Astraea: The Journey of Magic

After having finished eaten and having gone back into the sewers, the group was making good progress. They encountered five groups of Goblins so far, and were currently in battle with the last group. They were also getting used to the sewers, and even Riku's sense of smell seemed to be adapting. That or the cream was working even better than before, since he wasn't as repulsed by it anymore.

However, these goblins were also different than before.

Riku jumped back reflexively, avoiding a wound from the unusual sword the Goblin was carrying. Kuroki saw that, and looked at him.

"Riku, what is it?"

"Its faint, but thanks to our...highly unpleasant...encounter with Curses before, I think I was able to sense it somehow. That sword is cursed".

They had heard about this before. Another party had been hit by cursed weapons on the first day of the large scale subjugation, and ended up in the hospital. Not from wounds inflicted during battle, but rather the curse they were afflicted with. Supposedly Amyris and Ozlo worked together to remove them, but the party was still affected by trace remnants of the curse. Unfortunately for them, no one mysteriously came and purged the curse remnants like what happened to Kuroki and Riku. The two of them would possibly still be stuck in diapers in massive pain, although it sounded like the party was going through different aftereffects. Supposedly their bodies kept having mysterious injuries, as if they were attacked by assailants, appear on them every night. The actual wounds were appearing too, so pain nulling potions were not the only thing they needed.

"Understood. I will go a bit overboard then" Kuroki proclaimed. "Dodge all their attacks. Do not block. The curse might travel through your weapon to get to you".

Of course, since Ellie was familiar with what happened with Anna too, all of their clothes actually provided some protection against being cursed. An indirect transfer, especially when not directly from the curse placer but from the cursed object itself, should have no affect at all on them. Even Riku's outfit, which he found in an underground ruin, had curse protection. The only reason it didn't protect him was because the box it was in was cursed, so Riku, having been naked at the time, was already cursed before he put it on.

Still, even with their protection, Kuroki and Riku especially were wary of curses.

"A brilliant spark of energy, striking down with all it has. Watch as it travels and affects the land. This bolt which comes through fast and true. Watch as it travels through all of you. Chained Bolt".

At Kuroki's incantation, he stretched out his hand and opened his palms towards the goblins. When the goblins saw this, they recognized him as a threat and immediately charged him, realizing the danger they were in somehow. Still, it was too late. A crackle of energy emerged from his fingertips, as a bolt of lightning shot out from his hand. It pierced through one, but then snaked and swerved as it pierced through another, and then another, and so on. Soon, all five goblins were pierced through. One tried to hide behind a sewer wall, which was made of stone. it did not matter, the lightning went through it anyways and pierced him. It was slower then normal lightning and even other lightning spells they had seen, but it swerved and skewered them all. There was no respite, and no escape. The goblins fell to the ground, their weapons falling as well. One of them fell into the water though, which made them all wince.

"Not it!"

"Not it".

"Not it!"

Riku, Kaede, and Ryuu all spoke up. Riku had been the fastest, but Ryuu's objection seemed even stronger and more desperate then even Riku's. Kuroki glared at them all. They had to recover all the cursed weapons, but going into that water which smelled horrible was unpleasant. They were given special gloves and cloth that would prevent them from being cursed and could carry them safely, but that wouldn't protect them from the stench. Kuroki considered overwriting them as the leader, but he had an issue. Ryuu had fallen in once already, Riku probably was actually incapable of remaining conscious or sane if he went into that smelly water, and Kaede was the one with the best awareness and ability to detect enemies in these sewers.

And due to some weird enchantment on the sewers, Kuroki couldn't just use magic on the water.

Actually wait. I wasn't able to freeze it, but I was able to probe it a bit.

"Hmm. I wonder..."

Kuroki used his mana sense, and scanned the sewers for...

"Oh....uhg....eww..."

Kuroki was utterly disgusted. Using his mana sense had gathered a lot of data on the contents of the water he did not want to know. The water itself apparently was actively being purified by the sewers, but there was still enough trash and disgusting contents in it to make him want to hurl. He endured it as he found the sword, and then tried to use water magic to get it back to the surface. In return, the sword immediately tried to curse him. It was such a shock that he got knocked backwards a bit forcefully, landing on his butt as his attempt failed spectacularly.

