Published at 31st of October 2020 4:34 pm

Volume 4, Chapter 4: Debut Battle

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Translator: Skythewood

Editor: Hiiro

Ⅰ

Her fist was fast as lightning and her roundhouse kick sliced through the air.

Lunar Calendar Year 997.

With her back to the setting sun, the girl on the training ground was working up a sweat.

The space before her suddenly twisted and a vicious dark liquid flowed out of the crack. As the girl watched, that dark liquid slowly took on a humanoid form.

『Z, what is it?』

『— Are you going hunting today?』

Z looked to the western sky as it asked.

『Yes, I have to work for yesterday’s share too.』

The girl pointed to the stone building at a corner of the training grounds, a warehouse built by Z in the past. Thanks to Z’s magic, it was as cold as winter inside all year round, so her catch wouldn’t spoil easily.

If the doors to the warehouse were opened, you could see a Blood Suckling Bird drained of blood hanging from a rope in there.

Z glanced at the warehouse and turned its body to face the girl.

『Don’t mind me, continue your training.』

『Got it!』

The girl was suddenly full of drive. Z seldom accompanied the girl aside from its observation. To display the fruits of her training, the girl performed many techniques.

『Hyaa!』

And finally, the girl stopped her high kick at Z’s throat. The wind pressure made Z’s robes flutter, but Z remained stationary.

There was a dark mist around it as usual.

『How’s that?』

『… For your last kick, it will be better if your left leg extends outwards a little more. and the tip of your feet is unstable, given the sway in your body. With this two points in mind, do it one more time.』

『Got it!』

The girl repeated the flaws to herself and steadied her breathing, then kicked with her right leg at Z once more. Z’s robes fluttered elegantly again.

The girl stared at her right leg.

『Remember this feeling.』

Z snapped its fingers, and a dark whirlpool the girl named 『the incredibly incredible box of incredulity』 appeared. Z reached in and pulled out a white towel and started carefully wiping the girl’s face. It happened so suddenly and a strange sense of embarrassment made the girl turn stiff.

『Z, Z?』

『You are already 14, huh…』

After Z wiped off her sweat, it put the towel back in the incredible box and said emotionally. The girl felt Z was strange today, since it suddenly helped her wipe her face.

『Z, what’s wrong?』

Z was silent for a moment.

『— Do you remember the lesson from two weeks ago?』

Z asked. Z would ask Olivia about past lessons as a form of revision, but that was only during observation time. So this was still strange.

The girl felt things were strange as she quickly spun the 『Memory disc』 in her mind to search for what happened two weeks ago. This was the girl’s memory skill.

『Hmm. Instead of relying on the capabilities of the troops, the most important thing is to turn the situation to your advantage?』

『No.』

『Is it about deceiving the enemy?』

The essence of war was mutual deception. By skillfully controlling truth and lies, it was possible for the weak to defeat the strong.

『Not that either.』

『The one left is… the Arsbelt Empire capturing the Farnesse Kingdom’s Fort Kiel?』

『Correct, that’s the one. The Arsbelt Empire successfully captured Fort Kiel. If this continues, it won’t be long before the Empire ruled the continent…』

『Yes.』

The girl answered nonchalantly. In her daily lessons, she was told that the world’s situation was getting more and more complex. Two years ago, Emperor Ramza the 13th of the Arsbelt Empire declared his goal to unite the continent, and sent a large army against the Farnesse Kingdom. That was the beginning of the 『Second Continent Unification War』.

She knew about the war raging between the two nations, but that didn’t matter to the girl. No matter who won, it would be fine since it wouldn’t affect her life here.

『Z, you don’t want the Arsbelt Empire to unite the continent?』

To the girl, Z was indifferent about everything. She didn’t think it would be concerned about the war between humans, but the girl still asked it.

Z didn’t answer and vanished into thin air with the words 『there isn’t much time left.』

(Not much time left?)

She didn’t get it, but the girl felt a sense of unease for some reason.

There was still a year before Z disappeared before the girl’s eyes.

Ⅱ

Farnesse Kingdom Letizia Castle

More than a month had passed since the battle between the Holy Winged Legion and the Stonia army.

