Voluue (1/2)

Recap

Regis Auric was a soldier as proficient in neither swordsmanshi+p nor horsemanshi+p, a youth who likes to read He was exiled to the borders and irl with vermillion hair and criaria— nicknairl as ostracized by the court because her mother was a coie of 14 But Altina didn’t lose heart, and was deter its citizens Hence, she hoped to recruit Regis as her strategist

“I want to be the Empress, your wisdom is necessary”

Altina challenged the fored by the troops, and barely eis didn’t have the confidence, he still proist

The barbarians based in the northern forest launched a surprise attack under the cover of a blizzard Regis, as now the strategist, came up with the the plan that captured the leader of the barbarians, Diethart Regis negotiated with hi the barbarians with resources, asked for their support in battles There was th for Altina to stake a claim to be the Empress

After gaining the cooperation of the barbarians, the Marie Quatre Army received an unreasonable order from the capital To seize Fort Volks from Varden Arch Duchy, which was part of the Ger invulnerable It was reckless to attack with just the Border Regiment, and was actually a plot by the Second Prince Latrielle to grind Altina’s forces away A direct assault would definitely end in failure Regis used a stratagem he read in a book in the past to come up with a plan to take the fort

Fortunately, the plan worked, and the battle to seize Fort Volks worked with some sacrifices A few days later, they received a letter from the Second Prince Latreille

“As you know, there would be a founding day festival in April Marie Quatre Argentina is cordially invited to attend This is also the wish of our father, I look forward to our family reunion”

“I will go to the capital, even if only darkness awaits me there”

Altina returned to the palace This was the first tiis visited the scene featured in many novels, and felt both tense and excited

But he couldn’t enjoy a carefree vacation and the festivities of the founding day

The strategy of the Second Prince Latreille was to absorb Altina’s caarnered the support of the southern new nobles and expanded his influence

Altina was 4th in line in the line of succession— She couldn’t becoainst them

On a side note, the Third Prince Bastion did not take part in the succession fight, and escaped to High Brittania to study abroad

Regis was at a disadvantage in the beginning, but he discovered that the First Prince Auguste was actually being impersonated by his sister Felicia, and used this fact to counter the strategy of the Second Prince He also obtained the help fro the playing field

On the surface, they hts and supported Altina instead

And the fact that Altina defeated the First I candidate to be the next Empress

Imperial Year 851, 23rd April——

Belgaria received the declaration of war froh Brittania

At the sa Varden Arch Duchy also launched an attack against Fort Volks

Even though they fended off the attack, Eric was shot by an archer of the roup, ‘Renard Pendu’ Altina’s treasure sword ‘Grand Tonnerre Quatre’ was also daed

After this, they passed by Rouen city on their way to engage the High Britannia forces Regis’ brother-in-law, the blacksmith Enzo, was asked to repair the treasure sword

Ie—

The Ie the High Britannian forces, and suffered heavy losses from the enemy's new rifles and cannons The co with many of his soldiers

“If we can’t win on land, then let’s attack by sea If the enemy loses their supply shi+ps, they won't be able to resupply”

The Field Marshal of the Imperial forces, the Second Prince Latreille suffered serious eye injuries because of a surprise attack by the Mercenary King Gilbert However, he kept his injuries a secret and held a war council with Altina to decide the next course of action

First, Altina’s Border Regianized into the Iis was prorade Adis d’Auric

Accepting Latreille’s orders, Altina headed for the ocean while the First Army stayed to defend the capital,

The ‘Queen’s Fleet’ of the kingdouns Princess Class warshi+ps, powered by a steaher and armed with powerful cannons

In contrast, the warshi+ps of Belgaria were antiquated sail shi+ps

However, Regis used the inforot from the local fishermen to substantiate the tactics he read froems, they finally defeated the enemy fleet

Prologue 1: The Stubborn Blacksmith

Imperial Year 851, 25th May—

Day break

The blacksmith Enzo rubbed his dry eyes

The adrenaline rush of finishi+ng a heavy workload, coht, made him feel weak

Sunlight shone in through the

His six disciples had already began preparations for the day’s work

As the shop was right beside the es and the chatter of pedestrian clearly

It was almost time for Enzo’s shop to open

This was Rouen city, about half a day journey by foot from the Imperial capital, Versailles Many craftsmen live in this town: bakers, seamstresses, carpenters, etc

And of course there were many blacksmiths as well

All the workshops were located on the western side of the city, and this place gradually became a workshop street

Nor, it would be better if there was less coated here like this

Blacksmith was a profession that crafted and fashi+oned steel Nosound could still be heard If they had to rush a job, the neighbours wouldn’t be able to sleep the entire night

If the neighbours were not in the same line of work, they wouldn’t be able to live there

And the professionals had different specialties too Soood in rivets or hinges If they were all located in the vicinity, the workshop could ask each other for help This meant that ould be easier

The professionals in the workshop streets were covered by the blacksuild

The Union had two important duties

First would be qualification

Most professionals would take in disciples They ht be work assistants, or the inheritors of their skills, or even be treated like their own children or relatives

Enzo was a master who had six disciples in the past

Naturally, their goal was to open their oorkshop

In order to strike out on their own, they needed to pass the qualification test of the guild To prove that they possessed the necessary skills to put ”Rouen's blacksnboard

By the way, a recommendation by their own master was needed before one could take the qualification test Without the recommendation, they couldn’t even attempt it

There were all sorts of people, and Enzo was fortunate ast them He passed the qualification in less than three years

So far, two of his disciples passed the qualification and set out on their own

The other four gave up on their goal of becoht other work back in their home town

And now, Enzo only had one disciple who had the potential, and he would be ready after enough training

That disciple was — Lionel

“Morning Master It’s about time to open the shop”

“That’s right”

