The Amber Sword Volume 3 Chapter 103
TL: If you would like to support the series, you can do so at patreon or paypal, silentwolfie@gmail.com
TL: I’m currently busy with some IT work right now. You can expect me to update every 2-3 days until I resolve the issues.
Chapter 103 – Trentheim and the Young Lord (3)
TL: Alistair is the wizard guy who had his companions killed by Graudin. He was a little cynical about Brendel because he thought all nobles are the same, or at least until Brendel came back to kill Graudin.
============Alistair’s POV=============
The first year of the War of the Black Rose’s winter was colder than the past seasons. The moisture in the air was frozen into powdery snow which fell from the dark grey sky.
Alistair laid in ambush amongst the shrubbery at the mountaintop overnight. He was still wearing his dark green robes but he was almost frozen from the cold. Snowflakes fell on his face and he felt the chill pierce through his skin.
[The first snow of this year.]
He used to overhear the conversations between Grandmaster Ciel and Lord Brendel back in Firburh. The contents of the conversations were about the northern situation, the armies of the dukes, the princess’s fate, how Madara invaded Aouine, even the activity in Kirrlutz…….
[The upcoming battle in the north is delayed long enough that it will only happen after this winter.]
Alistair came from a small family that was considered part of the gentry. His hometown was in Karsuk, but it was situated in a remote area and his knowledge about society was limited; he merely watched high nobles pass through the area.
While he lived a life better than most commoners, it became worse each year.
He knew that he had to change his own fate and went on an adventure. A wizard had taught him for a period of time and hearing the stories from his teacher was a fatal attraction to the youth.
This chaotic world seemed to have opportunities everywhere.
Thus when his teacher passed away, he went on a journey that he had always dreamed of.
But his luck was not as good as he thought.
Two of the companions he encountered along the way who almost had the same background like him, died in the middle of their adventure. He and his other members had no choice but to stay in Firburh and decide whether to return to their homes or continue their journey.
He never expected Graudin to kill all his other companions. It was as though only despair remained in his future. He stayed behind, wanting to assassinate Graudin even if it cost his life.
But sometimes fate was simply just that fickle. He met the young noble, Brendel, and participated in that battle and continued to serve under him until he was reassigned to become part of Ciel’s Wizard Corps. (TL: The original term I had was Wizard Army but someone in the patreon suggested Wizard Corps. Anyone else want to take a shot?)
As Ciel’s right hand, he naturally had the opportunity to listen to the discussions between Brendel and Ciel.
That was the first time he thought of Brendel as a true lord who ruled over Firburh. The latter’s insight towards the events around him had shown him a whole new world. It was something that his teacher had never taught him before.
From that moment onwards, he became a true supporter of Brendel. He knew that he had caught onto an opportunity, or perhaps he had already reached the place that he was searching for.
He soon volunteered for the scouting mission that was deep in the Palas region.
Since the scouts needed a talented person familiar with magic, he naturally got into the team.
Ciel even complained to Brendel that he stole his right hand.
But Alistair did not regret his decision. Rather than staying silently beside Lord Brendel, he felt he should catch his attention through physical actions. He was someone out for adventure, or he would not have left his home to reach Firburh.
The youth stared at the sky for a long time, before he finally came back to his senses. He slowly reached forward and looked down from his vantage point, taking care not to make a single sound to avoid the attention of the guards. There were yellow tents set up in the forest with people milling about.
Suddenly there were soft shuffling noises behind him. That direction was supposed to be guarded by his companions, and it should be them, but it was possible that it was something else.
Alistair immediately became tense.
“Cab…..bage….”
A strange password was uttered. Ciel was the one who instructed them to use it.
Alistair relaxed. It was his companion. He turned around and asked: “Woo ham eye?”
“Melf.” (TL: DND reference. Melf is a Grey Elf and a fighter/wizard.)
That name was given to another wizard apprentice. Because that person was an orphan, he only had a nickname, and Lord Brendel gave him that name.
[So it’s you, you lucky darned fellow. Hmph.]
Alistair could not help but think that way when he recognized who the person was.
“Alistair, how is it? Is the area below us the place where Palas’s knights set up their camps?” Melf came over quietly like a cat with his back hunched over and whispered when he reached Alistair’s side: “But Rat and the others said there aren’t any camps around other than this place—”
“These aren’t the Knights’ camps.” Alistair shook his head.
“It’s not?” Melf appeared stunned.
Alistair nodded as he tried to massage his frozen and slightly stiff legs: “They are Highland natives.”
“Highlanders? Huh. But are they not in bad terms with Lord Palas! Why are they here? Wait, are they planning to attack the region at this point in time? That’s really helping us out!”
“No, it’s not that simple. There are many groups of Highland natives, and they might be coming for us instead.”
