Everyone in Erich’s unit stared in a daze at the army of the dead.

There was still a considerable distance between them and the enemy. If they wanted to retreat, they could do so at any time.

In that situation, Frederick spoke up.

“There are so many that it’s disgusting. We’d better get out of here fast.”

Frederick’s judgment wasn’t wrong. Clashing head-on with an army like that was nothing short of suicide.

However—

There was something about all this that didn’t sit right with Erich.

‘Why did he bring the dead here?’

If Erich were Albrecht, he wouldn’t have stormed in head-on with an army that size.

Anyway, they’d eventually approach the First Research Facility, so he’d lure them closer and then launch an ambush at the right moment.

‘Just like he did with 2nd Fortress Commander, Hern.’

But Albrecht had chosen instead to rouse the army of the dead and march them this way.

Erich felt this approach was different from the passive responses Albrecht had shown up until now.

Every strategy has its own underlying principle.

In that sense, Albrecht had so far pursued primarily defensive strategies.

These had proven quite effective for shaking off pursuits by people like Hern.

But now, Albrecht, who’d always acted that way, had suddenly altered his core strategic principle? There had to be a reason for that.

Erich spoke calmly.

“Prepare the unit for a rapid retreat.”

“Of course it’s time to run away. Until we reach that Günter fellow or whoever, sound good?”

“… No, I’m not thinking of going that far.”

“Not going that far?”

Frederick blinked. With an army of the dead in front of them, wasn’t the answer to run without looking back? But Erich replied to his unspoken question.

“Albrecht is aiming for something. I don’t know what, but there’s a high chance he won’t pursue us.”

Mikhail, who’d been listening quietly, spoke up.

“… This concerns the very survival of the unit. Are you sure? Any grounds?”

“In my view, Albrecht is buying time. I don’t know what for, but…”

To Erich, it was clear: Albrecht was stalling for time. Instinctively, he felt it was for something in the First Research Facility.

Of course, to be sure, King—the wounded one—needed to wake up…

‘If my guess is correct, the dead will form a defensive line and will likely not advance any further.’

Albrecht’s behavior gave the impression that if he had enough time, he could turn the tide of battle at will.

Otherwise, there’d be no reason for him to hole up in the central region or to employ stalling tactics like this.

And so, rather than simply running away, Erich judged it best to withdraw just a bit and observe the enemy’s movements.

Of course, just watching would mean falling into the enemy’s time-stalling tactics, so it was necessary to prepare a countermove of his own.

‘Still, it’d be good if we had reinforcements.’

Erich thought of Günter. But Günter…

‘That’s probably too much to hope for.’

He was known as ‘Albrecht’s dog’.

In other words, someone who believed in Albrecht to the bone. Even if he did come as reinforcements, for all anyone knew he might suddenly turn on Erich…

For now, the only option was to pull back the unit and come up with a plan.

And so, Erich’s unit, always ready to move out at any moment, quietly began to retreat.

***

Just as Erich had predicted, once they moved beyond a certain range, the dead did not pursue the unit any farther.

Accordingly, Erich’s unit set up camp at a distance where they could just barely keep an eye on the enemy.

Within the camp, they planned to help King—the one with information on the First Research Facility—recover and to come up with a plan to face the enemy.

Frederick expertly led the troops and quickly constructed a makeshift palisade. Barnes and Frederick seemed to clash over some regulations or another, but that too soon passed as a minor incident.

But then. Someone entirely unexpected showed up at the camp—not just to Erich, but to everyone. It was none other than Laurenti, Ceres’s teacher and the Tower Master.

What was even more surprising was that he hadn’t come from the rear, but crawled out from among the dead.

Laurenti, guided by the soldiers, entered Erich’s tent. Completely ignoring Erich, the aged mage went straight to address his prized pupil.

“Ceres, return to the Mage Tower.”

“… Excuse me?”

Ceres also seemed quite bewildered by the situation. Wasn’t it Laurenti’s order that had brought her here to begin with?

But Laurenti stroked his long, bristly white beard and said,

“We have already obtained what we needed. There is no further reason to indulge the games of commoners.”

“What do you mean by ‘obtained what we needed’?”

Erich’s eyes sharply focused on Laurenti. The old mage furrowed his brow, clearly displeased by the scrutiny.

“It’s none of an outsider’s business.”

“From where I stand, it sounds like you’re admitting to colluding with the enemy right in front of us. If you’re going to treat us as outsiders, maybe you should’ve chosen a different spot for this talk.”

“Watch your tongue. Crushing you would be easier than squashing a bug.”

