Vol 9 Chapter 2 (1/2)

“We will stop here for now!”

Baltasar shouted

“Uwaahhhh~!!”

Altina collapsed to the ground panting

She stretched her limbs out freely

Her breathing was ragged

The grass was soft, the sky dazzling and the air s

Her sweat dripped onto the grass from her skin

Her hands were numb

Eddie was slightly further away, panting as hard as she did

But he see, he kept his body straight

There was a broken wooden sword on the ground

“Hah… That’s tiring…”

“You two are too weak! Panting that hard fro!”

The one bellowing loudly was Baltasar

White bandages covered his right arers, because he fractured his ar Gilbert

He actually just needed to stabilize his arers were exposed, so the lady doctor bandaged his fingers too

He couldn’t hold a sword, so he supervised Altina and Eddie’s training and teach them

“Hah… Hah… Baltasar, this is probably the first tiht me footwork and body stance”

“I don’t reht in such detail before”

Eddie shrugged

They were on the roof of Fort Volks right now

As this fort was built by carving out the inside of a cliff, it was natural for there to be earth on top There was a watering station nearby too

This place would be great for far, but it was left alone withfarhness’ head is disrespectful’

Even though Altina didn’t mind, the soldiers didn’t really want to do it

For religious people, having plenty of earth above the head of the co to the beliefs of the native, earth meant defeat

But since this was a fortress built out of a cave, it was only natural for there to be earth on top of them…

It seereat because Altina lived at the top level, and the roof was for the coe

So after receiving the agreeround

It could be used as a vantage point during battles, but the winds were too strong so only Altina’s group were the only ones to use it normally

It was the sa wind caressed their bodies

They thought about their training earlier as they enjoyed the breeze

“ Eddie is a”

“Hmmp, don’t fall for me now”

“ If you are not an idiot, that ht be possible If you are not an idiot”

“Don’t say that twice”

Altina propped herself up

And looked at the sword in her hand

It was the reforged ‘Grand Tonnerre Quatre’ The hilt was very heavy, just like a hah, so leather rapped around it for se

The design was plainer than the swords in fashi+on right now, and all of its parts were thicker now

The sword had reverted to its original state by the hands of Blacksmith Enzo from Rouen City

Even though it was much heavier than before, it was easier to wield as the balance had been improved

Altina could only launch singular attacks as if she ielding a hoe But now, she could smoothly attack consecutively

However, she still couldn’t keep up with Eddie’s speed She could only win once for every three losses

He could probably rival Latreille in speed

“Hmm… I can handle slashes, but I can’t keep up with the tempo of thrusts…”

“Maybe spears are really stronger on the battlefield”

“Spears are the first option I can understand how that weapon is used But it’s hard to tell when a thrust is coht?”

Altina said as she gestured

Eddie nodded

“But it is hard to aiht?”

“Eddie did just that though And your speed could rival Latreille”

“It’s just hard for you to defend If your weapon is long, keeping your distance is the basics right?”

“Was my reaction slow——?”

“But I can tell that you are aware about my sword movement Didn’t you back away unconsciously when I thrust?”

“I aood at thrust too”

“I know If it is a distance both weapons can reach, the lighter sill be faster”

“Ah, I get it now!”

“Hmm?”

“If I can wield ‘Grand Tonnerre Quatre’ as fast as Eddie and Latreille, I in!”

“Ahh, you… notice that, are you a genius!?”

Eddie sounded surprised

Altina puffed her chest out proudly

Baltasar atching thehed

Sorass and came to them

The person holding down her ainst the wind as she walked over was Clarisse

“Your Highness ——”

“Ara, Clarisse! Is it time for lunch?”

“Didn’t you just ate lunch?”

“Eeheehee… I got hungry after exercising for a little Well then, is dinner ready?”

“In three hness”

“Why would dinner take three more hours?”

“Because it will be evening in three more hours”

“I don’t have the patience to wait three hours Whatever is fine, I’ry now Can I have some tea?”

“ Alright The letter is here too”

“Ehh!?”

“Sir Regis sent it”

“Why didn’t you say that at the very beginning!?”

