Volume 4 Chapter 16 Rift Of Time And Space
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Hearing that she would be the one to watch the house, Giuliana looked very disappointed, but judging that ‘Red Valkyrie’s’ capabilities would only increase the casualties, I decided to leave the security to her.
Giuliana knew the strength of her own Hunting Group, so she didn’t back down.
”Mr. Kent, for now, the mobilization plan is 3 hundred soldiers and ‘Crimson Bride’ and ‘Black Bullet’ as 2 teams, right? I think about 3 hundred more for food supplies should be enough, don’t you think?”
”I think my father-in-law will send in a few Hunting Groups, so I think an additional 3 hundred food supplies should be sufficient. I’ll leave the details to you, mother-in-law.”
”Alright. It’s good that the construction of the castle walls is done… I’ll take care of the food supplies for your group. Helga! Est! Reina! Gather everyone and get started immediately!”
My mother-in-law left the room, accompanied by her female administrative officers, who were her direct subordinates.
Leaving the food supplies to my mother-in-law, it was thought that they wouldn’t starve.
”Now, the problem is the assault team. What about you, Kent? I think my stepfather will probably send in 3 Hunting Groups: ‘Silver Wolf’, ‘Hand of Glory’, and ‘Golden Apostles’. The other Hunting Groups suffered some damage in the previous defense battle.”
”Three elite Hunting Groups… Do you think they can reach the core?”
Hearing my question, Milly folded her arms and started thinking.
”This time, Ms. Annabella and Carly won’t be able to participate, right? ‘Crimson Bride’ might lack firepower… the bodies of another world monsters are quite tough, you know.”
Hearing Milly’s words, Aida raised her hand.
”Lady Miriallia, I’ve finished analyzing the Equipment I found in the mansion’s storage, and I was going to give it to Kent.”
”Oh, you mean the ‘Explode Gunlance’? Is the analysis of that done already?”
”I don’t know the exact mechanism behind the powerful cannon, but we were able to start prototyping the belt-like firing mechanism. Mr. Golerg is helping, so we should have a prototype soon.”
”Wow! Is it that amazing of a weapon?”
Milly hasn’t seen the actual weapon yet, so she doesn’t know how incredible it is.
”I think we won’t have any issues with firepower if we have that. We’ve been stockpiling ammunition, especially after using it in training.”
”If Kent says so, it must be fine.”
”Okay, then. The first party to enter will be me, Milly, Aurelia, Ines, Feria, Talia, Lina, and Dee. The second party for recovery will be Beatrice, Manon, Lana, and Veris. And for the main support, the ‘Black Bullet’ team, and for recovery escort, the Kerstin team and Noemi team will do it.”
I announced the party composition for the initial assault.
We’ll be sending 4 parties from our side, and since ‘Silver Wolf’, ‘Hand of Glory’, and ‘Golden Apostles’ are also forming elite Hunting Groups, the assault party will likely consist of 15 to 16 parties.
”For now, everyone, start preparing. I’m going to visit my father-in-law to report the emergency. We’ll launch at dawn. As soon as the army secures the outskirts, we’ll begin the assault.”
”Yes.”
Everyone started their own preparations.
I’ve already sent a messenger ahead, but I decided to go and report the emergency to my father-in-law.
* * *
I rushed to my father-in-law’s castle in a carriage.
As I had already sent a messenger ahead, Milly and I were immediately guided to our room.
”Kent… After the great attack, you found a large crack in time and space, didn’t you? Both are once-in-a-century disasters… I’m starting to think you’re attracting these disasters, Kent.”
My father-in-law sent me a slightly exasperated look.
Me, attracting disasters… That’s ridiculous… Right?
I felt a bit uneasy and looked at Milly.
”That’s not true. It’s just that the disasters happened to overlap. Or maybe it’s a trial for Kent to become great.”
”Oh, that’s right, Kent, your main job is the [Hero], isn’t it? Perhaps that’s why you have such a unique skill effect.”
My father-in-law knew that I had changed my main job from [Heavy Warrior] to [Hero].
It was supposed to be a secret within the Blackdagger family, as it involved job changes, but I had confided in my father-in-law, who is one of my powerful supporters.
”That’s terrible. I don’t need such a skill effect. But father-in-law, I heard that you won’t be sending troops, only a messenger. Can’t you at least send the soldiers and officers I recruited from the Southern Army?”
I had received a message from my father-in-law, stating that he would send out a hunting group instead of the army, so I had come to negotiate directly.
”Kent, I can’t afford to waste valuable soldiers. For this initial attack, I plan to use disposable troops, but rest assured, I won’t sacrifice your army. I intend to use a different force.”
My father-in-law wore an evil grin.
Recently, I had discovered that he had a darker side to his personality.
Perhaps Milly’s black humor came from her uncle, Arbalest.
”Another army? You mean the Southern Army in the west? That army is nothing but a bunch of criminals and corrupt officers, living off the fat of the land. They don’t have any capable officers left who can execute General Gertroud’s military strategies, so they’re hardly a proper army, just a disorganized mob.”
