The middle-aged blacksmith, his face deeply pitted with pockmarks, raised a hand and wiped the sweat running down his forehead. From the placement of the calluses on his hands, it was not difficult to infer what his profession was. Before him lay a suit of armor polished to a gleam.
Irritation suddenly clouded the blacksmith’s face.
“This is the first time I’ve ever made such a bizarre suit of armor.”
He recalled the foreigner who had been assigned to the Royal Guard just a short while ago. At first, he too could not help finding it quite intriguing. After all, this was the first time a foreigner had ever been appointed to the Royal Guard... But when he actually faced the man, he could only be left speechless. The appearance of the new guardsman had shattered his expectations completely.
“G-good heavens...”
Generally speaking, royal guardsmen had proud, muscular physiques. Because of that, he had prepared himself to make armor in larger sizes as a matter of course. But that foreigner was small, almost like a boy. If that had been all, it would not have been much of a problem, but the man was a hunchback, with his back bulging upward. Because of that, the blacksmith had to waste half a day making armor that fit his body. Since the armor worn by royal guardsmen was not chainmail but full plate mail made of iron plates, this was by no means an easy task.
“I wonder if it’ll fit.”
He picked up the completed armor and left the workshop. He first had to fit it to the new guardsman’s body, then polish it and attach the decorations.
Clatter.
When he stepped out the door, two figures came into view. One was a royal guard squad leader whom he knew well, and the other was the new guardsman. Exotic though he was, even to the blacksmith’s eyes, the shape of his face was truly hideous. On top of that, his build was so short and stocky that it brought a dwarf to mind. Compared to him, the blacksmith felt that even with his own pockmarked face, he might be considered far more handsome. In any case, it was true that the status of the royal guards was far higher than that of a mere blacksmith like himself, so he bowed his head respectfully.
“It is finished. Please try it on.”
The royal guard squad leader glanced at the completed armor, then immediately spoke in a dissatisfied voice.
“This isn’t it. I told you the helmet’s face guard needs to be fixed in place, so that his face is always covered.”
“Y-yes, understood. For now, measuring the armor was the first priority...”
The blacksmith glanced once more at the foreigner’s face, then nodded as though he understood.
‘Well, I suppose he can’t go around showing that face in front of the high nobles.’
The blacksmith held the completed armor against Damon’s entire body and marked with a pen the places that needed to be shortened or lengthened. Damon merely stood there in silence.
Beside him, the royal guard squad leader was looking at Damon with an expression full of displeasure. There was a somewhat contemptuous light in his eyes, but Damon did not care at all. It was a gaze he had already grown accustomed to, and for him, it was enough of a blessing that he had gained the chance to learn magic. The squad leader swept his gaze over Damon’s face once more and clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘Damn it. How could they accept someone like that into the Royal Guard?’
Most of the guardsmen under his command were handsome men of tall stature. Of course, the squad leader himself was no exception. His handsome face, adorned with a stylish mustache, suited the shining armor he wore extremely well. Naturally, since there was no need whatsoever to cover such a handsome face, he always kept his visor raised even while on duty. Among the royal guards, visors had already come to be regarded as something used only in emergencies.
‘What an utterly incomprehensible order.’
Although he had obeyed because it was the command of his superior, Benitez, there was no way he could take a liking to a new guardsman with such an ugly appearance. And wasn’t he a foreigner whose origins were unknown at that?
That was why the squad leader had deliberately ordered a helmet with a fully integrated face guard. He did not know for certain, but if the man went about in his true appearance, he was sure to become the talk of the court.
When the blacksmith, having finished taking all the measurements, went back into the workshop, the squad leader rose as though there was no need to think about it any further.
“Wait here, take the armor, and then come to the royal guard waiting room.”
“But I don’t know where the royal guard waiting room is...”
“Ask the blacksmith. He’ll tell you.”
After speaking coldly, the squad leader turned away. His attitude was as if he did not even want to converse with someone like him any longer. At that sight, Damon gave a bitter smile. Though he had not experienced much yet, he instinctively sensed that getting along with the royal guards would not be easy.
