Legend of the Arch Magus: Valor

by M Sisa

  The same thought ran through King Alvis’s mind.

  He furrowed his brows, “May I know the reason why?”

  Lark gave a simple reply, “Your Majesty, I do not wish to leave Blackstone Town.”

  The topography of that region held so much potential. If one looked at the map, the town could be expanded further. It could become even larger than the major cities of this Kingdom. After all, the Endless Forest alone was larger than the entire Kingdom of Lukas.

  Another reason was Lark’s attachment to his subjects in Blackstone Town. Some may tell him that such emotions should be thrown away, discarded, but his experience back in his previous life made him realize that such emotions were the most precious. He would not forsake those people for the mere position of a Royal Advisor.

  “I… See,” the King sighed. “This is an awarding ceremony. I shall not coerce you any further.”

  After Lark went back to where Lord Chase was, the King leaned on his chair. He was disappointed of the outcome of this assembly.

  He heard from Mikael before how Lark developed that small town. How he defeated the Beastmen, and how he destroyed the Black Famine. Despite his young age, the King firmly believed that Lark would be a splendid Royal Advisor, probably even better than those old men who constantly nagged at him, the King.

  After the awarding ceremony, several nobles started approaching Lark. Even the Count who disregarded him before started acting cordially. Lark politely greeted them, but did not pursue conversations any further.

  After the hyena-like nobles left, Lord Chase chuckled. “How does it feel like? To suddenly become the star?”

  “Unpleasant,” Lark smiled wryly.

  Lord Chase grinned, “You’ll get used to it.”

  The celebration continued until midnight. The next morning, upon waking up at the inn, a messenger from the King appeared at Lark’s doorstep.

  The King was summoning him to the Throne Room, along with the other throne candidates.

  Chapter Twelve

  By noon, all twenty-eight candidates for the throne were already gathered inside the throne room. The knights in charge of observing them were also there, their faces covered by silver masks. Judging by the reactions of the candidates, only a couple of them realized the identity of these masked knights.

  Lark took a peek at one of the knights standing like a statue near the throne. The suppressed mana leaking out of his body was definitely from that person. He was the knight tasked to observe Lark Marcus.

  The King arrived. Following behind him were the three Royal Advisors, General Carlos, and a priestess from the Temple of the Water God.

  “I gathered all of you here to discuss strategies concerning the Empire.” The King went straight to the point. “Priestess Thea.”

  The female priestess stepped forward. After bowing to the King, she turned to the candidates. “The things we are going to discuss here are of utmost confidentiality. All of those who wish to participate are required to make the vow of silence – a vow to Nereus, the God of Water.”

  “This vow can mean your life and death,” added the King. “Those who do not wish to participate can leave this room now.”

  Several candidates flinched at this statement. Most of them knew what would happen if they broke the vow. Kalavinka, in particular, had the urge to leave the room and go back to their estate. He could not see why he should concern himself with matters concerning the Empire. At the end, however, he decided to stay in fear of facing the wrath of his father. After all, those who leave this place would be dubbed as cowards by their peers. A disgrace to the family.

  “Those who break the vow of silence will suffer a pain so excruciating that you’ll wish to be dead instead,” the priestess said with a straight face. “No one is leaving, so I take it that all of you wish to proceed? Perfect.”

  She took out a bronze basin and filled it with flask water. She then made a small cut on her index finger using a dagger and let the blood drip into the basin.

  “Please put a drop of your blood into the basin.”

  The first to step forward was Lui Marcus. He took the dagger from the priestess and cut his finger. Large drops of blood fell into the basin. Judging by his movements and reaction, this was not the first time he has participated in such things.

  “It’s nice seeing you again, Lui.” The priestess smiled amicably. “How’s the Vice Commander?”

  Lui smiled back, “Alive and kicking. The wounds from before has fully healed.”

  The priestess chuckled, “And here I was, hoping he died.”

  Lui smiled wryly, “They’ll need more than stabbing his heart to do that.”

  Lark had not expected such words to come out of the priestess’ mouth. She looked so innocent and pure, as though she had never even hurt a fly before, more so kill someone.

  After Lui, several other candidates followed suit.

  Kalavinka took quite some time before he finally managed to cut his finger. Lark, on the other hand, simply pressed his finger into the tip of the blade. The priestess from the Temple stared at him quietly as he dropped his blood into the basin.

  After everyone was done, the priestess chanted her magic. The blood inside the basin rose into the air and formed a hexagram, eventually forming a magic circle filled with runes and symbols.

  “Repeat after me,” said the priestess.

  “I vow to God Nereus,” she said. Everyone immediately repeated her words.

  “That I will not divulge anything I learn or hear in this place, in any shape and form, through whatever means. I vow to keep my silence. Breaking this oath shall lead to suffering worse than death.”

  During this time, Lark and the other candidates started feeling a pricking sensation in their chests, as though someone was carving on their skins with a sharp knife.

  The moment the magic circle dissipated, the pricking sensation also vanished.

  “It will not leave a scar on your bodies,” the priestess smiled. “So do not worry.”