The newly founded Eighth Army was holding a war conference.

「We will now begin the War Conference, please take a seat~」

The one urging the others to sit in a voice without any tension was Olivia Valedstorm, who rose to the rank of Major General after skipping five grades. The youngest commander of an army in the Farnesse Kingdom would be recorded into the history books.

She was in the seat of honour at the long table, with the officers assigned to the Eighth Army seated on either sides of her.

The following eight members were in attendance of this War Conference.

Commanding OfficerMajor General Olivia Valedstorm.

Adjutant Lieutenant Colonel Claudia Jung.

StrategistMajor Ashton Senefelder

Second Lieutenant Gauss Ozmeyer.

Warrant Officer Guile Marion.

Warrant Officer Ellis Crawford.

Second Lieutenant Evansin Crawford.

Captain Luke Crawford.

The Eighth Army was 35,000 strong— in the current Kingdom’s military, they were only behind the First Army in terms of numbers.

It was clear that Cornelius had high expectations of Olivia.

「The first mission of the Eighth Army is— the invasion of the Empire.」

There wasn’t any enthusiasm in Claudia as she said that. It was great that they liberated the territory to the north and south of the Kingdom, they paid a great price to achieve that. She understood that staying on the defensive wouldn’t improve the situation, but it was also a fact that the Royal Army couldn’t spare the effort. At a glance, 35,000 might seem a lot— but on a closer look, most of them were actually fresh recruits. If the invasion failed, they would be open to a heavy counter offensive. Worst case scenario, the Kingdom might fall.

The ones seated here were aware of that, except a tiny minority who showed confused faces. When Claudia said the final objective was to seize the Imperial Capital Orsted , someone finally snapped— It was the one eyed giant of a man, Second Lieutenant Gauss Ozmeyer.

「No no no, that’s too reckless. It might not be my place to say this, but— the famous Azure Knights is garrisoned in Orsted. Their real capabilities might still be unclear, but being called the strongest elite of the Empire can’t just be a bluff. Although they lost to us, the Crimson and Sun Knights are still active, and would impede our army’s attack. Are they telling the Eighth Army to fight three Knight Corps at the same time? Isn’t that a suicide run?」

Gauss laughed in self mockery. Ellis who acted the role of Olivia’s body double during the battle against the Sun Knights laughed condescendingly.

「Well well! You lack guts despite your huge body. If you are a man, then you should just tell others to leave it to you. And who do you think is leading the Eighth Army? She is the Ultimate beautiful young girl, Olivia Onee-sama. Olivia, Onee, Sama! Forget the three Knight Corps, even the Goddess Citresia is no match for us.」

Ellis who dyed her hair back brown was beautiful and looked like a fair lady if she kept quiet. The gentlemen wouldn’t overlook such a prime target, but their attacks were all defeated by her cruel tongue, which made them flee with sullen hearts.

「Goddess Citresia… Did you just…」

Ignoring the dumbfounded Gauss, Ellis looked at Olivia with a mesmerized face. The man beside Ellis nodded in agreement— the former hunter Guile.

He had been with Olivia since their first missions, and was in a position to command troops now. The men thought highly of him, and unexpectedly, he was a brave and smart leader. His bright personality made him a talent who could motivate the men.

Unfortunately, he had the tendency of over worshipping Olivia.

「Like what Ellis said, Captain Olivia can overcome any obstacles. And the reason is, she’s the strongest Valkyrie in Dubedirica continent. Or rather, she’s an Angel from heaven. I won’t accept any protests.」

Ellis looked happily at Guile who spoke in a loud voice.

「… Hmmp, so you are Guile? You really understand Olivia Onee-sama well, not bad. You aren’t bad.」

「You are doing great too, Ellis.」

The two of them shook hands with a smile. As he watched the two of them, Ellis’ elder brother Luke looked speechless, while the younger brother Evansin held his head.

(Another two problematic children are getting along, looks like the future would be troubling.)

While Claudia was hanging her head with a sigh, Gauss sighed too. He might not seem like one, but Gauss probably had it hard too.

