When I was working as a civil servant, I was found out to be a muscle-brained knight by the princess knight and got sent to the front lines - Episode 10

Episode 10

It’s been a few moments since Fatima, the deputy commander of the Al-Faz unit, noticed the abnormality in the direction of Graysian and halted the unit. Jamil, Jez, and the others took a short break, made preparations for combat, and then resumed their gallop towards Graysian.

They were riding along the main road from the central city of Kohane to the fortress city of Graysian. However,

“…There are significantly fewer people than usual.”

During their march from Kohane, they had crossed paths with many civilians along the main road. But as they approached Graysian, the number of people on the road noticeably decreased. While it’s true that the route from Kohane to Graysian was not typically bustling with pedestrians, it was still strange not to encounter many people during daylight.

“Could the city be sealed off? Or is the road blocked…?”

Even as they rode on horseback, Jamil muttered, feeling a sense of unease about the unusually deserted road. Jez and the others in the Al-Faz unit also shared Jamil’s sense of unease.

It’s worth noting that in the Kingdom of Tashman, the main roads are highly developed. These main roads, also known as the “King’s Roads,” extend from the capital to regional core cities like Kohane and further to the frontline cities in the north, east, and south.

These roads primarily serve as infrastructure for transportation and logistics during peacetime and are heavily utilized by civilians. However, they are also designed to facilitate the swift movement of the military. Therefore, it’s mandated by law that when the military uses these “King’s Roads,” civilians must yield the way. The well-maintained infrastructure of these roads allows for flexible and rapid military deployment, which has enabled the kingdom to overcome numerous challenges despite being surrounded by the territories of monsters.

When Jez learned about the existence of these “King’s Roads,” as well as the principles and legislation governing their operation, he couldn’t help but quip to himself, “Is this the Roman Empire or what?” This happened over twenty years ago, when he, as a child, became interested in the domestic affairs of the Kingdom of Tashman, precisely because of this infrastructure development.

While magic and military prowess are certainly admirable, it’s not surprising for someone born into a world that operates like the ancient Roman Empire to take an interest in domestic affairs. Furthermore, if the mechanisms of the ancient Roman Empire could be combined with the efficient structures of modern society, one can imagine how powerful a country could become. It’s not unreasonable to imagine someone indulging in such fantasies.

Anyway, putting aside Jez’s past for now, returning to the story, it was clearly odd that, despite marching swiftly along the main thoroughfare, they hadn’t encountered any civilians for such a long time. As all members of the Al-Faz unit continued their march with heightened vigilance,

“Everyone, halt!!!!”

Fatima shouted loudly, signaling for the entire unit to stop. Almost simultaneously, Jamil, Jez, and a few others with high magical sensing abilities also felt a sense of unease and looked ahead.

As the 101 riders of the Al-Faz unit slowed their pace, the road ahead of them shimmered.

“Seriously, this scale of concealment magic…”

The members of the Al-Faz unit were taken aback by the sudden appearance of a large force of monsters. There were about 500 of them. The appearance of such a large number of monsters right in front of them caused the vigilance of the Al-Faz unit to skyrocket.

“It seems like we’ve been completely ambushed. What do we do?”

Jez asked Jamil. The fact that such a large number of monsters were deployed here indicates that Graysian is almost certainly under attack. Additionally, if an abnormal situation were occurring in Graysian, messengers would surely have been dispatched to Kohane. The reason they hadn’t encountered any messengers was probably because the monsters were blocking the road and preventing messengers from passing or eliminating them.

With such a clever use of concealment magic and strategically deploying forces to vital locations, it’s clear that these monsters pose a significant challenge.

Normally, when an abnormality occurs in a frontline fortress city, multiple roads and means are used to relay the information to the core cities. Although Jez and the others hadn’t encountered messengers from Graysian along the route they had been galloping on, it’s unlikely that all other routes had been wiped out.

Furthermore, it had been almost three full days since Jez and the others departed from Kohane. Considering these circumstances, it’s highly likely that the abnormality in Graysian occurred sometime between yesterday and today.

After quickly considering these factors, Jamil decided to crush the enemy in front of them and head to Graysian as soon as possible.

“Al-Faz unit! Eliminate all enemy forces and proceed with the march! Leave no one alive!!!!”

While inspiring the unit, Jamil readied his main weapon, the bow. The Al-Faz unit is primarily equipped as light cavalry, specializing in high-speed maneuver warfare by imbuing magic into their bows. Therefore, they can easily take down medium-sized monsters to a certain extent.

However, they struggle somewhat against larger or more durable monsters. Among the 500-strong monster army they currently face on the road, there seems to be an orc that resembles a general in the center. While they can easily handle other monsters with their current equipment and numbers, Jamil is pondering, “Now what?”

Just then, as they continued to urge forward, Jez, while stretching his shoulders, arms, and neck on horseback, began warming up and declared, “I’ll take care of the big ones ahead!”