"Stupid cursed sword".

It looked like he would have to strip off all his clothes and go in there butt naked. Everyone swam nude in this world anyways, but frankly, not being used to that trend was the smaller issue here. The smell and filth that would potentially take days to get out. Ryuu hadn't even been in it for a minute, but he would have to carefully pick it up, wrap it in the curse proof cloth, and it was deep enough that even if he could do all that standing up straight, the water would be up to his neck. That meant he would have to submerge his entire body, including his face. At least for this larger channel they were in. The stench would probably last for days, and he would probably be forced to do multiple baths before being allowed inside home. It would effectively disable him for several days. And thats provided this didn't get him sick.

But at the same time, if they left a cursed object in the waterways, who knows what might happen. If the curse leached into the water that people drink somehow, there could be hundreds of casualties. Thats just how dangerous curses were. So they couldn't leave it. But Kuroki couldn't move it with magic either. Still, there had to be some way they could move it without getting wet.

"Wait hold on. I wonder...what metal is that sword made of?"

"Come on Kuroki. Accept your defeat".

"No no, I have an idea. If its magnetic, maybe I can pull it out with magnetism".

"Magnetism?" Ryuu asked, confused.

Riku seemed to get it however. "I see. You cant use magic on the sword directly, but if you use magic to make a giant magnet, perhaps you can use its metal properties to get it out indirectly?"

Kuroki nodded. "Exactly right. It is just like Ozlo said, method is more important than power. We dont need to power our way through something, so long as we have the right method to deal with it".

Kuroki then turned towards the water, as he looked for what he would turn into a magnet. His idea was great, but he had to word it right. Amyris had been shocked by how well Kuroki had adapted to making his own incantations, even if they were not always the best or well optimized. But Kuroki was still learning after all, and the fact he could make working original incanations on his own was apparently a sign of great skill. And a bit abnormal.

However, he and Riku noticed something odd.

"...the curse energy on the weapons is gone?"

Yes, all of the weapons, including the sword in the water, no longer had any traces of curses they could sense. Riku had become especially sensitive, but he couldn't even get a whif of it anymore.

"The hell?"

"How did that happen?"

"Maybe you two were mistaken?" Kaede interjected the confusion of the two boys, who were still wary. They shook their heads however. Riku especially.

Yet no matter what they tried, it was gone. Kuroki quickly got the sword out of the water using his original attempt at having the water move it. Using the sewer water was difficult and unpleasant, but he got it up. No curse reaction at all.

"It's like that night all over again".

Yes, the time when Kuroki and Riku were spared from extreme embarrassment and suffering was when it had vanished from them as well. However that had been when they were asleep, and they were told it was highly abnormal and certainly shouldn't be easy to repeat. But even more alarmingly, the curses didn't even leave any curse fragments behind. But they heard curses tended to linger only on people then objects when broken, so perhaps that was normal.

Still, before they could think on it further, they heard a whistle signal. It came from nearby, and it was a call for emergency support. Whistles weren't quite as effective in the sewers, but they could still work to a degree so they made sure to keep them on hand.

Thankfully, they were able to respond, so they let them know they were on the way and then headed in the direction. Had the curses not disappeared, however, they would have been forced to prioritize that to avoid it leaking into the water.

Meanwhile, in a far away city, within the heights of the Ivory Tower, the Oracle regained consciousness in his bed...no, rather, his mind returned there from the Spirit Plane.

"To think there would be such a timeline shift. I can't exactly let them get bogged down there after all" he muttered, reviewing the events that had transpired. He had been released from his "treatments" thanks to the fact oracles were infamous for being physically weak, due to the nature of keeping divine power within themselves. Thankfully he was released when he was from what was actually his interrogations and security checks that morning, as his memories returned early. He had to keep wiping his memory so they wouldn't find them, utilizing incantations and magic that in theory he should not be capable of, certainly not without being detected by his warden or those who imprisoned him in there.

