For a moment, Rei couldn’t understand what the man was saying.
No, rather, he understood what the man was saying, but he didn’t quite believe it.
For starters, Frizione’s army was between the rebel camp and the Imperial Capital.
And yet, if the rebel camp was under attack now, how could the punitive force sent out by Kabajid and Shurus……gotten there without passing them?
Rei’s first thought was to think if the man in front of him was actually a spy or agent of the punitive force.
Perhaps he was trying to tell Rei something that hadn’t happened in an attempt to confuse him.
But, the man’s desperate expression as he looked at Rei didn’t seem like he was trying to deceive Rei.
He just wanted to save the rebel camp.
That seemed to be the only thought on his face.
(So, is it true that the rebel camp is under attack? Or is it possible that he believes in some information that was manipulated somehow? ……No, if they were able to send enough troops to block the roads, then it makes sense that they have enough forces to attack the rebel camp as well……)
Unsure of what to make of the man in front of him, Rei asked a question just to be sure.
「How long do you think Vihera and the others can hold out for? Are they going to taken down today?」
「No, I don’t think it will be today or tomorrow. But……there’s basically no one left in the main camp right now.」
「……What?」
「Vihera-sama and the others went out to destroy the punitive forces blocking the roads. The punitive force took advantage of that opportunity……no, in fact, that might have been their plan from the beginning.」
The man spoke with regret at the fact that they had fallen for the enemy’s plan completely.
「……I see.」
Rei finally understood what their true intentions were after hearing everything.
This was why they had been trying to delay Frizione’s army, for even a little longer.
The blockades were just for show.
More soldiers had probably been sent out in addition to the forces blockading the roads.
(The enemy’s ultimate goal was to attack the rebel camp when the forces present were reduced to a minimum.
All of the other side’s puzzling actions now made sense to Rei.
In particular, the bandit attacks made no sense if their goal was to delay Frizione’s army long enough to starve out the rebels. But, if they were attacking the main camp, the ambushes now took on a different meaning.
In other words, they were buying time to finish off the rebel camp before they could arrive.
There were still some thing he didn’t understand, like the use of the Dragon Knights, but he could guess the main plan of the punitive force now.
The rebel camp was missing Rei, their greatest strength, and there was no sign of Vihera or Gurgast, who were next in line strength wise.
Since they were attacking the rebel camp without their strongest fighters present, the punitive force probably judged their chances of victory to be quite high.
(The only consolation is that if Mercurio is still in the camp, then Theorem is definitely still there as well.)
Just as much as Tilleyle would stay close to Vihera, Theorem would also stay beside Mercurio.
Of course they way they treated the person they stayed close to was different, but they were similar with regards to their reasons.
「I see, we need to let Frizione know about this. Sorry, but I’ll have to tell her as soon as possible. What will you do? The rebel camp is……」
「No, the rebel camp is currently sealed off. It’s probably to prevent any communication from reaching Vihera-sama and the others.」
「……I see. But what about smoke signals?」
「That doesn’t work either, it seems like the sky is covered in some strange illusion.」
「Illusion?」
Rei seemed confused at the man’s words.
He knew about illusion magic, but this was the first time he had come across it in person.
「Yes. Because of that, we were forced to send messengers directly……but in my case, unlike Vihera-sama, who should have been relatively close, I was entrusted to deliver the message to Princess Frizione, who was heading this way, and Rei-dono, so the number of pursuers wasn’t large……but I’m the only one still alive.」
Rei felt bad for the man, who was lamenting his own lack of power, but he didn’t have the time to stick around to hear the full story.
「Sorry, but I don’t have the time to keep speaking with you right now. I’ll leave first. If you continue straight down the road towards the Imperial Capital, you will meet up with Frizione’s army. There were no bandits along the way when I came over, so you shouldn’t need to worry.」
「……I’m sorry.」
「Don’t worry about it. Well then, don’t die.」
With those words, Rei lightly tapped Set on the neck.
「Gurururururu~!」
At that signal, Set flapped his wings and ran up into the sky without any need for more words from Rei.
The soldier, who had gotten this far as a messenger, sighed in relief after delivering the information to Rei and headed over to his beloved horse, who had been frightened by Set.
「I’ve managed to deliver the information somehow. Now……to join up with Princess Frizione’s army so that I don’t die. Jennifer, please do you best until then.」
「Neiiigh!」
The horse called Jennifer gave a snort, as if telling the soldier to leave it to them.
The soldier glanced back towards where he had come from……to where his comrades had died, before lightly kicking Jennifer’s sides in an attempt to cut away his sentimentality as he rode towards Frizione’s army.
On Set’s wings, the trip back to Frionze’s army was quite short.
Rei returned to Frizione’s army at speed and approached Frizione’s carriage, which was leading the way alongside the White Rose Knights.
Perhaps wondering why Rei had returned so much earlier than expected, a White Rose Knight went over to Rei and Set.
「Rei-dono, you’ve returned early. Is anything wrong?」
「Yeah. Actually, I saved a rider who was being chased further up along the road. I heard from him that the rebel camp is currently under attack by a punitive force.」
「What-! But the people we helped before……」
She glanced towards the back of Frizione’s army.
Over to where the people the First Unit of the White Rose Knights had helped the day before.
