Chapter 28

Robert Ferm. That is the true name of King Ferm.

His father said before he died:

"Listen, Robert. Since you were born a man, you must aim for the top."

Robert followed those words.

He gradually increased his influence as a noble and brought other nobles under his control.

Their lord, Lagou As, was a man with only kindness to his credit, and his misrule continued.

Robert gradually gained the trust of the people.

Then one day, a famine occurred.

A great famine so severe that children had to be abandoned in large numbers. Lagou had no solution to offer.

It was only natural.

After all, no matter what he did, the harvest would not increase, nor would bread suddenly appear.

However, the dissatisfaction with this unreliable great noble continued to rise.

"Lagou is exploiting the people and living a luxurious life!! How can we allow this!!"

Robert shouted loudly.

Many nobles and people agreed with him.

In no time, the rebel army led by Robert surrounded and captured Lagou's residence.

They succeeded in beheading Lagou.

But there was one problem.

The whereabouts of his family—Lagou's wife and two sons, one daughter—were unknown.

Robert led a group of elite soldiers to search for them.

He found them trying to escape into the forest and killed the wife and two sons.

He raised his sword to kill the last child.

He thought to himself:

(She's still so young.)

Robert looked at the girl in front of him—Tetra.

She looked nothing like Lagou. He remembered that she was a very intelligent child.

The As and Ferm families were relatives, and Robert had taken care of this girl before.

Of course, there was no option to spare her life.

It would bring no benefit to keep her alive.

She would hate him and could not be taken as a wife.

If he confined her, there was a possibility she would be raised up one day.

Letting her go was out of the question.

But he did not kill her.

He let her go.

After all, she was just a child; she would either be killed by wolves or die from eating poisonous plants out of hunger.

He had killed the lord and his innocent family, yet he let the youngest daughter go.

His actions seemed incomprehensible.

Perhaps he felt a little guilty, or maybe he was trying to atone for his sins.

In any case, he had made the biggest mistake of his life.

"Famine... again..."

Ferm sighed as he looked at the fields.

It was clear that the wheat was not doing well, with only a month left until harvest.

They had barely survived last year's famine with tributes from the villages in the forest and grain plundered from the kingdom of Rosais...

This year, they would have to do the same.

As Ferm sighed, a soldier entered.

He was holding a small tube.

The soldier handed the tube to Ferm.

"Is something wrong?"

His adjutant asked.

Ferm smiled and replied,

"It's a message from the rat we planted in the kingdom of Rosais. It seems the king of Rosais has fallen."

Hearing this, the adjutant also smiled.

"Well, he won't die. It's just his usual seizure. Nevertheless, it's a fact that he can't command. We will attack the kingdom of Rosais."

"But we don't have enough provisions."

The adjutant said.

Ferm smiled.

"What are you saying? We fight to secure those provisions. As long as we have at least three days' worth of food, it's enough. We can take the rest by force."

Ferm stared at the forest.

"Until now, we have avoided large-scale military movements in the forest out of fear of the Griffin's wrath. But from the last incident, we learned that his territory is deep in the forest, and as long as we don't invade it, there should be no problem. After all, he doesn't complain about people living in his forest."

"Is there a possibility that they are specially favored by the Griffin?"

"There is none. If they were, the Griffin would have appeared when we demanded eighty percent of their food."

Ferm said confidently.

The Griffin did not appear even when they threatened to take eighty percent of the food, which would normally lead to starvation.

This means the Griffin is neutral.

"We will cross the forest and launch a surprise attack on the palace of the king of Rosais."

The adjutant's eyes widened.

Indeed, it was possible to do so by crossing the forest.

After all, the palace of the king of Rosais was right after crossing the forest.

But no one had ever done it.

All because of the fear of the Griffin's wrath.

Many people believe that the cause of the poor harvest is the Griffin's anger.

That's why they abandon children in the forest as sacrifices.

In reality, it is a curse by other humans.

"But if we consider a retreat..."

An army must always consider the possibility of retreat.

If they lose, they will be annihilated. A back-to-the-wall battle must be avoided.

Naturally, there is no such place in the forest...

"There is a base. The village that became part of our territory last year."

"But that village doesn't seem to have submitted."

"Then we will attack and destroy it. We can secure provisions and achieve two goals at once."

The decision was made quickly.

Ferm summoned the sorcerers.

"Go on a reconnaissance mission."

"Understood."

Three sorcerers were flying hawks for reconnaissance.

This soul transfer is very difficult.

First, one must leave their soul from their body while still alive.

Ordinary sorcerers cannot return and die.

Furthermore, the soul must be in tune with the creature it is being transferred to.

This bond is formed by taking care of the creature from its early stages and raising it every day.

Through repeated training, one can see the world through the eyes of a hawk or the nose of a dog.

Hawks have about eight times the vision of humans.

They are the best species for reconnaissance.

(The defenses are tighter than the last time we came...)

The leader looked down at the village from above.

Deep trenches were dug, and reverse stakes and large wooden fences were set up inside and outside.

The most troublesome were the wooden towers.

They were probably equipped to shoot arrows, drop stones, or pour hot oil.

(These are excessive for wolf defense.)

This is a military defense facility.

The target is... there's no need to guess.

The three sorcerers observed the village closely, memorizing the terrain.

(There should be no problem now.)

There were no particular things to be wary of... no mercenaries, and the population of the village seemed unchanged.

(I will return.)

He signaled to turn around with a cry.

Just as he turned his back on the village...

"Kya..."

A scream came from behind.

