Chapter 38

"Ah, Your Majesty. I am deeply grateful for taking such valuable time for me."

Five days after the capital was in an uproar due to the Undead Ancient Dragon being slain by a mere twelve-year-old boy, in the audience chamber of the royal castle, Helmut the Thirty-Seventh was holding a meeting with his head court mage, Klimt Christof von Armstrong.

Master Armstrong appears to be around thirty, but he is actually quite youthful, being nearly forty years old.

For about a decade, he has served as the kingdom's head court mage, a genius, but he had another significant characteristic.

He was a giant, standing two meters and ten centimeters tall, weighing one hundred and thirty kilograms.

Despite wearing a robe as a mage, his robe was filled with steel-like muscles.

Furthermore, the staff he held was impressive.

It was as tall as himself, resembling the staffs of mages from sagas, but instead of being made of wood, it was entirely made of mithril, with a watermelon-sized red magic crystal at its tip.

From his appearance, he seemed more like a martial artist or a warrior than a mage, but he was indeed classified as a combat-specialized type of mage.

Using his vast magical power, he could enhance his physical abilities to the extreme, move in three dimensions with ultra-high-speed flight magic, and crush enemies.

Moreover, Master Armstrong's elemental magic, which he could release, was not to be underestimated.

He could freely summon and control up to eight large serpents of fire or ice, not in spherical form.

The power of these spells was beyond question.

In a world where wars had not occurred for a long time, and the head court mage was expected to balance various skills, including special magic, the reason he was appointed to this position was due to his strategic combat power, which was said to be on par with an entire army corps, demonstrated during the annual military exercises.

"If we don't go to war, but if we attack carelessly and our carefully assembled army is wiped out by Armstrong alone, it wouldn't make sense."

This was the honest opinion of a certain high-ranking officer of the Arkart Holy Empire.

"I do not begrudge the time spent meeting with you."

"It is the highest honor."

While it might seem odd to have an audience with the head court mage, as a king, Helmut the Thirty-Seventh was very busy, and even the head court mage couldn't easily have a long conversation.

Still, Helmut the Thirty-Seventh made efforts to meet with Master Armstrong as soon as possible.

This was a testament to the trust he placed in him.

"Hmm. You have done well with the reconnaissance mission in the Palkenia Plains."

"It was not difficult. The reconnaissance has been conducted by the head court mages for seven generations, and there is no new information."

"That is true. It seems that the plains cannot be developed unless Gradegrand is defeated."

"Unfortunately, that is the case."

The capital, Stadtburg, of the Kingdom of Helmut, was a large city with a population exceeding one million, but the royal family had a long-standing issue.

The population was so large that there were difficulties with food supply.

Of course, complete self-sufficiency was nearly impossible, and the kingdom did not demand that.

However, the granary, which supplied grains, was located about a thousand kilometers away in the Holmia Margraviate, which was a problem.

Considering security, a large granary within the direct jurisdiction was desired.

There were a few small and medium-sized granaries, but for large-scale ones, the geographical conditions were strict.

However, a place that met the conditions existed only about a hundred kilometers from Stadtburg.

That place was the Palkenia Plains.

The Palkenia Plains were a vast and flat grassland with sufficient rainfall and three rivers providing the necessary water for agriculture, making development relatively easy.

So, why had no one developed it until now?

It was because the plains were the territory of monsters.

"The plains were clear, and Gradegrand was leisurely hunting a herd of Hornsheep."

"That accursed old earth dragon."

Gradegrand was a massive elemental dragon that claimed the Palkenia Plains as its territory.

It was said to be over five thousand years old, with a length of about thirty meters.

While it was not as powerful as the Undead Ancient Dragon, it was a disaster-level monster for humans.

"If we could defeat Gradegrand in the Palkenia Plains, we could eliminate the monsters with adventurers and the army in one go..."

Most monster territories were in forests, mountains, plateaus, deserts, or rocky areas, where complete elimination was difficult, or the effort to eliminate them was not worth it.

However, in the Palkenia Plains, if Gradegrand were defeated, large-scale agricultural development could be immediately possible.

Additionally, the hundred-kilometer grassland from the capital would no longer be a monster territory, eliminating the need for unnecessary detours to access surrounding regions.

From a transportation perspective, the economic benefits would be immeasurable.

"Considering this, the kings of past generations..."

"Well, many have died in the attempt."

Gathering many adventurers to target Gradegrand's head, or the military seeking glory and being authorized by the king, resulting in the destruction of thousands of troops.

The kingdom had successfully opened up relatively easy-to-conquer monster territories in its early days.

If not, the territory would have been twice as large, and access to unexplored lands would have been impossible.

However, in the past thousand years, there have been almost no successful examples of opening up monster territories.

The relatively easy-to-open areas had already been tackled by the ancients.

What remained were either geographically difficult or guarded by powerful monsters or bosses at the top of the food chain.

