Javier stood at the edge of the wall, arms crossed, his eyes scanning the landscape below as the Anti-Air Mana Gun locked into place.
"…Hmm. You know what?" he muttered aloud, as if recalling sothing exciting. "Let's put thirty mana cannons on this wall."
Liana blinked. "Thirty?"
He turned to her with his familiar grin. "Let them fight us in dieval style—swords, shields, pretty armor, and all that."
He paused, then added with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, "But when I say boom boom, they go boom boom."
Gloria narrowed her gaze slightly. "...Ara. A childish na for mass destruction, but effective."
"Thanks," Javier replied proudly.
The nearby Puppet Knights made no sound, but their glowing cores flickered faintly in acknowledgnt, waiting for his next order.
He tapped the barrel of the mana gun again and continued, "Just like the last war Armand fought… Rember that one?"
"The coalition of nobles," Liana replied quietly, her eyes narrowing. "The ones who supported the so-called Saint of the Three Gods."
Gloria crossed her arms. "They thought divine blessing would guarantee victory."
Javier grinned wider. "Yeah. And they lost. Not one of our soldiers fell.
"Even if they figure out where these are placed… it doesn't matter."
He snapped his fingers, and one of the Puppet Knights stepped forward with eerie precision.
"Only these guys can use my weapons. No one else. Not nobles, not generals—only , them, and you both.
"Which ans even if the enemy tries, they'll still get blown sky-high before they figure it out."
Liana exhaled softly. "You're more prepared than you let on."
"I always am," Javier replied with a shrug.
Liana and Gloria followed their young master in silence, step after step along the high stone wall. They didn't question him anymore, not because they weren't curious, but because they already knew the answer would be ridiculous... and sohow brilliant.
anwhile, Javier knelt near the next corner post and reached into thin air.
A shimr of blue light flickered in front of him as he activated his magic storage. He pulled out a smooth, disk-shaped object, about the size of a shield, etched with strange glowing runes along its edge. Without a word, he began embedding it into the wall's interior housing, right next to a mounted cannon point.
Liana tilted her head. "Young Master? What is that?"
"Hm?" Javier glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, this?"
He patted the disk gently, almost like he was installing a prized centerpiece.
"Let's just say… it's a magic item that detects incoming enemies. Think of it like radar."
"Radar?" Gloria echoed, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. When soone—say, a wyvern squad or a fast scout—enters its detection range, it'll ping the system."
He grinned, standing up and dusting off his gloves.
"Then the Anti-Air Guns, Mana Cannons, and my Puppet Knights will either launch a warning shot... or blast them out of the sky."
"Automatically," he added, his voice light.
"You've built... an auto-targeting defense system?"
Javier gave her a finger-gun and winked. "Bingo."
Gloria adjusted her glasses slowly. "Here I thought we were just going sightseeing."
"Well, we still are sightseeing," Javier replied cheerfully. "We're just sightseeing while installing a fortress-grade mana defense network."
He stretched his arms overhead, completely unbothered. "Alright. Next wall segnt. I've got three more sensors and a few fun little mana mines to place before sunset."
Gloria sighed.
Liana just followed.
That was their Young Master: lazy on the surface, but terrifying underneath.
Gloria and Liana continued to follow Javier quietly as he installed another mana detector into the wall, his hands moving with practiced efficiency.
Liana finally broke the silence, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Young Master… why are you creating all of this?"
Javier didn't answer imdiately. Instead, he humd a little, giving his usual lazy grin. "Hmm? Nothing important," he said casually.
Liana stepped forward, her gaze sharper now. "Seriously, Young Master."
For a mont, Javier's expression didn't change. Then he stood upright, turned halfway to glance at the horizon, and spoke quietly. "…Let's just say…" he murmured, "I don't want that incident to happen again."
Liana blinked.
"That day…" Javier's voice was low, his grin fading. "When the so-called 'heroes' stabbed you two... right in front of ."
The mory was still vivid: Liana's lifeless body falling beside Gloria's, the blood, the silence, the mont his world shattered.
"They thought it was a ga. A joke. Just because they had blessings and titles."
He turned back toward the wall, arms resting against the stone as he stared at the land beyond.
"Well…" he continued, softer now. "If war does break out... if soone like them cos again…"
He smirked, but his eyes were cold.
"I want to make sure this ti, they're the ones who get crushed first."
Behind Javier, the border captain stood silently with two of his lieutenants, watching from a respectful distance.
They had been assigned to escort the young master during his visit to the wall—standard protocol. But this? This was beyond anything they had expected.
One of the lieutenants leaned in and whispered, "Captain… is that… another new weapon?"
The captain didn't respond right away. He watched as Javier installed the strange glowing disk, seamlessly embedding it into the wall's core array like it belonged there.
"…That's not just a weapon," the captain finally muttered. "It's sothing else entirely."
The soldiers exchanged uncertain glances. They were already using the mana talkie system—a region-wide communication network powered by relay towers, allowing every base and outpost in Armand to connect in real-ti.
It had changed how they coordinated, how they moved, and how they defended.
And it had all started as a prototype from this very young master.
Their reinforced armor? His design.
The mana bomb launchers stationed at key fortifications? His idea.
Even the elite Pekko-mounted units—designed for rapid deploynt and handling tough terrain—had co from his suggestions.
He never bragged or demanded recognition, but the truth was clear: the Armand Region's strength today relied on the ideas that ca from this boy's hands.
"How old is he again?" one guard whispered.
"Thirteen," the captain replied quietly.
Javier, as usual, pretended not to hear a thing. He rolled his shoulders and glanced toward the next section of the wall.
"Alright," he muttered to himself, "next spot. Should be a good perch for another cannon mount and a blind spot scanner."
With that, he moved forward—lazy in posture, but more prepared than anyone watching him could truly understand.
( End of Chapter )
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