Iron Blood Earl Riccianne

“Hmm? So he's using his powers, too? ”

“No. He writes of the soul itself. ”

“Hmm?"

Everyone, including Lycaen, tilted their heads in scorn. It was hard to understand that writing the soul itself was instantaneous.

Whether or not, Tehaz continued to explain.

“His technique is to gather human souls and use them. ”

“Wait! Is that what you're saying? ”

Lycaen hurriedly said, noticing something strange at once.

I knew it well because I had the original memories of Lycaen. The once dead human soul could not exist in this world as a soul. The reason that the soul of the dead Lycaen died so badly was because he gave up his own soul in exchange for calling into something that could not exist in this world.

In other words, collecting and using human souls was hard unless they had the ability to call it in, like Lycaen. And even if they do, they end up dying because they have to give up their soul in return, like Lycaen who died.

But he couldn't have done it at the expense of his own life.

Then, there was only one way to gather the souls that could not exist as they were in this world.

“Yes, to take a living soul out of a living person. According to stories from the Byronites, the pain of the moment when the soul is extracted is not in this world. But there's no way to know for sure that the man who did it isn't still alive. However, it was forbidden to the Byron Kingdom in the past because it was taken alive. ”

“Tsk, what a jerk. He wasn't always the one I liked very much. ”

In contrast to those around him expressing anger at the cruel ways, Lycaen was a bit harsh. When he saw it, he asked with a face that he didn't understand.

“Hey, aren't you angry that I heard about that rascal? ”

However, the story out of Lycaen's mouth had little to do with anyone, including Caith.

“Him or us? Catching a lot of people is a bad thing. It's not that he's bad enough to get torn to shreds, it's just that we can't be with him. Doesn't change the fact that he's an enemy to kill and the fact that he's an asshole. ”

“Hmm? Well, at least we were at war.... ”

“As long as the war is not just any soldier, it is the same. We had a war anyway because we wanted something. ”

“That's true……. ”

“So don't be so judgmental. It's either me or him. ”

After speaking so calmly, Lycaen turned to Tehaz and asked him again.

“Well, I know he uses that technique, but why do you think he won't win? ”

“The number of souls. ”

“Hmm? What's that? ”

“He holds two totems. One of them is a totem used to spread Clymus in India. ”

In Tehaz's words, there was an idea that struck Lycaen's head.

“Did you say before.... The one the Byrons gave you? ”

“Yes. At the time, he was posing as a legitimate religion sponsored by the Byron royal family and offered to research the totem in question. ”

“What about the other totem? ”

“I think it's a new product they've made.... A totem that acts as a bag of souls. ”

“Hmm?"

“With that Clymus totem, the extracted souls hang around. Apparently, they've created a totem that stores their souls separately. ”

Lycaen had to tilt his head. Doesn't it change the fact that you always own your soul, whether you carry it around or carry it around in your pocket?

However, the next Tehaz explanation bore Lycaen to death.

“The soul that hangs around is scattered when the extractor dies. I don't know if it's extinct or not, but it doesn't exist in this world. But the bag of souls can be preserved. ”

“What? So all the souls you extracted from the moment you made the bag? ”

Lycaen asked me with a look on his face. Given the atmosphere, the bag was made for at least a hundred years. The number of souls collected over those years will be truly enormous.

“Ugh, I didn't just say you couldn't win. But how does she know that? ”

“Did Friella tell you I fought them in the past? ”

Lycaen gives Priella a slight glance and nods.

“The moment I got rid of the parishioner of Circus, I knew the totem of the problem. It's also the fact that there's a huge number of souls trapped there. When I learned that, I tried to free the trapped souls somehow. But it wasn't something I could do. ”

“So?”

“After you took the totem, you tried to destroy it somehow, but even that was impossible." So I had no choice but to hide the totem from anyone's feet. ”

Then Lycaen was able to see Tehaz's footsteps.

“So the last time he disappeared, he went to check where the totem was hidden? ”

“Yes, I hid it in a cave near the summit of Mount Hecron. ”

“Huh, looks like it's gone. ”

“I didn't think I'd find it. ”

Everyone's face turned dark. It is because most people know about the spirits of Lycaen, so they guessed how terrifying it would be if all the souls that had been put together for so many years were gathered together.

At that time, Lycaen asked with a curious face.

“But how did she beat him back then? ”

“The man was strong at the time, but the management of Clymus was immature. ”

“I hope not this time. ”

“Maybe……. ”

Tehaz said with a desperate expression. However, there was no significant change in Ricaien's face.

“Well, what do you think? You have to fight to know. ”

“Anyway, you thunder-naked bastard! ”

“Hehehe, now you can't come back and take it out. ”

Lycaen shrugged his shoulders once as he looked around and emphasized.

“Don't you all think so? ”

The first to answer was Emperor Criotes.

“It's never possible to get along with him. ”

The others also nodded slowly. Lycaen, who has confirmed everyone's response, asks for Joel.

“Hey, that guy...... Did he say vermouth? What the hell is he doing? ”

“I was going to talk about it before, but I didn't have a chance. We're off.”

“Really?"

Lycaen nods and asks for Tehaz.

“Grandma, I heard from Friella that she has a pretty good idea where he is. ”

“We can see the approximate direction. But don't get your hopes up. We can only tell if it's east or west. ”

“Hehehe, that's enough. ”

Preparing for war takes time. We need to raise the training and morale of our soldiers in time for the opening of the war, and we need to assess the length of the war and prepare the supplies. Understanding the situation of the opponent of a war requires considerable effort, and gathering the forces necessary to wage a war also requires time.

From that point of view, Vermouth was fortunate. He was preparing for war in each region in advance to rob the ranks, so he was able to move his troops without delay.

The war prepared for that time was short-term, and we cannot be overjoyed to see that the war that we are about to go into is also at risk of flowing into the long-term. But for now, it was fortunate enough that the troops were able to move.

However, it was originally trembling to think that this war was unnecessary.

“How many troops are there? ”

On a crazy galloping horse, Vermont asks Baroque, riding side by side.

“Most of the troops in the east are ready to set sail at Cerond Gateway. However, the troops in the central and western regions are still... ”

“Two days until Cerond Gateway……. If you run nonstop, you'll be there tomorrow night. ”

“Yes? But if you went that far... ”

Bermurk, who was running indefinitely, put up a horse. It was time for the shadow to fade to the east. But I didn't have time to relax. Bermurk ordered a search for eight wagons led by eight horses.

Until now, I ran during the day and slept well at night because I needed time to gather my troops. Now that the troops have gathered, there is no reason to delay with a relaxing break. I was a little uncomfortable, but I was able to relieve some fatigue when I slept in the wagon.

When it was sunny, Vermouth saddled his horse again. Arriving at the Eastern Cerond Gateway was the time when the sun was shifting to the west.

“I've been waiting! ”

The man who met Vermouth was the Duke of Sepiteron, a cavalry sergeant who set off a few days earlier.

“Any history?”

“We are ready for you to leave at any time, as you instructed. ”

“Sue?"

“Yes, we have 70,000 troops. ”

Given that there are 150,000 of the 300,000 troops in the Empire under Vermook's command, it was quite surprising that 70,000 troops gathered in such a short time.

A significant proportion of the Empire's troops were deployed to the east to fend off the Brent Kingdom. And the troops in Circus were preparing for war by planning.

“Hmm, 70,000…. ”

# 262