A few weeks had passed since the destruction of Proktor. News about the sudden decimation of an entire castle made rounds. Many were curious if the elder Princess finally made a move, but many contested it, saying there were no movements seen on her end.
Some stories and rumors spread that the Demon Archer had resurrected after a few small villages were destroyed. Taking out his rage on the attacking army, it was meant to slow down the war efforts.
Finding the story catchy and understanding, many started to portray the Demon Archer in a positive light as he was protecting the weak and innocent in the end, or so they told it. Studying his actions and reasoning behind it led many to think of the younger Princess who had been fighting for her territory and beliefs.
Indirectly and directly, the destruction of Proktor gave the Princess more attention, making room for potential territory expansion, but the local commanders didn't dare make a single move. Instead, opting for fortifying their borders.
Through the weeks of time, Lucas had learnt a lot. Not only how to fly somewhat stable, which was extremely important, especially for future battles, but also from the tome he found in Proktor. There was also a book on a complicated healing spell, but studying that alongside this one felt impossible, so he put it away for now.
The book contained explanations of plagues and how to essentially create a virus that could lead whatever it infected to death. Of course, Lucas hadn't gotten that far, he barely understood what half the contents were about let alone replicating it.
After a few weeks, he had reached the point of creating the virus that would make one sluggish. While not that powerful, it was an extremely useful tool.
Lucas and Asta were busy with their preparations on their final place to attack, a final castle they needed to get rid of. Going in head first would lead to their downfall. They had to play dirty if they wanted to win, there were no two ways about it.
Floating over a small village, they stared at the people below. Parents scolding their children, men working in the fields, it looked ordinary.
"Are you certain about this? I don't think normal humans can withstand such a spell," Asta spoke with a clear voice. He was not worried or concerned about Lucas's actions, but the man in question seemed to be hesitating.
"I've decided long ago that unnecessary death are to be avoided."
"And are these needed for your spell to work?"
Taking out the tome he gained from Proktor, he read through the pages again just to be certain. "According to the manual, this virus needs to spread to become more powerful. Infecting these people, burning down their houses and shepherding them to the castle is the most efficient way for it to grow."
"So they are necessary? Then just do it. Or do you have another option?", Asta cared little for the people below him. He didn't like unnecessary deaths, but also didn't mind killing others he didn't know that much. To him, the people below were simply tools, dehumanized.
"I could also use the same rain cloud I used before. Putting the virus in the water."
"Assuming the manual is correct, this would mean the virus would become a lot weaker."
"Yes."
Floating in the air, Lucas debated with himself what the best way forward was. Time slowly passed as they started at the world around them.
"What else was prepared for this one?"
"It's the final outpost, so the letters I wrote contain information on where the source of all their hatred is, right there."
Lucas had used Asta's information network to his fullest advantage. Of course, Asta was the one who initially suggested it. He never revealed who his contacts were or how he was able to gather so much information in such a short time, but Lucas ignored it, focussing on the practicality of it all.
Through the network, Lucas was able to provide intel and strategies to the fanatics of The Order of Light. Slowly, they pushed the border, making it easier for Lucas and Asta to sneak past some outposts.
"Aren't they all Rank 1 or 2? They'll die without a doubt, aren't those also unnecessary deaths?", Asta brought this up for a single reason, curiosity. He knew Lucas quite well, but that only showed how much there was he didn't know.
"What was it again? Those who kill should be prepared to be killed. They lost their innocence long ago, if they die then they were weak."
"I see," nodding in agreement, he also found it easier to kill those who did evil deeds. Of course, the definition of evil itself was up to the person. "So what will it be?"
Lucas saw the children playing around and felt his heart split in two. He was once there, freed from the world's evil, removed from the bloodshed and innocent, naive. Part of him felt like there was no need to hold back, the other half felt reluctant to continue.
After a long internal debate Lucas turned around. "I'll use it later, right now, there is no need to use these people. The water is capable of holding the virus, I'll just try to upgrade it before unleashing it."
Justifying his own actions, Lucas flew away from the village, leaving a pondering Asta behind. Staring at the people below, Asta had a single concluding thought. 'I would react the same if they were my people.'
Following behind Lucas, they continued their preparations for the entire assault.
One of the biggest issues was the fact that this castle, Stonehill Fort, had a special protection spell. Unlike Proktor, where everything was calm and collected, in the west, nothing was left alone. What was unprotected was destroyed, so they upped their defenses on all outposts.
This was also one of the reasons Lucas didn't bother tackling them since it would put everyone on alert. As far as anyone knew, they were in the east, going after small outposts. And thanks to the rumors that Lucas asked Asta to spread, their story and campaign was being presented in a good light, or at least the Demon Archer was enjoying the attention.
