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Chapter 200
At my question, Luna glanced at the horn whistle and answered firmly.
"I don't know."
"Why not?"
"There are so many things that look similar. How could I know?"
"How can you not know? You seriously have no eye for detail."
At my teasing, she puffed her cheeks slightly.
"Leon, then guess what’s different about me compared to yesterday."
"Huh?"
I’m screwed.
Luna is my lover.
Which means her getting upset is a seriously big deal for me too.
"Go ahead and tell me."
"Uh… well, um..."
I mustered every ounce of perception I had to figure out what had changed since yesterday.
But there was hardly anything different from the day before.
"Well, we all worked hard. Why don't we just head back?"
As I tried to change the subject, Luna grabbed my arm tightly.
"Freeze. Are you trying to cheat?"
I had to say the right thing.
If I got it wrong, it would be like setting off a tactical nuclear bomb.
No, seriously, there was no difference.
Hairstyle, clothes, shoes — no matter how I looked, I couldn’t find anything that had changed.
As I nervously avoided her gaze, Luna tilted her head and stared at me with the hollow, intense eyes of a cat stalking its prey.
Looking into her shadowed eyes made me feel like I needed to apologize even for things I hadn’t done.
Even when I tried to avert my gaze, she steadily followed, and nearby, Farell, sensing the danger, coughed awkwardly and backed away.
Desperately thinking, I scrambled through every memory I had.
Then I picked the most probable change.
"Uh, blush?"
"Wrong."
As Luna leaned in even closer, cold sweat poured down my back like rain.
After a breathless standoff, Luna finally stepped back.
"You really don't know?"
"Uh… yeah, I don't know."
"Of course you don't. Nothing changed since yesterday."
What?
You've got to be kidding me.
Regardless of how I felt about it, Luna seemed delighted that her prank had worked, giggling as she stepped lightly away with her hands behind her back.
"That's how it is. It’s not like anything obviously stands out, and there are so many similar things — how could I possibly know?"
"Well, fair enough."
I handed the horn whistle back to Melissa.
"Anyone injured?"
"No, thanks to Lady Lobel, all minor injuries have been healed."
Seeing the cluster of glowing lights around Rinne Lobel, it certainly looked that way.
Spirit-based healing magic always had something wondrous about it.
"Everyone did a great job. Let’s rest and then head back."
"Understood."
As I watched the others leave, I reached out toward Melissa’s shadow.
"Come out."
From the shadow, a Death Knight in full plate armor emerged.
It was an undead I had taken from the Lich in the capital dungeon in the past, and now served as Melissa’s ultimate guardian.
"What are you up to now?"
"Enhancement."
I then reached toward my own shadow.
From it, the spectral knight spirit of Sword Master Bachen, which I had just obtained, silently rose.
I used necromantic mana to dismantle the spirit and infused its power into the Death Knight.
I could feel the Death Knight's strength visibly rise.
I had been steadily feeding undead to both the Death Knight and Muyeong.
Maybe thanks to that—
Wooooooooong...
The Death Knight’s form began to change.
"W-what is happening?!"
"Oh. Looks like a major success."
The Death Knight's power had clearly skyrocketed beyond comparison to before.
It wasn’t just because I fed it the spirit of a Sword Master.
Feeding it such a spirit granted a massive amount of experience points; in effect, the Death Knight had leveled up.
"Alright, did you get a unique ability now?"
At my command, the Death Knight gestured into the air, and dark banshees appeared behind it.
Each one wasn’t overwhelmingly strong individually, but they were at least on the level of aura users.
The advantage of banshees is their high resistance to physical attacks.
Unlike the ghost-type undead I usually handle, these were pure banshees, meaning they had even greater resilience.
Of course, their direct attack power was a bit lacking.
"Wait... the undead is summoning more undead?"
"Come on, even liches do that. About twenty of them... not bad."
As the Death Knight grows stronger, so too will its banshees.
After sending the Death Knight back into the shadows, Muyeong let out a low, dissatisfied growl from within my shadow.
"I'll give you the Wraith of the Four Heavenly Clan Elder, so be patient."
Only then, satisfied, did Muyeong retreat fully into the shadow.
* * *
Upon entering the capital of Bata, we were guided by knights to an audience with the princess.
Melissa, who had come along for the report, and the two siblings who had requested asylum from the Four Great Clans, were also part of the procession.
"Welcome. You’ve worked hard, Count. And Leon."
The woman who greeted us in the audience hall looked weary but welcoming.
"And these two are from the Four Great Clans…?"
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"I am Cheon Ryeong."
"I am the younger sister, Hwa Ryeong."
"Welcome, both of you. It must have been hard coming all the way here. It must have been a difficult decision."
"No, not at all. We are grateful that you have taken us in when we had nowhere else to go."