"It must be one of the Hidden. They must have accidentally changed the timeline. I really wish they wouldn't have changed it there. I am sure they had good intentions, but it resulted in a group of cursed weapon wielding goblins being in Kuroki's path instead. If I had to guess, it was Green. He probably used an intermediary though".

Although his methods of communication were limited, as was the amount of information he could tell people in general, as the Oracle who observed the countless potential timelines, whose brain burned out that he had lost the ability to grow, and possibly also made his personality just a tiny bit rotten. Although that was likely more because of the two decades he had been imprisoned, suffering at the whims of the Dark Side of the Church.

But he would escape, one way or another, from this tower. He was incapable of even taking his own life, but recent developments had changed things.

"Amyris' party member will be coming to meet me soon. Several Starfallen have the chance to change the timeline into something in my favor. The Hero must be freed, but that's already guaranteed now. I just hope it happens in time. The Priest and the Tamer have met, good. I am glad I was able to fix so much by having Akano dispel the curse. The Four Cardinal Calamities are all far away from achieving their dreams, and decently isolated. West could make some concerning moves, I will need to move someone to intercept him.....ahhhg, given their personalities, North and West fighting each other is a possibility, but North never strays that far, and West never leaves the Empire before North encounters Kuroki in any timeline. Damnit".

The Oracle brought up what might almost be called a holographic display in front of him, only he was the only one capable of seeing it. It was a huge amount of threads, with various future memories there being displayed of various people. His power of Oracle let him do this. Normally, the Oracle's visions were vague and unclear, however there were moments when they could come in crystal clear. That said, the clearer the moment, the more dangerous and harder to influence it tended to be.

"The Trinity wont form for awhile, so they can be put off. I can't let Kuroki meet his friends yet, it interferes with all their growths. Ozlo...I don't need to do anything with him. Even in the timelines where he loses, his actions always end up helping. He won't be the lynchpin. What about...Tori? Sora? No, both boys are busy. Reika? No, she is needed there...and I don't think I have any thread to move her anyways".

However, then he saw a rather alarming one...but also one that proved interesting.

"I see. Of course. How could I have been so stupid".

He grabbed one of the golden threads, looking at it.

"What I need to do to increase the odds for the ideal timeline...is to move a conflict forward. Not a hero, but a villain. And this will provide the necessary catalyst needed to...wait what?"

The Oracle looked flabbergasted for a moment, truly stupefied.

"Seriously, the Shadehound goes THERE?! I mean, it really works well, but...hold on..."

The Oracle then checked other timelines, and was even more confused.

"What the hell? Seriously? I knew, but still...that's just abusrd. To think that's how that story plays out. Did some ancient dragon play a practical joke or something? How is that even possible, and from such a distance?"

The Oracle let out a sigh, and then shrugged it off.

"Well, it doesn't hurt the future. If anything, it might actually help it. Still, they are going to be so surprised when they learn. I think both moments happen at about the same time too, with my current acceleration. It's not much, but I can at least manage this much nudging with my powers".

The Oracle intertwined two golden threads, and then the whole display turned to golden dust before fading away. The Oracle then put his index finger back to his forehead.

"Now, there is no way they wont interrogate me again in the next day or so. So let's do this again. If everything goes well, these sealed memories won't return for about two or three weeks".

He closed his eyes, and then from his mouth came words that had meaning but sounded like gibberish, an incantation that should be impossible and would never work ordinarily. It sounded like a different language.

[Invoke Dual Mind. Hounds howl at midnight! Cloud Sky Sync. Let's have some fun soon, kay? Redaction Replacement. Fog rolling over].

A small beam of energy shot from his finger and into his brain, as he erased his mind yet again. With no one, not even him, knowing just how many times he had done this now. No one except perhaps for the bat which watched him through the window, despite it being broad daylight outside.

While this had been going on, Silver Storm made its way to the source of the whistle. It was Soaring Shields, who appeared mostly fine. Their mage was soaking wet from the waist down however, but smell was the least of their worries.

