Shepherd Wizard-Chapter 168.1
Translator: Pai_
"Wow, this is absolutely terrifying......"
Northern part of the Land of Five Lakes, the Ebbrell River facing Frostwind Forest.
A young man dressed in the attire of a House Varaha knight muttered as he looked at the camp stretched out across the river.
Across the massive river, about two hundred meters wide, were deployed the wizards of the Great Noble House Ruvan.
True to their reputation for specializing in melee combat, they were equipped with solid heavy armor and large weapons.
If they were to storm this place, just a few of them would be enough to reduce it to rubble.
As he imagined such terrifying scenarios, someone suddenly grabbed the young man from behind and scolded him in a harsh whisper.
“I told you all not to approach the riverbank.”
“I, I’m sorry.”
“You idiot! I’ve told you countless times, but wizards, especially nobles, have senses far sharper than we think. If you loiter around one more time, consider yourself sentenced to death.”
The middle-aged man glared at the young man who repeatedly bowed and stepped back, then soon turned his gaze to the Ruvan camp.
A few minutes later, he sighed softly, believing the other side hadn’t noticed anything strange.
“Whew.......”
A few weeks ago, the nobles of House Varaha had received unusual orders from their family head.
They were instructed to gather an army consisting of several nobles, about fifty knights, and around a thousand commoners and march toward Ruvan.
No matter how one thought about it, it was a difficult order to understand.
Fifty wizards and a thousand commoners, what meaning could such a composition have for an army?
Even if they armed those powerless beings, just a few well-trained knights would slaughter them easily. And if it were nobles, ordinary iron weapons couldn’t even pierce their skin.
Moreover, they were so slow-moving that after walking twenty or thirty kilometers a day, they would be too exhausted to fight.
To the House Varaha nobles who voiced their doubts, the family head calmly responded.
[It's a fake army. Just move to threaten House Ruvan, but don't engage in battle.]
In any case, the command of a family head, godlike in stature, had to be followed, and before long, House Varaha had assembled an army of commoners.
The first-timers wearing wizard robes looked at each other with embarrassed expressions.
[Wow.......]
[Wearing these, we really do look like real wizards.]
They didn’t just gather anyone from the streets; there were a few conditions.
They must not be excessively ugly in appearance, and they had to be young enough, under forty, with sufficient physical strength.
All of this was carried out under the leadership of the few trusted vassals of House Varaha.
Thus, the secretly and meticulously selected group faced an incredibly grueling forced march toward House Ruvan territory.
A harsh schedule of sixty kilometers a day, something utterly impossible for ordinary people.
It was only possible because they gathered young and strong individuals and continuously had Healers treat them, but even that was slow compared to the march of a proper wizard army.
Relatively speaking, it was about the speed at which a normal wizard army would stroll along leisurely.
Since arriving, this fake army had been engaged in a standoff with the Ruvan army across the river for over a week.
In essence, it was like a cat growling at a tiger.
“Arke.”
Lost in thought for just a moment, the middle-aged man called Arke turned his head at the voice calling him.
Standing there was a beautiful woman with black hair and green eyes, with fresh blood dripping from the long sword in her hand.
Having once participated in the Lavitas–Varaha war, Arke recognized that sword as the belonging of the head of House Parsha.
“Did you call for me, Berit nim.”
“I caught eleven spies who were trying to scout our situation. They’re laid out to the west, so send someone to take care of them.”
“Understood.”
Leading this army was his role as one of the few nobles of House Varaha, but the highest authority within the army was not him, it was the woman before his eyes.
Berit Zahar.
A noble of House Zahar, lover of Solif, head of House Varaha, and in truth, someone appointed to be his partner.
She had been assigned the task of blocking any attempts to scout this fake army during its entire march and encampment.
Exactly how it worked was unclear, but she seemed to be aided by a stone tablet she constantly kept her eyes on.
“Uh, Berit nim.”
“Hm?”
After scolding a young man earlier for acting rashly, he had now made a similar mistake himself.
Sighing briefly over his own careless action, Arke decided he had already taken the step and asked the question.
“By any chance, do you know where the main force is while we’re camouflaging ourselves here?”
This operation had been carried out with such secrecy that even he, a noble of fairly high standing, knew none of the detailed circumstances.
To his question, Berit tilted her head with a crooked smile and asked.
“Why do you want to know that? Who are you planning to tell?”
“That’s not it! It’s just.......”
“The moment a secret leaves your mouth, the right to protect it passes not to you but to the one who hears it. That’s the family motto of House Zahar.”
“I apologize.”
“But to reconfirm what I said before......if they launch a proper attack, surrender. I won’t hold you responsible.”
So lightly crushing his curiosity, Berit pulled out a few cosmetics from her bosom and tapped them onto her face.
“Ugh, camping in a place like this is ruining my skin...... I wish I had skin like my sis’s that didn’t need much care.”
Berit spoke in a tone of lament as her gaze soon turned to the left.
More precisely, she turned westward, where her lover was likely to be.
‘By now, something should have happened.’
Berit had informed House Zahar that Varaha had assembled an army and was marching toward House Ruvan.
Her lover, and his most trusted friend, who was also her sixth cousin, was convinced that other enemies would not miss the opportunity created by this opening.
Whoever they were, those who dared to exploit the gap would face a horrifying calamity.
***
