To think I was caught up in such a delusion alone…….

Hugrey was right. This war was a territorial fight between nations. From the start, it was not a war she could intervene in, unable to handle any weapons. After seeing the beasts fight twice, she had fallen into the absurd delusion that war would be like such fights. If Hugrey were to participate in this war, he would join not as a wolf, but as a knight wielding a sword.

“And Chloe, when I fight as a human, I don’t lose.”

Hugrey said, as if driving in the final nail.

“Ah……”

That’s right, he is said to be the most outstanding swordmaster in history.

“Your enemy is my enemy. Calcus is my enemy too, but at least he won’t kill you. So I’ll step in for this war, and I’ll kill Tuscan.”

‘Your enemy is my enemy.’

Yes, his words were right. Just as his enemy was her enemy, her enemy was his enemy too. She shouldn’t stubbornly insist on things she couldn’t do.

“I won’t forgive those who try to harm me anymore.”

Chloe said firmly, having steeled her resolve. Though in fact, she kept her deeper sincerity hidden.

‘Because harming me is the same as harming you.’

Hugrey just silently looked at her like that. As if he would listen to whatever she said, as if her hatred and anger were justified.

“So this time, you fight.”

Although she still couldn’t transform into a tiger at will, someday she would be able to. And when that time comes, she would protect him.

Tuscan Staxton proposed alliances to as many beast clans as possible, but only the Tilbeth family actively accepted his proposal and promised to send reinforcements.

However, it wasn’t a disappointing result. The other beast clans officially announced that they would remain neutral in this war between the two countries. In other words, they meant they wouldn’t help Tigrium, but they wouldn’t side with Elaion either.

In fact, beast clans like Schneider and Falcon within the Elaion Empire could have supported Elaion, but even they declared neutrality.

Even the most powerful family, Ulpaz, would not ally with Trascan due to the emperor and duke’s fight over Chloe Lionelden last time, so in the end, Elaion was waging war without allies.

With no experienced allied forces and facing a young Trascan with no formal war experience, Tuscan was confident of victory.

Moreover, a few days before moving to Hound Plains where the battle would take place, another piece of good news flew to Tuscan. The eagle beast clan Lionelden had accepted Tuscan’s request for alliance.

The Lionelden family was the husband’s family of Charlotte Lionelden. Although they became enemies 20 years ago when Tuscan Staxton killed Charlotte’s husband, who was the eldest son of the family, they had maintained a friendly relationship for the past 20 years. This was because they were relatively weak beasts and a family that pursued practical benefits rather than grand causes.

Their tendency to value money over honor matched well with Tuscan, so he settled the account for killing the family’s eldest son by giving the Lionelden family exclusive trading rights for spices and tea produced only in Tigrium.

No matter how much they valued practical benefits, if the dead son had been a beast who was the family’s heir, such an agreement wouldn’t have been possible, but fortunately, it was possible because the deceased was human.

Of course, it was fortunate only for Tuscan and the Lionelden family, while it was the greatest misfortune for Charlotte Liden, who had to flee alone from Tigrium with twins in her womb.

As expected, this time too, they made a choice that didn’t deviate from their tendencies. In return for sending reinforcements for the war, they demanded 20 percent of the mining output from the Santal mines for the next 20 years.

In fact, they were just a family that had a grip on Tigrium’s commercial rights, with virtually no knightly order of their own, so they were providing mercenaries hired with their enormous capital.

Of course, Tuscan didn’t want to give any mining rights at all. However, the 500 cavalry that Lionelden offered to provide wasn’t an absolutely large number, but it wasn’t an insignificant number either. Since cavalry essentially determines the outcome of a war, it was a quite tempting offer to achieve an overwhelming victory against Elaion, which had far more infantry than Tigrium.

Originally, he had planned to deploy the Tilbeth knights on the left wing and the royal knights on the right wing. But if Lionelden’s mercenary corps could take the right wing, he could even withdraw the most elite of the royal knights from the right wing and deploy them behind the main force where he would be, saving them until the very end. It was like a double safety measure.

