Water Magician

Chapter 418: How to Start a War

Volume 2, Final Part, The Great Djinn War

Editor: Tseirp

Twenty days before the Popes Inauguration ceremony in the Western Countries.

This is Curcio, a city near the western border of the Handal Union, one of the three major powers in the Central Countries.

Its situated near the border with the Kingdom of Knightley.

And has a population of around fifty thousand, making it a relatively small city. However, being one of the cities along the western border of the Union, it hosts a garrison of the border defense force.

But they only number around five hundred troops.

The Union has had numerous conflicts with the Kingdom in the past.

Including the Great War thirteen years ago, which was a full-scale war.

However, currently, they have maintained relatively good relations in recent years, even dispatching large-scale diplomatic envoys to the Western Countries.

While they cannot afford to be complacent, compared to the Empire, which shares a border further north, the Kingdom is considered a much less hostile neighbor

That was the prevailing sentiment among the populace until that day.

The border guards at the watchtower in Curcio.

Captain, whats that over there?

A member of the watchtower team, suspicious of what they saw through the installed telescope, asked the captain beside them.

Hmm? Let me have a look through the telescope.

The captain said, taking the telescope and peering through it himself.

A telescope is a tube-shaped device that magnifies distant objects.

Dust clouds could that be cavalry?

At that moment, the captains mind flashed with memories of the nomadic horse-riding people who had invaded the Imperial territory and even slain the Emperor in one fell swoop.

However, after a moments thought, he realized that such a scenario was impossible here.

Beyond the border wasnt the Empire or the Corridor States.

It was the Kingdom.

Finally, the raised flags came into view.

It was the flag of the Kingdom!

Uh?

The Kingdoms flags? The Kingdoms army? There are ten thousand riders

The captain said, passing the telescope back to the initial team member.

Indeed they are indeed flying the Kingdoms flags An invasion?

The team member muttered, prompting the captain to finally snap back to reality.

R-Ring the bell! Close the city gates! Hurry, send word to the capital!

He issued a flurry of orders.

Other than the Kingdoms flags, there are no other banners. Is it the Kingdoms army, or perhaps a nobles private army I cannot tell.

The report came from the team member still looking through the telescope.

What in the world is going on

The captains words echoed hollowly inside the watchtower.

Thirty minutes later.

Curcio fell.

In the capital of the Handal Union, Jayclaire, the Governors Office.

Your Excellency, weve just received word that Curcio has fallen!

So soon! Just thirty minutes ago, we received word of the attack

Even the distinguished Lord Aubrey couldnt hide his surprise at the report from his aide, Lamber.

Indeed, Curcio only had a garrison of five hundred troops.

After all, it wasnt a major city located on a major highway and had no other large cities nearby that could be potential targets.

Being a border city meant it had high and thick walls and the soldiers stationed there were not poorly trained.

Even if they were attacked by tens of thousands of troops, as long as the gates were closed, it shouldnt have fallen within an hour or so

But the reality is that it fell in less than thirty minutes

Lord Aubrey, quickly regaining his composure, muttered to himself, starting to think.

Supporting reinforcements for Curcio have already been dispatched.

Leading them is one of Aubreys trusted subordinates trained by him for years, they would act accordingly to the situation.

For example, if the city has already fallen, they would surround it from a distance and wait for further reinforcements to arrive

Theres no need for detailed instructions on such matters.

The real question is

Are they truly the Kingdoms army?

Lord Aubreys mutterings were audible to Lamber, the one who reported.

Huh? But the report said they were flying the Kingdoms flags

Lamber, youre straightforward as always.

Aubrey chuckled wryly at Lambers spontaneous words.

So what youre saying, Your Excellency, is that those who attacked pretended to be the Kingdoms army, and the reason for that is to incite conflict between the Union and the Kingdom? But for that they would have had to sacrifice their soldiers as well. Are they willing to sacrifice soldiers for such a scheme?

Lamber quickly grasped what Lord Aubrey was implying but began to express his anger at the idea of sacrificing soldiers for a scheme.

At least Lamber doesnt seem to be a schemer.

Dont be angry, Lamber. Well, admittedly, some aspects are hard to understand But its even less believable that the current Kingdom would want to go to war with us. Just the other day, there was talk of King Abel being ambushed by Imperial insurgents, right? Would a Kingdom thats been provoked by the Empire willingly pick a fight with the Union? Only a fool would do such a thing.

Lord Aubrey paused for a moment, then continued.

King Abel isnt that much of a fool.

From the Unions perspective, the Kingdom is one of its hypothetical adversaries.

Whether it was the Great War thirteen years ago or the intervention in the war against the Inbury Duchy three years ago, theyve fought numerous times.

So, while not exactly a desirable opponent, theyve never been considered foolish.

Of course, there were times when they thought the previous king had lost his ability to govern

War doesnt just happen suddenly, without warning.

A little thought would make that clear.

The domestic and neighboring countrys situations, conditions, circumstances, and such must all be in place.

