Under the Oak Tree

Chapter 318: Chapter 79

With the Baltonian soldiers camping in the training grounds, the mages moved their remedy-making operation to the main castle. Most of the northerners were either staunch followers of the Orthodox doctrine or uncivilized people with loose morals. As the mages considered both to be dangerous company, they made every effort to steer clear of them. They enlisted the help of the Livadonian soldiers, who ferried remedy ingredients and magical device components to their workshop set up in the main castle. Knights would also escort the mages whenever they moved about.

As it turned out, however, crafting magical devices indoors proved difficult.

Maxi looked anxious as she carried the device she had been working on with Anette out to the training grounds. The Baltonian infantry was in the middle of a vigorous drill. Perhaps because she knew most were former convicts, she now found them even more terrifying. She tried not to stare as she scurried to the workshop next to the armory.

“Finally! Quick, come help me with this!” Armin cried as Maxi and Anette entered.

Having spent most of his time cooped up in the castle forge, Armin had enthusiastically rolled up his sleeves to help when work on bolstering the siege weapons had begun.

Maxi hurried to him when she saw him struggling to raise a hefty wooden column. Before she could get there, her escort Ulyseon reached him first. The young knight shifted the column upright with ease.

Armin dusted off his clothes and gave a disgruntled sigh. “We are severely short on hands. It’d be nice if the other mages helped as well.”

Maxi shook her head as she placed the magical device made of drake bones on a long table.

“Deciphering the dark mages’ runes is more pressing. If we do not solve the wyvern problem… it will be a major hurdle in capturing the city.”

“Have they made any progress?”

“No, something about it has them stumped.”

When Maxi noticed soldiers nearby leaning in to listen, she quickly added, “B-But I’m sure they will figure it out. Master Calto has managed to decipher most of the runes, so I’m certain they udll find a solution soon enough.”

“That problem could be resolved with more help as well,” Anette grumbled as she dumped her tools on the ground. “Having a few more mages, even low-ranking ones, would be great. They don’t need to be elemental mages to help with the remedies or magical devices.”

“That is… actually a good idea,” Maxi mumbled, looking pensive.

Most of the Tower’s mages were under the services of high-ranking nobles. Though there were certainly free mages among them who were under no one’s command, the fact that only ten had shown up at Eth Lene Castle meant that the rest were unwilling to participate in the war.

However, those who did not belong to the Tower might be more inclined to volunteer. She had heard that the famine had cast many northerners into poverty, and no doubt there would be mages among them. The promise of compensation and the opportunity to study at the Tower could very well entice a few more to join the coalition army.

“I’ll suggest to Master Calto… that we hire regular mages.”

“We should get to work first. We must hurry if we’re to finish all of this in time,” Armin said, looking at the mound of drake bones and sacks of magic stones.

The trio dove into their tasks. Anette was in charge of meticulously carving depressions on the mantlet with a carving knife and fitting magical devices into them. Meanwhile, Armin laid out parts of the siege tower and inscribed fortification runes on each. Readying the magic stones to be embedded in the devices was left to Maxi, a terribly monotonous but necessary task. She blew onto her freezing hands as she carefully scraped the dross off the stones. Once all the impurities were removed, she began infusing mana into them one at a time, creating a mana circuit in each.

Though her hands never ceased moving, they quickly turned pale and raw in the freezing weather. The nearby brazier did barely anything to lessen the chill. She pulled her cloak around her and momentarily stopped to hold her fingers closer to the flames.

She looked up when a group of black-robed Temple Knights passed through the castle gate. They seemed to be heading to the training grounds. Maxi narrowed her eyes in their direction. After their arrival at Eth Lene Castle, the Temple Knights had ensconced themselves in the church building. They had made a brief appearance to greet the Osiriyan army, but other than that, they had spent the rest of their time indoors.

“It appears the coalition army is finally gathering in the war room,” Ulyseon muttered, appearing deep in thought.

True to his assessment, the commanding officers from each kingdom entered the barracks one by one. Sejuelu Aren cut across the grounds with four of his adjutants, followed by the Knights of Phil Aaron commander and a queue of his subordinates.

