The walls of New Border City stood tall against the elements.
The cold wind ripped at exposed skin like a knife. Looking toward the Piranha River, a string of small black dots began to appear on the silver-white horizon, growing larger as time passed.
Anke stood atop the wall, holding a peculiar brass cylinder. He pressed one eye against one end of the cylinder and peered at the distant black dots.
“They’re finally here — the Barbarians of the Forest of Bones. But that number… it seems like more than 1,000. Have other Barbarian tribes joined Kaxier’s Iron Jaw Tribe?”
“How can you be so sure those black dots are a Barbarian army, Your Highness? Could they be something else?”
Vera questioned Anke. She knew he was likely correct because her recently recalled Mimic Eagle Familiar had seen the Barbarians crossing the ice.
However, Anke didn’t possess the ability to release Familiars like she did, and the Imperial Guard Knight he had sent to scout, Hans, had not yet returned. How could he possibly know?
“It’s simple. I used this.”
Anke lowered the strange brass cylinder from his eye and shook it at Vera.
“That? Is it another new alchemy tool you’ve created, Your Highness?”
Vera looked at the cylinder with doubt. It was made entirely of bright brass and was about 1 foot long.
One end was small while the other was large, giving it a very strange appearance.
“This is called a monocular telescope. It allows you to see very far away. Take a look and you’ll see. Look through the smaller end with one eye, then use your hand to point the larger end toward your target.”
Anke handed the telescope to Vera, guiding her hands to show her how to use it.
“Your Highness, why do I see nothing but white mist?”
Vera did as she was told, but all she saw was a field of white fog.
“Mist? Oh, that’s fine. It just needs a wipe. Try again.”
Anke immediately took the telescope back, wiped the lens clean with a handkerchief, and then handed it back to her.
“I see,” Vera replied calmly. She didn’t have much faith in this object called a telescope.
“Oh!”
But when Vera looked through the lens again and clearly saw the Barbarian army marching in the distance, she immediately realized she had been wrong.
“This is amazing! It’s clearer than an eagle’s eye!”
Vera instinctively compared the telescope to the vision provided by her Mimic Eagle Familiar.
“An eagle’s eye? You’re exaggerating. An eagle’s vision is far superior to this telescope.”
“Lord Anke, the Knight scouting the Barbarian movements at the banks of the Piranha River has returned!”
A guard jogged up the wall and dropped to one knee beside Anke, reporting with his head bowed.
“Good, tell Hans to come see me. Also, get up. Don’t forget — you don’t need to kneel to me from now on. Save your strength for the Barbarians.”
Anke reminded the guard.
“Yes, my Lord.”
The guard stood up with some embarrassment and went to relay Anke’s order to the Imperial Guard Knight, Hans.
“All this kneeling… it isn’t a good thing.”
“They kneel to show their respect for you, Your Highness.”
“No, that isn’t respect. That’s oppression… Sigh, forget it. You don’t understand right now. Once you’ve spent more time with me, you’ll come to understand.”
Anke’s tone was serious, but he quickly relaxed. A glimmer of loneliness appeared in his eyes — a look that Vera found difficult to decipher.
‘Oppression… In the human Kingdom, nobles kneel to the King, the wealthy kneel to nobles, commoners kneel to the wealthy, and slaves kneel to commoners. Isn’t that just how the human world works? Why call it oppression?’ Vera could not understand what Anke meant by the word.
Meanwhile, Hans climbed the wall, led by the guard who had reported earlier.
“Hans, what’s the situation? How many Barbarians are there, and how are they equipped?” Anke asked.
“Reporting, Your Highness. The Barbarian army has approximately 2,500 soldiers. More than half of them are equipped with iron armor.”
2,500 Barbarians. That was more than double the anticipated 1,000 enemies. Hearing this, Vera began to worry if Anke’s plan would still proceed as smoothly as before.
After all, if a Barbarian army’s numbers increased by one and a half times, their overall combat power would increase by much more than that.
“Hans, are you certain the intelligence is accurate? 2,500 Barbarians, with more than half in iron armor?” Anke asked.
“Yes. I swear it on my life, Your Highness.”
“Did you scout anything unusual? Any anomalies?” Anke pressed.
“Something unusual… Actually, yes. It felt as though the marching speed of this Barbarian army wasn’t as fast as the instructors at the Knight Academy described.”
Hans spoke after a moment of reflection.
“Their marching speed isn’t as fast as the instructors said? Is it possible they exaggerated the strength of the Barbarians? Vera, what do you think?” A look of confusion appeared on Anke’s face.
“Your Highness, that shouldn’t be possible. Barbarians are the descendants of Orc bloodlines; their bodies are naturally stronger than humans. During a forced march, they can easily cover over 100 miles a day for several consecutive days. Furthermore, the instructors at the Royal Capital Knight Academy have almost all participated in defending against Barbarian invasions. There is no way they would exaggerate their strength.
The Barbarians’ current goal is to occupy Border City to use it as a base for future raids. They must want to take New Border City as quickly as possible. Since they aren’t marching at full speed, it can only mean one thing: something is preventing them from doing so.”
Vera provided a serious analysis, then shifted the conversation to a suggestion.
“However, Your Highness, the most important thing right now is to figure out how to resist the attack of 2,500 Barbarians. Although we are the defenders, our total strength is only about 700 men. Over 600 of them are militia. We might have managed against 1,000 Barbarians, but 2,500 will be very difficult.”
“Don’t worry, Vera. I have a plan to deal with the enemy. Go and prepare exactly as I say.”
Anke signaled for Vera to lean in, then whispered his plan to her.
Shock was the only thing left in Vera’s eyes after hearing the plan. Anke actually intended to throw the city gates wide open in front of the Barbarian army.
How was that any different from suicide?
‘Is His Highness possessed by an evil spirit? Or perhaps a Barbarian Priestess has secretly placed him under a curse?’
Vera couldn’t believe this plan had come from Anke. Even if he was usually unconventional, surely he wouldn’t propose something so suicidal.
“I’m fine. Just trust me. The Barbarians definitely won’t dare to attack.” Anke gave Vera a thumbs-up.
“I cannot obey that order, Your Highness.”
Vera did not believe what Anke said. She didn’t believe the Barbarians would pass up such a perfect opportunity to attack.
“Then I have no choice but to force you, Vera.” Anke sighed, his expression turning solemn as he gave a formal command. “Chief Knight Vera! I order you to go and prepare as I instructed!”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Vera had no choice. She had to obey the order and went down to make the arrangements.
Vera’s Imperial Guard Knights, the city guards, and the militia were equally unable to understand the meaning behind Anke’s actions.
But since Anke was the Lord, they could only do as they were told.
……
When the Barbarian army finally arrived at the gates of New Border City, they were met with a sight they did not expect.
The gate facing the Barbarian army was thrown wide open.
A few elderly men stood at the entrance, lazily sweeping away dust with brooms as if there wasn’t an army in sight.
On the wall directly above the gate, Anke reclined in a chair, holding a glass filled with fine wine.
He listened to Vera play the harp with a relaxed expression, showing no sign of fear or tension whatsoever.
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