"Uh, well…"
Each nation in the Allied Army managed their own troops autonomously.
The Empire prohibited drinking and gambling.
"This is, uh…"
Yuri awkwardly let go of Ernando's collar and gave a sheepish grin.
"This is, um…"
Ragna raised a hand to cut him off.
"Briol has its own rules, I'm sure."
"Yes, sir…"
"Basregas."
"Yes?"
"I was called the whale there."
Ragna sat down in an empty chair as he continued.
"I swallowed up all the little fry like you."
"Ohhh…"
Yuri's expression changed instantly.
Ernando also let go of Yuri's collar and began shuffling the cards.
The two gamblers seated with them eyed the new opponent with sharp interest.
"Curious what Imperial money smells like. Hehehe…"
"It's richer, and more fragrant."
Ragna cracked a joke as he sat down.
Right next to him was the Outsider.
Ragna smiled at him.
"Sorry for taking money from a guest from the East."
"That's what I was hopin' to do meself."