Right now, I am sitting in the Commander's office. His room looks pretty simple. A table and two chairs, with nothing else in the room. All the walls in the room are of the same color, which is a dull grey. The only decoration here is a map behind the chair I am sitting in. The room is pretty depressing to look at if I am being honest. There is not even a single window in the place. This is a surprise. With the man's might, even a grand throne room might have been inadequate.
I feel like I am sweating bullets at this moment. What exactly does the man need me for? I don't think I will be able to do anything for him, and whatever it is, is certainly not going to be easy. I still won't be able to refuse him. The reason for that is the Hexmountain Treaty.
I guess I should speak about the treaty. Everybody certainly knows that it is the glue that keeps the continent from exploding into a war. Still, to introduce it briefly. It is a non-aggression treaty between the Black Mountain and most of the continent.
What most people don't know is that it is also the glue that holds together the Black Mountain. The Black Mountain is made up of four factions. Each of these four exist (in an official sense, at least) to fulfill the Hexmountain treaty.
For example, the reason that the Scholars are given access to the magical ruins is because they are supposed to make it safe. No force on the continent except the Scholars are allowed to enter into magical ruins. (Let's just say that exploring a magical ruin is a dangerous affair.)
In return for access to magical ruins, the Black Mountain will grant a favor to the power in control of the ruin. This is where the Guard Corps is supposed to come in. They are the diplomats who are supposed to smoothen things between the local powers and the other factions of the Black Mountain. They are also the faction that is supposed to ensure that these favors are fulfilled.
Most of the time, these favors take the form of knowledge. Things such as advanced formation designs or the troop placements of the enemy. For this, the guards are supposed to negotiate with the Scholars. Sometimes, this favor might involve something a bit more violent. Things such as conquering a town, or burning a forest. In cases like this, the Legion gets involved. The guards are supposed to direct the Legion into completing these tasks. (This is usually done by the Sworn.) At least that is the theory, though reality gets muddled very quickly.
Speaking of the Legion. The Legion's official duty is to enforce the Hexmountain treaty. Any person that breaks the terms of the treaty must answer to the Legion. These are usually people who mess with magical ruins. With how dangerous that tends to be, the Legion rarely needs to act. Still, in the rare instances that they do, it leaves a violent and bloody trail.
Finally, we have the Formation Corps. We are the least related to the treaty. Our duty (at least with respect to the treaty) is to create a market in which any participant of the Hexmountain treaty can buy advanced formations. We are supposed to make sure that all the powers in the continent are relatively equal to each other in power. This is done to make starting a war that much more unlikely.
Well, I have deviated from the topic enough. At the moment, I need to fulfill the Hexmountain treaty. The Black Mountain owes a favor to the Snowwind Empire. As the most powerful guard in the area, it is my duty to fulfill this favor.
Normally, with my power and cultivation, any favor I can actually do would be worthless. After all, I am sure that just this fort has at least a thousand people at my combat strength. (I am also sure that any of the ten thousand mages here has more cultivation than me.) Anything that I can fight, the Commander can easily have somebody else fight. The problem is that I am a formation mage. One that knows how to build advanced formations.
To those that do not know about advanced formations. An advanced formation is any formation that requires research to build it. This includes weapons (like cannons), environmental formations and anything used to make an airship. As I have already explained, the Snowwind Empire has a ban on these advanced formations. The only problem is that with the treaty, I am going to have to build any formation that they ask for.
It is going to be a very tight rope to walk. I cannot give them an overly powerful formation, or that will piss off our other allies in the area. The other four kingdoms here are already on the verge of war with us as it is. I can't give them something too weak as well. If I were not to satisfy the man's favor appropriately, then the Head Office will murder me. Also, the Commander is influential enough to make a war with the Snowwind Empire more likely.
That is why I need to figure out a balance that will serve all our interests. Another thing to worry about is that I will have to stay in the Frozen Peak if I am given this task. That is something that the Head Office won't like at all.
The Scholars themselves will be fine. Soldiers from the Frozen Peak will be going with the Scholars to the ruin. Jacob and Andrew are relatively good fighters. The Snowwinders are also not going to compromise with the scholar's safety. That is true to a degree in most parts of the continent, but the Snowwind Empire is abnormally careful with the Scholars.
During the Seven Temples incident, things had almost reached a state of war between us. Even then, the Snowwind Empire returned the surviving scholars without harming them in any way. (Any other force would have executed them just to make a point.) They did execute all the guards, though. So yeah, I at the very least need not worry about the Scholars. I only have to worry about myself right now.
(After almost an hour.)
I have sat in this room for a while now, waiting for the Commander. That is why it takes me a moment to react when he finally appears. I move when his presence is about a few steps away from the door. His appearance in my mana sense is more him declaring his presence than me sensing it on my own. I wonder just how easily the man could kill me if he actually wanted to.
I get up to greet the man even as the door behind me rustles open. Any perceived slights on his honor won't end well for me. The Commander still can be considered to be reasonable. It is the nobles who are the true nightmares, I have heard. Not that I have gotten to meet any yet.
Anyway, the door opens as I bow to the man.
"You really should practice that more, kid. Such a sloppy greeting would be considered an insult to most nobles. It is better to act arrogant than to do such a sloppy greeting. It would insult them more, but you will look stronger," he says. "Anyway, we are too busy to waste our time on these performances. Do you know why I called you here?"
