Cheng took a deep breath before closing his eyes once more.
He rubbed both his hands together, warming his palms.
"The army would still follow a similar movement," he began, his voice low. "But this time, they will be even more armored.
And so—they will be slower.
Our attacks will hit them. But due to their increased defense, they will only lose five percent of their men.
It is unlikely they will bring any weapons other than their heavy shields and daggers. Their strategy won't require them.
But as they reach the tenth mile, they will slow down.
At that point, most of our men will be stationed at the walls, focusing on the threats beyond them.
That's when—" he inhaled sharply. "In the sky, a small airship will descend.
I predict they will come down fast.
With their mana-powered projectiles and magic shields, there won't be much damage we can inflict upon them.
As they descend, a single unit of Imperial Knights will deploy—all of them wielding firearms.
Our army will lose.
We might manage to take one of them with us.
But that's as far as we go.
Seeing that we are losing, we would likely attempt to flee.
Most of our knights would try to escort the Baron out of the territory.
But—" Cheng exhaled, his voice turning grim. "An Emperor's Secret Service agent will have already made his way into the Baron's quarters.
The Baron will not feel his presence.
He will be assassinated.
Upon finding his body, the remaining army will lose morale.
Only a few nobles of the House will escape.
We lose."
Cheng opened his eyes.
Volker shook his head. "That's not a surprise." Though his voice shook.
Being reminded of the Empire's strength was always terrifying.
Fighting against them meant certain death.
The Empire's outlawing of all mana-powdered weapons had ensured their absolute superiority.
Because they were the only ones who had them.
Even two Imperial Knights would be enough to tear through their forces.
Volker cleared his throat. "But there is no reason for the Empire to attack us. Why would the Immortal, All-Knowing, and Gracious God Emperor Vossian do that to us?"
"It's not him we should be worried about," the Baron said, his voice cold.
"After the throne is emptied, the Imperial Officers and the Emperor's chosen men will take over to prepare for the arrival of the new Emperor.
But if they wish to install one of their choosing, they can simply kill off potential candidates.
Then, if the Immortal, All-Knowing, and Gracious God Emperor Vossian's chosen heir is dead—" the Baron's expression darkened. "The choice of heir will be up to them."
Cheng nodded. "It is a possibility…"
Malik gritted his teeth. "Then there is nothing we can do to prevent an attack of that caliber. Not my strategies. Not his." He pointed at Volker.
Volker wanted to protest. But there was nothing he could say. It was true.
If the Empire decided to attack tomorrow—
They would all die.
The room was silent.
Then the Baron spoke.
"Cheng and I have discussed this. There is one way we might come out on top."
"How?" Volker asked, his full attention snapping to Cheng.
Cheng pointed to the sky. "You can fix that. We can survive. You have to figure out how."
Volker exhaled. "I'm not blind to the risk of an airship attack. I have strategized against air pirates before. So I do have certain plans against them that can be adjusted for this scenario."
He turned to Malik. "Remember the meeting I had with Locke Wright?"
Malik's brow furrowed as he was the one who introduced Volker to Wright. "Yeah?"
Volker turned to Cheng and Gorath.
"Turns out Lockewright Industries is looking for a major investment—for a project."
Malik's eyes narrowed. "A project?"
"A mana-assisted artillery piece."
Malik's eyes widened in horror. "That will doom us. If the Empire finds out we are purchasing mana-powdered weapons, they'll kill us before we can even use them!"
The Baron quickly shut the suggestion down. "Volker, I know you like to use any means necessary. But surely you realize—no one is allowed near a project like that."
Cheng, however, had noticed something odd. Volker was too calm. His tone was too casual to be talking about a mana-powdered weapon
"Speak clearly," Cheng said. "What are you actually saying?"
Volker relaxed. "Thank you."
He leaned forward.
"It's not a mana-powdered weapon. Locke and his men have done all of this without revealing anything to the public.
The weapon is essentially—" he tapped his palm. "A Ballista.
Except it uses elastic mana propulsion to fire a large bolt at its target.
Not only that, but it can be aimed with pinpoint precision, using the mana surrounding the bolt."
The Baron's eyes widened. "It's not using mana powder? It's legal?"
He turned to Cheng.
Cheng nodded. "It is… for now."
"Why wouldn't the Empire just ban it?" Malik asked.
Volker hesitated. That was a good question.
If there was a weapon comparable to mana-powdered firearms, why wouldn't the Empire outlaw it?
"It's not that simple," Cheng answered. "Even if the Empire suspects we have a weapon of this kind, they cannot act on suspicions alone.
Lockewright Industries is within our territory. We can block any searches from the Empire."
"So they'll just ban it upon its creation. We'll waste a fortune for nothing."
"They can't do that either," Cheng said, shaking his head. "It takes time for legislation to pass.
Most likely, they won't even care—so long as we do not use the weapon against them."
"So we will use it purely for defense," Volker said.
Cheng nodded.
The Baron exhaled. "Have you spent any of the defense budget on the weapon?"
"I've acquired exclusive rights," Volker admitted. "I was going to ask whether you wanted to continue funding its production."
The Baron shook his head. "Forget that. We're visiting Lockewright tomorrow."
When it came to defense contracts, it was always better to strike early.
If he could secure Lockewright Industries entirely under House Maddach—
Then they wouldn't have to worry about aerial defense ever again.
"Oh, and before we continue—" Cheng's voice darkened. "No one. No one other than us three will be aware of this weapon. No one."
Volker and Qahtani nodded.
They left to prepare for transport.
The Baron leaned back, exhaling through his nose. "This beats those meetings with the old hags by miles."
"By a continent," Cheng corrected him, smirking.
A house servant approached, handing Cheng an open piece of paper.
Cheng took it.
He read.
His head jolted back in confusion.