”Those troops at the western fort are useless anyway. I’ve already recruited the necessary personnel, so the rest are just garbage to be thrown out. That way, the kingdom won’t be able to hand over the western garrison, and a new expeditionary force will have to be formed from the capital.”
This is dark… so dark.
A dark aura emanates from his back.
father-in-law…
It seems my father-in-law intends to use the Southern Army, from which he has already pulled out the skilled personnel, as disposable troops for the expedition.
Well, I don’t feel sorry for those left in the west.
They’re nothing but ill-disciplined soldiers and officers only interested in making money.
In fact, some of them had criminal records so severe that if they weren’t soldiers, they would have been arrested by the guard squad.
”But how will you convince General Gertroud to take action? With only a thousand men, I doubt he’d willingly march into battle.”
I became curious about how my father-in-law would convince General Gertroud to mobilize his troops.
A level-headed General like him wouldn’t take such a risk with the current state of his army.
”That’s easy. Just inform General Gertroud that Kent will be taking on a crack in time and space, a rare phenomenon that occurs only once a century. You’ll surely lead your troops into battle yourself.”
”Why would he do that? With the current situation, shouldn’t he just observe and wait?”
”Don’t you realize, Kent? General Gertroud is highly conscious of you. I know I recommended you, but Kent is the youngest ever to become a general officer in the Kingdom’s army at just 15 years old. Before that, General Gertroud held the record at 22.”
”Wow, and here I thought I was just a pretend General… So, General Gertroud is competitive with me?”
General Gertroud seems determined to surpass my achievements.
For a genius in military strategy and tactics like him, he probably can’t accept that I became a General purely by luck.
”By the way, I’ve already sent word to General Gertroud. According to the messenger, he’s taken the initiative and marched out. Seems like that scoundrel of an army is more motivated than we thought.”
My father-in-law spoke with a refreshing smile, but his words were venomous.
After nearly a decade as the Margrave of the South, his deep-rooted cunningness surprised me.
I might not be able to be as ruthless as him… But to protect my people, I realized I’d need to learn to be as crafty as my father-in-law.
It seemed my father-in-law intended to use General Gertroud’s troops as bait, luring out numerous ‘another world monsters’ from the crack in time and space.
Then, he planned to have my army wipe them out.
Fighting in an open area would be far easier than in a narrow corridor.
Drawing out a significant number of monsters would make the subsequent battle much more manageable.
”As we approach the crack in spacetime, it seems we’re about to witness a scene from hell, a vision of utter chaos…”
”But it’s much easier to fight on the ground. The magic elements are weak within the crack, making it harder to cast spells. If we can wipe them out here, it’s a blessing.”
All I could do was pray that General Gertroud would fight with all his might.
At least the soldiers and officers who were used as live bait had been corrupted by their evil deeds.
They had no choice but to atone for their sins with their very lives.
”Alright, Kent. I’m counting on you for what comes next. I’ve prepared a huge reward for the party that closes the crack in spacetime. I’m even taking bets as the host. Don’t close it too quickly, now.”
”You’re taking bets?”
So, he’s providing entertainment for the residents?
No, it’s my father-in-law, after all.
He seems to be making a killing as the host.
”By the way, the current odds are 5 to one for ‘Crimson Bride,’ 3 to one for ‘Silver Wolf,’ 3 to one for ‘Hand of Glory,’ 2 to one for ‘Golden Apostles,’ and a hundred to one for General Gertroud. How about a bet, Kent?”
”Father-in-law, were you also taking bets during the ‘beast monster’ incident and the defense battle?”
My father-in-law answered my question with a calm expression.
”Of course. I made a killing during the beast monster incident. No one expected Kent to be the one to take it down. The defense battle was just so-so.”
The people in the south live with death as their constant companion, so they seem to be fond of gambling.
Apparently, it’s customary to place bets whenever there’s an event.
”Is that so… Well, I’ll bet one gold coin on my own Hunting Group. I want to earn some pocket money while I’m here.”
Saying this, I tossed a gold coin to my father-in-law.
”Kent is so cool… a man would probably spend all his money on it!”
”Are you trying to bankrupt me, father-in-law? I’m a prudent man.”
”Hmm, being prudent is good, but you won’t make a big profit that way.”
”Stepfather… please don’t teach Kent any bad habits. If he gets too into gambling, pawning off my mother and the concubines to fuel his habit, I’ll hold a grudge against you.”
The father-in-law, feeling Milly’s sharp gaze, turned away and started whistling.
”It’s fine, Milly. I don’t like gambling anyway.”
”Well, that’s good, but Kent shouldn’t become like you, stepfather. You turn everything into a bet…”
”Anyway, I’ll leave the mission to Kent. If he succeeds, I’ll get him the position of Deputy Commander of the Southern Army, which General Gertroud is currently holding as my proxy. I’ll make sure the military grants it to him.”
After that, we took our leave from the father-in-law and returned to the mansion, where preparations for the expedition were already in place.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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