Official notices were plastered all over the streets of Briole.
Each bore a peculiar portrait: Yuri Briole, wearing a large bowler hat, pointing directly at the viewer with an intense gaze.
Beneath it was written:
“Briole wants you. New recruits wanted.”
The oversized bowler hat was the symbol of Briole’s recruitment officers. This was an advertisement rallying soldiers under Yuri Briole’s banner.
No one was unaware that a war, one that would decide the fate of the continent, was imminent.
Newspapers and magazines relentlessly condemned the Empire. They claimed the Emperor was preparing his army for war, warning that if they remained passive, their lands would become battlefields. They urged people to act first.
People feared war.
But this time, things felt different.
Leading Briole—and the anti-Imperial alliance—was Yuri Briole, a hero revered as the embodiment of victory, undefeated in every battle.
Hope blossomed in people’s hearts.
Of course, everyone knew the war would be harsh and brutal.
But those who survived until the end would be guaranteed wealth and honor.
Participants would become heroes who saved their nation, praised for generations.
Even if they died, it would be an honorable sacrifice.
News spread that the Empire had begun persecuting foreigners, especially Brioleans. No one doubted their cruelty would not be confined to Imperial lands.
If they didn’t fight, they would be trampled. For their families, their loved ones, and their homeland, they had to take up arms.
The number of recruits surged sharply.
In one Briole city, a recruitment officer reviewing applicants furrowed his brow when a man appeared before him.
“You seem a bit older. Are you sure you’re up for this?”
“I’m fine. I’m a veteran of the Allied Forces.”
“Oh, I see. Welcome. Are you a resident of this territory?”
Veterans were always given priority. The officer quickly opened the city’s registry of veterans.
“Yes.”
“Your name?”
“Raymond.”
“Let me see… Raymond…”
The officer’s hand froze as he scanned the list. His eyes widened.
This was no ordinary soldier, but a knight.
“Sir Raymond?”
“That’s right.”
“This recruitment is for soldiers. You should report to the lord of the territory to receive your post…”
“I’ve decided to enlist as a soldier.”
“Pardon?”
The officer looked up, surprised. The weathered knight wore a faint smile.
“There are comrades I must fight alongside on the battlefield.”
He gestured behind him.
Only then did the officer notice that the volunteers lined up behind Raymond wore identical badges.
The emblem of the Allied Veterans Association.
“As president of the Allied Veterans Association, I’ve decided to join this war alongside my members.”
“Oh…”
The officer studied him for a moment, then extended his hand.
“As a soldier of Briole, I thank you for your decision, senior.”
“Thank you.”
“On the contrary, I must humbly ask: Will you once again dedicate yourself to Briole’s victory, to our homeland?”
“Of course.”
“For Briole!”
The officer shouted, suddenly rising from his seat.
“Please follow me, everyone.”
Soon, others arrived to escort Raymond and the veterans through the city.
At first, it seemed they were simply making accommodations for former Allied soldiers.
But they had other plans.
“Before you’re deployed to the front lines, there’s a small matter we’d like you to assist with.”
“For Briole, I’m happy to help.”
“Let’s start with some basic grooming.”
“Grooming?”
“If your complexion looks grim, people might treat you coldly. Ha ha ha…”
“No way…”
They were using the Allied Veterans Association’s name to boost recruitment.
Raymond and his comrades moved through the city, receiving cheers from the people.
The campaign was a success.
The news that a retired knight from the Allied Forces had taken up his sword again for Briole stirred the blood of the youth.
Briole steadily prepared for war.
Compared to Yuri’s previous life, this response was far more organized.
Meanwhile, Yuri himself was not idle.
Leading the Revenge Knights, he left Briole ahead of the others—a vanguard to establish the anti-Imperial alliance’s front lines.
Kori was taking care of all the dirty work in the village for the bedridden Roland.
Though people’s treatment of him had improved somewhat after learning he was a mage, the underlying disdain remained.
Whenever he passed, villagers pointed fingers.
Children mocked him as a monster.
Still, Kori never once lost his temper.
“Are you an idiot?”
A mercenary standing at the guild office entrance suddenly spoke as Kori tried to enter.
“Huh?”
“You’re a mage, yet you just stand there while these village fools look down on you?”
“Um…”
The mercenary was a rough-looking man with scars on his face.
Kori had crossed paths with him a few times, and the guild staff said he was a fairly skilled mercenary.
“What can I do? I just ignore them.”
“I heard you’re a half-orc, but you speak well.”
People meeting Kori for the first time were often surprised by his fluent speech—as if encountering a talking beast.
Kori chuckled softly.
“I limp, but my mouth works fine. Lucky, right?”
“If you’re a mage, you must be smart. So why don’t you fight back? These guys disrespect you because you don’t retaliate. Don’t you get it?”
“I don’t see the need to.”
“Respect comes from fear.”
The man stood and lit a cigarette.
“How can someone with a face like that be so soft? You’re a strange one.”
“What does looks have to do with personality?”
“When you’re hated, you tend to get sharp. I was like that when I was young. But after I got this,” he tapped the scar on his face, “people stopped picking fights with me. Funny, huh?”
The scar looked like a threatening knife wound.
“Just frustrated, that’s all.”
“Thanks for the advice. But I’ll just keep ignoring it.”
“Are you kind, or just fooling yourself?”
The mercenary chuckled.
“Guys like you get fooled even worse. It wouldn’t surprise me if people start disappearing around here.”
Kori ignored him and entered the guild office.
