Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.8 - Chapter 18

Black Weapons and Chalices

“Strahl told us he could not find the knights of Old Werkestock,” Ferdinand said. “They must be the ones fighting our diversion.”

The diversion in question was the group farthest from where we were waiting near the border. I used enhancement magic to reinforce my vision, then squinted to get a better look. Giebe Gerlach’s order of knights, distinguishable by their dark-yellow capes, was at a clear numerical disadvantage against the knights of Old Werkestock.

“Lady Georgine riled their giebes,” Matthias said, analyzing the situation. “Their skirmish might be a mere diversion to us, but to the knights of Gerlach, it is a battle for survival. They must protect the summer estate behind them at all costs.”

“Sylvester contacted the giebes of each Ehrenfest province and told them to prepare for battle,” I said. “We can assume, then, that Giebe Gerlach’s summer estate is filled with magic tools and the like. Let us unite with them before it falls to the enemy.”

Ferdinand nodded at us both. Henceforth, we would describe Gerlach’s skirmish as not a mere diversion but the main battlefield, to indicate our acknowledgment that the summer estate needed to be defended.

“That said, on our way there, let us destroy the squads Old Werkestock’s giebes are commanding. We cannot risk them combining into an even more troublesome force.”

Ferdinand noted that he wished to make use of our numerical advantage when he could, then stared down at the growing brown splotches. There were four in total, all scattered around the area. He pointed to the one we would reach first on our way to the main battlefield.

“Rozemyne, Lady Hannelore, and the retainers thereof: stay in the air, outside of combat range, and observe the battle. Pay attention to every development in the situation and the numbers of the mana-stealing squads. But first, Rozemyne, contact Aub Ehrenfest to inform him of our arrival. Secure his belated approval for Aub Ahrensbach to deploy knights within his duchy’s borders.”

“Right.”

“Heisshitze—for now, capture the squads rather than eliminate them. In this era of mana shortages, there is plenty we can use them for.”

“Yes, sir!”

Our company of one hundred and fifty Ahrensbach and Dunkelfelger knights was going to descend on a small platoon of thirty-odd nobles supporting a giebe. Barring any extreme surprises, we would win for sure. Dunkelfelger’s blue-capes all formed their schtappes and awaited their next order from Ferdinand.

“Lord Ferdinand, I have a request!” Matthias exclaimed, prompting the man in question to turn around. “I seek permission to check the traps I set up with Lord Bonifatius. We must capture Grausam at once, but he is a scholar and a former giebe, not a knight. Rather than being here on the battlefield, I suspect he is hiding somewhere in the forest.”

“To check traps, hmm...? Very well. But do nothing else and act in secret; I do not want to see you charging into battle on your own. Inform me as soon as you have found them.”

“Yes, sir! Thank you!”

Ferdinand then added ten knights to Hannelore’s and my guard before swooping down with his company to attack the platoon below. Matthias watched them go, racked with anguish, then squeezed his blue eyes shut to hide the emotion swirling within them.

“Matthias...” I said.

“I was born and raised in Gerlach. It was my home. I never thought I would see it so ravaged, nor that Grausam would be the one behind it all...”

Even as we spoke, nobles from Old Werkestock were turning Gerlach into a brown wasteland of mana-drained earth. Worse still, they were being led by the province’s former giebe—Matthias’s own father. The storm of emotions surging through the poor knight’s chest must have been indescribable. His trembling, tightly clenched fists seemed to exude both anger and regret.

“We must capture Grausam,” he said. “My apologies, Lady Rozemyne, but I need to take Laurenz with me; we cannot reveal the location of our province’s management cabins to knights of another duchy.”

“If anything happens, use a rott.”

“I will. I promise.”

Matthias and Laurenz then descended into the forest. As I watched them go, Leonore said, “Lady Rozemyne, we should put some more distance between ourselves and the battle.”

“Agreed. I must send an ordonnanz to the aub.”

We ascended even higher into the air; then I took out a yellow feystone and spoke my message. “Sylvester, this is Rozemyne. I have arrived in Gerlach with Ferdinand and the Dunkelfelger knights. We intend to support the giebe in his battle against Ahrensbach and Old Werkestock. As the new Aub Ahrensbach, I request your permission to act.”

