The Shepherd Alone on the Hill is a Genius Wizard

"Undead King..."

The origin of the title "king" traced back to ancient times, to the rulers of non-human races who had dominated humans.

After the fall of the old empire, some human nobles also declared their territories kingdoms and called themselves kings, but it never truly caught on.

This was because most of those called kings in history played the role of villains who were eliminated by the god-folk and their descendants.

In other words, any non-human who dared call themselves king could be assumed to possess abilities worthy of appearing in historical records.

Since it was such a noble title to them, they didn't easily allow just anyone to take such a name.

"Is it strong enough to deserve such a title? I heard it was just thoroughly beaten and fled."

Hadn't Meisa seemed to treat it like already-caught prey when they talked earlier?

"It was quite strong to begin with, but it's become more troublesome recently. Did you hear from the young lady about how the surviving dark elf faction might have joined the dwarves' lair?"

"I heard that might be the case."

"We found their hideout and launched a major incursion, but suffered devastating casualties. Eight nobles and over two hundred knights died."

"Wait, wasn't the subjugation force's size..."

"Combining those brought from the main house and vassal houses, we had forty nobles and seven hundred knights. We lost three nobles and about one hundred twenty knights during the suppression in the central region, but this one trap claimed even more lives than that."

Those losses could be considered even greater than what House Zahar had suffered at that gods' tomb.

Though it couldn't be compared one-to-one considering the sacrifice of Ferga, a top-tier noble...

"How did that happen?"

"The dwarves' lair was prepared with masses of unidentified magical devices. Never seen their like before, but every single one was absolutely lethal."

Why were magical devices suddenly coming up here?

Could some magical house be cooperating with non-humans to attack Arabion's army?

If such a thing had really happened, there was one candidate that came to mind.

"Could it be... Zahar?"

"The young lady said it probably wasn't. She said they seem to be using excavated ancient dwarf relics, but I'm not quite sure what that means."

According to the books Turan had read, dwarves were a race particularly lacking in intelligence among non-humans, with only their superior physical abilities as an advantage while being violent and primitive in nature.

Things made by such beings should be no more than bone necklaces, hardly a threat to nobles.

But if Meisa had said that, she probably knew something about it.

As a great house's heir, she was likely to know more than others.

"I understand the situation. But there's a problem."

"What kind?"

"Do you know who Tallis Zahar is?"

"I'm not sure. I know it's not the family head's name."

Turan briefly told Keorn about his travels in the Enril Desert.

How a vassal house's head had seen in Turan's face the face of Tallis, the current second-in-command of Zahar.

"Some of Arabion's nobles might find something strange about my face too."

While staying at House Berk, there had been no war participants since they were an Artificer house, and Meisa had been an infant during the war, so she couldn't read traces of Zahar nobles in Turan's face.

But in the subjugation force, there was a high chance of someone who could read traces of Tallis in Turan's face.

Hearing this point, Keorn burst into laughter.

"I understand what you mean, but there's no need to worry. During the war, all Zahar nobles wore similar clothes and masks. According to prisoners, they covered their faces to erase individuality and used concealment magic to switch places with each other to cause confusion. Many nobles testified that they were caught off guard when their opponent's power suddenly changed."

"Then..."

"You could say almost no one in Arabion knows what Zahar nobles look like. Even the peace treaty was just exchanged between knights from both sides. More importantly, Zahar's second-in-command... could he be your father?"

"I'm not sure about that. I was actually in the middle of looking for traces of that here."

Turan happened to not mention that he had consumed the magical power of ten Zahar nobles.

If he mentioned that, he would have to explain all sorts of things like the strange phenomena related to the Night Hunter.

"Besides, wouldn't it be too dangerous if I were recruited by Zahar?"

It would be catastrophic if Turan entered their camp and suddenly killed groups of sleeping nobles one night before fleeing.

Hearing this, Keorn smiled bitterly and answered.

"In my experience, people who would do such things don't announce that they could."

"I've felt this before, but you see me too favorably."

"I know better than anyone that until half a year ago, you lived a life unrelated to Zahar. You're also my lifesaver. Even if you've formed some connection with them since then, I believe you wouldn't do such a dishonorable thing."

Such faith even after he said he'd been to the Enril Desert.

Turan briefly turned his gaze away in embarrassment before asking something he was curious about.

"Can't Arabion request additional support?"

Surely if the family head himself came, he could crush everything from the Undead King to dwarf relics and more.

Even if not, with Arabion's capabilities, they should be able to gather more support troops.

"There are two main problems. First, given the structure of their base, pushing in many weak wizards would likely just increase casualties. Second, the young lady's position makes it difficult for her to request reinforcements from the main house."

"Miss Meisa?"

If there were competitors like with Zahar, one might have to accept falling behind in reputation, but what problem could there be for a confirmed heir to receive family support?

Reading such nuance, Keorn answered with a somewhat troubled expression.

"This involves internal political issues so it's a bit difficult to mention in detail... but being heir doesn't mean one can do everything as they please. To request reinforcements from the main house, the young lady would have to make concessions to that side."

In other words, while they needed powerful reinforcements, various reasons made it difficult to ask the main house for help, and fortunately having a mighty noble friend right next door, they wanted to borrow his strength.