The Water Magician

Thirty kilometers inside the border of the Duchy of Inberri from the Handalu Federation.

The main forces of the federation continued to move south.

Leading them was Lord Aubrey.

The top leader managing the national affairs was personally leading the military as the supreme commander.

Generally, when an emperor or a king leads an expedition themselves, the term "personal expedition" is often used. However, Lord Aubrey was neither an emperor nor a king.

The Handalu Federation, as its name suggests, is a "federation" of "multiple countries."

At its center is the "Council of Ten," composed of representatives from ten countries that form the backbone of the federation.

It was from this Council of Ten that Lord Aubrey was appointed as both the regent and the wartime dictator.

In company terms, Lord Aubrey could be likened to the president and CEO, while the Council of Ten would be the shareholders.

Ten years ago, immediately after Lord Aubrey was appointed regent and dictator following the Great War, the power dynamics between him and the Council of Ten were overwhelmingly in favor of the Council.

Since they had the authority to appoint the regent and the dictator, it was, of course, expected.

However, over the following decade, the power dynamics reversed, and now there was no one in the federation who dared to oppose Lord Aubrey's authority.

How did he undermine the power of the Council of Ten?

First of all, the members of the Council of Ten are the kings, grand dukes, or dukes of the countries that constitute the federation.

During these ten years, all but one of them have changed.

Some have died of illness, others have been attacked by violent men and disappeared, and some have been caught up in coup-like incidents and passed away.

Of course, there is no evidence that Lord Aubrey was pulling the strings behind these events.

There is nothing at all, but... the new members of the Council of Ten did not find it in themselves to oppose Lord Aubrey.

To put it bluntly, they accepted his authority and were content to maintain their positions of power within their own countries.

As long as they entrusted the governance of the federation to Lord Aubrey, their power within their countries was guaranteed.

Ten years ago.

The federation suffered a great defeat in the "Great War" against the kingdoms.

However, even during the Great War, there were battles that the federation won locally.

In many of those battles, it was the then-thirty-something Lord Aubrey who led the federation's army.

Originally, Lord Aubrey was not a political figure but a man of the battlefield.

In any world, famous figures have titles.

"God," "Genius," "Emperor," "General," "Flying Dutchman," or perhaps "Blazing Flame Mage."

And the title that was given to Lord Aubrey was simply... "Famed General."

"Your Excellency, that is the City of Crew. This means we've entered thirty-five kilometers inside the Inberri border, but there is no organized resistance at all. What on earth is going on?"

"Lambert, the Duke of Inberri is conducting scorched earth warfare. He is fighting with the determination to never yield, even at the cost of everything in his own country... It is foolish, yet a terrifying strategy as well. In fact, there would have been nothing left—neither people nor food—in the towns and villages we have occupied thus far, right? I was surprised to see that they had even destroyed the wells."

With that said, Lord Aubrey smiled faintly.

The comparison of national strength between the federation and the duchy is twenty to one, with nominal combat power at fifteen to one.

Even though they lost the Great War, the federation is still one of the three major nations.

The duchy cannot compete seriously in a direct confrontation.

If a serious confrontation is not feasible, then extraordinary measures must be taken.

That is scorched earth warfare.

To establish scorched earth warfare, it is not enough to merely withdraw one's own forces and eliminate food supplies along the route.

What is absolutely necessary is to "strike the enemy's supply lines."