Magic Gems Gourmet Chapter 189

Chapter 189

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 189 – The Current State of the Great General

They continued to advance, completely unafraid of being ambushed.

If you only heard that, you might be tempted to complain that they should be more careful, but fortunately, the road to Birdland was flat and open.

In other words, even if they had thought of such a plan, it would be extremely difficult to put it into practice. Besides, Ishtalika, who had many of those crossbows, had too much of an advantage.

Ishtalika’s army continued to advance today.

After a night’s rest, they resumed their advance in the morning and had already pa.s.sed noon.

They took a short break and had a meal, but to put it another way, there was no way they could be tired from last night’s battle, and most of their fatigue was concentrated in their feet as they stamped the ground.

“It’s almost scary.”

“Did you say something, Lloyd-sama? “

“…No, it’s nothing.”

The fact that the creature in question didn’t appear, as well as the fact that they were using Ricardo like a sacrificial p.a.w.n, left him feeling strangely perplexed.

It could be said that they hadn’t expected Ishtalika to appear, but that would be too stupid.

Slowly moving his horse forward, Lloyd looked up at the blue sky and pondered.

“I heard that the monsters living on this continent don’t have the potential to become Demon Kings. Then what will the Red Fox use against us? Is it this creature? Will they attack us in numbers?”

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with an answer, and doubt only grew in his heart.

As commander, Lloyd worried quietly, trying to keep the confusion from spreading to the knights.

“Marshal… Your Excellency the Marshal!”

Suddenly, a knight on horseback came from the direction of the advancing army.

“Scout, thank you for your efforts. How were their movements?”

“Well, they were driven by fear and were retreating back to Birdland at a tremendous speed. They didn’t seem to do anything along the way, and they ran without stopping to sleep or rest.”

He was the knight Lloyd had sent out as a scout, and he had returned to the group after completing his mission.

When he heard the information that they were desperate to the point of death, Lloyd formed a hypothesis.

“If that’s the case, it seems they’re not the main force after all. If the creature in question isn’t there, then there’s no sign of the Red Fox. On top of that, General Logas isn’t there either.”

“Yes, that seems to be the case.”

The knight who had been scouting nodded and quickly returned to his post.

“However… there is one thing that bothers me.”

“What is that?”

“The current value of Logas. Considering the possibility of the Red Fox’s rise to power, there is no need to bother giving that man so much importance. ――If anything, there are many soldiers who obediently follow his words, but I don’t know if he’s worth using, including the soldiers.”

“Hmm… this is difficult.”

“Yes. I’m also beginning to lose track of what’s what when I think about it. This kind of work should be left to Warren-dono and Krone-dono.”

Saying this with a straight face, Lloyd smiled.

The Royal Knight replied, “That’s for sure,” and looked up at the blue sky, just like Lloyd just did.

＊＊＊

The Ishtalika army ended the second day by simply marching on.

They didn’t encounter any problems along the way and continued to move forward at their own pace.

And today, the third day.

Finally, Ishtalika’s army arrived at the outskirts of Birdland, a city in the center of the continent controlled by merchants.

It was now in the past tense, but that was how Lloyd and the others perceived it.

“Halt!”

Hearing Lloyd’s instructions, the entire army stopped marching at once.

The weather was fine; it was just after noon, so visibility was excellent.

There was a little dust kicked up by the march, but that was a minor problem.

“Oh, this city isn’t so bad after all. And…”

Birdland, which does not have a solid stone wall like Rockdam, allowed Lloyd and the others to see what was going on in the city.

The buildings, lined up in a row, are not bad, even from Lloyd’s point of view, perhaps because the wealth of the continent has gathered there.

At the back was a building that looks like a giant arena, and even in its current state, it has piqued Lloyd’s interest.

“As I imagined, they were waiting in position, weren’t they?”

Heim’s army was waiting in several camps.

Thus, Ishtalika and Heim came face to face.

“Even though they’ve already experienced the power of the crossbow, do you think they’re ready to face us directly?”

“I don’t know what they think, but it is true that they are ready to fight.”

As he raised an arm, the Ishtalika knights focused their attention on his movement.

The knights in charge of the crossbow all pushed it forward at once.

They were going to release it all at once and decide the battle… As Lloyd was about to give the signal with this intention, he noticed a man coming out of Heim’s army.