"Indeed, it's unfortunate that only elemental dragons are left in the king's territories."

"In uncharted territories, there might be places where earth turtles or wind birds are the rulers, if one is lucky."

"Rushing into such places based on mere possibilities would be meaningless. There was a case where a valuable army was destroyed in search of medicinal ingredients to cure a sick heir."

"The Margrave of Breichreiter, I believe."

"The previous one. The current lord would not make such a reckless move. He seems to have managed to turn things around."

The shock of the previous Margrave of Breichreiter's expedition to the Demon Forest and the destruction of his army was felt even in the royal palace.

If it were a baron's independent action, the palace might not have noticed.

However, since the Margrave of Breichreiter was the coordinator of the southern nobles, the incident caused a significant stir.

If chaos had erupted in the Margrave of Breichreiter's territory, it would have had a major impact on the governance of the southern kingdom.

"Your close friend also perished."

"Yes. Alfred was a good man who should not have died on such a reckless expedition. He was my close friend and my greatest rival."

Born in the capital with the same magical talent, one was an orphan, while the other was the second son of the prestigious Armstrong family.

Originally, they would have lived their lives without ever meeting, but because of their magical talents, they studied together at the adventurer preparatory school in the capital and trained in martial arts and magic.

"My magical power and physical enhancement magic were slightly better, but Alfred's elemental magic was more powerful. He could skillfully use a variety of spells. I thought it would be impossible for me to become the head court mage."

I became the head court mage because Alfred, an orphan with few good memories of the capital, retired as an adventurer and became employed by the Margrave of Breichreiter.

However, that choice sealed his young talent forever.

"I had always wanted to have a serious magical duel with Alfred..."

"Master Blantrach also lamented Alfred's loss."

Master Armstrong remembered Master Blantrach, Alfred's teacher, well.

While his magical power was not as strong as ours, he compensated with his intellect, experience, and training, making him a respected figure.

His only flaws were his sharp tongue and excessive love for alcohol.

"Master Blantrach is currently taking care of Alfred's disciple, who is staying in the capital."

"That's what I wanted to hear!"

He couldn't help but raise his voice, but there was a reason.

The existence of the disciple who had learned Alfred's techniques even in death, the only rival he had ever acknowledged.

Moreover, this disciple was on his way to the capital for his brother's wedding.

He had almost single-handedly defeated the Undead Ancient Dragon, a rare occurrence.

"When Your Majesty summoned the boy, I was still in the Palkenia Plains."

What terrible timing, thought Master Armstrong.

He had considered attending his brother's wedding to talk, but his family had stopped him.

With such achievements, the boy had been elevated to a baron, and greedy people were flocking to form connections.

His brother's wedding reception was not the place for such unseemly behavior, as pointed out by the Duke of Rukkner, the Minister of Finance.

"I want to meet that boy."

"I understand your feelings, but wait a few more days."

"A few more days? Ah! My plan has been approved!"

"Even if you are strong, you cannot defeat Gradegrand alone. I do not want to lose you in such a gamble."

Sending an army, no matter how elite, against a dragon was extremely reckless.

The dragon's breath attack from a distance would inevitably cause unnecessary casualties.

Worse, the army might be annihilated without even engaging the dragon.

To defeat a dragon, it has long been known that an attack by a mage with flight magic is effective.

Flight magic is essential because the dragon is so large that ground attacks can only harm its feet, and even if the mage is agile, the dragon's massive tail can crush them like flies.

A battle with a powerful mage and a small, elite team.

This was why a single powerful mage had a higher success rate than thousands of troops.

However, Master Armstrong felt that he would be at a disadvantage if he went alone.

"The highest honor."

"Here's the thing. You can laugh at the plan of a magic novice, but what if you, Baron Baumgarten, and Blantrach Ringstadt were to go together?"

At Helmut the Thirty-Seventh's plan, Master Armstrong showed a genuine smile, something he had never seen before.

"Baumgarten and I will attack Gradegrand, while Master Blantrach supports us from the rear. We have a good chance of success!"

"That's good to hear. Then, by my authority, I will issue the order to slay Gradegrand."

From there, Helmut the Thirty-Seventh, as a calm ruler, issued commands to his vassals one after another.

He ordered the Minister of Agriculture, Duke Brookner, to prepare for the reclamation project, and the Minister of Military, Duke Edgar, to organize the hunting of other monsters after Gradegrand's defeat.

He also ordered the recruitment of settlers for reclamation, the recruitment of adventurers to hunt monsters with the army, and the preparation of the budget for these actions by the Minister of Finance, Duke Rukkner.

For some reason, Helmut the Thirty-Seventh seemed to have absolute confidence in the success of the Gradegrand slaying operation.

"It will be a great pleasure."

"Indeed. You and Baron Baumgarten should put on a spectacular show."

Thus, a grand plan was being formulated without Vendelin's knowledge, and he had been personally designated by Helmut the Thirty-Seventh to participate.