Chapter 155
Chapter 155
Information from the Vines side came the very next day.
More precisely, news that troops had been mobilized from Bolino and Darian—territories in Levelium supported by Vines.
Forces from Bolino in the west and Darian in the southwest of Levelium had been deployed to launch a surprise attack on “Luda,” which was under Imperial occupation.
‘The Lord of Vines is quick with calculations. There’s no way he wouldn’t recognize this as an opportunity.’
Currently, both Bolino and Darian depended heavily on Vines.
After all, it was Vines that had supplied them with all kinds of resources while they were at war with the Empire.
If troops were suddenly mobilized now, then the Lord of Vines must have been deeply involved.
He likely informed them that the Imperial forces had largely moved north and urged them to attack.
For someone as slow-moving as Vines, this was unusually swift.
Though he usually weighed many factors, he wasn’t foolish enough to miss such a golden opportunity.
‘Speaking of which… Luda isn’t exactly unrelated to us either.’
* I don’t recall hearing anything about Luda.
‘Remember when we rescued the Rabbit Tribe before? The place the Level Merchant Group was trying to sell them to—that was Luda.’
* Was it?
‘Well, we rescued them before that happened, so it didn’t really matter.’
Luda, located west of the former Hawrun Territory and slightly west of the center of Levelium, was a contested zone bordering Bolino and Darian—and currently occupied by the Empire.
From Luda, to Mete in the center, Hawrun in the east, and Lucas in the north—
Those four territories made up the Empire’s occupied regions.
If they lost Luda, it would be like a fire at their feet.
It was such an important region that a Master and a fair number of Knights had been left behind—but with many Knights having moved north, it wouldn’t be the same as before.
‘Then they’ll request reinforcements from Mete and Hawrun.’
Lucas was already as good as looted by us, and even Regent Octosia was tied down here.
That meant the only forces available to reinforce Luda were those stationed in Hawrun and Mete.
That was all Octosia could realistically do.
‘This must be quite a mess for them.’
After the Lion Tribe ambushed the Imperial pursuers, they even went on to raid Lucas Castle.
They might have anticipated the Lion Tribe’s involvement.
After all, even if it was just the Black Lions, some Lion Tribe warriors had been defending here.
But with Bolino and Darian suddenly making moves as well, it would be hard to keep track of everything.
Especially since those two territories, which had been quietly regrouping, suddenly sprang into action.
If Octosia had any sense, she would have already realized that I was the overall commander of this war—and that the Johnson Territory was aligned with Haken.
With Haken and Vines at odds, it would be extremely difficult to imagine that we had reached out to Vines.
After all, neither Haken nor the Johnson Territory had good relations with Vines.
‘Honestly, after seeing the Black Lions and Horse Tribe in the first battle, she should’ve withdrawn immediately. This wasn’t the time to cling to sunk costs.’
Is this why gambling is dangerous?
Just a moment of hesitation—and the situation spiraled out of control.
In a war where 1,000 Knights had been mobilized, failing to seize the Second Horn immediately upon advance essentially sealed their defeat.
That was the kind of battle this was.
Wondering what choice Octosia would make, I sent a message to Elline.
The Lion Tribe, after looting Lucas, would move straight to the former Hawrun region.
And the moment Hawrun’s defending forces moved toward Luda, the Dog Tribe and Albio Hawrun would have to capture the area.
Whether Vines took Luda or not didn’t matter.
As long as we secured Hawrun, we were set.
---
It had already been two days since the Dog Tribe and Albio Hawrun had been waiting near the former Hawrun Territory.
The message from Iron arrived just as Albio Hawrun’s patience was reaching its limit.
Unlike the Dog Tribe, which had no ties to the region, Albio Hawrun desperately wanted to reclaim his homeland as soon as possible.
If it hadn’t been for Elline—the Priestess of the Dog Tribe and the one leading this operation—he would have already stormed Hawrun Castle.
After all, some of the Knights defending the area had already joined the northern expedition, and their vigilance had weakened.
From Albio’s perspective, it was hard to understand why they had to wait any longer.
“Lord Iron clearly told us not to get carried away.”
“That’s true, but…”
“We wait. As ordered.”
“…Tch.”
Albio Hawrun was a reasonable man.
He couldn’t act recklessly in a situation like this.
So he endured silently—until the long-awaited message finally arrived, making him feel like he could fly.
“This is good news. I was starting to get bored too.”
Elline was just as pleased.
Even for the sake of the mission, staying away from home for days wasn’t exactly enjoyable.
The Dog Tribe had only just found a new home, yet they had already left on this expedition.
They wanted to finish things quickly and return.
And to do that, they needed to capture that massive Castle without suffering losses.
“The enemy forces don’t seem that numerous.”
“That makes sense. They already sent troops north, and now more have been diverted again.”
“But their vigilance will be higher. The war has resumed.”
“That wall is also a problem.”
“It’s definitely high and thick. Even warriors won’t be able to climb it easily.”
Perhaps because Hawrun had already been looted once, the newly rebuilt Hawrun Castle was extremely tall and thick.