“What, that man was here?”

That man was Logas.

The appearance of a deeply connected opponent as an Ishtalika also made Lloyd’s body tense.

He calmed his surging muscles and moved his horse forward.

“L-Lloyd-sama!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”

There’s no need to deal with such a man. That’s what the Royal Knight thought, but Lloyd had other ideas.

“That Anon fellow. It would be just as good to ask that man.”

Lloyd mentions the name of the young lady who is believed to be Red Fox.

The distance between Lloyd and Logas was gradually closing, and they were now close enough to hear each other when they shouted.

“You barbarians who have kidnapped not only our Prince Tigre but also our Elena-dono! What business do you have on our continent?”

“…Hmm? I see; that’s how you want to play it, isn’t it?”

He was curious to hear what he would say, but Lloyd was confused by the words he heard.

It was only natural to think that Ishtalika had come after hearing the report at Rockdam.

There was nothing surprising about that, but even Lloyd, who had no element of surprise, found his mouth hanging open at the words.

“And on top of that, you even took the life of Duke Amour! We, the people of Heim, will not forgive you!”

Of course, Lloyd and the others have no memory of this.

That’s because Duke Amour must be spending his time relaxing in Ishtalika.

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about! At least we, the people of Ishtalika, have never done anything like that.”

“Is that what you, the Marshal of Ishtalika, have to say? There are people who have seen what you have done! Your excuses are meaningless!”

What in the world was this man talking about?

Lloyd uttered these words while looking at Logas with a dumbfounded expression.

The two people from Heim… They kidnapped Tigre and Elena and killed Duke Amour. What’s more, there are people who say they saw it happen.

Dumbfounded by a plot that seems like a comedy, Lloyd rubs his nose and wonders what to do.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but why did you attack Rockdam?”

“That’s obvious! So that we, Heim, could become the true king of the continent!”

“To become the true king? Ah, I see. I see.”

He mumbled something sad and scratched his head.

Before considering whether the story makes sense, Logas was talking about things that don’t even make sense.

In a word, it’s too pathetic.

“Is this the end for you, Logas? You’ve changed a lot.”

It seemed that even the great General Logas was already under their influence.

Lloyd had no intention of showing mercy, but he felt sorry for him.

“You should have noticed the difference in our fighting strength at the meeting the other day. At least you weren’t a stupid man when it came to war.”

“I don’t know what you’re whispering about, but your advance is over at this point.”

Logas, speaking with a sense of pride, raised his hand high in the air.

Then, the soldiers in the vanguard donned colorful cloaks, grabbed their weapons, and prepared to attack.

“It was Ed-dono who saw what you did! And Ed-dono was also an adventurer in Ishtalika! He used his experience to give us this advice!”

It’s obvious at first glance.

The cloaks they’re holding must have been made from monster materials.

He stares at them closely to confirm this, but Lloyd has mixed feelings.

In addition, the way he believes Ed’s words like a fanatic makes Lloyd sigh once more.

“…Ah, I know. It’s to reduce the damage from the crossbow fire, right? The information is correct, but with this kind of material, it could be penetrated if you’re not careful.”

“As long as we have time to attack, that’s all that matters. The difference in the number of soldiers… it’s simple, but you should know the implications!”

Lloyd looked at Heim’s forces.

In terms of numbers, they may be four times as many. But from Lloyd’s point of view, they were still only four times as many.

Had the crossbows been sealed, Lloyd and the others might have had to change tactics.

And so Heim’s forces begin to advance, following Logas’ words.

…It’s not a bad strategy. Heim’s army spreads out like wings.

It must be the best way to avoid taking the full brunt of the crossbow fire.

Besides, it’s the only strategy they have to attack while the crossbows are reloading.

When Logas gave the order to his soldiers, Lloyd also turned his horse and let it run towards his own camp.

“If we’re going to fight, I would have liked to have crossed swords with him before. But it’s no use wis.h.i.+ng for that on the battlefield.”

While his heart was filled with a sickening feeling, Lloyd restrained his own greed.

As he looked at his right hand, which he had raised while riding his horse, the army of Ishtalika also let out a loud cry.

“Really. Because of all the surprises, I didn’t get a chance to ask him about the woman called Anon…”

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