Chapter 97

Considering my position and the military strength in Balca, I have a few things to think about.

Firstly, there is the basic matter of my own will.

To be honest, I don't think I have that much desire for territory or power.

Some might complain when I say this, given that I ended up in a military conflict with the Fontana family, but it was just a situation that escalated due to the circumstances.

In fact, if asked whether I would initiate a war to target other territories, I would definitely answer no.

This is probably due to the memories from my previous life.

Peace is the most important thing.

However, I don't intend to adopt a non-aggressive stance solely because of my memories from my previous life.

In this world, where nobles are always fighting, there will inevitably be situations where I have to fight.

And when that time comes, it will probably be related to the Fontana family.

When the head of the Fontana family, Carlos, is in a state of combat, he will call upon his knights.

I cannot ignore this summons.

If I do, I will lose the land of Balca that I have obtained.

In other words, when I go to the battlefield, it will be as part of Carlos's forces.

Previously, a knight I captured mentioned that the Fontana family's military strength is around 5,000 people.

In contrast, our Balca army is at best 300 people.

Moreover, I am likely disliked by the other knights.

I need to form a unit that can survive even if left to fend for itself like a disposable pawn.

In other words, the Balca army cannot be a specialized unit focused solely on offensive power, as suggested by the part-time brother, or a specialized unit focused solely on defense, as suggested by Vargas.

It must be a unit that can maintain high flexibility and adapt to any situation on the battlefield.

...Is such a thing even possible?

"Basically, what you're saying is that we need to create a unit that has both offensive and defensive capabilities and can respond to any situation?"

"Ars, can you do something that difficult?"

"Umm... It's difficult, but we have no choice, right?"

Thus, we managed to decide on the direction of the unit we wanted to create, but the three of us were still puzzled about how to actually form it.

***

"Fire!!"

"「「「「「Ice Spear」」」」」"

After discussing the formation of the unit with the part-time brother and Vargas, we began new training.

This was a full-scale training session for riding Valkyries.

Until now, only a few people, including me and the part-time brother, could ride Valkyries.

To improve this, we have been training intensively.

Thanks to the saddles and stirrups made by Gran, we equipped the Valkyries with this gear and had volunteers ride them.

Using the "Body Reinforcement" spell to prevent them from being thrown off, they rode every day, suffering from muscle pain, which was healed by "Meditation."

Gradually, more and more people began to be able to ride Valkyries.

The Valkyries I lent for riding training are hornless.

However, the riders do not carry weapons.

While riding is difficult enough, they are also practicing other methods of attack.

This involves casting spells while riding.

Initially, they used the "Shotgun" spell, which has a high hit rate, and then, once they could cast spells while riding, they started using "Ice Spear."

In the end, the unit I chose to form was one that could cast spells while riding Valkyries.

The greatest strength of my forces is the large number of Valkyries.

There are horned Valkyries that can use magic and hornless ones that cannot.

I decided to use the hornless ones as magic soldiers, training them to aim at the same target I do when I give the signal.

With the desire to never engage in a frontal assault again, I decided to focus on long-range attacks using the high mobility of the Valkyries.

It also feels wasteful for our small group to approach the enemy with weapons.

Concentrated magical attacks will be effective unless the terrain makes it impossible for the Valkyries to move.

"Oink..."

The target for the Balca army's training was a large boar.

While the "Shotgun" spell did not deal enough damage to the large boar, concentrated "Ice Spear" attacks could damage it even in its hardened state.

This training is going well.

This is because the riders are on Valkyries, not horses.

Since the Valkyries I ride can freely guide the herd, even if the riding skills are low, no individual will run in the wrong direction.

When a group moves with a single will, it feels as if the herd is a single entity.

Thus, the Balca army began to take its first steps as a magical cavalry unit.

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