"They're still attacking? Why?" Count Evesys was confused. He had written letter after letter to all his relatives about the movements of Litmus's armies. But, typical of Latvin's nobility, they acted obsequiously when Count Evesys was at the top, only to abandon him once he fell from grace.
And so, none replied to Evesys's plea for support. He no longer had any symbiotes under his command. With the symbiotes gone and Latvin's failed campaign against Vertia, he had no army left to speak of.
If no one would support him, then he might as well abandon the country—a typical mindset among Latvin nobles.
So, he dispatched his steward to negotiate with Litmus. If they could guarantee his noble status, he would offer his cooperation. This tactic usually worked with invading nations. Even Latvin had accepted that slut—the woman who now always sat beside the king. She acted like a pet, but no one was blind enough to miss how her words carried more weight than even a duke's.
But contrary to expectations, Litmus did not halt their advance. They sent no reply, no counteroffer. They didn't even pause their army. It was as if the butler had never met them. Count Evesys was bewildered by how Litmus operated. They revealed no weaknesses as they steadily marched through the forest trail toward his castle.
"Was my offer not enough? I already gave them everything! Such greedy bastards!" Count Evesys stomped the ground in frustration. The behavior of Litmus made no sense to him.
"I don't believe that's the issue, milord," the steward interjected.
"Then what is?"
"I believe they simply don't consider our military strength a threat. We've suffered tremendous losses. Rather than negotiate, they may have decided to take what they want—just as we did in Vertia."
"Damn it. What evil bastards. Gather the populace—we must repel them. Tell the capital we need every gun and bullet they can spare. Thousands of their soldiers are heading this way. If we fall here, they'll push on. We must fight to the end," Evesys declared.
"Right away, sir. Where should we make our last stand?"
"Here, at Nechwart."
"But it borders the Goblin Kingdom. What if we're pincered by both the goblins and Litmus? The town is heavily fortified, but only on the side facing the Goblin Kingdom. Its defenses are weak if attacked from inland."
"This town has the Forest of Vertia. If push comes to shove, we can escape to former Vertian territory. There's nothing of value here—Litmus shouldn't bother with us and will probably head straight for the capital. Once the capital falls, we'll either flank them from the rear or join them, depending on the situation."
"I see. Clever idea, milord."
The butler did not mock Evesys for his cowardice, but praised him instead. Such was typical behavior among Latvin nobility. Their motto was survival of the fittest.
There is nothing more dangerous than a cornered beast. Whether Litmus made the right decision in rejecting Latvin's offer is up for debate, but one thing is certain: Litmus's knightly honor could not tolerate the way Latvin governed its territories. This decision was a matter of principle—a foregone conclusion.
Meanwhile, as Evesys gathered his forces, Litmus marched straight to his castle. A letter from King Angus arrived. There was little resistance at the castle, as Count Evesys had already planned to make his last stand in a small village near Goblin Kingdom territory.
"The king congratulates us on a job well done. Once we've secured Evesys' territory, we are to stop and recover our strength. Mutual will handle the rest. He says our casualties are a bit too high for his liking," one soldier read aloud to Rebecca and the general.
"Did the king ask anything about the gold mine or Evesys' offer?"
"None, General. The king merely asked us to stay cautious and keep an eye out for any enemy symbiote users."
"I see. That means we did the right thing," the general nodded.
"But does this mean we must secure all of Evesys' territory? Or should we stop at the border town of Sicily?"
"Hm… yeah, that's troubling. Evesys' territory is quite large. This particular village is far, and it borders goblin kingdom land. If we conquer it, the goblins might attack us at any time."
"Why do we cower now? Evesys is within our grasp! We must punish all nobles of Latvin for what they've done to us and the people! They attacked us unprovoked and even unleashed a dungeon break upon us!"
"But he's rallying all his troops there. If the goblin kingdom attacks during that time, we'll suffer even greater losses. The king told us to keep casualties to a minimum."
"..."
Rebecca stifled a yawn as the general discussed the next course of action. It didn't concern her. As long as she could escape with Hiro, nothing else mattered. Her… no. Her and Hiro's hosts' survival came first.
"We'll deal with Sicily first. We must hurry before imperial reinforcements arrive. They might send a symbiote user our way."
"Any idea which symbiote user they'll send?"
"Latvin has four more known combat symbiotes. Sergeant Sheena, known as the Sword Saintess. Rashick, known as the North Wall. Delilah, called the Empire's Sword. And Delghar, known as the Eagle."
"Rashick is supposed to guard the Empire against the Forest of Tentacles in the north. He shouldn't come. Delilah is the king's personal bodyguard, so she likely won't come either. That leaves Sheena and Delghar. Delghar was supposed to guard the Empire from Vertia, while Sheena was posted to defend against goblins," the report said.
Hiro and Cecile had met Sheena before. The claim that she guarded the Empire against goblins felt fishy. After all, what was she doing in Horaine last time?
"It was just goblins," one knight chuckled.
"Yeah. It was just goblins. It was one thing when we attacked them on their home turf, but they're poor attackers," the general nodded. "That's why Sheena might come and attack us this time. We can't discount her just yet."