Altina stood up with a start Even though her knees were still shaking, she still stood with her fighting spirit alone

Eddie also stood up with a wry smile

“Well then, that’s it for today’s training”

Baltasar nodded too

“Hey Argentina…”

“What is it?”

“I think that for learning, instead of repeated training, thinking isthe future will allow you to use your skill freely”

“Yeah”

“ You understand?”

“Erm, yeah”

“Don’t look away!”

But despite that, Altina was considering it in her oay However, Baltasar wasn’t satisfied with that

Not good at thinking —— That’s not entirely true

It was because her strategist that could think in her stead wasn’t with her

Walking down the stairs from the roof of the fortress, they met the soldiers on sentry duty who saluted them

The grey stony path was illulow of torches

Except for the passage towards the outer walls, the fort was cut off from the outside No matter how sunny it was, the inside would be dark and dim

That would iven time to be sullen

Even though Jero methods were around Abidal Evra and other senior officers had also grown stronger from the previous consecutive battles

Following their guidance, the soldiers did not rest and went out for field training every day Even though the 9,000 troops of the Fort were gathered not long ago, they had become a force to be reckoned with in just half a year

Also, because the Imperial Fourth Army achieved the most merits in the earlier battles, ned her They probably think that—— If I areat unit

Although Altina felt that it was thanks to Regis and not really due to her own merit, the recruits still complimented her, which dampened her mood…

Anyway, the Fourth Army recovered the numbers they lost in the previous battle in no ti

Soe

It wasn’t a soldier

It was a handsouste

He wore high class clothes of a noble gentleiven up his succession right, and is living in seclusion

—— That was just his public standing though

Even though he was dressed like a prince, her real identity was his sister Felicia The real Auguste already died one year ago

Felicia was i hirave secret And of course, this was hidden from the soldiers

That hy she dressed like the prince inside the Fort And Eddie protected her as a bodyguard

“What’s the uste?”

“Eddie, you are training again… You are spending all your time there”

“Even though the powerful ene me”

Baltasar bowed deeply

“Thank you for taking care of randson”

“N-Not at all… Eddie is a big help But… Erm… Let him be my opponent occasionally too…”

“As you wish He has no good points aside from swordsmanshi+p, so please use him as you desire”

Baltasar nodded

Eddie smiled wryly

“Ah, Auguste wants to practice swordsmanshi+p too?”

“Absolutely not!”

Auguste let out an uniinably cute voice —— that was actually Felicia

Achoo! Eddie sneezed

Auguste proffered a white cloth to him

She ht it over intentionally

“It’s because you are drenched in sweat I ipe it for you, ero back to the room”

“Wait, we are going to talk over tea”

“Are you going to do it while drenched in sweat? Even if this is the frontlines, do you think such unsightly behaviours are acceptable?”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I will help you wipe, come here”

“Erm… I ipe it myself”

“You are saying that, but you just want to escape right?”

August grabbed Eddie’s ar him, then led him away

“No, I won’t run okay?”

“I told you that I would wipe your sweat for you Just like a horse”

“Hahaha… But you will be embarrassed when the tith It feels ticklish”

“I-It will be fine today!”

The two of theradually as they conversed

Felicia who always see when dressed like aaside the fact that this wasn’t how a prince was supposed to act

There were ru the troops that the relationshi+p between Prince Auguste and Duke Balzac wasn’t that siuste was actually Felicia

Baltasar sighed

He didn’t know that Felicia was ie in his eyes

“ Maybe the House lineage will end with randson”

“But doesn’t it look fine right now?”

Baltasar tilted his head baffled when he heard what Altina said

Fort Volks, S Workshop——

A cart was filled to the bried to pull it with him

The , Band leader of ‘Renard Pendu’, Gilbert Schweinzeberg

He orking as a ht now

Even though he was a hout the continent, he had been reduced to a prisoner He will be hung if he did not work Right now, he and his subordinates were doing the work of transporting cargo, cleaning and laying bricks

Gilbert stopped his cart

“ Is this good enough?”

