The Death Mage that doesn't want a fourth time

53 fighting forces must be gathered steadily

On this day, Thomas Palpapek was once again drinking black tea in his personal room with a bitter look on this face.

It had been around two years since he had resigned from the position of marshal; his daily duties had decreased considerably. As he was an earl who owned no land, his schedules were very free when he wasn't assigned to an important position, allowing him to peacefully enjoy his black tea as he was doing now.

What he didn't have was peace of mind.

"Those damned Vampires," Thomas muttered.

The Vampires of whom he was speaking under his breath in a tone of irritation were the Vampires who worshipped the evil god.

They were allies. Not to Thomas as an individual, nor to the Mirg shield-nation. Thomas was fully aware that he and the Vampires had simply used each other when their interests aligned.

However, there was no way that he could not feel angry after being made to do something that was so clearly disadvantageous for him.

Around a year ago, a certain movement had occurred in the Amid Empire.

An expedition into the Boundary Mountain Range. The Empire was considering ordering the Mirg shield-nation to make such an expedition happen. No, it was already certain that they would make this order.

The Empire was giving the Mirg shield-nation a chance to rid themselves of the dishonour of the failed expedition to Talosheim of two hundred years ago.

It was likely that because the Mirg shield-nation's power as a country had increased more than expected due to Viscount Balchesse's reclamation project, so the Amid Empire was intending to shave a moderate amount of that power off.

However, it would normally be impossible for such an expedition to happen even under the orders of the Empire. None of the Empire's vassal nations would obey the command of, 'All of you, go out and die meaningless deaths.'

But with the tunnel that had been built a hundred thousand years ago, large enough for an army to march through... One of the Amid Empire's generals, General Mauvid, had presented proof of the existence of such a tunnel and an ancient document that detailed its location.

The tunnel had yet to be excavated, but once it was repaired, crossing the Boundary Mountain Range would become simple. An army would be able to reach the other side of the tunnel in a matter of days.

They would be able to do so safely, with no fear of monster attacks until they reached the end of the tunnel.

With this, the main reason to oppose to the expedition had disappeared.

And much to Thomas's dismay, the Mirg shield-nation and its current marshal, Earl Legston, were eager to make this expedition happen.

It was likely that they had received permission to add any land reclaimed inside the mountain Boundary Mountain Range to the nation's territory, and they would likely receive financial assistance for the reclamation process as well. These conditions had likely been offered to them.

"Those fools."

The king of his nation and the nobleman who was an earl like Thomas were truly fools.

Thomas could imagine the reasons behind this expedition.

The Dhampir who had led a horde of Ghouls across the Boundary Mountain Range and vanished two years ago.

The Vampire who acted as a contact between Thomas and the other Vampires, the one who had panicked after learning that the Dhampir had been allowed to escape.