Episode 230 - Choice (2)
Until the witch brought urgent news from the forest, we were completely focused on dealing with Kal.
"The Allied Forces are heading to assist Beneta."
Inside the conference room, Kal, our main enemy, had personally acknowledged the existence of spies, and Count Koldy’s head had fallen to Lochter’s sword.
Even the nobles who had raised their voices within Koldy's faction were dragged away, so in effect, the Koldy faction had been wiped out.
As a result, the Allied Forces moved without delay at a single word from Lochter.
“We’ll depart at first light.”
Following Arthur’s advice, the troops were already fully ard, so all that remained was to reassign the now-leaderless units.
The Koldy faction’s forces were reorganized under Lochter’s command banner, and as expected, the process wrapped up without major confusion.
All that remained now was the departure ceremony.
I called the group into the eting room.
Around sat Lochter, Heinz, Karl, and the Ghosts.
“What about the witches?”
“They said it’d just give them a headache, and told us to handle it ourselves.”
Lochter nodded, waiting for my next words.
Not just Lochter, everyone seed to be waiting for to speak.
I stared at the map laid out on the table. It showed the Tobaron region, with Kal’s forces marked across various locations.
Hoo—
My influence over the Triangular Alliance was significant.
With a single word from , the tide of war could change, so it was only natural that I felt tense.
“Karl, what about the Black Roses?”
“They completed assembly at dawn and headed to Beneta.”
“And you passed along the intel on Harkman Oleve?”
“I told them there’s a high probability he’s hiding in Beneta.”
Starting with the Ghosts who had gathered the previous day, they’d begun returning to the fortress one by one. Among them were so who had been tracking Harkman Oleve’s trail.
Whatever trick Kal had pulled, even the Ghosts hadn’t been able to pin down Harkman’s exact location. But based on their investigations so far, it was all but certain that Harkman was no longer in Blyer.
I believed Harkman’s group had escaped as part of a departing rchant caravan.
‘It was suspicious that he sold a massive amount of iron ore to the caravan…’
Since most of the caravan had headed to Beneta, we had to consider the possibility that Harkman’s forces were hiding there.
We’d discovered this late, so I’d hastily dispatched the Black Roses to Beneta, only hoping they wouldn’t be too late.
“Movent will be a little tight.”
I gave Lochter the Allied Forces’ movent route and inford him of our estimated arrival ti in Beneta. We would have to move quickly to stay on schedule.
“Lochter, please depart for Beneta with Heinz.”
“Will it be alright without ?”
“It will. The witches will be here.”
My plan was to head to Beneta ahead of the Allied Forces with my group. But Lochter wasn’t part of that group.
I wanted to take him, but if the commander Lochter wasn’t present for the Allied Forces’ first sortie, it could cause confusion.
We planned to arrive in Beneta ahead of Lochter’s army and join forces with Beneta’s troops. Even if Kal moved before that, with the two witches and Keros here, I judged we would be able to counter.
Once I conveyed my plan to the group, everyone nodded.
Karl studied the map and got straight to the point.
“In the end, it’s a race against ti.”
Though we had failed to eliminate him, we’d succeeded in completely destroying Lyon’s body.
Even if he had started treatnt with the Frost Lord’s Heart, it would take at least half a year before he could move freely again.
‘Even in the worst case, if Lyon shows up, we can still stop him…’
Rengua would be handled by and the Ghosts.
Harkman by Natasha.
Wiley by Fenry.
Even if Lyon did reappear, we had backup forces—Dorneth and Lily—who could adapt to the situation and provide support. That would be enough.
Kal’s cards targeting Beneta were fixed.
So I made my strategy while keeping those cards in mind.
That was, until an unfamiliar witch ca to .
“Demtor has entered the Ghost Forest!”
A sudden attack from Demtor.
At this news, I had to let out a hollow laugh.
‘Is this what I missed…?’
I had accounted for Demtor’s existence, but I hadn’t considered the possibility of a direct assault.
Since all of Kal’s forces were heading to Beneta, I had assud any attack from Demtor would be aningless as long as the Millennium Tree stood firm.
That assumption hadn’t changed.
As long as the Millennium Tree existed, Demtor’s magic-centered attacks would be limited.
That’s because magic use is restricted within the Ghost Forest.
Would rational mages really choose to fight an unfavorable battle in an unfavorable location?
I figured there had to be a hidden agenda.
But the witches thought differently.
“Shouldn’t we help them?”
Natasha ca to as soon as she heard the news. Her expression was unusually stiff.
Lily was the sa.
They both seed worried about the forest being attacked.
“They launched an open assault at the most critical ti. It might be a diversion to pull our forces out of position.”
“You said it yourself. If soone takes the ‘Blood Nature’ potion, they can use magic even in the forest. What if this attack is real?”
She was right.
This was the variable.
Those who consud Blood Nature could wield a certain degree of power even within the forest. Not their full abilities, but enough to pose a serious threat to the forest.
The key was the number of Stars.
I asked the witch who brought the ssage. She’d been sent by Cordy, the Witch of Ten Thousand Ears, so she would have so grasp of Demtor’s forces that had entered the forest.
“Have any of Demtor’s Stars appeared?”
“When I left, I had confird two Stars.”
“Who are they?”
“Clark of Fla and Ren of Radiance.”
“…Damn it.”
The mont I heard those nas, I realized everything had gone sideways.