"Oi, Riala! What the hell is that doing here? I thought the sewers were less dangerous!"

"Less talking, more fighting!" he said, as he used his shield to not just block, but parry a Hobgoblin's sword.

Yes, it was a Hobgoblin, not a normal Goblin.

"Riku! Do it!"

"Right! Flare Enchant: Incendia. Brilliant Flash!"

Riku moved fast, faster then a boy his age should be able to. In an instant, he appeared behind the Hobgoblin, and crashed into a wall. The moment Riku made his move, the Hob had moved his shield right by his neck as he forcefully sped it out, and Riku, being unable to change course in this situation, was repelled.

For the first time since coming to this world, Riku's Brilliant Flash had been blocked.

"Frozen beaks to peck your eyes, frozen talons to slash your skin. These birds of frost are strong and cold, and will tear your body thin. Chilling Flock!"

Kuroki created about a dozen birds made of ice, which proceeded to swarm and attack the Hobgoblin. These ice birds came at him from all directions, but several bolts of fire rained out from behind the Hobgoblin and intercepted them, causing only a few to make it through. They were able to distract it enough for Riala to quickly drink some of a healing and stamina restoration potion, which kept him in the fight, but he was still clearly in a bad spot as the Hobgoblin gave him no additional time, having already destroyed the rest of the ice birds.

Kuroki checked out what was behind the Hob, and it was a Goblin with a staff. A Goblin Mage.

This is the first I have seen either, and now they are together?! What the hell is this?!

Kuroki quickly formulated another spell, but was interrupted by the mage shooting a fireball his way, while a Goblin wearing some pieces of armor came from the side. Ryuu intercepted it, while Riku attacked the Hob from behind. The Hob was able to parry his attack again, but it let Riala have just a bit more leeway as the potion healed his wounds.

To suddenly run into a Hobgoblin. They are supposed to be much more dangerous then a regular goblin, and this was supposed to be the easier one. And add to that the mage, which we had no run ins with yet either, or any other advanced Goblins...oh no...

"Kaede! Are there any others coming from the other tunnels?"

Kaede looked around, and listened hard.

"I can sense some presences moving about, coming to flank us from behind! I think they are Goblins!"

"Tsk. This is a trap!"

The Goblins had only used weaker Goblins, although sometimes equipped with Cursed Weapons. Still, that just warranted more investigation rather then concern, so the Guild would keep sending them out to be subjugated before they became a threat. However, it was clear now they were drawing out adventurers the first two days so they could take out a huge number today. The Goblins were organized, they had leadership.

Riala understood what Kuroki was saying in an instant.

This whole time, they had been concerned a Goblin Surge was happening, and that it would lead to a siege if not dealt with as it was happening. But they were wrong.

The Surge had already happened, and the Siege was already underway.

Phase 1 had been to lure the enemy out.

Phase 2 was now to deal with the various grunts. In other words, the numerous E to G rank adventurers who they had led to believe would be all that was needed in the sewers and in the woods.

They had been hoodwinked!

Kaede quickly took out two normal Goblins that were supporting the others. Riala's group had encountered a group of six Goblins. They had rarely found groups of five, but now a six had shown up? Another part of the Goblin's trap.

At the moment, the remaining Goblins in front of them were two Goblin Soldiers, one Goblin Mage, and a Hobgoblin. The Hobgoblin was simultaineously keeping Riku and Riala occupied. The mage took shots at either Kuroki or Riala's party, especially the mage. The narrow ledges in this part made it difficult for his teammates to help. They could go through the water, but not only would it absolutely stink up their clothes and bodies, it would limit their mobility, making them easy pickings for the mage. One soldier was keeping Ryuu busy and occasionally making faint attacks towards Kuroki, and the final one had come from behind and was engaging with another one of Riala's party members.

Kaede however couldn't engage anything yet, because the Goblins coming from behind would be totally unobstructed. Kuroki was the only thing that prevented the mage from singling out Riala's party right now, which is what left them in their current bad state. He could try and support Kaede as best he could, but it would mean Riala's party would start taking damage again, either from the mage targeting Riku who relieved some of the stress on them, or from attacking the party directly.