Lionel was thin for a blacksmith, and he mentioned that he wanted to be a painter in the past

And of course, Enzo was also studying art Creating beautiful designs were one of the tasks of a blacksmith

I can’t lose to ht

“Master, the guild still have not sent the steel plates over today… I heard the High Brittania Ar to attack here soon, what should we do”

The guild had another important responsibility, which was the procurement of steel plate

It was iood steel

The professionals alway talked about the guild controlling the supply of steel plates, so one could not even work as a blacksuild

On the flip side, if the guild was tardy in their procurement of steel, and affected the quality of the blacksuild would be heavily criticized

That’s how the relationshi+ps was between the two sides

During this period of war, job requests for weapons and ar in, so there was a delay in the procurement of steel plates The uild had to do all that they could

Lionel reth to open the metal door

This was ‘Le forgeron d'Enzo Bardot Smith’ (Enzo Bardot Sleaht

Enzo wrapped the giant sword he just finished in a white cloth It see that shouldn’t be shown to customers

Lionel asked as he swept the floor near the entrance:

“Master, is that finished?”

“Perfectly I just need to package it nicely I can’t hand it over just like this, it’s an important client after all”

“That’s true When Master addressed Her Highness as ‘you’, it ered her”

“Don’t talk about that, if it concerns this treasure sword, I will even lectureout of a dream”

“Haha… Ah, welcome”

Lionel stopped sweeping and attended to the customer

It was a glooed woman, as followed by a maid

She was the wife of a viscount living in the city center

A customer they received several coue and she was picky when receiving the work, delaying payment by more than a year Simply put, a difficult customer

That ht be so, but they still had to welcome her with a smile

Enzo stretched his back lazily and walked up to her

“Welco I can help you with?”

“Of course, I won’t come here if I have no business with you”

“Please tell me”

“This e steel isn’t good enough You have to learn the skills on how to attend to customers”

“Hah… You are right”

Is she here to lecture o

The viscountess gestured with her eyes, and thefrom her basket that was covered with a cloth

“This is…”

Enzo took and opened it, and found sewing scissors inside

“Ah, they are scissors crafted here in the past”

“Yes, they handle smoothly, but broke just recently”

“Hmmm…”

They were sewing scissors he entrusted his disciple to craft, that was half a year ago

It wouldn’t be strange for a seamstress, but the durability was too poor if they broke after half a year when the wife of a noble fa them

He checked the workmanshi+p, and it didn’t seem to be the quality of the scissors

“The blades are chipped all over… Were they used to cut so other than cloth, such as leather?”

“Who would cut that sort of thing!?”

The viscountess shouted suddenly, and the disciples all looked her way

“Hmm, is that so… Why would there be socloth?”

“I wouldn’t cut so such poor quality scissors! Hurry up and fix them!”

“Well, they werethe blades will do… But our schedule is full today, can you come back a few days later?”

“Don’t joke within the !”

“Even if you say that, ill still need to work according to when the job request was made”

“What, they are just requests by the coht?”

“No…”

“I a those scissors for the Viscount House Instead of commoners, wouldn’t the repair of my scissors take priority?”

I really feel like chasing her out

A few days ago, he was rude to an arrogant custoot lectured badly by his wife If she knew that he rejected the business of a noblewoman, the consequences would be dire

As he was at a loss on what to do, his disciple Lionel ran over and whispered

“The client who made that request is here”

“Hmm?”

He glanced outside and saw a soldier in light ar the reins of a warhorse

The white cape on the shoulders of the soldier bore the insignia of a green land hite shi+eld, the Coat of Araria

The soldier entered the workshop after saluting

Froh way he dismounted, it was clear where he came from

His voice was rasped

“I aent news, may I have a word?”

Enzo glanced at the custo to

“If the Viscountess permits”

Rouen city was near the capital, but the tense atmosphere of as rarely felt here The sudden appearance of a soldier returning from the battlefield made her realize that as very close to her

“P-Please”

“Pardon me! Sir Blacksmith, please take this letter”

Enzo accepted the letter from the soldier, undid the wax seal and read

The content was si see to the latest news he heard, it should be Regis d’Auric

But signature was that of the commander

The content of the letter included the situation of the Ient need for the treasure sword repaired by Enzo

“Hmm… Seems like I need to deliver it to the Army”

“There are soldiers to guide the way at the place indicated Initially, there would be more men to escort, but there wasn’t any cavalry to spare, and infantry are too slow”

“I see”

“If you set off like this, you will have to steel yourself as you h Brittania army on my way here… However, this isn’t an order but a request The commander instructed me not to force you”

“I understand Seeh Brittania army Did you travel on the main road?”

“The main road is inaccessible, ill need to make a detour of 10Li (44km)”

“Hmm… It will be fine if that is all”

“Shall we depart?”

“When I took the request, that Regis kid… Oh, no… Your Sir Strategist already told me He said the units will probably be in the battlefield when the repairs are done, and the collection will have to wait until after the war Isn’t that nonsense? The job request is for the repair of a weapon, isn’t the point of a weapon existing for its use in war?”

“Yes”

“I told him that ‘I will deliver it no matter where you are, just tell me the location ten days later, I will finish its repair before then’”

And today was the tenth day

The soldier lowered his head with an expression of respect

“My deepest gratitude… That sword is the spiritual support for me and my brethens If it can be sent back to the aruide the Empire to victory!”

Enzo nodded deeply

And then looked at the Viscountess as besides him

“I am sorry, but please leave the scissors here If I return safely, I will repair it and send it to your residence in one rind their blades?”

Enzo showed the signature on the letter to her

Marie Quatre Argentina de Belgaria

The Fourth Princess of the Belgaria Empire, Commander of the entire western forces, which is now the Fourth Imperial Army