Fun Territory Defense Chapter 216 (Patreon)

[Another Viewpoint] Pride of the Lord of the Fortress

[Murcia]

"Welcome to Baron Van's new domain, Your Majesty. We are pleased to welcome you."

I greeted him, stiff with nerves, and bowed my head. His Majesty slowly dismounts from the carriage, looks down at us, and opens his mouth.

"Hm, you are serving as a deputy in a very respectable manner. It's a good opportunity. Will the deputy himself show us around?"

I bowed, relieved at the sight of His Majesty smiling at me. I bowed to him. He seems to be in a good mood.

"Leave it to me. I would be honored to guide His Majesty."

"I see. Then, let me show you around."

It's a minimal exchange. I was too nervous to give a polite, time-consuming answer, so I had no choice. I have no choice but to try to make as little of a bad impression as possible. Other nobles and knights are still arriving in the midst of the rest of the group, but His Majesty's words should take precedence over anything else. I looked at Dee silently and walked over to us, giving Arv some instructions.

Arv moves to the front of the castle gate, leaving some knights behind. Dee, Arv, and the mechanical bowmen who are playing an important role in the defense are all Van's men. In other words, once the Knights of the fortress have enough men, they will return to Seat Village.

Will we be able to get along without Dee, Arv, and the others? There are many capable people, including Marcos, in the original Knights under my command. But even so, they do not have enough experience. It is the same for me as a commander. In fact, I would say that I am overwhelmingly inexperienced.

No, perhaps the biggest problem is this way of thinking about myself, this lack of confidence. Can such an unreliable person defend the place that will become the most important base in the future? And will he be able to manage such a situation without His Majesty finding out?

Perhaps because I walked around thinking about such things, I walked without explaining the facilities. Therefore, I was unable to answer until I was approached by His Majesty, Venturi, and the others.

"Murcia-dono. What about that little castle? There seems to be more than one."

"Ah, yes. As you can see, this fortress is a huge-walled passageway, and you have to follow a complicated route to get to the center. Therefore, each small castle will serve as a defensive stronghold even after you have crossed the walls. In addition, there are places to shoot bows everywhere on the walls. From there, you can attack opponents who try to attack the small castles."

Venturi looks up at the wall and opens his mouth as he answers a question that came from someone else.

"...It's a structure that was abandoned long ago. Now that many powerful sorcerers have appeared, such an ambush is becoming more difficult if a knight stands in front of it to prevent archers. What are you going to do about that?"

Apparently, this is not an attempt to undermine the structure, but a genuine question. However, when Venturi, a veteran of many battles, speaks up, everyone's attention turns to us. I have asked Van and Dee how to defend the fortress and how to operate each facility.

If I don't have confidence in myself to explain, I can't be persuasive.

With a strong spirit, I looked Venturi squarely in the face.

"...Please rest assured. It is a contraption named Sengang, and it is protected by a door that cannot be easily broken, just like the castle walls. Furthermore, the weapon used to attack from there is a continuous-fire mechanical bow made by Baron Van. Even if several heavily armed infantrymen defend the fortress, they will not be able to completely block the arrows. On the contrary, I believe that the structure is designed to efficiently break through the walls and target the invading magicians."

Venturi raised one eyebrow and smiled as he assured her emphatically.

"Oh, I see. It's true that if those fearsome ballistas and archers were the opponents, no magician in the area would be able to compete with them. Well, if you can use magic to the extent that we can, you can break down the castle walls from a distance...or, at that time, you can use the ballista to deal with them from the castle walls. I see, this is very difficult to attack."

Venturi muttered in admiration. The other nobles opened their mouths in agreement.

"It is difficult to attack the castle from afar with magic, but it is also difficult to attack it with mass...I see...it is a difficult castle to attack, isn't it?"

"I should say that it was designed by Baron Van."

"Hmm, that's true."

Hearing the voices of these nobles, I was slightly triggered with a sense of inferiority, but I was still happy to hear the praise for my own brother.

When he tried to answer them, his face naturally rose and his voice became louder.

"Of course you are! This fortress is entirely different from what it used to be. There are countless mechanisms that are even more amazing, as is the structure within the small castle and fortress now. Van has told me that there are more mechanisms that he would have liked to incorporate, but even so, there is no more impregnable fortress in the world. I can assure you of that, as I oversee this fortress."

With a sense of pride, he spoke passionately about the splendor of this fortress. As a result, the nobles who had been chatting and laughing and looking up at the castle and its walls blinked, and their eyes were drawn to me.

Oh, no. I had made a mistake too soon: I had gotten carried away by the praise for the fortress Van had built. If it had been me, I would not have spoken so much due to my innate lack of confidence....

I looked at His Majesty's reaction, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Then, His Majesty lightly patted my back while laughing as if he were about to erupt.

"Wahaha! Oh, yes! No, I thought you were a little unreliable at first, but you have exceeded my expectations and are a good deputy! I'm very proud of your confidence."

Unexpectedly, His Majesty said this in a good mood, then looked at us and opened his mouth again.

"Come to think of it, you haven't told me the name of this fortress. It is an impregnable fortress that you spoke of with such confidence. You have already chosen a name for it, haven't you?"

I gulp as he asks me that question. But I can't help but answer.

"...The Fortress, Murcia."

Everyone's eyes blinked when he answered in a shrill voice.