As for the subject of the topic, Olivia——

「Hey, is it still not done?」

She was swaying her body like a pendulum as she cast a passionate gaze towards the service cart.

「… It’s almost done. Today’s tea leaves are Rayglanz.」

「I know, it’s a specialty from the Holy Nation of Mekia, right?」

「You are really knowledgeable.」

Chief Marietti Continu who was in charge of the administrative matters in Letizia Castle answered nonchalantly. She was seventy, but appeared younger than Claudia’s sixty years old grandmother Patra Jung. Her straight back was probably the reason behind that.

She did up her hair tidily and there wasn’t a crease in her plain dark green dress, showing her obsession with cleanliness. Her sharp eyes hidden behind her spectacles could even put Iron Mask Otto to shame.

Marietti gracefully picked up the white porcelain teapot and poured orange-red liquid into the neat rows of tea cups. The rising steam filled the room with a soothing fragrance.

Olivia breathed out a puff of warm air.

「Rayglanz tea leaves taste better if you let it sit for some time when the taste is stronger. Adding milk when drinking a second cup gives a different pleasant experience.」

Marietti placed a pot of milk with a silver shine beside Olivia, and Olivia immediately looked at it with mesmerizing eyes. Not just the conversation between Guile and Ellis, she wasn’t listening to anything in the first place.

As Claudia looked at Olivia speechlessly, Luke coughed a couple of times.

「Lieutenant Colonel Claudia. We are soldiers and aren’t opposed to fighting wars… but can you tell us the details? I think Second Lieutenant Gauss’ worries are warranted.」

Claudia nodded.

「My apologies for being too vague. I will get into the details, and I hope everyone will listen seriously.」

The conversation was derailed by Ellis and Guile, but the situation remained unchanged— the Kingdom that had been on the defensive all this while wanted to invade into the Empire and even capture the Imperial Capital Orsted. And of course, the Eighth Army wouldn’t be fighting alone. This would be a massive counter offensive involving the First, Second and Seventh Armies with over 120,000 soldiers. Including the soldiers working on the back end and supplies, this would involve 80% of their forces.

The first stage of the plan would start with the First and Seventh Armies attacking Fort Kiel. To defend Fort Kiel, the Imperials would garrison the Sun Knights there to counter. However, the Royal Army has no plans to seize Fort Kiel— simply put, that was just a grand diversion.

While the Imperial forces were distracted by Fort Kiel, the second stage would begin. The stars of the show would be the Second and Eighth Army, who would march against Fort Astra.

The Second Army would clear the enemies en route. Their mission was to get the Eighth Army to the Imperial Capital Orsted with as little losses as possible.

And in the final stage— the Eighth Army and the Azure Knights defending the capital would battle. Defeating the Azure Knights and capturing the Imperial residence, Listerine Castle, and the mission would be complete. On the side note, the Sixth Army would not be taking part in this operation and defend the Royal Capital.

Talk was easy, but executing all that would be fraught with difficulties. The officers’ jaws dropped as they listened to this unbelievable battle plan.

「And for this operation, our forces will be allied with the Holy Nation of Mekia.」

As Claudia concluded her briefing, the room became rowdy. Even Olivia was tasting the tea with sparkling eyes, which were a goodwill gift from the Holy Nation of Mekia in the first place. Since the start of the war, the Farnesse Kingdom made many enemies without any allies standing by their side. Claudia felt that was only to be expected.

During the last years of the warring era, the King of Farnesse at that time, Raphael Sem Garmund did what the current Empire was doing and announced his intention to unify the continent. He invaded the various nations with his large forces.

Half a century had passed, but the scars had not faded. When the Arsbelt Empire declared their goal of uniting the continent and declared war against the Farnesse Kingdom, there were even nations who supported the Empire. So it was natural for the war conference attendees to react this way.

「It’s that Holy Nation of Mekia where the Church of Saint Illuminous is based, correct?」

Claudia nodded at the surprised Evansin.