Goblins were a clever bunch. Weak, but they reproduced like cockroaches. In their home turf, they planted numerous traps, poisoned wells, and used guerrilla tactics that slowed down invading troops. This made attacking them a nightmare. But when they tried to assault a garrison, their weak stats became their downfall. Their crude siege engines were no match for human stats and ingenuity.
"Then that means we might be attacked by two symbiote users. Should we even march to Sicily? We should investigate the land first instead of pushing our luck. We must retreat if we are to face symbiote users, right?"
"That is correct. But there are no signs of them yet. If we pull back now, won't Mutual call us cowards later? If we conquer Sicily, we're already halfway to the capital. We can reason with Mutual that we've already done half the work."
"... We should investigate the land. Let us not push our luck, General. If we meet a symbiote user, only those with horses could escape—and we barely have a hundred horses."
"... You're right. We shouldn't be greedy. Our vanity should come after our soldiers' lives."
"Yes, sir." The captains saluted, and the general nodded.
"Alright. Before we proceed with the plan, Rebecca, do you have anything to say?"
"No, sir. We can proceed with this plan."
"Alright. Proceed with the scout."
"Yes, sir."
"By the way, when will Mutual arrive?" Nana asked.
"They should arrive in about a week."
The twenty horse riders rushed out from Evesys town. The girls were with them.
The first three days of scouting the surrounding area yielded nothing. But as the scouts crept closer to Sicily, they saw several soldiers marching out of the town, hauling wagons with them.
"Supply lines! And we're so lucky to have found them just as they were heading out." A captain pumped his fist.
"Where are they going?"
"They must be heading to Nechwart. Count Evesys is probably planning to hit us from the rear once we engage Sicily. Lucky for us, we're not that reckless," the captain assessed.
"Why did they come through here? Isn't there another route?"
"Hm… there are other ways through Vertia, but this one must be safer from monsters and shorter."
"They didn't think we'd raid their caravans?" Cecile was dumbfounded.
"If we had captured Sicily, they'd have no choice but to take the longer route. But since we didn't, they decided to risk this one so Evesys could strike sooner. Or maybe, if we had attacked Sicily, they wouldn't have sent supplies to Evesys at all, since they'd need them for themselves."
"I see."
"The journey should take two days. Let's set up an ambush tomorrow. There were over a hundred soldiers guarding the caravan, and we only have ten," the captain said.
"But we have Hiro, don't we?" another soldier chimed in.
"Hiro isn't a combat symbiote," Rebecca replied. "Cecile, how many can you handle?"
"Hm… probably five to ten after I use my boost. Depends on their level. Vertia's knights are about level 40, right?"
"That's a no, then. Let's head back," Rebecca said.
"...Alright. I'll leave two scouts behind to keep watch. Stay hidden and observe from a distance. Do not let them see you."
"Yes sir. Leave it to us."
They returned and left again at dusk, this time with fifty more mounted knights. The general had decided on a night raid to seize the supplies. Catching the enemy off guard while they were weary from guarding the caravan would increase their odds of success.
Hiro had always thought ambushes were the work of rangers in the dark—cloaked in black, armed with arrows and daggers. Yet here were Litmus knights, clad in plate armor and riding horses, launching one in the dead of night.
Hiro's assumption made sense. Plate armor and horses weren't exactly subtle. But with the ambient noise from wagons, the idle chatter of night watchers, and the weariness from a long journey, even the clinking of metal some 300 meters away was drowned out. The ambush still worked.
As the knights crept closer and closer, the night watchers finally sensed something was wrong—but it was too late. The knights were only a hundred meters away. Then they charged, storming the camp with a fury like a stampede of rhinos.
"Ambush! AHHH!!" Latvin soldiers scrambled for their lives as horses trampled over them. Several gunshots rang out in the chaos.
"Hah!" Cecile dismounted and dove straight into the fray.
If this had been a fair fight—both sides armored and prepared—she might only have managed ten. But now? Exhausted, half-dressed, and caught off guard? She could take down over twenty. With each slash, a soldier fell.
"..."
Rebecca stood beside Nana, loosing arrow after arrow. Each bolt whistled through the night air, hitting a soldier dead center.
"Why am I even here?" Rebecca muttered, sulking. She couldn't cast spells without risking damage to the supplies. The general had warned her—any fire, no matter how small, might cause a chain explosion in the ammunition.
Without her spells, she seriously considered staying behind. But then she'd be the only one who didn't take part. Even Elysia was contributing, her skeleton dealing with stragglers.
"Don't worry, Rebecca. We've got it handled here," Elysia said as she finished off the last of the resistance.
"I'm not upset," Rebecca grumbled.
Hiro smirked at the classic tsundere response.
"Perhaps you could ask Hiro to help the wounded," Elysia offered. "We have ten knights injured—five seriously. Some Latvin soldiers slept with their guns and managed to wound our men during the raid."
"Yes! I'll help them!" Rebecca's mood flipped. She skipped toward the captain, her wings fluttering behind her like a joyful fae.