One fortunate thing was that Kerman Fortress wasn’t too far from here—at least by Bani standards.
For the Bani, it was a distance that could be covered in one or two hours at a full sprint.
The problem, however, was the rest of us—me, Elfin, and Lenis.
If the Bani started running at full speed, there was no way we could keep up, not even in our wildest dreams.
But at the same time, we couldn’t just send Ravi ahead alone to a fortress already in the midst of battle.
I chose a method that, while placing a heavier burden on one person, would allow all of us to move together.
“Elfin, with your abilities, you can summon a plant large enough for all of us to ride on, right? Use that to carry us. Move as fast as you can. Can you do it?”
“I can, but… Ravi, how far exactly is Kerman Fortress?”
“It’s not that far. About 70 kilometers.”
“That’s ridiculously far!”
Hearing what the Bani considered “not far,” Elfin was utterly shocked.
“I could do it, but keeping a plant that size summoned and moving over that distance would take every last drop of my mana. Actually, even then, it might not be enough… And even if I manage it, I’ll be completely drained the moment we arrive.”
“That’s fine. If anything needs to be done after we get there, the rest of us will handle it. You just focus on getting us there. Please.”
“Wha—”
Elfin’s eyes widened in surprise.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it, repeating the motion a few times.
Then, with a frustrated groan, she scratched her head roughly, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
“Ugh… Ughhh… Ahhh, damn it! Why do you keep saying things that make it so hard to refuse…? Fine! But let me say this upfront—don’t expect me to squeeze out even a single drop of extra mana for anything once we get there! Moving us that far is already going to be hell!”
“Got it. We don’t even need to reach the fortress—just as close as possible. After that, you can rest.”
“Urgh… Alright, here we go!”
Elfin placed both hands on the ground, and a massive vine, large enough for all of us to ride, burst from the earth like a living tentacle.
Everyone climbed on, and Elfin sat at the front, placing her hands on the vine.
The enormous plant surged forward, undulating like a wave under Elfin’s control.
The landscape blurred as we sped along.
It wasn’t as fast as the Bani running at full speed, but since sprinting the entire way would have drained their stamina, neither Ravi nor Baren complained and simply waited quietly.
As time passed, Elfin started sweating more, her breaths growing heavier.
It wasn’t just her mana—her physical stamina was also taking a serious hit.
And since she wasn’t injured, there was nothing Lenis’s healing magic could do to help.
“Huff… Huff… Damn it…”
Her arms began trembling pitifully, and at the same time, the vine’s speed started to drop.
Unable to just watch anymore, Lenis placed a hand on Elfin’s back and quietly channeled mana into her.
“Hahh… Lenis…?”
“Just stay still for a moment. I’m sharing my mana with you. The efficiency is terrible, but it’s better than nothing.”
Among us, Lenis had the most mana, thanks to the two pieces of enchanted equipment she carried.
In the actual game, it was possible to transfer mana to a teammate who was running low, but the efficiency was terrible—almost a 1:5 ratio.
Because of that, we usually just drank mana potions when we ran out.
The problem was that in reality, mana potions were incredibly rare.
And now, with Arboness burned to the ground, they had become even harder to come by.
In the end, despite the inefficiency, the only option was for Lenis—the one with the most mana—to help out.
After receiving some of Lenis’s mana, Elfin’s breathing steadied, and she wasn’t sweating as much as before.
“Thanks, Lenis.”
At Elfin’s gratitude, Lenis’s face turned slightly red, and she lifted her chin.
“H-Hmph! No need to thank me! As someone raised with noble noblesse oblige, I simply did what had to be done. If I have the means to help those struggling around me, then it’s only natural that I do so!”
Lenis was terrible at handling praise but didn’t want anyone to know it.
However, knowing her personality well, I realized this was the perfect moment to shower her with compliments.
“Thanks, Lenis. If it weren’t for you, Elfin would’ve collapsed. I don’t even know how to share mana, so I’m really lucky you’re here. I’ll make sure to repay you later.”
At the blatant flood of praise, Lenis’s face turned even redder.
“D-D-Don’t I keep saying that I just did what anyone would?! Do you really think flattery like that is going to make anyone happy?!”
You’re literally happy right now, though.
Then, in a small voice, Lenis mumbled something.
“And… I already got my reward in advance…”
“Hm? What was that?”
Of course, I heard her just fine.
But I pretended not to.
“I-It’s nothing! I need to focus on recovering my mana too, so don’t distract me!”
After about an hour and a half, the massive vine carrying us finally reached Kerman Fortress.
The moment we arrived, Elfin collapsed from exhaustion.
