Chapter 389 – Fortress of the Desert

The ship headed southwest, pursuing the spies and Caduceus.

With time to spare during the pursuit, I decided to first speak with the knight who had been under mental control, Razak.

In the ship’s cabin, we spoke with Razak in the presence of King Farid and Princess Elham.

“Let me introduce myself again. I am Theodore Gartner from Verdgar.”

“My name is Razak. Sir Theodore… I committed a grave offense against you. Despite that, you’ve allowed me the opportunity to join the fight against Kahar. I have no words to express my gratitude.”

Razak appeared deeply apologetic, making his well-trained physique seem smaller as he spoke.

“If you were under mental control, there was nothing you could have done. For me, there’s nothing to forgive or not forgive.”

“I’m also relieved to know that Razak didn’t actually betray us.”

When Princess Elham said this, Razak closed his eyes and bowed deeply.

“More importantly, I used Lightning Magic on you. How are you feeling now?”

Lightning Magic Third Rank Stun Bolt. This magic functions much like a stun gun. Unlike Sleep Cloud, which can be resisted depending on one’s mental state, it’s quite useful in such situations.

“I feel no pain whatsoever, so please don’t worry.”

“Let me check just to be sure. Your hand, please.”

I took Razak’s hand and examined him with Circulating Ki… There were no blockages in his life force or magical power flow. He seemed normal. I nodded and released his hand.

“I think you’re fine.”

Razak seemed somewhat bewildered but nodded quietly.

“Your physical condition appears fine… But I’d like you not to dwell too much on that incident.”

“I cannot simply… I swore loyalty to His Majesty Farid. Even though I was being controlled, the fact that I couldn’t even consider resisting is shameful…”

Razak closed his eyes and shook his head.

“However, if you become too desperate in battle and don’t care about getting hurt, I’m sure both His Majesty Farid and Her Highness Elham would be saddened.”

At my words, Razak widened his eyes slightly and lifted his head.

“How should I put this… They’re most concerned about you fighting and getting wounded as atonement.”

Going into battle due to one’s own inadequacy – I understand that. But if the purpose is atonement, it becomes like fighting to punish oneself… or so it seems to me.

In Razak’s case specifically, neither King Farid nor Princess Elham intended to punish him anyway.

Both King Farid and Princess Elham looked directly at Razak and nodded.

“…For atonement, you say. Indeed, that’s true. As king, I must lead my comrades into battle… but losing more loyal subjects to the likes of Kahar would be infuriating. If you’ve sworn loyalty to me, I’d be happier if you served the kingdom for a long time.”

“I was certainly surprised at the time, but now that I know the truth, I’m not concerned about it anymore? I’m safe too. There’s no need for Razak to be punished.”

“…Your Majesty Farid… Your Highness Elham… For someone like me, to go this far…”

Razak closed his eyes, seemingly moved by their words, then eventually lifted his head with a smile.

“Understood. Not for atonement, but for redemption. Then this unworthy Razak shall achieve military exploits for the kingdom.”

His smile gave the impression of having cleared his mind. King Farid nodded with satisfaction upon seeing that expression.

The Sirius advanced across the dry plains. The further southwest we went, the more desolate the scenery became. Plants grew increasingly scarce, replaced by expanding sandy areas. Sand whipped up by the wind streamed beneath us.

With no cover, we increased our altitude and maintained sufficient distance from the spies.

That said, thanks to the Light Magic tool installed in the ship’s bow, the Sirius couldn’t be seen from the ground. By deploying a Field of Light beneath the ship that reflected the scenery behind the ship – meaning the sky as seen from the ground – we achieved pseudo-visual camouflage.

“Well then… Where do they intend to go?”

“Considering places that could serve as bases, there aren’t many candidates.”

After finishing my conversation with Razak and returning to the bridge, perhaps because one of my concerns had been resolved, King Farid – who had been amusing himself with and admiring the Sirius’s internal facilities and carbonated water – had now switched gears and was spreading a map on the table, apparently trying to determine the spies’ destination – Kahar’s hideout and their objective.

Hmm. Then let me share the information we currently have.

“Our current location on the map is here. The Familiar we’re using for tracking is a bit further away at this position. The spies are even further… here.”

I placed three arrow-shaped pieces made with Earth Magic on the map. A castle piece at the location of Nahalbia Kingdom’s former capital. A tree piece in the nearby forest.

I also drew Caduceus’s travel route on the map. Since this was derived from Caduceus’s measurement reports, it’s quite accurate.

“The spies appear to be moving while frequently checking their map and compass.”

“Most likely. They’re moving off the main roads. Probably being cautious to avoid detection by patrols, but if they lose their position, they won’t reach water sources and will weaken, becoming vulnerable to monsters and such.”

