Note: There are two Imperial Army in the Border. One is those arrived with the Fifth Prince and the other is protecting the bordering towns.
The Local Army is not in the Frontline because it was not a full war battle yet, Imperial Army moves in times of crisis.
Right now the enemies are only mercenaries and not the enemy kingdom and if the Imperial Army were to go in Black Mountain that would be an excuse from the enemy kingdom to initiate the attacks.
That’s why currently on the Frontline is the private army of the Marquis Crayer.
***
He heard that the Fifth Prince was coming to the North, but he only thought that he would only keep his place under protection with the Imperial Army at the Marquis Castle, which is safe.
That’s the image of the Fifth Prince he had from what he heard so far.
“Did the Fifth Prince sent them?”
Cron wiped away the blood covering his eyes and turned his head in the direction of the horn trumpet sound, and he freaked out.
“O Emperor! Destroy your enemies in the name of the Emperor!”
The Fifth Prince, who thought he would be in a safe rear position, was leading the battle himself.
Even his position was not thoroughly protected, it was close to the front line.
Cron felt his head turn white in this strange situation that could not be understood by rumors and common sense about the Fifth Prince.
“Cap…Captain……! Next to the Emperor’s flag is the flag of the Fifth Prince!”
“I think the Fifth Prince has entered the war zone!”
Soldiers and knights made a fuss.
At the same time, he was embarrassed by the unexpected situation and delighted that the reinforcements had come, while at the same time, he raised his head with a strong sense of duty to protect the precious imperial family of the Pilias.
They, too, swore allegiance to the Pilias Empire and the Emperor.
Although it is not as crazy as the Imperial Army or the Central Army, the mission to protect the imperial family was alive and breathing in their hearts.
“Forever, forward! We are covering the Fifth Prince and the Imperial Army!
The Fifth Crown Prince, Raymond, along with the Imperial Army, was charging deep into enemy territory.
Despite the loss of the archers and the wizard’s lives through two high-ranking magic tricks, the formation of the mountain mercenaries was still solid.
Because he thought it was suicide to carry out the charge as it was, Cron gathered the surviving soldiers, shouting out his throat.
“Oh, no…….”
The Imperial Army began a battle of white soldiers with mountain mercenaries. They were trained soldier and in good condition, but lacked practical experience. (White soldiers= Newbie, they are not tanned because they were not training in the battlefield.)
Cron thought they would be pushed back against mountain mercenaries who had fought against the ruins every day, but rather the Imperial Army was pushing the mountain mercenaries.
Then, at the vanguard of the Imperial Army, there was a knight with a single arm in a black uniform.
He looked unstable without his left arm, but whenever he swung the sword, heavily armed mountain mercenaries collapsed.
“Argh!”
“Argh!”
The blue manasword split the mountain mercenaries. The leader collapsed and the formation collapsed. The Imperial Army followed him and cut down the enemies.
They were fighting much better than Cron thought. In the first place, there were two high-ranking wizards from Red Tower and Blue Tower.
The mercenary wizard of the mountain mercenaries were only intermediate.
It’s because Raymond has taken away all the main characters’ companion, and the wizards who were originally above the top level were so valuable that it was hard to operate on a small estate.
This situation was not common.
“The Fifth Prince is with us! Never have fear! Don’t back down!”
The cry of the commander of the Imperial Army rang loudly on the battlefield. Even though he didn’t borrow Mana’s power, it was still a loud voice.
“What the hell is the Imperial Army doing here!”
The commander of the mountain mercenary unit uttered a nervous curse. It’s almost done. He thought so.
The mercenary troops was informed that he would lead a combat team into the black mountain range and ordered to kidnap or kill the Marquis’s Son for the “Great Commandment.”
The eldest son of Marquis Crayer, Cron, had a combat force of 500, they were similar in number, but due to the location they have more advantages in battle.
He was convinced of victory, and contacted other mercenary commanders to launch a joint attack on Cron and his infantry, just in case. They weren’t good enough.
Cron and the infantry could not overcome the gap in strength and seemed to slowly collapse. A smile spread around the mouths of the two mercenary commanders.
Then, out of the blue, the Imperial Army appeared.
“What the hell is wrong with them?”
But the swearing was quick, and soon the flag of the Fifth Prince was seen in his eyes and his eyes were colored with greed.
‘Yes, now that I’m done, I’m going to take the Fifth Prince’s throat.’
If he were to kill an Imperial family, things get bigger. However, he was only a commander of a mercenary unit and became a runaway locomotive that ran forward without looking far ahead when greed covered his eyes.
“Hit the Imperial Army first!”
The Fifth Prince did something that neither the aggressive First Prince did.
Some aristocrats immediately voiced the need to march northern central forces into the Black mountain in order to rescue the Fifth Prince, but the Emperor had no choice but to shake his head.
