Reborn As Noble

An hour later.

Garius stood on a high platform overlooking the training grounds, with Alf and Erinette nearby. Hesbeirn and the dwarven blacksmith, Rasdingen, stood a few paces behind, observing the drills below.

Garius glanced at Hesbeirn.

”Hesbeirn?”

”Yeah?”

Erinette’s eyes snapped toward her younger brother, her glare sharp enough to cut steel. Hesbeirn flinched, quickly straightening his posture and clearing his throat.

”Your Majesty.”

Garius smiled warmly, waving a hand. ”Erinette, it’s fine. Hesbeirn can speak to me as he always has. There’s no need for such formality.”

Erinette bowed gracefully, her voice firm but respectful. ”No, Your Majesty. He cannot. Even though I, my husband Alf, my brother Hesbeirn, and Rasdingen have been with you since the beginning, when you were still our young master. I know you have always treated us like family, but still we must show you the respect you deserve.”

She paused, her eyes holding a depth of gratitude.

”You saved us. You freed us from slavery, gave us purpose, and accept us as your own. You are not just our lord or our king. You are our savior. The least we can do is honor you with proper respect.”

Garius smiled and shook his head. ”We’ve already talked about this many times, Erinette.”

Erinette bowed her head, her voice unwavering. ”Pardon me, Your Majesty. But no matter how many times you say it, I insist. As long as my husband and I show proper respect, my brother must do the same. And if he ever forgets, I will remind him with my fist.”

Hesbeirn swallowed hard, a sheepish grin spreading across his face as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Garius let out a soft exhale before his expression turned serious.

”So, Hesbeirn.”

”Yes, Your Majesty?”

”Report the current number of Armand’s forces.”

Hesbeirn straightened, his voice steady and professional. ”We currently have over 150,000 active soldiers. This does not include the elite units, the forest guards, the Armand Guard Corps, the special operations divisions, the pekko cavalry, or the naval forces.”

”Mm... Good.” Garius nodded, both hands clasped behind his back as he surveyed the training grounds.

”With the weapons my youngest son has provided, the mana rifles, mana sidearms, mana grenades, and the tactical gear equipped with magic barriers, our ground forces are more than prepared. Our naval forces now include the latest warships, each equipped with mana helicopter docks, anti-air mana gatling guns, surface-to-air mana missile launchers, and mana cannons. And with our newly formed air force units, including mana helicopters and the Gaasad units, we have complete dominance over both land and sky.”

Garius’s gaze swept across the training grounds before he continued, his voice low and measured.

”Even with all of this, we must never be careless. The upcoming invasion by the summoned heroes and the soldiers from the other continent will not be a simple skirmish. I know Javier will insist on deploying his puppet knights to the frontlines. He doesn’t want to risk a single soldier’s life if he can help it. But we still don’t have full knowledge of the enemy’s true strength.”

Alf, Erinette, Hesbeirn, and Rasdingen nodded in unison, their expressions solemn.

Garius paused, his eyes narrowing slightly.

”What I am truly worried about is not the first wave of invasion. It is what comes after.”

Alf tilted his head slightly. ”What do you mean, Your Majesty?”

Garius clasped his hands tighter behind his back.

”The information I extracted from Jaigar, Gorak, and their companions using my Eyes of Truth only contains what they themselves know. They are low-ranking members of the summoned heroes. They have no knowledge of the higher command’s true plans, the full extent of the enemy’s forces, or what strategies the leaders of the other continent are preparing. The first invasion may be a test, a probing strike. The real threat may come after we have already committed our forces.”

Garius remained calm, his voice steady as he continued.

”We have the mana satellite surveillance system, along with the Sky Eyes that hover above the clouds, what Javier calls ’lower orbit.’ We have an advantage over any nation on this continent when it comes to reconnaissance. But even with all of that, we still cannot see clearly into the other continent. Every time we try to focus on their lands, the view is obscured by thick mist and clouds, even at the highest zoom. Meanwhile, on this continent, we can observe any location with perfect clarity.”

Alf stepped forward slightly, his voice thoughtful. ”Perhaps we could send personnel there to spy, or deploy the remote motion control knights that Prince Javier provided to us.”

Garius shook his head slowly. ”We cannot risk our personnel on a mission like that. And since the mana satellites cannot penetrate the mist covering their continent, the signal to the motion control knights would likely be lost before they even reached their destination. If such a method were viable, Javier would have already sent one long before any of us could think of it.”

Garius turned to face them, his expression hardening.

”What concerns me most is that this mist... it’s not natural weather. It’s a barrier. A shield. Someone, or something, is actively preventing us from seeing what lies beyond their continent. But I wonder who?”

He paused, his gaze shifting toward the Armand Estate in the distance.

”Those three so-called goddesses, Zeyrinda, Maekaria, and Rafazelia, are nothing but Abyss Spirits. I doubt they possess the power or the knowledge to shroud an entire continent in a barrier of this magnitude. Which means there is another force at work, one we have yet to identify.”

He turned back to face them, his voice steady.

”That’s why, when I heard a princess from one of the nations on that continent was coming here under the pretense of diplomacy, I saw an opportunity. She may carry knowledge that our eyes cannot reach. This may be our only chance to gather accurate information from someone who has lived there, who knows its secrets, its weaknesses, and perhaps even the source of that mist.”

Garius smiled faintly, his eyes softening.

”Fransesca also said that fate has its own way of delivering answers. And just look at the recent incident report from our personnel in the Elven Nation. Javier, my youngest son, who can withstand the combined magic of both Liana and Gloria without a scratch, was knocked off balance by a simple elven child running into him. A child with no magical power, no combat training, just an ordinary boy playing tag. And that small, seemingly insignificant accident led to a chain of events that brought us closer to the information we need.”

He let the words hang in the air before continuing.

”Sometimes, the greatest revelations come from the smallest, most unexpected moments.”

( End Of Chapter )