「Did we request for their aid?」

「No, it’s the Holy Nation of Mekia who proposed this alliance. To be frank, I’m not sure about the details…」

Claudia confessed, and not just Evansin, all the attendees showed complicated faces. Like Evansin said, the Holy Nation of Mekia was more renowned for being the sacred ground for the Artemia Cathedral, being an independent nation was more of an afterthought to others.

And with its location to the far west, information was scarce too. Even the knowledgeable Claudia only knew that Holy Nation of Mekia produces ore and their accessories were expensive. With that being the extent of Claudia’s knowledge, the rest knew even less.

Claudia searched through her mind and remembered an unpleasant thought— the handsome face with brown hair. The man who infiltrated the victory party under an assumed name and approached Olivia multiple times.

When Olivia said he hailed from the Holy Nation of Mekia, Claudia just felt astonished. But from the looks of things now, his actions were probably part of the espionage efforts by the Holy Nation of Mekia, which irked her.

Claudia finished the tea before her in one gulp.

「Comparing our forces to the Imperial army, we are inferior in both troops and resources. We are grateful for the aid by the Holy Nation of Mekia, but…」

Ellis helped Luke finish the words he was reluctant to say.

「My elder brother is trying to say— how much help can the army of a minor nation be? If we force ourselves to match another nation’s forces, it might disrupt our rhythm instead. That’s what my straightlaced brother would think.」

Luke wanted to rebuke Ellis who was smiling sarcastically, but reluctantly nodded instead. Ellis was mostly on point, and Claudia said his worries were unfounded.

「How is it unfounded?」

Luke asked without any hesitation.

「I will explain, please look at the documents I’m handing out right now.」

Claudia signalled with a gaze, and an attendant quickly distributed the documents. After confirming everyone had a copy, Claudia cleared her throat.

「This happened about one month ago. The neighbouring Stonia Duchy attacked the Holy Nation of Mekia.」

「The Imperial vassal state Stonia Duchy versus the Holy Nation of Mekia? … Another dubious situation.」

Gauss stroked his beard as he perused the report.

「I felt the same way. Considering the distance between them, the two nations didn’t have much interaction. It goes without saying that the Empire is behind this.」

「Well, that make sense.」

「But that’s not the point here.」

「What do you mean?」

Ellis said before Gauss could answer.

「The issue lies with the Holy Winged Legion— the Holy Nation of Mekia’s army. They defeated the 60,000 strong Stonia army with half their numbers. In just half a day.」

That was the main point. The Holy Nation of Mekia might be a minor state, but it had a powerful army. After Claudia said that, the room fell silent with everyone hanging their head in deep thought.

Defeating a force twice their numbers— talk was cheap, but the execution would be difficult. And doing so in half a day made it more scary. It was only expected for war veterans to think that way.

「— That’s really reliable, but I don’t think the Holy Nation of Mekia will help us for free, what are they after?」

Ashton who was quiet all this while spoke, and everyone focused their eyes on him. The many strategies he formulated had contributed greatly to the Kingdom’s victory, and Paul even called him an outstanding strategist. His sense of presence in the military had risen greatly.

Claudia stared at Ashton.

Recently, female soldiers looking at Ashton with passionate eyes weren’t an uncommon sight. There were some who would entice him openly. There were plenty of men who fell from grace after indulging in lust, so Claudia would chase them off whenever she saw such women.

Only god would know if Ashton would really fall from grace, but he was already twenty years old. It would be better to be careful since he was at a delicate age.

(But he seemed troubled by his current situation though.)

As Ashton stared a hole through her, Claudia lightly cleared her throat.

「And of course, they had demands. But since we have formed an alliance, their demands aren’t too overbearing. Are you very concerned about that?」

「Well… I will be lying if I said no. Why choose Farnesse Kingdom at a time like this… What do you think, Olivia?」

She was as quiet as Ashton— Or rather, Olivia was busy drinking her tea. She set her cup down and said nonchalantly.

「They must have a motive, it’s unnatural for them to help us at this time.」

「So Olivia feels the same way too.」

「Yes. Their demands are probably just a misdirection.」

「Misdirection, huh… I see, that’s possible.」

Ashton narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance.