Turning around, he saw a hawk larger than their own, with glowing eyes.

The large hawk's talons were embedded in the throat of the hawk that had been on the reconnaissance mission with them, and it was clear that it was dead.

The leader let out a cry and ordered the hawk to fly at full speed.

They could not win due to the size difference.

(Damn! Why now...)

The leader cursed his bad luck.

It is rare for a sorcerer's animal to be attacked by its natural enemy during a mission.

This happens because they are too focused on the reconnaissance and neglect their surroundings.

(I have to escape quickly. If the animal dies while the soul is transferred, I will die too!)

As he thought this, one of his companions suddenly disappeared from in front of him.

Looking down, he saw his companion struggling with the large hawk.

His companion was desperately trying to escape from the talons.

But in vain, he was slammed into a tree and died.

(Second one!)

The leader flew desperately, trying to escape.

If he didn't, both he and his companion would be in danger.

(Shit!)

A chill ran down his spine, and he quickly turned his body to the right.

The large hawk's talons passed by.

(Third one!)

Hawks do not form flocks.

It could be a coincidence that there were two, but with a third, it was different.

(Sorcerers!)

The enemies surrounded the leader, gradually closing in.

(Why! There can't be three high-level sorcerers in such a small village! What's going on... Could they be sorcerers from the kingdom of Rosais?)

In any case, he had to report.

The leader lowered his altitude.

The enemy was larger than his companion, so it should not be able to make sharp turns.

If he entered the forest, he might be able to escape.

(Just a little more!)

Just as he was about to enter the forest, a shock hit his entire body.

(?)

A stick-like object was embedded in his companion's chest.

He realized it was an arrow at the same time he lost consciousness.

"Good! We got them!!"

Garam picked up the hawk he had shot down.

His skills were as excellent as ever.

"Grr... I was going to take it down myself."

Tetra, who had returned her soul to her body, stood up with a frustrated look on her face.

"I even ate the bitter herb."

Saying this, Tetra took the soul transfer herb out of her mouth.

"Hehe. How was it? We succeeded in the first surprise attack!"

"Great job, Lulu. You're the best!"

Garam praised Lulu, who had returned.

The barrier around the village had been useful.

There are various types of barriers, and one of them alerts when a soul-transferred animal approaches. They had set it up in advance.

When they realized the barrier had been triggered, there were three hawks in the sky...

They did not want the village's defenses to be seen.

So they sent the three out.

They would not have to worry about not being able to return since they were only flying a short distance outside the village.

"By the way, was it okay to kill them? We will be enemies now."

Tetra said worriedly.

"It's fine. It actually happens that sorcerers are killed by their animal's natural enemies during missions. King Ferm won't think there are three capable sorcerers in a village with only about a hundred people. Besides, we knew they were planning to attack us when they sent out scouts."

The negotiations were already half broken.

"Rest after you eat. You don't need to do anything."

Constructing barriers and curses can be done by a few other sorcerers.

But only these three can perform soul transfer.

They cannot afford to have them collapse.

"Then let's rest for the next mission with a pillow under our arms."

"I have things to do."

He had to inspect the pit traps and check the weapons like black powder.

"...I'll make it up to you when I'm done."

Tetra pouted in dissatisfaction.

But before that...

"Ial, can you go to the kingdom of Rosais and request reinforcements? I don't feel confident with just us."

"Understood."

Ial went to the kingdom of Rosais.

However, Ial's report when he returned was not good.

"King Rosais has had a seizure and collapsed..."

"What! Then the reinforcements?"

"It seems that 400 of King Ferm's troops moved at the same time as King Rosais collapsed. The surrounding countries and nobles are also making suspicious moves... It seems that reinforcements will not be available for at least three days..."

Three days...

By then, it might already be over.

Well, it's fine.

It's within the expected range.

"Leader! The black powder check is complete. No problems."

"Brother! The horses are in good condition. We're ready to go anytime."

"The stock of arrows and food is fine!"

Ron, Rozward, and Garam reported one after another.

There were no issues for now.

"Good, the pit traps and barriers are also fine. We're ready."

Now it's just a matter of whether the plan goes according to plan.

"Just in case, prepare some wheat in case we can negotiate."

"Is there a possibility of that?"

"If they can help with forty percent of the harvest, then yes."

Sixty percent (based on a two-field system) is enough to avoid starvation.

We can make a significant concession.

But not more than that.

"Almus!"

A voice came from the gate.

It was Ial.

"King Ferm is gathering soldiers. The number is unknown..."

"Are they planning to fight? What about the Boros?"

"They will rise up when they see the situation."

The Boros faction consists of about sixty people.

They would be defeated in no time if they fought head-on.

They need to rise up after carefully observing the situation.

"Your Majesty. The sorcerers have not returned."

"What do you mean? Were they attacked by their natural enemies?"

It is not uncommon for hawks to be attacked by their natural enemies during reconnaissance.

Since the sorcerers' souls are in the animals, they inevitably become less cautious.

It is rare, but it does happen.

Moreover, the forest terrain makes it easier to be caught off guard.

"Or perhaps..."

King Rosais and the young man Almus have formed an alliance.

But this is unlikely.

If three sorcerers were defeated by Rosais' sorcerers, it would mean that more than three sorcerers were sent to that village.

However, Ferm has been sending sorcerers to spy on Rosais' kingdom multiple times recently.

They know the number of sorcerers who come to intercept them.

There has never been a day when three were missing.

Moreover, it would be unnatural to station three sorcerers in such a remote village just because of an alliance.

The other possibility is...

"Are there three excellent