Lucas and Asta entered their inn in a local town. Their presence and powers suppressed, they seemed like ordinary people. This didn't change their aura though, it was clear they weren't to be messed with.
Grabbing a seat in the corner of the room, they joined their last companion. "So? Did you finish your preparations?", he said as he gulped from his drink, his breath reeking of mead.
Asta waved away the fumes as he shook his head. "No, we've barely started."
There were a ton of things to prepare for, not just for attacking the castle, but all the possible back-up plans that needed to be fully fleshed out required a lot of time and effort.
"The most annoying thing is the fact that spells won't work," Lucas said as he pulled out a parchment with the castle's lay-out on it. They were in a public place, about to discuss some extremely sensitive things, but they weren't worried.
For while Asta and Lucas loved to argue and strategize, Malek felt extremely bored during those moments. So he mostly looked around to find some entertainment, often yelling at others or joking with the people. Alcohol truly brought his happy side out.
The ruckus he made was enough to draw the attention away from them.
"What's the exact array that's blocking spells, and what constitutes as block?", Asta asked as he stared at the blueprint of the castle. Lucas understood where Asta was going. "You're wondering if spells can go through the shield even if they're healing spells. If it simply holds back all magicules or only certain types?"
"Exactly."
"Hmm, let me finish up my cloud and virus. I'll unleash it early since it takes a good week before it starts to have any effect. Then we'll be able to see what it allows to go through."
"I see, that should be interesting. But no matter the results, it will have to let through some kind of mana. Otherwise, the mages wouldn't be able to leave."
"Good point. If I had to create a protection array with limited resources I would focus on big objects, comprised of either Darkness, Fire or Earth. This is if we skip the more unique elements," Lucas tried to think about their position, imagining how he would grapple with the current situation.
"Arrays are powerful while also weak. It takes a complex amount of energy and runes to achieve the desired result, but this also means it's easier to break. If we take the protection array as a basis, I believe it would be easily destroyed."
"Why do you think that?"
"Getting rid of the array would mean you either shot a spell at it that broke that contained enough power to completely destroy it, or you were already inside. Besides that, we should also take the range into consideration. While most mages think about their surroundings and the air above them, they rarely look down."
"Are you suggesting an earthquake? That would certainly break the array."
"Why not place an air pocket below them? It should function as a great sinkhole."
"The damage would be limited, if we were able to get some kind of magma in them, it would be a lot more effective."
Lucas and Asta smiled widely as they enjoyed their discussion. Just spitballing and working on each other's ideas fueled them with energy. Testing each other and throwing some hints was enough for them to create entire strategies without end in sight.
Were they working separately, it would only create a basic plan, it was only when they filled in each other's blank spaces that they truly functioned.
"Want anything to drink?", between calculated moves and devious schemes, Malek interjected with his drunken demeanor. Staring at the man, Malek didn't know who to look at.
"Just get me some milk please," Lucas spoke to get him away from the table.
"Hah! Milk? You still a little baby?! Why not take an adult drink!" Malek shouted out loud, having his drinking buddies chant in return.
Asta smirked, staring at Lucas, wondering how he's going to fix it now. "Then get me a beer."
"There you go!", Malek waltzed up to the counter to get what he needed, the moment he turned around, both Asta and Lucas were gone. Floating in the sky, they stared at the castle in the distance.
"How much time do you think it'll take? Because I want to move on as quickly as possible."
"I think it should take around a week or two before everything is completed."
"That's more than I had hoped for, but considering all the things we still have to do, two weeks seems like a minimum."
Lucas didn't answer as he stared at the castle in the distance. Their grand plan was to gather as many cores as possible to afford the necessary items back at the headquarters. After they got their hands on it, they would abandon the entire place and move to a different country, or that was what Asta suggested.
To someone like Lucas, who didn't have a home, a place to return to, he easily agreed. He wanted to visit Elam sometime soon, but not having any clue on his whereabouts, he waited for some kind of sign.
"Let's get back to it. I'm afraid this is going to take a lot of work."
"Well, what do you expect, we're going up against a bunch of Rank 3's. Not exactly a typical walk in the park as some would put it."
Nodding in agreement, they continued to work on their approach, the final castle in their sights.
--------
The secretary had been compiling a new report, distilling the many documents received from nearby scouting parties. Any information that might genuinely aid the commander was omitted; instead, emphasis was placed on misleading points designed to erode confidence in leadership.
Recently, a faint smile had taken residence on his otherwise neutral face, a rare departure from his usual reserve. Finishing his report, he brought it to his superior.
Entering the once beautiful hall, the secretary put on his professional mask. Looking at the environment, the tables that normally held maps and strategies were tossed over, destroyed. Many pawns and pieces were smashed to bits as they cluttered on the floor.