「Yes, to hide their real goal. A common stratagem in war.」

Olivia leaned her chair back and said in a relaxed tone. Her chair should have toppled over at this angle, but she somehow maintained its balance.

An acrobatic trick that would be impossible without thorough balancing training.

「Olivia, can you guess their true intentions?」

Ashton’s question focused everyone’s gaze on Olivia.

Olivia scratched her cheeks troublingly.

「I can’t think of any though.」

「I thought Olivia’s feral instincts will work.」

「That sounds like something mean. Anyway, I think we should keep our guards up.」

Olivia concluded and Ashton quietly nodded.

「Your Excellency, I’m not sure if it is related… but there will be a lavish party held in Letizia Castle soon—」

「What about it? There’s plenty of these victory parties recently, so it’s not a surprise.」

Olivia interjected with a puzzled face and her head tilted to the side.

「Please let me finish King Alphonse has invited the ruler of the Holy Nation of Mekia to attend as a State Guest.」

Olivia tapped her finger on the edge of the tea cup and acknowledged in a bored tone. She probably thought this information was useless.

If Claudia stopped there, then that would probably be true—

「That ruler… strongly requested Your Excellency to attend for some reason.」

「Requesting for Olivia?」

Ashton was the first to react with a gloomy face. In contrast, Ellis stood up with a mesmerized expression.

「To think Olivia Onee-sama’s name had spread to a minor nation in the west, how wonderful! Don’t you think so too, Guile?」

「Of course, it’s only a matter of time before Captain Olivia’s name spread through the entire continent.」

Ignoring the antics of Ellis and Guile, Claudia chewed on the conversation between Ashton and Olivia.

(Assuming Her Excellency is right, and the strong request by the ruler of the Holy Nation of Mekia for her attendance, their goal is Her Excellency? Considering Johann’s actions, that would make sense…. Seems like we have to increase the security around Her Excellency.)

A golden glean appeared in Claudia’s eyes.

The war conference then continued seriously with everyone carving their duties deep into their minds. When Claudia ended the conference, they all left the room filled with determination.

Ⅲ

Farnesse Kingdom Letizia Castle Field Marshal Cornelius office.

When a certain report was sent to the desk of the busy Cornelius, it was in the middle of summer when the sun was scorching hot.

「— The Confederation of Sutherland is on the move?」

Cornelius sat deeply into his office chair and looked at the blonde youth with delicate features before him— Major General Neinhart.

「Yes. More accurately speaking, it’s the Twelfth City of the Confederation of Sutherland, Nozan Persilla, that had mustered their forces. Please read this for the details.」

Cornelius took the documents and retrieved his glasses from a drawer to read. It was a report about Nozan Persilla gathering their forces in Fort Safa. Fort Safa was located at the borders of the Kingdom, so their intention was as clear as day.

After browsing through it, Cornelius signed and returned it to Neinhart. Neinhart respectfully received it and said:

「So Sutherland is finally making their move」

「It should be safe to assume so. With the Imperial forces pulling back, this is a good chance in a sense— By the way, this report didn’t mention anything outside of Nozan Persilla. What about the other cities?」

Cornelius received a cup of tea from an attendant and asked Neinhart.

「Only the Twelfth City is actively moving, there aren’t any obvious movements from the other cities.」

「From the looks of things, this isn’t a decision made by Sutherland as a whole.」

Cornelius exhaled in relief. The worst scenario would be the entire Sutherland forces attacking the Farnesse Kingdom. Even speaking conservatively, that would be an army of at least 200,000.

The Kingdom didn’t have the forces for a direct confrontation against Sutherland right now, Cornelius who commanded all of the Royal military knew that better than anyone.

「Field Marshal Sir, you think Nozan Persilla is acting by themself?」

「Yes. It might just be one city, but it ruled itself sovereignly. The other cities are probably not involved with this.」

Even so, for the Royal Kingdom in the midst of their preparation to counter attack the Empire, the invading Nozan Persilla was still a headache.

Cornelius let out a deep sigh.

