"Will you do it?" she asked Verest, hoping he would not refuse. Althea could not send more of the army to Marile. Deadre did not have enough to defend it as it was. If she sent more, then Deadre might be in danger of falling to the tide. Well, who was she kidding? The Steward could probably deal with them all. But that would make things far more risky than they had to be.

"I thought you were not going to use us as soldiers." Verest stated.

Althea's face twitched. "I know. And I will not order you, not that I have any right to. But I beseech you, please, I need your help."

Althea would have begged if she thought it might help. But Verest did not seem to be that type of person. No, he was far more likely to agree if she presented some actual arguments.

"I will agree," he said. "On one condition."

"What is it?" she asked. Well, she got that right.

"I want permission to build a navy. Not one you command, not truly anyway. But one I can use as I wish." Verest asked.

Althea hesitated. "That might cause me problems if you go against the Empire."

"Do not worry about that, your grace, we will follow the laws of the Empire and not make trouble for the county. But I want us to have the ability to kill in the name of the county. To defend ourselves against attacks we deem to be against our interests." he said.

Althea thought for a moment, and then nodded. What Verest asked for was a lot and not much at the same time. If he exploited it, then it meant he could use her name to terrorize people. If he didn't, then it meant that he would just have the ability to defend himself.

Even if he killed a noble, he would be able to use her name and go free as long as he proved that the attack was at least somewhat justified. That would mean putting her against that noble's allies, subordinates, the entire noble thing.

But she had at least some idea of his personality now. The half-elf was crafty and a politician, but he wasn't immoral. At least he wouldn't go full on Hitler with it.

"Then we have a deal. But if you, or your successor breaks the laws and customs of the Empire, I will personally come to take it away from you." she threatened. "I might not be your match now, but that may not always be true.

Verest's face tightened as he remembered their battle. If she were to one day reach the same level as him, then there was a good chance that he would not be her match. If he hadn’t hidden sill from her. The chances of him not having a card or two up his sleeves was low.

Althea gave him one last smile and left.

"Tell Isa, Vanessa, and Nathan to meet me in my bedroom." she said. The half-Elves weren't the only ones she was sending. The college students would go too. The people in Marile were more likely to follow orders if the Justice Minister's daughter led a bunch of talents of the Diery county and half-Elves to reinforce Marile. And she had a little something to help that too.

Althea took a detour to the vault before going to her bedroom, causing the trio to arrive at her bedroom before she did.

"Has something happened, your grace?" Isa asked, clutching her sword. "Has the beast tide finally appeared?"

Althea gave a sad smile. "Not yet, Isa. Not yet." And then she composed herself.

"But I have another important mission for you."

Althea removed what she had removed from the vault. The sword that she had only used in the coronation. The thing was just a dead weight to her. But to Isa, and a particular half-elf, it was a powerful weapon.

Althea had been talking to the Empress, planning for the tide. And the artifacts in the vault had come up. As it turned out, they weren't just shiny baubles. No, they were powerful weapons. Or artifacts. Althea just wasn't powerful enough to use them. That did not really surprise her. But the level did.

The Empress suspected that the sword was not just a normal artifact. Not even a Grandmaster grade one. But the legendary Golden Sword. The royal family had records stating that it had fallen into the hands of a Diery Grandmaster, a Druid of Soleria, back in the day. But had not been seen since. There were conflicting records of its appearance and origin.

But its power was the one thing people agreed upon. The sword could even cleave through Grandmaster stage weapons. The thing could be a founding weapon of an Empire. Althea was hesitant to take it out, but it provided a surety other weapons did not.

At least, the likelihood of it being detected was minimal. There was not a single Empire on this continent that had been around when the swords had been discovered nine thousand years ago. Well, except the Solerian Empire.

"I hereby grant you this sword, and with it the authority of the Diery family." she said as Isa hurriedly bowed.

"I charge you, Isa Ferestus, daughter of the Minister of Justice and loyal protector of the county, to lead a force of reinforcements to Marile and fortify its defenses." she said.

"I ask that should the city be about to fall, that you give this sword to Verest, leader of the half-Elves so that he may truly unleash its power." she continued. "But do not give it until you are sure. The sword must not fall into the wrong hands. There will be war if that happens."

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Isa paled, but did not reject it. Althea would have stayed, talked some more with Nathan and Vanessa, but she had meetings, briefings and planning to go to. The reinforcements would have to leave without her participating. There was a county to save.

sc

The reinforcements left soon, and she settled into her schedule.

"I don't really see the point of these meetings anymore." one of the commanders said.

"The meetings have allowed us to fine tune our plans and contingencies and increase the efficiency of our training and internal coordination-" Althea began.

"As well as that is, this is getting tiring, your grace." the commander said. "The meetings only serve to remind us of our failure at this point. Of how we are here, helpless as we wait for the enemy to strike."

And it was here. The dissent had reached the committee.

"What do you suggest then?" she asked, her tone light, and conveying her fatigue.

