South of Newland, about seventeen kilometers on the inland sea. I've been going around this area for almost two hours. It was midnight, and there was not even a ghost except for the sound of the rushing waves. Know that late night is a no-no sailing.

Why am I here.

Because of the decision-making of the top brass of the Southern Army, or because of my over-the-top words.

That's why I'm here, at least until the port's defenses are removed, and I have to maintain this posture of high-speed sailing. Otherwise, it will sink. You know, I'm a landlubber, and I have a certain deep-sea phobia. Just overcoming this problem wastes the boss's strength.

Two hours ago, Newland, the courteous Empire, sent an emissary to politely inform the other party that the Empire is now declaring war on you, please be ready, and then after the other party laughed and took it as an April Fool's joke, he walked away.

You must know that Newland is one of the richest countries in Azero, and its high degree of commercialization also makes this country have world-class mercenaries.

For them, it is good to leave the matter of fighting to the mercenaries. As long as you have money, you still have to worry that no one will sell your life for you? Most of the pretentious Newlanders are businessmen, all kinds of businessmen. In the face of absolute interests, these people never thought that one day they would burn to their doorstep.

Outcome......

Five minutes after the messenger left, the war began. It wasn't until the first round of cannon shelling was over and half of the walls were destroyed that the gang realized that this wasn't really an April Fool's joke.

Fortunately, the empire did not take advantage of the victory, which gave the Newlanders a chance to catch their breath. First of all, the Chamber of Commerce Alliance jumped over the level and transferred the nearest mercenary group, the "Lionheart Mercenary Group", to the defense outside the main city to make up for the gap that was smashed by the artillery bombardment of the city wall. Then the soldiers split up and reported the matter to the royal family, and asked the king to open the magic shield in case of a new round of artillery bombardment from the empire. The other way is to go to the Mage Tower and summon the Mage to help.

That's right, Newland's own team of mages, and they make enough money to support a team of mages that have always been small. It's just that most of these mages have strange tempers, and when they have nothing to do, they will practice all kinds of meditation and spell practices in the arcane holy land of Anrazin. They will only be called when they need to, and the strange thing is that how many people come at one time depends entirely on the mood of the group.

Typical listening tunes don't listen to announcements!

Let's talk about the system of composition of Newland, which is a bit like the board of directors of a joint-stock company today. The royal family is like the chairman, and the chamber of commerce is the shareholder, and the prime minister is the chairman's advisor, foreign affairs, defense, internal affairs, and so on. The Chamber of Commerce Alliance, on the other hand, is represented by its own elected representatives and participates in decision-making in a number of countries.

The royal family also has another mission, which is to open the shield formed by the Terrastone crystal in times of war. And yes, only the blood of the royal family can open this shield.

Fortunately, the king was a sensible man, and before the war mobilization order began, he opened the kingdom's shield. Although the people below have already been in Luancheng, they have stopped here when they are lost.

[In that case, it should be fine....... , can only hold out until dawn, and the men of Amestris should withdraw their troops. ]

A certain prime minister in the conference room, after reading the report in his hand, saluted the king.

The current king of Newland is named Olista Fein Newsman, who is in his seventies, and his energy is obviously much worse than that of everyone here.

[Hyde!Is there any news from the Mage Tower?]

[The Chamber of Commerce has already sent someone over, and there should be a response before dawn.] ]

[Well, let's do this for now!] ]

Just as Olista was about to announce the temporary dismissal of the meeting, a new round of artillery bombardment in the empire began. Wave after wave of high-explosive shells smashed the shield. It seems that if you don't smash the shield into a big hole, you won't stop.

The high-explosive shells of the magic cannon smashed a wave of ripples on the shield, although it did not destroy the shield, but the earth-shaking movement still moved the ordinary citizens of Newland to be worried.

[Why don't you transfer the mercenaries stationed in the Mage Tower, it is said that the Empire has been training secret troops all the time, and if they are also involved in the war, it will be difficult for the Lionheart to cope with it alone.] ]

[Regis, are you questioning the power of the royal family?]

[Austin, this is not the time to make a fool of yourself, the empire has been neighbors with us for many years, Your Majesty's ability they should know better than you and me, and it is definitely not groundless to go to war at this time. It is not impossible for the other party to find a way to break the shield. If they are allowed to infiltrate, the consequences are very serious. ]

As one of the prime ministers, it is not for nothing that Regis said such things. He had been studying Newland's neighbor for years, knowing that one day the Empire would make a move on Newland.

The composition of the standing armies of the major military regions of the empire, the hidden experimental bases of the empire, and the analysis reports of a large number of intelligence summaries are available in him. But that's just an analysis report. After the frequent infiltrations of Belmar, the Empire was quite clever in dealing with spies.

There are two parts to make up Newland's standing army, Lionheart, a regular force, and the Fox Hunters, a special force organized by former adventurers.

You must know that there is a difference in essence between conventional troops and adventurers because of the different careers they are engaged in. Regular troops mostly focus on team assistance, while adventurers also focus on individual cultivation on the basis of team assistance. This also leads to a more pronounced hierarchy of them.

[cough...... Let's do what Regis wants. ]

King Olista seemed to be in poor condition, coughing and wheezing that made him look weak.

[Send my guards over, so that there will be no displeasure among the messengers of Anrazin.] ]

[But......]

Hyde had his own concerns, but he didn't say anything about them. The Mage Tower is out of the shield's defenses, even though it's out of the range of Imperial shelling, but what about the other side?

What if the Empire attacks at sea?

Hyde quickly dismissed his idea, the Empire did not have the ability to fight in the near seas, which was well known to the world, and if it was to appear at sea, it would first have to go a long way, and then hire a giant ship capable of going to sea to house the Empire's kind of cannon.

Such a big movement will immediately attract the attention of the other party, and the effect of the surprise attack will be lost.

[That's it for now, there's still four hours to go, so take a break.] Meeting. ]

The ministers walked out of the conference room in a hurry, and it was no wonder that it was already two o'clock in the morning, and it was inevitable to be sleepy. Compared to the troops on the front line, they still have the luxury of resting for a while, and they are confident that the shield will not be broken.

After the meeting, Hyde did not meet his own accommodation, but found a nearby room to make do with the night, after all, there were still many things to do after dawn.

The motives for the Empire's war, the negotiation of the two sides, and so on, all need to be done by a minister like him.

But......

That night, Hyde tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. Because he was always uneasy about the matter of the mage tower's defense.

"Come, prepare the carriage. ”

Hyde decided to see it for himself.

As he walked, Hyde, who had arranged his coat at the same time, saw the most memorable scene in his life before he could walk to the carriage.

A flame tore through the air, and the mage tower exploded violently after being hit. The firelight instantly illuminated the entire sea, and there was a demonic monster standing there.