Chapter 257: 260

Chapter 260 - Ars Countermeasures Meeting

"My Lord, we have received word that the forces of Barca have entered the Water Fortress Paramea."

"Barca has come. The Fontana family is now in a very complicated situation because the Memento family, one of the three great noble families, has begun to make moves. Naturally, we cannot ignore this. But how will they deal with us, the Arbalests, who might attack them from behind? That is what we have to watch..."

"Yes, that is correct. Whether or not Barca, which has been on a winning streak, will attack the Memento family was an important question. Frankly speaking, we could not have predicted what choice Fontana would make. However, the result seems to be to put the Barca forces against us."

"Well, I suppose that's what most of us expected. After all, Barca has a spell that blocks the Head-level magic of our family. Then it is understandable that you would not dare to place Barca against the Mementos, but rather place them against us. Therefore, I would like to ask you to think about it. How will we fight and win against the Barca forces that have entered the fortress?"

　In last year's battle, the Arbalest family suffered a defeat against the Fontana army.

　We should not have lost because of the overwhelming majority of their forces, and also because they were fighting in alliance with the Uruk family in the East, a favorable situation.

　And it was not just a defeat.

　It was a crushing loss that should not have happened as even the previous Head of the family was killed by Ars von Barca.

　Even now, one year later, we have not forgotten this, not even for a day.

　We swore that we would surely get revenge.

　We were informed that Ars von Barca had led his army into Paramea, the originally-impregnable fortress of Arbalest.

　Today, that fortress is ruled by a knight named Gana von Ix.

　The Ix family was originally a knightly family whose territory was bordering the Arbalest Territory, but the previous year's battle had greatly expanded their area of influence.

　They seem to be ruling the lands successfully and with Paramea's citizens having given up resistance.

　Barca is important, but we need to make sure that we pay our debts to this Ix family for having taken our land.

　The current army in Palamere is about 4,000 troops from both Barca and Ix combined.

　In contrast, if we send out our entire army, we can move at least 8,000 again this time.

　No, our opponent is Barca.

　We need to mobilize more. Maybe 10,000 soldiers?

　It was while I was thinking like this.

　In order to further deepen the discussion among the Lord and other members of the Arbalest family, I was instructed to tell them about the information I had gathered on Barca.

　If anything, they probably want to hear more about Ars von Barca himself than about the Barcan Army.

　So I begin to speak.

　I began to talk about the information on Ars von Barca which I had desperately gathered after the battle last year.

　※　※　※

　Ars von Barca.

　He is a male who will be 12 years old this year, his body still that of a growing child.

　Ars first appeared on the public stage several years ago during the upheaval in Fontana Territory.

　It was the so-called "Barca Uprising," a peasant uprising.

　The Fontana family is one of the historic noble families that have maintained their territory for many years despite being sandwiched between the Uruks and Arbalests from both sides.

　However, a previous war had nearly ended the Fontana bloodline.

　Carlos de Fontana survived the war.

　Raymond von Barbaros, a famous knight, protected and raised the young Carlos.

　Raymond, who was called the Guardian of Ice, was suddenly killed one day.

　The person responsible was an eight-year-old boy now known as Ars von Barca.

　Most people could not believe it when they heard the story.

　How could the Guardian of Ice be defeated by a mere peasant child?

　But it was true.

　Raymond was definitely killed by the peasant boy.

　However, this sudden and major event made the surrounding activities unclear.

　Normally, with the fall of Raymond, the mainstay who had protected the Fontana family, the Fontana Territory would have had no choice but to perish.

　Unfortunately, it was different.

　A child, who should have been still a boy, showed remarkable performance.

　That child was Carlos de Fontana.

　Immediately after Raymond, his protector, disappeared, he rallied the household and took Ars von Barca, the man who had just killed Raymond, into his own clutches.

　Carlos then began his rule of the Fontana Territory.

　Despite the disappearance of Raymond, who had been in charge of all aspects of the family, Carlos did not cause any major problems, taking a firm stand against the rebellious knights of his own domain to stabilize the territory.

　Yet, it did not stop there.

　Carlos and Ars kept expanding their movements.

　The results of their warfare are well-known to many.

　They continued to dominate at a breakneck pace, winning battle after battle.

　Still, that is not all that is noteworthy.

　Their victories themselves are what tend to attract attention, but that's not the most fearsome thing.

