Absolute Spear Partakhion, who challenged an entire nation to a duel and actually led it to success.
The knight recalled his anecdote and spat out a curse.
"...Crazy bastard."
"A duel. Draw your weapon. Victory is justice, and the victor shall claim this land. The Heavenly God... no, the Earth Mother Goddess will bless us this time."
However, they could not retreat. If they retreated just because the opponent was willing to risk war, there would only be greater losses.
This is the reason why war does not disappear just because everyone avoids it. The knight shouted.
"We will not back down easily!"
"Hahahahaha! Just what I wanted!"
The war between the Military Nation and the Roving Nations broke out with a single cry.
"And so. The vanguard led by the Absolute Spear defeated the wicked invaders and raised the Military Nation's banner high."
Having finished her solo performance, Hilde bowed and quietly waited for our reaction. Tir and I clapped softly, and Aji, staring at me, thumped the floor with his front paws as if imitating us. The only one who remained still was the Regressor.
In a village of two-eyed people, a one-eyed person stands out. For a moment, all eyes gathered on the Regressor. Captivating everyone's attention with her silence, the Regressor clicked her tongue instead of clapping.
"Invading already?"
"Invading?! What have you been listening to all this time? They started it! They're the ones gnawing away at Tantalus! The Military Nation is strictly on the defensive!"
"You were planning to march into their homeland regardless. Am I wrong?"
At the Regressor's sharp point, Hilde fell silent. A moment later, Hilde smiled as if caught and replied.
"Hmm. It's really quite~ fascinating. Normally, you seem as lacking as an elementary schooler, but sometimes your insight is as cunning as a hundred-year-old man's?"
"Shut up. If you really intended to defend, you would have sent the engineer corps rather than the legion. Who are you treating like a fool."
'It was like that in the previous cycle too. Back then, the Roving Nations were much more cautious. Coincidentally, because of the Immortal's corpse golem, neither the Military Nation nor the Roving Nations could approach easily...'
The Regressor is secretly similar to me. I babble on about answers I got from reading people's minds as if I deduced them myself, while the Regressor speaks of experiences from before her regression as if they were her own predictions. We're both deceiving people about our methods and bluffing.
If it weren't for that regression, her empty bottom would have been completely exposed. Tsk, can't be helped. Just as telepathy is an ability, regression is an ability too. If she doesn't like it, she should have regressed herself.
'Is the simple side she occasionally shows a bold decision? I thought she was Father's chess piece... I need to rethink this.'
Unaware of that fact, Hilde adjusted her evaluation of the Regressor.
"Hehe. So you understand, right? How difficult a decision the Military Nation made. We gave up a lot to accept the ceasefire proposal you forced upon us?"
"Difficult? We're just staying there."
"Gathering the military might to march into the enemy's heartland and just staying put. That's the hardest thing to do... Well, I'm sure that's not something you'd say out of ignorance."
"..."
'We're just staying put. Is that hard?'
That's something you say out of ignorance. Even though you're not showing it on the outside at all.
I should give her a subtle hint so she isn't too embarrassed.
"Because of the supply lines, right?"
"Yees. The absence of the Military Nation's troops directly leads to an administrative vacuum. Being a soldier isn't a job where you just stand still, right? They have to carry cargo and do construction across the entire Military Nation. Gathering them hastily and leaving them on a barren plain causes significant losses. It's fine for now since we have stockpiled resources, but later on..."
Hilde, who was pretending to count something with her fingers, let out a sigh and trailed off.
"Coldly calculating, one week. After that, we must march, if only to prevent the legion from collapsing. So, please put in more effort? You need to reach the Golden Palace and present the ceasefire agreement before that week is up?"
"One week?"
"Why, is it not enough?"
"No, it's plenty."
'A ceasefire, well. It should be easy if we just persuade the Military Nation. The Roving Nations are relatively weaker.'
The Regressor answered dismissively. Hilde stared at the Regressor before adding a word.
"I'll tell you one more thing. One week is enough time for not just us, but the Roving Nations to finish their preparations as well. If it were according to the original plan, we would have blunted the enemy's vanguard, cut off their information, and marched while defeating the Juggernauts one by one, but we won't be able to do that after a week."
"What, you want us to help because the war became harder for you because of us?"
"I'm saying that if you're going to stop the war, do it properly. A war that breaks out a month from now will be dozens of times more terrible than a war that should have happened yesterday."
Hilde has a tendency to say serious things with an infinitely lighthearted face. It might be a skill she's cultivated in her own way, but it's chilling, so I wish she'd restrain herself.
Left with nothing to say, the Regressor whipped her head around and answered.
"...Tch. Anyone watching would think you love peace. So, do you know the Golden Palace's location?"
Hilde smiled radiantly and replied.
"I don't know! Who could possibly know where a moving palace is right now?"
"True, that's right. Let's look for it on the way. Even if we can't find it, we'll be able to get information once we reach Claudia. Hold on. I had a map..."
The Regressor turned around and rummaged through her pockets. Meanwhile, Hilde, who had been watching my reaction, sneaked over. Pressing herself close to me and even using qi to ensure Tir or the Regressor couldn't hear, she whispered in my ear.
"Father, please don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to hide it, 'I' really don't know, and neither does she. Because..."
"Because you can't see it?"
"...Yees. You even know that."
Hilde smiled faintly and nodded.
The Thousand-Mile Eyes can see all things in the world, but they can only 'see'. In other words, if light doesn't reach it, they face major difficulties. It's not for nothing that Tir, called the greatest enemy of the Holy Hall, wanders around cloaked in darkness.
