Mage? Spell Engineer!.

Chapter 515: The Rat Whisperer's Great Merit
Hold on until December. Maxim frowned. He was a little worried about this time point. The situation now might be more dangerous than last year.

The biggest problem was that, while the threat from the Imperial Army was imminent, the main force of the National Guard on the Western Front had successfully penetrated deep into the Empire. This result gave many people the possibility to become complacent and careless.

When it came time to put pen to paper, Maxim was extremely upset. After signing the agreement, he couldn't help but ask Rorschach, "I may be able to guess your intentions, but your methods are not like those of a wizard."

Rorschach didn't understand what Maxim said at first. He thought for a while and then laughed: "What is the style of a wizard? Must we win by one person against another? Yes, I might as well tell you that the long-term magic-suppression device can no longer restrict my spellcasting, which means that I alone can kill that person."

He shook his head after he finished speaking: "But I, and none of us, will do that. Master Kano has tried to prove to you that spellcasters are still members of society. Perhaps there was a period in history when we kept our distance from the secular world because of our opposition to the church and our false sense of purity, but now, spellcasters and ordinary people should no longer continue to confront each other in a binary manner.

"So, if I or other great wizards were to destroy an emperor with violence, what would we gain? Surrender to the rule of absolute violence? No, we need to establish a new order not out of terror. To be rude, perhaps you are a lesson learned from the past. Violence is only the last resort. Even if we want to destroy the empire, we will not do it ourselves."

Compared to charging into battle in front of the stage, Rorschach prefers to add fuel to the wheel of history from behind and crush those who stand in his way.

"But in my eyes, you and the Senate of the Arcane are still trying to manipulate the course of history." Just like the current secret agreement, it is the script that the mages are trying to write for the war.

There was a time when the Arcane Senate seemed particularly slow to respond to world events, and guilds in various countries held different positions. But after a certain point in time, they suddenly united and intervened in and interfered in the war in unison.

Maxim smelled a dangerous signal, and his intuition told him that this change was related to the young elder, who was unusually old, radical, and beyond common sense.
"Manipulation? This is a reckless accusation. Every group and every individual has acted in history out of their own ideals and beliefs and out of their own interests, and we are no exception. Including the act of signing an agreement with you today, we are still acting according to your 'rules'. We are willing to play by the rules of the game, which is the greatest goodwill."

Otherwise, more extreme means can be used, such as forgery and assassination with magic. However, in Rorschach's view, such behavior can only destroy the rules at most, but cannot build a better order.

Just like the changes he brought to Byrne, Rorschach certainly played an irreplaceable key role, but it was ultimately created by the Byrne people themselves, and the final result can be shared by everyone. If it was just to dominate a kingdom, then Rorschach could have omitted too many steps, but on the other hand, if there was no construction of Byrne and the existence of the spell cloud, he would not have become a special great wizard, allowing other elders to compromise or support him.

"If you are really worried that wizards will dominate the world one day, you might as well work to allow everyone to cast spells or gain powers comparable to magic." Rorschach believes that the ultimate way to eliminate privileges is to achieve equal rights.

"how can that be"

"It's getting late, let's end the meeting here." Rorschach was reluctant to continue this topic, after all, it was beyond Maxim's knowledge of magic. He stood up and shook hands with Maxim: "Finally, I'll give you a piece of advice before leaving:
"I hope you pay attention to your own safety and avoid being isolated and helpless. Not everyone is as 'unshakable' as you." In his eyes, Maxim's initiative to stay away from the center of power is a disaster, and a lion retracting its claws is giving people the opportunity to kill it.

"Is it a prophecy?"

"I don't have a talent for prophetic magic, but the danger you face is so clear that I don't need to make a judgment."

".I will seriously consider it, thank you."

Rorschach gazed at this idealist, this unshakable man, and thought to himself: I hope this is not the last time we meet.

All the information about the Western Front of the National Guard filled Paul's brain. 230,000 people, 16 corps and large corps, more than 1,000 artillery pieces, 300 heavy artillery pieces, cavalry, infantry, spellcasters, and 11 huge machines that retained combat power.
He has become the de facto commander-in-chief on the front line, and his orders and ideas have been respected by the entire army. Of course, this also means that the pressure on Paul's shoulders is unprecedented.

After going deep into the empire, the army had to be extremely cautious in every move. They had to maintain the fastest possible pace of advance. They had no time to promote the ideals of the Republic in the occupied villages and cities, nor did they show any affection. Instead, they brutally swept away all the supplies that the troops could use.

The Empire's airships often flew over the Western Front and dropped high-yield bombs.

After their supply lines were destroyed several times like this, they had to consider organizing mages to fight for air supremacy, at least to ensure that there would be no more surprises overhead.

At this time, the Istani coalition played a significant role. Some short guys of unknown race could actually drive animals. They were called Rat Whisperers by the Istani people.

These magical little guys can call flocks of birds to hover over the army's heads during the day, and flocks of bats to be on duty at night. With these flying creatures occupying the airspace, airships dare not descend to the bombing distance because the engines may be hit by the soaring animals at any time. Once they hit, they will lose power and become sitting ducks for the mages.

The only annoying downside was that the good men of the National Guard had to put up with excrement raining down from the sky, which was certainly better than tons of bombs.

The train of thought was interrupted here, and the march was also suspended. The troops began to build a field camp. Paul asked Pascal: "Have we reached Sassan?"

Sassan is a state directly under the Empire adjacent to the Kingdom of Marin. The terrain is not complicated. If the National Guard can pass through it quickly, the imperial capital seems to be within reach.

"Yes, we have detected the Imperial Army positions in the north and northeast. Please wait for the details."

Pascal brings a new generation of communication systems: the Rat Whisperer and a radio station almost as big as him.

This was not the first time that the Rat Whisperer had operated the system, but he was always very excited every time. He picked up the microphone with his little hands, and heard a messy sound like the squeaking of mice from the other side. He listened carefully, nodded, and babbled along.

After the two men at both ends finished communicating, a gray elf translator relayed the information to Paul and others: "According to the intelligence from the front-line reconnaissance, the enemy has assembled a large number of troops and has already deployed around the main city of Sassan. There are enemy troops from the north to the east. It is estimated that they are the main garrison force of the empire."

The language of the Rat Speakers is said to be a variant of the Common Speech, but Paul and Pascal could not guess how a single syllable corresponded to the Common Speech on the continent, and they also could not understand how the Grey Elves understood it.

But this is a good thing, because even if the enemy intercepts the call, they will not be able to understand the content of the communication.

After Paul summarized all the information, he took a deep breath and said, "The entire army, pass on my order and prepare for battle."

(End of this chapter)