Chapter 519

"The path has been laid out. The Allied forces will soon notice the intervention of an unknown force, but not yet. And even if we clear the path too early, other monsters will surely take their place. So until the Allied forces begin their next advance, our units have time after the primary operation. 'We need to see the situation at the Allied forces' base.' Heinrich von Schwarzkopf is assassinated, but the exact timing is unknown. So we decided to examine the trends at the Allied forces' base. We could receive information from Sarkergar, who is already infiltrated, but ultimately we need to confirm with our own eyes. There were many things I wanted to see for myself, not just Heinrich's problem. How the Templars are doing, how they have changed. And I wanted to see how Ellen's situation was progressing. The other four objected, saying it was too dangerous, but I can do some of what Sarkergar can do. I can't turn into a beast, but I can turn into a person. The Allied forces are numerous. Even if there are many, there are too many. Therefore, it is not difficult for our units to disguise themselves as members of the Allied forces and move around the base. And this war does not take any special measures regarding security or spy issues. The enemy is monsters that cannot communicate. They always come to the front line, so there are no ambushes or espionage. Therefore, there is no such thing as information warfare. Berthus knows that I am watching, so there is a possibility that he has designed the situation to make it easier for me to understand the situation. Of course, that's a bit of an exaggeration. I arrived near the Allied forces' base in the uniform of an Imperial Army officer. Harriet sent me there by teleportation. '...It's amazing.' I had heard about it, but seeing the enormous size of the Allied forces with my own eyes left me speechless. If an emergency situation arises, I will escape with a scroll, and if there is no such crisis, Harriet will be waiting for me at the designated location to take me to Edina at the designated time. The deadline is tomorrow. 'Your Majesty, do you remember your rank and affiliation?' Sarkergar, disguised as my attendant, was next to me. 'Imperial 1st Division Education Command, 4th Training Command, Training Officer Lindel, Second Lieutenant.' Of course, it was nonsense. There is a department, but there is no one like Lindel. Why an officer? Because ordinary soldiers will not ask who and where you are. Why Education Command? Because there are only a few of them at this Allied forces' base. They train those recruited through the conscription officer in Huangdo and then supply them to this site by mass teleportation, and there is little need for them to be present at this site. But they do exist. There are actually officers stationed at the base, but their numbers are very small. So it's rare to hear someone say, 'I'm a training officer, and you don't know me?' Other officers would just brush it off if they heard he was a training officer, so they created a disguise that would allow them to move around the base without interference. Sarkergar recommended the disguise after two days of examining the base. It was a needless procedure since there were too many soldiers and officers at the base to recognize each other even if they were in the same army. Sarkergar's role was to oversee the situation of the entire Allied forces. The protagonist's only concern was to understand the situation at the Temple Royal Class base. Sarkergar is faithful to his mission, and the protagonist gave him a difficult task without any basis, sending him to the enemy as a spy to gather information. However, after two days, Sarkergar had already grasped the distribution of the entire Allied forces in the vast base and had even come up with a convincing disguise that I, who cannot transform into animals or insects, could use. The base was too noisy for Sarkergar and me to talk normally. The sound of shouting and the banging of weapons could be heard everywhere. The Master Class can use the Aurora Blade, and high-ranking combatants are provided with high-quality weapons, such as enchanted ones. The Longsword with an automatic recovery function that Ellen and I used when we went to Dark Land is also a considerable luxury item. Such luxury items have high durability because they have their original quality, even if they are damaged during combat. However, lower-ranking soldiers do not have the opportunity to hold such things. Their lot is relatively low-quality weapons. Even if they survive the battle, their equipment is likely to be damaged. Therefore, the base must produce countless lower-quality weapons until the blacksmiths withdraw from the base. The sound of refining weapons and the sound of hammering could be heard, and the red-faced Allied blacksmiths were visible. Seeing how many people are needed for war and how many non-combat personnel, who are arguably more important than combat personnel, need to be involved, I realized the true scale of war. Although I know that war is not just about swords and spears, looking at the bustling Allied base made it feel like the war was right in front of me. The base is so large that only a few can use the Mass Teleport to move long distances. Most of the people here cannot return home until the war is over, and many have even lost their homes. The sound of people's conversations could be heard, some discussing their hunger and others fearing death. The war is felt through people's hatred, fear, and hope. The protagonist walks through the Allied base, listening to conversations about the possibility of feeding the army until the end of the war and worrying about what would happen if the army were to be wiped out. The base is vast and crowded, with a variety of conversations and even some unusual sights, such as soldiers admiring a dog performing tricks. It seems that surviving animals are also finding their way into the Allied base. "As you can see, it seems that the commanders have decided that it helps with the soldiers' morale, so there are quite a few units like that. It could be structured or they may have come to protect themselves. Oh, wow! The soldiers are amazed at the dog's tricks. The survivors protect the surviving animals. It's just one dog, but they will probably continue to take the dog with them, giving it food. Even though the dog has no role in this war, they will cherish it. It's meaningless, but it's precious because it's meaningless. Sarkergar watched the scene quietly. 'Your Highness.' 'Yes.' 'I wished for the destruction of all humans.' Sarkergar looked at the soldiers laughing at the dog. 