Published: January 15, 2026
【Jarpa】
It had been two days since arriving in Centena. Steadily, the geographical understanding and the knight order's combat preparations were progressing. Even though the fortress city was within my territory, just beyond Centena lay foreign land. Only a few kilometers ahead was Opel, the fortress city the Shelvia Confederation prided itself on.
As the sun began to set, Centena’s walls turned red. Sandwiched between cliffs on both sides, Centena was shadowed earlier than other places. The evening sun was blocked by the rocky cliffs, and the view grew dim.
Where would the enemy come from? Having suffered continuous defeats so far, surely they wouldn’t dare attack head-on.
Putting myself in the opponent’s shoes, I considered various strategies on how I would capture Centena.
While doing so, footsteps sounded behind me.
“Your Excellency, please come inside. The patrol is being handled by the designated personnel.”
It was Talga. Glancing back, a large man stood expressionless, sending a chill down my spine.
“...We have already prepared anticipating the movements of Yelinetta and Shelvia. But somehow, I can’t shake the feeling that something has been overlooked.”
I said that, and Talga stared intently toward Shelvia’s land, exhaling sharply.
“...Hmm. Is this about that cannon, perhaps?”
“Yes. It’s one of the assumptions, but the information on the cannon is insufficient. If it can be operated over long distances beyond our attack capabilities, we would be forced into a field battle, not siege defense. If this land falls, there’s no turning back. At that point, we’d have to either forcefully close the distance with the cavalry or prepare for a banzai charge...”
While answering Talga’s question, a sudden, lingering sound caught my ear. It was far away, echoed, and I couldn’t pinpoint the exact location.
But it definitely came from above.
“...What was that sound just now?”
I muttered, and Talga furrowed his brow deeply, looking up toward the cliffs on both sides of Centena.
“...Could it be that there’s a large number of troops on those cliffs...?”
Just after Talga muttered that in a groan, a heavy bass sound that shook the ground echoed. Delayed behind that, there were continuous sounds of something hard and heavy colliding and violent destructive explosions.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a huge tower collapse. It wasn’t a slender, tall spire but a large tower where dozens could line up on the rooftop. The upper third of the tower crumbled with a rattling noise.
“Damn it!”
Without thinking, I shouted. It was definitely a cannon. I’d seen Black Orbs before, but their power wasn’t like this. Black Orbs destroyed surfaces of materials more than causing this level of destructive force.
I glared angrily at the cliffs around us as if hunting an old enemy. Then, to the east cliff a little farther away, I spotted smoke. Although the sun had already set and the surroundings darkened, that gray smoke was strangely visible.
We must prevent any pursuit. Prioritizing attack speed, I quickly began chanting and activated magic.
“...Heat Bow!”
As I spoke the spell name, mana surged from my fingertips. Swinging my arm toward the cliff, the mana thickened visibly, transforming into blazing flames. A fiery mass shot out like an arrow, flying straight toward the cliff top.
The flames engulfed the trees spreading across the cliff, including where the smoke rose, burning them to ashes.
Seeing this, Talga snapped back to reality.
“Your Excellency, please return inside the building. We may be targeted from other locations as well.”
“I know! Damn it, we should’ve thoroughly investigated those cliffs too! This is infuriating!”
I shouted, slamming the castle wall with my fist. The impact and dull pain shook my bones, but my anger overwhelmed it.
“There’s no helping it. Even adventurers can’t easily climb those cliffs. There are demonic beasts, and as commander of the knight order, sending a small number of men up there would be too risky. They’d likely be wiped out by magical attacks from below, just like now.”