It was as if a hurricane blew through the hall, yet left all other rooms untouched. The cause of this was a single man who had gained multiple gray hairs in a few weeks time.
"Secretary! What have you brought?!", one could feel the anger in his voice, but his aid felt absolutely no fear. He had seen this plenty of times and grew accustomed to it.
"I've brought the reports from the scouts," placing the bundle of papers on a nearby desk that wasn't destroyed yet, he knew those papers would eventually land on the ground if the next mission failed.
"What did they say?"
"Intelligence suggests the opposing force will advance from the north, then divide to apply pressure from the east."
"Going after our backs!? Ridiculous! Did they breach the border somewhere?!"
"I cannot confirm, sir. I returned only recently from inspection, and the quantity of documents requires thorough review."
"Of course. I didn't mean to doubt you. It's just… your replacements were spies, you have no idea the trouble I've had with them."
"It looks like the recruiting department failed, again," the man said with a slight hint of faked annoyance. "How terrible, a spy as your secretary. I'll have to reprimand them."
"Exactly! I'm glad you're back though. It's time we push them back!" The commander bent over the maps, redrawing lines with renewed energy. "Never thought they'd just walk past us and hit from behind. All my defenses were west; now I've got to move them east!"
"If I may, Commander — during my travels to the eastern front, I observed a custom wherein certain senior staff, including secretaries, joined the field to support their units directly. I am prepared to do likewise."
"Are you leaving me again? Right after coming back?", the man almost sounded like a crazy ex, but the secretary simply nodded.
"If our present situation is to be reversed, every capable officer must contribute where the need is greatest," the secretary said, tone steady, reasoning precise. "I cannot allow further encroachment into our territory," feigning his allegiance, the man tried to convince the commander using his eloquence.
"Don't worry, I've requested troops in your absence."
'Reinforcements?', it was an obvious play, yet they've avoided doing so in order to attract the least amount of attention. Bringing others into this mud pool would only show the others how bad they were truly doing.
Besides that, it was one of the things the secretary didn't even know about, meaning his partners in crime also were unaware. If this group ended up forcing his plans to a halt, that would ruin the chance he had gotten from Her.
"What a great move Commander. They will surely be extremely useful. When do you suppose they will arrive?"
"Can't say. Depends on who they're sending. If they send a commander, a week or two would suffice. If it's a General, they'll be here in a few days."
"They would send a General?", one of the higher ranks within the military of Frigus. The only way to get the position is to be at least Rank 4. If one of those appeared here, the entire battlefield would explode. "Won't that push the Holy Kingdom to finally act?"
"I agree that the rumors about them preparing for war are extremely unsettling. I was worried at first about who they would send, but if they can put one of The Colors near our border, a Rank 4 mage would be ignored like all the others."
The secretary found no issue with his Commander's reasoning. A Rank 4 is a fly to a Rank 8, that much was certain.
'If someone like that comes here, all my plans will be done for. Dammit!', the man felt his previous joy twist into a violent anger, only held back by his professionalism. "I see, then we can look forward to his arrival," said with a deadpan face and a hint of anger, the commander could never detect such minute details.
"Well, like I said, I don't know who will be dispatched. I can only hope for the best. If you want to go out, I'll approve it on one condition, find a suitable replacement."
"I'll arrange it."
The man left with a strange insidious anger. He had far-reaching plans that held no fault, yet now things could all fall apart because of a move he didn't know about?
'I'll fix it all, dammit!'
As he walked outside the hall, he quickly stormed towards his room, taking the shortest route, he ran across the square.
Stonehill Fort would be known by many as a simple fort, but the people who visited knew better. Even the term castle would not do it justice. The size of the castle was comparable to a small village.
With many building inside, the place was a bona fide fortress. From afar, it looked ordinary though. Four towers connected by a thick wall and two entrances, one west, one east. In the past in might've been used to serve as a checkpoint and pit stop for many travelers, now, it only housed soldiers.
Crossing the square didn't take a lot of time, especially at his speed as he rushed to his quarters out of anger. Even if it didn't require a lot of time, the rain falling down instantly soaked his clothing. Caught of guard, he forgot to protect himself from the rain.
"Tch, again?", it wasn't the first day it was raining, it had been for a few days lately, many seeing it as a storm that was not so quietly approaching.
Going back inside, he dried his clothing using some wind and fire magic to create a hot airflow that dried his clothing. Some would mix in a bit of darkness to remove water droplets, but as a devout believer, doing so would stain his already muddied practices.
As he walked through the halls to his private quarters, he slightly coughed. 'Is there something stuck in my throat? Whatever.'