The Military Princess Won’t Fall in Love with a Magic Scientist

Chapter 197. Seasoned Performers

“That will give your Old Lion a perfect chance to hit that usurper with a vicious formal charge. It may not be enough to bring him down, but it will be more than enough to keep him drowning in trouble, with no time left to come after you.”

“And,” Logaris said, raising a second finger, “as long as you cooperate and play your parts well in this little performance, then three months from now, Winter City will begin helping you build up Alei’s influence along the Demi-Human Empire’s frontier.”

“So, is this deal worth it?”

The tent fell into a brief dead silence.

Only the crackling of the bonfire remained.

Ulzok’s bear-like eyes circled Logaris several times, as if weighing the real value of this “payment.” In the end, he suddenly slapped the table so hard that even the wine barrel beside it jumped.

“Deal!”

Ulzok smacked the table again, making the barrel hop in place. “It’s just acting, isn’t it? That’s what I’m good at! Back in the day, I was the star performer of my tribe!”

“...” Kane let out a helpless sigh and sheathed his sword, feeling that his partner’s sense of shame had probably sunk to the bottom of the ale barrel.

“And what if this gets out of hand?” Kane looked at Logaris, his gaze still sharp. “What if our feigned attack turns into a real one? Human cities are a pretty rich piece of meat, after all.”

Logaris rose to his feet and adjusted the collar of his coat with the elegance of a man attending a banquet.

“You won’t.”

He smiled with absolute certainty, and his figure began to blur again like a reflection rippling on water.

“Because compared with attacking a fortress defended by a Sixth-Tier Mage who also commands spatial teleportation, you would much rather watch that usurper Remington fall, wouldn’t you? After all, only if Alei takes the throne will you be the men who helped put him there.”

The meaning beneath his words was plain: even if you turn the act into the real thing, I am not afraid.

“See you tomorrow, you consummate actors.”

Buzz.

Space sealed shut, and his figure vanished.

The tent returned to silence. All that remained was the half-gnawed lamb leg lying lonely on the floor, and the two legion commanders staring at each other.

...

The next morning, the atmosphere inside the meeting room of Winter City Hall was so thick with gunpowder that one match could have blown the roof off the building.

Morton sat on the left side of the long table, rapping the floor again and again with that gemstone-studded staff in his hand. After a night of rest, the old man had clearly forgotten yesterday’s embarrassment and recovered all the swagger of a special royal envoy.

“Ten thousand men! Not one fewer!”

Morton sprayed spit as he shouted, his wrinkled old face flushed red. “And Victor’s Heavy Knight Order must be included as well, along with—” he turned his finger and pointed at Logaris, who was leaning back in his chair and spinning a pen, “you, Professor Logaris. You will personally lead the force.”

Sylvia sat at the head of the table, holding a cup of hot tea, her face wearing just the right amount of weary sorrow.

“Master Morton, you’re asking me to bleed myself dry.”

Sylvia sighed and gently set the teacup down, her voice full of exhaustion. “You’ve seen the state of the Northern Territory for yourself. The granaries are so empty that even the rats would come out crying, and to the north we still have the demi-human threat hanging over us. Never mind ten thousand main-force troops—even scraping together three thousand would force me to pawn off those few unrepaired Magitech Armors.”

“Crying poverty is useless.” Morton sneered, clearly unmoved. “According to intelligence from the Royal Capital, the Demi-Human Empire’s border has been very quiet lately. The Northern Territory doesn’t face much of an outside threat right now, so what exactly are you keeping all those troops for? Raising pigs?”

He leaned forward, his stare turning aggressive. “This is a direct order from the council. Refuse to carry it out, and that is defiance of the royal command. Sylvia, I’m afraid your position as Governor will no longer be secure.”

“Three thousand.”

Logaris, who had remained silent until then, suddenly spoke. He tossed the fountain pen in his hand onto the table, where it landed with a crisp snap.

“What?” Morton froze.

“I said we can send at most three thousand men.” Logaris pushed up his glasses, sounding as though he were haggling in a market. “And they can only be led by mid-ranking officers. General Victor and I must remain behind to hold the base in case of sudden developments.”

“Outrageous!”

Morton slammed both hands on the table and sprang to his feet. This time, he was truly panicking. Three thousand men? And a patchwork force at that? If he brought that back, the Second Prince would skin him alive.

“Logaris, do you think this is some child’s game? The nation is in crisis! You want to fill the southeastern hole with three thousand men? This is an insult to the royal house! I can draft a report at this very moment and charge you with dereliction in military affairs!”

The more Morton spoke, the more agitated he became. The magical fluctuations of a Sixth-Tier Mage began to spill from him uncontrollably, and the air around him grew hot and dry.

“If you cannot show proper sincerity today, then this matter is far from over!”

Just as Morton was about to hurl out a final threat and tear the last veil of civility apart—

WOOOO—!!!

A shrill, piercing alarm exploded without warning.

The sound was sharp, high, and powerful enough to sweep over the entire sky above Winter City in an instant. Then came the second blast, then the third. This was the highest-level war alarm of the Northern Territory.

The threat Morton had been about to spit out was jammed straight back down his throat. His hand jerked so violently that he nearly threw away his staff.

“What’s going on?!”

Before he could even process it, the doors of the meeting room were violently thrown open.

Bang!

A blood-soaked messenger came stumbling inside. The young man was fully committed to his role. The moment he crossed the threshold, his left foot caught his right, and he dropped into a sliding kneel that carried him three full meters across the marble floor, bringing him to a perfect stop before the long table.

A thick, metallic stench of blood filled the room in an instant.

Logaris’s nose twitched slightly. Hm. The chicken blood was a little stale. Next time, he would have to tell logistics to find one that had just been slaughtered.

“Report—!!!”

The messenger’s voice was hoarse and trembling with sobs, tragic enough to wring tears from the heavens. “Governor! Disaster! The Demi-Human Empire... the Demi-Human Empire is attacking!”

“What?!” Sylvia shot to her feet, the teacup in her hand “accidentally” overturning and spilling scalding tea across the table.

“Speak clearly! Where are they attacking?”

“Dragon Fortress! Just moments ago, the Demi-Human Empire’s two legion commanders, Ulzok ‘Fist of Fury’ and Kane ‘Storm,’ joined forces to assault the pass!”

“This is going too far!”

Logaris slammed his palm onto the table so hard that a crack split straight across the solid wooden surface.

“I hadn’t even gone looking for trouble with them yet, and they dare strike first? Do they really think the Northern Territory has no one left to fight?!”

The moment he finished speaking, he did not give Morton even a chance to respond.

Buzz!

Space twisted violently. Logaris’s figure vanished from the spot in an instant.

At that moment, Sylvia turned toward Morton with visible difficulty. “Master, you can see this sudden emergency for yourself. The two main demi-human legions are pressing against the border, and Winter City is in mortal danger. As for the troop deployment...”

Morton’s head was buzzing.

His first thought was simple: Fake! This had to be fake!

How could there be such a coincidence? One moment he was forcing their hand, and the next moment a war broke out?

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!