Reincarnation into the Barrier Master

"Attention!　Attention!　My Lord the King!　It's a big deal!"

A soldier jumped into Nike's arms in a panic. But one of the staff members at his side raised his right hand to stop him.

"Calm down. The king already knows. He's in the middle of his message. Be quiet."

The soldier freezes, his eyes wide open. No one paid him any attention, and everyone present was listening to Nike's voice.

"......The generals are now in position. I repeat once again. No matter what tricks or provocations the enemy may try, you are not to move until I give the order. We will attack when Agartha's forces are behind the enemy's back and they are the bag rats. Until then, do not take advantage of any provocations with the intention of dousing any fire that may come your way. You are to give strict orders to your men not to move without my order.

At these words, everyone bowed their heads in nervous anticipation.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

As soon as I received the report from Sadakichi, I immediately contacted Nike. This time, there was an army of over 100,000 troops moving toward the border. For a moment, I wondered if this was another diversionary tactic, but the scale was too large for that, and the main body of Crimiana's army was still massing in Aphrodite. I decided that this was probably a clear intention to attack, so I immediately sent Sadakichi with a letter to Nike.

Reports came in from the faerie dragons one after another. Then the Tana forces pushed forward to the border at once. I watched them from my office.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

The soldiers at the fort on the Kakona River, the border with the Kingdom of Tana, were waiting impatiently for the Tana forces to appear. The number of soldiers holed up here is only 2,000, but they are the most elite soldiers in the Sandanj Kingdom.

Their mission was not to fight Thana's army. Rather, they were to attract the Tana forces as much as they could, and retreat while inflicting a certain amount of damage. They were charged with the task of how to retreat while protecting the lives of all and luring Tana's forces back to the interior of Sandanj.

Soon the army of Thana will appear. Spare your lives, all of you!　But only this time!"

The soldiers laugh at the words of Omezo, the fort's commander. Unlike the main camp with Nike, the morale of the soldiers in this fort was high, and they were absolutely confident in their own abilities, having fought a hundred battles.

In fact, they intercepted 100,000 enemies with only 2,000 soldiers. Under normal circumstances, they would have been a formidable foe. The difference in strength would have crushed them in an instant. But they had turned the Kakona River in front of them into a moat, and night after night they were digging the bottom of the river and increasing its depth. For more than a month, when Tana's army did not move, they continued their work steadily. As a result, the Kakona River, which at first glance appeared to be shallow and easily crossable, had been transformed into a moat with sufficient functionality to delay the enemy invasion, as the saying goes, "the raindrops pierce the stones".

While the most elite soldiers of the Sandanj nation watched with bated breath, 100,000 troops of Tana appeared with a sound like a rumble of the earth. The soldiers at the fort became tense.

"Ah!　Look at that!"

"Tana's army is heading west!"

What the hell is going on?

The army of Thana passed right in front of the fort and moved westward. The commander, Omezo, who was watching the situation, stood up with his eyes wide open.

"Oh, shit!"

"What's going on, Mr. Commander?"

"They're not headed for the Swamp, are they?　...... send a message to my king immediately!"

From inside the fort, Omezo could do nothing but stare with hate-filled eyes at the great army of the Kingdom of Tana, which was advancing westward as if it were a serpent.

"I was careless. ....... I'll never forget it. ......

I saw Nike hanging down in front of me. The faerie dragon who had been sent to him had returned with a letter, in which he had scrawled a note saying that he wanted to see me as soon as possible. I had the Fairy Dragon hold a warding stone that had a transfer effect on it and sent it to Nike. He immediately transferred to his office. When he saw my face, he looked apologetic, then he put his hands on my desk and sagged down.

"Mr. Nike, this place called Swamp, what kind of place is it?　Is it a fort?"

He slowly looks up, staring into my eyes.

"It's an ...... oasis."

"Oasis?"

It is the largest oasis and water reservoir in our country of Sandanj.

"Huh?　Then ......."

We have been deprived of the water of life.

"......"

I roared inside. I had finally figured out what the enemy was after. From the very beginning, they had wanted to cut off the hand of water from the oasis of Sandanj. They must have thought that if they attacked carelessly, they would inevitably face an uphill battle due to their hedgehog-like defenses, coupled with their unfamiliarity with the desert. In order to reduce the damage as much as possible, they had to weaken the Sandanjis. The most effective way to do this would be to cut off their water supply. Water is a precious commodity in a desert country. If we cut off their water supply, we can do great damage to them both physically and mentally.

Perhaps the enemy knew that the soldiers of Sandanj were dredging the Kakona River at the border at night. They waited for it to be completed before launching their invasion. If they carelessly crossed the river, the Sandanjan soldiers would get their feet caught in the riverbed and be unable to move. The Nike side was strangling itself.

Moreover, Sandanj is now entering the dry season. Rainfall was hardly expected. It is certain that the enemy is invading with this in mind.

"......It's a beautiful day, even for the enemy."

"...... yeah."

"If it is water, it is possible to support it to some extent. Fortunately, Agartha has an abundance of spring water. There is a vast forest to the north of the city, from which spring water flows into the city. Moreover, there is a large lake in front of this building, which also has a spring, so it is possible to send a large amount of water to the city. Besides, it is possible to magically generate clouds and make it rain. ......"

Nike shakes her head slowly at my words.

"......, isn't it? That's not what you're looking for, is it? Actually, I agree with you. We have to crush the Thanatian army once and for all. Isn't that right?"

"That's right."

"Excuse me, Nique, can you tell us about the place where this oasis called Swamp is located?　If possible, it would be helpful if you could draw a map for us. ......"

"No problem."

He began to draw a map on the paper I held out to him. It is a very easy-to-read map. He must be good at drawing as well.

"...... I see, so you have entered the depths of the Sandanj country."

"Yes. Here we have water and trees to shelter us from the rain and dew. It's the perfect place to rest a large army.

"Hmmm, on the other hand, it is difficult to encircle a city and attack it with food, isn't it? And ...... it is also difficult to attack by force."

"......"

Nique is biting her lip. He was thinking the same thing. This oasis is located on a plateau, which acts as a stone wall, so to speak. The army on the plateau ......, so to speak, would need three times as many men as the enemy if they were to attack the caged army. The current situation is overwhelmingly in Tana's favor. I keep looking at the map with such thoughts in my mind.

"What's going on here?"

"...... just a riverbank, what is it?"

Nike looks at the part of the map I'm pointing at and gives me a curious look.

"Maybe we can lure our enemies here. ......"

Nike's eyes widened in shock, ruining his already handsome appearance.