“If we advance the Northern Central, we will not be able to avoid war. It’s hard to step up patrols on the border and do anything more than send a small number of combat troops to the Black Mountains.”
This words was tantamount to abandoning the Fifth Prince. The Emperor spoke with a calm voice, but his heart was breaking.
The Black Mountains, was having a silent battlefield. It was also affected by the Demilitarized Treaty, which promised not to station troops with the Pilias Empire.
Although there was no official military presence, currently the Black Mountains was a battlefield.
The Pilias and the Triple Alliance secretly stationed troops in the Black Mountains.
A large-scale military presence was impossible due to a group of black mountain ranges, but one day a brigade-sized military base began to emerge from small combat units.
“It’s very interesting that the Demilitarized Treaty allows for a military presence aimed at stamping out the Bandits. But I don’t know who sets the standard…….”
(From what I understood it means that Fresyrian was using the mercenaries as an excuse to station military forces but the mercenaries only attack Pilias.)
Cron, the eldest son of Marquis Crayer and commander of the border army, said in a calm, angry voice.
His gaze was on the back of the soldiers recovering the body. Just by looking at him, I could see how much Cron cared about his men.
“How long is it until the temporary base?”
“Two more days to go.”
This is a battlefield. Raymond, who knows well that he can’t afford to feel sad, changed the subject.
Cron, too, shook his head and responded to the conversation with Raymond, because he knew it well.
Two days. It’s never light to march in the Black Mountains for two days.
Even if they were not mercenaries of the Fresyrian Kingdom, they were the main problem. They had such a strong grip on the land that it was safe to say that they were the true owners of the Black Mountains.
“I and the Imperial Army will also join you in the temporary base.”
“The Black Mountains are too dangerous for the Fifth Prince.”
“I came here according to the order of the Emperor. Are saying I am going to disobey the Emperor?”
“Oh, no…….”
No one in the Pilias could refute the words “Imperial Order”.
Sure enough, Cron had to shut up when Raymond mentioned it.
At heart, her wanted to guide Raymond to a safer border right away, but now that the Imperial Order was brought out, he have no choice but to be together.
‘I heard that Fifth Prince was a coward and a scoundrel…….’
Considering the image of the Fifth Prince, who commanded the battlefield a while ago, He thought that the rumor of the capital’s defeat of the Dark Emperor might not be exaggerated or false rumors.
However, from Cron’s point of view, Raymond’s joining was burdensome.
It’s not a common battlefield, it’s a black mountain range where they don’t know what’s going to happen. However, the only guards are the Imperial Army, the Fifth Prince’s Secret Squad, and the heavily damaged infantry.
In fact, one infantry unit is the main power. The thought of commanding them to protect the Fifth Prince forced Cron to bear the sighs.
“The Fifth Prince is with us!”
“To this dangerous place for us!”
It was fortunate that the morale of knights and soldiers were sky-high. Of course, at the heart of the incitement was the Imperial Army.
“Sir Cron.”
“Yes, go ahead. Your Majesty the Fifth.”
“I know how you feel.”
Raymond spoke softly.
“There will never be the worst you are thinking of. I assure you.”
It is a voice full of confidence beyond strong confidence. In the extremely nervous Black Mountains, even skilled knights, the Fifth Prince was convinced beyond his leisurely appearance.
Cron’s mind moved a little when he saw this.
“I will do my best to support you.” Cron answered, bowing his head, holding his weakened heart together for a moment.
Now that Imperial has brouvht out, they cannot disobey it. If they can’t send the Fifth Prince back, they have no choice but to join him.
A voice of determination rang softly.
“I think we’re almost done picking up the pieces, so let’s move the army.”
“Yes, Your Majesty the Fifth.”
The Imperial Army moved again. They took a minimum of rest and busily moved on for a day.
Because it was a terrain where cavalry were not easy to move, the Fifth Prince, Raymond, also got off the horse and moved with the soldiers.
The knights of the Imperial Army and the members of the Secret Squad, who saw the scene, also voluntarily got off the horse.
The Master of the Red Tower also got off, and the Master of the Blue Tower was lowered himself from the horse with a short sigh. How much longer did they have to walk?
“The Fifth Prince, we’re in the same boat right now.”
Berenus Kyle, the master of the Red Tower, has reported.
When Raymond nodded with a stiff face, Berenus opened his mouth to give a supplementary explanation.
“I feel like we are in the Path of the forgotten.”
The Red Tower Master continued to explain, but Raymond’s mind was somewhere else.
Knowing the setting of the novel, Raymond closed his ears and organized his thoughts because he didn’t have to listen.
The Path of the Forgotten.
In ancient times, the land of knights was forgotten without a name because they fought most valiantly to overthrow a beast. And…….
‘It’s also where the Soul Sword is asleep.’
It must have been pretty hard to find it on purpose, but he was lucky.