In the following days, everything went on as if before the reinforcement army arrived. Therribus sent small detachments just to keep Prince Alonzo's force inside the fort on their toes. Arther maintained his position close to the fort, taking action whenever Duchess Isabelle did. The two deterrents stood their ground.
Therribus sent a larger attack on the fort the third day after the reinforcement army arrived. His intention was as before, to keep the force inside the fort tense. However, the reinforcement army also attacked at that time. This forced Therribus to pull back his attack on the fort. In response, the reinforcement army also retreated.
As a result, Therribus abandoned the skirmishes altogether. With the reinforcement army on standby, he knew he couldn't apply enough pressure on the force inside Fort Garadhor. Might as well just save their strength and continued to wait.
The situation after that third day went breezily as if no war was going on. The armies just stayed there watching each other in an uneasy peace. This truce seemed to be able to last forever, but everyone knew this was just the calm before the storm.
On the fifth day since the reinforcement army arrived, Jack was standing outside the periphery of the army camp.
"What are you doing here?" Jack heard a voice he knew well and turned to see Red Death there.
"What are you doing here?" Jack asked back the same question.
"I liked to do my daily martial art training outside the camp. I do it there," Red Death answered while pointing to a spot that had a natural rock formation with a cavity at its center. It provided a secluded spot in this otherwise wide expanse of flatland. She then repeated her question, "What are you doing here?"
"Uh, um, I…"
"He is waiting for someone," Peniel answered while Jack was stuttering.
"For who?" Red Death asked. Before Jack or Peniel answered, the sound of a galloping horse could be heard. Someone was riding a steed coming at them at a high speed.
"I see…," Red Death said after seeing the person on the steed. She turned and walked away to the rock formation.
Grace unsummoned her steed after arriving. She glanced at Red Death who was walking away while approaching Jack. She had just completed her thirty days stay in Village of Peace. She had returned to the Heavenly Citadel and then teleported to Theneward before coming directly here.
Jack was still scratching his head, unsure whether he should say something to Red Death.
"How is the war?" Grace asked. "I heard the fighting was pretty fierce."
"Only on the first day after we arrive. It is pretty much just look and wait nowadays," Jack replied. "How is your progress? Do you get much improvement during your stay in the Village of Peace?"
Grace turned around. "Try hitting me," she said.
'Oh? Has she managed to…' Jack decided to test it out. He equipped a common sword and slashed at Grace.
Grace moved away when Jack was about to hit. Jack made another two tries but Grace continued to dodge his attacks.
"You have learned mana sense. Impressive!" Jack uttered. "You start later than the others but it seems the level of your mana sense is already better than the others who started learning it earlier."
"It's all thanks to the environment inside the Village of Peace. Otherwise, I won't have improved so much," Grace said. "Many of my battle skills also had high proficiencies now. The highest ones were at seven stars while the lowest ones were at four stars. Still, it is my auxiliary skills that have improved the most, my Diplomacy skill especially. The villagers were very chatty. My Diplomacy is at Basic Master now."
"Wow! Basic Master? That's two levels more than mine. Heh, and I thought mine is the highest. Anyway, I'm glad to hear that," Jack said. "How is Oswald? You didn't bring him here?"
"When we have to leave the village, Chief Meratis opened a portal that brought us outside of the Lost Forest. Oswald stayed in the woods there. It was still not safe for him to roam around. He will focus on leveling up there. I can call him using my companion token when needed."
"Good."
"His mana sense doesn't lose to me," Grace added.
"What? Really? He managed to learn it that fast as well?" Jack asked.
"Yeah. He trained very hard. I know I made the right choice when I ask him to be my companion."
"You always have a good eye."
"I didn't bring him with me when I returned, but I bring someone else back with me to Heavenly Citadel."
"Oh? Who?" Jack asked.
"Captain Whitebeard," Grace answered.
"What? The rat? Why? I thought it is not allowed to leave the village?"
"He begged chief Meratis for it. He is truly curious about the outside world. Meratis told him that it was a dangerous world outside. I told the chief that we have a guild headquarters. He should be safe if he is willing to stay inside there."
"He? So, you are not calling the rat, it, anymore? You have come a long way from a girl who goes screaming when you see a rat. Still, I don't see how being cooped up inside a guild headquarters is any better than being cooped up in a village."
Grace shrugged. "Perhaps he just wants to meet new people. I told Meratis I can take him back whenever he wants to return."
"So, he is in Heavenly Citadel now?"
"Yeah, I asked Tip to take care of him. He is hanging out inside our Guild Hall. Tip has been introducing him to the members there, to make sure that they didn't consider him as a vermin and chase him out. Or worse, attack him. Once this war is over, I wish to introduce him formally to everyone."
"Well, I guess our guild had a mascot now. Wait! How do you bring him to Heavenly Citadel? He can't use Guild Return scroll, right?"
"Chief Meratis gave him a Recall Plate. Whitebeard set it so one can use the plate to consciously summon him. He then gave the plate to me. I used the plate to summon him when I returned to Heavenly Citadel."
They continued to chat for a bit. Red Death, who was not far away, felt annoyed listening to them. She couldn't focus on her training. She was just about to scold them to go chat somewhere else when she felt something coming her way fast. She ducked and found a knife struck a rock not far away.
"Who!" She yelled. She turned in the direction the knife had come from but didn't see anyone.
Jack and Grace hurriedly come over after hearing her yell.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked.
Red Death didn't answer, she was still searching for the mystery attacker.
"Look," Grace pointed to the knife that was still embedded in the rock. The knife had something tied to it.
Grace went and removed the knife from the rock. It was a piece of paper that was tied to the knife. She removed the tie.
"It is a message," Grace said. There were writings on the paper. She handed the paper to Red Death. It was clear that the message was intended for Red Death.
Red Death looked at the spot where the knife had struck the rock. It was away from her initial position. Even if she didn't duck, the knife won't hit her. It was not an attack. Additionally, the knife didn't disappear, the throw was not done using a skill.
Red Death started reading the paper. Her eyes went wide.
"Cleo, what is it?" Jack asked after seeing her reaction.
Red Death gave the paper to Jack. "You better assemble the army leaders and let them know about this."
Jack was more curious after hearing Red Death's words. He started reading the paper. Grace was beside him reading it as well. Their eyes were also enlarged.
The paper was information about an incoming legion that is bringing siege weapons for Therribus' army. There were details about the route this legion takes as well as the expected time for this legion to arrive. It was two days from today.
"You should let the commanders know immediately," Grace said.
"But, how can we know this message can be trusted?" Jack asked. "Cleo, can you not hazard who could have sent this message to you?"
"I have no idea," Red Death answered flatly.
"It can be a trap," Peniel offered her opinion.
"But if it is true…," Grace said.
"This can be why the crown prince's army is so patient in their wait. They are not only waiting for the supplies inside the fort to run out but also for these siege weapons," Jack said. "l will bring this to the commander's attention. He will decide what to do about it."
Jack sent a message to John, telling him to gather inside the commander's camp. He then summoned Pandora and rode towards the camp. Red Death and Grace looked at one another before going their separate ways without any word.