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　The most frightening part about those two is that they are "always battling."

　Ever since the advent of that Barca and the emergence of Carlos, Fontana has been in a constant state of battle.

　Essentially, this is more terrifying than anything else.

　Running an army is a very costly affair, usually.

　Not in Fontana, though.

　Despite the constant warfare, they never starve due to a lack of resources.

　Why is this?

　This is what caught my attention most when I was studying our enemy.

　Alas, this also involved that Barca.

　It was him.

　The secret was in his magic.

　The magic possessed by Ars von Barca could prevent the Arbalest family's spell [Distant Thunder], or it could create a stronghold in a very short period of time.

　Beyond that, however, it was capable of increasing the number of crops explosively.

　That was the root of Fontana's current unusual behavior and activities.

　When I realized this, I researched the magic that he possessed.

　But in the process, I came to uncover a terrible secret.

　Apparently, he did not inherit and use magic like a normal nobleman.

　Ars von Barca was not only a mage that could invoke magic without using spells, but also a sorcerer who could make his own spells usable by merely uttering their names.1

　Ars von Barka could create spells.

　And the number of them was extraordinary.

　In addition to the magic that could be used in battle, such as [Shotgun] and [Physical Strengthening], he could also use [Leveling] and [Soil Improvement] to increase harvests, and [Wall Construction] to rapidly construct buildings in no time at all.

　Just the number of magic spells known to us is as many as 15.

　In addition, the Fontana family's offensive magic can also be used.

　Of course, Fontana's Head-level spell, 【Ice Spirit Summoning】, may also be used by him.

　Nevertheless, there are reports that he is far inferior to Carlos when using that spell.

　Extraordinary.

　That is the only word I can think of to describe him.

　Moreover, Barca was also able to name the Familiars he hatched and allow them to magic.

　I don't know why, but he appears to be closely connected with the Church.

　Under normal circumstances, it is hard to believe that the Church would approve of the granting of magic to a Familiar.

　Yet he was recently appointed as a holy knight.

　The Church probably approves of his actions in some regard.

　However, it is not as if we can't take advantage of his limitations.

　After doing all this research, I have found a way... I have found a way for the Arbalest family to win against the Barcan Army commanded by Ars von Barca.

"Well. What exactly is that 'way'?"

"Nn, my lord. It is in the spells he uses. That boy excels above all because of the abundance of his magic and the Familiars that use it as well. So, as long as we do not allow those factors to be used on the battlefield, there is no problem."

"...... That may indeed be true. What exactly is the way to do that?"

"Yes, sir. I believe that the most effective way to defeat Barca is to engage in warfare on the water."

"A water battle?"

"That's right. On land, his spells such as [Wall Construction] and so on would be very effective. Moreover, according to my research, the same is true of the [Atmos Wall] that is our main enemy. All of those spells have to be triggered by touching the ground."

"Eh? That lightning-blocking spell can only be used on the ground?"

"Haha, yes! His [Atmos Wall] requires the caster's hand to be in contact with the ground when it is activated. The same is not true for [Shotgun] and Fontana's [Ice Spear], but they will no longer be able to prevent [Distant Lightning]. If it is on water, we can contain their attacks."

"I think I'm starting to understand..... Moreover, if you mean a battle on the water, it means a battle using boats. So his Familiars can't be used?"

"That's right. Even more so, the Barcan Army has not experienced any water battles until now. The experience of the soldiers of Arbalest, who have a deep relationship with water, is completely different from that of the soldiers of Barca. If we can draw them into a water battle, we will surely win!"

"Ok, let's take our army down to Midway River. There, it will serve as a defensive line to protect the territory, and the area is also suitable for a naval battle using ships. We will surely drown Ars von Barca and the hated Barcan Army at the bottom of the water. So, you who have heard, prepare yourselves at once."

「「「「「 Yes, my Lord!!! 」」」」」

　The Head of the family has made a decision after hearing my words.

　The most dangerous opponent for Arbalest.

　We will beat them to the ground.

　To do so, we need to lure them into a battle on the water.

　That would be my job, too.

　I will make them limit the route of their attacks on Arbalest and force them to cross the large river called Midway instead of going over land.

　In order to do so, it would be necessary to consider destroying even the Midway Bridge over the river.

　In this way, we, the Arbalest people, lured the Barcan forces out of Paramea and launched a battle on the water.

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