Erich and Laurenti’s gazes collided.

At that moment, as if a crisis was about to erupt between the two, yet another voice sounded.

“Is that so?”

Pulling aside the tent flap, Mikhail appeared. Even the Tower Master, Laurenti, flinched at the immense force radiating from him.

In his icy eyes, a subtle navy radiance glimmered. At that, Laurenti muttered,

“… For one who wields a sword to possess such formidable energy…”

Laurenti eyed Mikhail warily.

Then, as Erich organized his thoughts, he spoke up.

“So the Mage Tower has decided to side with Albrecht? It seems his research caught your interest.”

“‘Caught my interest’ indeed. What that man holds will completely overturn the standing of the Mage Tower itself. Still, I have no intention of arguing the point with you here. My only reason for coming was to retrieve my pupil, Ceres.”

Erich’s gaze narrowed. Clearly, whatever Albrecht had offered Laurenti was something far beyond the cores Erich had offered; it was on a whole different level.

‘That means there’s something of that magnitude hidden in the First Research Facility…’

Certainly, Albrecht was a politically seasoned figure. Knowing about the Shadow’s attempt to target the research facility’s data, he must have deduced there would likely be a mage involved.

And he’d retrieved Ceres in order to deprive Erich of a critical asset.

Without her, even if Erich managed to seize Albrecht’s facility, he’d have no way to interpret its contents.

‘He must have offered Laurenti terms he couldn’t refuse to win him over.’

Though Laurenti was a traitor to the Watch, the mages of the Tower hardly cared about such things.

In fact, Albrecht had already set a trap to enlist Joseph in the Tower, and would have previously tried to make contact with Laurenti.

After tracing his thoughts this far, Erich responded.

“Are you aware of what they’re doing? If the dead gain power, nothing will be more dangerous.”

“Do you think my perspective is narrower than yours?”

Laurenti twitched his lips in displeasure, perceiving the question as an insult—it suggested that he, the Tower Master, couldn’t grasp the dangers and had thus entered into a deal.

But regardless of the Watch’s standing, cooperating with “them” meant underestimating the threat of the dead.

And if even the Tower Master—arguably the Empire’s most learned—dismissed the dead as mere minions, it only underscored how great the threat truly was.

‘To fool even the Tower Master into thinking the dead are simple minions…’

In fact, the Mage Tower had only entered the fray at the very end of the final battle at the Great Wall.

Yet Erich noticed a subtle look in Ceres’s eyes. She, after all, had experienced firsthand what the dead could do.

Having also personally studied Albrecht’s research materials, she quickly realized the true danger of the dead far surpassed what the Tower Master assumed.

‘She did say he was preparing something dangerous.’

Ceres seemed to ponder for a moment, fidgeting with the book in her hand. Then, she spoke.

“I understand. I will comply, sage Laurenti.”

Her answer brought a sense of disappointment to Erich.

Was it because of the special relationship between master and disciple? She accepted surprisingly readily.

Laurenti, satisfied, smiled.

“I knew you would.”

There was nothing more Erich could do. Since Ceres had agreed to return, he had to let her go.

Mikhail clearly disliked the situation, but there was little he could do.

Erich slowly nodded.

“Understood. Please take Ceres with you.”

“You should think carefully as well. What Albrecht is preparing will change the world.”

With those words, Ceres followed Laurenti out. No one tried to stop them as they left.

Soon after, in the now-empty tent, Mikhail spoke.

“Mages, honestly…”

“They are unique people. It can’t be helped.”

Erich gave a wry smile. Ceres’s presence had been highly significant to Erich. The lack of a suitable replacement hit especially hard.

For a moment, Erich’s eyes flickered with scarlet light, responding to a surge of emotion.

“Hm?”

But at that instant, something caught Erich’s eye. Subtle traces of magical energy lingered nearby.

‘… Someone cast magic?’

Erich opened his eyes wide and scanned for the traces.

He found that the magical energy seemed to connect somewhere—specifically, to a small book.

It was the book she’d always carried. Erich remembered it well. But for her to leave it behind, that could only mean—

Erich opened the book. There, a clear trace of magical energy was visible.

In that moment, Ceres had left behind a brief message using her magic, and reading it, Erich’s lips lifted in a smile.

–I’ll go see it with my own eyes.

At that moment, Erich’s mind felt as if it had cleared. There was nothing more he needed to do.

Ceres herself would witness Albrecht’s research achievements and bring back the news.

Erich turned his gaze outside. There were many things to prepare before Ceres returned.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

Noice…

Hopefully Ceres really comes back…

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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