「I don’t think their report was a lie or anything. In the first place, the blockades were probably a plan to draw out the rebel forces away from the camp. Of course, if it also had the effect of starving them out, that’s fine. I wanted to let you know about the situation first.」
「……Yes. Then please come with me.」
The knight led the way back to Frizione’s carriage.
「So, Rei. What can we do for you?」
The first to speak wasn’t Frizione……but Angela, who was close to the carriage.
She asked because she thought that something unfavourable for them might have happened due to Rei’s early return……but after hearing from Rei that the rebel camp was under attack, Angela spoke back with a tense expression.
「Is that true? Could they be one of Prince Kabajid’s or Prince Shurus’ men?」
「No. At the very least, from what I saw, they seemed to be desperate for help. And, if I hadn’t helped him back then, he would have been killed by his pursuers. Also……I came back earlier to bring this information, they should be on their way here now. If you really are curious about the details, you can ask them when they get here.」
Rei spoke as he looked towards the rear of Frizione’s army, where the supply unit and its guards were present and Angela nodded in acknowledgment.
「When they arrive, I’ll make sure to introduce him to the people from earlier……well, from what I’ve heard, the rebel army has grown a considerable amount, so it’s possible they don’t know each other.」
「Well, for them, it’s better to have a job than to do nothing at all.」
The soldiers who had been rescued by the White Rose Knights had been incorporated into the supply unit as they didn’t have anything else in particular to do.
Normally, they should have been capable soldiers, having been specially selected by the rebel army to serve as messengers.
However, this was Frizione’s army, so there was a different chain of command present compared to Mercurio’s army.
As a result, they were placed in the supply unit, which wouldn’t be under too much pressure in the event of a battle.
To be precise, their current job was to guard the supply unit as well as the prisoners they had captured.
The prisoners, of course, were Sobble, Mulla, and Sistoi, who had surrendered.
They had to ensure that the trio didn’t make any strange moves, although Rei had placed a ‘Seed of Prohibition’ in each of them, and to protect them in the event someone tried to silence them.
Of course, it wasn’t a pleasant job to guard the trio.
Mulla and Sistoi’s rampage in the rebel camp had caused them considerable losses after all.
Their frustrations were warranted given the circumstances.
But even so, they couldn’t disobey Frizione’s orders, so they just completed their tasks obediently.
To be honest, they would have rather been placed into a different unit where it would be less stressful.
「So. I heard that the rebel camp is covered in some sort of illusion and can’t use smoke signals……do you know what it might be?」
Going back to the topic at hand, it was Frizione who replied to Rei.
「Yes, I do have an idea. There is a magic item called Quantum Breath. However, it has properties similar to the barrier in the arena and can only be activated by using multiple magic stones from B rank monsters. Its effect, as you might have guessed, is limited, but it can create illusions within a certain range.」
It was one of the royal family’s treasures, but……Rei sighed as Frizione spoke.
「You mean they brought out something so grand?」
「It seems so.」
Rei hesitated for a moment as to how to respond to the simple answer before speaking with a wry smile.
「If they were going to bring out something like this, I wish they had brought more treasures as well.」
「Don’t say something so ridiculous. I don’t know if it was Kabajid or Shurus who took out Quantum Breath, but I don’t think they got father’s permission.」
「……Won’t that be a problem after the civil war ends?」
「Who knows. Since they’re royalty, there’s technically no problem with them taking it out. As for father’s permission, that’s a minor matter. Of course, they’ll still be blamed for doing that, but I guess they believe it won’t matter if it means they can win the civil war.」
The way Frizione shrugged her shoulders reminded Rei of Vihera.
Of course, it was only natural, considering they were half siblings.
「Well, I know where they got it from now. So, how long does it last?」
「It depends on the area covered by the illusion, but with one B rank magic stone, it will last about 30-60 minutes.」
「……Well, that’s pretty bad efficiency.」
As Rei said, he was astonished by the abysmal magic stone consumption efficiency.
A B rank monster was a powerful monster, like an Orc King.
It was far inferior to an A rank monster, like a Griffon, but it was still a tough enemy for the average adventurer.
Using B rank magic stones as fuel to only power a magic item for 30-60 minutes was extremely expensive.
「Still, the ability to cast illusions over a wide area can be extremely effective if used properly, like in this case.」
「I suppose so. In fact, they’ve managed to use it to put us in this position. Going back to the main point, I want to go ahead first. I’m sure we’ll be able to meet with Mercurio and the rest of the rebel army toady, but there’s a good chance the enemy will be waiting for us. I want to deal with them in advance. What do you think?」
Rei’s thoughts certainly weren’t wrong form the perspective of an escort for the army.
But, both Frizione and Angela knew what Rei’s real goal was.
In other words, Rei was probably planning to reinforce the rebel army under the pretext of eliminating any ambushes lying in wait.
「……Right, if we’ve come this far, it shouldn’t be difficult to meet up with Mercurio and the others, right?」
Angela nodded in response to Frizione’s question.
「Yes. I don’t think that’s a problem. If Rei could attack any ambushes lying in wait, then we’d be much safer.」
「True. Well then, Rei……please take care of Vihera and Mercurio.」
「Understood. Set!」
「Gururu~!」
Having received permission to leave Frizione’s army, Rei tapped Set lightly on the back.
With that a signal, Set took off into the sky.