"It would be wrong to say that I have a concrete idea. All I can tell you is that it has something to do with the Hexmountain treaty, Commander," I reply.
"You would be partially correct. I am going to be cashing in my favor acquired through the Hexmountain treaty, but I have a few doubts before that," he says. "Right now, it is your skill as a formation mage that I require."
Well, I want to sigh in relief at this. Without the treaty, the man can't force me to say anything that I don't need to.
"...Now, if you would be kind enough to go to the map behind you." I realise that I had been tuning the man out as he concludes.
I turn to see the map behind me light up. I cannot feel any fluctuations in the mana. This, more than anything else, causes a chill to run up my spine. Not many things can escape my mana sense. Forcing myself to swallow the surge of panic I feel, I look at the map in front of me. It is presently glowing in two colors. One side is green and the other side is red.
The red I have to assume is the territory of the Snowwinders, and the green is the territory of the Snowlords. If that is the case, the Snowwinders have quite a bit to worry about. Almost two-thirds of the map is green.
"The map you see in front of you is a record of just how deep the Snowlords reached last year in their raid," The Commander tells. "As you can see, we have not been particularly successful in holding them back. The strategies that we have been using until now have clearly been a failure."
The Commander gets up from his chair and walks to the map. This is vital information. Information that is not meant for a mere captain like me. It is meant for somebody higher up in the Guard Corps. I am just the means of communicating this information.
"The reason that I have shown you this map in the first place is simply to explain the gravity of our present situation," the commander says. "With the way that things are going, it is clear that we need a new strategy."
"I don't understand where I come in here," I reply. "It is not like I have experience related to strategy. This mission is the first time I have led a troop."
"The reason that I am telling you all of this is so that you will answer a question that I have," he says. "You see, one of the ideas I have rolling around in my head is a formation wall in this area roughly."
As he speaks, a white line appears cutting the map into two. If the map is scaled correctly, that would be a massive problem. (Again I can sense no mana from the man.)
"Commander, building such a massive formation wall will be impossible for you if you want me to be honest," I reply. "The formation walls that you see at the bone pits or the Rhune kingdom are the work of generations of mages. What you are proposing is as large an undertaking as theirs. It might even end up being larger. Each section of that wall is a class four or a class five formation at the very least, and you will have a dozen sections you need to make at least. It is wise not to build such a thing inside an active battlefield. Making a mistake with a class five formation might be enough to wreck an entire region."
"Weren't the walls at bone pits created after the undead calamity?" Inquires the commander.
"That is true, but they did it that way because they had no option. Even then, they had to do it very carefully," I reply. "The undead from the bone pits are dumb creatures. They did not actively mess with the wall's construction. Do you think that the Snowlords will grant such a leeway to you?"
"They certainly won't. The Snowlords realize the threat that they would face if they were to allow us to build more forts here. They concentrate most of their forces in taking out our temporary forts every year," the commander speaks. "They don't want another Frozen Peak, you see."
"You can attempt a fort chain then, Commander," I reply. "Rather than try to build a formation wall directly, you can try to build it in three phases. First, you build a set of forts, acting as nodes for your wall. Each fort will have a class seven or a class eight formation in it acting as its core."
"Do you think that building a fort in the middle of an active battlefield is any easier?" replies the commander, giving me a look of exasperation. "I have just explained to you what they do to our forts."
"I would assume that it would still be easier than building a formation wall. Haven't you already constructed the Frozen Peak?" I reply.
"That is true. Continue your explanation," he replies.
"As for the second step, that would be connecting one fort to the other physically. You can do this with a wall in between them. There are a set of formations that you will need to inscribe to do this. There are a few other methods, about which I will speak later," I reply. "The last step would be to connect these formations to form a matrix."
"Isn't a matrix supposed to be very weak?" asks the commander.
"Compared to a traditional formation, a matrix is much weaker. But a well-made formation matrix will be able to show at least three-quarters the strength of a formation of the same class." I reply. "It will also put fewer requirements on the capabilities of your formation mages."
"Well, suppose that if I were to follow this strategy, how many forts would I need? What other problems will we face?" he asks.
"What I know about fort chains is purely theoretical. Firstly, the hardest phase will be the first phase. At least thirty forts will have to be constructed, and core formations will have to be built for each fort," I speak. "Overall, the wall will require much simpler formations. A class eight or class nine formation will be enoug.....
(After about a couple of hours.)
I have spoken so much till now that my head is buzzing. We ended up back at the table sometime in the middle of this discussion. Right now, the Commander is quietly pondering the feasibility of my ideas. I have given him the entire blueprint of building a fort chain, you see.
"You have given me much to consider, young captain," he suddenly says. "I will have to ask that you return to the guest room. I shall speak to you in a few days."
"Commander, I would have to request that we be allowed out of the guest room. As you must have seen during our entry, our ship needs extensive repair," I ask the man. taking a bit of a risk. This action might just lead to my getting imprisoned right now.
"I could give you the permission that you want, but it will be too costly for me. I would offend the nobles too much. They have taken charge of your safety, you see." The commander replies. "Instead, what I can do is arrange a meeting with one of the noble families. You can negotiate directly with them. Do you need anything else? If not, then you should leave."
Listening to the man, it is clear that this is a command. Before he gets to enforce that command of his, I leave the room.