10 - Battle at the Border Part 1 (POV: Lestin)
I’D finished my shift for the day, but a female was about to give birth, so out of concern, I’d decided to spend the night in my office. I’d given strict orders that someone who could use healing magic should be on duty at all times, but that didn’t change the fact that childbirth was not without risk.
Well, that and I just really wanted to be there to support her personally!
“Commander Les! The general has issued an emergency alert!”
Unfortunately, my wishes were not to be granted.
The letter my subordinate handed me contained orders to lend aid and gather information immediately in an area along the national border in the Dierta Province where fighting had broken out.
I knew the situation was tense along the border, but has it already come to this?
“Call up units one through four. We’ll be departing as soon as I’ve explained the details of the mission.”
Based on the fact that the Intelligence Department had received the same orders, it seemed like something was going on behind the scenes. It was our mission to help them narrow down what and put an end to it.
Since we’d even received permission to travel via teleportation circle, they clearly wanted us to get there as quickly as possible.
In a situation like this, we should probably bring along animals who are good at communicating with humans. Which animals are best suited for this mission?
Once the knights who would participate in the operation had gathered, I conveyed our orders from General Zelnan. There hadn’t been a serious battle since the previous king’s reign, so nervousness was written all over my men’s faces.
“Without warning, perfectly ordinary citizens suddenly took up arms and launched a sneak attack against our kingdom’s royal knighthood. Don’t you think that’s strange? Our mission is to back up the knights already on site and to link up with the Intelligence Department to investigate the true motives behind this attack.”
While we’d leave the actual information-gathering to the professionals, we’d be backing them up and helping however we could.
“I will leave the choice of mount to each of you, but be certain to choose someone you communicate well with. Also, the site of the battle is an environment made up of mountains with a good line of sight and large expanses of scarlet forest.”
It was essential to choose a mount fit for the environment.
I’d decided to bring along Uwaz and the toetail, Elena.
I’d also bring along a gleyhawk, a night owl, a tolqueg, and a pack of land wolves to assist the Intelligence Department. Some members of the Intelligence Department had received the training necessary to work with the animals from the beast stables, so I’d have the animals I brought along pair up with those knights.
Once all of the animals coming along had been loaded into transport cages as we’d practiced many times for exactly such a scenario, we carried them to the room in the royal palace that housed the teleportation circle.
First, my direct subordinates and I teleported to a city close to the national border in the Dierta Province. Then, we had the others send over the animals. Finally, the rest of my men teleported to meet us. Once everyone had arrived, we set off immediately for the area where the fighting was taking place.
We used magic to light our way so we could travel quickly and safely despite the late hour, but when we arrived at the fortress, the Intelligence Department had already beat us there.
“Over here, Les.”
The Director of the Intelligence Department, Seerio Yugee, was the one who’d called out to me.
“Director Seerio, I see you’re as quick as ever.”
“Yeah, well, we weren’t far away.”
If I remember correctly, most of the Intelligence Department had been working undercover on long-term assignments in Icoux and the Alliance of Nations. Of course, due to the nature of their work, the details of where they were and what they were doing were strictly confidential, so that was just my extrapolation based on the information I had.
“I’ve been hearing quite a bit about your activities of late, Director.”
“It was that guy Dan, wasn’t it? I’m sure that entire episode was only an afterthought compared to his story about meeting the magnificent and glorious fire dragon, right?”
Many of the legion commanders—including Dan, the commander of the Dragon Knights Legion—were drinking buddies. That was how Seerio had been able to hit the nail on the head despite not being present for our discussion—he knew Dan’s personality so well.
“I certainly hadn’t expected to have to listen to him go on and on about it all night long.”
Dan, a die-hard dragon lover, had become more inspired than ever to throw himself into his work after meeting his idol, the fire dragon, in person. However, it seemed that even now, no matter how hard he tried, the leader of the dragons living in the dragon stables, a lindbloom named Ghizel, was still playing hard to get.
“That guy never changes, does he?” Seerio laughed, but I knew I had no business pointing fingers at others when I was much the same.
“In any case, let’s end this quickly. When we get back to the royal city, let’s go get something tasty to eat, eh?”
I said I was down for that if he was paying, and Seerio grumbled back, “In your dreams!”
The fortress commander called for everyone to assemble, so we ended our discussion there and turned serious, focusing entirely on the task at hand.
The group that had attacked the fortress trying to cross the border hadn’t been refugees but a scraggly, ragtag band of soldiers. Some wore the uniforms of the Icouxian military, while others were from the Alliance of Nations. Allegedly, even a few knights were in the mix. These soldiers had operated in an organized fashion, working together to execute their attack.
“Somebody has to be at the center of it all, calling the shots. Even if they were from a different country, if their position in the organization was high enough, others would probably follow them.”
“What I’m most curious about is the source of their supplies. Soldiers know better than anyone that you can’t fight without food and weapons.”
“Leave that to us; the Intelligence Department will figure it out; never fear.”
The beast knights’ mission for the moment was to work with the knights stationed at this fortress to push back the line of fighting. If the enemy were disorganized, it would provide the perfect opening for the Intelligence Department to sneak in unnoticed.