Treatise Of A Failed Knight-Chapter 231: War Preparations

Here I stand once more.

At the edge of civilization, right before the boundary that connects to No Man’s Land.

The last time I was here, my men and I were escaping Kalakuta and his warriors. But, well, things are a little different now.

What do I mean?

"Are you ready, brother?" Some glances in my direction, and it is a tall and muscular ebony giant.

In his hand is what resembles a plump, smooth slab of iron. A B Grade Armament in the shape of a massive club.

The weapon and the man who wields it both appear to be instruments of death.

But right now they are my allies.

I smile at the giant, calling him my brother.

His name is Kalakuta.

His weapon is called Pathfinder.

Together, we are about to cross the boundary, and behind us are about a thousand men who have chosen to come with us on this endeavor.

This isn’t merely a journey.

No.

There are three main objectives in this march.

One is to secure the Imperial Family dwelling in the Sanctuary, as well as taking all the resources within it.

The second is to conquer No Man’s Land and obtain its valuable resources.

Not only will I take charge of the Magivores within this black desert, but we will also take charge of all the Special Resource Points in this place.

It will be my show of good faith to the Freedom Fighters, which could use a boost in Special Resources.

Unlike other lands that belong to others, which prevents them from freely plundering, No Man’s Land is the perfect place for them to freely obtain resources for the army.

Potions... Armaments... Spells...

... All of these things will drastically increase thanks to my contribution.

’Even for those who don’t trust me, contributing this much will be able to obtain their respect.’

As for the third thing we plan to achieve on this trip, it’s simple.

We are marching towards war!

********

The desert winds are as hot as I remember.

Black sands wash over our feet like endless soot. The heat of the granules disperse with every motion, and the faraway dunes feel more like conjured illusions than corporeal manifestations.

Since I traveled this desert for some time, navigating is no problem at all.

Although I avoided exploring its northern region, I still have a solid overview of the entire wilderness.

Thus, I am confident we won’t get lost.

Unfortunately, traveling in No Man’s Land can be a hassle.

Unless one has the proper equipment for traveling in such a unique landscape, walking or using animals like camels will likely be the only alternative.

However, I had a much better idea..

They are Cadre 1 Magivores called the Galloping Camels. As their name implies, they resemble a mix of horse and camel, possessing a unique composition that gives them great speed and stamina in the desert.

They are normally a wild species in this wilderness, but it’s a good thing I tamed them.

’Many of the Imperial Knights died as a result of their stampede last time. I couldn’t recall that I could control Magivores back then, or else...’ I smirk to myself, casting my gaze on what seems like an incoming sandstorm.

But it’s not.

I recognize the ’thing’ rapidly closing in.

It’s a Magivore.

"Relax..."

As I raise my hand to the approaching beast, I shift my attention to the slightly anxious army behind me.

It’s only natural that they are worried.

What is approaching us is a Cadre 4 Magivore—a beast that can only be properly defeated by a B Grade Armament.

Although we have Kalakuta with us, many still cannot help but wonder if they will end up being casualties. These men are brave soldiers who aren’t afraid of death, but moments like this show how human they are.

They do not mind dying on the battlefield for their ideals, but they hesitate when the time is yet to come.

That is fairly reasonable.

But they truly do not have any reason to fear.

After all, the incoming threat is actually an old friend of mine in this place.

Cadre 4 Beast Type Magivore—Desert Wyrm!

The instant it appears before us, its serpentine body coiling around us in the dark sandy world, I command it to come towards me.

"Get over here.."

It immediately obeys without any hesitation, proving my divine abilities to the audience.

Even Kalakuta is amazed by the ease of my control of a creature like this—a Cadre 4 Magivore.

Although I have faced stronger foes, my view on Magivores isn’t skewed.

I already know that in this reality, Cadre 4 Magivores are considered the peak. It’s the same way the highest quality of Armaments I have seen exist only in the B Grade.

After understanding this, it makes sense why they would react this way.

"Take us to the Sanctuary." I command the creature, and it does so immediately.

It perfectly matches our pace, neither moving too fast or too slow for us to keep up with.

’I’m tempted to switch to the Desert Wyrm, since I am more accustomed to riding it, but that might send the wrong message to this group, so I’ll just remain on the same steed as them.’

