NOVEL NEXT Chapter 73
Bernard immediately reported all the facts he had discovered to Walter. Even Walter, who was so engrossed in preparing for the northern campaign that he hardly paid attention to anything else, naturally showed interest in Bernard’s words. Even though Walter’s attention was entirely focused on the north, he wasn’t arrogant or self-righteous enough to completely ignore the serious incidents occurring in the south.
Walter, who listened carefully to Bernard’s words, sighed and placed his glasses on the desk.
“So, it’s Dracula?”
“That’s right. The wizard was absolutely terrified when he heard that name and shuddered.”
“Well, that’s understandable. If a character from a novel suddenly existed in the reality of another world, anyone would be surprised.”
“Hey, Hero. What do you mean by that?”
Bernard frowned at Walter’s words. Walter shrugged, as if trying to indicate he hadn’t said anything wrong.
“But, Walter. I haven’t even told you that the wizard said Dracula is a character from a novel. How on earth did you know that…”
“Ah, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that my ancestors came from a world like Jeongjae’s. I have a few pages of our ancestors’ memoirs written in our language. It contains surprisingly rich content.”
“Then does it also have details about this Dracula? But why have you acted like you didn’t know the vampire lord’s name until now?”
“That’s because I wasn’t sure whether Dracula was the name of the vampire lord or that of his subordinate. But if Park Jeongjae trembled upon hearing that name, it gives me an idea. The usual vampires couldn’t possibly make that guy tremble. Only the highest-ranking members of the Demon King’s Army or a foe of comparable caliber could do that. And there is now a clear motive for the beings from Earth to want to hide their names.”
“Could it be that only the people from…Earth know about Dracula’s weakness?”
“Jeongjae might know that; I don’t. Simon Harriet didn’t jot down that much detail. The fact is, I read his memoirs so many times during my childhood that I still remember every single word about Dracula.”
“Please, do tell. I want to hear it too. I’ve lived my life hunting monsters like vampires, and it’s frustrating to think that I don’t know anything about that bread-baking guy.”
Walter chuckled at Bernard’s slightly whining attitude. After a moment of contemplation, Walter put on his glasses to help him think more clearly and slowly began to recite what he remembered.
“Well, it was like this.
But that doesn’t make sense. For example, one theory suggests that certain vampires didn’t originate from the old Caprice Empire but might have originated from our British Empire. Even if it’s not the British Empire, it doesn’t change much if it’s the Habsburg Empire. In our world, which is built upon reason and rationality, there is no place for fantastical beings like vampires; if there were, it would mean the balance of the world has been disrupted. I’ve fought to prevent that boundary from being broken, because failure would lead to the victory of evil and the downfall of civilization.
However, speaking of Dracula, he is merely a character from cheap horror novels, symbolic of formless evil spirits that mess with people’s minds. But why is it that this evil spirit claims to exist? And why does he say it’s a record that borrowed the form of a novel? I can’t understand why he chose such a method, but how can one explain such a curious coincidence?”
Once Walter finished speaking, he took off his glasses. Bernard shook his head, sticking out his tongue.
“Even with the benefit of those glasses, how can you memorize such content?”
“See? Not just any hero can do this. If you were thinking of it that way, give up now.”
“I’ve never been eyeing you even for a second! Not even for a second.”
Bernard made a face of disgust. The Hero laughed heartily and nodded. Once Bernard waited for Walter’s laughter to settle, he let out a deep sigh.
“But if that’s all there is in the previous hero’s record, then there’s hardly any detailed clues about Dracula. Ultimately, the only meaningful clues seem to be what your wizard has told you from the novel.”
“Did Jeongjae know the contents of the novel he appeared in? Hurry up. Tell me everything you remember.”
Walter’s eyes gleamed with interest at Bernard’s words. Unable to withstand Walter’s urging, Bernard quickly explained the entire plot of the novel “Dracula” as concisely as he could.
After hearing Bernard’s story, Walter nodded as if he was starting to catch on.
“Then in that story, Dracula is dead.”
“That’s right. But if you think about it that way, then that wizard must have also died in that world.”
