The Water Magician

Three days after the Battle of Gold Hill.

The Southern Army was surrounding the royal capital.

Due to the annihilation battle at Gold Hill, the main forces of Raymond's army were ultimately besieged, and most of them surrendered.

As a result, the fighting force that managed to return to the royal capital was minimal, and the original defensive strength was by no means abundant... or rather, it wasn't...

"Taking the royal capital won't be easy."

In the command tent of the Southern Army, the leadership gathered to discuss the strategy for conquering the royal capital.

Amidst this, Abel stated once again.

Nodding in agreement were Marquis Heinlein, Ilalion Baraha, Arthur Velasis, Landenvia, Lin, and Rhea.

Except for Marquis Heinlein, everyone present was a representative mage of the current era.

However, Ryo, a mage who gained fame from the Battle of Gold Hill, tilted his head in confusion due to his lack of knowledge about the royal capital.

"The walls and gates of the royal capital repel all magic attacks."

"What...?"

Ryo was genuinely shocked by Abel's explanation.

Is that even possible...? If the walls and gates do that, it must be due to alchemy.

He desperately wanted to know the mechanism behind it...

Whether he could understand it or not was another story, but Ryo's curiosity was bubbling up.

"Ryo, just so you know, no one really understands the intricate details of that mechanism."

"Huh...?"

"You definitely wanted to know why it works that way, didn't you?"

"How did you know?"

Ryo knelt on the floor, clutching his head as Abel made a sharp observation.

"Previously, two alchemists, Kenneth and Frank de Verde, who currently represent the Central Nations, analyzed it but apparently couldn't figure it out."

"Kenneth...? And Frank de Verde, the one who created the Artificial Golem? Even those two couldn't figure it out...?"

As far as Ryo knew, those two were among the top five alchemists.

Other candidates included 'Hasan' and Lord Ancestor?

In any case, if even those two couldn't understand it...

"Could it be that the mechanism was created by the restorer of the kingdom...?"

"Yes. King Richard."

The restorer of the Naitorei Kingdom, said to have mastered all attributes of magic and reached the pinnacle of alchemy.

He left behind a creation that far surpassed modern alchemists concerning the royal capital's walls and gates.

"Um, can we at least try shooting a test shot...?"

"Absolutely not!"

Ryo's hope was immediately dismissed by Abel.

"Ryo, I understand your feelings, but it's best not to."

Ilalion Baraha was the one who understood Ryo's sentiments.

"Ilalion-sama? You mean...?"

"Yes, I’ve naturally tried it in the past."

"Hey!"

Responding to Ryo's question, Ilalion's revelation was met with an unexpected retort from Abel.

"The air slash came bouncing back beautifully and cut off my left arm."

Ilalion said, laughing heartily.

"I moved right after I shot it, but it came bouncing back to where I moved... that was terrifying."

"Ilalion-sama, losing a left arm must be painful, right?"

"What? Ryo, have you lost an arm too?"

"Yes, I had no choice but to sacrifice my left arm to protect my neck..."

Somehow, the conversation that started about the wall's defense mechanism shifted to the topic of lost left arms...

The other leaders observed in a daze.

Clap, clap.

Abel clapped his hands and changed the atmosphere.

The discussion about their left arms came to an end, and the dazed leaders returned to attention.

"Now, let's return to the subject of conquering the royal capital."

"Ah, sorry about that."

Ryo bowed his head honestly.

"Magic is repelled, and physical attacks like arrows are also blocked. It feels like a membrane is stretched over the wall, preventing any contact with the walls themselves. For that reason, taking the royal capital head-on is impossible."

"That's why the Imperial Army had to open the gates from the inside."

"Correct, by betraying Harold Lawrence."

Lin spoke, and Ilalion Baraha responded with a bitter expression.

The slight doubts he had before turned out to be correct, but for Ilalion, it was nothing more than a bitter memory.