It was a testament that they didn't fall already. They must have been fighting them for several minutes now, but despite the enemy being stronger, having higher numbers, and being unexpected, they only had minor injuries. Those would stack up eventually, but they were still in a position where they could recover and continue patrol if they got through this and rested for a bit.

Wait, I could try that...

"Everyone, whatever you do, stay out of the water!" Kuroki warned, as he began to formulate his spell. However, before he could finish, the Goblins in the back appeared. Kaede ambushed their ambush, throwing them off as she sank a dagger into one of the two Goblin Archers with them. This was another group of six. A Hobgoblin, two archers, a mage, and a soldier. It was only five left, but they grouped up to protect themselves. There was also a group coming from a different direction that would be on them in thirty seconds or less.

The Goblins charged at Kuroki, who visibly panicked. He rose his hand and fired a waterball of all things at them. It was only about 25cm in diameter, and the Hob easily intercepted it with his sword as it smiled viciously.

And that was when it happened.

The moment the bubble broke, suddenly a huge water explosion occurred right there. It was more than that however, as lightning seemed to arc between the water, zapping them and anything else that might have been in the water. The goblin mage died outright, as did the remaining archer. The Hob and the two Goblin soldiers survived somehow, but they were injured now and clearly in pain.

This was the new spell Kuroki had been working on that Riku had to stop him from detonating in the basement each night. It turned out to be a rather tricky spell to figure out. Essentially he compressed, or rather, hypercompressed the water into a smaller sphere, making it look like a basic waterball. While it was effective at throwing people off and with the right levels of mana and experience, could carve out tree trunks and such with a single hit, it was generally acknowledged as a weak beginniner spell.

But Kuroki's Compressed Aqua Sphere was different. It was incredibly dense from the compressed water, causing it to do far more damage on a hit and even explode with violent force. He even added lightning to it for increased damage and pain, zapping anything that got wet with it. The spell was quite risky to use near allies, but it was rather devastating to enemies. That said, given how much mana it used, it was a waste to use it against singular targets as well. Those reasons are why he couldn't use it against the Hob by Riala or the Mage that was more isolated in the back. He had to save his mana to deal with the threats coming at them currently, as well as any future skirmishes on the way back.

Kuroki's Aqua Sphere was useful, but also rather situational. He couldn't just use it haphazardly. Still, it reduced the danger they were in.

However, before the goblins returned, while they were still zapped, there was another opportunity.

"Brilliant Flash".

Riku had charged out from behind the Hob and used Brilliant Flash. This time, the Hobgoblin lost his head in an instant. Riku had to leave Riala to deal with the first Hob alone for a moment, but in exchange, he was able to catch the second off guard and completely routed him. He even positioned himself behind the two soldiers, which let him plant his feet firmly on the ground and swing, cutting off both their heads.

Unfortunately, the ground was slippery, and perhaps one of the worst fates for Riku befell him as he slipped into the water. Before he went in however, a hand reached out and stopped him from falling in. It was none other then the leader of the Deep Dashers, Dia, and the rest of his team.

Incidentally, they too had the same cream under their noses, as well as makeshift cloth masks covered in the stuff.

All this as the third group of goblins appeared.

"Good. Looks like we made it in time".

"Dia! Great timing!"

"It's the Deep Dashers! Don't lose hope everyone, keep pushing through!"

"We need more barriers!"

"I will help cover them!"

The Appearance of an E-Rank party greatly increased morale, although they were more like a D-Rank party at this point. Deep Dashers, the party of five Rabbit Beastkin brothers, helped to turn the tides. Dia's party immediately engaged the new group, while he assisted the rest of them against the remainder of the first group. They pushed back against the approaching Goblins, as Dia went right for the Hob's head. It blocked it in that moment, however...

"Brilliant Flash!"

With his shield out of position and moving away thanks to the recoil, Riku used the moment Dia had given him and used his Brilliant Flash again. This made the third time in the last few minutes he used it, and he could feel the strain, but it was necessary. He cleaved right through the neck, separating head from body as Riala kept the Hob in place and locked down his sword.

