21st Century Archmage

Chapter 86: Mages Rolling Into My Lap

“Derval, from today onwards, monitor every magic tower and merchant group. Keep a precise record of tax evasion frequency and prohibited item trade.”

“As you command!”

“Also, we will ban the activity of the Information Guild and dark guilds. If guild members who have not formally received permission from me are discovered, they will be arrested and confined immediately, they will then be turned into slaves, and whatever they own will be confiscated. This will come into effect immediately, without delay.”

“As you command!”

‘The inside of one’s home needs to be kept tidy. Even a large dam can be toppled by a small hole. The enemies inside are scarier than the ones outside.’

Those were the teachings I learned of in the countless biographies I read when I was a kid. I took the ‘Records of the Three Kingdoms’ that I had particularly enjoyed as a reference.

‘The enemies will soon come rushing in. A pack of hungry coyotes ready to rip me and Nerman apart….’

I knew without a trace of doubt that I had more than one or two enemies. The magic towers, the empire, merchant groups, and even the temples, all these institutions that had become accustomed to the rotten, pre-existing world, were all my enemies.

However, I wasn’t afraid.

With my loyal knights, the people who believed and relied on me, and my personal ability, it was worth giving it a shot.

“How is the Skyknight training going?”

“Currently, we have a total of 47 wyverns and 43 Skyknights.”

‘We already have nearly 50.’

The 22 wyverns we had recently scored from the Laviter Empire guys played an enormous role in the boosted numbers.

‘Rumors must have reached them by now.’

I had landed Gold Wyverns symbolizing the Laviter Empire in the covert in clear view, so there was no way the empire, which acquired information swiftly, still didn’t know. The result of that would soon appear.

“As you all know, the enemies will soon bare their fangs at Nerman. And they are enemies who are difficult to face.”

Everyone was well aware, even without me saying so.

“Those willing to die will live, and those willing to live will die. I hope everyone is prepared to fight every single day and that you all devote yourselves to your missions. That is all, today’s meeting ends here.”

[TN: ‘Those willing to die will live, and those willing to live will die’ is the most famous saying of Admiral Yi Sun-sin.]

“Yes, sir!”

Military discipline was properly present. I was satisfied to see that even the mischievous Ryker was energetically giving a military salute.

“Sir Derval, stay behind for a moment.”

“Please excuse us.”

“Do your best out there.”

They might still be tired from the battle yesterday, but my Skyknights had to go out on patrols early in the morning. Right now, in order to secure the territory’s safety, their hard work was even more necessary than ever before.

“Derval….”

“Please speak, my liege.”

“I’m doing well, right?”

“Of course. My liege! You are making a mark heretofore unprecedented in continental history.”

Ever my enthusiastic fan, Derval, was startled and planted me in continental history.

“Haha, thank you. Actually, I wanted to hear that.”

‘It really is true that studying is the easiest thing to do.’

Just like what the seniors said, there was nothing as easy as studying. The more you studied, the better your grades would be. Your effort determined the result. But I, a teenager who was not even an adult and still lacking in many ways, was trying to be a lord. And I was a lord with absolute power over life and death to a population of 500,000 at that.

“That aside, if the Havis Kingdom uses yesterday’s incident as a pretext to wage war or close the border, how much of a blow do you think that will be for the territory?”

“In fact, I was thinking about that all day yesterday. As you say, my liege, it is no exaggeration to say that Nerman’s life or death is hinged on the Havis Kingdom right now. From provisions, which we have not yet gained self-sufficiency with, to clothing, salt, and even arrowheads, to daily necessities for life and military equipment, we are currently unable to properly produce such goods within the territory. If the Havis Kingdom border is closed, then….”

Even the smart Derval was unable to continue. He was foreseeing the same thing as me.

‘If it was the 21st century, I could have just made a road through the mountains…. Damn.’

In front of us was the ocean, on both sides were deep mountains, and behind us was an awkward relationship. If I could, I would have punched through the mountains and laid a new road.

“They will not be able to close the border right away. In any case, the Havis Kingdom’s military power is on the level of a duchy, and they do not have the strength to match the major merchant group doing business with Nerman. However, the smaller merchants, mercenaries, and various immigrants coming to Nerman will find their movements restricted. Of course, the acquisition of military goods, like war horses, will also be restricted.”

‘We’re still so disadvantaged, huh.’