Chapter 110: Reinforcements Office (2)
At that moment, Kim Hyunwoo, taken aback, quickly regained his composure and cleared his throat before answering.
"It seems like the conversation is going in a similar direction as last time."
"Last time wasn't sincere, but this time, it is."
Feeling the sincerity from Rania's eyes and tone beyond the crystal ball, Kim Hyunwoo, who had been silent, then spoke.
"...Let's save that conversation for later. I would like to hear the details of the situation, if that's possible?"
"Of course."
Rania began to meticulously explain her current situation to Kim Hyunwoo, from start to finish, after her response.
"The Norba Kingdom is currently in a state of chaos due to endless wars. Duke Landaron is leading a faction and having contracted with demons, they have staged a coup, seized the Kingdom, and are subjugating the territories using monsters."
Following that statement, as the detailed explanation began, Kim Hyunwoo focused intently for a while.
Shortly after a considerable amount of time had passed,
"So... to conclude, does that mean, within the span of a month, almost all the territories belonging to the kingdom have been subjugated by Landaron, and only eight territories, including yours, Lady Rania, remain?"
"Yes, that's correct."
Hearing Rania's answer, Kim Hyunwoo thought,
'I had roughly expected this to be the case.'
From the moment Duke Landaron occupied the Norba Kingdom and became king, Kim Hyunwoo had a premonition that this situation was inevitable.
That's because Landaron, who had usurped power through unilateral violence without any legitimacy, could not possibly be viewed favorably by other territories.
Therefore, from Landaron's perspective, he had no choice but to subjugate the territories to prevent the country from being divided.
Even if he had occupied the kingdom, the territories would never follow his orders, and instead, the territories could be torn apart, making it no longer a kingdom.
Despite Kim Hyunwoo's seemingly accurate prediction of Landaron's next move, the strange expression on his face was because-
"...It feels like just over a month has passed, but Landaron is moving faster than I thought."
-Because Landaron is subjugating the territories faster than expected.
Given that subjugating other territories is essentially a race against time, it was expected that Landaron would move quickly, but the speed was too fast, which led to the question answered by Rania.
[In fact, we could have somehow stopped Landaron's soldiers alone, but the problem is the monsters.]
"...Monsters?"
[Yes. After Landaron joined forces with the demon race, he brought monsters from the demon world, and they have been more troublesome than expected. These monsters from the demon world smash through magical barriers as if they were ordinary walls.]
"Is that true?"
[Yes.]
Kim Hyunwoo could understand why other territories were subjugated so quickly due to Rania's dark affirmation.
'Was it because the walls have fallen?'
Defensive battles are fundamentally more advantageous than sieges, and with the right strategy, defenders can hold off up to five times their numbers.
However, that assumes the walls are intact. If the walls are not, the distinction between defense and siege loses its meaning.
[Of course, the situation has improved a bit now, as the number of monsters among Landaron's soldiers has significantly decreased.]
"...They must have expended a lot of them."
[That could be one reason, but as far as I know, there are heroes who have been slaying the monsters sent by Landaron. Thanks to them, Landaron has reportedly stopped sending monsters with his soldiers on purpose.]
"...A hero slaying monsters? Perhaps from the Holy Kingdom?"
In response to Kim Hyunwoo's question, Rania shook her head and continued.
[No. It will be at least two more weeks before people from the Holy Kingdom can arrive here. They are on the eastern frontier.]
"Hmm..."
Kim Hyunwoo, having obtained additional information from Rania, said,
"So, to summarize, if we properly stop Landaron's soldiers, who are almost without monsters this time, they won't have the capacity to invade anymore, right?"
["If we just deal with the soldiers currently on the move, then by the time the Holy Kingdom's people arrive... this is the critical moment."]
Upon hearing Rania's words, Kim Hyunwoo realized it was time to make a decision.
'Should I save the Tesnoka territory? No, can I even save it?'
Kim Hyunwoo carefully considered the current situation as explained by Rania.
'There are slightly over 10,000 soldiers to stop, the northern wall has already collapsed, and Rania's soldiers have low morale due to the battles that have occurred several times.'
"Hmm..."
Kim Hyunwoo pondered.
In fact, at this point, helping Rania would mean Kim Hyunwoo would have to endure a significant loss.
Kim Hyunwoo did not have the forces to help Rania immediately, and deciding to help meant considering the use of missiles.
'But that would be foolish.'
The Tesnoka territory has been of great help to Kim Hyunwoo.
After all, Lartania's remarkable growth until now was possible because the Tesnoka territory continued to sell resources generously.
However, even so, it didn't make sense to use the Red Stones for that reason.
If Kim Hyunwoo had an abundance of Red Stones, it might be a different story, but that was not the case.
Thus, Kim Hyunwoo, continuing his contemplation, looked at Rania through the crystal confinement.