“If the vampires’ objective is in the forest… they’re heading in a slightly different direction.”

Grace tilted her head while looking at the diagram.

“In desert regions, bases become very scarce once you leave the riverside roads. However, even away from rivers, there are several scattered springs that serve as water sources. So then—”

King Farid traced the arrow’s direction with his finger and pointed to one spot.

“If they’re heading in this direction, it would be here.”

“What is this place?”

“When the Nahalbia Kingdom abandoned its capital—the Nahalbia people abandoned several inland bases. This is one of them. Even with a water source, without royal backing or the strategic importance of a capital, maintaining such places becomes difficult. Additionally, the spring’s water output had been decreasing, making it hard to sustain a community.”

When logistics to the capital are cut off, logistics to this land are simultaneously severed. There would be no military force to protect the base from monsters and thieves. Under those circumstances, they had no choice but to abandon the place.

As for the water quantity… it might be just enough for Kahar and his group.

“If their numbers were a bit smaller, it might be perfectly suited as a base.”

“Hmm. The positional relationship is somewhat problematic too.”

King Farid traced the map from the base’s location with his finger and stopped at another point.

“This location along the main road is the largest town in the southwest after Nahalbia abandoned its capital and was annexed by Baharzard.”

“Indeed… So they’ve chosen a place from which they can launch attacks toward both the forest and the town.”

More precisely, it’s a location from which they can launch attacks targeting merchants passing along the main roads.

“Additionally, it’s perfectly suited for vampires to hide.”

“What do you mean by that…”

“There’s a massive rocky mountain right next to the spring. The Nahalbia people hollowed it out and built a fortress inside. This place has been excavated down to underground levels.”

That… is certainly troublesome. Whether we launch a daytime assault or attack at night, the vampires would be able to respond. Even if we completely destroy the upper structure—that wouldn’t be enough to feel secure against vampires, regardless of Kahar’s group.

“Do we know the internal structure?”

“I brought materials about the southwest. We conducted investigations in Baharzard too. Unless they’ve made modifications, there aren’t that many exits to the outside.”

Well… it is a fortress after all. It’s designed to be hard to attack, so that’s to be expected.

I’ll look through the materials for reference. I’ll review them later.

“Let’s return to the topic. They need to secure food supplies. From this location they’ve chosen, they can either plunder as bandits on the main roads, or purchase supplies at the base. They can also reach that forest… within the same day.”

“…So they use money plundered from the roads to purchase food and weapons.”

Princess Elham frowned and muttered with apparent displeasure.

“Exactly. Kahar fled when he was on the verge of being dismissed as prime minister, sensing danger. At that time, he took a considerable amount of gold, silver, and treasures with him. He probably intended to use that while remaining inconspicuous to rebuild his forces… But the fact that he made a move against us suggests his preparations are somewhat complete.”

“Even so, if we confronted them directly, wouldn’t Baharzard’s military win?”

“If we confronted them directly, yes. Suppose we mobilized a large army to subjugate Kahar. If we don’t know their hideout, we’d have to move the army along the main roads for supplies. If detected, they would escape.”

“I see… For example, they could place lookouts at various bases along the main roads, and when they detect army movement, they could send smoke signals or something similar.”

Rosemary nodded while covering her mouth with her feather fan.

They could have their subordinates send signals to quickly detect danger and escape deep into the desert.

“Hmm. There are still several oases not used by Baharzard and abandoned bases deep in the desert. If they escape to such places, finding them would be quite difficult.”

Searching and fighting in the desert without knowing the enemy’s location… would undoubtedly be extremely harsh.

Even without that, Baharzard had been working to stabilize the areas around its bases.

Even if they vaguely knew Kahar’s hideout was in mountainous or desert regions, that’s probably why they couldn’t dispatch troops.

“For a prime minister who brought down a country, he uses quite troublesome methods.”

“He’s probably following the methods of the Duoveris Cult. I heard the cult was doing similar things in the southern deserts.”

At Claudia’s comment, Princess Elham shook her head.

The methods of our former enemies, then. They must be effective means for a small group to oppose a large army… But by joining forces with the vampires who were cult collaborators, they probably gained know-how that made things easier.

“Kahar alone wouldn’t be much of a threat. He lacks public support so he can’t gain cooperation from the people. However… if he’s teamed up with vampires, that’s a different story. He probably planned to make us focus on the mountainous regions before making his move… But this time, we cannot let him escape.”

Saying this, King Farid furrowed his brow. Indeed. We need to devise measures to ensure he doesn’t escape.

And so the Sirius advanced, pursuing the spies—until eventually, a rocky fortress towering in the desert came into view in the distance.