  It was faint, but Lark could feel a string of magic power connecting him towards the priestess. Other people might not know this, but the moment the priestess was killed, this vow would lose its effect. After all, the curse of the Water God would lose its only channel. This was the flaw in the vow of silence.

  In his opinion, the vow of death was a more potent restricting spell in such occasions. That spell did not require a medium once cast, and the curse would latch into the host’s meridians themselves. With the vow of death, even if the priestess was killed, the spell would not lose its effect.

  Well, this works to my advantage anyway.

  Lark decided to keep his mouth shut.

  The King cleared his throat. “Now that everyone is bound by the vow of silence, we can go straight to the topic. The map.”

  One of the knights took out a large map and unfolded it on the ground. The map was colossal enough to fit four carriages inside. The candidates gathered around it.

  The King stood up from his throne and went towards the unfolded map. Using his scepter, he pointed at a large mountain.

  “This here is the Yorkshaire Mountain Range. For centuries, it served as a natural barrier between the Kingdom and the Empire. But several months ago, the Empire discovered a passageway circumventing the area.”

  Everyone attentively listened. Lark noticed Lui looking at him. When their eyes met, Lui smiled before looking away.

  The King traced the mountain range using the tip of his scepter. “This here is the passage I’m talking about.”

  Lark noticed that the passageway completely rendered the mountain range useless. The exit of the passageway was almost next to the Yorkshaire City.

  The King originally planned on dealing with this invasion of the Empire by seeking the help of the Dwarven Kingdom, but due to the Black Famine destroying several farmlands, they were unable to provide thirty thousand barrels of the high-grade wine they demanded. Negotiations broke down, and King Alvis had no choice but
to rely on his own military to repel the Empire’s might.

  “The Yorkshaire Army excels in the jungle,” said Lui Marcus. As the commander of the Western Front, he was more knowledgeable than the other candidates gathered here. “But they have just lost that advantage. After discovering the passageway, the Empire immediately made the Yorkshaire Plains their battleground.”

  The King nodded. “Fighting on flat land, the Yorkshaire Army becomes your average army.”

  Looking at the map, it was apparent that the Yorkshaire Army had no choice but to confront the Empire at the outskirts of the city. They had no choice but to fight on the plains instead of their natural territory in the jungle.

  “I’ve already consulted with the ministers and military officials regarding this, but until now, they are unable to come up with a concrete plan on dealing with the Empire,” said the King. “This is why I’m using this chance – this time when all the candidates are in the Capital – to formulate a plan.”

  In short, the King was using this chance to assess each candidate’s capabilities in leading the Empire to victory. He was hoping that one of them would be able to come up with a solution for this deadlock.

  “I will give everyone three days to come up with a plan,” said the King. “General Carlos will brief everyone of the plan we’ve formulated so far.”

  A man with numerous scars and wrinkles on his face started explaining the best plan they have formulated after several weeks of discussions. He pointed at the Yorkshaire City.

  “Stationed here right now is the Marcus Army and the Yorkshaire Army,” the General’s voice was raspy. “And over here is where the Empire’s army is camped.”

  There were three stone pieces on the map at the Empire’s camp, which represented three different armies. The General explained, “For this war, the Empire sent three of its fifteen brigades – the sixth, fourteenth, and fifteenth brigade. Some of you may be aware of this, but the lower the number, the stronger the brigade. Thus, in this battle, the sixth brigade held the strongest power. Each of the soldiers belonging to that army is on par with the veteran Yorkshaire soldiers.”

  Behind the three stone pieces, three smaller stones stood, which represented the supply line of the Empire.

  “Our current plan is to hit these three here using a detachment of elite soldiers from the Yorkshaire Army. With their supply lines cut off, it will become a battle of attrition. It will take less than a week for an army of such scale to start starving once their rations are lost. They will have no choice but to retreat by then.”

  “And when that time comes…”

  The general took the stone representing the Marcus Army and moved it closer to the Empire’s camp. At the same time, he moved the stone representing the Yorkshaire Army to circumvent the camp and strike at their back.

  “We will hit them with our entire might.”

  A pincer attack.

  Although it looked simple at first glance, this tactic held a lot of variables into account. The most noteworthy of them all was the ability of the Yorkshaire Army to go undetected and to launch an attack at the supply line of the Empire.

  Although the Yorkshaire Army excelled in mountainous terrains and the jungle, Lark doubted that things would go as smoothly as planned.

  The Empire couldn’t be so stupid as to leave the supply lines unguarded.

  Lui Marcus had the same thought. He pointed out the flaws, “The three supply lines are separated from each other. Once one of them is attacked by our forces, the other two will become more guarded. There is also the risk of having the attack force wiped out with just a single mistake. Therefore, for this plan to succeed, we need to strike at the three supply lines at the same time.”

  It was true. After all, the infiltrating Yorkshaire Army would have to retreat if the enemy discovers them.

  “I’ve seen the strength of the Yorkshaire Army, and as its new Commander, I can confidently say that it’s one of the strongest armies in the Kingdom,” said Lui. “General, how confident are you that the Yorkshaire Army is capable of pulling this through?”

