Legend of the arch magus

The Blackstone Army marched relentlessly for several weeks, passing through several cities along the way. Every now and then, they would restock their rations, camp in the wilderness, then resume their march.

Since Blackstone Town was the most remote territory in the east, it was also the last one to receive the summons. They surmised that by now, most of the reinforcements must have already gathered in the capital.

And they eventually arrived at the gathering point.

Behemoth City. The capital of the Kingdom.

"So this the capital…" Captain ?arat gawked at the walled city in front of them. The rest of the soldiers were doing the same.

"Captain, it's huge!"

"Even the cities we passed through before pale in comparison!"

"Sir Austen, you guys have been here with the Young Master before?"

Austen lifted his chest with pride. "That's right! You should have seen the King's castle. George and I were even allowed to stand outside the gates!"

"Ooh!"

Gasps filled with awe escaped the lips of the soldiers. George and Austen grinned at each other. They were also awestruck when they first saw the capital, but after spending a few days in it, they came to understand that it was nothing special. It was simply huge, that's all. The City of Magic was a lot more beautiful in comparison. But of course, they had no intention of telling the soldiers that.

"The gathering point is over there," Yosef said to Lark.

They moved in the direction Yosef pointed and soon reached a large camp filled with thousands of soldiers.

"This is the gathering point for all the reinforcements from throughout the Kingdom. Just the eastern reinforcement alone amounts to more than ten thousand soldiers. I heard that the South managed to gather a lot more than that."

When Lark and his men arrived, several soldiers stopped what they were doing and stared at the army coming their way. The Blackstone Soldiers wearing leather armor felt ordinary, but the armored soldiers marching behind them felt dangerous.

Which army did these guys come from?

With Yosef acting as their guide, the Blackstone Soldiers started pitching their tents. It seemed that three days from now, the King would personally choose the commanders to preside over this large army. All that was left now was to wait for the rest of the reinforcements to arrive.

"Act like normal soldiers for now," Lark said to the suits of armor.

"You guys can do that, right?"

The suits of armor bobbed their heads in understanding. They grunted and started moving around and fixing the Blackstone Army's camp, moving slowly and carefully so they didn't attract unwanted attention.

When night came, they made campfires. Several soldiers gathered around the campfire and discussed the things they had seen in this place.

Although they would soon clash with the Empire, everyone's confidence soared upon seeing the thousands of reinforcements gathered. They estimated, the number of soldiers probably reached thirty thousand.

"Hey, what do you think of the announcement a while ago? They said that they'll be choosing three commanders for this huge ass army."

The soldiers toasted their jerkies around the campfire.

"They'll surely pick the Young Master, right? There's no way someone as capable as the Young Lord wouldn't be picked by His Majesty."

Lark didn't know that his soldiers were already this close to worshipping him. To them, Lark was the embodiment of wisdom itself.

Every action and order he gave was carefully strategized. They'd experienced this firsthand when they fought against the beastmen.

"That's right! I'm sure that if it's the Young Master leading us, we'll be able to crush those dogs of the Empire!"

The rest of the soldiers agreed.

"Pft!"

They heard stifled laughter next to them. The soldiers looked at the source. Two soldiers from a different camp were passing by and heard their conversation. One of the soldiers was holding back his laughter, while the other one elbowed him to stop.

Tears started forming at the corner of the soldier's eyes. Eventually, he could not hold his laughter any longer. "Hahahaha! If it's the Young Master leading us! Hahaha! We'll be able to… Pft! Hahaha!"

The Blackstone Soldiers frowned. One of them said, "What's so funny?"

The unknown soldier wiped his tears using the back of his hand. He was gasping for air after laughing his heart out. "Everything." He smirked then pointed at the crest on his shoulder. "You see this? It's the insignia of Count Boris. Right now, all of his three sons are participating in this war.

Those three geniuses will surely become the three commanders of this large army."

The soldier next to him nudged him once again. "What are you doing? Don't start a fight," he whispered.

"Start a fight? I'm just explaining to these buffoons the reality of the situation. It's really funny that these guys think their Lord has a chance of being picked by His Majesty. That would never happen while the three sons of the Count are around."

"What's so special about those three anyway?" one of the Blackstone Soldiers retorted. "Our Lord, Lark Marcus, even drove back a legion of beastmen on his own!"

The unknown soldier froze momentarily. After a few seconds, he broke out into another fit of laughter. "L-Lark Marcus he says! Hahaha! So your master is that trash noble? And you believe those rumors about him driving back the Third Legion? Even the little kids in our County don't believe that!"