Although it took many days for the Imperial Entourage to reach the Sanctuary, thanks to the speed of the camels and our unhindered movements, we reached our desired destination within only two days.

’Taking down the Sanctuary comes first. After, I’ll use the Desert Wyrm as a guide and conquer this place.’ I smile to myself while standing on the exact spot that the entrance is buried in.

The Imperial Seal is with the First Prince, who is still in Central Plains, which means I can’t easily detect the entrance or open it from outside.

However, with Wyrm’s help, detection is not an issue.

As for gaining access, I have a plan.

After the Freedom Fighters help me dig through the sand, we find the thick metallic slab of the Sanctuary.

"It’s sealed." Kalakut glances at me. "Do we break in?"

I shake my head and smirk.

"While it should be possible, especially with your strength and the Desert Wyrm’s power, we have no idea if the previous Emperor set up an arrangement here in case of forceful entry. In that unforeseen event, we could end up losing the valuable resources inside this place, and if it is destroyed, we’d have lost a valuable bunker."

"That’s true..."

"I have a plan. I’ll simply trick them into opening the door." I smile at Kalakuta.

Although I could use the spy’s connection to Kalakuta as a way to open the door, them choosing to be anonymous means they might deny any relation and refuse to comply.

Thus, it’s best to completely remove the possibility of Kalakuta’s presence right now.

’Alright... Here goes!’

BAM! BAM! BAM!

I hit the entrance door as hard and as quickly as possible, clearing my throat for a series of acting which I haven’t resorted to in a while.

"Open up! Please open up the door now!"

Thankfully, the door is a special one that allows sound to pass through. As long as someone in the Sanctuary is paying attention, they will eventually notice the commotion.

’Besides, it has already been a few months since we left the Sanctuary. I’m sure the people inside are worried about us and will routinely check the entrance. I just have to keep this up for—’

"C-Captain... Is that you??"

Thankfully, I don’t have to wait for very long before I receive a response from within the Sanctuary.

"Yes! It is me! Hurry up and open the door!"

"W-what? What happened to the Imperial Seal?" The voice answers, hesitation coursing through his voice.

I recognize the voice, too.

It belongs to the one I suspect of being a spy.

Maybe he is nervous, since he believes I should have died with Kalakuta’s ambush. I look behind me and observe the Freedom Fighters and Kalakuta keeping their distance from the entrance, just as I told them.

I know some of them are a little anxious that I could betray them at this moment.

But Kalakuta is different.

His crimson gaze shows unwavering confidence in me.

I like that.

"We were suddenly attacked by Kalakuta at the shore. We managed to escape somehow, but lost our possessions on the way. We had to take a longer route, and we did everything to survive. I was afraid Kalakuta might capture us during this process, so in order to protect his Imperial Majesty, I had to destroy it."

"A-ah, I see! What about the First Prince? Lord Enrydral and Lord Tyrrion? What happened to them?"

"Unfortunately, the two Noble Servants were captured by the enemy. But I managed to save the First Prince. He is currently unconscious and requires urgent attention. Even I am heavily injured. I am at my limit. Hurry it up! Open the door!"

This premise strikes the perfect balance of urgency and tragedy.

If I told the Knight that all of us survived, it might appear too good to be true and would undersell the grim situation. By only limiting the survivors to the most important person in our entourage, he would find the story more believable.

Placing myself in a disadvantageous position was also intentional, since a cautious spy like him might not want to let me in out of the fear that I may have uncovered his identity.

But now that I am very injured, losing all resources in an attempt to escape, while loyally protecting an unconscious prince, he has a chance of even overpowering me.

It’s the perfect scenario!

’I also cannot properly mimic voices without a Potion, so lying like this is the only way I could actually make this work.’

"O-okay! I will get the key right away!"

’Oh? Just like that?’ The Knight’s immediate cooperation surprises me. ’I expected him to be more guarded and suspicious. I even prepared more lies and excuses...’

I nearly sigh in disappointment.

But after reminding myself that this is a good outcome, I signal the Freedom Fighters, who begin to slowly close in on the target.

Not too long after, I hear the sound of bolts turning and gears shifting.

Then, the door opens.

"Oh, but you said. Wait, where is the—?"

"I lied!"

I swiftly enter the Sanctuary, sending a powerful blow to the stunned Knight.

