Chapter 133: The Invitation

After waiting for a while, the man from before returned, now speaking more formally: 

“Lord Leon, Count Sterling wishes to meet with you.”

Since this was the town magistrate’s house—a modest two-story building slightly better than an ordinary townhouse—the room they were guided to wasn’t very spacious.

“Lord Leon, I’ve read your letter. By order of His Majesty the King, if you wish, you will be placed under my command. It seems you have some plan in mind.”

He didn’t demand the royal banner or identification, but his frustration at having to fall under the command of an adventurer was apparent.

“Count, have you managed to contact the Bladen side?”

“That would be impossible! What are you thinking?!”

“That’s troublesome. King Felix requested that we intimidate the Bladen forces into withdrawing. Perhaps we could send a messenger to invite them?”

“Send a messenger? To those who seem poised to attack at any moment?”

“If you refuse, I’ll have no choice but to order you directly. And if we threaten them outright, it could trigger the start of hostilities.”

The man who had come to fetch me seemed to be the Count’s aide. His expression teetered on the edge of a tantrum at my words.

“You don’t intend to do the same thing you showed at the training grounds against the Bladen army, do you?”

“I want them to line up their shields. But without spectators, it wouldn’t be a show. If they can imagine stones raining down on them, they can judge whether to fight or retreat. If that fails, the Count will face them directly…”

“W-wait, alright, I understand! I’ll do as you say! Where should we do this?”

“What’s the terrain like along the border?”

“It’s wasteland. Sparse grass here and there, but mostly barren.”

“Then please tell them that a mage from the Holtland Kingdom will perform a demonstration of flying through the air and attacking the ground. If they’re interested, they may try intercepting it. Also, line up shields along the border—10 across and 20 deep—with a 3-meter gap in all directions between each shield.”

“Understood. Contacting the Bladen side and preparing the shields will take two days. After that, it depends on their response.”

While the Count gave orders to his subordinates, I slipped out of the house and took a rest in the forest away from the town, flying low.

Early the next morning, I circled wide and scouted the Bladen forces from a height where people looked like specks.

The town of Jabrie didn’t have many soldiers visible, but behind Collins, in a position hidden from the road, a vast array of tents could be seen.

The phrase “ten thousand troops” seemed appropriate—they were indeed prepared in great numbers.

Following the Jabrie road, I could see troops forming up and heading toward Collins. With such a force, they could step into Holtland territory at any time—but since they hadn’t yet sent soldiers, perhaps one or two towns weren’t enough.

An overwhelming, crushing advance is the classic method of military invasion.

I descended slightly and flew leisurely along the road toward Dreans. From this height, the people looked like specks, so I shouldn’t be noticed from the ground.

I spotted my target, but near Jabrie town, they were surrounded by many people.

If they refused the invitation and I killed them, I could scatter stones across their tents without warning.

The outcome would likely be clear by tomorrow, so I decided to land near Dreans and wait.

“Stop! You appear to be from the Holtland Kingdom. What is your business?”

“Ah, in two days there will be a rare spectacle along the border. I wish to invite the responsible officer of your country. Here is an invitation from Count Sterling for your officer.”

Speaking calmly from horseback, I produced the letter from my magic pouch and showed it to the man who challenged me.

“An invitation to a spectacle?”

“Yes. A truly rare event—people flying through the air, raining stones down. Stones the size of fists will fall from above, stones the size of children’s heads will roll across the ground, flattening everything in their path. Truly magnificent!”

The man grinned, but his companions looked pale.

“Everything is detailed in this letter. Please give it to your responsible officer. Their reply can be sent to those waiting at the border.”

After receiving the letter from my hand, he turned his horse and returned to Dreans. Overwhelmed by the bizarre story, he hurried back, assuming it was a letter from an enemy army.

“I report that suspicious men crossed the border. When questioned, they handed this letter to the responsible officer. The men claimed that people would fly and rain stones…”

“Wait. Did they say people would fly?”

“Yes. They said it’s an invitation to a spectacle.”

“Give it here.”

He snatched the letter and dashed into the large tent. Though it seemed incomprehensible, my duty was to monitor the road, so after handing over the letter, I returned to my post.

“Duke Kissling, this is urgent! This! The man delivering the letter told the guards, ‘It’s a truly rare spectacle—people flying and raining stones. Stones the size of fists will fall from the sky, and stones the size of children’s heads will roll across the ground, flattening everything!’ before handing over the letter.”

“That is correct?”

“The man who received it didn’t trust him at first, but he remembered everything and reported it.”

“So the envoy’s report was accurate. If it’s an invitation to a spectacle, refusing would be rude…”

The Duke hastily broke the seal and read the letter, thinking carefully. It instructed that shields be arranged along the border to simulate troops, and the recipient should test whether their elite forces could withstand the attack.

The envoy’s report said that initially, the castle was attacked by a flying man, with the noise of attacks echoing as he maneuvered freely. Fire magic could be heard countering him. By the second day, the sounds carried further, and by the third, he had reportedly entered the castle.

After that, it was quiet—until invitations were sent to the envoys of various nations, addressed to King Felix of Holtland.

Reports indicated that Crown Prince Meredith had died in an accident, and the King had collapsed and later died during a meeting with the Sutherland Kingdom envoy.

The current invitation is the problem. As the letter says, shields lined up at the training grounds were treated as troops, and the attack was carried out by a flying mage.

Though everyone thought such a report preposterous, the Holtland royal castle had been pierced and many casualties suffered. Holtland had also lost four towns to the Sutherland Kingdom. Rumor had it the flying man commanded the battlefield from above, waving flags.

“Duke, do you believe this story?”

“There are reports of a man flying with the Holtland banner. I thought he was with Sutherland, but now he comes bearing the Holtland banner. And he sent this invitation—he must be an adventurer. Adventurers don’t care about the employer’s identity once they accept a task.”

“That seems strange.”

“Yes, but given the power involved and that a mage participated, casualties would be expected. And now he sides with Holtland against us.”

“Then we shall see what he does. Since he’s confident our elite forces can stop him, we’ll attack with all our might as he requested.”

“Indeed. The outcome will reveal the course of this conflict. Shields will be arranged, so we shall cooperate as well.”

“Cooperate?”

“They intend the shields to represent troops. Then we’ll provide a thousand shields as part of our army. Even if he flies, he’s only one person. Throwing stones from a magic pouch won’t amount to much.”

“Indeed. Stopping thousands of soldiers would be impossible.”

“Even if the attack comes from the air, we are prepared for casualties.”

“We shall show them the courage of the Bladen nobility.”

“Captain, those.”

“Hm? What is it?”

A mounted man approached with his troops, glanced at the lined-up shields, and snorted.

“I have been sent by His Grace, Duke Kissling, our supreme commander, to assist you. Are these all the shields you’ve prepared?”

“Indeed. And?”

“It seems a bit few to watch properly, so we will add our own shields as well.”

With a signal to his soldiers, additional shields were arranged around Holtland’s formation.

Holtland’s 200 shields—10 wide, 20 deep, with 3-meter spacing—were now surrounded by 10 more shields on each side in the same spacing.

1,200 shields across the wasteland presented a spectacular sight, but the man spoke with ironic amusement:

“I’ve heard this is a spectacle. This should suffice to make it worthwhile. We look forward to tomorrow.”

The man’s veins bulged from irritation, but recalling the training ground, he calmed himself.

“Tomorrow at noon, I pray you summon all your strength to stop us.”

With that, he signaled his soldiers and returned.