Chapter 386: Defend the Frostgrave Fortress (6)

In the meantime, while writing the letter to the Golden Fortune Corporation, Ruvian had already given Calyra another task.

She was to intercept the letter requesting reinforcements from the Royal Army and make sure it never reached them, preferably without anyone realizing it had gone missing. That way, when the messenger finally arrived at the capital, he would have nothing to deliver.

Calyra had looked doubtful at first after hearing Ruvian’s rather questionable request, her expression making it obvious that she was not particularly fond of the idea.

It took a little coaxing before she finally relented.

Well, Ruvian was confident she could handle it.

With her [Clairvoyant] and [Blink] spells, slipping past a messenger and stealing one sealed letter without being noticed should be a piece of cake for her.

Before leaving for her little interception job, Calyra told Ruvian where Commander Fajarn could be found.

Once the letter was finished, Ruvian folded it carefully, sealed it beneath the authority of Frostgrave’s emergency requisition writ, and left the dispatch chamber to deliver it to the commander.

By the time Ruvian reached the western command yard, the place had already descended into controlled chaos.

Soldiers moved back and forth across the wide stone courtyard, carrying crates of weapons and sealed supply cases toward several waiting wagons.

The harsh clatter of steel rang through the air as men tightened armor straps, checked blades, and prepared themselves for the coming strike.

Near the center of it all stood Commander Fajarn.

The man had already discarded most of the formal attire he wore during the meeting. A dark padded gambeson now covered his torso, while one of the soldiers beside him helped fasten a reinforced breastplate over it.

His sword belt was already secured around his waist, along with several small pouches and what looked like two emergency mana potions.

Fajarn noticed Ruvian approaching while pulling one of his gauntlets tighter.

"Ah, there you are."

He dismissed the soldier helping him with a small gesture before turning fully toward Ruvian.

"What have you done?"

Ruvian stopped a few steps away and raised the folded letter in his hand.

"Everything that needed to be written is already inside. I explained Frostgrave’s current situation, the Nightbloom Spawners, the approaching horde, our shortage of manpower, and the fact that we need reinforcements capable of reaching the fortress before nightfall."

His eyes briefly lowered toward the letter.

"I also made it clear that this is an emergency requisition under House Arcanis and Frostgrave’s military authority, so there should be little room for misunderstanding."

Ruvian lifted the letter slightly.

"All that remains is to place it inside a magic envelope and send it."

He stepped closer and extended it toward the commander.

"Though before that, Lord Evrard said you would inspect the contents first."

Commander Fajarn gave a small nod.

"Right. He mentioned that."

He reached out and took the letter from Ruvian’s hand.

"Give it to me. I’ll look through it."

Commander Fajarn lowered his gaze to the letter and began reading.

His eyes moved quickly across the page, but not carelessly. Despite how fast he went through it, Ruvian could tell the man was actually reading every line rather than merely skimming over the important parts.

It only took him a short while to reach the end.

"Hmm."

Fajarn gave the paper another brief look before glancing back at Ruvian.

"Not bad. Not bad. Very clear, very direct, and you managed to explain the situation thoroughly." A faint grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You write better than half the officers I’ve had to deal with."

His eyes dropped to one particular section again. "Though judging by the way you addressed this Silvena woman, you two sound rather close."

There was a hint of curiosity in his voice now.

"I’ll admit, I’ve never heard of this Golden Fortune Corporation before. Are their people truly reliable enough for us to stake this much hope on them?"

Ruvian gave a small, almost helpless smile.

"Well, Silvena and I are indeed quite close. She’s basically my benefactor, and I suppose I’ve been hers as well. Or, if I had to put it more accurately, we’re something like partners in crime."

Commander Fajarn raised an eyebrow.

Ruvian ignored the reaction. "But you don’t need to worry. She has a very dependable organization behind her."

At least, that was what he believed.

Truthfully, Ruvian had never personally seen the full extent of the Golden Fortune Corporation’s armed forces. He had seen the Golden Ciphers, yes, but not the actual numbers Silvena had gathered under her banner.