The commander simply replied with a look. A look that was mirrored by every person here.

A scout burst into the room.

"The latest reports are here."

The crowd groaned.

"What is it?" the commander that had spoken before asked.

"A ninety-seven percent increase in sightings. Seventy-three percent increase in withdrawals." the scout said.

The committee descended into silence. That was the largest singular increase they had seen since this tide business began. The beast tide had nearly completely withdrawn at this point.

A chair creaked beside her as she looked at the Steward glowering at the papers. Althea's eyes met his, and she made a silent plea. Even as Countess, she could not command the Emperor's guards. But the Steward could. If the Steward ordered it, he could end this now.

The Steward sighed.

"That is enough. The numbers aren't even trying to make sense anymore." the Steward nodded towards her. "Tell the army to prepare, they must be alert as we move. Protect Leo at all costs, even their lives."

The Steward turned to her. "As for you, Countess rest. I will show you what an Adept can do tomorrow."

Althea sagged. That had been easy. A bit too easy, perhaps. But it lifted a huge weight off her. This chapter of her life was finally ending. A glow spread through her body as her core finally broke through to Apprentice 7. And then she fell asleep.

The next day, Althea hid in her carriage, trying not to be seen in her hideous fashion choice. The clothing was practical this time, fitting and comfortable leggings with an equally comfortable top. But she had a tiara on her head, bracelets on her wrist and necklaces on her neck. Not to mention that wooden staff.

After all, these were supposedly the most powerful weapons the Diery family had. Althea just hoped that they would help her. The Steward was the one doing the heavy lifting though. The Emperor could be said to have interfered, but she did not really care about that anymore.

The carriage arrived at the forest border, and she got off. There were only her and the Emperor's guards here. The people of the county did not dare approach the forest anymore. But the time was here. The problem would soon be over.

sc

Isa

Isa stood beside the Marile city lord, trying not to look disgusted by the man beside her. That was getting harder by the second.

"The Deadre committee has confirmed that the Countess has stepped into the forest. The period of suffering inflicted on our people due to these ridiculous restrictions has finally come to an end." The city lord said. "Open the gates!"

The city lord pointed at the large gates that did not, in fact, open. Isa should have really acted surprised at the development, but she wasn't good at stuff like that. The fortress commander, though, was a bit of a politician. Isa would just let him handle it.

"I fear that I cannot allow that." the fortress commander said. The city lord's face reddened. The city had indeed lost a lot. The merchants in particular were unhappy. The foreign merchants would have loved to exit if they could.

The scouts did report that there were few beasts in the vicinity. But if one exception was made, a hundred people would ask for them.

"What gives you, a mere fortress commander, the right to contradict my orders!" the city lord said. "I have removed the emergency!"

"But the Countess hasn't. What gives you the right to contradict the Countess?" Isa. Interrupted. And she had done it again.

There were quite a few people in the county that weren't satisfied with how a young woman had taken over the county. The city lord was just one of them. Isa could not help but want to slap their faces. What had the Countess done to earn their doubt? Did they not see how hard she worked?

“I am the voice of the Countess! I interpret that she has chosen to relax the restrictions placed on us!” the city lord said. The crowd rolled their eyes at him. The city lord wasn't fooling them, but he didn't care about that. No, he cared about what he would get after.

The Countess was looking to replace him, that much was clear. A merchant caravan must have promised him something if he let them go. Perhaps a position under the noble backing them? But that did not matter.

“No, I am.” Isa said, removing the sword. “I bear the jewels of the Diery family and represent the Countess today. And I demand that this gate remains closed.”

The fortress commander nodded as the crowd's eyes turned to her. In particular, the sword in her hand.

The city lord looked at it with jealousy and anger.

“How can you prove that it is indeed the symbol of the Diery family? I do not recognize it.” the city lord said.

A person in the crowd snickered. Verest. Even the half-elf was joining in the fun.

“The Countess can kill me if I have lied.” Isa said. “Tell me, do you dare attack?”

The city lord opened his mouth, and closed it as he looked at the army behind her. The fortress was one thing. But she had come with her classmates and the half-Elves. The college students alone were enough to make a mockery of the city guard, if they even followed him.

Disobeying the city lord was scary, but now that she had exposed the sword, they could do it freely. Even if it was fake, they could simply say that they did not disobey it. Did anyone dare doubt them? Isa doubted it.

The fortress commander opened his mouth to say something, but he was stopped. There was a sound in the air. The beating of drums. The sound of feet. The sounds of bows being drawn.

Isa rushed upward before the announcement could even be made. The crowd was in chaos, panicking as they rushed home. But if they had seen what she was seeing now, they might have simply fainted of fear.

Nathan and Vanessa joined her, and slowly so did the rest of their classmates. Thousands of beasts were pouring out of the forest. Not a single scout had detected them. But they were here. As real as herself, was the army before her. The beast tide had come.

But it hadn't come to Deadre. No, it had come to Marile.

The weakest of the three Diery cities.