‘Their personalities are completely different from those of the castle wall guards.’
Having realized that one fact, Damon silently waited for the armor to be completed.
The state of the Race War, which had erupted once more after fifty years, was currently in the midst of a lull.
As a result of leading the Battle of Tranbor to a great victory, the orcs were able to occupy roughly sixty percent of the Truvenia Continent. Despite their overwhelming victory, the orc army did not advance its forces for some time. For them, the most urgent task was to produce troops to throw into battle.
Because they had lived in hiding in the barren Pelusia Mountains, their population had decreased markedly, and the orcs lacked the manpower to fight. But this was a problem that could be overcome without difficulty given time. An orc, once born, would grow into a warrior capable of being sent into war and the hunt in an average of five years. And the number of young being born was more than sufficient. Naturally, the food and provisions seized from the occupied regions were enough to raise them without issue.
The dragons, who could be called the strongest force possessed by the orc army, also needed time to rest. Because they had expended a great deal of mana for siege operations, the dragons were extremely exhausted. In order to render powerless the strongest defensive tool created by humans—the castle—the dragons had repeatedly unleashed high-circle magic, and as a result, most of their mana had been depleted. Since they needed time to replenish it, the battlefield had no choice but to fall into a lull for a while.
However, in order to recover the lands they had lost, the armies of humanity had no choice but to launch continuous attacks, and because of that, sporadic local battles broke out in many places across the entire front. It was a war in which those who sought to seize and those who sought to defend had switched places. But whenever the tide of battle began to turn, dragons were immediately deployed, so the human armies had no choice but to continue suffering difficulties.
The continued assault operations using wyverns also placed a great burden on them. The fact that battles were erupting sporadically even in the rear, which should have been secure, and that many civilians were dying as a result, caused the soldiers’ morale to plummet.
In five more years, the orc invasion would begin again. And, of course, it would be with countless orc reinforcements at the forefront. No matter how one looked at it, the course of the war was growing increasingly unfavorable for humanity.
Even so, Rosengart IV of Icarot did not lose hope. That was because they had one single thing on which they pinned their expectations. Naturally, it was a fact discovered by Sergei, the head of the intelligence department.
In order to inform them of it, Rosengart IV once more gathered the rulers of each nation in one place. Thus, the third meeting of the monarchs to decide the fate of humanity was convened, and to ensure every possible precaution, the meeting had to take place in the relatively safe kingdom of Tranbel.
Though it could not compare to the royal palace of Icarot, Tranbel was a wealthy commercial kingdom, and its palace too was truly splendid. In an office within that palace, the monarchs of the various nations were currently gathered, holding a strategy meeting.
One thing to note, however, was that the number of monarchs in attendance had decreased markedly compared to the previous meeting. Of course, many rulers had lost their lives as their countries collapsed, and a considerable number of monarchs were leading their knight orders in bloody battles on the front, so there were not many who could attend.
Their hearts tightened with anxiety as they watched only the mouth of the operations officer standing before them. Naturally, that operations officer was Duke Sergei of Icarot.
“Then I shall begin the meeting.”
After bowing to the monarchs, Duke Sergei soon began explaining the state of the war.
“The war situation remains exceedingly bleak. Since the crushing defeat at Tranbor, back-and-forth battles have continued, but not a single kingdom has been retaken. Furthermore, unlike the orcs, who are continuously receiving reinforcements, the number of our soldiers continues to decline, which is a great burden for us.”
A war situation in which no hope could be seen at all. At the thought that this might bring human history to an end, the faces of the monarchs were heavily shadowed. In many respects, the situation was unfolding to humanity’s disadvantage. First of all, the greatest obstacle was that they could not form proper battle formations because of the dragons.
