The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: An Unexpected War

An Unexpected War

It was supposed to be a peaceful weekend.

After everything that had happened recently, I had been looking forward to spending the next few days without having to deal with another unexpected incident, especially since the investigation into the corrupted beings had finally reached a point where I could leave most of the work to the Order while I focused on the academy.

Unfortunately, it seemed the world had other plans.

I was sitting inside my dormitory with Draven and Cedric when the door suddenly opened, and Zyra stepped inside.

She usually carried herself with a calm expression regardless of what was happening around her, but this time there was a noticeable seriousness in her eyes, enough for me to immediately put down the book I had been reading.

"Master."

She walked toward me and handed over a sealed report.

"I have an immediate report concerning the D’Averon territory."

I took the document from her and broke the seal.

My eyes moved across the first few lines.

Then I stopped.

"A territorial war, huh?"

I leaned back slightly as I continued reading.

So Count Velmorne had finally decided to make his move.

According to the report, he had formed an alliance with Viscount Randale and was preparing to wage war against the D’Averon family under the justification of a territorial dispute.

In this world, a conflict like this was not particularly unusual.

Territorial wars between nobles were permitted under certain circumstances, and although the royal family rarely encouraged them directly, they generally had no reason to interfere unless the conflict threatened the stability of the kingdom itself.

There was even an incentive for the nobles involved.

The territory of the defeated side could be redistributed to the victor, and nobles who demonstrated enough military achievement during the conflict could receive additional recognition from the royal family.

For a count, several significant victories could even result in a promotion to marquis.

In other words, this wasn’t simply some foolish quarrel between two nobles.

If Velmorne won, his territory would expand, his influence would increase, and his standing among the nobles would rise considerably.

I sighed as I lowered the report slightly.

"That Velmorne really doesn’t learn his lesson."

I remembered what had happened the last time he tried to involve himself with my family.

Apparently, humiliation wasn’t enough to teach him when to stop.

"Hmm..."

I rested my chin against my hand while thinking.

"Should I kill him?"

Draven, who had been sitting nearby, immediately looked toward me.

I continued reading as if I hadn’t said anything unusual.

"Perhaps I should torture him first. Cut off his limbs one by one, then leave him alive long enough to understand exactly what his mistake was before making him beg for death."

Draven’s expression became slightly more interested.

Cedric, meanwhile, remained completely expressionless.

Zyra simply waited for me to finish.

I smiled faintly.

"That might be a little excessive."

"A little?" Draven muttered.

I ignored him and looked toward Zyra.

"How is the situation there?"

Zyra nodded and opened another report she had brought with her.

"Lord D’Averon has already begun preparing for the war. He is currently with your two elder brothers, and the three of them have been overseeing the mobilization of the family’s forces and the reinforcement of the territory’s defensive positions."

"As for you sister, Lady Mina is currently in the city of Valeris, so she has not returned to the territory yet."

I nodded.

At least she was far enough away from the immediate conflict that she wouldn’t be caught in the first stages of the war.

"And Father has already gathered his troops?"

"Yes."

Zyra looked down at the report.

"However, the forces gathered by Count Velmorne and Viscount Randale are considerably larger than expected."

That caught my attention.

I placed the report down.

"How many?"

"We have confirmed most of Count Velmorne’s forces, although some of the numbers remain estimates. At present, he appears to have approximately one 1823."

I frowned slightly.

"One thousand eight hundred and twenty-three."

"Yes."

"How many knights?"

"Four High-Ranking Knights. The remaining knights are primarily Advanced-Rank, supported by ordinary soldiers."

I remained silent for a moment.

That was already more than enough to put pressure on a single noble territory, especially if they intended to launch a direct assault.

But Zyra wasn’t finished.

"Viscount Randale is also contributing his forces."

"I assumed as much."

"Although his title is only that of a viscount, his wealth allows him to maintain a military force considerably larger than what would normally be expected from someone of his rank."

She turned the page.

"He has approximately three thousand three hundred and forty-four soldiers."

I slowly raised my eyebrows.

"Three thousand three hundred and forty-four?"

"Yes, Master."

"And his knights?"

"Five High-Ranking Knights."

I leaned back into my chair.

So they had more than four thousand soldiers combined, along with nine High-Ranking Knights.

That wasn’t a small force.

It was an overwhelming advantage against a single noble family.

I looked toward Zyra.

"How many does Father have?"

"Lord D’Averon currently has approximately one thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven soldiers."

"And the knights?"

"Three High-Ranking Knights, including Lord D’Averon himself. His captain and vice-captain make up the remaining two."

I became silent.

Almost two thousand soldiers against more than four thousand.

Even if my father was considerably stronger than an ordinary High-Ranking Knight, numbers still mattered when the difference became this large.

A strong individual could break through an enemy formation, but he couldn’t be everywhere at once.

Eventually, exhaustion would become a problem, and every soldier lost would make the situation worse.

"Even if Father is strong, there’s no way they can sustain a prolonged battle against those numbers without suffering heavy casualties."

"That’s not all, Master."

Zyra’s expression became more serious.

"We have also confirmed that Count Velmorne and Viscount Randale have hired assassins from the Assassination Guild."

My expression immediately changed.

"So that’s how they’re planning to balance the difference in command strength."

It wasn’t enough for them to overwhelm the D’Averon forces with numbers.

They intended to remove the people capable of commanding and defending them first.

If several key knights were assassinated before or during the battle, the numerical advantage would become even more devastating.

