Cassian and Lumine arrived just in time as the army of a thousand soldiers marched out of camp to aid the Karmen Earldom against the cult. Their commander was a seventh-circle warrior, Naset Lawk.
Alongside him were a few dozen higher-circle warriors and mages—not a large force, since sending more would have weakened Magisteria's own defenses. But it was enough. The bulk of the army consisted of first to third-circle warriors and mages, numbering more than one hundred. Then there were the ordinary human soldiers—far from useless. While they couldn't take on powerful monsters alone, they fought effectively in formation, backed by mana-powered weapons.
Cassian noticed some of them carrying strange devices: tube-like contraptions with handles made of gleaming metal, covered in intricate mechanisms. The most important part, though, was the mana crystal embedded near the grip—the power source for whatever those weapons did.
Since most of the thousand-strong army had no horses, Cassian found himself riding in a carriage. Spotting a soldier holding a strange device, he nudged Wanni. "What's that?" he asked, pointing at the soldier's helmet—or more precisely, the weapon slung across his back.
Wanni glanced over. "Oh, that? It's called a mana gun. Fires compressed mana particles—dense enough to punch through steel armor. Won't do much against a high-circle warrior's domain or mana shield, but enough shots at once can overwhelm them." She shrugged. "The Andhartha Kingdom banned them since they were originally Magic Empire tech. But Magisteria doesn't answer to anyone else's laws, so their soldiers still use them. Not like anyone's stopping them."
"How could we not use them? These things can drop a one-star monster in a single shot," Robert said, pulling his own mana gun from his spatial ring—much to Cassian's surprise.
"Where'd you get that? Why don't I have one?" Cassian demanded.
Wanni cut in before Robert could answer. "They only issue them to non-mages and non-circle warriors—gives them a fighting chance against stronger enemies. And even then, not everyone gets one." She pulled out a second weapon and tossed it to Lumine. "This one's yours. You weren't around when they handed them out, so I held onto it."
"Let me see that..." Cassian said, taking Robert's mana gun and examining it. "If it's this effective, why not issue these to every normal soldier?"
"Cost," Wanni replied, tapping the embedded blue mana crystal. "Each shot consumes energy from this crystal. While one crystal can fire thousands of rounds, they still degrade with use - making these weapons expensive to maintain." She pointed to the trigger mechanism. "And don't pull that here. Even a single shot could burn straight through an unarmored person. Only soldiers with proper enchanted gear should handle these."
Cassian handed the mana gun back to Robert, his eyes already scanning the marching army ahead. The weapon was impressive, but what really set his pulse racing was the realization - if they were fielding these, what else might the Magisteria forces have in store?
"Alright, so we've got mana guns for the regular troops," he mused, fingers tapping against his thigh. "What about the real heavy hitters? They wouldn't send a seventh-circle commander without some proper artillery, would they?"
"Higher-circle warriors don't need much beyond proper war armor," Althea said, noticing Cassian's downward glance. "Not that it matters - no living smith can forge them anymore. The only ones left are ancient relics, either inherited or dug up from forgotten ruins."
Wanni's smirk returned as she nodded toward the supply convoy. "Doesn't mean we're marching empty-handed." She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "You really think those reinforced crates just hold hardtack and dried meat? Scout reports mention three mobile mana cannons in the inventory - fortress-grade artillery that can punch through three meters of enchanted stone with a single shot."
Robert whistled low. "Saw one of those demonstrated last year. Took out a rock troll at 500 paces. Left nothing but a smoking crater."
"What about you mages?" Theorn asked, having noticed Wanni receiving something when he got his mana gun.
Wanni smiled and raised her gloved hands—ordinary-looking gloves at first glance, except for the small stones embedded in precise circular patterns across the fabric.
"Spell-amplifying gauntlets," she explained. "These stones are empty mana vessels. I can charge them beforehand and use the stored energy to boost my spells mid-combat." She flexed her fingers, showing how the gloves fit snugly over her secondary pair of hands. "The Tower Master—the Modern Architect—designed them. Not easy to mass-produce, but they've managed to make them affordable enough to equip battlemages."
Cassian's excitement over the mana weapons dimmed as a darker thought surfaced. 'If our side has this much firepower… what about the cult?'
He remembered the horrors they'd already unleashed—makeshift gods stitched together from slaughtered families, dark rituals that warped flesh and soul. Magisteria had supposedly purged those who made those abominations after Julius's campaign, but remnants lingered. Clones. Twisted mages. And worse, things that didn't have names yet.
His gaze drifted to the horizon, where the army's vanguard marched. Magisteria was bringing cannons and spell-gauntlets, yes—but was it enough? The real threats weren't foot soldiers. A single 9th-circle warrior could flatten battalions. An Arcane Kingdom archmage could rewrite the battlefield itself.
But there were no signs of such extreme threats appearing soon. After all, the strongest fighters he'd seen so far were only seventh-circle warriors - including their current commander, whom Cassian hadn't even met yet.
"So," Cassian asked, turning to the others, "anyone actually know who our illustrious commander is supposed to be?"
Robert pulled an apple from his spatial ring and took a loud bite before answering. "He's Magisteria-born, like me." Crunching thoughtfully, he continued, "His name used to be everywhere about ten years back when he hit seventh circle in his fifties - youngest in a century. Then..." Robert shrugged. "Not much after. Rumor was he joined the city guard after losing some big mage duel. This is the first time I've heard his name since."
Lumine nodded in agreement. Having lived in Magisteria for most of her life, she qualified as a native herself. "My sister used to spar with him when they were both fifth-circle warriors," she added. "But he surpassed her quickly after that. His talent is undeniable."
Wanni conjured water bubbles from a floating magic circle she'd been idly playing with. "Talented, sure," she said, popping one bubble with her finger. "But not Julius-level talented. Otherwise he'd be leading Magisteria's main forces against the cult right now."
Robert raised an eyebrow. "Wait, do you actually have a thing for Sir Julius or something?"
Wanni snapped her fingers, dispersing the magical circle with a small splash of water droplets. "Obviously I admire him," she said, a little too quickly. "What's wrong with respecting the strongest warrior in the kingdom?"
The sudden intensity made everyone turn to look at her. Theorn coughed into his hand. "You... do know he's married, right?"
A beat of silence hung in the air before Wanni rolled her eyes. "Oh please, it's not like that. I just appreciate competent leadership."