Inn Overlord: Reincarnated with Enhancement Magic, Now Worshipped as a Divine Messenger! - Chapter 44

(From the perspective of Robert Zappa, Mayor of the Small City of Barmuller)

The sun had already set, and countless torch lights could be seen below. I stood on the wall surrounding this small city, staring into the distance, even though I could not see the battlefield.

The cold night wind blew through my white hair and struck the eyepatch on my right eye. At that moment, a messenger arrived.

“Of the 2,000 cavalry sent to save Noonan Village, 1,000 have returned!”

“That was fast… Does that mean Noonan Village had already fallen…?”

The other 1,000 must have joined the battlefield.

“No, the villagers are all safe! They reportedly defeated about 800 of the 1,000 Imperial cavalry and drove them back. The remaining 1,000 of our cavalry are also mostly unharmed and have stayed in the village in case the Imperial soldiers attack again.”

“What!?”

Surprised, I turned my eyes toward someone walking along the wall. It was Jake, the commander of the cavalry unit sent to Noonan Village, walking with a guard.

“Can you tell me the details?”

Jake replied with a sharp “Yes, sir!” and began to explain.

“I see… So David Leenvern and Laura Shave were there. I forgot about them…”

“Yes. Thanks to them, the villagers are staying calm, though still anxious.”

“To think someone who lost a leg, lost his son, and fell into deep sorrow would still rise and help the people like this…”

“Yes. I learned a lot from how they planned the operation and encouraged the people. And also—”

“And also, what?”

“The food there is really delicious, sir. I really think you should try it. Maybe because of that, even the horses ran faster.”

“Hah, when this war is over, I’ll do that.”

Jake asked,

“So, what’s the situation here?”

“Well, thanks to the infantry, cavalry, magic troops, and catapults, we seem to have the upper hand. Lord Burlington’s reinforcements will arrive tomorrow. I plan to have you help wear down the Imperial troops. Is that all right?”

“As you command.”

We will now send about 3,000 reinforcements to Noonan Village. If we attack the Imperial Army from the front and from there as a base, we may be able to defeat them. However, if we just keep defending and wait for reinforcements requested from Lord Burlington and the capital, defense should be easy.

I will face tomorrow by continuing to wait for reinforcements and wear down the Imperial Army over time.

(From the perspective of Thomas Wade, one of the Four Knights of the Empire)

Today’s battle was not in our favor, but our main magic troops are still unharmed. The plan is going smoothly. Though I don’t like it, things are going as planned so that Lord Burlington’s betrayal won’t be noticed. But the matter with Noonan Village is different.

“What are you saying!? That can’t possibly be true!”

I yelled at the messenger.

Who would believe that 2,000 of the 3,000 Imperial cavalry were swallowed by a sudden crack in the earth?

“I also think it’s just an excuse to avoid blame, but I reported it as I was told…”

To make things worse, 800 of the remaining 1,000 were killed when the Kingdom’s infantry and cavalry showed up.

“Send the 200 survivors to the front line tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir!”

The messenger left the night tent, and I sat in a chair, thinking.

—From the report, the 400 soldiers sent last night failed to raid Noonan Village…

Were they all killed?

I sat back and thought again.

—More importantly… 2,000 were swallowed by a crack in the ground, and then the land returned to normal with no sign of damage…

Unless it was one of the ancient Twelve Heroes who were blessed by the gods, like those told in the legends of the Kingdom of Schmar, only two people in the world could do something like that today: the wise man Winston Voneticut or the wild mage Randil Enbach. Even an A-rank adventurer couldn’t do that.

Even if Winston were helping in this war, there’d be no need to make a crack in the ground and then fix it.

—No, wait…

What if there was no crack at all? What if the ground was never broken?

—If it was an illusion or a kind of mind control, then maybe…

I gasped. There’s one more person who could do that.

—Lydia Kreil, of the Holy Nation of Harmonia…

Then, a thought hit me like a bolt of lightning.

—That Kingdom soldier on the right flank…

—That magic that lets someone move instantly…

—That slim body like a woman’s…

I once heard that the Holy Nation of Harmonia has a secret group that specializes in assassination. They are mostly made up of women and often sneak into other nations as spies.

“……”

I decided to stop trying to take over Noonan Village for now. Instead, I will focus on capturing the small city of Barmuller with Lord Burlington.

—Most likely, Lord Burlington’s army will arrive in Barmuller early tomorrow… We will capture Mayor Zappa from within the walls and take control.

We will use that chance to launch a full attack.

—Tomorrow, I will fight with all my strength and with our main force on this battlefield…