?ow, even the soldier next to him began to chuckle. At first, he was afraid to spark a war with this group since they did not know which faction this army belonged to. But after knowing that these guys were part of that trash's army—Lark Marcus—he also started to join in the fun.

"I heard your Lord's the one who sparked this all-out war with the Empire. He's such a capable man, isn't he? Trash will always be trash, it seems," he said.

"He should have just shut his mouth back then! Look at us now, we're all heading off to war because of the stupidity of your master!"

The Blackstone Soldiers were finally fed up. They stood up and charged at them. ?uickly, it turned into a brawl.

"H-Hey, fuck! Stop!" The two soldiers tried to defend themselves, but to their horror, the Blackstone Soldiers were surprisingly good in a fight —they also outnumbered them.

To the Blackstone Soldiers, who fought against the humanoid basilisks on a daily basis, these two were nothing but fodder. Their movements felt really slow, as though they were not moving at all.

After a minute passed, the two soldiers fell limp on the ground.

Their cheeks and eyes were swollen, their lips busted. They groaned in pain as tears flowed down their faces.

After hearing the commotion outside, Lark went out of his tent. He creased his brows upon seeing the two soldiers on the ground.

"What happened? Who did this?"

Judging by the crest on their shoulders, these two soldiers did not belong to his army. He looked at his men unhappily. The moment he made eye contact with them, they immediately averted their gazes.

"I'm asking who did this!" He suppressed a snarl.

The Blackstone Soldiers flinched. One after another, they raised their hands. Seven people in total.

Infighting was strictly prohibited back in the Magic Empire. ?ot only did it decrease their fighting force and morale, it also hindered them from working as a team once war broke out.

"Why did you do it?" Lark decided to hear them out first. "Why did you beat them up?"

He was aware of the strength of his soldiers. Despite their shabby appearance, they were probably stronger than most of the soldiers gathered here. After all, they had been sparring with the humanoid basilisks every day for the past few months.

One of the seven soldiers stepped up and explained what had transpired to Lark. After hearing the story, Lark sighed. His anger dissipated after hearing that they jumped at these two to defend the honor of their Lord, but still he could not let them go unpunished.

"The seven of you," said Lark. "Come with me. We'll personally make an apology to the commander of their army."

Lark looked at the beaten-up soldiers lying on the ground. "Ah, don't forget to bring those two with us."

The Blackstone Soldiers, although reluctant, started carrying the injured soldiers on their backs. They moved through the large camp and after asking around, they reached the tent of the commander of the soldiers they beat up.

?aturally, the soldiers belonging to their camp heard the news that two of their guys had been beaten up. They surrounded Lark and his men as they stood outside the commander's tent. Although they were infuriated that their guys were beaten up, they did not immediately pounce at Lark.

The commander must have been sleeping, as it took some time before he finally came out. Arzen, the commander of this army, rubbed his eyes and opened the flap of his tent. Seeing the numerous soldiers surrounding his tent, and Lark and his men, he was immediately jolted awake.

Lark approached him and said, "Lark Marcus. Commander of the Blackstone Army. I'm here to personally apologize on behalf of my men."

Arzen soon heard what happened. Lark explained everything, without leaving out any details.

"I see," Arzen nodded in understanding. He glared at the two battered soldiers unhappily. "The two of you. Is everything this Young Lord said correct?"

The two beaten-up soldiers looked at each other, before slowly nodding their heads. Arzen sighed. He clicked his tongue.

To Lark's surprise, Arzen bowed his head. "It seems that my men are at fault. I apologize. I promise that proper punishment will be carried out for these two."

The two beaten-up men shivered.

"B-But Lord Arzen!"

"M-My Lord!"

"Silence!" Arzen glared at them. "Tie them up! They will not be given any food or drink for a day and a half. Anyone who secretly tries to feed them will be kicked out of my army! ?nderstood?"

"Y-Yes, Lord!"

Several soldiers grabbed the two soldiers and dragged them away.

They tried to plead with their Lord but their voices soon died out.

Arzen sighed again. He touched his throbbing forehead. "Ah, what a waste of a good sleep. To think that those two idiots started a fight over something so stupid."

He looked at Lark. He flashed a smile. "Ah, I haven't introduced myself, have I? Arzen, first son of Count Boris. Future commander of this army."

The last few words were stated with certainty. A smile slowly formed on Lark's lips. He found this man interesting.

"Lark Marcus, Lord of Blackstone Town."

"Oh, not going to introduce yourself as a future commander of this army?"

Lark chuckled. "I have no interest in that. And I heard there're three slots?"

Arzen grinned. "Three slots. Aris. Mokuva. Me. All three slots will be given to the House Boris. Three days from now, we'll be the ones leading these soldiers to crush the Imperial Army."