“What? A-are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m much more familiar with them than you are. Alright, you should head off and pass the message to the various scouting groups. My group is preparing to retreat. Our clothes won’t match the surroundings if it’s starting to snow, and we will need to change our clothes before coming here again.”
Melf nodded and moved off.
=============== Brendel’s POV ==============
Amandina was distributing the workers’ wages at the southern gate, and each person would get only a few copper coins. It was not a lot of money, but it symbolized something and was better than nothing. She originally wanted to cut down on this expense, but Romaine said that it was part of revitalizing the economy and asserted that the money must be given to them.
In the end, Amandina was unable to convince Romaine and had to give up. However, in order to get back at her, she forced the latter to stay behind and help out.
Brendel laughed a little when Romaine tried to slip away, only to be caught by Felaern who was sent out by Amandina because she predicted it a long time ago.
Romaine put on a tearful expression but was unable to persuade Amandina, who had no exceptions when it came to work. Brendel had already escaped the moment when the two girls argued in the beginning, so Romaine could not hide behind his back as a final trump card.
He was the only exception to Amandina’s iron-clad administration and did not know if he was able to resist Romaine’s teary eyes. Therefore, he hid in a corner to watch the merchant girl put on a bitter face with great interest.
After a short while, Brendel left the southern gates along with Scarlett and Medissa. A mercenary came up and greeted everyone.
[Hmm, I recognize you. You’re….. an Elementalist. Are you not working under Ciel?]
Brendel recalled that he asked Ciel to recruit people who had the talent for magic, and the latter went around to choose from adventurers and mercenaries.
Third-rate Elementalists, conmen, fake witch doctors, apprenticing magicians to make up a so-called army of spellcasters. The number of people who could truly use magic was few.
Since Ciel was a Gold-ranked wizard, he did not really have to put in an effort. Many voluntarily left the mercenary groups they were in to join Ciel’s Wizard Corps. Even though many mercenary commanders complained, Ciel had Brendel’s support and he did not really encounter trouble.
Brendel wanted to set up an army made up of wizards because of how effective it could be used strategically in a battle. This was proven in the later part of the game where the gamers first utilized the concept before the NPCs started copying them. Even though Ciel grumbled about the majority of these people were unworthy of being in the ‘Wizard Corps’, Brendel did not care. At the very least, it was his first specialized army.
Since there were talented people in them after all, they could be nurtured to become the backbone of a Wizard Association. Unfortunately, his plan was not going well. Ciel had the capabilities of a Grandmaster, but he did not have the experience of teaching. The so-called Wizardry Corps was still a sham.
But that did not mean the Wizard Corps was useless. The wizards had varying degrees of experience, but there was a single common point.
They all knew how to write and read.
The Wizard Army had the part-time job of helping Brendel, Amandina, Nightsong Tiger, and Ciel’s tasks to handle information and administrative work.
Currently, the person in front of Brendel belonged to Nightsong Tiger’s ‘Intelligence Network’.
“My lord, there’s urgent news from the ‘people in the north’. The report states that it has something to do with the Highlanders—”
Brendel blinked a few times before he recalled that the Nightsong Tiger and Leto had sent out scouts to investigate the Palas region, and the former was the one who planned the entire project to investigate the news about Count Randner.
The Nightsong Tiger selected the better wizards from the Wizard Corps and had them disguised as adventurers while scouting the land.
However, Brendel was the one who suggested the usage of familiars. It was not a new idea, and there were examples of wizards sending their familiars as messengers throughout the eras. However, it was rare for a wizard to be used as a scout, and thus this method was not widely used.
Gamers witnessed the increase of talented wizards in the game years after the War of the Black Rose, and the method became more and more popular. Eventually, there was a breakthrough in using magical artifacts to communicate more reliably, but it was obviously not that year yet and Brendel thought of using this ‘primitive’ method.
With this method, the time taken would approximately be a full day from the Palas region, which was much faster than the normal duration of one week. However, there was a lack of wizards who had enough stamina to act like a scout. Only three groups were formed, and information about the knights in the Palas region was limited because of the insufficient scouting.
Brendel skimmed through the report.
[It seems like the nobles are still underestimating us. Well, their numbers prove that they are treating us as a threat, but the way how they set up their defenses is a joke. Also, it seems like Lord Palas isn’t controlling them very well.]
Lord Palas was a traditional Aouine general. He stuck to the rules and had a strong discipline, but his attitude would most certainly draw the ire of Count Randner’s knights. The Highlanders were even less interested in listening to his commands, and this allowed Brendel’s wizards to be able to infiltrate their lax security.
Still, it was true that the nobles could not imagine to send wizards to the frontlines and act as scouts. Even Amandina and Ciel were stunned when Brendel mentioned this method.