The Race War against the orcs, which began a hundred years ago and ended roughly fifty years ago. In that war, humanity had been able to hold out for a relatively long time due to three major advantages. One of them was defensive operations using castles, and the second was the might of knight orders clad in heavy armor. Because of that, humans had been able to overcome with relative ease the vast disparity in numbers, which was otherwise overwhelmingly unfavorable to them.
And the third advantage was battle formations. In general, a well-organized human army could fight against an orc army at least twice its size. This was because the power of the army was maximized through the combination of soldiers according to their military branches. Of course, the orc army had Wolf Riders and archer units, but its main force was generally composed of infantry wearing light armor.
They could never compare to a human army whose duties were strictly defined according to carefully selected branches of service.
First came the knight orders, who broke the enemy’s momentum, followed by light cavalry specialized in cutting off the retreat routes of fleeing enemies, archer units armed with high-tension crossbows and various bows, and heavy infantry corps that withstood the enemy advance at the front. From light infantry in charge of pursuit and encirclement to spearmen, the branches of the human military were truly diverse.
Because of that, if a human army gathered together, its power could only multiply. Through the synergistic effect created by the combination of various branches, its strength was maximized. But that advantage vanished entirely with the dragons’ participation in the war. In other words, because of the existence of dragons, defensive warfare using castles and battle formations could no longer be maintained.
As they recalled that fact, the monarchs shuddered as fear surged within them. They had already experienced the loss of their main forces several times due to the dragons’ terrifying offensive magic.
High-circle spells that affected vast areas, such as Meteor Swarm, Blizzard, Earth Shake, and Fire Storm, were truly fearsome in power. If such magic was unleashed by dragons, a densely packed human army had no choice but to suffer horrific damage.
Yet they were not in a position to avoid that by dividing their forces into small units. If they arranged their troops that way, they would find it difficult to gain the upper hand against the fierce orc infantry. This truly was a problem that could only be described as a dilemma.
Moreover, now that the knight orders had become all but useless due to the participation of various medium-sized monsters, the fate of humanity was rapidly hurtling toward catastrophe. Countless orc reinforcements were certain to join the war before long, and if that happened, the situation would become even more difficult...
“However, there is a way to overcome this.”
At Sergei’s sudden, confident words, the rulers of the various kingdoms raised their heads. Since it was human nature to clutch even at straw when faced with a crisis, they placed great expectations on Sergei’s statement. Looking at each of their faces, Sergei continued his explanation in a steady tone.
“The current situation is all due to the dragons’ intervention. In other words, if the dragons do not participate in the war, we can drive the orcs from this land.”
“B-but the dragons have already declared that they will destroy humanity. Their resolve appears to be firmly set already, so how can we possibly persuade them...”
Sergei smiled faintly.
“We will not persuade them. It will happen naturally.”
“Naturally?”
Expressions of doubt appeared simultaneously on the monarchs’ faces. Watching them, Sergei nodded.
“Yes. By nature, after dragons pass through a certain period of activity, they must inevitably enter a period of sleep. I believe Your Majesties are already well aware of this fact. In particular, when dragons overuse magic, their active period cannot help but become extremely short. Our intelligence department has already completed a detailed analysis of the dragons’ sleep cycles.”
As Sergei continued speaking, the light of hope rapidly appeared on the faces of the monarchs.
—If only the dragons withdraw, we can definitely win the war.
This atmosphere had already spread widely among the various military corps. That was how much the dragons had become beings of terror to the soldiers. In truth, without the dragons, orcs themselves would not be much of a problem. Although the orcs had driven humanity to the brink of extinction a hundred years ago, the situation now was different from then. The reality was that the current orcs were far fewer in number than they had been a hundred years ago. Thus, on the Truvenia Continent, humans still far outnumbered them. Because of that, the monarchs were able, for the first time in a long while, to hold hope for their fate.
“T-then exactly when will that time be?”
The impatient ruler of Carnatic sprang to his feet and shouted. The Kingdom of Carnatic had already lost more than half its territory to the orc army, so the sense of crisis felt by the King of Carnatic could be said to be the greatest among all the monarchs gathered there.