Marquis Crayer, the lord of the North, was belligerent and valiant enough to lead his own knights into battle.
Whenever the Black Mountains or a large reconnaissance party of the Fresyrian kingdom moved south, he always pulled out his sword with his own knights.
He then died on the battlefield in the Black Mountains, where his dismembered body is later delivered to the Marquis Castle.
Therefore, the Marquis Crayer, who appears in the second volume of the novel, was not Sand Crayer, but his son, Cron Crayer.
The character Sand Crayer was a character that exists only in the setting.
‘I know who kidnapped and killed the Marquis and I know how to stop it.’
He know how to stop kidnapping, but he don’t mean to stop it.
If he set up a debt for Marquis Crayer, he’ll certainly gain something later.
In order to create debt, Marquis Crayer must first be kidnapped. What remains is thr subsequent matter.
“I’d like to take a rest for the day.”
It’s late at night, it’s too late to head for the border.
“I’ll call someone to show you to the bedroom.”
He said he was starting to have a like on him, but he didn’t show enough kindness to guide him directly.
Soon a servant called by Marquis Crayer entered the Meeting room, bowed his head in a polite manner, and led Raymond into the bedroom.
The guided bedroom was spacious. The accommodation for the Gesteins and the Secret Squad was a little far away, but it was not that far away, and above all, the bedroom where the Red Tower and the Blue Tower would be temporarily located was right next to him, so there was no safety concern.
Gesteine, who is responsible for Rayman’s safety, seemed to be unhappy with the location of the Secret Squad’s accommodation, but seemed to be cautious because he distrusted the Red tower and the Blue tower so he reveal it openly.
Instead, several members of the Secret Squad were chosen to take turns guarding the corridor.
That night went by without a hitch and the next morning. Raymond visited Marquis Crayer after breakfast.
“Thanks to the Marquis, we’ve had enough rest for a day, and now we’re going to the border.”
“You are safer staying here. The mere presence of His Highness in the North will increase the morale of the border forces. You don’t have to go to dangerous borders.”
If the imperial family is killed in a border dispute, there would be a bigger war. Marquis Crayer didn’t want to deal with it.
Since the northern central army has advanced toward the border, it is not strange for the Fresyian kingdom to launch more intense provocations right now. That does not guarantee the safety of the Fifth Prince.
“Marquis Crayer. I’m here to encourage border forces under Imperial orders.”
“I’ve received the order, but it doesn’t say that I should serve you in the border conflict.”
Mentioning about the Imperial Order, Marquis Crayer shook his head with a determined face.
Raymond bit his lip slightly.
It seemed that something was different from the Imperial Order received by the First Prince and the message medelivered to Marquis Crayer.
“The Emperor has entrusted me to the role of his subjects. And I think that’s the best part.”
The Emperor was old and weak, but he was still wise.
He didn’t want to send him to the border, the Black Mountains, which is nothing short of a battlefield.
However, the contents of the Imperial Order could not be mentioned because of the Rule. That is why the decision was passed on to Marquis Crayer.
The Emperor has calculated that Marquis Crayer would not put the Fifth Prince, Raymond, in a border dispute because of the burden.
“The Imperial Order only states that the royal family is sent to the border area.”
Technically, the residence is also a border area. Marquis Crayer was not breaking the Imperial Order.
But, if the Fifth Prince heads for the Black Mountains under the pretext of Imperial Order, Marquis Crayer has no way of stopping it.
“Okay.”
He didn’t want to argue. Raymond nodded in front of Marquis Crayer, but did not intend to back down.
To make the soul sword his own, he had to go to the Black Mountains.
“Sir Gesteine.”
“Yes, Your Majesty the Fifth.”
“Go to the Imperial Commander and tell him I’m looking for him.”
“Okay, sir.”
Late at night, the summoned Imperial Commander came to Raymond.
“What for did you call me, Your Majesty the Fifth?”
“Commander, I’m sorry to call you at this late hour.”
“I’m fine, Your Majesty the Fifth.”
A faint smile spread around Rayman’s mouth as the commander bowed politely.
“May I ask what brings you to me?”
