As the mana of darkness concentrated, the Dark Portal’s multilayered stone rings rotated this way and that,
locking onto coordinates. The party watched the process with eyes full of anticipation.
In particular, the gazes of Olivier and the other Sentinels were fixed on the coordinates indicated by the coordinate-setting stone ring.
Because they had to consider the possibility, however slight, that it might connect to the Demon Realm, they focused their minds and kept watch.
Fortunately, contrary to their fears, the coordinate-setting ring stopped somewhere in the human world. The coordinates seemed very likely to be in Arcadia.
Just as the Sentinels were letting out sighs of relief, Damon’s warning rang out.
“It is done. Everyone, leave this place. The Dark Portal will activate soon.”
The party, who had been watching blankly, snapped back to their senses and began to retreat. It was because they might be swept up in the powerful storm
that would rage when the spatial transfer gate was created.
Having withdrawn to a safe distance, the party held their breath and stared at the Dark Portal.
As they watched, the Dark Portal emitted a dazzling light and continued rotating at tremendous speed.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa.
When the ever-intensifying light forced the party to cover their eyes all at once, a massive storm raged around the Dark Portal as its axis.
Though they had retreated far enough, the storm was so fierce that the party staggered for a while, unable to keep their balance.
Through the storm, Damon’s confident, wild laughter burst forth.
“Kuhahaha. Now it is done. At last, the spatial transfer gate has been activated.”
The party narrowed their eyes and examined the Dark Portal, which was still spinning while pouring out blinding light.
Even in the midst of all that, Shrekheimer was absorbed in communicating with Arcadia.
“We’ve received word. It’s an encoded message saying that the spatial transfer gate will open shortly.”
At his adjutant’s report, Duke Perstein sprang up from his seat. The welcome news he had been waiting for so eagerly
had finally arrived. His face was trembling with emotion.
“At last……”
The ambition he had dreamed of for so long. Its opening act was finally about to unfold before him.
Without the slightest hesitation, the duke gave an order.
“Gather the First Corps stationed on the outskirts of Felzentin at the location of the coordinate-setting magic circle.
I will grant them the honor of being the first to set foot on the land of Truvenia.”
The First Corps was an elite corps composed of the duke’s private soldiers. It consisted of one hundred thousand troops,
and thanks to thorough training and abundant supplies, their morale had reached its peak. The duke believed that elites of their caliber
would be able to break through the defensive line of the orc warriors with irresistible momentum.
“Understood.”
The adjutant who received the order left the office, and the duke also hurried to prepare for departure.
As he recalled the plan, the duke’s face was deeply etched with tension.
“The finest elites sent by each kingdom are all gathered in Felzentin.
We must place every one of them on Truvenian soil as quickly as possible.”
In truth, the process of gathering troops had never been smooth. Once they learned that the Silver Dragon’s curse was sweeping across the sea,
the various monarchs tried to postpone dispatching their forces.
No monarch wished to put his own soldiers aboard ships and send them into a storm.
But Duke Perstein, displaying his characteristic stubbornness, gathered the troops almost by force.
Faced with the duke’s powerful resolve, even to the point of being willing to use military force, the kings of each nation had no choice but to yield.
They set their troops in motion only after attaching the condition that they be sent not to the coastal regions, but to the vicinity of Felzentin,
the capital of the Croisen Empire. Of course, secret orders were quietly given to commanders of every rank.
Those orders were to defy command if they were made to board ships.
After many twists and turns, five hundred thousand expeditionary troops, the first wave to cross over, assembled on the outskirts of Felzentin along with supplies.
Now all that remained for the duke was to deploy them into Truvenia.
As he hurried his preparations for departure, a faint smile appeared at the corner of the duke’s mouth.
“Now that even the supply problem I worried about most has been resolved, is all that remains the fighting?”
Baron Romain, whom Damon had recommended. Because of him, all matters concerning supplies had been neatly resolved.
The baron’s abilities were that exceptional. His reputation for having created and managed Arcadia’s greatest trading company,
acknowledged by all, had indeed not been empty praise.