The Elaion youngster, who hadn’t gained any allies, would have to split the imperial knights between left and right, so it was as if the goddess of war was already smiling towards Tigrium.

Calcus’s feelings were indescribably complicated on the eve of the battle set to begin at dawn tomorrow. The families that had been delaying their response to the alliance request all finally notified their non-participation, so he had set up camp in front of Hound Plains without reinforcements from any family.

In fact, looking at the outward forces alone, one could say that the Elaion Empire was stronger. With a larger territory, they could conscript more infantry. However, the problem was that Calcus had neither experience leading the imperial knights nor any war experience.

He had learned the art of war through books, but applying strategies and tactics learned in the head to actual combat was a completely different matter.

He chose the method most frequently appearing in various military strategy books and considered most generally valid in ordinary battles: deploying infantry in three rows in the center and cavalry on both wings. For him, lacking practical experience, the safest path was the best option.

While the infantry was well-trained and relatively strong, the cavalry’s inferiority was a concern. He hadn’t built trust as the supreme commander by spending long years with the cavalry, and moreover, he had to split even the knightly order between left and right due to the lack of additional reinforcements.

With a somewhat heavy heart, he was about to finalize the last review and strategy meeting for tomorrow’s battle in a late-night gathering with the knight commander, vice commander, and all infantry captains.

Calcus’s ears picked up a noise that wasn’t too loud, but not entirely quiet either.

“Someone is coming.”

The knight commander, vice commander, and captains all tilted their heads and looked at Calcus.

“What sound do you hear, Your Majesty?”

“Ah! It seems only I heard it.”

The commander and vice commander exchanged glances. It was a look recalling the rumor that the emperor was a lion beast. In fact, Calcus neither deliberately revealed nor tried to hide the fact that he was a beast, as if it was of no significance. So by now, quite a few among his close associates knew he was a beast.

“A very large number is now approaching our camp. Send scouts to the northwest rear.”

“To the rear, you say?”

The knight commander asked incredulously. Although it was a plain, it was impossible for enemies to infiltrate from the rear given the terrain. Yet he was ordering reconnaissance to the rear.

“Hurry! They’re getting closer. It seems to be at least 300 people. Well… should I say 300 animals and 300 people?”

The knight commander and vice commander finally dispatched scouts to the rear, seeing the emperor’s too serious expression. And in less than 20 minutes, the scouts returned with a report.

“The Ulpaz ducal family’s knightly order has arrived.”

“What?”

Calcus found himself frowning involuntarily. It was an instinctive reflex towards an unliked opponent. But dislike was just his emotion; the appearance of the Ulpaz knights at his camp at this point meant only one thing, so he quickly smoothed his brow. It wasn’t the time to show emotions of like or dislike. An astonishingly reliable reinforcement had appeared.

“But Your Majesty, it’s not just Duke Ulpaz who has come.”

“……”

The appearance of Duke Ulpaz alone had already broken expectations. After all, he hadn’t even sent a request for reinforcements to him. Moreover, according to the sound he had awakened his senses to hear, it seemed about 300 cavalry had come, and 300 men from the Ulpaz knightly order were equivalent to about 900 troops from other knightly orders.

But who else had come? There wasn’t particularly any sound to hear…

“Princess Chloe Lionelden of Tigrium and her mother Charlotte Lionelden have come together.”

Calcus’s brow furrowed deeply at the scout’s words.

Why had women appeared on the battlefield? If it were a fight between beasts, female beasts would participate too, but this was a human battle fought with swords and spears. Hugrey Ulpaz, this man must have finally gone mad. To bring her to such a dangerous battlefield.

As Calcus rushed out of the tent, kicking his chair back, he heard the sound of horses’ hooves. It seemed their party had already arrived.

“Duke Hugrey Ulpaz, really… Chloe!”

Calcus, who had rushed out intending to ask if he really brought Chloe along, caught sight of Chloe riding a horse in front of Duke Ulpaz. He forgot what he was going to say and stared at Chloe with wide eyes.

It really was Chloe!