And if my father were targeted...

I slowly exhaled.

"Just as I thought."

I looked toward the ceiling for a moment.

"One peaceful weekend was apparently too much to ask for."

Draven laughed.

"I think this is more interesting than a peaceful weekend."

"I wasn’t asking for your opinion."

"Still true."

I ignored him.

Instead, I looked back toward Zyra.

"So, how have we prepared?"

"Since Lady Aoda is currently away on another mission, Lady Nyxaria and Lady Valentine have been assigned to this matter."

That was reasonable.

Aoda’s personality wasn’t exactly suited for quietly observing a battlefield anyway.

"How many members are being deployed?"

"Fifty elites."

She continued without hesitation.

"Twenty from the Harbingers and thirty from the Watchers."

I considered the numbers.

Fifty wasn’t particularly large compared to the thousands of soldiers involved, but the number itself wasn’t important.

The difference in strength was.

"Considering their abilities, that should be enough."

Zyra nodded.

"I will also be participating in the operation."

"You?"

"Yes."

She smiled slightly.

"Vanessa and Hidan will be accompanying me. We have already received permission from the Black Roses."

I looked at her for a moment.

"That’s good."

Then something about her presence caught my attention.

It wasn’t obvious at first, but the feeling coming from her was noticeably different from the last time I’d seen her.

I narrowed my eyes slightly.

"By the way, you’ve gotten stronger."

Zyra’s expression brightened.

"Yes."

She lowered her head slightly.

"That is because of the Great Eclipse Power."

"After what you did yesterday, the Eclipse Power within all of us increased considerably. Our abilities have become stronger, and our control over them has also improved."

I nodded slowly.

So the effects were already spreading through the Order.

That was interesting.

Whatever had happened yesterday had clearly affected the connection between Eclipse and its recipients more than I initially expected.

"Then that settles it."

I folded the report and placed it on the table.

"We’ll go there."

Zyra looked at me.

"Understood."

"However, there’s one important condition."

I looked directly at her.

"Don’t engage in the actual battle unless the situation becomes serious."

She nodded.

"Observe the battlefield and gather information first. If the D’Averon forces are in danger of being overwhelmed, then intervene."

"Understood, Master."

She smiled.

"I’ll make sure we don’t interfere unnecessarily."

"Good."

Zyra bowed slightly before turning toward the door.

The door closed behind her.

For a moment, the room became quiet again.

I looked down at the report sitting on the table.

I sighed.

"A territorial war..."

Draven leaned back in his chair, looking far more excited than he had any right to be.

"Sounds fun, Master."

I turned toward him.

"What part of this sounds fun?"

"There’s a battlefield."

He began counting on his fingers.

"Thousands of soldiers, powerful knights, assassins, nobles..."

He smiled.

"And probably plenty of people who deserve to be beaten up."

I stared at him.

"What happened to you wanting peace?"

Draven blinked.

"When did I say that?"

"You said it the other day."

"I don’t remember."

"Of course you don’t."

I rubbed my forehead.

"That Velmorne is really annoying."

I picked up the report again.

"I should’ve killed him when I had the chance. Now he’s dragging another noble into this and trying to bring down my family."

I shook my head.

"Is he an idiot?"

Draven shrugged.

"Maybe he’s jealous."

"Probably."

I wasn’t particularly surprised.

Velmorne had already shown me what kind of person he was.

The difference this time was that he had decided to bring an entire army with him.

Cedric, who had been silent throughout the conversation, finally spoke.

"If you permit me, Master, I can intervene directly."

I looked toward him.

"I can dominate the battlefield before the conflict becomes severe. If I eliminate the enemy’s main forces quickly enough, the number of casualties will be greatly reduced."

His suggestion was surprisingly reasonable.

Unfortunately, I knew exactly what Cedric meant by "eliminate the main forces."

"No."

Cedric paused.

"No, Master?"

"We’ll watch for now."

I leaned back.

"Besides, I don’t know what you’ll do once you actually get onto that battlefield."

Cedric’s expression remained perfectly calm.

"I will follow your orders."

"That’s exactly what I’m worried about."

I sighed.

"If you accidentally destroy half the battlefield, we’ll have a much bigger problem than a territorial dispute."

Cedric remained silent.

"So let’s leave this matter to the girls."

He nodded.

"Understood."

Draven looked disappointed.

"That’s boring, Master."

I glanced toward him.

"You can stay here if you’re bored."

"Absolutely not."

"Then stop complaining."

"I want to fight too."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Didn’t you just say you wanted peace?"

Draven stared at me for a moment.

Then he looked away.

"I have no idea what you’re talking about."

I sighed.

"Forget it."

I looked toward the window.

The academy grounds outside were peaceful.

Students were still walking between buildings, completely unaware that somewhere far beyond the academy walls, two noble houses were preparing to send thousands of soldiers against one another.

"Let’s just enjoy the war."

Draven smiled.

"Now that’s something I can agree with."

I laughed quietly.

"Let’s see how those foolish nobles react once their carefully planned battlefield starts turning against them."

They believed the D’Averon family would have no choice but to fight desperately just to survive.

What they didn’t know was that the battlefield would not belong to them alone.

The Eclipse would be there.

And although I had no intention of revealing our existence unnecessarily, I was curious to see how far these nobles were willing to go once they realized that their supposed advantage was nothing more than an illusion.

Perhaps this territorial war would turn out to be more entertaining than I expected.

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