「Please don’t worry. If it’s just the forces of one city, we can repel them as many times as they come.」

Neinhart’s words made Cornelius smile wryly. The smile contained the shame of being consoled by a younger man, and the vexation of how Neinhart wasn’t putting his care and concern towards his adjutant Katherina.

A few days ago, Cornelius happened to run into Katherina and he asked about her progress with Neinhart. After petrifying for a moment, Katherina hung her head bashfully and said 「The Major General is dense in such matters…」

(I advised her to make things absolutely clear to men like this… But is it working?)

「Something bothering you, Field Marshal Sir?」

「Hmm? —Oh, it’s nothing. So, who should handle this…」

They were sidetracked midway, but the face of a beautiful young girl flashed across Cornelius’ mind. Neinhart sensed that and smiled wryly.

「Major General Olivia’s Eighth Army.」

「Yes. This is outside our expectations, but this is a good opportunity for their debut battle.」

Even now, Lambert still wouldn’t acknowledge Olivia’s Eighth Army. Lambert wasn’t a man who would nag about a decision that had been made, but Cornelius who had known him for a long time knew how he felt.

If the Eighth Army could achieve results here, even Lambert had to recognize their worth.

「You want to summon Major General Olivia over?」

「Hmm… Where is she right now?」

「She should be in the proving grounds right now training her recruits.」

「Let’s make a trip to the Proving Grounds then.」

Cornelius placed his hand on the armrest and slowly got up. Neinhart quickly reached out to help, but was stopped by Cornelius who held up his left hand.

「You don’t have to visit personally, Field Marshal Sir…」

「It’s fine, I’m curious about Major General Olivia’s training methods too.」

Not just her martial prowess, her tactics and strategies were outstanding too. Her Autonomous Calvary was turned into elites in a short period of time, so there were no doubts to her competence in this area. Cornelius pursued the path of Martial Arts for most of his life, so he was definitely intrigued.

「Allow me to accompany you then.」

Neinhart requested to follow, and Cornelius said calmly:

「I don’t think I’m so old that I need a walking stick though?」

As the person coordinating between the armies, Neinhart was very busy. Cornelius wanted to turn him down, but Neinhart looked troubled for a moment before requesting to come along again with a stiff expression.

(Sigh, there’s no point in arguing further.)

After sighing in his heart, Cornelius granted Neinhart to accompany him.

Ⅳ

When they reached the proving grounds on the outskirts of Letizia Castle, an authoritative voice and a strange scene greeted Neinhart. He immediately recognized the voice to be from Claudia.

「That’s their training?」

「Probably…」

Cornelius looked baffled and Neinhart’s answer lacked confidence. After all, it was just beasts chasing fully armoured recruits around. There might be suspicion about this being an act, but the faces of the recruits made it clear that they were desperate.

「If I’m not seeing things, those are Night-Eyed Pale Wolf…」

The unexpected term made Neinhart turn back and lock eyes with the stiff faced Cornelius. After catching a rare sight of the Ever Victorious General, Neinhart turned his gaze to the beast again.

(… It’s true, those are Night-Eyed Pale Wolf. What’s going on?)

Night-Eyed Pale Wolf had purple eyes and bright silver fur, and were Type 1 Danger Beast. They were a smaller threat to humans, but only in comparison to Type 2 Danger Beast. In packs, they were dangerous beasts that could reduce humans to bones instantly.

And of course, they were not friendly with humans nor could they be tamed.

(In the first place, no one would think of rearing one…)

In order to grasp the situation, Neinhart cast his gaze at the shouting Claudia. Shortly after, Olivia who was squatting by the stage noticed them.

Tossing the branch in her hand aside, Olivia energetically ran up to the Bulwark.

「Fish— Major General Neinhart and Lord Cornelius, are you here to watch the training?」

Olivia asked with a smile and Neinhart cleared his throat.

For his achievements in the Central War Theatre, Neinhart was promoted to Major General, so Olivia and him didn’t need to be formal with each other. However, Field Marshal Cornelius was a different matter. He wouldn’t nag all day like Otto, but he would still expect the minimal level of discipline and etiquettes.