Johnson Territory lay to the northeast, Saint to the southeast, and Haken—most wary of the Empire—also relied on Hawrun as the fastest route into Levelium.
That was why so much effort had been put into reinforcing this area.
And now, the Dog Tribe and the Hawrun Liberation Army had to take that massive Castle.
“A direct assault would be difficult.”
“In that case… how about this?”
“Do you have a better idea?”
As Elline pondered how to overcome the walls, a Rabbit Tribe member approached.
They claimed there was a way to infiltrate the Castle without climbing the walls.
It was an intriguing idea.
“You’re saying there’s a tunnel?”
“It’s one we dug before, and it doesn’t seem to have been blocked. They probably don’t even know it exists…”
“Ah… you mean the one from back then?”
“Yes. That tunnel.”
The same tunnel the Black Lions had used to infiltrate Hawrun.
More precisely, it was dug by Rabbit Tribe workers to connect with their kin through the livestock ranch.
Through that tunnel, Rabbit Tribe members inside Hawrun communicated with workers outside.
Later, when the Empire occupied the area, the Black Lions used it to infiltrate.
When they destroyed Hawrun’s walls and evacuated the residents, the tunnel had been partially sealed.
But upon inspection, the exit remained unguarded.
The Empire hadn’t even realized the tunnel existed.
“Using the same tunnel for the third time…”
“If they’re not prepared for it, there’s no reason we can’t.”
“True. This is getting interesting.”
If Iron had seen this, he would’ve said, ‘Third time’s the charm?’
After all, “if you don’t know, you get hit” applied in any world.
“Alright, everyone—charge!”
And just as expected, the Imperial Army had no idea about the tunnel.
Caught off guard by the sudden infiltration, they fell into chaos.
It didn’t take long for the Dog Tribe warriors and Hawrun Liberation Army to take control of the entire region.
Around that time, Rudelrof and the Lion Tribe warriors—fresh from looting Lucas—arrived and joined them.
They reinforced Hawrun’s defenses even further.
---
The situation was escalating rapidly.
The Bolino–Darian alliance advancing into Luda was on the verge of capturing it.
Even after gathering all available forces from Mete and former Hawrun to defend, the difference in numbers was too great.
Its fall seemed imminent.
With troops pulled away from former Hawrun, the Dog Tribe and Albio Hawrun had easily secured that region.
Rather than a siege, they used the tunnel.
The fact that the same tunnel from before still existed was almost absurd.
When Leisha had attacked Hawrun Castle, she had wiped out the Imperial forces stationed there.
Even the Knights who barely escaped never figured out how the enemy had infiltrated the Castle.
The Rabbit Tribe had sealed the tunnel entrance cleverly when they destroyed the walls, which played a huge role.
In the end, Hawrun became the unfortunate territory defeated by the Rabbit Tribe’s “triple tunnel strategy.”
“And New Level forces have moved out from Saint?”
Another piece of news—
From Saint, it was reported that New Level forces stationed there had deployed into Levelium.
Following the Lord’s Council, all three Great Lords had stationed troops in Saint for protection.
Now, New Level’s forces were moving.
They had also been protecting the three Lords who fled to Saint.
If those Lords were now advancing back into Levelium with New Level’s army, the objective was obvious.
Drive out the Empire completely and restore the former Lords.
With the Empire beginning to falter, everyone was rushing to grab a piece.
“The Lords who fled back then… Luda, Mete, and Lucas, right? This is getting interesting.”
The Lord of Vines could practically secure Mete and Lucas for free if he took Luda.
Meanwhile, New Level held the former Lords of those three territories.
Conflict was inevitable.
“We should tighten defenses around Hawrun just in case.”
The Lion Tribe warriors who looted Lucas had already arrived at Hawrun.
Apparently, they found quite a few interesting things—but that could wait.
For now, I asked Rudelrof to secure Hawrun thoroughly.
With how chaotic things were, someone might try to interfere here too.
“Still… with things unfolding like this, what exactly is our Regent planning?”
Over the past three days, while chaos spread across Levelium—
Octosia and the Imperial Army had attacked the Second Horn three times.
And retreated three times.
Every time they moved out, the Horse Tribe would strike, making proper siege operations impossible.
At this point, it was hard to even understand why they were still clinging to this place.
She clearly had something in mind—but I couldn’t tell what.
Unless I became Octosia myself, I had no way of knowing her thoughts.
“But that ends now.”
Because—
The Cow Tribe warriors who had gone to Lucas had returned.
3,000 of them.
The moment they arrived, they charged straight into the Imperial camp, turning the situation into a defensive struggle for the Empire.
The Cow Tribe assault force, clad in heavy Iron Armor, boasted overwhelming defense at the cost of mobility.
And after all that marching, they seemed incredibly stressed—
Charging like absolute maniacs.
It was unfortunate that Rudick was among those maniacs.
But with the Cow Tribe rampaging, the Empire’s will to fight seemed completely broken.
Since their arrival, the Imperial Army hadn’t left their camp even once.
“So… what now?”
I was genuinely curious what Octosia was thinking.