The news regarding the attempted arson reached Lark. He summoned Chryselle into his office and demanded a detailed recount of what had transpired. After hearing that she'd placed a protective ward on the storage house to prevent fire from burning the supplies, Lark inspected the place himself.
There were still traces of battle here and there, and the corpses were still in place. He looked at the corpses of the innocent workers and the guards who were slaughtered, then at the perpetrators who did not hesitate to take their lives the moment they were discovered.
"There're probably more spies from the Empire," said Lark.
"Increase the number of guards monitoring the storage houses."
Anandra, who quietly stood next to him, bowed his head. "As you wish, My Lord."
Lark walked toward the barrels upon barrels of rations stacked up in this place. He wordlessly cast his spell and fire appeared right before him, hovering right before the supplies. At first, the fire was only the size of a thumb, but after realizing that the wards didn't react to such weak magic, Lark channeled more mana into it until it grew to the size of a fist. It was then that he felt the ward activate and an invisible force started disrupting the flow of mana into the fire spell.
Lark looked at Chryselle his eyes filled with interest, then at the orb of fire which was slowly starting to be extinguished.
"Interesting," he mumbled.
This was the first time since coming to this world, he'd encountered a complex spell like this. After scrutinizing the warding spell, he realized that it was anchored to three separate wooden barrels. Therefore, even if the enemy discovered how the spell worked, he would still have to find the anchor points and destroy them before completely deactivating the defensive spell.
"But it obviously has its weakness."
The orb of fire in front of Lark, which was close to being extinguished, suddenly grew stronger and bigger, until it became the size of five heads combined. Seeing this, Chryselle's eyes widened. She could not understand what just transpired.
"Wh-What happened?" she said. "That shouldn't be… possible."
"Who are you?" said Lark. "Although the ward you've placed isn't perfect, it's not something your average magician could cast overnight."
Lark turned toward her and the orb of fire dissipated. He walked toward her and looked her straight in the eyes. The two locked eyes for a moment. Silence befell the area.
Eventually, Lark sighed. "?ever mind. It shouldn't matter for now."
It was apparent that this woman meant no harm against the Third Army. At least, that was what it seemed to him right now. It would be a waste to lose someone as talented as her just because of a petty squabble regarding her identity.
When Lark seemed no longer interested in pursuing the question any further, Chryselle mustered up her courage and said, "Wait! The fire magic! How… How did you do that?"
"Tell me what I want to know, then you'll have my answer to that question," Lark replied nonchalantly.
*** In a forest five days away from the Western Front, Baron Zacharia and the leaders of the First, Marcus, and Yorkshaire Armies were gathered inside a small tent. They surrounded a round wooden table, with a map spread over it. The lanterns hanging on the canopy gave off dim, moving light.
"How many soldiers did we lose this time?" the Baron asked gruffly.
"Five hundred, Commander," replied one of the officers.
The faces of those inside the tent contorted. They'd been losing hundreds of soldiers with each passing day. They'd managed to shake off General Alvaren's army for now, but who knew how long they could keep this up. As they went deeper into the Western Front, the number of enemies just kept on increasing, up to the point that simply finding a place to camp for the night had become extremely hard to accomplish.
"Baron, we still have the option of retreating to the capital," one of the officers said. "Should we really continue marching toward the Western Front? At this rate, we'll die of hunger and thirst before we've even reached Yorkshaire, and that's if we're lucky enough not to run into General Alvaren and his men."
Everyone in the room looked at the Baron. The previously retired veteran shook his head. "I made my promise to the Commander of the Third Army. Besides, we can't just abandon our allies. If the Third Army gets annihilated, it'll be only a matter of time before the Empire swallows up the Kingdom. We can't let that happen."
The Baron looked at the two people inside the room whose authority was on par with his. Sword Saint Alexander and Lui Marcus. The two of them looked at the map silently while listening.
Lui Marcus spoke, "I agree with the Baron. We can't retreat now that we've come this far. General Alvaren isn't an idiot. He'll surely take advantage of our retreating to chip away at our numbers. What we need to prioritize right now is the City of Yorkshaire. We have to capture it at all costs. ?o matter what."
Looking at the state of Lui Marcus' body, what the man said sounded like suicide. The War God of the Western Front suffered a terrible injury after directly confronting General Alvaren more than a month ago.
Even now, the large cut on his chest had yet to fully heal even after the magicians tried healing it with magic. Dark marks encircled his eyes as he looked at everyone in the room, his lips dry.
The Sword Saint remained silent, indicating his agreement.
"The Third Army managed to capture the City of Akash." Baron Zacharia pointed at an area on the map. "It's only a day away from Yorkshaire. As long as we get there, we'll be able to rally our troops and launch a siege against the Empire."