Upon receiving the duke’s message, Baron Romain accepted the request without a second word.
“Understood. I have already made up my mind.”
He led all the managers under his trading company and joined the expeditionary army. Entrusted with supplying an enormous army of 1.5 million,
he displayed truly superhuman ability. Duke Perstein could not help but marvel at his skill in calculating the supplies required by each branch,
purchasing them, and then distributing them accurately to each unit.
“I can readily understand why the Romain Trading Company is renowned as the greatest on the continent.”
Astonishingly, he provided most of the astronomical fortune he had earned until now as military funds.
It was such a vast sum that even Duke Perstein had not anticipated it.
When the duke asked whether this was truly all right, Baron Romain answered in a single sentence.
“Everything I have, from beginning to end, was achieved for me by Lord Damon.
Since he has requested it, of course I can only offer it.”
To the duke, who placed his complete trust in him, he revealed his secret without concealing anything. Including his true name, Zengart,
he explained to the duke in full how, thanks to Damon, he had come to live in Baron Romain’s place.
Only after hearing that he was originally a man who had crossed over from Truvenia could Duke Perstein finally dispel his doubts.
He now understood why the man was so actively taking part in the conquest of Truvenia.
Without a word, Duke Perstein reached out and patted him on the shoulder.
“I understand. However, to prevent confusion, let us keep your true identity hidden for the time being.
I alone shall know the name Zengart.”
Because of the abilities Zengart had shown until then, the duke had already made up his mind to bring him over to his side.
In order to stabilize the newly created empire after the conquest succeeded, an unparalleled administrator like Zengart
would be absolutely necessary. Recalling that moment, the duke’s eyes gleamed.
“He is a talent I truly cannot do without. Therefore, I must make him my man, no matter what.”
The duke, now dressed, slowly rose to his feet. Just then, his adjutant entered and reported that a spatial transfer gate was opening
at the location of the coordinate-setting magic circle.
The members, led by Damon, were gazing at the Dark Portal with expectant eyes. It had already been an hour since the portal had activated.
Since Shrekheimer had already informed them through magical communication, Arcadia’s advance party would soon
appear through the portal.
The members’ faces were all etched with impatience. But the time they had to wait was not long.
Damon’s eyes shone as he examined the magic circle.
“Are they coming now?”
Not long after Damon murmured to himself, the waves at the center of the portal began to ripple visibly.
The portal’s center rippled violently, like the surface of water in a place where a gust was blowing.
A moment later, something abruptly emerged through the waves. It was a single human soldier,
fully armed in armor and helmet, with a shield held before him.
“They’ve come.”
The members looked at the soldier who had appeared with anxious eyes. The soldier, who had been looking around in bewilderment,
let his gaze come to rest on the group. Judging by his attire, he did not seem to be an ordinary soldier.
After scanning the faces of the members, he spoke first.
“Are you, by any chance, members of the Kasim Mercenary Corps?”
Crancia, who had been waiting anxiously, stepped forward at once.
“We are. State your affiliation and identity.”
The moment the soldier saw Crancia, he snapped to attention. The advance party was the First Corps, composed of Duke Perstein’s private soldiers.
Therefore, as one of the unit commanders of the First Corps, he knew Crancia’s face well.
“I am Wilmer, commander of the 101st Unit of the advance party detached from the First Corps. It is an honor to meet you.”
Even as Crancia and the soldier spoke, soldiers continued to pour through the portal in steady streams.
When the unit commander named Wilmer signaled with his eyes, the soldiers formed ranks in orderly fashion. Judging by that,
they seemed to be a unit directly under his command. Even after that, soldiers continued to emerge.
Every one of them was a heavy infantryman with solid armament. Since the area around the portal was not very spacious,
it soon became saturated. Crancia looked around, then raised a finger and pointed behind her.
“If you go that way, you’ll find a broad plain. Line up the troops there.”
“Understood.”
