Chapter 48
  Meanwhile, the Skeletal Knight Gaius, who had departed from the royal capital Asia, switched to a Wyvern midway and returned to the former Francia Kingdom, which had been devastated by the “Hour of Ruin,” after about half a day’s journey.
  
  There were no human figures in Lyon, the central city of the Rhone-Alpes region, where his castle was located. Aberrant monsters roamed the desolate city, and in open areas, even a giant tiger magical beast, the Servael, over ten meters long, was relaxing.
  
  Originally, the summoned Aberrations were supplied with the “Breath of the Stars,” which the Spirit Gates drew from the earth via the earth veins. As long as the surrounding land didn’t wither, they could act without eating or drinking…
  
  “Gwaaaaaauu”
  
  The tiger magical beast yawned widely, moved its body, got up, and started walking towards the wilderness for hunting. It seemed that its wild instincts couldn’t be suppressed.
  
  Above it, small bird-like Aberrations flew in the sky, with a few Griffons, rare among medium-sized Aberrations for their ability to fly, mixed in.
  
  However, when it came to large and flying Aberrations, only a few ancient dragons remained alive. These powerful beings weren’t as bound by the “Pact of the Joints.”
  
  Therefore, they had been passive in the continental invasion, which had allowed the current status quo to be maintained by humans, who relied on giant knights that couldn’t fly.
  
  The White Elves, who looked down on humans as an inferior species, were extremely displeased with the stalemate, but not the Skeletal Knight.
  
  Despite the changes in his personality due to the mental control of the pact, Gaius, sitting on the throne in his small castle, was openly enjoying the equal struggle.
  
  This wasn’t limited to leading an army; it was the same when competing for individual supremacy.
  
  “… You seem quite pleased, my lord.”
  “We had an interruption, but the new Knight King is a good warrior.”
  
  As if to say, “Look,” he pulled back his black clothes and showed his subordinate undead, Kreis, the side of his armor, revealing a hole pierced by a longsword.
  “That is most fortunate. Please excuse my…”
  
  The undead mage, clad in a magician’s robe and with his hood pulled deep, floated over, dragging the hem of his robe, and slowly raised an invisible hand.
  
  “All things are in flux, obey my will.”
  
  Perhaps he had some knowledge of alchemical magic, as the metal of the damaged part moved on its own, gradually restoring itself to its original shape.
  
  “My apologies. I won’t be caught off guard next time… Are the preparations for the advance ready?”
  “Please wait a little longer.”
  
  It was difficult to secretly reinforce the large Aberrations while gradually deploying his subordinate Aberrations into skirmishes with the neighboring Lichtea Principality, so as not to alert the humans.
  
  It was also necessary to deceive the spies that the enemy had infiltrated into their territory. It would take at least a month and a half, even by a c*nservative estimate.
  
  “Hmm, it seems it will be a while before we can pilot the ‘Mechanical Magi.'”
  “Well, we have eternity, so there’s no need to rush.”
  
  The undead mage bowed his head respectfully, and the Skeletal Knight laughed triumphantly.
  
  After this exchange, several peaceful months passed in the Lizel Knight Kingdom until the news of a large-scale invasion towards Radiole, the Principality’s proud fortress city, arrived… However, the Knight King in question didn’t let his guard down and stood in the outdoor training ground within the castle walls, holding a sharpened iron sword.
  
  On the slightly elevated viewing stand for inspections, facing him, Revia, with a somewhat worried expression, was tightly clenching her hands.
  
  “Ugh, I have a bad feeling about this.”
  
  “It’ll be alright. He won’t d*e even if he’s*hit by magic-alchemically made paint bullets, and the power of magic is greatly reduced with a training Shakujo.”
  
  Perhaps due to her optimistic nature, Lise, who was watching with anticipation rather than worry, agreed with Dino, who supplemented his partner’s words.
  
  “He’s wearing goggles to protect his eyes, and Fine is also standing by.”
  “I will do my best to handle anything within the scope of healing magic.”
  
  The Knight Captain’s adopted daughter, who had been asked by the King to be the healer beforehand, nodded slowly and, like them who happened to be in the training ground, cast her gaze downwards.
  
  In front of the person she and her adoptive father served, there were two guards with standard single-shot pistols and a female magician holding a Shakujo.
  
  “Are you really sure about this, Your Majesty?”
  “Yes, training against firearms and magic in the flesh is essential.”
  
  Having keenly felt the need during the recent attack, I was further honing my skills. I replied in agreement, although I wasn’t sure how far my swordsmanship would be effective.
  
  “Then, allow me to finish this quickly… Burn them, Gun’en!”
  
  The magician, who looked slightly older than me with a somewhat exasperated expression, thrust out her arm and launched a preemptive strike with the fire attribute area-of-effect magic, Spread Fire, which she must have been maintaining during the activation phase.
  
  Against the Gun’en, whose power had been reduced to a non-lethal level by the craftsmanship of the Shakujo she held, I grasped the flow of magic that I had recently become able to sense and swung my iron sword to sever its composition.
  
  “Eh, no way!”
  “Impossible!?”
  
  I broke through a corner of the curtain of flames with a slash, getting slightly burned in the process, and escaped the line of fire from the two guards who had been caught off guard and were hastily aiming their guns. I closed in on them while dodging with minimal left and right movements to avoid as many paint bullets as possible.
  
  “D*mn, I can’t hit him!”
  “What’s going on!?”
  
  The moment the two panicked guards threw away their single-shot pistols and tried to draw their swords, I jumped in from the side in a low stance and lightly thrust my blade into a gap in the light armor of one of them.
  
  “Ugh, I’m dead, whoa!?”
  
  I placed my left palm on the opponent who had been deemed dead in the mock battle, pushed him back with my weight, and simultaneously stepped forward, thrusting with my right hand alone towards the guard further back.
  
  “Sha!”
  “Guh”
  
  Immediately after stopping the tip of my blade just short of his throat and neutralizing the remaining guard, I turned around and swung my iron sword in conjunction with the increasing magic power, narrowly deflecting a flame bullet fired from close range.
  
  “Tsk, he’s no longer human!”
  “How rude, hey!”
  
  “Ouch, ugh… I surrender.”
  
  Finally, I lightly tapped the magician’s forehead with the hilt of my sword, ending the mock battle against opponents who mainly used ranged attacks… As a result, for some reason, I was the only one who ended up with a burn from the initial attack, despite having won.
  
  “This is the result even after the power was reduced… It was a bit reckless.”
  “Yes, Your Majesty would have been severely injured if they hadn’t held back.”
  
  “That would have hindered our subsequent battles.”
  “I agree. Relying solely on skill has its limits…”
  
  Nodding deeply at the valuable opinions from my opponents, I decided to consult with old man Souichirou, who had already started forging several swords, and Blaze, the Chief Magician, about anti-magic weaponry.