Very few things are more important than magic. A group of good enough mages could solve most problems a city could have any further. More so, if even one of them had the skills or an unusual element, being called a champion or hero, then it was possible they could manage alone.

It was simply that convenient.

Willian Gown had almost no talent for magic, though. He also had no money, family, or even a place to call home. All he had was his wits and the goal of overcoming every single one of the things he lacked.

Armed with a single sword and some knives in a country that was adopting effective firearms, he was fast to become a mercenary. Just another hired sword, but he was good at it. Good enough to get him his own company in less than ten years. An impressive history from someone who, although not talented at all, was somehow close to being a champion.

And for him, that was only the beginning.

For the mercenary leader, even this daring plan, this ‘miracle fort’ as the soldiers were saying, was no more than a prelude. A little plan he was using to show the higher-ups that he could, and would, manage the impossible.

It would turn him into a legend, and even the deals he made in exchange for his main weapon would seem small to all he would get from it…

“Sir!” One of the grunts borrowed from Lazzos’ military engineer corps entered the command tent and waited at attention.

“Report” Willian answered as the main strategist and temporary commander of the fort. He was swamped with work after managing to safeguard the position and fight back the weak old knight from the nearby citadel, but he could feel something was going on. Something big.

“There is a carriage leaving Frercross. The details are fuzzy, but it is a noble one.”

“Hmmm…”

A noble carriage could carry some six people, coaches included. Not enough to be a threat unless it was something like that ‘hero party’ Prourene was known for, but they couldn't be here.

That same party that was still lacking their lynchpin, the hero.

Willian was sure of that. He was there when the guy was wounded, and it happened with his little gift too, so it was impossible that he would be fine already.

Still, his intuition was saying that it wasn’t safe to ignore.

Maybe it was the pressure, but the mercenary could feel a foredooming dread. His position wasn't cemented yet either. Most thought he wasn't more than a useful mercenary who 'got lucky' in an ambush against the hero while using some old unholy relics too dangerous for anyone in good mind.

If he failed here, even if he wouldn’t lose his position, he would lose any chances of getting higher. Unless he was utterly crushed after coming this far, of course. Then, then he wouldn’t like to think about it.

Should he call for help, then? His company wasn’t around right now. He had to move fast and couldn’t bring the heavy soldiers with similar gifts to his, but he could call them now. They would be here in a few hours if they gave up on the armor, but it was hard to be sure of how well they would do. Soldiers with short blades and no armor weren't the best combination against cavalry... They were better at surprise assaults and ambushes.

If it wasn’t for the fact they had very little cognitive capacity, he could have them use other weapons in sum with the ‘dark blades’, but as is…

This one was the biggest reason he thought the crooked dagger wasn’t as convenient as it could be. They were too short for real battles. If that weird guy had given them guns instead, all would have been much easier. Either that or if they lacked the annoying trait of causing insanity to most who used it.

Neither option was reality, though, so Willian could only play with the cards he had. If it was such a convenient tool to begin with, more people would be using it. The fact that the artifact was this dangerous was the reason why the mercenary managed to convince those holding it to give it away too.

He wouldn't be given such a pricy tool otherwise.

Be as it was, the soldier was still waiting for an answer and he felt this could be dangerous, so the mercenary got up and decided to go see it by himself. He was given a chance to prove his fight against the hero wasn’t a fluke, so he wouldn’t be wasting it

What worse could happen anyway?

*****

He couldn’t think at all, everything was hurting too much for it.

Even with all the pain, though, his mind was full of anger. Willian wasn’t even sure how he was alive, but he knew what he would do after this. And until the moment the soldiers carrying him finally reached a proper hospital, that was all he managed to remember.

Then, as he finally recovered enough to think and was healed enough to move, his situation worsened.

“You can’t be serious! We only retreated due to the surprise. They would never be able to pull a trick like that again, so…”

“The senate’s decision is final. They can’t take another hit to popularity this soon. And you wouldn’t be able to pull it off anyway, Willian.” The leader of the main republican army answered the mercenary under his command with indifference. “Having the other summoned hero be a threat was unexpected, so some are already second-guessing the ultimatum. I’m not ignoring your exploits for that, of course, you’ll still be rewarded for the ambush at the wastelands and for this ‘miracle fort’ of yours, but we’ll be pulling for now.”

This man was the Supreme General of Lazzos’ Republican Army, Kostantin Vinhail. An efficiency-focused career officer and likely someone who would soon enter the ranks of its government too. A man of simple appearance, officer garbs, a well-trained body, bald head, and a massive mustache, all covered in an intense complexion. His words alone had weight to sway the parliament and the senate, and using him to soar the ranks was what the mercenary was sure he could do… At least until now.

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He knew the general was a utilitarian and a pragmatic. Even if he was known for his unusual tactics and the fact was never openly defeated, he never gave second chances.

If he saw something wasn’t working and decided it wouldn’t, then he was fast to cut his losses down. And until the next plan came, Willian would be left on reserve, if not sidelined completely. Two options which more than unacceptable for the mercenary.

Someone in reserve would never have a chance of getting some payback on that girl…

“Please, believe me, general. We need to try cracking that fortress again, that place is the perfect spot, and as long as we prepare against…”

“We won’t. Getting beaten again would question our worth in this alliance and destroy the senators’ reputations. We’ll go back to the original plan instead. You better stay quiet for a while if you don’t want some politician to throw all the blame on you.” The general answered while turning away from his extraofficial subordinate and starting to leave. “The Federation already called for an ‘alliance meeting’ to mock us, so we have to move carefully.”