In response to Cheon Ryeong’s polite answer, the princess gave a faint smile.
"I'll make sure you’re comfortable here. Is there anything you need?"
At her question, Cheon Ryeong quietly closed his eyes and then opened them.
"No. Just being accepted here is more than enough."
The parasites that had once bound Cheon Ryeong and Hwa Ryeong were gone, and the cursed sword that had shackled Cheon Ryeong was no more.
Having effectively severed ties with their family, the two siblings were now free.
"However, I would like to assist our benefactors. Please allow us to stay where we can be of service."
At Cheon Ryeong’s request, the princess looked slightly surprised, then glanced at Melissa.
"Count, is it possible?"
"There’s no problem."
"Then I leave them in your care."
"I accept."
The decision for the two to come to Cascadia had already been discussed.
They had told us of their plans to head to the capital when they had recovered enough.
"Now then, it's time we discuss something important."
The princess unfolded a map of Bata with a stern expression.
"Coral has gathered a force of at least 20,000 soldiers at the border. They’re not fully armed yet, but once their preparations are complete, it wouldn’t be surprising if they crossed over immediately." 𝓷ℴ𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝒸𝓸𝓶
Weapons, provisions, fodder for horses, and other military supplies.
Coral had clearly made thorough preparations to crush Bata.
20,000 troops.
In terms of full-scale war, it wasn’t an overwhelming number.
But they were just the vanguard, and even so, 20,000 was by no means a small force.
In my previous life, armies numbering in the millions were not unusual in the East, but the West was a different story.
"Then... could they start marching at any moment?"
"No. According to a report just received, their advancing forces have temporarily halted. The reason is..."
The death of Swordmaster Bachen during the ruin rupture.
And the failure to secure the artifact they had aimed for.
From my perspective, the latter was probably the direct cause.
"Most likely because they failed to secure the horn that can command the Dragon Soldiers."
"The Dragon Soldiers... I read about them in reports, but is that horn truly such an item?"
"I don't know the details. However, I heard that Coral secured artifacts capable of summoning Dragon Soldiers from a specific ruin. But they lacked the means to control them."
Then came the news that an artifact capable of controlling them existed within the Dragonkin’s ruined site.
"Still, how did they come to know about that information?"
That was the real mystery.
But somehow, I had a good idea who the culprits might be.
"There is one group that’s extremely good at acquiring hidden information."
"You know of such a group...? Ha... could it be them?"
"Yes. The cultists. Those guys. Just like during the Kraken incident — they always seem to know things that shouldn’t be common knowledge."
The Moon Watchers and the cultists both hoarded secret information.
If anyone could have leaked it, it was definitely them.
"For now, they might not immediately cross Bata’s border, but it’s only a matter of time."
At the princess’s words, Melissa pointed to two spots on the map.
"Considering their march routes, supply lines, and troop mobility... these would be the most strategic points."
Melissa indicated the paths crossing through the border region, passing through Cascadia toward the capital.
And another through the nearby magic city, Bechtel, heading toward the capital.
"However, since Cascadia is adjacent to the Demon Realm and has rough terrain, it’s more likely they’ll target Bechtel."
"The Count is right. That route is definitely more probable. But in war, nothing is certain, so please be prepared for all possibilities."
"As for dispatching troops..."
"Cascadia's role is to guard the Demon Realm. Beyond that, it's the royal family's and the other nobles’ responsibility."
"Then, what about a preemptive strike?"
"Our kingdom is still not fully prepared for war. We need to buy more time."
"For example, if their commander were to be assassinated?"
At Melissa’s suggestion, the princess nodded.
Taking out an enemy commander to save countless lives was certainly a worthwhile choice.
Of course, once a replacement was appointed, the advantage would diminish, but gaining time was invaluable.
I could sneak in and lop off their commander’s head, sure.
But there was an even better way.
"The best move would be to make them tear each other apart."
The princess looked puzzled at my proposal.
"What do you mean?"
"Since we have it now, let’s use it. As long as it can’t be traced back to us."
I lifted the horn that Melissa had retrieved.
* * *
The border between Coral and Bata.
The 20,000-strong army was impressive, but Coral had a bigger plan — to end Bata before any neighboring countries could intervene.
And to minimize their own losses while utterly crushing the enemy, they had prepared ancient weapons.
Namely, the Dragon Soldiers.
For now, they were nothing more than puppets obeying the order to "march."
But with the use of the horn, they would transform into swift, deadly, and near-immortal warriors.
There were around 200 of them — not a huge number.
However, with their near-invincible regeneration, bodies impervious to swords and arrows, and immense strength, each was worth many normal soldiers.
Thus, while numbering only 200, they could easily compensate for a much larger army.
Currently, the Dragon Soldiers were packed into the cargo holds of wagons, stationed at the border camp.
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