No sooner had the ordonnanz taken flight than Angelica shouted, “Lady Rozemyne! There’s another platoon! Some of them fled into the forest!”

Hannelore leaned out of her highbeast to look. “There are bound to be several more lying in wait among the trees. It is our duty to find them, Lady Rozemyne.”

I nodded, enhanced my vision, and then leaned out of my own highbeast to inspect our surroundings. We had no idea how many enemies might be lurking below.

“It’s strange, though...” she continued. “Black weaponry or not, they should only be able to steal one person’s worth of mana each. How have they absorbed this much from Gerlach with so few troops?”

That was bugging me too. They were stealing mana for Old Werkestock, sure, but a group of their size would never usually be able to produce such large brown splotches.

“Not to mention,” I said, “what do they intend to do with the mana they take? If Lady Georgine wants to steal and rule Ehrenfest, her actions here will only cause her more trouble down the line.” Aubs needed to keep their land filled with mana, so she would inevitably need to replace whatever she and her accomplices stole.

Hannelore gazed down at the barren earth beneath us and nodded. “Certainly. She must have other plans for Ehrenfest once she obtains the foundation...” As someone who had taken the archduke candidate course with me, she understood well the strangeness of our situation.

“She must only care about destroying our duchy...” Leonore said just as a small flock of ordonnanzes scattered through the air. They had come from where Ferdinand and the others were headed.

Everyone fell silent as we focused on the birds, trying to follow them with our eyes.

“There were seven ordonnanzes!” Leonore said. “One went to the main battlefield while the others flew to Old Werkestock’s platoons!”

So there are six platoons? That’s one more than I thought.

“Did anyone see where the ordonnanz for the sixth platoon went?” I asked.

“In the same direction as the ordonnanz headed to the main battlefield. Perhaps one was for Grausam and the other for the Knight’s Order. They might have united already.”

“Lady Rozemyne, several scouts from the platoons and the main battlefield are on the move. They appear to have noticed us.”

As the knights around me raised their voices, an ordonnanz from Sylvester arrived: “You have permission to use military force.” It was time to send one of my own.

“Ferdinand—our foes just sent out seven ordonnanzes, two of which made for the main battlefield. Aub Ehrenfest has given us permission to attack.”

The bird sped away—and a few seconds later, a deafening explosion flattened the nearby tree line.

“Well, that was aggressive...” I muttered. “He must have been champing at the bit.”

“Actually... that might have been Dunkelfelger’s knights,” Hannelore said apologetically. “They are gleefully devastating Ehrenfest’s land... Please forgive them.”

I know this is a battle, but I do wish they would show some restraint...

Ferdinand crushed the platoon with his overwhelming numbers before sending an ordonnanz for us to reunite. I decided to leave some scouts high up in the air while I descended with Hannelore.

“Eep!”

In the blink of an eye, roughly half of the Dunkelfelger company shot up out of the forest and sped past us. They approached the next platoon with blistering speed and then attacked.

“Lady Rozemyne, let us focus on reuniting with Lord Ferdinand,” Hannelore said with a glance at her duchy’s knights. I nodded, and we rendezvoused with the group of ocher, blue, and violet capes below. Ferdinand and his knights were surrounding thirty hostages.

“They were using black weaponry and small chalices,” Ferdinand said, shaking one of the chalices in my direction. “Old Werkestock’s giebes hoped to be made giebes of New Ehrenfest once Georgine obtained its foundation.”

The platoon of bound nobles glared up at Ferdinand and me. Cornelius and Angelica protectively stepped between us and them.

“As you know,” Ferdinand continued, “the chalices are divine instruments meant to store the mana used to fill a duchy’s land. Using them in tandem with black weapons to drain Ehrenfest would make it easier for Georgine to steal its foundation.”

Stealing mana from a duchy’s land was equivalent to sucking it straight out of the foundation. I’d suspected that this would only inconvenience Georgine, but the chalices explained everything—once she was the new aub, Old Werkestock’s giebes would simply return the mana they’d stolen, becoming giebes and nobles of Ehrenfest in the process. They even intended to move the citizens of their original provinces here.