“That’s a more complicated issue. We shouldn’t be rash to judge the movement between worlds with just what we know. Let’s approach it cautiously. The problem is indeed the Harker clan.”
“You have quite a close relationship with Count Harker. You must know something about him, right?”
At Bernard’s question, Walter suddenly shut his mouth. After a brief moment of unease, Walter slightly nodded.
“The Harker family has deep ties to that world. But to be honest, I’m not sure if it should be called a true family…”
“What do you mean by that? Please explain it in a way I can understand.”
“The secrets of the Harker family are secrets of the Harker family. I have no right to blab about them. Moreover, if this issue proceeds in the direction I think it will, then Asa Harker will eventually find himself at a crossroads of choices. To be honest, I don’t even know what is what.”
Walter began to spout nonsense that only he could understand again. Bernard, who was well aware from experience that he couldn’t have a normal conversation with a hero at times like this, finally gave up on listening for more detailed information and stood up.
“Well, I get it. You’re not planning to say any more on this matter anyway, right? I was just curious about how to hunt vampires; I’m not interested in digging into someone else’s noble family’s secrets.”
“Leave that to Baron Harriet. Bernard, you will participate in this northern campaign. Stick close to me and assist me. Among the generals of the Empire, I can’t seem to find anyone I trust.”
“That’s surprising. I thought I’d be assigned vampire hunting or logistics security in the south.”
“About that ambush? Don’t worry too much about it.”
Walter said. Bernard made a worried expression.
“At least two or more vampires are wreaking havoc within the territory of the Empire. How can you tell me not to worry about it? Since when have you been so carefree?”
“There are too few reported cases. I believe that Asa Harker, who has an aversion to vampires and a sense of rivalry, has willfully concealed the reports of vampire ambushes. Even so, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been any communication between the central government and Harker. Recently, dozens of carriages have been dispatched from Harker to the royal family.”
“Well, no matter how much the Count tries to conceal it, the royal family could at least keep the mouths of the carriage drivers who travel from the Harker Count Territory shut, but he can’t hide any ambushes against the carriages coming from the Count’s Territory to the directly governed territory.”
“Exactly. It doesn’t make sense that vampires would choose specific targets to ambush, does it? What reason would they have to do that? The fact that I didn’t notice anything until now indicates that, except for the ambushes that you mentioned by Count Harker and the ambushes we directly encountered, there were no attacks on carriages by vampires. That’s my current thought.”
“You mean there was a key figure on board who became a target? I feel like I’m being treated as a pretty big shot.”
“Speaking of which, we were also ambushed at the tavern.”
“Now that you mention it, it seems that way. It feels like I’m the only one who seems like an easy target among the hero’s friends, which is making me feel uneasy all of a sudden.”
Walter didn’t particularly refute Bernard’s words, as they didn’t seem wrong. Sadly, Bernard could only be seen as the weakest link among the friends Walter brought along.
It wasn’t that Bernard was weak. It was just that the rest of the members were incredibly fearsome.
The rightful owner of the Holy Sword with the light of the unicorn, capable of instantly annihilating the forces of darkness; the indomitable Crown Princess, who wouldn’t lose a match even against dragons; the Grand Mage, who could potentially wipe out two or three legions with just one spell if luck was on her side; and the Elf Lord, who could turn crises into opportunities even when surrounded by thousands of enemies.
No matter how hard Bernard tried, he was still human. Humans could never equate themselves with such beings. The fact that Bernard was even acknowledged as a companion by them was remarkable enough to be considered the utmost achievement possible for a human.
“What’s the scale of this dispatch? So far, the northern campaign has been more like a slow and steady advance with no significant achievements.”
“A combined total of 25 legions of infantry and archers, with the scale being about 70,000. The Eramenia army will support the troops under Margaret’s command, which amounts to about 12,000 with all four legions. And we’ll mobilize the entire royal knight order. It’ll be the record-breaking debut of Alex Caprice.”
At this, Bernard couldn’t help but drop his jaw. Upon hearing the news that Walter had delivered an impressive speech about the No-Members, he had suspected that something on a different scale was being prepared, but he hadn’t expected it to be this vast.