Maxi instinctively pulled her hood lower. Even a glimpse of Richard Breston’s face from afar was enough to make her skin crawl.

“Do you think., he will cause problems?” she mumbled worriedly.

“If he does, I am certain Sir Rif tan will take care of it.”

Maxi glanced up at Ulyseon’s chilling remark. Riftan must have given his fellow commander quite the warning, for Breston had not harassed her since their unpleasant encounter on the day of his arrival. Though she did not know exactly what Riftan had said, she doubted it had been a peaceful exchange.

Noticing her concerned expression, Ulyseon added reassuringly, “You needn’t worry, my lady. Even that man should know that stirring trouble will do him no good. He will at least hold back until the war is over.”

Fervently praying that Ulyseon was right, Maxi returned to her workbench. A moment later, she caught sight of Riftan and Princess Agnes walking together. She froze as she watched them pass. Though Hebaron, Elliot, and three men who appeared to be royal knights trailed them, Maxi could not see anyone but her husband and the princess.

Deep down, she knew there was nothing between them, but seeing them walking side by side still stung. While Maxi had failed to obtain his approval to join the support unit, the princess was allowed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

Old jealousy began to stir, and she bit her lip as she felt it rise.

Anette stood nearby, shooting her glances. She said bluntly, “If you’ve seen enough, you’d best start moving those hands again. We’re going to finish the day with only half the work done at this rate.”

Maxi willed herself to look away and picked up her carving knife. As if venting her frustration, she began furiously scraping off the hardened flesh and blood from a drake stone.

“So this is where you were.”

Maxi looked up at Anton’s voice. Anton, Geoffrey, Miriam, Albern, and Lucain were descending the stairs from the great hall. Her eyes grew round when she saw the five mages.

“A-Are you… attending the meeting?”

“Indeed. Master Calto has not been feeling well, so I will be the mages’ representative in his stead.” Anton swept his eyes over Maxi, Anette, and Armin. “You three should join us. We will need you to explain how the magical devices work.”

“Do you need all three of us?” Armin asked, frowning.

Anton shook his head. “One will suffice.”

“Then you go, Max,” Anette said without hesitation. “I’d like to avoid mingling with humans as much as possible.”

Maxi gladly lowered what she was working on.

When they entered the barracks, a Livadonian soldier led them to a large hall on the second floor. Maxi cautiously glanced around as she stepped through the arched entrance. A blazing fireplace heated the expansive room. In the middle was a large, circular table, knights representing each kingdom seated around it. Maxi spotted Riftan right away. He was grimly studying a map in the middle. Princess Agnes was next to him, whispering something in his ear. Maxi’s brow furrowed subtly.

“What are you standing there for? Come, sit down.”

Her frozen legs became unstuck at Miriam’s prompting, and she walked over to the table. Only then did Riftan’s eyes land on her. She avoided his gaze as she pulled out the chair beside Miriam and sat down.

“Is everyone here, then?”

Richard Breston’s voice came from the shadows. Maxi flinched. Turning toward him, she saw him reclined in his seat, twirling a dagger.

He said impatiently, “Can we start this thing now? I’m getting cramps from sitting here being forced to look at the dark face of a damn southerner. I’d appreciate it if we got this over with as quickly as possible.”

Maxi stiffened, blood rushing to her head in anger at the man’s audacity. How dare he insult Riftan so publicly before all the prominent nobles of the Seven Kingdoms? Riftan, however, seemed not to care at all. He calmly spread a parchment over the table.

“This is the map of the Pamela Plateau we created on our reconnaissance of the region.”

All eyes were fixed on the map. Riftan unfurled another parchment next to it.

“And this shows the layout of the monster city.”

Maxi peered down at the outline. On it was a detailed architectural drawing similar to the ones used by the masons.

“The city is enclosed with seventy-kevette double ramparts,” he continued dryly. “As it’s located on a slope, there is only one place in the southwest where we can set up the siege towers.”

He picked up a small model tower at the table’s edge and placed it on the map..

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