Dark Mage Vol 1 Chapter 17

He was the newly appointed prime minister of the Ikarot kingdom.  His name was Serge, and he was a person who had the wholehearted support of the emperor.  He became a duke at a young age and he was an outstanding individual with a lot of ability.

After seeing him manage the affair of the Ikarot kingdom instead of the emperor, one could already guess at his ability.  Duke Serge spread the chart out and he started explaining the situation.

“Every monarch here should already know that the current situation is very dire.  Including the Kanduras kingdom, 10 kingdoms have already fallen by the hands of the orc’s allied forces.
Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds’ forces are very frightening.  The siege warfare we used during the 1st race wars do not work any more.  From the available information, we know that they use meteor swarm to destroy the castle then they insert their army.  This is how they carried out their attack.  It seems to be the doings of the dragons.  It is not possible to delay their advance with siege warfare because of them.”

The monarchs’ faces turned dark after hearing the explanation.  It had only been 30 years since the b.l.o.o.d.y Moon incident, so they hadn’t expected that the human realm would face danger so soon.  Looking at the current situation, we are in a more perilous danger that can’t even be compared to the other two.
It is the strongest existence on the Truvania continent.  Dragons, who provoke fear just from imagining them, are partic.i.p.ating in this war.  Duke Serge continued on explaining.

“We have to especially focus on the fact that there is a lot of monster in the orc’s invasion force.  There are a lot of monsters including trolls and ogres.  Even the Wyverns have joined forces with them.  Therefore, our army in facing an extraordinary amount of difficulty.  The effectiveness of the knights against the orc b.a.s.t.a.r.ds have strikingly declined.”

He spoke the truth.  Ogres and trolls have superior statures and they could easily face off against a mounted knight.  Originally, the orc race did have a cavalry.  The orcs had wolf riders, whose mobility was on par with the cavalry.  However, wolf riders were light armored cavalry so it was hard to expect them to handle the knights equipped with heavy armors.  The castles and the knights on horses had a big role in the humans being able to last in the 1st war. However, this advantage had all but disappeared.
One shocked monarch suddenly stood up from his seat.  It was the Karnatic kingdom’s monarch.

“How, how are these orcs able to rope in all these savage monsters?  I am having a hard time comprehending it.”

“According to the a.n.a.lysis of our intelligence department, it could be surmised that it was the influence of the dragons intervening.  As you probably know, doesn’t a lot of monsters take residence in the dragon’s lair?  They are the guardians of the lair.  Moreover, the knights’ frequent hunting in the past may also have had a role in it.  Everyone should know about this.  Numerous amount of monsters fled towards the Felucia mountain range to avoid being hunted.  The dragons probably rounded them up to join with the orc’s forces.”

“Mmmm.”

All the monarchs maintained the silence.  If you got down to it, it was their fault that the monsters were joining the orcs.  The monarchs were extremely guarded against Crossen Magnus, but his influence on the Truvania continent was large.  One of them was that he opened a path that increased the chance of a knight becoming a sword master.  He was a mythical figure that trained 250 sword master in mere 10 years.
He spread his own systematic approach to training mana to the entire continent.  Of course, it was less effective than studying under their own knights, but it still caused a huge ripple.  The knights, who learned this method, redoubled their efforts to become a master.  Since they had already taken up the sword, they harbored the ambition of becoming a master.
There was a line of knights who wanted to learn the training method that had originated from Crossen Magnus. Ironically, the life of the middle-sized monsters like ogres and trolls were threatened by them.
Since the dawn of time, the most effective training method was to hunt.  Of course, dragon hunting was the most effective method, but the danger to their life was enormous.  Therefore, the knights didn’t even attempt it.(Occasionally there were over zealous knights) Instead, the knights chose to hunt the mid-sized monsters.
The knights wanted to help their training while increasing their reputation.  Every knight started hunting monsters, and it caused the seed of trolls and ogres to almost dry up on the Truvania continent.  The mid-sized monsters had no choice but to escaped en ma.s.se across the Felucia mountain range.  For the sake of their survival, they had to go to a place where humans hadn’t touched.    Across the rough Felucia mountain range, the dragon lair was densely populated and there were vast forests that was sufficient enough to hide them.
The knights desire for glory caused the ma.s.s exodus of the mid-sized monsters.  However, the price had returned right now as a formidable danger.

“No matter how low the intelligence of monsters is, they won’t forget their animosity towards the humans.  In my opinion even if the dragons didn’t pressure them, they would have partic.i.p.ated in the orc’s army on their own.  ”

Serge had suspected this truth.  However, it was too late to regret over a hundred times.   The only thing they could do was to raise a fall back plan.

“We have to gather the strength of all the kingdoms to get over the danger.”

No one objected to the suggestion.  They had used the same method to overcome the two previous events that threatened the existence of humans.  The ability of humans being able to work together was their best attributes.  If all the armies of the kingdoms existing on Truvania was a.s.sembled in one place as an allied force, then they could act synergistically.
Therefore, all the monarchs tacitly agreed with the suggestion.  At that moment, someone’s voice resonated in the hall.