’There’s no way I’m killing you...’ Moving with great swiftness, I proceed to knock him out, a cruel smirk forming on my face. ’You’ll tell me everything about your spy mission and how you managed to get the information out to Kalakuta.’

The moment I knock down the Knight, Kalakuta enters the Sanctuary, and Freedom Fighters trail in after him.

"An impressive place..." He mutters in mild disbelief at the sheer scale of the underground structure.

"Indeed. And now it’s ours."

He looks at me and smiles.

"Indeed, it is!"

As I imagined, taking over the Sanctuary was extremely easy once the breach succeeded.

Although I knocked out the first Imperial Knight, we had to kill the second one since he was protecting the Emperor. As for the Emperor, he was executed in the Sanctuary, while his two children were taken as our prisoners.

Everything has been taken care of rather smoothly... all according to plan.

"A few of you will return to the Capital with all the spoils of this place. You’ll also take the prisoners with you. Make sure they are all preserved properly." Kalakuta gives the order to his men, and they all nod.

’We only need about a few hundred for the coming war, so sending some of our warriors back is not detrimental at all...’ My thoughts trail while watching the scene play out. ’As much as I wish to extract information from the spy now, it can wait.’

He’s not going anywhere, after all.

’Right now, the priority should be gathering as many resources for the coming war and what comes after. I never fully explored all the Resource Points of No Man’s Land before, but we’ll be doing that on this expedition. Doing that while capturing Magivores to build our army will be the ultimate way of killing two birds with one stone. Once we have a complete inventory of all our assets, we’ll be able to boldly initiate an invasion.’

Indeed!

This war isn’t going to be fought by the Freedom Fighters

No... Their sacrifices would be unnecessary.

We’ll use the Magivores instead!

’Instead of fighting, their efforts should be put into something more constructive—building the Great Bridgeworks. Since the Northern Empire has collapsed, we can begin the project from that area.’

I already discussed all of these things with Kalakuta, and he is in full agreement.

Now that I have shown everyone my great abilities, I doubt any of the other War Council members will oppose my plans any longer.

Although this change might be a little underwhelming for a lot of the men. After all, most of them will take on the roles of construction officials rather than warriors, this is all still in the pursuit of freedom.

If Kalakuta can convince them of this, then I am certain they’ll be just as motivated to make bricks and forge metal for the cause.

******

Five months have passed since I switched over to Kalakuta’s side.

Several things have happened.

We have officially taken hold of all seven Resource Points in No Man’s Land, and we have also customized the Sanctuary into a bunker.

There’s a plan to transform No Man’s Land into the base of the Freedom Fighters, but that is currently being postponed due to the construction of the Great Bridgework which is underway.

It’s amazing how resource-intensive it is, but thanks to the Special Resources recovered from No Man’s Land, we can keep up with construction.

At least, for now.

With all preparations now made for the challenging fight ahead of us, there’s only one thing left to do.

"Are you ready?"

Kalakuta asks me this question as we stand at the cliff he once stood on to welcome me on the shores of the Northern Continent.

We both cast our gaze on the faraway land beyond the boundary of water.

I can see the objective—Central Plains.

Standing on the shore are thousands of Magivores, all of which are attached to contraptions that will allow them tk cross the sea and reach our objective.

Manning these contraptions are the few hundred Freedom Fighters we brought along for this battle.

"Truly fascinating. To think such a thing is even possible..." He whispers while watching the Magivores beneath us. "You really are amazing, brother."

"You won’t stop saying that..."

I laugh aloud to dismiss Kalakuta’s statements, but even I am not lost on the frightening nature of my powers.

How am I able to control so many Magivores?

Even now, I feel no weight on my existence.

’Thankfully, I don’t need to consume Potions for Existential Deficiency in a Trial Scenario, else I would likely be gulping Potions constantly with an army this size.’

I shudder deep down.

Looking at the army again, I calculate the size.

More than seven thousand Cadre 2 Magivores and over two thousand Cadre 3 Magivores, with about nineteen Cadre 4 Magivores: this brings the total number of Magivores to nearly ten thousand... and there are over a dozen Cadre 4 Magivores among their ranks.

Such a force is simply unreal.

A slaughter is coming.

"We’ll be counting on you a lot during this fight. Can you handle it?" Kalakuta smiles at me, and I simply shrug casually.

"Of course."

[A/N: At this point, MC is essentially a one-man army. Terrifying, for real.]