Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem-Chapter 436: Storum

"We’re stopping at Storum and getting a lay of the land before deciding what to do," Yan said, informing Zach of their plan shortly before they arrived at their destination.

Zach just raised an eyebrow as he looked at Yan.

"Are you familiar with Storum and the surrounding area?" Yan asked.

"Should I be?"

"Yes. Yes, you should be. It is one of the biggest cities in the former Evandiel duchy."

"Okay."

Yan sighed.

"Shouldn’t you be familiar with your own family’s duchy? You don’t need to know the ins, outs, and hideouts that don’t exist on any maps, but it would be great if you could at least share something only a native of the East knows."

Zach didn’t only have a horrible sense of direction, but he was also a troublesome child when he was young. No matter what he did, he ended up in trouble of some kind. Detaining him at a mansion separate from the main estate hadn’t changed that, but it had made it easier to control and minimize the damage.

Needless to say, Zach was not allowed to roam around outside. He also hadn’t bothered learning much about the duchy. The few teachers he had tried to teach him and etch at least some basic knowledge about the duchy into his brain, but he didn’t want to, so he hadn’t memorized it.

"Do you know all that about the central region?" But there was no way he was going to tell Yan all about that.

"Pretty much." Yan shrugged.

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"Good for you."

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Yan sighed.

It seemed Zach was intent on not cooperating. He understood why, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t inconvenient.

"Whatever. We’ll be arriving soon. Lahso will be keeping an eye on you at all times, so don’t even think of causing trouble."

When Zach glanced at the knight sitting next to Yan inside the carriage, Lahso nodded and tapped his chest with a gauntleted fist.

"Sure." Zach rolled his eyes and looked out the window. As if Lahso hadn’t already been doing that all this time. He stayed by Yan’s side most of the time, but whenever Zach started straying from the camps at night or during breaks, he appeared and subtly or not-so-subtly guided Zach back to his carriage.

After a while, they arrived at Storum. Zach’s brow furrowed and his gaze darkened as soon as the carriage door opened and replaced the stuffy but silent air inside with the dusty and noisy air from outside. He followed Yan out of the carriage and looked around.

The barbarians hadn’t reached Storum, and the fighting hadn’t spread to the city, either. But it was still a city at war. People in uniform and armor were running around. Workers were hauling supplies between buildings and carriages. Horses were being saddled and unsaddled left and right as knights prepared to set off or scouts and messengers returned with important information and messages.

Zach found it a little familiar to when his class had waged war against the Underworld. But the scale and the serious expressions on everyone made him realize how different the two situations were.

Sure, he and his friends could have lost their lives.

But here and now, people were actively dying. It wasn’t a matter of maybe dying if they were unlucky. The only thing their luck determined was when and how they would die.

And Storum hadn’t even seen any fighting yet. The frontline was still further out.

But the Empire wasn’t prepared to defend against the eastern barbarians without the full force of Evandiel. Forget pushing back the barbarians, all they could do was slow their advance.

The barbarians had been itching to invade the Empire for a long time. They had been waiting for an opportunity like this and didn’t hesitate to seize it when it came. They were invading in full force while the Empire was trying too mobilize enough forces from the other regions, most of whom were already busy.

The South had to deal with pirates and could not leave any openings. The North had to deal with monsters going on a rampage all of a sudden. The West was too far away and busy keeping the Sakra Jungle in check.

The central region had the most available manpower since it didn’t experience as many outside troubles as the other regions, but the central region was in charge of maintaining peace among the populace and responding to any emergencies, such as the war to the East but also the monster rampage to the North. They also had to be ready in case something else happened. They also couldn’t just leave glaring openings in their defenses in case the monsters in the central region’s forests and wilderness started running wild as well.

It was an administrative hellhole of trouble that made it impossible to secure the manpower to hold the line against the barbarians. And for the ones caught up in the middle of the war, the residents of the East, it was a literal hellhole.

Zach couldn’t say that he had a great connection with the people of the East. They had judged and ostracized him for his air of misfortune when he was young. They had spread rumors and isolated him.

But they were the people his family loved and protected. He couldn’t ignore their suffering. He couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

Zach looked around until he saw Lahso standing behind a corner.

"I’m going to help," he said before turning around and walking off. Lahso didn’t stop him.

Zach could try and run. He could try and escape Yan’s and Lahso’s control. But he wasn’t going to. Where was he supposed to run?

Instead, he had Alzara locate one of the places in charge of supplies. He used Yan’s name as he pleased to take charge of the medicinal ingredients. He and Alzara got to crafting potions that far exceeded the military standard.

Some people recognized him. Yanael stopped them from approaching or stopping him and Alzara.

Soara and Mandra located the field hospital where soldiers and residents who had gotten injured were being tended. Soara stabilized the life forces of the ones in trouble while Mandra used healing magic on the patients. It wasn’t her specialty, but she had reached the peak of magic.

Something as trivial as repairing broken bones, patching gashes and wounds, and covering burn wounds was relatively easy.

Nora didn’t have any special talents that were helpful the same way, but she contributed too by carrying supplies, wrapping wounds, and tending to the horses.