「— Wrong. Are you here to observe our training, Sir?」

Olivia immediately discerned the intention behind his cough and saluted beautifully with a click of her boots. Compared to their first meeting a year and a half ago, her observation skills have gotten sharper— Neinhart was awed by Olivia’s growth.

「That’s part of the reason, but I have something else to inform you, Major General Olivia.」

「I see!」

「By the way, they are actually training, right?」

Cornelius asked as he looked at the screaming recruits. Olivia glanced at the proving grounds and answered curtly 「It’s training.」

「The beasts chasing the soldiers are Night-Eyed Pale Wolf… correct?」

「Yes, they are Night-Eyed Pale Wolf.」

Olivia admitted. From her puzzled expression, she didn’t understand what Cornelius was getting at.

The two of them looked at each other. The voice of Claudia shouting 「Run, run! If you don’t give it your all, you will become food for the Night-Eyed Pale Wolf!」 reached them. Beside the stage was a group of people complaining fervently to Ashton.

(I can’t ignore this…)

Olivia was the commanding officer of the Eighth Army, so it wasn’t right to chide her for her training methods… But he couldn’t permit what he was seeing here.

「Major General Olivia, like what Lieutenant Colonel Claudia said, they will get eaten if this goes on, correct? I can’t tell what kind of training this is, but aren’t you going too far?」

Even recruits were valuable combat resources. It would be a headache if they were devoured by Night-Eyed Pale Wolf because of this training. Olivia must understand that, but Neinhart had to ask her.

「Ehh? They won’t get eaten. We keep it a secret from the recruits, but I told them not to eat humans.」

Neinhart’s warning fell on deaf ears as Olivia showed a forthright expression. However, the contents of her words troubled Neinhart.

「Told them… You told that to the Night-Eyed Pale Wolf?」

「Of course.」

Her words that defied common sense as usual confused Neinhart further. To prove herself, Olivia held her fingers to her lips and whistled. A Night-Eyed Pale Wolf chasing the recruits suddenly stopped, tilted its head and charged their way with ferocious speed.

「Ugh?!」

「Field Marshal Sir!」

As Neinhart drew his sword and shielded Cornelius behind him, Olivia open her arms and said with a smile: 「It’s fine.」

The Night-Eyed Pale Wolf pounced at Olivia—

「Ahaha! it tickles if you lick me there~」

Olivia who was pushed onto the ground happily swayed her feet in the air. There was no sign that the Night-Eyed Pale Wolf before them wanted to eat Olivia, it was even whimpering and rubbing its head on her.

Neinhart was speechless as he looked at this dream-like scene. He was sweating bullets from his brows.

「Is that Night-Eyed Pale Wolf… really fine?」

Olivia got up slowly and gently caressed the head of the Night-Eyed Pale Wolf.

「Yes, like I said, it doesn't eat humans— ahem, they would not feast on humans. Instead, I feed it food that it likes. Although I don’t think that food taste good.」

「Food it likes?」

Neinhart knew nothing about the food that Night-Eyed Pale Wolf likes, he never put any thought into that. When Cornelius, Neinhart felt a little curious.

「Yes. It’s chow time, want to come— ahem, would you like to join us to take a look?」

Olivia was already leaning close. The two of them nodded, taken aback by Olivia’s intimidating air.

「Let’s go then— Claudia!」

When she heard Olivia, Claudia climbed up the Bulwark in a hurry.

「My deepest apology for the poor reception!」

The first thing Claudia said was to apologize for her manners. Neinhart dismissed this issue since they didn’t give any notice before their visit.

「I’m going to feed Mike, Tama and Pooch, so let’s take a break.」

「Yes, understood— Will you be coming too, Field Marshal Sir?」

「Yes, I intend to do so.」

「I see…」

Claudia glanced at Cornelius worriedly, and smirked at Neinhart— the smile of a kid whose prank worked out.

(Weird, what could be the problem?)

That bothered Neinhart and he was about to ask when Ashton called for Claudia, and she hurried back to the Proving Grounds.