“I need your help.”‘
“The Imperial Army serves the imperial family until the last moment. Your Majesty the Fifth is now authorized to issue orders to the Imperial Army, including me! Tell me anything!”The commander of the Imperial Army doesn’t know the details yet. Raymond told him in a calm voice that he had a conversation with Marquis Crayer.
“The Imperial Army can go to war right now.”
He has already decided to follow Raymond’s order.
“Fifth Prince, command me.”
“The Imperial Commander, go ahead and give the Imperial Army an armed command!”
“Yes, Your Highness the Fifth!”
“We go to the Black Mountains!”
The Fifth Prince raised the flag.
The armed Imperial Army raised the flag. assimilated into the atmosphere of the Fifth Prince, they headed to the north gate of the central city with flags at the forefront.
“Captain, we’re in trouble!”
“Deputy, what’s going on at this hour?”
“The Imperial Army is leaving the barracks and passing through the Second City!”
“What?”
The commander was moving on Raymond’s order, so he did not receive anything from the head of the central city’s garrison.
He jumped out of his chair with a serious face, clad in leather armor and packed his sword.
“Call the guards! It’s an emergency!”
Although his opponent is the Fifth Prince, he could not help but think of the worst situation from the defense leader’s point of view.
Soon after the deputy ran out of the office, three hundred men were called up. The garrison leader led them to block the front of the Imperial Army.
“Commander, what the hell is going on here, moving without permission in the city?”
The garrison leader was as polite as he could be polite as he could be.
There was an unauthorized military movement, but the opponent was an Imperial Commander. He can’t treat him recklessly.
“Who dares to stand in the way of the Imperial Army!”
The commander of the Imperial Army raised his voice. Not a handful of manas were loaded, but the voice was so loud that it was surprising for a short moment that the captain of the defense was riding.
“Unauthorized military movement within the city is prohibited. No matter how much you call him…….”
“Unauthorized?! It’s the order of the Fifth Prince!”
“Your Majesty the Fifth?”
Raymond slowly drove his horse forward, looking at the captain of the defense, who asked back in a surprised voice.
Gesteine, the commander of the Secret Squad, and Desia, the superior wizard, stood by. A calm face was revealed when he took off the hood.
“I was ordered to encourage border forces. How dare you disobey the Emperor’s orders?”
When the Imperial Order was mentioned, the defense leader’s face hardened. The weight of the Imperial Order in the Pilias Empire is never light.
“Open the gates now unless you intend to confront to the Emperor”
Raymond spat it out coldly. As the Emperor mentioned it, it was quite a pressure from the perspective of a defense leader.
Sure enough, after a short thought, he pulled the guards aside and opened the gates.
“Thanks. I won’t forget your cooperation.”
“May I ask where you are going, Your Majesty the Fifth?”
“Of course, I carry out the Emperor’s orders.”
It means going to the border. Understanding the meaning, the defender bit his lips slightly with a stiff face.
Now, if the Fifth Prince dies at the border, the defense captain cannot avoid responsibility.
But at a time when Imperial Order was mentioned, he could not help but step down.
It was a total difficulty.
“Don’t worry too much. Because I’m never going to die.”
In conclusion, Raymond drove to the north. He was followed by a hundred imperial troops and a temporarily expanded fifty Secret Squad.
Demilitarized Treaty.
It refers to a treaty between the Heifel Empire, the three kingdom Alliance, and the Pilias Empire that prohibits the presence of troops in the Black Mountains and the black forests.
It was the Heifel Empire that proposed the treaty, but the first to violate it was the Heipel Empire.
Heifel’s troops were stationed in the Heifel Forest, which borders the Pilias Empire, and rangers began patrolling.
Upon hearing the news, skilled mountain mercenaries and ghost troops were stationed in the Black Mountains and exerted influence.
Now that the situation was like this,they couldn’t stay still even in the Pilias.
They also stationed troops in the Black Mountains and in the Black Forest. Invisible battle has begun.
Starting with that, in the two areas dominated by the battlefield, there were no days when blood did not flow even if there were no battles between the nations.
And today, as usual, there were screams and blood in the black mountains.
“Argh!”
“Sa, save me!”
