Summoning the Great Union: A new front

chapter 8- Reconnaissance

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Kingdom of Fenn, day's after the defeat of Lauria

The Kingdom of Fenn had no magic. All the citizens learned to wield the sword as part of their basic education. Live by the sword; die by the sword. No matter how lowly your birth, a talented swordsman deserved respect; no matter how handsome and beautiful your appearance, a weak swordsman is derided and ridiculed.

Today, Tenth Private Ain, a member of the palace knights, trained with his sword again. Originally, he didn't want to join the palace knights. He liked swordplay, of course, but he also liked building design, and he had thought about pursuing that instead. The reason he had changed his mind was due to his mother.

On that day, it was cold. Ain, who was still a student at the time, thought his hair had grown too long and decided to take a horse and ride to the barber's to get it cut. Outside, there was a woman carrying a baby and holding the hand of a small child. She had looked away for only a moment, but, in that moment, the child fell into the river and began to sink.

Because the woman was still holding her other child, she couldn't jump into the river herself, so she pleaded for one of her neighbors to help. In the house, Ain's mother was preparing dinner, but, when she heard what happened, she immediately rushed out into the cold and jumped into the river. His mother, after saving the child, pulled herself onto the riverbank, but, because of the sudden change in temperature, her heart stopped and she collapsed.

By the time Ain got home, his mother had already passed away. He was a good swimmer. He couldn't help feeling regret... if he had been there, could he have changed anything? He wallowed in despair. One day in class, he read a certain sentence that made him decide to join the palace knights.

Principles of the Palace Knights, Second Article, First Paragraph

Palace knights are the guardians of people's lives, bodies, and possessions; they prevent and suppress crime, capture criminals, and maintain public safety and order.

As soon as he saw this text, he was instantly reminded of how his mother had sacrificed her life to save someone else, and his future became set in stone.

"Ain, please come with me," Ain's superior, Knight-Captain Magreb, called out to him.

"Yes, what is it, sir?"

"Sword King Shihan requests your presence."

The Sword King, Shihan, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Fenn.

"Huh? He's asking for me?"

The Sword King asking for a Tenth Private was... frankly, inconceivable.

"Oh, I'm also being summoned. Everyone in the order who's a Tenth Private or higher is being summoned to the royal palace; it appears to be a serious matter. Go on ahead."

So, he headed to the royal palace
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Kingdom of Fenn, capital city Amanoki, royal castle

"We may soon go to war with the Parpaldia Empire."

!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone paled at this sudden declaration.

The problem with there being no magic in Fenn wasn't that they couldn't shoot fireballs, but rather that they were unable to communicate via magic. If they were to fight an opponent with the same sized army, the difference in their speeds of communication would create an insurmountable gap in their tactical capabilities.