“Huff… Huff… I-I can’t move a single muscle anymore…”
“You did great. Just rest now. We’ll take care of the rest.”
Lenis and I supported Elfin from both sides, helping her toward the rear medical unit.
The Bani soldiers stationed at the rear outpost of Kerman Fortress tensed up at the sight of unfamiliar people and gripped their weapons.
But Ravi quickly handled the situation.
“Lower your weapons! They’re my allies!”
“P-Princess?!”
“Princess Ravi has arrived! Everyone, stand ready to receive her!”
“The medical unit! My friend Elfin used up every last drop of her mana to get us here—she’s completely drained! Provide emergency treatment and find a way to help her recover!”
“Y-Yes, right away!”
Hearing that she was a friend of their princess, the Bani medics immediately rushed to support Elfin and quickly carried her into a field tent for treatment.
Inside the medical tent, wounded Bani soldiers groaned in pain, bleeding as they lay on makeshift beds.
The sheer number of injured made it obvious that this was far from a normal situation.
Baren, the commander of another unit rather than Kerman Fortress itself, wasted no time in pressing the soldiers for information.
“I heard the communication crystal linking the other outposts to Kerman Fortress is down! What’s the situation?!”
“C-Commander Baren! Welcome—”
“Skip the useless greetings! Things look urgent. Where’s Harper?”
“Commander Harper is at the front. The Empire’s soldiers blamed us for the deaths of their men and used it as an excuse to start a battle. Right after that, all communication crystals that linked us to other units went silent…”
“Damn those Imperial bastards…!”
Baren immediately rushed to the front lines, and Ravi, Lenis, and I followed.
As we neared the border’s frontmost defense, the entire battlefield was in chaos.
Explosions rang out, cannons roared, and bloodied soldiers were carried on stretchers toward the rear.
Ravi and Baren, seeing the carnage, quickened their pace.
When we reached the walls, we saw the soldiers of the Carrot Principality locked in fierce combat with Imperial troops.
Baren crouched briefly before leaping onto the wall with a powerful jump.
Ravi, without hesitation, grabbed Lenis and me under her arms and did the same.
Before we even had time to process the sheer inhuman strength of the Bani, we were greeted by a barrage of cannon fire.
“Get down!”
“Gah!”
Lenis, panicked, quickly raised her staff and fired a mana arrow toward an incoming shell.
The projectile exploded mid-air, dissipating the threat.
On the wall, the commanding officer of Kerman Fortress, Harper, was directing his troops when he noticed Baren.
He blinked in shock.
“Baren? What the—Ugh! P-Princess?!”
He immediately dropped to one knee upon seeing Ravi, but she quickly pulled him up.
“Harper, is it true that the Empire claims we killed their soldiers and attacked first?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Their provocations had been growing increasingly aggressive these past few days, and tensions were high on our end as well. Then suddenly, they accused us of killing five of their soldiers and launched an attack without warning.”
“There’s no way we actually did it, right?”
“Absolutely not! At the time and location they mentioned, we had no troops anywhere nearby! We suspect they were killed by monsters, but given the recent hostility, they wouldn’t listen to reason…”
I activated my ability, Eyes of Truth, immediately scanning the battlefield.
Among the Imperial soldiers attacking us, two figures stood out.
One was too far away to make out clearly, but the other was positioned closer—within my attack range.
Though they wore standard Imperial gear, obscuring their defining features, they couldn’t hide from my sight.
These two had been corrupted far more severely by the dark energy than the grunts I had encountered in Aldebaran.
Summoning my Lightsaber, I called out to Lenis.
“Lenis! The third soldier from the left among those aiming the cannons—go for the one in the middle!”
“Ugh… There are so many people—it’s hard to tell… but fine! Also, why are you ordering me around?!”
Despite her grumbling, Lenis precisely located the target and cast Slow.
The Imperial soldier stiffened, clearly startled as his body became sluggish.
He immediately began channeling his strength to shake off the debuff.
That was my cue.
I swung my Lightsaber down in a powerful vertical slash.
The blade of light tore through the ground, surging toward the target.
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the area near the Imperial cannons.
But the target wasn’t dead.
Emerging from the smoke, the so-called Imperial soldier stood his ground—holding a long, curved black sword that was definitely not part of the Empire’s standard-issue equipment.
Through the shattered visor of their helmet, crimson hair spilled out.
“So, you really were here.”
“…You bastard… Who the hell are you?”
Not an Imperial soldier.
A member of the Black Shadow Mercenaries.
Scarlet Rose—Sophia—glared at me with burning eyes.