Originally, ordinary citizens would never have the opportunity to use the teleportation device in their daily lives.
Now, however, it was an emergency, a wartime situation.
The person in charge, clearly tense, said it was their first attempt to teleport around forty citizens at once.
“I can’t afford to fail, so I’ll proceed in groups of five.”
“Where will we be sent?”
“The safest place right now is indeed the capital, but the teleport to the capital is blocked.”
The areas where citizens could evacuate were very limited.
The teleportation officer said they would check briefly and went to their corner to sit.
They brought a finger to their forehead, mumbling something, and began writing something down on a piece of paper on the desk.
After a while, the officer returned, calling out the names of the cities written on the paper and asking citizens where they wanted to go.
There were only three destinations.
Flash!
The teleportation device burst forth with light, and a few more people appeared.
“There are many people, so I requested support.”
A total of four teleportation officers gathered around the device and began moving the citizens.
Because there were so many people, each team took a break of about thirty minutes after completing a move.
Once all citizens were safely sent away, only we remained.
“Where will you all go?”
“We’re going to Harfen.”
As soon as I mentioned the destination, the officer’s expression darkened a little.
“We haven’t received any contact from the officer in Harfen. There’s a possibility they are in danger.”
“Then, have only the three places you mentioned earlier managed to make contact?”
“Yes.”
The officer speculated that something must have happened in Harfen.
Currently, there was only one way to find out about the war situation.
I gently caressed the horn fragment in my pocket.
When I asked the Demon King about the state of the war, they provided quite a variety of information.
The most important thing was that there were no special reports from Harfen.
“I think we can go.”
“Understood.”
As I stepped onto the teleportation device, the officer bowed their head and expressed their gratitude once more.
“Thank you for saving our son.”
The teleportation officer gave a bittersweet smile from beyond the curtain of white light.
The location we were teleported to was a dark cavern.
As per the words of the Emerald Bay officer, there was no one here to help.
I headed toward the exit to get outside.
The thick iron door was firmly locked, and it seemed there was no way to open it from the outside.
After opening the door and stepping outside, the sky was filled with thick, dark clouds and a gloomy sea.
“Is this Harfen?”
“We have to move a bit further to reach the city.”
Revelin unfolded the wings he had tucked away to fly.
“Then, I’ll carry them.”
Jema quickly grabbed Melorna’s arm and led her away.
Finding it quite light after one move, he decided to take the initiative.
I lifted Maran onto my back and took to the skies.
“It’s convenient for demon species to fly, isn’t it?”
“Right? It’s more convenient than I expected.”
I flew toward Harfen.
Looking down from the air toward the southern region, I could roughly see the state of the war.
“They are managing the war quite effectively.”
“You have good eyesight.”
“Using mana antennae is a basic skill.”
Maran was observing the ground situation through the mana antennae.
I became curious and asked Maran one question.
“Can magic users also use spells, right?”
“They can.”
“Then why didn’t you use it?”
During the battle with the giant, Maran didn’t utilize magic at all.
They only engaged in swordsmanship and used mana solely when dealing with sword energy.
“Magic users’ combat focuses more on swordsmanship than on magic.”
Maran answered that the level of magic among magic swordsmen isn’t very high.
Thinking back, Riki is also a magic swordsman but didn’t use magic either.
It seems there is more pride in being a swordsman than a magician.
As I saw the castle wall of Harfen, I enhanced my sight to assess the situation.
There appeared to be no special issues within the city, and the walls were well-maintained.
While there weren’t many undead at the southern gate, the eastern side was another story.
Just then, the sounds of explosions could be heard here and there, indicating a small-scale battle might be taking place.
I descended from the skies above Harfen, looking for the roof of our lodging.
“The rescue operation is concluding.”
“Operation concluded. Understood.”
Melorna lightly saluted in response.
“Um, can you let me down now?”
“By the way, you’re really light.”
Jema lifted Melorna as if picking up a small child.
“I feel like I could carry her all day!”
Caught up in her fascination, Jema disappeared with Melorna somewhere.
“Hey? Captain, help me out!”
“I won’t eat you.”
I doubt Jema will do anything inappropriate to Melorna.
With Maran and Epiro, I headed toward the city hall.
I spent more time than expected bringing the two along.
I would have to explain what had happened to Leon and others.
As we entered the city hall, it was quieter than expected.
“This is Ririan, captain of the Second Knight Order. Is everyone inside?”
“The meeting ended in the morning.”