「Let’s go then.」

Ignoring the bewildered Neinhart, Olivia quickened her pace, and the Night-Eyed Pale Wolves by her side looked like an escort detail.

The way they glanced at him every now and then was scary.

(This has become something amazing, I’m glad I didn’t let the Field Marshal come alone.)

From Neinhart’s perspective, no matter how confident Olivia said she was, beasts were still beasts. And Type 1 Danger Beasts were different from normal animals. There was no telling when they would use their ferocious claws on him, so he couldn’t relax.

The two kept their distance and walked on a path for about 5 minutes and arrived at a big cave on the cliff to their right.

Olivia gleefully walked up to the cave.

「That cave is our destination?」

「Yes.」

To avoid agitating the Night-Eyed Pale Wolves, Neinhart lowered his voice. Olivia said as she walked carefreely 「It’s cold inside the cave, making it ideal to preserve food.」

The three humans and three beasts soon reached the entrance of the cave. Olivia said 「Go on」 and the Night-Eyed Pale Wolves ran deep inside with saliva dripping from their maws.

「Let’s follow them.」

On Olivia’s urging, Neinhart stepped into the cave and felt a rush of cool air.

「It’s so cool.」

「Right? This is the best place for a nap.」

Olivia said proudly. Compared to the giant entrance, the cave was surprisingly shallow, and they reached the end in no time.

It was bright enough that they didn’t need torches.

「M-Major General Olivia. Is that the food the Night-Eyed Pale Wolves likes?」

「That’s right, they are gouging themselves right now?」

Cornelius pointed stiffly at the spot where a large beast known for its beautiful golden fur and sharp lone horn was lying on the floor.

(That’s definitely a One Horned Beast……!)

His emotions from the past surged forth and his back was covered in cold sweat. This was the second time Neinhart encountered the Type 2 Danger Beast, the One Horned Beast.

The first was half a year after Neinhart graduated top from the Military Academy.

After receiving a mission to take out the One Horned Beast that suddenly appeared in a village, Neinhart led a hundred elite soldiers and had an intense battle against the One Horned Beast. In the end, they vanquished it with Neinhart getting injured and his unit suffering more than 80% casualties.

People praised Neinhart as a hero, but he had always regretted the huge loss that he suffered.

(I never thought I would see a nightmare-like One Horned Beast again.)

Neinhart took a deep breath, then helped Cornelius who looked really tired sit down on a boulder. Olivia watched the Night-Eyed Pale Wolf feasting on their prey with a smile.

「Did you hunt that One Horned Beast together with the recruits?」

He was the one who asked, but Neinhart didn’t think the recruits would be of any use against a One Horned Beast. And as expected, Olivia shook her head.

In that case, there was only one answer.

「Did you subjugate it yourself, Major General Olivia?」

「Yes. There aren’t many in the woods here, so I had a hard time finding one.」

Olivia’s casual smile made Neinhart shiver.

Now that she mentioned it, during the battle to recapture Fort Lamburg, there was a report of them running into an One Horned Beast which was instantly slaughtered by Olivia. He didn’t pay it much mind since a recruit wrote that report. Neinhart thought they mistook a similar animal for an One Horned Beast— but after seeing the carcass before him, he had to believe that report now.

They were probably satiated by the flesh of the One Horned Beast, so the Night-Eyed Pale Wolves gathered by Olivia's feet and rubbed their heads on her thigh again.

「So everyone had their fill— Let’s return to the Proving Grounds then.」

「I’m fine with going back, but can you tell me the point of that training earlier? I’m still baffled.」

Cornelius asked in a tired voice, and Olivia said it was training for their legs and lower body.

According to Olivia, what controls the battlefield wasn't power or skill, but speed. Not just in battles between individuals, the speed during marches could stroke at the enemy’s weakpoints too. The training with the Night-Eyed Pale Wolves would enhance their lower body muscles, and also let them overcome their fear.

She said this was Ashton’s proposal— However, Neinhart didn’t think he would suggest something so dangerous, and felt confused. When Olivia said 「I think the effectiveness of Night-Eyed Pale Wolves and feral dogs are about the same」, the two of them didn’t say anything more.

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