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"Understood."
Geo Gilbars didn't so much as raise an eyebrow at the report: Gandia was mobilizing to retake Balser Fortress. It was within his expectations, hardly worth a flicker of surprise.
Geo Gilbars, a man in his mid-thirties by appearance, bore the marks of a hard life. Streaks of white threaded his hair, and deep lines etched his face. Yet his tawny eyes burned with unyielding vitality, now gleaming at the news of Gandia's advance.
The long-awaited moment had arrived.
Five years had passed since Geo became a Logner general. Appointed in his twenties, he'd initially basked in acclaim, but his battlefield failures despite relentless campaigns earned him scorn and indifference from Logner's soldiers and citizens alike.
Where had he gone wrong? He'd once stood on the cusp of a glittering future, promised glory if he avoided grave errors and knew his place. But he'd faltered, plummeting from grace. Now, he was Logner's infamous incompetent general.
(No more…) Geo clenched his fist, memories of past struggles flashing through his mind.
He'd crawled through the mud for this day, enduring every insult to reclaim his rosy future. The pain of being branded a failure far outweighed the hardship of perseverance. To secure command of Balser Fortress, he'd courted nobles, clawed for influence within the military, and finally won the appointment.
Balser Fortress, seized six months ago with Zarwan's aid, was Gandia's linchpin for defense and invasion. For Geo, whose record boasted no great feats, the role was glaringly disproportionate. He knew the slander against him had only grown.
But results could change that, he believed. Crush Gandia's inevitable assault, overrun Maldar, and seize the capital, Gandion. Such a triumph would silence all critics and earn him praise.
(Logner's hero…)
Geo issued his orders without hesitation. The entire Balser garrison would meet and annihilate the Gandian army.
The Balser Plains stretched across northern Gandia, a two-day march from Maldar on foot. Once Gandian territory, the region fell under Logner's control the moment the fortress was lost. Yet the land itself remained unchanged: a vast, open expanse with no cover, sprawling endlessly.
Balser Fortress stood as a wedge driven into this earth. Its massive, pentagonal star-shaped walls were a breathtaking sight, said to steal the breath of onlookers. Having repelled Logner's invasions and even Zarwan's reinforcements time and again, it earned its reputation as impregnable—a legend that endured even after falling to Logner.
This image haunted not only enemies but Gandians too. For Gandia's people, the fortress loomed larger than life, its mythos built on years of thwarting Logner and inflated by grandiose propaganda.
To Setsuna, however, Balser Fortress was just a name. He'd heard endless tales during the march—enough to tire him, if not bore him to death. Sigurd, Jin, Lux, and the Blue Wind mercenaries had explained its significance in painstaking detail, but little stuck in Setsuna's mind.
Except for one thing.
(Quon…)
Setsuna muttered the name inwardly, then shook his head. No time for distractions. Whatever that boy had done at Balser was irrelevant to him now. He had to focus on the task at hand.
Or he'd die.
"Let's get fired up!" Sigurd's booming voice echoed under the clear sky, the sun blazing at its zenith. The heat was brutal, especially for Setsuna in his armor. The others likely felt it too.
The Blue Wind and other mercenaries wore varied armor some clad in full steel, others in mere chestplates. Confidence or aversion to weight? Either way, they were a motley crew. Among them, Setsuna and Faria stood out: Faria, the sole woman, and Setsuna, the near-amateur.
It couldn't be helped.
They marched with the Blue Wind by Leongand's direct order. Neither served Gandia officially, making regular army placement impossible. Thus, they were assigned to the mercenaries under Sigurd Folia's command.
Setsuna had no complaints. It was what it was. He'd joined at Leongand's request, expecting no special treatment. Nothing would go perfectly from the start.
(Mercenary, huh…) The word had a nice ring. He didn't fully grasp its reality, but an unknown mercenary rising to glory sounded appealing. First, though, he needed the strength to back it up.
Setsuna glanced at Faria beside him. Her lightweight, female-crafted armor accentuated her figure flawlessly—a surprising feat. Eyes closed, she murmured softly, lost in thought.
Setsuna didn't know what she was doing but left her be. Interrupting felt wrong.
"You got it memorized, Setsuna?" Lux Vain's voice jolted him, his eyes widening.
"The tactics," Lux clarified, dressed almost casually no armor, just simple clothes, a leather jacket, and an absurdly long sword strapped to his back.
"Uh, kinda…" Setsuna stammered. Jin had briefed him during the march terrain around Balser, army formations, attack routes, the bare essentials explained simply. But Setsuna's mind couldn't retain it. Visualizing terrain was impossible, formations unthinkable, and battle plans a blur.
(I'm such an idiot…) He teetered on despair.
Lux's bright voice pulled him back. "Kinda's good enough. Our job's to smash the enemy in front of us. Leave the thinking to the vice-captain."
Setsuna felt a surge of gratitude. Lux's words lifted a weight nothing was more relieving than not having to overthink.
Then
"Armed Summon."
A cool, breezy voice cut through, followed by a blinding flash. Faria had summoned her weapon, likely chanting a spell earlier.
Setsuna turned to her. Her expression was almost rapturous, her heavy-lidded eyes radiating a sultry allure.
"Aurora Storm my summoned weapon," she said, gripping a bizarre bow shaped like a monstrous bird soaring through the sky.