Shepherd Wizard-Chapter 166.2

Translator: Pai_

While House Parsha was pouring all its efforts into weapon development and preparing for war, Varaha, where Solif had returned, was also feeling the winds of change.

A new faction had emerged, one that burned with a desire for revenge against House Ruvan.

“So, you want to assemble an expedition force?”

“Yes, my lord! If we are caught, you can claim we acted independently and had no connection to Varaha.”

Solif rested his chin on one hand as he calmly stared at the woman shouting before him in a fiery tone.

She and those standing behind her were nobles from families that had been harmed during House Ruvan’s recent invasion.

Though House Ruvan had failed to overcome Turan’s assault and had retreated, the cities that lay along their route of invasion had not all escaped unscathed.

Several noble houses had betrayed Varaha, convinced it was finished, but those who hadn’t suffered great losses. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

They wanted revenge.

“For now, I cannot permit the formation of a private expedition force.”

“Why not...!”

She shouted with a voice that boiled with fury, but only for a moment. The woman acting as the representative clenched her teeth and swallowed her protest.

The man standing before her was the new lord of Varaha.

Although some called him a mere puppet occupying the position under the shadow of the House Parsha family head, he was still the head of a great noble house.

One of the most powerful and revered beings in this world.

“If you all go in on your own, you’ll probably just end up killing a few commoners or knights before being captured. Besides, it’s not like those people wanted to invade in the first place.”

“Well, that may be true, but-”

“If you want revenge, shouldn’t it be aimed at those at the top?”

At those words, the eyes of the nobles sparkled.

Like predators who had just spotted their prey.

“Could it be, are you saying...?”

“Yes. This time, we’ll be the ones to attack. Given the plight of the commoners, we won’t go as far as to annihilate their entire families, but every last one of those bastards who led this war will be killed. They might even collapse from within.”

Some of the Varaha nobles standing near Solif wore uneasy expressions in response to his statement.

Compared to its prime not long ago, the current Varaha was little more than an empty shell. And even though they had been driven back, House Ruvan had retained a considerable amount of strength.

Even a child would know which side would win if the two clashed now.

One of the young nobles standing in the back hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“Um, by any chance, will the head of House Parsha also be joining the battle...?”

“You fool! Know your place before you speak!”

At the rebuke of an old noble standing beside Solif, the questioner flinched and quickly shrank back.

Watching this quietly, Solif gave a short laugh and scolded the old man.

“Hey, don’t be so harsh. It wasn’t an unreasonable question.”

“My apologies.”

“In any case, to answer the question... I can’t tell you. That’s a military secret.”

After giving that response, Solif noticed the disappointment on everyone’s faces and gently added,

“But I’ll tell you this much, we’re going to march all the way to Slon, the capital of House Ruvan. We’re not just going to poke around the borderlands to make a show of our anger and then pull back.”

Solif’s statement was effectively a confirmation that House Parsha would be sending reinforcements.

If that weren’t the case, there would be no sense in Varaha alone attempting to take the capital rather than exchanging minor blows with House Ruvan.

While everyone else was growing excited, Solif alone remained indifferent, stroking his uneven beard.

‘I don’t know if this is really the right call...’

Naturally, the war with House Ruvan hadn’t been his decision alone.

It was something that came up in a private conversation with Turan, just before returning from Kalamaf after meeting with the head of House Zahar.

[War again? Isn’t it a bit too soon?]

At the time, Solif had voiced his concerns, asking whether they were rushing things and suggesting it might be better to wait a little longer.

In his opinion, the most favorable time to initiate a war would be thirty to forty years later.

By then, the number of Varaha nobles, who had been nearly wiped out, would have sufficiently recovered, and the child of Turan and Meisa would be grown enough to take up a proper role.

Depending on how compatible the two of them were, there might even be several children born.

The only issue would be how to supply enough magic power, but with just a few more nobles possessing upper- or top-tier potential, the family’s strength could be expected to increase explosively.

However, Turan rejected Solif’s suggestion.

He said that would only be yielding initiative to the opponent and being led by them, and that now was the time when they could and should lead the war situation.

After hearing all of the strategy Turan laid out, Solif chose to accept it.

There were many hurdles ahead, and the possibility of failure wasn’t zero...

But with the capabilities Turan had demonstrated this time, and if they followed the plan he had devised, the odds of victory were more than sufficient.

*

Naturally, it wasn’t long before Solif’s declaration spread far and wide.

This was because not everyone present during the audience had high status or the discretion to keep silent.

While some voiced concerns and others burned with the anticipation of revenge, a new messenger arrived once more from House Ruvan.

This time, the envoy had completely abandoned the previously arrogant and overbearing attitude.

“We sincerely apologize for our recent reckless assault, and we’ve come prepared with sufficient reparations...”

“Reparations, huh. That sounds good. But we'll come to collect it ourselves, so there's no need to worry."

Solif replied curtly and dismissed the Ruvan envoy with a flick of his hand.

With Berit seated right beside him, the way he dismissed the envoy with just a gesture evoked the image of a tyrant from ancient times.

Not long after the envoy was expelled, thousands of armed soldiers began to mobilize from the capital of Varaha.

People were astonished by the fact that Varaha, despite having suffered repeated losses over time, was still able to field such a large force, and that they were truly deploying it.

“It’s war!”

“Varaha versus Ruvan, who’s going to win?”

“If House Parsha joins, Varaha will probably win. Otherwise, they’ll lose...”

Now that House Lavitas had returned to its own domain, the only ones capable of helping Varaha were House Parsha, who possessed Sacred Relics that allowed spatial traversal.

Amidst public anticipation, Varaha’s army advanced northward, at a pace somewhat slower than that of a typical wizard army.

And as nearly three weeks passed and they finally began to cross the borders of Frostwind Forest...

"Is this the place? Where Armania is supposed to be?"

“Yeah. It was the only port of House Parsha. At least, until you destroyed it. Now that I look, I can see the corpses of your kin lying over there.”

Five warships, adorned with images of large anchors and fish.

Wizards from House Carmine and mermaids disembarked upon the ruins that had once served as a port.