“That is not enough.  The danger that is about to unfold is unimaginably more critical.  I can guarantee that it’ll be hard for us to handle everything with just Truvania’s powers.”

Every monarchs’ gaze fell on one person.  The person, who yelled out, deliberately walked to the side of Serge. A bewildered sound came out from Serge’s mouth.

“High Priest Shrekheimer.”

The person who stepped forward was Shrekheimer.  He was the interim High priest of the current church and at the most decisive moment, he put on the brakes.
When the Oath gem was stolen, every holy men inside the main Belhazel headquarters lost their lives.  However, there was an exception and the only person to survive was Shrekheimer.
The previous High Priest Ificross was dead and he was promoted to become the church’s interim high priest.  He was partic.i.p.ating in this meeting as the representative of the Belhazel church.  He was the only surviving senior-level priest…
While looking at the faces of the monarchs, Shrekheimer revealed the reason why he stepped forward.

“The Truvania continent is already unimaginably weakened.  It is illogical for us to block the mighty dragons and the orc’s allied forces in our current situation. Moreover, did they not steal our race’s treasure, the oath gem?  The current danger cannot be solved by combining our strengths.  If we are to overcome this threat then we need an urgent plan that is one step above our current one.”

The eyebrows of Rosengard IV, who was quietly listening, trembled.  Of course, most of the monarchs thought that Shrekheimer wasn’t qualified to partic.i.p.ate in this meeting in the first place.  The glory of the Belhazel church had been buried forever in the past.  He was partic.i.p.ating on a formality, but he impertinently stepped forward.  Soon, his angry voice spread.

“What is more important than forming an allied force in this situation?  The only plan that’ll allow us to overcome this threat is to combine all our strengths.  The proof is in how endured the previous two calamities.”

“The current coalition cannot be called a coalition in its truest meaning.  Your Highnesses have forgotten the greatest strength that the humans have.”

“……….”

Shrekheimer spat out each word while watching the monarchs’ faces gradually stiffen.

“There is only one way we, the humans, will be able to overcome this threat.  We have to grasp hands with Arcadia’s Crossen Magnus.  Please request for help.”

Suddenly the hall became silent.  Crossen Magnus.  It was the name of the person that each kingdom’s monarch was guarded against, and he was finally mentioned.  Shrekheimer’s statement stirred up the kings’ wrath.  Rosengard IV, who couldn’t hold back his anger, stood up violently.

Bang.

The majestic beard was trembling and looking at this, one could guess how angry he was.  His gaze seemed like it wanted to devour Shrekheimer, but he didn’t pay any attention to it.

“Please think about it.  What would have happened in the previous two threats if he wasn’t there.  In my opinion, we definitely would not have been able to overcome a single calamity. At the very least, we cannot deny that his deeds changed the course of history.   It is unthinkable to ignore him when a calamitous situation that will determine the fate of human is happening.”

Emperor Rosengard could not even open his mouth because he was angry.  Even after seeing this, Shrekheimer continued on speaking.

“Especially this war, we are in a situation where we do not have the Oath gem.  This truth has already been spread by gossip, and everyone knows about it.  In one word, this threat is not something that Truvania can overcome by itself.  Therefore, your highness! Please bend your pride, and ask Arcadia for help.”

After his speech ended, Shrekheimer turned his head to look at the face of the monarchs.  As predicted, the faces of the monarchs were plainly displaying anger.
Crossen Magnus.  He was a psychological pillar for the entire population of the Truvania continent, and it could not be denied that he was the de facto hero. Unfortunately, this did not apply to each of the kingdom’s monarch. He started as a lowly mercenary, but he was a self-made man who became a hero admired by the people of Truvania.  However to the monarchs, he was only a dangerous figure that threatens their power. Isn’t that why they had cooperated with the Belhazel church to drive him to the Arcadia continent?  Of course, Rosengart IV feeling amongst the monarchs were unrivalled.

“s.h.i.t.  Why did he have to bring that b.a.s.t.a.r.d’s name up in this situation?  Crossen.  When will that b.a.s.t.a.r.d be satisfied blanketing the Truvania continent with his shadow?”

The race war happened 50 years ago.  Rosengart IV was an energetic emperor in his late teens.
He was in middle of a war.  Believing in his youthful follies and his personal knights, he ventured deep into the enemy lines and got himself in trouble.
He was in a life and death situation.  The personal knights, who were protecting him, was dying by the fierce attack of the orcs.  The main army was far away and they didn’t dare try a rescue attempt.  At that moment, Rosengart IV almost gave up on life.  This was the oft heard of fierce fighting ability of the orc race.  Moreover, his courage disappeared when he witnessed the cruelty of the orcs, in which they didn’t even forgive the corpses.  If he was spared as a prisoner of the orc race, then he wouldn’t have hesitated in declaring a surrender.  At that time, he was in such a frightened state.

At that moment, an unexpected savior arrived.