Chapter 49: I won’t die
That’s right. This was my new life. As if having two beautiful women and knowing more than almost anyone in this world wasn’t enough, I also possessed talents brimming with potential. Moreover, I planned to acquire new abilities or powerful allies in the future, but...
Damn it, my bad luck just wouldn’t let go. Since arriving in this world, a single moment of carelessness had cost me so much.
Not only had I nearly died because I hadn’t taken sufficient precautions against the High vampire that appeared in my city, but the woman I loved had left me, and now I’d become a delectable rabbit on the table of starving wolves.
I couldn’t resolve this war with just the few hundred soldiers Argenholt had on hand. Of course, I could assemble an army by rallying every sword-wielding soul in the city, but that would be incredibly arduous.
After all, everyone thought I’d lose this war, who wants to be on the losing side? I’d heard that some citizens had already begun fleeing my city.
Yet some believed I’d win because I’d defeated the high vampire. Others thought my father would come to my aid and stop the war before it even started.
My father, or rather, Leonardo’s father, was a deeply traditional and rigid man. Though he didn’t look it, with his cigar in mouth and impeccably luxurious suit, he was fiercely loyal to the rules. He would never mobilize his army for a bastard not of his own house, risking not only his family’s power and prestige but that of the empire as well.
He might act for Rebecca, but never for me, who’d rejected his family and joined the army.
As for my powers, I certainly couldn’t annihilate an army single-handedly. Perhaps Rebecca had the strength to devastate a small one. But I needed Rebecca here for the city’s defense.
Moreover, war is unpredictable. Especially if an army boasts an extraordinarily powerful and vital mage, it becomes a liability for that side. At some point, the army loses all maneuverability, forced to expend every resource protecting that crucial mage.
Superior mages like Rebecca were incredibly valuable, like those colossal battleships in World War II. You don’t want to send them into battle, but leaving them docked eats at you too.
But Rebecca wasn’t a ship. She was intelligent and talented. I decided to keep her in the city to protect Argenholt County, my only foothold in this world.
So what would I do? How would I win this war?
Would I hide behind flimsy walls?
No.
A wise man once said, "The best defense is a good offense." Though I didn’t believe that always held true, in my current situation, it was the best strategy. I had to strike the first punch before the enemy even knew where it came from.
Right now, the neighboring houses were likely in constant contact, divvying up my properties and lands. They were plotting plan after plan of how to defeat me.
But as a not-so-wise man once said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."
And that’s exactly why it was time to upend their schemes. While they were still at the table, maneuvering little stones over maps to swallow me whole, I’d already be at their throats.
War wasn’t just the clash of massive armies, as most people thought. War was an art of intellect, opportunities, and moments. A single right move could be worth more than a hundred thousand soldiers. And since arriving in this world, I’d learned to wait for the perfect moment.
I didn’t have Rebecca. I didn’t have my father’s army. But that didn’t mean I had nothing.
My advantage was clear: knowledge.
They were a pack of greedy wolves who didn’t yet trust one another. I, on the other hand, was a hunter who’d long mastered his hunger. And a hunter strikes when he spots the pack’s weak link.
My priority was to keep the enemy from reaching my home. Argenholt’s walls wouldn’t hold long against a siege; I knew it, and so did my foes. But as they marched their armies toward me, they weren’t thinking about the vulnerabilities they’d leave behind. That’s exactly where I’d infiltrate.
By day, I’d organize the city’s defenses, making Rebecca’s power visible as a deterrent. By night... by night, I’d become their nightmare. Small raids, sudden strikes. A single midnight assault to destroy their supplies, their morale, and, most importantly, their confidence.
Because lost confidence is an army’s weakest armor.
I asked myself: "What if I fail?"
The answer was simple. I was already living in a world that deemed me doomed to failure. So, I had to try.
This war would be won not by hiding behind walls, but by injecting the first venom into their veins.
But to do all this, I needed an army. My forces weren’t even sufficient to defend the city. So, I decided to keep all of Argenholt’s troops here, for the city’s protection.