  The General raised three fingers. “Thirty percent. I believe that the Yorkshaire Army has a thirty percent chance of completing this mission, and that’s after considering all possible variables.”

  “I see,” Lui’s voice trailed off. It was not a bad number, considering the fact that the supply lines of the Empire were well-protected by the terrain.

  “My territory is near Yorkshaire City,” said Lancaster, the oldest son of Duke Kelvin. Unlike his plump father, his entire body was muscular. “I can mobilize a three thousand strong army to aid the Kingdom in this war.”

  It was an offer he normally wouldn’t have made under normal circumstances. But now that they were before His Majesty, Lancaster wanted to prove his worth by contributing to their victory.

  “The three brigades sent by the Empire amount to around twenty thousand soldiers,” said one of the Royal Advisors. “The combined forces of the Marcus Army and the Yorkshaire Army amount to around twelve thousand soldiers. We’ll greatly benefit from the additional forces offered by Sir Lancaster.”

  Lancaster smirked, “I’ll personally lead the Army. It will take us around a week to arrive at Yorkshaire City.”

  Seeing that the House of Kelvin and the House of Marcus were already making contributions, the candidates belonging to the House Youchester immediately offered their assistance.

  “Our Duchy is located far from the Yorkshaire City, thus it will take several weeks even if we mobilize the army,” said Paztro, a pale-looking man belonging to the House of Youchester. “But we are willing to provide the necessary rations during the war by coordinating with the Merchants Guild.”

  The King and General Carlos momentarily locked eyes with each other. It seemed that gathering the candidates together to discuss the war was the right choice. They were having a hard time providing rations to the armies stationed in Yorkshaire due to the Black Famine, but that problem was solved for now. Although the House Youchester had the weakest military among the three Dukes, it had the most fertile territory. Its treasury could definitely feed the soldiers for several weeks, at least until the war was over.

  They were also able to solicit the aid of the soldiers from the Kelvin Duchy. This gathering was definitely a win-win situation.

  The meeting continued until the night. Several tactics were suggested here and there, most of them thrown out of the window immediately after.

  All throughout the meeting, Lark simply remained silent. Several candidates condescendingly gazed at him, thinking that it was natural for the trash of Marcus Family to know nothing about war.

  It was already late in the evening and the first day of the meeting was coming to a close. The King, who expected a lot from Lark after hearing about his exploits, finally asked him.

  “Lark Marcus,” said the King. “You’ve been silent until now. I believe that someone as capable as yourself, someone who drove away the Third Legion of the United Grakas Alliance, has something to say regarding this matter.”

  Everyone’s eyes stared at the silver-haired young man. Lui looked at him with eyes filled with understanding. Those eyes seemed to say, ‘It’s alright. Don’t worry if you can’t answer the King.’

  Lark slowly said, “Before that, I have two questions, Your Majesty.”

  The Royal Advisors of the King was infuriated upon hearing this. It was outright rude. Instead of replying to the King, this brat was the one questioning him. They were about to rebuke him when King Alvis wordlessly told them to stay put.

  “Go ahead,” said the King.

  “First, is it true that you will not coerce me to stay in the Capital after this?” said Lark. “Is this correct, Your Majesty?”

  The King raised a brow. It was a peculiar question. “Of course. I already told you this before when you rejected the position of Royal Advisor. I will not coerce you to stay in the Capital.”

  “Thank you,” Lark bowed his head. “T
hen for the second question. Does the Empire have a wyvern unit?”

  “A wyvern unit?” one of the Royal Advisors repeated.

  “Wyvern unit or anything similar,” said Lark. “Basically, a unit capable of battling in the sky.”

  The King, unable to answer this question, looked at General Carlos.

  General Carlos nodded at the King. He answered Lark instead. “I believe you are referring to the Witches of Aravark. A special unit of magicians capable of flying in the sky.”

  The other candidates were surprised upon hearing this. After all, they did not know before that there was such a force in the Empire.

  “Witches of Aravark,” mumbled Lark. “Then, do you think these magicians will participate in this war?”

  General Carlos pondered for a moment. “I don’t think so. This is classified information – I believe that the Witches of Aravark reside in the City of Atarus, a city far from the frontlines. It will take them at least a month to arrive at Yorkshaire by cart.”

  Lark remained expressionless even after hearing this. “I see. That’s perfect then.” He then turned to the King, “Your Majesty, if the reason the Empire is attacking the Kingdom is to expand their territory, then there is a simple solution to this.”

  Lancaster Kelvin snorted at this statement. This brat was being so arrogant right now. If there really was a simple solution to this, then this war would have ended already the moment it began.

  “A simple solution,” the King’s curiosity was piqued. “Young man, tell me.”

  Lark went to the map and pointed at a city beyond the Yorkshaire Mountain Range. It was a city in the Empire’s territory.

  “This is the nearest city of the Empire.” Lark tapped at the city on the map using a wooden stick. He then traced it towards the supply lines of the three brigades. “Therefore, it is safe to assume that this city is the one supplying the enemies’ rations.”

  “That is obvious,” Lancaster spat. “Do we look like idiots to you?”

  Lark stared at Lancaster. The King furrowed his brows and said, “Lancaster.”