"Easier said than done," the Sword Saint finally spoke. "The Empire won't just sit still and let us regroup with the army stationed in that city."
The officers inside the tent agreed. They all knew how difficult it would be to pass through the numerous camps the Empire scattered all throughout the region.
"In the end, it seems we have no choice but to split the army, huh?"
said one of the officers. "Disperse. That way, it'll be difficult for the Empire to hunt all of us down."
"A bad idea," said Lui Marcus. "We're already having a hard time defending against the attacks of General Alvaren. If we split our forces even further, he'll hunt the smaller groups one by one like a demon. Worst-case scenario, General Rizel joins the fray and we'll be trapped between two monsters, our forces split and scattered."
The officers continued discussing stratagems throughout the night.
In the end, none of them came up with a concrete plan to overcome the tight net of the Empire. They were about to settle with the idea of marching straight toward Akash City using the Serpents Road, when suddenly a soldier barged into the meeting.
"B-Baron! Commander!" the soldier said the moment he entered.
"A bird! A talking bird says he wants to meet you!"
The officers looked at the soldier in bewilderment. They'd never heard of such report before, but since they knew that magic was capable of making impossible things a reality, they did not fully question the authenticity of the statement. After all, there were records of shifters capable of assuming the form of their familiars.
"A bird?" The Baron curiously looked at the soldier. "What did it say?"
The soldier, finally realizing that all of the officers were waiting for his response, stiffened. He scratched his cheeks as he tried to remember the words of the strange bird.
"He said something about…" the soldier mumbled. "What was it again? A pendant?"
"A necklace," a voice rang outside the tent. The flaps opened and remained suspended in the air, revealing an ordinary-looking brown eagle.
"The necklace worn by the Baron."
The Baron's eyes widened. The voice was very much familiar.
"You…" There was silence as the eagle entered the tent, its flapping wings sending a gust of air inside. It landed on top of the table, its head moving left and right as it scanned the room. It finally directed its gaze toward the Baron.
"Long time no see, Baron Zacharia," said the eagle. "I assume everyone here is an officer of this army?"
The Baron collected himself. He nodded. "Yes." He stared at the eagle for several seconds. "I didn't know you're a shifter."
"I'm not," said the eagle. "I'm merely borrowing this bird's consciousness. My body is still at Akash City."
"All the way from Akash City?" The Baron couldn't hide his surprise.
"Baron, what's happening here?" said Lui Marcus. He looked at the eagle suspiciously, as though it was a spy sent by the Empire. "Who is this… person?"
The Baron found the question amusing, since it came from Lui Marcus himself. "Your younger brother," he replied. Lark Marcus. There's no doubt about it."
The group went into uproar upon hearing this. They knew that Akash City was several days away from here. Even Master Tamers would have a hard time sending their familiars here, moreover finding the Second Army's whereabouts inside this dark forest. There was also the fact that he was conversing with them through voice magic from such a long distance, without using the body of the eagle itself. Such a feat would require an absurd amount of control over mana.
Even the Sword Saint looked at the eagle with curiosity. Lui Marcus, on the other hand, stared at the eagle in astonishment upon finding out that it was his younger brother. The eagle and Lui Marcus locked eyes with each other for a moment. The eagle seemed to be looking at his bandaged chest. It then turned its attention toward the Sword Saint.
"Master Alexander," the eagle bowed its head, "I'm glad to see you unharmed."
The Sword Saint smiled wryly. "Do I look unharmed to you?" He showed the eagle the blotches of blood on his clothes. Just like Lui Marcus, the wounds on the Sword Saint's body had yet to fully heal.
The eagle ignored the remark. "I've scouted the area and it seems that an Imperial Army—composed entirely of knights—is heading this way as we speak."
The air suddenly became heavier.
"They'll reach this place in five hours, maybe six. I know that it's middle of the night, but it'll be better for you to move camp."
"Where should we go?" the Baron asked.
The eagle took small steps on top of the map and using its right wing, pointed at a particular spot.
"Here." Everyone looked at the place where the eagle pointed.
"Judging by the route of the pursuing army, they'll be taking the Serpents Road. A clash is inevitable at this rate. Taking a detour will cost us an additional half a day, but we'll be able to avoid a clash with the Empire."
"Can we trust you?" one of the officers asked.
The eagle looked at him. "You have to." The eagle flapped its wings. "Wake up your men. We're moving out."
Some of the officers were dissatisfied on how the eagle—Lark Marcus—was ordering them around. But they remained silent as the final decision still rested on the Baron and the Commanders of the Marcus and Yorkshaire Army.
Silence befell the group for a moment.
The Baron closed his eyes and said, "You heard the man. We're moving out."