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As Walter’s House struggled with the Demon King’s Army’s barricade while making literal blunders, Eramenia began to feel a sense of responsibility. They realized they needed to find a breakthrough in the situation themselves.

“The Kingdom’s army is strong. If they penetrate the canyon and reach the Demon King’s Territory, the Demon King’s Army cannot ignore their strength. If two fronts attack simultaneously, the stagnant military movements of the Empire will gain new vigor.”

Margaret shared her outlook. It was a very basic and fundamental discussion, but as much as it was fundamental, it was also valid and important. The human-Elf alliance, which couldn’t secure numerical superiority, had to actively utilize the advantage of having succeeded in becoming an elite force to trouble the Demon King’s Army in various ways.

The most fatal weakness of the Demon King’s Army was the lack of a capable command structure that could appropriately match the elite commanders of the allied forces on the battlefield. With the death of Lich Lord, who could independently command several legions, and the key officers being assassinated en masse due to the hero party’s efforts, the ranks of effective commanders had dwindled greatly.

Excluding the dragons, who had nearly retreated from the battlefield since the last battle in Eramenia, trustworthy senior commanders for the Demon King were absent aside from the Gargoyle Queen and Succubus Queen. Their untrustworthiness was exacerbated after Dracula’s death.

Furthermore, while the Succubus Queen had abilities in internal affairs and espionage, her skills as a field commander were nearly abysmal. It’s not that she was unintelligent, but she lacked control in battle. Her personal combat strength was weak, and it was likely hard for her to bind any hero to a one-on-one duel.

The conclusion was clear. The Gargoyle Queen had to choose between stopping Walter or Margaret. The mere possibility of a coordinated attack from both sides would put the Demon King in danger. The Demon King himself had sustained considerable injuries and wasn’t in good condition to carelessly appear on the battlefield. This attack was indeed valid, and it could potentially be decisive.

“That’s been decided. The issue is the timing and scale.”

Jeongjae nodded at Margaret’s words. Eramenia’s full participation ignited a fire in the Grand Mage’s heart. While they had been fighting to the best of their abilities so far, it was true that they were growing weary of the vague hope that ‘one day the situation would turn around.’

Now, a genuine glimmer of hope appeared. The joint operations of the East and West could genuinely reverse the tide of this war and bring about a permanent victory to conclude this tedious conflict.

To maintain that hope, they needed to approach carefully and with caution. There are many throughout history who, in the moment they feel they have everything, become too careless and end up losing even what they could have protected. Both Jeongjae and Margaret did not want to be among them.

“The size of the vanguard will be fifteen thousand. The strategy is to lead five legions and secure the eastern coast of the Demon King’s Territory by passing through the chokepoints. The Demon King’s Army currently relies on the Kraken for naval power. Due to our last victory, the Demon King’s Army has lost nearly all their ships capable of battle at sea, aside from the Sea Dragon.”

The last victory Margaret referred to was, of course, the operation to land in Harriet’s Territory. While her assumption about the Demon King’s Army losing most of their ships due to that battle wasn’t very far from the truth, it was still merely speculation.

“Are you saying we should reclaim the sea? Still, we can’t ignore the threat of the Kraken.”

“If we have a sufficiently strong factor to capture the Kraken, it’s possible. For instance, we could distract the Kraken by keeping it near the eastern sea and grabbing its attention. My plan is this: If we succeed in taking control of the eastern coastline of the Demon King’s Territory, we can secure steady supply support from the Southern Alliance through the sea. The Eramenia army, aside from food and arrows, needs little else, so we can meet our supply needs simply through shipping.”

“The Elves would be quite convenient.”

“That’s why our race is great. We might be able to partially sustain our food needs, and excluding the Kraken from the equation, the Southern Alliance could fully take on our supply responsibilities.”

“Solving the Kraken problem is our top priority.”

“We’ll keep the Sea Dragon confined to the western sea. The western sea of the continent may appear as a vast expanse, but in reality, there are several islands in between. They may not be habitable, but…”

“They hold strategic value in a military context, right?”

“Exactly. If we successfully seize the coastline, I’m thinking of launching airships.”

“Wait, what did you say? Airships? By what principle? What on earth does that mean?”

Jeongjae couldn’t hide his bewilderment at the suddenly emerging modern term. Margaret, finding Jeongjae’s confused response amusing, patted his shoulder and replied.

“It’s a device that uses hydrogen. While there are lighter-than-air gases that don’t ignite, I could never gather enough to use in an airship.”

“Are you talking about helium?”

“I don’t know such things. I just overheard it somewhere. Anyway, I believe we’ve made a rough retreat from the threat of dragons in this fight. Since the Demon King has mobilized the dragons in large numbers, it’s unlikely they will be summoned to the battlefield again anytime soon. Without the dragons participating, the threat would definitely diminish.”

“It’s unfortunate that the Sea Dragon must be counted as a separate factor.”

