Marching Army

　Balcer Fortress is the largest fortress in the Kingdom of Gandia, built on the Balcer Plains in northern Gandia. It was built as a keystone to defend the territory from the invasion of Logner, which was flourishing at the time, and as a base for future expansion to the north.

　In fact, Balcer Fortress, which did not allow the Logner invasion for nearly a hundred years, was known to the surrounding countries as a synonym for impregnable, and the Logner army's repeated marches and defeats were very famous.

　This was not only when the previous king, Siuscloud Ray-Gandia, a man of great renown, had ascended to the throne and was exercising his power to the fullest, but also after he fell ill. Perhaps it was inevitable that Logner's forces would eventually become overconfident that they were no longer a threat to Gandia.

　As a result, the Balcer fortress fell.

　Although it was the result of a combination of various factors, including Logner's rallying of his main forces, Zarwaan's strong reinforcements, and the appearance of Quon Kamiya, the greatest cause was Gandia's pride.

　If they had done everything in their power to intercept Logner's army when he sent it toward Balcer Fortress and had repulsed it quickly, the fortress would not have fallen, no matter how many Zarwaan elites came to reinforce it or how many uncertain factors appeared in the form of Quon Kamiya. The enemy's main force was already crushed, so it could not have fallen.

　However, I knew that this was still just a theoretical theory. What had happened could not be changed. The past was still there, and so he had no choice but to pick up his sword.

　Overhead, the sky was a dazzling blue. There was not a cloud in sight. He smiled, almost dizzy from the cloudy weather of a few days ago. What was the point of getting dizzy over a mere clear sky?

　From the balcony on the fifth floor of the tower called Mardar Tower, he could see the thousands of soldiers filling the city and the many citizens who had gathered to see them off.

　He - Leongand Ray-Gandia - was wearing an armor that resembled the white and silver lion, the symbol of Gandia. The reason he was not wearing a helmet was to expose his true face to his subjects. He was standing on a balcony five stories above the ground, and not many people could see his face with the naked eye.

　Leongando drew the sword at his waist and raised it as if to thrust it forward. The beautifully decorated long sword was called the Glass Orion. It was a sword that had been handed down from generation to generation in the royal family of Gandia, and it had been passed down from the previous king to the new king as the throne was passed down.

　The only time the new king would pull out the Glass Orion was on his first battle.

"All troops, march!

　This is the only time the new king will be able to overtake Glass Orion.

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　The army of the Kingdom of Gandia that left Mardar was a large force, totaling 5,000. Three thousand five hundred of them were the regular army of the Kingdom of Gandia. It may not be enough for a nation with a population of 200,000 to mobilize, but that is the reality of Gandia.

　Of course, it was not the entire army of Gandia. There was no way that all the troops could be deployed to retake Balcer Fortress. There was no way that the neighboring countries that wanted to expand their territories would not take advantage of the opportunity.

　The south is good. Thanks to the alliance with Lucion and Mion, we didn't need to divide our forces to the south.

　However, there was Belel to the east and Azak to the west, and even though they were both small countries not much different from Gandia, their territories would surely be snatched away if they were underestimated. We must not let our guard down.

　Even so, they had gathered as many soldiers as they could throw into the Balcer Fortress. The Gandian regular soldiers, who were known for their weakness, formed ranks and marched without a hitch, which was quite impressive.

　Of the remaining 1,500, 800 were reinforcements from Lucion. It was three days ago that Halberg-Reus-Lucion, the first prince of Lucion, visited Mardahl with 700 of his best soldiers, as if he thought that 100 white holy knights were not enough. The Lucion reinforcements, totaling 800 in number, were said to be enough to overwhelm the regular Gandian army.

　Of course, reinforcements from the allied nation of Mion had also joined them. Gilbert Hardy, one of the three generals of Mion known as the "assault generals," was at the head of a force of 500. In the end, the power of the allies was not enough.

In the end, it's hard for Gandia to rely on the strength of its allies.

　"It's hard for Gandia to rely on the power of its allies," said Sigurd Fogliar, the leader of the mercenary group Blue Wind. He had about a hundred mercenaries under his control, as well as about a hundred mercenaries from other countries under his command.

　That was two hundred of the one thousand five hundred that were not regular soldiers. In short, there were two hundred mercenaries who had gathered for money, led by Blue Wind.

The reason why mercenaries other than the members of the Blue Wind came under Sigurd's command was simply because the survival rate was higher that way.

Although the "Blue Wind" had lost many of its members during the siege of Balcer Fortress six months ago, it was famous for having almost no casualties in other battles.

　Mercenaries put their lives on the line for the prize money. However, that doesn't mean that it is meaningless if they die. The most important thing is to survive, and in order to do so, it is necessary to increase the survival rate by any means necessary.

　One of those means was to join the command of the Blue Wind.

Well, if we win this battle and take back the fortress, the wind will change somewhat.

"I hope so.

　The one who smiled at Jin-Claire's words was Lux-Vein. His silver hair stood out anyway. His silvery head of hair glistening in the sunlight could probably be spotted from anywhere in the ranks.

If that doesn't happen, though, Gandia is done for.

　Setsuna didn't miss the small murmur of Faria-Belfaria, who was walking next to her. However, it was nothing to be concerned about. It was probably a natural conclusion. Not only did they not immediately take back the important base that was dropped immediately after the death of the previous king, but they left it unattended for over half a year. It is not hard to imagine that if they do not regain it in this battle, the authority of Leongande, which is not well-liked even by the people, will fall.

　That's why we have to win.

　We headed north from Mardar.

　A large army of about 5,000 troops was advancing in a line.

　Passing through the city streets, they marched forward without a second glance.

　The regular army was in the lead, followed by the allies of Lucion and Mion, with the mercenaries at the back of the line.

　Setsuna was among the group at the back of the line. Together with the leader, deputy leader, and assault captain of the Blue Wind, they were approaching their first battlefield step by step.

　Naturally, they were on foot. There was no way she was allowed to ride a horse, and she didn't have a horse to begin with. Even before that, Setsuna could not ride a horse.

　When she went into battle, Setsuna was dressed as she should be. The battle attire that Faria had arranged for her was extremely easy to move in, and it was also very well designed. Setsuna liked the clothes at first sight and thanked Faria many times.

　She had planned to wear the armor on top of it, but it was so heavy that Setsuna decided it was impossible to fight with it on and gave up wearing it. However, it would be insane to go into battle without armor. In the first place, Setsuna knew that she had already lost her mind.

　It was madness.

　If she hadn't been consumed by insanity, she wouldn't have wanted to participate in the war. Until recently, he had been nothing more than a student. But in a world that is so far removed from reality, the common sense of the past has no choice but to crumble. Madness has become sanity, and the sanity of the past has become an illusion of the past.

　There is no turning back now.

　As the army marched into the vortex of madness, Setsuna wore the light metal armor that she had finally obtained after searching all over Mardar. Although the armor was much lighter than the one Faria had prepared, it was still overwhelmingly inferior in terms of performance.

(It can't be helped, can it?)

　I'm not sure what to make of it. There's nothing I can do about it now. I'm not strong enough. The only way to deal with this fundamental problem was to take the time to build up his strength.

　In order to do that, he would have to win the battle in front of him first.

(Can you fight in the first place?　Me.

　Of course, I've fought before. It's true that I have fought off hordes of imperial demons and defeated the Lankan Bounel. However, it would be fundamentally different from war.

　That said.

(We have to do it. ...?)

　In a strange mixture of tension and elation, Setsuna just kept moving forward.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

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