“The land of an aubless duchy cannot be filled, no matter how much mana is poured into it!” shouted the now restrained giebe. “Do you understand the frustration and emptiness that comes of pointlessly dedicating one’s mana—to have the people who survive on your tireless work do nothing but complain? A new aub in Ahrensbach will not save Werkestock. We may wear Ahrensbach capes, but we are a separate duchy. The barrier we live behind makes that clear.”

If a duchy ran out of mana, its people would starve—that was the problem Old Werkestock was faced with. No matter how much its giebes begged the aub for assistance, their land was seen as a burden thrust upon the duchy by royal decree, and their needs were always put below those of Ahrensbach proper. Their only solution was to secure an aub of their own, but without the Grutrissheit, the royal family could not send them one or open the foundation.

“Who can blame us for abandoning Werkestock?” the giebe continued. “The royal family threw us aside long ago, and there is no chance of us receiving a new aub. Lady Georgine gave us hope!”

I cast my eyes down. They had only acted to save their people, but that didn’t mean I could excuse them.

“You invaded another duchy and stole its mana, all while wearing Ahrensbach capes. I am sure you had your reasons, but as the new Aub Ahrensbach, I cannot overlook such a grave crime. Knights, move them to Bindewald’s summer estate.”

“At once, Aub Ahrensbach!” The knights saluted and then sprang into action.

“Retrieve as many chalices as Old Werkestock’s giebes have with them. Do not let them be taken anywhere else; the mana inside belongs to Ehrenfest.”

“Understood!”

Georgine had given the giebes empty chalices and exploited their desperation to make it easier for her to steal the foundation. Even if we didn’t yet know the full extent of her scheme, there was no mistaking her intelligence. I almost wanted to applaud her.

“Stay focused, Rozemyne,” Ferdinand said. “By stealing mana on such a large scale, Georgine has forced Ehrenfest to deploy knights here and in Illgner. Assuming her plan was to weaken the guard around the Noble’s Quarter, she must be close to the city of Ehrenfest or already within its walls.”

I snapped to attention, the faces of my lower-city family and everyone in the temple flashing through my mind. Ferdinand must have noticed how desperately I wanted to rush to their aid because he shook his head and pointed to the battlefield.

“You cannot leave until our battle here is over; it is your duty as Aub Ahrensbach to capture the nobles of Old Werkestock. We will also need Sylvester’s permission to enter the city. Because your medal remains here in Ehrenfest, you could technically enter without his authorization, but neither I nor Dunkelfelger’s knights would be able to join you.”

This was but a taste of the many changes Ferdinand needed to face now that he was being treated as a member of another duchy. He was still only engaged, yet he wouldn’t even be able to enter his own estate without the archduke’s permission. Anyone in his position would struggle to think of Ehrenfest as their home.

No matter what happens, I need to end this battle and get Ferdinand back where he belongs.

As I was steeling my resolve, a white bird approached us from one of the knights keeping watch in the sky. “Lord Ferdinand, the platoons that received ordonnanzes are now moving to reunite with their primary force. If we allow this to happen, Giebe Gerlach’s army might be crushed all at once.”

“Then there is not much time,” Ferdinand muttered just as a second ordonnanz arrived. This one flew over to me.

“Lady Rozemyne, this is Matthias. The traps on one of the cabins have been disarmed. There is no mistaking that Grausam is here.”

“He disarmed traps set by Bonifatius...?” Ferdinand muttered, a serious look on his face. “Grausam may be a more challenging foe than I expected.”

I suddenly felt a knot in my stomach. The traps put in place by Matthias and Bonifatius couldn’t have been easy to break.

“Rozemyne, have Matthias come back to us,” Ferdinand said.

I sent an ordonnanz to Matthias and Laurenz, relaying that instruction, and another white bird arrived as if to take its place.

“Lord Ferdinand, Dunkelfelger has eliminated another platoon.”

“Good,” he replied. “Strahl, oversee the prisoners’ transportation. Rozemyne, once you have retrieved the chalices, break through Old Werkestock’s forces and unite with Giebe Gerlach’s knights. Even if you are attacked, do not poke your head or hands out of your highbeast or lose focus on your objective.”

“I will do my best.”

Gong... Gong...

Fourth bell rang out from Giebe Gerlach’s estate—our destination—and we took to the skies as if on cue.