It was a heavy voice that could shake the earth His face could make the enemy he encountered on the battlefield panic in fear

However, the blacksmith who received him smiled

“Ohh, it’s finally here! Thank you for your hard work, open the crates immediately”

“ Got it”

This was a blacksmith from Rouen City, Enzo Bardot Smith A man with a bear-like physique

He didn’t seem intimidated by Gilbert That wasn’t Gilbert’s intention anyway After hearing what the blacks the crates he ferried over

Inside the crates was coal

But the strange things about them were their lack of luster Coal should be shi+nier than this

“ What are these? The colour seemed different from normal coal”

“Fufu, you noticed These are coke delivered from Rouen City”

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Enzo picked up a coke, inspecting the quality of the sensation and colour

Gilbert asked:

“What is coke?”

“You know that to ith steel, it needs to be heated through a furnace right? That can be done by burning wood, but the teh It is possible to raise the te coke”

“It’s different from coal?”

“Ahh, coal won’t do It can achieve the required temperature, but sulfur will seep out That would make steel brittle”

“ Is such fuel used often?”

“Only soaria uses theh Britannia New Steel couldn’t be forged if you don’t burn coke in a furnace”

“What!? Youthis as fuel!?”

“Yeah… But the furnace in this Fort is not good enough There are only e New Steel, a watermill powered belloould be needed In that case, I can only do so in a place where one has already been built”

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“ I think that High Britannia’s technology is i too Only the Germanian Federation is behind the times”

Gilbert sighed

‘Renard Pendu’ worked for High Britannia not just for their high a them with New Steel weapons was also a major factor

The quality of the weapons was directly related to performance on the battlefield Weapons that were behind the times would only shorten one’s life

If the Gere their o Steel, they wouldn’t need to aid High Britannia

Enzo tilted his head

“Is that so? The Gerht not have New Steel or the new modeled rifles, but they are the first ones to create a furnace It wasn’t a Federation then though… They are also the ones who invented clothing and buttons”

“Isn’t that a really long tio?”

Enzo shrugged in response

In the past, the people of the north ht have invented advanced items

However, their industrial and agricultural develop behind others due to a series of minor civil battles

If the civil battles continued, then the overall strength of the Gerh that would be heavenly for mercenaries…

If the arian Eh Britannia, the Federation would fall immediately

In recent years, the head of the federation, Saint Prussia Kingdo was the ultimate spendthrift, and was excellent in military affairs

Talks about how they would beco nations were spreading It was one of the means to survival

But the other member country of the Federation won’t sit by idly and wait for their destruction

Would unification come first, or would destruction consume them before that?

—— I’m just a mercenary, so the future of the Federation doesn’t concern me… No, I am not even a mercenary anymore, I’m just a labourer now

Gilbert sighed

Enzo gestured at him in front of the furnace

“Alright, bring the coke here”

“Okay…”

Looking up, he could see a aria However, it has a luster as if it was forged frorip was also a polished hich he had never seen

Gilbert picked up the sithout a second thought

It felt perfect

As if his it was sucked into his hand

It was a bit light for hi it for the first ti it

“Hey! What are you doing!”

For an instant, he neglected the looks around hirossed in the well made sword

When he realized it, the soldier on sentry had always raised his spear

Gilbert felt his heart beating fast

He knew that the guards ary of hi a sword meant

—— Stupid! I was so engrossed that I picked it up unwittingly

Hearing the shout of the soldier on sentry, the other guards started gathering, wondering what happened

What should he do?

There was just one soldier before him About five paces away This was a workshop, the space was cra here would be constricted

There were two other guards They were just looking this way, and not very wary

But the probles

There wasn’t any proble a sword Closing the distance fast was iht a spear, but the shackles would get in the way

—— Let him thrust this way, and hijack his spear?

It was easy for hirab the spear thrust of a common soldier

Sweat dripped between his brows

But what about his subordinates? Thetreatment?

They will probably be executed

The chance of success if he revolt on a as very low

Gilbert looked at the soldier holding the spear

The thing breaking the tension was——

Enzo’s voice:

“What are you doing? Get over here and help me”

“Eh!?”

Gilbert let out a baffled sound unconsciously