All the general was saying kept raising the anger of the scarred mercenary much more than he could handle, but he had to keep control. Enough to notice the important detail of all he was told right now, at least.

“A meeting? They allowed foreigners into one of their cities?!”

“Obviously not. They decided to amass an army on that abandoned holy site close to the central borders and have their festival there. Something as stupid as you would expect from religious fanatics.” The general continued while already heading to the door. “Best case scenario, they draw all those pompous nobles out of their castles and both sides destroy each other at some chasm. Worst case, we lose our chance ally as they attract the enemies. Either way, we will get an opening. The most we can lose is the Steel Gunner as he’ll be sent as our representative…”

It wasn’t too hard for Willian to understand what was happening. Since they lost their chance, the people at the Federation decided to try their hand now and draw Prourene into a fight by mocking them.

Not the smartest idea if the strongest country on the continent could move its army and squash the stupid party, but it could work right now. Prourene couldn't move as is, and they would bet on it. It would still be a massacre if someone went crazy and actually redirected all their forces into an assault there, but that would be an opening too.

Willian could think of some other unusual ways to deal with it, but they weren’t things Prourene was known for doing. Or at least, that was what he would think if it wasn't for the so-called duchess he met.

“Sorry for the insolence, sir, but that’s not happening.” Willian interrupted the leaving general one last time. “If you ask me, then what Prourene will do is…”

He knew what they would likely do, so he could fight back. It was still a harsh time convincing his employer that his idea was a fair one, but the general wielded with time. Next, though, he would need to convince the crazy people running that ritual to let him in…

*****

“Are you sure about taking them to a religious festival, commander?” One of Willian’s subordinates asked as they watched the strongest 'soldiers’ of the company. The puppet-like heavy knights armed with crooked black blades brought from the cursed forge. “These ‘dark knights’ of ours aren’t fit for social meetings. We already know they work best in open battles or ambushes…”

One of the main reasons why Willian was so successful in so little time was the deal he made with the weird hermit he met a long time ago. He eventually learned that the old man was an advisor for some high-ranking member of the parliament too, but at the time, he seemed to be a crazy old man. A crazy old man who offered a deal too good to be truth and somehow paid on it.

It wasn’t as if he would lose anything by spreading the old man’s weird magical items anyway, so who cared? He even managed to get some of the items into his own men's hands, and if you ignored the price, those became much more powerful due to that.

Weapons that made your body stronger by burning mana, and then, by burning your sanity, were way too useful. Doubly so in his case since he had a special one that could cause ‘incurable’ wounds. It got most of their users crazy and Willian could only use his own weapon sparely due to the danger, but that was a fine price.

“Some collateral damage is fine. As long as we can take that brat down, everything is fair.” He answered in a tone that tried but failed to hide how much of a personal stake he had in this fight. “I’ll leave that girl alive enough to be dragged through the streets, and then they’ll see how much of a fluke I am…”

It wasn’t much later than the meeting with the general, but the situation changed a lot after Willian saw his own appearance. Not that some scars weren’t expected after almost dying in flames, but these were too much. Worse even, unless he kept either healing magic or medicine close by at all times, the pain would still follow him. Enough to it to make him unable to do anything.

Having to hide his face with a full set of enchanted armor solved the problems, but it didn’t make the ambitious mercenary happy at all. A figure without a face wasn’t the fame he wanted.

There was an inkling chance that capturing that annoying girl would solve this problem for him too, though. Her magic was weird, so if she had something for healing, he could be fixed. And with this in mind, he started to mobilize his dangerous force and get ready to negotiate. Next would be having them protect the ‘little’ festival from the Federation, but they would need to be allowed in first…

*****

Politics was never Willian’s specialty, but he could manage. It was a hard and tiresome job, but he needed it right now, and he wouldn’t pull out when this chance was so close by. Be it greasing hands or calling the few favors he somehow had gathered, he was putting everything into getting his plan rolling, and it bore fruits right on time.

After fierce negotiation, and even getting some heat from his own backers due to it, the mercenary had success. He managed to convince both sides to leave the protection of the Red Moon Festival to him and his Gown Company, and was now doing so.

He still had to deal with the people here, but those were easier to convince as they didn’t want to work today. Not only that, but he had also managed to convince the drunkards, including the guest of honor inside the temple, to allow him to make his trap.

Things were moving well for once. Or at least, they started so.

“Anything up?” He asked one of the few responsive soldiers he had while wearing a suit similar to the rags that covered the armor of his Dark Knights. The knights with eerie armor, on the other side, were only standing at their positions across the main hall as they had no orders for now. A problem that could only be solved if something actually happened...

They were much more than what was needed, but no one was giving the answers the mercenary leader wanted yet.

“Nothing still, commander. The only things of note are some small troubles outside… Some merchants being rowdy or whatever.”

“Go take a look at it to be sure. They may be using the mess to approach infiltrators or maybe they have some trick we don’t know of...” Willian ordered, even if only by feeling, and then went back to patrolling. “There has to be a trick… It’s impossible that I’m wrong here…”

No news was coming, but he could see the soldiers of the Federation and the legates partying inside getting annoyed by his, and his men, presence. They were, in their words, ‘killing the mood’ of their holy festival.

It was close to becoming a problem by now.

Basically, nothing had happened yet and the people he pestered for long were annoyed due to it. By now, anything other than an actual fight would get Willian even more hate from his own side... Unless he was to show them something, it was very possible that he would be kicked away soon, or worse, forced to get wasted with everyone else.

He was lucky, though, as, while randomly roaming around, he found the barely hidden body of two of his soldiers. This was when the mercenary finally smiled after his fight against the weird duchess…