Chapter 160.

Orphina welcomed Gawain as he entered the command room on the outskirts of Warrant. "Long time no see."

Gawain nodded at Orphina's greeting. "Its been a long time. Hasnt it been about a month and a half since you left the demon territory?

"Yes, I was supposed to be relaxing in the capital for a year, but I can't help it because theres an emergency. Orphina smiled bitterly and shook her head helplessly.

"Ohohoho, are you Gawain, Bloody's nephew?" As Gawain and Orphina finished exchanging greetings, Glont, who was standing next to the commander-in-chief, smiled and asked a question.

Gawain asked out of habit, "Who are you?"

"Ohoho, my introduction is late. I don't know if your uncle told you, but Im Glont."

"Ah!" Gawain exclaimed. "Ive heard a lot about a Glont from Uncle Bloody. I was told that other than his perverted tastes, hes still stronger than an average warrior."

Glont burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! That sounds exactly like what Bloody would say! Ahahahaha!"

On the other hand, Orphina gritted her teeth after hearing Gawain. "That reckless simpleton."

Gawain was puzzled by the conflicting reactions. "Did I say something I shouldnt have?"

"Tch. Thats the problem with Crows. Its usually rude to call someone a pervert right to their face, Orphina pointed out.

Gawain seemed to have been enlightened. "Oh! Come to think of it, I think he said something like that about the world outside the village!"

Most of the Crow tribe didnt hide their feelings. If another person said something offensive, they spoke directly and fought to resolve all their problems. Because of this, they didnt even have any qualms calling someone a pervert.

Glont was well aware of this fact, so he smiled and moved on. "No, I'm fine. It's a hundred, no, a thousand times better than having a conversation while hiding your true feelings."

"Thank you for your understanding. But, unlike what I heard, you dont really look like a pervert, Gawain said.

Glont once again burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! It's wartime right now, so I have to show some dignity. It's annoying, but the commander has a duty to live up to his subordinates expectations." Gawain seemed puzzled, so Glont explained more simply, "It's like giving your subordinates the confidence that they can succeed in hunting. It's important because that kind of conviction determines the morale of the entire unit."

"Hmm, I think I know what you mean now."

William smiled at Gawain, nodding. "A commander who can't fulfill his subordinates expectations can be considered an incompetent commander."

Hearing Glont, Orphina crossed her arms arrogantly and snorted. "Most people are foolish enough to be misled by outward appearances, not someones true nature. They dont recognize true greatness beneath appearances.

"Well... I don't really know if that's foolish. William refuted Orphina with a subtle smile.

"What do you mean by that?" Orphina asked in a sour tone.

William shrugged. "It's only natural for people to judge by what they see. Of course, it happens that everyone focuses on different things while looking."

Orphina continued, sounding as if she had heard something ridiculous. "Hmph, that's an opinion far from the absolute truth, taught by the Butterfly tribe that worships magic. Why dont you talk about the future instead? It's not as if we have a lot of time.

Orphina's sarcasm made William smile with a troubled expression. "I never knew you understood magic so well. Well, I agree that we should first deal with the fire under our feet.

On the map laid out atop the table, William moved a large stone in the direction of Warrant.

"According to reports from the fourth intercept unit led by Dane Walker, the speed at which its moving southward has accelerated. They say theyre delaying it as much as possible, but at this rate, it might reach Warrant early in the night, not by midnight."

Glont and Orphina looked at the stone on the map with serious expressions. "Bloody will need to move as fast as he can, Glont murmured.

Gawain pulled out the report from his bag when he heard Glont. "Oh, this is the interim report Uncle Bloody asked me to deliver."

William received the report, reading it intently. Then, he picked up a pen and marked some points on the map. "As expected, its going quickly since three Crows are stirring up the demon territory. If all goes well, we might be able to make it in time.

Glont and Orphinas hardened expressions relaxed.

"Even that fool can be useful at times like this, Orphina remarked.

"You have to at least recognize his ability to break through. Hohoho! Glont replied.

Orphina and Glont discussed how to move the stones that marked the imperial army with brighter expressions.

Just then, Gawain took a video ball out of his bag and put it on a table. "Oh, also, this is a video that Elder Mirpa-nim asked me to deliver."

With an odd expression, William picked up the video orb and played its contents.

After watching the video, Orphina dropped the stone she was holding, but no one there noticed. To be exact, no one could pay it any mind.

-Kaoooooo!

In the video, one of the four great demons, The Dragon that Lived a Thousand Years, was roaring.

And Doomstone was smiling brighter than anyone else, even while he faced the giant dragon alone. His appearance was filled with a majestic air.

* * *

In the morning, before the sun had risen completely, I suddenly woke up to the sound of a trumpet announcing an emergency.

"All troops! Gather around!"

"The demons are coming!"

I got out of my sleeping bag upon hearing the sound coming from outside. I quickly straightened out the uniform that I had roughly loosened in order to sleep last night, put on my combat boots, and tightened my shoelaces. Then I took the musket I had left next to me, slung it on my back, and holstered the rapier and pistol on my waist.

"Wake up!" I shook Demuir, who was still out cold beside me, to wake him up.

"Huh! What, what?!

I gave Demuir some water to help him come to his senses from being woken up suddenly. "Theres an emergency. I'll go to Warehouse 12 first, so come quickly."

Demuir scrambled out of his sleeping bag. I ran to Warehouse 12 without looking back.

There were already soldiers in line to receive arrows there. I immediately opened the warehouse door and took out a pile of arrows.

1331st Regiment, receipt of 2,000 arrows, confirmed!

"2nd Headquarters Corps, receipt of 5,000 arrows!"

I quickly distributed the arrows and memorized how many arrows were supplied to which unit.

By now, I could see army magicians running this way to receive mana stones, but it would be too much for me to run two warehouses by myself unless I cloned myself.

"I'm sorry for being late! Fortunately, Fiona came running in a disorganized fashion.

"No, you came just in time, I replied.

Fiona opened Warehouse 3 and began distributing mana stones to the magicians. I also started to write a dispensary ledger for the arrows Id distributed.

"We don't have enough mana stones! Please give us a little more!"

"We cant. This is all we can distribute."

"What! Its full of mana stones in there!"

The magicians began to scuffle with Fiona for more mana stones.

"It's a command from the top. I can't provide any more mana stones!"

"We need them to deal with the demons now!"

Just based on what I saw while distributing the arrows, the supply of mana stones definitely did seem far lower than what we had on hand. However, that was just because there was an absurd amount of mana stones in the storage, not because there weren't enough being distributed to fight the demons.

I stopped handing out the arrows and approached Fiona, who was struggling.

"It's a pity that the supply of mana stones is so limited, but it's an order from the top. I ask for your kind understanding." I tried to calm down a magician who had been getting worked up with Fiona.

Still, the frustrated magician yelled, "All this time, weve been waiting for more mana stones to be supplied! Do you guys even know that weve had to watch our comrades die due to a lack of mana?

The magician tried to grab Fiona by the collar, but I put myself in between them and he