An armoured arrow baptism in the sky tore the flag of the Pilias Empire like a rag.
“Long live the Emperor! Long live the Pilias!”
The rider shouted hurrah while screaming with several arrows stuck in his whole body. He struggled to forget the pain, burning a dying life and never letting go of the flag until the end.
Not as much as the vanguard of the Lieutenant-General’s assault, but the flag of the Pilias Empire also meant a lot to the soldiers.
Knowing that, the rider held the flag tightly as he was dying.
“Head on, infantry! We will protect this place!”
Soldiers in red uniforms rushed forward, but the terrain was too harsh to reach the enemies at once.
The army of the enemy who preoccupied the highlands continued to shoot bows, and the soldiers of the Pilias Empire fell helplessly.
“Mountain mercenaries, damn it!”
Cron Crayer, Marquis’ son, uttered a curse word.
He has been in command of the Fifth Infantry Division of the Border Force for some time, following the family tradition that he should always learns from the vanguard.
Border forces took turns sending combat troops up the Black Mountains to patrol for a period of time. Although Cron is the eldest son of the Marquis, there was no exception at the border and the Marquis hoped for it.
As a result, his Fifth Infantry entered the Black Mountains and held a grand welcoming ceremony.
On his way to the makeshift base, he was attacked extensively by mountain mercenaries from the Kingdom of Fresyria.
The Fifth Infantry, led by Cron, was a regular army of border forces, but it was not enough power to deal with mountain mercenaries mainly operating in the Black Mountains full of evil water.
“Shoot the flare! I’m calling for backup!”
Heavy arrows poured down like sticks and intermittent magic attacks shook the formation of the Fifth Infantry.
Already, a considerable number of infantry are unable to carry out combat. Cron had no choice but to ask for support.
A red flare soared through the pitch of the night sky. But the reinforcements did not come.
“Leader, this is total annihilation!”
“We have to retreat!”
The officers were clamoring. Cron had a lot of pride, but he couldn’t watch his men sacrifice themselves.
“Retreat!”
On behalf of the rider holding the imperial flag, another waved the flag to signal a retreat.
The soldiers slowly widened their distance from the enemy, reciting Cron’s orders. The idea that they might be able to survive raised their head.
“The retreat has been blocked!”
It was a false hope. There were mercenaries from the Fresyrian Kingdom behind.
They advanced slowly with heavy shields and heavily armed mercenaries with swords.
It is a dilemma as arrows pour down like a pole in front of it, and heavily armed people are slowly moving forward, enduring soldiers.
“Darn it!”
Kron stepped forward, throwing up abusive language. It has passed enough time to think that even the retreat was blocked and that the reinforcements would not come.
By the time they gave up everything and started fighting with the determination to be buried in the Black Mountains, a huge ball of fire fell from the sky.
Whaaaaaaaaa!
“Argh!”
“Argh!”
Screams erupted from the camp of mountain mercenaries. A cold wind with a sharp ice blade followed them.
The attack of the image is obviously magical.
“Hey, it’s a wizard!”
The body burns in flames and is torn apart by ice.
Dozens of mountain mercenaries fell helplessly.
The mercenary wizard, who was mixed among the mountain mercenaries, thought that a storm would pass and a time of counterattack would come.
But the disaster is not over. The scattered pieces of flame gathered to form a dragon, and the harsh winds and ice clumped together to form a wind golem.
Fading magic reinforcement and higher application. The mercenary wizard’s complexion turned pale. He had no choice but to change his mind.
“Oh, why is the high-ranking wizard here…….”
The fear of battle, which could exterminate a white man with one magic, emerged. What’s worse is that it’s not just one person. Two attribution spells were tried at once, so there are at least two.
It’s even more terrible if one wizard does it.
He’ll have to call that a Great wizard, not a high-ranking wizard.
Poo-oo-oo-oo-oo-
The sound of horn trumpeting.
“Captain, reinforcements are here!”
An officer approached and reported. He was so moved that he stammered a little bit.
Flags stuck out over the hills of the mountain range, where horn trumpets rang.
The golden flag. Cron knows what it stands for.
“Hua, A Prince?”