Grand Duke Clark and Ren of Radiance were central figures who divided Demtor’s faction.
For those two to personally move into the forest ant Demtor as a whole was moving.
In other words, all of Demtor’s Stars had been mobilized.
‘Is this what Kal was talking about?’
How had Kal managed to move all of Demtor’s Stars?
What kind of offer and compensation had he proposed that convinced Demtor to launch such a disadvantageous assault on the forest?
I hurriedly grabbed the map and spread it across the table.
“If all the Stars have moved, then the mages under them would’ve followed too. If we ignore it, we might even lose the Millennium Tree.”
If the forces here went to reinforce the forest, we could stop them. But an operation to aid Beneta was already underway.
If our key forces pulled out now, the Allied Forces and Beneta might be wiped out.
But if we ignored the danger to the forest and pushed forward with the plan, we could end up severing our relationship with the witches.
If the witches fell because of this decision, the surviving ones would surely bla for it.
Even Natasha and Lily, right in front of now, would likely turn their backs on .
I bit my lip and stared intently at the map.
What should I do?
Before I knew it, Karl and the Ghosts had rushed in, heard the situation, and let out groans while looking at .
A mont of heavy silence passed when I suddenly heard Reto’s voice in my mind.
[Why are you trying to choose only one side?]
“…Huh?”
[Why not think of a way to protect both? Even if you end up losing everything.]
“…Ah…!”
Hearing Reto’s advice as he peeked into my tangled thoughts, I cursed Kal viciously in my mind.
[You’ll have to choose one. I’ll be watching your choice.]
Playing with people’s hearts, huh? Kal, you bastard!!
Unknowingly, I had fallen into the trap Kal laid.
He had naturally presented the choices in a way that forced to pick only one.
Even that felt like a calculated move—he really was a terrifying bastard.
If not for Reto’s advice, I would have kept agonizing over this.
“A way to protect both.”
Once the blocked thoughts cleared, my mind started racing.
There’s no fruit without cost.
If I wanted to protect everything, I had to be ready to lose everything as well.
Just like Kal was putting everything on the line, I had to stake the witches, the Allied Forces, and the blood pact.
“With Demtor’s current forces…”
Knowing the contents of the novel gave imnse power.
I grasped the strength of the Stars and the forest’s forces, and drew up a new plan.
“At the very least, he’s succeeded in reducing my hand. What a thug.”
Cursing Kal again, I looked at the two witches.
Natasha and Lily were the most powerful witches after the Elders.
Which ant, if all the Stars had been mobilized, it would be hard to hold out without them.
They were the minimum force needed to defend the forest.
So—I gave up on the witches.
“We’re changing the plan. Lady Natasha, Lady Lily, return to the forest.”
“And you?”
“One mont.”
I grabbed a blank sheet of paper and quickly wrote down my revised plan. I folded it carefully and handed it to Natasha.
“Please deliver this to the Elder. I can’t go with you. If Beneta falls, the forest won’t hold either. I have to protect the blood pact.”
“Then take Keros with you.”
“The Guardian Keros is the strongest being in the Ghost Forest. Take him with you. But…”
It was written in the note as well, but I gave the witches a firm warning.
“You can give up the Ghost Forest if necessary. Hold out as long as possible deep inside, where the Millennium Tree’s barrier is strongest.”
“Just hold out? Isn’t this a golden opportunity? Those mages basically walked into their own graves.”
“No. Just hold the line until I return. Don’t get provoked under any circumstance.”
I was sure they had another trick up their sleeve besides Blood
Nature. Otherwise, the mages wouldn’t be this reckless.
“Hm…”
Natasha clicked her tongue briefly and nodded.
She didn’t trust humans, but she had no choice but to listen to this one. After all, I was the one who had solved the Millennium Tree’s secret—sothing even the witches hadn’t done.
“If we were going to part this quickly, I shouldn’t have saved that sparring coupon.”
“Why bring up coupons now?”
“Hurry back. I’ll hold out however I can in the forest.”
Natasha held out her fist. I tapped it lightly with my own.
“No need to see us off. Things are urgent, let’s go our own ways here.”
Natasha left the room with the other witch. Lily hesitated for a mont, then walked up to and asked softly,
“You’ll co, right?”
“I’ll bring a lunchbox and be there soon.”
“That’s a promise?”
We made a pinky promise, and I sent her off.
I silently watched Lily as she left, giggling to herself.
[Seed of the Great Witch (Calamity)]
In her divine na that I checked before she departed the forest, the entry for the Seed of Calamity, a future Great Witch, still remained.
aning—the threat to the forest hadn’t ended yet. I could only hope that the danger wouldn’t manifest now.
“Karl, go to Lochter.”
“Him? Why?”
“The gap is too large. I need to fill it.”
“You didn’t see him at the departure ceremony? He was pounding his chest, saying he’d fight to the end.”
“Bring him secretly.”
The loss of the two witches was enough to throw off my entire plan.
Morale in the Allied Forces was important, but right now, filling the core void in our forces was more urgent.
It’s going to be close.
Should I hope Lyon doesn’t show up?
I suddenly felt anxious.
As soon as Karl left, I began moving with the Ghosts.
The only one missing among the Ghosts was Elton, who had followed Samuel.
If he were here, I’d feel a lot more confident.
For now, we had to reach Beneta as quickly as possible.
We pierced through the eastern forest and began sprinting madly toward Beneta.
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