February 14, 2018 @ 3:47 am
Thank you for the chapter!
February 14, 2018 @ 3:50 am
Thanks!
February 14, 2018 @ 4:02 am
Huehuehue! Suffer Romaine! Suffer!
February 14, 2018 @ 4:11 am
Thanks for the chapter 🙂
February 14, 2018 @ 4:50 am
How do you do wolfieee…
Thank for chapter
February 14, 2018 @ 5:02 am
Grammar “That was the first time he thought [of] Brendel as a true lord who ruled over Firburh.“
February 14, 2018 @ 5:03 am
1. Definitely not Corp. Corp is shorthand for Corporation. Army Unit is Corps.
2. Magic Corps/Army (doing magic), Wizard Corps/Army (consist of Wizards), Mage Corps/Army (consist of Mages) but definitely NOT Wizardry corps because while definitions of doing Wizardry vary it’s probably not fitting for intended purpose of unit.
February 14, 2018 @ 5:28 am
Personally, I like Mage Corps or Magic Division, or, if Brendel wants to be super ambitious, Mage Battalion.
February 14, 2018 @ 8:46 am
I like Magic Division or Mage Battalion too.
February 18, 2018 @ 2:18 am
Why super ambitious? D: A battalion is by far a smaller organic than a corps. I don’t like corps because it’s not a combat unit, and it would mean a pure organic of wizards, disregarding the core concept of combined arms. It’s better to stick to organic that have combat units directly attached to them, up to a brigade and down to a company, if Wolfy wishes to use modern terminology, otherwise army it’s ok. A brigade IMHO it’s the best choice for a semi independent organic that operates together with other units in battle but can fight alone and it’s quite large.
February 18, 2018 @ 2:32 am
Actually I went to check etymology of corps, and it seems pretty dated to me =X
corps (n.)
late 13c., cors “body,” from Old French cors “body, person, corpse, life” (9c.), from Latin corpus “body” (from PIE root *kwrep- “body, form, appearance”). Sense in English evolved from “dead body” (13c.) to “live body” (14c.) to “body of citizens” (15c.) to “band of knights” (mid-15c.). The modern military sense (1704) is from French corps d’armée (16c.), picked up in English during Marlborough’s campaigns.
February 18, 2018 @ 4:24 am
I knew its origin and the generic use that it has, indicating something related to the body or to a group of things, since it used in the same way also in my own language. What I meant for modern, it’s its military usage, but I didn’t know it was employed to indicate a band of knights in the early modern age, never met in classic English literature, and I always thought it was introduced during the revolutionary French period as a military subdivision, it seems I was wrong :V Still, the term army, in its early usages, survived in common English, the military meaning of corps instead now refers only to what I was talking about before, so I think my point still stands.
February 18, 2018 @ 11:05 am
>I don’t like corps because it’s not a combat unit
Uhm, WHUT? Because for me Corps is first and foremost unit that is bigger than Division and smaller than Army and NOT “Army corps of Engineers” or such. It is a combat unit.
February 18, 2018 @ 12:55 pm
A corps is not a combat unit, in the sense that that troops that serve directly in the corpses are a “small” cadre of officers and defense personnel that work to make the divisions, or other independent units, that are under their jurisdiction operate as a cohesive force, an HQ to the whole structure, if you wish. Even a division works as an HQ to the units under their commands, but have attached to it support units, such as artillery or logistic personnel and medics, for example (and can work fairly near to the units it commands). But the true core of the combat forces operates under a brigade or a regiment, that are proper stable combat formations. And a corps, differently than a division, it’s not a permanent formation, but an HQ set up for operational needs.
February 27, 2018 @ 6:52 am
Yeah, tell it to WW2 German and Russian armor corps… who had permanent structure, well, when not changed by losses.
As for the modern militaries even Brigade is often something that is plug-and-play formation.
February 14, 2018 @ 5:04 am
Test
Test
Test
And damn this text redactor for eating formatting…
February 14, 2018 @ 5:25 am
Why use the wizards as scouts? Why not place them at a hub for the scouts? Sure, it might add a few hours between getting the information and sending the familiar, but it would allow for a lot more scouts to be sent, so the probability of useful information being found would skyrocket.
February 15, 2018 @ 1:24 am
Probably something along the lines of having them acquire scouting experience
February 14, 2018 @ 5:47 am
Thx for the chapter Wolfie mate.
February 14, 2018 @ 6:20 am
Thanks for the chapter.
February 14, 2018 @ 8:48 am
Thanks for the chapter in this lovely day 😉
February 15, 2018 @ 10:54 am
yes finally i catch up after all maraton i has done ~
huff ~
thanks you for your hard work , cant wait for next chapter