“The Kraken isn’t subordinate to the Dragon Lord. In any case, that’s why we’re trying to use airships. We can’t capture the Kraken, and the only concern left was the dragons, who have just left the stage for now. There’s no better method we can currently deploy. We’ll gather enough hydrogen to at least launch the airships and land the Eramenia airborne troops on the islands in the sea. The capacity of the Eramenia airships isn’t small. The main objective is to threaten the Kraken and drop powerful weapons capable of securing our maritime dominance from above.”

“The Eramenia Northern Expeditionary Force will seize the eastern coastline to secure a supply line, and some detachments will hold the Kraken’s legs in the west… Then, the Eramenia Army will push from east to west, while Walter’s Army continues northward…”

“Somewhere along the way, a path will open towards the Demon King’s Castle, and then we’ll truly catch the Demon King and be able to end his reign. This is a gambit. He will surely regret treating Eramenia carelessly right up until the moment he dies.”

“But, it’s delicate. There’s something nuanced about it. I can’t imagine simply parachuting troops onto an island and dropping a few ships would be enough to hold the Kraken.”

“What you’re trying to do is to secure the nearby waters using that island as a base and make the Demon King’s Army wary of a landing on their western territories, right?”

“I know that. To do that, we need a much more powerful battleship or troop strength. If we can’t manage that, we might end up isolating our poor Elven soldiers on the island while the supply lines through the east are smashed by the Kraken. So this plan is still incomplete. There’s something powerful we need. If we had a fleet capable of threatening the Kraken head-on, it would be perfect…”

The moment Jeongjae heard Margaret’s words, he froze for a second and began to mumble.

“HMS Victory.”

“Huh? What’s that, Wizard? Some sort of new magic spell?”

“The ship you desire. Someone is already building it. As if… they started just for this kind of situation.”

“Who is that? Walter Hellhound?”

Margaret mentioned the first person that came to her mind. Jeongjae quietly shook his head. Upon seeing his reaction, Margaret nodded knowingly with a subtle smile.

“Then it’s that little brat.”

“He showed me some absurdly powerful ironclad ship design and asked me to name it. He said he would use that weapon to capture the Kraken. If the goal is to draw the Kraken’s attention away on the western coast, we’d have nothing else we could do aside from that ironclad fort. However, if Jenis is truly anticipating this situation and building that weapon…”

“He probably anticipated it. Not this exact situation, but something somewhat similar. That brat hopes he won’t be eaten in the future. It’s a bit of a nuisance, but he’s a child we truly need. I like him. Had it not been for the rather awkward issue between us, we might have become quite good friends.”

As one of the parties involved in the awkward issue, there was nothing to say. Margaret laughed heartily, as if her own joke was meant to be amusing for her alone, then suddenly hardened her expression seriously.

“In that case, I should ask the Great Sage when we can use that ship. If we can operate it on the western coast, it might subtly assist the Imperial Army’s advance.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Even if the Eramenia Army is strong, it’ll still take quite a bit of time to secure the coastline after advancing north. There may be unexpected difficulties.”

“That has a point. So I want you to accompany our forces.”

“Huh?”

Jeongjae made a puzzled expression at Margaret’s words. Seeing Jeongjae’s reaction, Margaret suddenly seemed to lose her confidence and stammered.

“I understand that it might be… burdensome. After all, you’re human, and it’s a fact that your identity is closer to the Audrich Empire than Eramenia. Or maybe you’re concerned about the Southern Alliance. The territory citizens that you left behind might weigh on your mind… Or maybe it’s that you might feel burdened with me constantly by your side. But what I mean is…”

Margaret suddenly appeared to lose her confidence, which was unlike her usual demeanor, and Jeongjae was left more confused. Regardless, Margaret continued speaking in a hesitant tone.

“I just want you to stay in Eramenia for some time and assist with our deployment preparations. It would be a tremendous help.”

“No, isn’t that the very reason we’re holding this strategic meeting right now?”

Jeongjae blinked, asking. Margaret’s expression suddenly seemed to awaken to reality.

“Oh, is that so?”

“No, of course. Otherwise, why would I be here discussing the war plans of the Eramenia Army with you…? Um, Margaret. If I’m not accompanying the Eramenia Army, then who am I supposed to accompany? The Southern Alliance is in chaos with their own internal disputes, and I have no ability to quell that. Regarding the issues of my people, I genuinely don’t want to interfere in Duke Jeffrey’s affairs. She’s probably handling it well on her own. She’s a noble with considerable renown in internal matters. Besides, over at Walter’s side… Have you forgotten that I was already expelled? If I leave now, I have nowhere to go. So I need to make a request from my side. Let me join this deployment. I’ll do my utmost to assist.”

“Are you trying to seduce me right now?”

Margaret chuckled. Jeongjae was visibly startled and shook his head.

“What? What did you just say?”

“Forget it. Just, you fool. When speaking, think about how much destructive power your words hold over the other person. I accept your request. You can come along with us. So do your best to ensure that you can contribute properly.”

Margaret abruptly got up, turned around, and left. Jeongjae felt his heart sink as he noticed her large ears turning red. It was never his intention to provoke the great Elven Lady in such a manner, nor was it something he desired.

 

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