Wilmer answered without hesitation. After giving movement orders to the soldiers coming out through the portal,
he looked at the party.
“May I ask who is in charge of magical communication?”
Shrekheimer stepped forward.
“I am in charge of communication.”
Wilmer’s eyes widened, as if he had not expected a lich to step forward.
However, perhaps because he had received prior instruction, he bowed without hesitation.
“I apologize, but please contact Felzentin. I must report that the advance party has arrived safely.”
“Very well.”
Shrekheimer silently deployed communication magic. Once the connection was established, Wilmer approached and began his report.
After reciting the cipher agreed upon in advance, Wilmer then stated, according to procedure, that the advance party had arrived safely.
The members watched him with no small admiration at his thorough sense of security.
After finishing his report, Wilmer looked at Crancia with a businesslike expression.
“The commander of the First Corps will be transferring here shortly.
His Highness Duke Perstein said he would come with the First Corps.”
“Father? Well, he is someone who leads by example, so it’s nothing strange.”
“Then I will go organize the troops.”
After giving a respectful bow, Wilmer ran toward the soldiers. Though soldiers continued to pour through the portal,
there was no confusion, as the squad-leader ranks shouted themselves hoarse to control them.
The sight of them moving in disciplined formation without casting even a single glance at the elven Sentinels
made it clear just how harshly they had been trained in normal times.
Seeing that, Kasim clicked his tongue in astonishment. As Kasim had once been the commander of a mid-sized mercenary band,
he could easily estimate just how well trained the soldiers were.
“At least in terms of discipline, they can’t even be compared to mercenaries.”
By a rough count, the advance party seemed to number a little over one thousand. After the wave of heavy infantry came to an end,
what appeared next was a heavy knight order fully armed in barding and plate mail. With a clanking sound,
the knights began pouring out of the portal. They followed behind the heavy infantry marching ahead
and began to leave the area. Then the one at the very front of the knights approached the party.
Judging by his splendid armor and insignia, he seemed to be a knight of considerable status. The knight dismounted
and removed his helmet. Beneath it appeared a dignified face that looked to be around fifty, with a finely groomed mustache.
He bowed respectfully to Crancia.
“It is an honor to meet you. I am Viscount Mikhail, commander of the First Corps.
First, I congratulate you on risking danger to complete your mission……”
Crancia shook her head and pointed at Damon.
“You should report not to me, but to this gentleman. Allow me to introduce him. This is Damon, the actual
person in charge of the Kasim Mercenary Corps. The reactivation of the Dark Portal was achieved entirely thanks to him.”
Viscount Mikhail offered his respects without hesitation.
“So you are Lord Damon. I have heard much about you.”
Damon silently nodded and accepted the greeting.
Shrekheimer, who had been standing beside him, approached with a gleam in his eyes.
“It has been a long time, Viscount Mikhail.”
At the sight of Shrekheimer, Viscount Mikhail’s face unexpectedly brightened. He and the other corps commanders
all knew Shrekheimer’s face. Since they had received instruction from Shrekheimer for a certain period on strategies
for dealing with orcs, there was no way they would fail to recognize him. He greeted him with delight,
as if he had forgotten that the other party was a lich.
“You were safe, Lord Shrekheimer.”
“Yes, thanks to you……”
Through Shrekheimer’s introduction, Viscount Mikhail exchanged greetings with each member of the Kasim Mercenary Corps one by one.
A look of respect appeared on the viscount’s face as he looked at the members. And no wonder.
They had crossed into Truvenia, where dragons and orcs swarmed, and completed a difficult mission
without a single sacrifice, so it was impossible not to be amazed.
While they conversed, heavy knights continued to pour out of the portal one after another.
Kasim looked around and gave a bitter smile.
“There’s no need to remain in such a cramped place. Why don’t we move?”
“Shall we?”
The party moved on at a leisurely pace, chatting among themselves. A short distance away, the place where the undead soldiers had attacked
was a fairly vast plain. Therefore, there would be no problem at all gathering the troops there.