A large-scale legion nearing 100,000. This scale was no less than what the Demon King’s Army had mobilized during last autumn’s offensive. In fact, it could even be slightly more.
The Demon King’s Army, which possessed a total of 3 million troops, still felt awkward mobilizing more than 100,000 troops for a single attack due to issues of control over regional warlords. However, if it were a defensive battle, it would be a different story. Defense carries stronger rationale compared to offense, allowing the Demon King to deploy a much larger number of troops than in the offensive, especially if the battlefield expanded and frontlines were set up.
Even if the political situation of the Empire is better than that of the Demon King’s Army, the operation of pouring 70 to 80 percent of your available troops into one attack is a very risky venture. After all, considering the possibility of a surprise attack from the enemy, you must think about leaving troops behind on your home turf, and this operation truly feels like scraping together every last bit of available troops.
The cautious Walter had never attempted such an offensive before nor even discussed it. After a moment of confusion, Bernard finally collected himself and asked Walter.
“That’s… um, is that really the plan?”
“That is the plan. So, Bernard, I’m sorry, but there’s not much I can do regarding the vampire issue. This task must absolutely not fail.”
“It’s obvious the fate of the Empire is at stake, and it can’t afford to fail! This is completely different from dealing with one or two vampires that nobles can manage! By the way, why is the young prince commanding the knight order? Until now, whenever there was a need to deploy the knight order, Princess Rose has always taken over the command!”
The royal knight order is a mid-tier cavalry legion formed by gathering capable knights from various regions of the Audrich Empire. With a number reaching up to 2,500, depending on how they’re deployed, it could be one of the most powerful cards the Empire has. For Walter, who enjoys using encirclement and annihilation strategies to reduce the forces of the Demon King’s Army, having a powerful infantry legion directly under his command would be an excellent anvil, while the knight order led by Rose would serve as a very powerful hammer. At the same time, this knight order is notably the only cavalry force the Empire can mobilize.
However, as valuable as they are, the knight order cannot be casually dispatched. Should there come a time when they absolutely must be used, they would be commanded by the world’s strongest knight, Rose. While Rose, as Crown Princess, has too many duties to fulfill, her younger brother Alex often takes over command when she is not on the battlefield. However, Alex holds such immense respect for Rose that he has no objections to borrowing command whenever Rose wishes.
“Honestly, I initially considered letting Rose command the knight order. As always.”
Walter spoke. Bernard nodded.
“That would be a sound judgment. That kid prince has never seen the battlefield, has he?”
“I hear he’s quite capable, though. According to Rose, he’s pretty sharp too. She added that she worries he’s too reliant on her.”
“If the Crown Princess considers him worthy enough to praise, he must have some potential, but even so, nurturing him with some training is better than throwing him into the field like this. I oppose it.”
“Do you think I like this? But once this operation begins, Rose won’t be in a situation where she can comfortably play around with thousands of heavy cavalry. Margaret will be leading the Eramenia army and won’t be able to assist Empire Command. So who commands the infantry of Audrich? I can’t oversee dozens of legions’ movements. I’m not that much of a divine being.”
That was an expression that didn’t deny that he was ‘somewhat’ a divine being. Bernard nodded as if he understood the gist of Walter’s words, yet still wore a dissatisfied expression.
“Dammit, still, you can’t just entrust a naive rookie with the hammer role!”
“Eramenia’s lance cavalry will exceed 200. The knight order and Elf cavalry fundamentally overlap in their roles. As long as they coordinate with them, Alex won’t have to make all the decisions. And you know what I always say? As long as the hammer is strong enough, that’s all that matters. What’s most important is a solid anvil.”
“You mean as solid as the Fortress Princess. I get it. I understand. Well, there’s no point in nitpicking about the work the hero does.”
That’s what Bernard said. The conversation of that day came to a close, yet one question remained in Bernard’s mind.
What is driving Walter into such an unprepared battle? Is it really just the threat of the council’s military reduction? Or could there be another reason, something that they shouldn’t know about, lurking in the background?
A reason only visible to the hero, that serious kind of reason.