If there wasn’t another meeting in the afternoon, Leon was likely at his lodging.
Since Revelin returned first, Leon would know we were back by now.
Leon’s lodging wasn’t very far from the city hall, so we arrived quickly.
Knock. Knock.
“Come in.”
The door wasn’t locked, as if they already knew we would come.
In the living room, Revelin was sitting on the sofa with Leon.
“Welcome. I am Leon, captain of the First Knight Order.”
“I’m Maran. This is Epiro.”
“It’s my first time seeing you without your helmet.”
“Have you seen me before?”
“I have a few times.”
It seems the two haven’t properly faced each other before.
We sat side by side on the sofa in Leon’s lodging.
“Suddenly, I will explain the current state of the war.”
“Is it urgent?”
“A little.”
Leon placed several documents on the table.
One of the documents was filled with an enormous amount of text.
“This is the intel department’s report on the base of the undead legion.”
“The intel department?”
“The undead legion currently stationed to the south is led by an officer named Karim.”
It seems quite a bit of information was gathered while I was in Emerald Bay.
“He showed up once leading his troops directly.”
“Did you defeat them?”
Leon shook his head with a bittersweet expression at my question.
“The officer’s strength was beyond imagination.”
All the captains of the knight order had charged in, but they couldn’t come to a conclusion.
“One of the leaders beneath him is really tricky.”
“Ahom….”
Leon explained that this entity had been here until it appeared before us last night.
The distance from Harfen to Emerald Bay was considerable.
To put it bluntly, it was from the southern tip to the northern outskirts.
While we used teleportation to move back and forth in an instant, how did that creature traverse such distance?
“Once we deal with Ahom, we’ll be fine.”
“That’s not easy. While Ririan was away, Ahom has attacked us about eight times. Each time, many troops and a new leader came as well.”
While troop movements might be understandable, Leon expressed doubt about how they kept bringing skilled leaders one by one.
“Each one of them was quite strong, on par with the knight order.”
“I’ve heard that Roran has a very exceptional knight captain.”
“The captain is guarding the capital.”
The capital is located in such a way that the undead can’t attack it.
It’s a top-secret information that Leon is glossing over.
However, there must be a clear reason why the captain of the knight order cannot come here.
Later, Leon shared a few military operations they had carried out during that time.
“There have been a total of fifteen operations, seven of which succeeded.”
“The success rate isn’t very high, is it?”
“We didn’t carry out aggressive operations to minimize casualties.”
Harfen receives supplies and troops entirely through the sea.
Randomly pushing troops into battle could rather be too dangerous.
“It seems like a fair number of troops have gathered?”
“Correct. Recently, an infantry regiment arrived and is currently engaged in eliminating the surrounding undead.”
So, it means Harfen isn’t currently in a situation where troops are lacking.
“Since we have some leeway, it might be possible to launch an attack into enemy territory.”
“Actually, I wanted to discuss that.”
Leon handed me a document.
The short and concise document depicted a city located near the southern vicinity.
“That area has been nearly destroyed by the undead legion. Even after the war ends, it will take a very long time to restore it.”
I guessed what Leon was about to say.
“Recently, the development department developed a magic spell.”
“A magic spell?”
“Yes. It’s a technique called ‘Mushroom Explosion.’”
Hearing the explanation of the technique, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had seen it somewhere before.
“They say a mushroom-like shape appears when it explodes.”
“Is it harmful to the body?”
“With the power to wipe out an entire city, it could be dangerous if you’re within range.”
The development department confidently claimed that with one shot of their magic, they could effectively reduce the number of undead.
“Have you tested this?”
“Isn’t that what I’m trying to say?”
The operation that has been assigned this time is to confirm the success of this magic.
Leon had chosen me as the suitable candidate for it, and the development department is eagerly anticipating my return.
“It would be good to pay them a visit.”
“Where is the development department located?”
“It’s near the harbor town. It’s the safest place in Harfen.”
Even if the castle walls were breached, it would be the first place to flee to.
They have a dedicated ship for the development department, and if the city is at risk of being captured, they are prepared to leave at any time.
“I’m not particularly keen on it…”
“It would be good to go. Riki won’t be able to handle it alone.”
“Is Riki there?”
“He comes by daily to check if you’ve returned.”
For some reason, I increasingly wanted to avoid meeting him.
“When do you plan to visit? I’ll make arrangements in advance.”
It seemed Leon had also been through a lot.
“I’ll drop by when I go.”
I received a rough map depicting the location of the development department from Leon.