With this, Kaede was able to target the mage. It had to move to intercept, but in that moment Kuroki and the mage from Soaring Shield was able to take advantage of it and take him out with both spells. He was able to block Kuroki's spell, but Soaring Shield's mage used a spell that had a harder to predict trajectory, resulting in him missing the mark. Unable to protect against all three attackers, he was felled almost instantly.

And as for the rest of Deep Dashers, they had drawn the Goblins into a struggle. There was a Hob, two soldiers, one normal goblin, one mage, and one archer. The normal goblin was already dead, and the soldier was missing an arm as it put up a struggle against Kia. The two mages turned to help them, with Kuroki freezing the ground under the goblins while Vio, whose name Kuroki had finally remembered, launched sharpened stones at them.

As they had expected to ambush the other side, the Goblins instead found themselves overwhelmed, and were quickly defeated. The moment they were done, Riala looked over at Dia.

"So they encountered Hobs in the forest?"

"Yeah. We were sent to provide support and relief. It looks like the gobs got us good. That said, we are in a better position then they expected I think. D and C Ranks were allowed into the field, so Ozlo told us to support you guys over here".

"Thanks...I don't think we would have survived otherwise".

"...my nose certainly wouldn't".

Although Riku made a remark that was a bit outside of the current atmosphere, no one really was going to blame him.

”So do we stay in the sewers, or report back to Ozlo?” Kuroki asked.

Dia shook his head. “We will remain and find the rest of the parties. You two head to the surface and patrol there. Link up with the guards. These sewers are officially enemy territory, and as people get deployed to the fields and forests, they might surge up through the sewers and catch us off guard. It would be best if you all fought in the city streets then down here anyways”.

”Understood” the two leaders acknowledged with a nod. Kuroki and Riala then led their parties up to the surface, where Vio then suffered through what Ryuu did yesterday. The city was mostly the same as usual, except more guards were out and everything looked tense.

Not only that, but a few from the Order of the Silver Wind were out as well. Their leader was strangely absent: Kuroki thought he might use this as an excuse to check in on them, or use them to escape paperwork.

And as if on cue, Kuroki’s eyes were covered by a pair of hands from behind.

“You have an expression that looks like you are thinking of me!”

Riza, in his Myra disguise, has decided to appear behind them for whatever reason.

“Ri…” Kuroki started, when suddenly Riza pinched his cheeks aggressively. “…Myra, what are you doing?”

”Just checking in! I was your monitor today after all!”

”Then where were you?”

”I was nearly assaulted by some horrible thugs! Thankfully the Brigade of the Silver Wind and their charismatic and talented leader came by!”

Kuriko couldn’t contain the eye roll as Riza praised himself, and in such a dramatic and emphasized voice. He even went into detail about the valiant hero.

That said, he didn’t say anything. Partially not to reveal Riza’s cover. But also because he could read in-between the lines. Those thugs had probably been another round of harassment at the group, and Riza eliminated them as a threat. Given the situation, that was extremely helpful.

”So now we are waiting. Gobs might not come out till tonight, but they should send people to cover us to let us rest soon”.

“Good. Because I’m worried a bit about our stamina” Kuroki replied to Riala’s comment.

“Same. We had to use a lot of energy in that last battle. And it’s possible the main goblin force might come tomorrow so they will want us all rested. Looks like it’s an all out war”.

”Then let’s hope Ozlo is the general”.

“Agreed”.

With that in mind, they then looked towards the sewer access point for this part. Right now it was silent, but could Goblins swarm up in any moment?

"It probably won't happen today...but it will happen eventually. And unfortunately, we can't field an army in the sewers" Myra/Riza said, as he brought them to a nearby table and took out a map of the region. It wasn't a normal map either, but a highly detailed one. Incredibly valuable, and certainly not something a C-Rank would normally have.

But the two were more focused on the pieces he was putting out. Apparently he just carried that stuff with them. There were blue pieces, yellow pieces, and red pieces. He placed the red pieces in the forest, while he had the blue and yellow at the side.

