Chapter 114
After leaving the Imperial Capital, Gordon was gathering the Imperial Central Army in the southern region.
There were thirty thousand.
If all went smoothly, that number was expected to swell to twice that.
"Prince Gordon! Are you just going to sit back and watch this happen!?"
In the command tent, the man making this appeal to Gordon was a middle-aged man with a beard.
He had a powerful build, but his belly protruded to match. He was not particularly tall, and his barrel-like appearance made onlookers think of a cask. His name was Adam Galbar.
He was one of the generals stationed in the Imperial Capital, and he was serving as Gordon's deputy commander this time. He was also one of Gordon's most ardent supporters.
"His Majesty the Emperor ordered us to assemble. He did not order an attack."
"But!"
Galbar continued pressing Gordon.
It was Gordon's faction that had deliberately maneuvered things toward a large-scale civil war. However, that plan was being thwarted by Leo and the others.
Knowing this, Galbar could not simply remain silent and wait for a report from Leo and the others.
"Calm down, Galbar. I can't leave here until the entire army is assembled. In the meantime, I'd like you to conduct some reconnaissance."
"Reconnaissance is unnecessary! The enemy is nothing but a rabble! If we attack, we can punch a hole in the front line and advance deep into their territory!"
That was not merely Galbar's opinion. It was the consensus among many military officials.
The cities in the south, particularly those along the front line, had low morale and little military strength to speak of. Since those cities would surrender immediately if attacked, conducting reconnaissance without launching an attack was nothing short of torture for Galbar.
But.
"Don't say that. Galbar, I'll give you ten thousand men. Go scout the city of Gels, which will be the front line."
It was an extraordinary order.
Using a third of the troops currently assembled for reconnaissance was unheard of.
For a moment, Galbar wondered if he had misheard, but he quickly noticed the smile spreading across Gordon's face.
"You have a plan!?"
Galbar's face filled with expectation.
Gordon gave no answer, merely nodding.
Galbar answered again and again.
"Understood! I understand completely! I'll lead ten thousand men on reconnaissance!"
"I'm counting on you. I'll attach two men as aides."
With that, Gordon summoned two people to the command tent.
One was Sonia, Gordon's military strategist.
The other was a tall military officer with gray hair. Seeing him, Galbar grinned.
"Well, Colonel Letts. With you assisting me, I feel much more confident."
"I am honored to assist General Galbar."
Letts saluted with an expression devoid of emotion.
Letts was one of Gordon's supporters and a commander who led the cavalry. His abilities were beyond question, and despite holding only the rank of colonel, he was one of Gordon's closest confidants.
To Galbar, Letts was an irksome man, and having him serve as his aide was gratifying.
As she watched the two military officers exchange words, Sonia fixed her gaze on Gordon.
"What do you think people will say about sending ten thousand men out on reconnaissance?"
"It's reconnaissance. Better to be safe than sorry."
"...If you're planning something, you should reconsider. This is advice from your military strategist. His Majesty the Emperor has endorsed Prince Leonart's plan. If you do anything to obstruct it, who knows what punishment you'll receive?"
"That's why I said it's reconnaissance."
Gordon answered, brushing Sonia's words aside.
Sonia knew he had no intention of listening to her, but even so, she could not remain silent.
Even if he succeeded in starting a war, there was no way he would be praised for it.
Sonia felt that Gordon was walking the path of self-destruction. It would be one thing if he were destroying only himself, but he was dragging everyone around him into ruin as well.
She had to stop him. Sonia knew that, but she did not have the power to do so.
"Assist Galbar. It's for your sake and your fathers' sake."
"...You're insane."
"Too bad. I'm perfectly sane."
With that, Gordon sent Sonia and Galbar away.
Only Letts remained.
Gordon quietly addressed him.
"Are things proceeding as planned?"
"Yes! I've made all the arrangements exactly as instructed!"
Letts answered while saluting.
Gordon nodded, looking satisfied with the work of his trusted subordinate.
Then he faced south and grinned.
"This is the end of Leonart and the others."
"But if this plan succeeds, won't we have no need for the next one?"
"There is always a chance something could go wrong. The House of the Valiant Marquis is backing them this time. We must also be prepared in case we fail to convey the plan to Kruger, so we'll carry out the next plan as well. I'm counting on you."
"Understood. I'll carry it out flawlessly."
"Good. If we take the city of Gels, we only need to advance from there. Go as far as you can. I'll follow afterward."
"Yes! I'll clear the way for Your Highness!"
Letts declared confidently.
Seeing this, Gordon's smile deepened.
Nearly all the commanders of the army he had gathered belonged to Gordon's faction.
Whatever happened, they would obey Gordon.
"We'll definitely start a war in the south. Then we'll crush the south so thoroughly that not a trace remains... and next comes the Imperial Capital."
"At last."
"Yes. At last, this petty, convoluted struggle among factions will end. I'll become emperor, and the Empire will set out to unify the continent. Once we've conquered the continent, we'll turn our gaze beyond the sea. We'll unite everything in this world under the name of the Empire."
"I'll accompany you!"
Gordon and Letts looked ahead to their future.
However, their future had already begun to go awry.
■■■
The covert unit Gordon had summoned to the Imperial Capital.
Though unofficial, only a limited number of people knew of its existence, and it boasted some of the highest levels of training in the Imperial Army.
Excellent soldiers had been gathered, and they had endured rigorous training until then.
They had cooperated with Gordon because they believed an emperor with a military background was necessary for their own abilities to shine more brightly.
However, the unit had been brought to a standstill on its way south.
"Damn! What's going on!?"
The major commanding the unit could not believe what was happening.
Gordon had sent the covert unit south to deliver information to Kruger.
The information, of course, concerned Leo's plan.
They were traveling in a group of roughly one hundred.
However, the unit had already ceased to function as a unit.
"No one said anything about fog like this!?"
The cause was a fog that had appeared without warning.
The fog made it impossible even to recognize those nearby, scattering the covert unit in every direction.
Even so, they were elite soldiers, and they continued forward while searching for the slightest clues.
"This clearly isn't natural..."
Sensing something amiss, the major concealed his presence and proceeded carefully.
If it wasn't natural, the first thing to suspect was a monster's handiwork.
A monster that released fog and hunted prey within it. He had never heard of such a creature, but he could not say it did not exist.
Without raising his voice, the major continued onward in silence.
No matter how dense the fog became, simply moving forward was no difficult task for members of the covert unit. Those who had become separated were advancing without difficulty as well.
Deciding that, the major pressed on.
That judgment was both right and wrong.
If it had been ordinary fog, he would have been able to continue without getting lost. However, the fog they were seeing was not real fog.
"How do you like the taste of this illusory fog, Major?"
A mage wearing a silver mask and a black robe floated high in the sky. The mage was Silver.
In the direction Silver was looking, the major was entering the mountains with the gait of a sleepwalker.
They were trapped in an illusion of dense fog, which had numbed their sense of direction.
No matter how well trained they were, it was meaningless once their sense of direction had been numbed.
Screams could be heard here and there.
Some were attacked by monsters, while others tumbled down the mountain.
Every member of the covert unit had been brought to a complete standstill.
"Too bad, Gordon. Your unit has been wiped out."
With that, Silver vanished from the spot.
The covert unit, trapped by the illusion, would remain stranded there for several days. Even after they somehow regained their senses, they would be unable to reach Kruger.
No matter how fast they were, by then Leo and the others would already have reached Kruger.
A delay of several days could not be made up.
Thus, Silver had effortlessly foiled Gordon's first plan.