Still, knowing that the Golden Ciphers themselves were overseeing much of the recruitment and internal organization, Ruvian doubted they had been accepting useless people.

If those women handled their recruits with even half the standards they placed upon themselves, then the Corporation’s private force should be more than competent.

’Hopefully.’

Ruvian kept that final part to himself.

Still, he could not help feeling slightly guilty.

He had already pushed quite a few problems onto Silvena lately, and now he was suddenly throwing an entire military emergency into her lap, on absurdly short notice too.

This was definitely going to cost him later.

Then again, it was not entirely without benefit.

If the Golden Fortune Corporation performed well here, Lord Evrard and the officers of Frostgrave would witness their capability firsthand. For a growing organization, there were far worse places to make a debut.

If anything, this could place their name directly before one of the most influential noble houses in the north. Not bad publicity. Though admittedly, that was only one small piece of what Ruvian had in mind.

Commander Fajarn folded the letter.

"Well, if you trust them that much, I’ll take your word for it." He handed the letter back. "For what it’s worth, your friend certainly sounds interesting."

The commander then resumed tightening the straps around his gauntlet.

"Anyway, what was I about to say again? Ah, right. Normally, we wouldn’t allow an outsider this deep into an active fortress during an emergency like this."

He paused, pensively. Then his brow rose slightly, as if something had only just occurred to him. "But you’re from Velthia Academy, aren’t you?"

Ruvian nodded.

"That I am, sir."

"Hoho, I see, I see."

Fajarn gave a small chuckle.

"Then, watch closely while you’re here, lad. Learn whatever you can. You probably won’t get many chances to see a fortress prepare for an actual siege from this close. Think of it as a free lesson from us old campaign dogs."

Ruvian simply smiled faintly at that. "I’ll be sure to pay attention, Commander. Just please... don’t give me any additional homework."

Fajarn snorted, amused.

Before Ruvian could say anything else, a deep horn suddenly bellowed from somewhere beyond the western wall.

BWOOOOOM!

The sound rolled across the fortress like thunder, long and heavy enough to make several soldiers in the courtyard instinctively straighten.

A second blast followed moments later.

Commander Fajarn’s amusement vanished at once. The faint grin on his face disappeared, replaced by a grim severity as his eyes shifted toward the source of the sound.

"The muster horn," he muttered.

Around them, the courtyard immediately became more frantic. Officers began shouting orders, and soldiers hurried toward their assigned formations. Fajarn finished tightening his gauntlet before turning back toward Ruvian.

"Alright, kid... that’s my cue."

He reached toward one of the pouches at his belt and pulled out a pale silver envelope lined with several faintly glowing runes.

"Lord Evrard already told me where you and Lady Calyra are supposed to remain once the operation begins. Head to the eastern observation keep. It sits behind the second defensive wall, well away from the main engagement zone."

Fajarn held the envelope toward him.

"And take this with you."

Ruvian accepted it and briefly examined the runes engraved along its edges. ’This looks different thanI normally use.’

"A magic envelope?"

"Yes, an expedited one," Fajarn replied. "Military grade. Considerably faster than the ordinary ones." He nodded toward the letter still in Ruvian’s hand.

Ruvian slipped the letter into the envelope.

"I see."

Fajarn gave him one last look. "Also... once you’re there, stay there. Whatever happens outside those walls is our responsibility."

With that, the commander turned away.

Ruvian watched him go before he quietly departed.

Slowly, he made his way toward the eastern side of the fortress, moving against the steady stream of soldiers rushing toward the outer defenses.

Then, once he was by himself...

Ruvian closed his eyes and activated [Assimilation]. There were still a few parts left he needed to do.

──────── ? ────────

[Chapter 386: Defend the Frostgrave Fortress (6)

A/N: Hey everyone, just a small announcement.

Starting tomorrow, I’ll be taking a short hiatus of around 2–4 days from TNEW. I need a little time to properly plan and flesh out Volume 5 before we dive into the next arc.

Got some pretty big things planned for this one, so I wanna make sure I do it justice. Trust me, I don’t wanna fumble this arc.

Anyway, click this paragraph for Volume 5 teaser to give you guys a sneak peek at what’s coming next :)