"So, this is what I figure. Their main force is in the forest. Its still their territory, but its territory we know as well, and both sides can field a large army. Now an army of goblins can be dangerous if one doesn't realize its coming before its too late, so we will want to crush them in the forest, before too many make it into the sewers. This will likely be tomorrow's operation".

He then put a bunch of blue pieces in the fields.

"Ozlo's main camp will be the command point for this operation. I am sure the military leaders have already been informed and are gathering the knights. The knights will probably be split in between two areas".

Ozlo put half the yellow pieces inside the city, and half of them in the fields.

"They know the Goblins already found a sewer access point outside of the city, so they will have to protect the ones inside of the city. Most likely, the Goblins intend to divide us by attacking the city while our armies engage within the plains and the forests".

Kuroki nodded so far, understanding things. He wasn't an expert of military strategy like some isekai protagonists seemed to magically be somehow, remembering every reference in every textbook somehow. But he could see the logic in what was explained.

"We will probably also need some adventurers inside the city as well. Otherwise the nobles might try to steal all the credit from us, so a good portion of parties will be there. If I had to guess, Ozlo will deploy the G and H Ranks, under the leadership of higher ranked parties. Considering this is now a city defense mission, he can use adventurers of any rank, so he will probably seed a few from B, C, and D ranks to join the E, F, G, and H rankers inside the city. That said, a good portion of you F-Rankers, such as your two parties, will likely be deployed in the field. I think you both would manage city combat fine, but given this is an army battle, we need those with high defense and those capable of large area magic to be in the fields, where they can utilize their skills the best. Deep Dashers as well will be deployed as a rapid response unit I am sure".

He then put some red markers around the city.

"The knights and the adventurers will proceed to deal with goblins wherever they arise, as well as any standard soldiers supporting them. They dont train to fight monsters too much, unlike knights and adventurers, so they will be acting in a more supporting role".

"I see. Will Ozlo be the general?"

"Nah, that will be the Guildmaster. Which technically, yes, means Ozlo is the actual general".

Technically the Guildmaster was, but Riza explained that he would likely just declare that he will leave everything to Ozlo for now and let him make the initial plans.

"Initial?"

"There is a very good chance that Ozlo will take the field himself. Partially to vent his frustration for the past few days".

Ah, yeah. He has been in a tent with those nobles. Considering the comments he made when he assembled all the adventurers, he probably has a lot of stress built up. I kinda feel bad for the goblins.

"...do the goblins deserve such malice brought upon them?"

Riza chuckled. "Well, they are monsters, so probably they deserve some or even most of it at least. That said, Ozlo wont be able to use his full power, so he will probably just make the opening move and then be on standby".

"Why?"

"Because now that its a Siege, War Merit Systems apply. If he just wiped out the entire army, he would deprive the knights and the adventurers of potential rewards. The Nobles would be furious and make his life hell, so I imagine he wont do that".

"Are they really all that annoying?"

Riza shrugged. "There are plenty of decent ones, however...even the decent ones have to play the game. Since its not always clear who is decent and who is scum. And you never know who might gain power. Because of that, all noble families are taught to prepare for such things by clawing as much power as they can. Which means even they will go after Ozlo if he just takes all the benefits".

"Ah, I see..."

"The fact he made a bunch of them crap their pants the other day didn't help either".

"Ah, was that when he let out his Dragon's Den?"

Riza nodded. "Yep".

Ozlo did that to help them, but apparently scaring a bunch of nobles literally shitless had its downsides.

"However, the real issue is if there will be any additional players thrown into the mix. Like that Shadehound you encountered the other day, or any Demons or Devils that have been rumored to be active lately....as a C-Rank adventurer, I hear lots of rumors, and let me tell you, there are a lot of people suspicious of the timing of this. There is even talk that this is under the orders of the Demon KIng, who has recently returned".

In other words, there were actually quite a few suspects.

But they would have to see what happens to know for sure. And so, as they stood guard, time ticked ever onwards.