The clerk inside frowned at first but then greeted him. Despite personal feelings, Kori was valuable for handling even the smallest tasks.
“Welcome. Looking for work?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s see…”
The clerk scanned the list of requests.
“Not much here. Oh, there’s a job to cut down trees at the village entrance. You get paid based on how many you cut. Interested?”
Being a mercenary didn’t always mean fighting. Often, they handled odd jobs.
But tree-cutting was rare.
“I heard you’re a mage, but you can handle an axe?”
“Yes…”
“If you don’t want to, that’s fine. There’s nothing else right now.”
“I’ll do it.”
Kori nodded. He couldn’t afford to be picky with Roland’s medical bills.
“Why cut trees, anyway?”
“There’s talk that Briole’s army will pass through. We need to clear the path for the troops.”
The clerk said this cheerfully.
For a village, a passing army was usually a good thing—it meant inevitable consumption to supply the soldiers.
Kori’s eyes flickered.
“Briole’s army?”
“Yes.”
The clerk glanced at Kori before returning to his paperwork.
“The war’s about to start. The mercenary guild will be busy. So, will you take the job?”
“Y-yes.”
Kori quickly signed the papers and asked,
“When will Briole’s army arrive? Are you sure they’re coming? Who’s the commander?”
Unable to change Roland’s stubborn mind, Kori had decided to stay with him rather than return to Briole.
But now, Roland’s life hung in the balance.
Maybe meeting Yuri could heal Roland. Then they could return to Briole together.
The clerk stamped the papers and replied,
“I don’t know. It’s just rumors. Nothing certain. Now, go do your work.”
“Okay.”
Kori stepped outside.
The mercenary from earlier was still there.
He flicked his cigarette to the ground and asked,
“You really going to cut trees?”
Kori didn’t want to answer, but the man followed him, so he nodded reluctantly.
“Yes.”
A sneer returned.
“Are you an idiot?”
“Huh?”
“If tree-cutting’s come to the guild, you should at least check things out. Tsk…”
“Why?”
“Don’t you know there are lots of beasts around here?”
“Um…”
“If dire wolves show up while you’re chopping, you just gonna stand there?”
Only then did Kori understand.
“They’re using the tree-cutting job as an excuse to hire a mage as cheap muscle. Bet that unlucky bastard inside got a fat paycheck.”
“Y-you don’t think that was their plan, do you?”
“Moron.”
The mercenary laughed.
“Don’t act innocent. Whatever, not my problem.”
He waved and disappeared somewhere.
Kori stared after him blankly, then trudged on.
The mercenary was right. He’d been used again.
Maybe if he’d scared people with magic, he wouldn’t be treated like this. But Kori didn’t want to do that.
“Ugh…”
As he walked, the village children caught up again.
“Monster! Monster!”
“Don’t talk to him. He kills people and eats their hearts.”
“Really a monster.”
“Ugly, too!”
Kori ignored the taunts and limped onward. The kids who had been teasing him soon lost interest and scattered.
When he reached the village entrance, he saw the village chief directing people to chop wood.
The chief frowned as he spotted Kori.
“What brings you here? To cut wood?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Well then…”
The chief smacked his lips and said, “Get to work, then.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’ll get paid for every tree you cut.”
“Um, what about an axe?”
“An axe?”
The chief chuckled.
“You came to cut wood empty-handed?”
“I’m here as a mercenary. You should provide the equipment.”
“If you want to cut wood, you have to bring your own axe. Tsk…”
He clicked his tongue and held out his hand.
“If you want to borrow one, there’s a rental fee.”
“Rental fee?”
“Yeah. You didn’t think you’d get to use an axe for free, did you?”
By now, Kori was getting angry.
“I’ll just leave, then.”
“You signed a contract at the office when you came, didn’t you?”
“I want to cancel it.”
“If you do that on your own, you know you’ll get penalty points, right? I have the authority to ban you from this village.”
Kori stared at the chief.
He wanted nothing more than to leave, but with Lorant’s condition, he couldn’t.
He sighed deeply.
He couldn’t understand why the chief was acting like this. If Kori wanted to, he could easily kill an ordinary person, even if he wasn’t a powerful mage.
He recalled what a fellow mercenary had said earlier.
Because he kept showing weakness, they were taking advantage of him.
Kori clenched his fists, then relaxed them.
“Fine.”
He rolled up his sleeves.
“I’ll pay the rental fee. Let me borrow an axe.”
“That’s more like it.”
The chief grinned.
“Now get to work and chop those trees.”
Yuri pushed his horse hard, leading the Vengeance Knights to arrive early.
To encircle the northern empire, the Holy Kingdom and Bursen would hold the left flank, Liberta the right, and Briole along with the allied minor states would form the center defense line.
Jared, standing beside him with a map spread out, chatted nonstop.
“This is definitely the shortcut. We should see a village soon. We can rest there for a day.”
“If possible, we should resupply.”
“The village isn’t very big, so I’m not sure how much we can get.”
“That’s okay. We’re not running low.”
“Understood.”
Yuri glanced back. The Vengeance Knights were following in formation.
“Not tired already, are you?”
“No, sir!”
“You’ll get to fight soon enough. Don’t get too eager!”
“Yes, sir!”
“We’ll rest for a day in the next village!”
“Yes, sir!”
“For Briole!”
“For Briole!”
Yuri urged his horse forward, increasing the pace at the front.
Soon, the village came into view.
The path leading to the entrance was neatly cleared, as if recently logged.