Could it be the Union? No, we received a notice, was it that? Are the city gates still closed?

Yes. They are closed according to the notice.

All right, hurry and contact the royal capital. A dust storm is visible in the east.

Thirty minutes later, the city of Van Lane fell.

On the mountainside overlooking the city of Van Lane, three carriages belonging to a caravan were parked.

This caravan frequently traverses the cities near the eastern border of the Kingdom.

Their caravan flag depicts a city illuminated by moonlight.

They are the Third Caravan from the Gecko Trading Companys main branch in Rune, operating in the eastern border direction.

Their routes never cross the borders, instead, they connect cities near the Kingdoms border or between large cities like Rune and the border cities within the Kingdom.

Due to the flexibility in their trade depending on the season and goods, they often avoid major highways.

Consequently, they are accompanied by a strong dedicated escort squad.

The captain of the Third Caravans escort is Chloe.

Formerly a member of the Inbury Duchy Intelligence Department, her chestnut-colored hair and matching eyes often make her look adorable as they move around.

However, due to her training in the intelligence department, she is surprisingly strong in close combat.

After the downfall of Inbury Duchy, she defected to the Kingdom and joined the Gecko Trading Company as an escort using her connections from her days back in Inbury Duchy.

There, she was trained by Max, the escort squad leader, and now serves as the escort squad leader for caravans traveling to and from the eastern border region.

Evans, whats that?

Chloe addressed the relatively young caravan leader.

Generally, caravan members require strong physical stamina and resilient mental strength, making them usually quite young.

In the Gecko Trading Company, most caravan members retire to work in the stores by their thirties.

As its physically easier.

However, in terms of the excitement of business, the caravan side far surpasses the store side

Among the young caravan members, there is the nineteen-year-old caravan leader, Evans.

However, despite his youth, he has ample achievements and has been involved in caravan activities crossing borders since he was ten years old.

Despite his youth, neither the caravan members nor the escorts disregard him.

Oh, Chloe. Heres a report of what weve just seen.

Evans said as he finished writing and rolled up the paper into a thumb-sized tube.

Honestly Im not sure if theyll believe the report of what we saw in Van Lane just now.

Chloe expressed her concern.

Evans nodded in agreement.

However

Even so, its better to report it. Were equipped with messenger pigeons for times like these, after all.

Evans said as he attached the thumb-sized tube to the leg of a messenger pigeon in a cage and released it into the sky.

The pigeon flew westward.

It may not be as fast as a hawk, but it shouldnt take too long to reach Rune city

Amidst the gathering of various information from the eastern region, that piece of information came in.

Your Majesty, we have received reports of a group heading towards the eastern region Count Lanshans city of Van Lane. It is said that Count Lanshan has dispatched his forces.

So theyre finally here

Abel nodded in response to Marquis Heinleins report.

He didnt think the approaching group was the Union army, but he believed there would be some kind of movement.

Although it wasnt clear yet who was behind these movements and what their intentions were, it seemed likely that something would happen, potentially leading to a deterioration in security.

Thirty minutes later.

Your Majesty, its been reported that the city of Van Lane has fallen.

Thats way too soon, isnt it?

King Abel couldnt help but utter the same words as a certain Union Governor.

However, it only took a moment for Abel to regain his composure.

Hey, Alexis.

Alexis is the first name of Marquis Heinlein.

Whenever Abel addresses him like this, it usually means a difficult proposal is on the horizon.

Although it was a difficult proposal, Marquis Alexis Heinlein had experienced many times over the past three years that such proposals often turned out to be the right move.

Yes, Your Majesty.

I think Lord Aubrey and I should meet in person and discuss this.

As you wish.

Marquis Heinlein nodded once and replied.

He had come to the same conclusion, but it was still a difficult proposal to make.

A meeting between the leaders of two major powers.

And it was urgent

However, Abels proposal came with an unexpected addition that caught Marquis Heinlein off guard.

For that meeting, I want Kenneth to come along as well.

You mean Viscount Kenneth Hayward?

Needless to say, Viscount Kenneth Hayward was a genius alchemist who represented not only the Kingdom but also the Central Countries.

If possible, Id like them to bring Frank De Verde as well.

Ah You intend to establish a direct communication system using alchemy between the Crystal Palace in the royal capital and the capital city of Jayclaire, I see?

Currently, thanks to the alchemy tools developed by Viscount Kenneth Hayward, direct communication was possible between the major cities within the Kingdom.

Of course, there were some limitations, but compared to the time before this system was in place three years ago, it had become significantly more convenient.

Establishing a similar system between the capital and the royal capital would allow for quick confirmation of the intentions of the top officials in the event of incidents like this one.

If Ryo were here, he might have exclaimed, Hotline!.

On Earth, a direct line is set up between the heads of government of two countries for direct dialogue, which is sometimes referred to as a hotline.

What Abel was proposing was indeed a hotline between the Kingdom and the Union.

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