The Water Magician

"How bad is it?"

Lord Aubrey confirmed the situation.

"Approximately two thousand casualties..."

"Tch."

At this moment, he couldn't help but click his tongue.

The highest number of dead during this Inberri expedition had been the result of the sweep by the Vaidra Impostor during the public capital assault... but even then, the casualties had only numbered in the dozens at most.

Considering that, the death toll had dramatically increased.

"All of this... could it be due to my underestimation of the possibility of shooting the Vaidra Impostor due to fear...?"

Indeed, it had been confirmed that Knight Commander Stanley of the duchy had also been caught up in this and perished, and reports indicated that the elite soldiers of the duchy army had been annihilated.

Even so, the fact remained that the allied forces had suffered significant casualties.

Lord Aubrey let out a large, deep, truly deep sigh...

His silence was not a happy thing for those around him.

That said, it was an atmosphere where no one dared to break the silence.

The one who could shatter it was...

"Your Excellency, Lumber has returned."

It was the aide, Lumber, who was recognized as Lord Aubrey's right-hand man.

"Ah. Good work."

Lord Aubrey nodded.

"This is a harsh situation we've found ourselves in."

Coming in behind Lumber and expressing his unreserved thoughts was Doctor Frank.

Lumber had gone to the public capital to pick up Doctor Frank and the remaining Artificial Golems.

"It progressed faster than we planned. The first golem was used as a decoy, and the second was used to defend the main camp. It bought us some time. The second golem remains intact. Still... there were various issues, Doctor."

Having regained his composure, Lord Aubrey was not offended by Doctor Frank's remarks.

It was true that they had suffered heavily.

While they had decimated the elite of the duchy army, their own command had faced a surprise attack, and the assault troops into the city had also suffered numerous casualties.

Lord Aubrey had already accepted this reality.

"The second golem was sent out early because the parts were ready. If it helped, that's a relief."

The twenty golems that had been overworked during the public capital assault were supposed to arrive at this timing, but they had managed to send out one golem ahead of schedule, aside from the first unit.

That was the very golem which had troubled Ryo and Landenvia.

"I overcomplicated our strategies. We'll proceed with a large army and powerful weapons in a straightforward manner."

"That's what makes bringing the golems worthwhile."

Doctor Frank grinned at Lord Aubrey's declaration.

The assault on the City of Fion had begun to advance towards its final phase.

The Kingdom Adventurers from the Southern Army, who had withdrawn from the allied forces' surprise attack, were hiding in the forest beside the plains north of the narrow pass.

Though they were all elite c-rank adventurers or higher, there were eight casualties.

A few were severely injured, but under the guidance of the priests led by Rhea, everyone had survived.

However, the priests of the Southern Army were all nearing their physical limits.

While their magical power had been restored by Ryo's special magical power potions and commercially available ones, the physical exhaustion caused by using light attribute magic could not be remedied by potions.

It is easy to imagine how heavy the fatigue felt.

Taking time to rest was the best recovery method.

At that moment, the adventurers from the East, North, West, and the central part where the royal capital was located finally broke through the traps and joined them.

Thanks to Hugh's report, they learned that they had been delayed and showed frustrated expressions.

The only one who did not change his expression was the grand master, Finley Forsyth.

"Understood. Good work."

After Hugh finished his report, Finley merely said that.

This surprised Hugh.

He had considered the possibility of being blamed for acting independently or being criticized for the failure of the surprise attack. However, Finley did not touch on those issues at all.