'But I don't think I wanted this.' We destroyed them, so you should be destroyed too. Sarkergar wanted that. That's why he's watching the broken humanity. A pitiful dog. What's the difference between that dog and humanity? Sarkergar's thoughts became complicated. He doesn't forgive humanity or anything like that. But he will feel some inevitable emotion when he sees the things that have been so miserably destroyed. It's hard to summarize how we feel in one word. But we can only describe the scenery we see in one word. The broken humanity is laughing at one dog. They look at what's left and try to forget what they've lost. We passed by that scenery. * * * 'It's so far away.' 'It's inevitable because the base is so large.' It took a long time just to get to where the Temple forces were stationed in the Allied base. There were no officers riding horses inside the base for no reason. Of course, at this point, we can run faster than horses with full power. But if someone who is just a Union military instructor runs at the speed of a superhuman, a very difficult situation can unfold. And because the Temple forces are treated quite importantly even within the Allied forces, they are located almost in the center of the base, so the distance is the same no matter which direction you approach from. So in the end, we arrived at the place where the Temple forces were stationed in the Allied base. A considerable number of Temple students were drafted into the military. And the Temple originally had a student population of over 100,000. Therefore, even if it is a military force made up of students, it can only be of enormous size, and even if they cannot use magic reinforcement, the combat power level of Temple students is different from that of ordinary soldiers. They are students who have been professionally trained in weapons or specialized in magic. The Temple's military power is second to none compared to the backbone of the Allied forces. In addition, a huge number of weapons that were in the Temple were now in the hands of the students." Na and Sarkergar entered the Temple forces' station. The soldiers there were younger on average, regardless of gender or social status, and many had lost their homes and country. However, now that social status was meaningless, all students-turned-soldiers were considered equal. The students and teachers were all involved in the war effort, and even held occasional classes for general education. Na and Sarkergar continued on to the center of the station, the Royal Class stronghold, where strict access control was in place. The area was surrounded by barricades and guarded by soldiers due to the high number of people trying to catch a glimpse of Ellen Artorius. Na was unable to enter and Sarkergar could transform into something other than human, but Na could not. However, Sarkergar can transform. He knew that from the beginning. Of course, it's not necessarily meaningful that he saw the Union army retreating without confirming the Royal Class stronghold, but it's even more ridiculous to bring Herryot and teleport into that place. Even if I could enter, I would only be a non-related person who entered the Royal Class stronghold. It's also impossible to transform into the appearance of an internal person and enter. The Royal Class stronghold is not that big. It could become a crazy situation where the same person is in the same place. If it's Sarkergar, he can go inside without being caught and check the people's faces. But now, here. I came this far. Sarkergar prepares to transform between the tents in the vicinity of the stronghold. He can transform into something new and fly away. But I want to see. How everyone is doing. Even though it's painful to check. Still, there are things I want to see with my own eyes. "Sarkergar." "Yes." "I'll do it." "...Yes?" The image of soldiers laughing at a dog came to mind. It's controlling people, not animals. And, even though there aren't many animals, it's an environment where they exist. The existence of animals itself is not considered suspicious. "Can't you do it?" "Your Highness..." "No, you can try." If it's in the form of an animal, he can enter. I've never done it before. But just because I've never done it doesn't mean it's impossible. * * * Sarkergar can transform into a bug or a dragon with his transformation ability. But I've never tried it. I couldn't even think of trying it because of the possibility of not being able to come back. So I tried to maintain at least the 'humanoid' form, whether it was a human or a demon. But now it's a situation where it's impossible to go in disguised as someone else. Sarkergar's face looked embarrassed at the idea of me suddenly transforming into an animal. But he can return to his original form. If not, there are means of self-suggestion or whatever. In the midst of all this, it's unlikely that an absurd situation will arise where I transform into an animal and can't go back, causing the situation to get worse. There are means to prepare for when you can't come back, such as achievement points or whatever. So. A blind spot where people's eyes cannot reach in the Temple station. -Meow I became a cat. Why a cat? First of all, cats are small and can hide here and there to eavesdrop on conversations, and even if they are discovered, they will overlook it if they are cute. People are like that. If you turn into a dog, it's dangerous because you might suddenly be tied up with a leash because it's dangerous. It's bad to hide. The items and clothes I had didn't fall to the ground. I don't know for sure, but I wonder if Sarkergar's ring has some kind of function that prevents him from appearing naked even if he transforms from an animal to a human. However, the ring was hanging on my ear, transparent like a piercing. And there's a problem. It's not easy to move my arms and legs. It's hard to express in words, but it feels like operating a machine that I've never ridden before, like controlling a combat suit that I've never ridden before. I can't even walk because none of my four legs move as I want them to. Is there a way to operate the cat's legs? Do I have to put the operating method of a cat's legs in my head? I couldn't even stand properly and ended up collapsing to the side. I couldn't move my body properly, just trembling. Even Sarkergar, who knew how to speak, couldn't make any sound other than meowing. Eventually, Sarkergar also changed his appearance, to a slightly larger cat similar to me. Sarkergar jumped up and down in place, as if telling me to follow suit. Why does his tail go up? Sarkergar looked at me quietly and then shook his head. You can't do it. Stop it. Come back to your original form. It was a gesture that conveyed that will. Well, for now, I've transformed! I don't know what to do, but I can learn if I know how to operate it! Is there no manual? When I whimpered, Sarkergar looked at me for a long time and then started to teach me something, tapping my feet one by one. Honestly, I had no idea what he was trying to teach me.