That was also one of the reasons Yuel tried to drive us out. Because Tir's darkness obscures Yuel's Thousand-Mile Eyes. Even with the Thousand-Mile Eyes, Yuel failed to grasp our feint and was deceived.
'...Besides, even Yuel doesn't know the structure of the Golden Palace. I wonder if even you would know, Father.'
Still, there must be at least one person in the world who knows, right? It'll be fine if I just read that person's mind. Let's just get close first.
"Alright. I've decided."
The Regressor, who had been examining something by herself with a sour expression, clapped her hands and gathered us. She took out a small map and spread it out before us.
A completely empty map with nothing written or drawn on it. You might wonder what kind of map is this, but this is the Roving Nations. For this cursed land that drove countless surveyors to despair, it's better to draw nothing at all. Because the cities and terrain change every moment.
On the right edge of that map, a mountain range stretched out like a folding screen. The surveyors who tried to map the land of the Roving Nations must have been delighted when they discovered those mountains. Because it was the only identifiable geographical feature in a nation where today is not like yesterday.
Moreover... surveyors are not the only ones who love things that don't change.
The Regressor pointed to a spot on that mountain range.
Claudia.
The name of a city sitting alone and lonely on a map of the Roving Nations. The place where the most people live in the Roving Nations.
"For now, we'll head to Claudia, the Roving Nations' only settled city. On the way, we'll loot jackals or Juggernauts, and if we find the Golden Palace's location, we'll head straight there. If not, we'll stop by Claudia and find out the Golden Palace's location."
"Claudia? That's the city at the foot of the Eastern Cloud Mountain Range, right?"
"Yeah. The Golden Palace moves as it pleases, but Claudia, its base, doesn't move, so we just need to get there. It's also a place where it's easy to meet people from the Golden Palace."
It's a solid frontal assault, uncharacteristically so for the Regressor in a good way. However, there's one problem.
"Claudia requires us to keep going up along the mountain range, right? Can we arrive within a week riding the Caterfract?"
"It's difficult with this. Its defense is good, but it's not that fast."
"Then how? Are you going to fly?"
"No, I can't fly such a long distance with Cheon-aeng. The space inside Cheon-aeng is insufficient. So we need an alternative."
Making strategies and plans, and even presenting an alternative. Regressor, you have everything figured out. For the first time, you're starting to look a bit reliable.
The Regressor lifted Cheon-aeng and Ji-jan, and looked around the Caterfract with an infinitely cold expression.
"Let's remodel it."
Why is she saying that while holding a sword...? Something feels unsettling. Do you know what remodeling means? Don't tell me it's a one-dimensional way of thinking...?
It must be just my feeling, but it seemed like the Caterfract shuddered.
The remodeling the Regressor spoke of was, as I expected, a rather crude and violent method.
First, the engine part with the Thunder Wheel was separated to prevent damage. Then, the upper parts were sliced off in a single stroke using Ji-jan and Cheon-aeng. The Caterfract was a masterpiece covered in Level 3 alchemical steel with Level 4 added to its weak points, but it couldn't withstand the Regressor's cruel hands.
[A-ahhhh. The Caterfract...]
The golem covered its mouth at the sight of the Caterfract being tragically dismantled.
Most of the Caterfract's weight came from its thick armor. With that sliced off and removed entirely, the Caterfract became incredibly light.
The Regressor looked at the Caterfract, now reduced to a cargo cart, with a proud face.
"There! Now we can go much faster!"
Of course. I should have stopped her.
I held my head and said.
"Miss Shei. Making it lighter doesn't make it faster."
"Huh? Why?"
'Carriages go faster when you lighten the load, though?'
She looked a bit reliable for a moment, but immediately showed her incompetence. Does cutting off the meat from a horse's butt make it faster? The speed barely changes. It's a matter of structure and design.
Shaking my head, I spoke to the golem sitting in despair.
"...Haa. Wait a moment. Dizi. What do we do about this?"
[Sob... I'd rather you destroy the main body...]
"I won't forgive you taking the easy way out alone. Open your eyes wide and push through this hell. That is your duty, signalman."
[...Signalman Captain Dizi... Understood. I will stand firm despite this sorrow.]
The Regressor, who even made a golem shed tears, just blinked, not even knowing what she did wrong.
"How should we fix it to make it usable?"
[To increase the speed in proportion to the reduced weight... we must adjust the gear sizes and reprocess the Thunder Wheel...]
"Is it possible?"
[If it's not at a level to process the Thunder Wheel with alchemy... realistically impossible...]
Tsk. Cutting it close.
I can process the Thunder Wheel. The problem is that I can't read the golem's mind. My ability relies less on myself and more on reading the thoughts of others.
I'm supposed to reprocess it to specifications just by listening to the golem's explanation? With this insufficient mana? Even if I somehow process the Thunder Wheel, what about the lightning to fill it? I'll be severely lacking in mana.
"Huh? You can't do it?"
When the Regressor asked back casually, Hilde stepped forward, shaking her head.
"Phew. It can't be helped~. I mean, what would someone who wields a Demon God know about mechanical devices."
"Wh-what! It's not bad that it got lighter!"
"Whatever~. Step aside."
Hilde grabbed the Thunder Wheel and pulled it out with sheer strength in one go. The Thunder Wheel, which was firmly embedded in the Caterfract's core, was pulled out feebly.
It was strength worthy of a Qigong Master who had reached the truth. Hilde, who had crushed steel with brute force, infused qi into her fingernails and scratched the surface of the Thunder Wheel. Deep scratches were left on the hard Thunder Wheel.
'I am an alchemist. The understander of steel who transforms matter with mana.'