Of course, I wasn’t foolish enough to attack an army alone. This is where the original Leonardo’s rare benefits came into play. From Leonardo’s notes, I’d gathered that a high-ranking general he’d known from the army had left to form his own mercenary unit.
Over time, it had become the most prestigious mercenary army in the empire. That’s the group I planned to hire. Setting aside the main reason — my lack of manpower — another advantage of a mercenary army was secrecy.
If I tried to build my own force and attack my enemies, they’d know about it before I even left my lands. But if I slipped out of the city under cover of night and rendezvoused with a highly experienced, professional mercenary army in the wilderness, I could strike without anyone seeing.
Having finally laid out most of my plan, I turned to the faces around the table, etched with shock, worry, fear, and sorrow. Annabel’s sad expression avoided my gaze.
Lucareth hadn’t understood much, but from his mother’s face, he sensed something was wrong. But the most extreme reaction came, naturally, from Rebecca, the one I’d been sleeping with just last night, who was fiercely protective of her family. She was grinding her teeth and clenching her fists, barely holding herself back.
"You..." she said, her voice trembling but laced with fury. "You’re going into the lion’s den alone? With a handful of mercenaries? Leonardo, this is madness!"
Rebecca’s words echoed across the table. In that moment, I realized that beneath her anger lay not just rage, but fear. She wasn’t mad at me. She was terrified of losing me. But I doubted she’d admit it.
I took a deep breath, striving to maintain my calm as I met each of their eyes in turn.
"This isn’t madness. It’s a necessity for survival. If I sit here and wait for the enemy to come, Argenholt falls. We all fall. But if I disrupt their plans, shatter their unity, then we have a chance."
Rebecca’s eyes still blazed with anger, but her fists slowly unclenched. "And what if something happens to you?" she asked, her voice softer now, almost pleading. "What if I never see you again?"
The other faces around the table looked at me as if asking the same question. Annabel’s eyes were misty; Lucareth was still trying to grasp what was happening. But they all shared one thing: fear. For me, for the city, for the future.
"Nothing will happen," I said, struggling to believe it myself. "If I fail... I promise I’ll come running back to you on my heels, and wherever you want me to go, whatever you want, I’ll do it."
The silence around the table sharpened like a knife. Rebecca’s eyes still swirled with a storm, but a trace of surrender flickered within. Annabel lifted her head to look at me, her expression a mix of fear and admiration. Lucareth clung tightly to the table’s edge, as if bearing the weight of this moment with his small frame.
Rebecca bowed her head for a moment; I could see her gritting her teeth. A rare crack appeared on her strong, proud face. A thin line between anger and helplessness.
"You have no right to put me in this dilemma," she said at last, her voice low but sharp as ice. "Either I lose you, or I try to stop you. I want neither."
In that instant, my heart twisted. Rebecca showing such vulnerability to me was something others would never witness. But here she was, before me: her walls crumbled, just a woman, just a human.
I gently placed my hand on the table, my fingertips inching toward hers. "Rebecca... if I stay here and defend the city with you, we’ll lose anyway. You know that. Your power is needed here; mine, in the enemy’s heart. If we fight on the same front, the enemy cripples all our strength in one blow. But if we move separately, we can divide them, break them, leave them desperate."
Rebecca didn’t look at me. Her lips had thinned to a line. Only Annabel’s deep breath broke the silence.
"Maybe Lord Leonardo is right," Annabel said, her voice trembling. "If we wait behind these walls, we’ll just die slowly. But he... he has things he can do. We all know that."
Lucareth’s eyes widened as he turned to his mother. "Mom... what if Dad dies?" he said, his voice a thin whisper. It echoed across the table. I think this was the first time he’d called me "Dad" out loud, but no one dwelled on it right then.
Annabel averted her eyes from her son, unable to answer. Because that question hung in everyone’s mind, the only one.
I stood up, my chair scraping back with a harsh sound. In that moment, I had to show my resolve, because if I hesitated, their faith would crumble too.
"I won’t die." My voice came out firm, certain, commanding.
I said it not just to the two women at the table who worried for me and loved me deeply, but more to myself.
I won’t die.
I can’t die.
I shouldn’t die.
Because I have so much more to do.