She appeared endlessly anxious, waiting for a decision.
'Perhaps they requested help thinking I would fire missiles rather than sending soldiers...'
Regrettably, Kim Hyunwoo, who had no intention of using missiles, was in a dilemma.
"Ah."
He let out a low exclamation and then asked Rania a question.
[Yes...? Oh, yes. Well, there is one thing.]
"If you can prepare the items I request, I think I can help you."
Seeing Rania nod her head in bewilderment, Kim Hyunwoo spoke with a sly smile.
[Really...?!]
A smile appeared on Rania's lips.
As soon as he decided to help Rania, Kim Hyunwoo immediately went to ask Shadra about something he was curious about.
"That shouldn't be difficult, right? Since it's not a Dispel, it can be used even during war."
Seeing Shadra nod as if agreeing with Kim Hyunwoo's plan, he smiled and said,
"Then, can you go to the Tesnoka territory with me for a bit?"
"The Tesnoka territory? Why there?"
"Because I've received a request for reinforcements."
After hearing Kim Hyunwoo's words, Shadra thought for a moment, then nodded as if she understood the situation and said,
"Got it! Of course, I'll go if Dad asks!"
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it!"
After that conversation, Kim Hyunwoo patted Shadra's head, who was subtly clinging to him, and then immediately called for Elena, concluding his preparations.
"Alright, then let's depart right away."
Kim Hyunwoo, after handling the minimum necessary administrative work, immediately set off for the Tesnoka territory with Elena, Shadra, the required items, and ten Apprentice Knights in tow.
It took about five days for Kim Hyunwoo to reach the Tesnoka territory.
Originally, it was supposed to take a bit longer, but thanks to Shadra summoning golems to carry and run with the carriage halfway through, they were able to shorten the time more than expected.
Thanks to that, Kim Hyunwoo, who arrived quite directly at the Tesnoka territory, could see that the territory was in worse condition than he had anticipated.
'...It's a mess.'
The Tesnoka territory that Kim Hyunwoo saw seemed to show at first glance that a war was taking place here.
Immediately at the outer walls, there wasn't a single place that was intact everywhere, and part of the wall had completely collapsed, just as she had said.
They had hastily conducted repairs, but it was essentially no different from being breached.
Moreover, the hollow eyes of the soldiers seemed to tell the current situation of the Tesnoka territory, and Kim Hyunwoo looked on.
"Lord...!"
"It's been a long time."
He was able to meet Rania, the Lord of the Tesnoka territory, who ran out to greet them even before they headed to the Lord's castle.
"Thank you for considering my unreasonable request."
Rania immediately bowed her head.
"Not at all. Territories near each other should help out."
'It's not like I'm not receiving a reward, after all.'
Rania smiled and tried to take Kim Hyunwoo's hand once again, but then,
"Hello?"
Before Rania's hand could touch Kim Hyunwoo's, Shadra's greeting came at an exquisite timing, causing Rania to nod her head with a slightly bewildered expression.
"Hello, how are you?"
Seeing Rania asking with an expression of 'Who is this?', Kim Hyunwoo promptly introduced her.
"Yes, please take good care of me?"
At Shadra's words, standing subtly in front of Kim Hyunwoo and greeting him, Rania replied with an awkward smile,
"Yes, I too ask for your good care."
After the brief greetings, Kim Hyunwoo immediately headed to the Lord of Tesnoka's castle, where he could get a more detailed briefing from Rania than what he had heard before.
"So, you're saying that Landaron's soldiers will arrive here in about three days?"
"That's right."
"That should be enough time."
"Do you think so?"
"Yes."
Seeing Rania nod firmly to his words, Kim Hyunwoo nodded as if he thought it wasn't bad and then continued,
"I will now explain the plan to you."
He began to explain the plan to Rania.
After about ten minutes, having heard all of Kim Hyunwoo's plan, Rania asked,
"...You can stop them like that?"
She asked with a dazed expression.
"Yes. It will work."
Rania nodded as if she understood, seeing Kim Hyunwoo's confident response.
"I understand. Then, I'll trust in you, My Lord."
"Thank you for your trust."
"No need for thanks. If we are to be married, we must trust each other."
"Huh?"
Kim Hyunwoo looked bewildered for a moment at the words that suddenly came from Rania's mouth.
"...What?"
When Rania responded in kind, Kim Hyunwoo, after a moment of contemplation, said,
"Ah..."
Realizing he had arrived without discussing the matter of another form of compensation, he was about to speak to Rania, but then,
"Dad? What's this- what are you saying now?"
Shadra's voice came chillingly,
Crunch-!
"My Lord...?"
With the sound of something crunching and Elena's voice, Kim Hyunwoo instinctively felt cold sweat running down.