How to Use the Lord’s Future Diary

Chapter 156

Chapter 156

“...This is truly troublesome.”

Octosia let out a sigh.

Defeat, defeat, and yet another defeat.

The war situation had steadily worsened, and now it had reached an irreversible state.

“Those damned beasts.”

They had been properly struck by the Beastmen.

They missed the opportunity to capture the Castle due to the Horse Tribe’s ambush, and the pursuit force meant to block the advance of the Cow Tribe had been annihilated by the Lion Tribe.

Why on earth were those Beastmen running wild in this season?

Just looking at the scale of forces they mobilized, it was no joke—they were causing utter chaos.

“To think those beasts are this strong.”

Before the Great Cataclysm, the Empire had always dealt with the Beastmen with ease.

Overwhelming numbers and high-quality magical armaments.

The only reason the Empire hadn’t driven the Beastmen to extinction was simply because it was bothersome.

If the Empire had truly made up its mind, the Beastmen would never have been able to withstand them.

That was why Octosia, too, had taken the Beastmen lightly.

At best, they were just Beastmen.

The plan had been to mobilize a large force, quickly capture the Castle, and return.

But this war was different.

The Beastmen, equipped with proper gear, were far stronger than Octosia had anticipated.

It was already known that the Horse Tribe was strong in open fields, but their overwhelming presence—mocking enemies from superior range—was truly extreme.

The Cow Tribe was no different.

Facing Cow Tribe warriors armed with magical equipment was incredibly taxing.

With the advantage in equipment gone, it became a pure contest of strength—and in physical ability, Beastmen surpassed humans.

In a single clash, many Knights were injured, and even he himself suffered minor wounds from the Cow Tribe Master’s reckless assault.

The only achievement was inflicting a fatal wound on the overly excited Cow Tribe Chieftain.

With the Chieftain forced to withdraw from the battlefield, the situation improved slightly, but it was clearly not the flow he had expected.

They had never once fought the Beastmen under equal conditions, so such a catastrophe had been completely unforeseen.

“Ha… I should’ve trusted the right people.”

But even more absurd than that was New Level.

He had already anticipated that if the power vacuum lasted too long, interference would come.

Of course, he hadn’t expected problems to arise from multiple directions right from the start, but it was a given that Bolino and Darian, backed by Vines, would exploit any gaps.

Octosia had also been concerned about this and had requested cooperation from a collaborator he had worked with several times.

To draw Vines’ attention so they couldn’t act.

The collaborator had readily agreed.

If Iron had known, he would’ve said to trust the right people—but Octosia had trusted.

Not people, but the situation.

The expansion of territories cooperating with Vines wasn’t something they wanted either, so he believed their interests aligned.

He had built walls and entered a prolonged war because he trusted that collaborator.

If they could just hold out for one month, the situation would be completely different.

Once winter came, it would be the Beastmen and Johnson Territory that would be in trouble instead.

However, they turned out to be far more reckless than Octosia had thought.

Because he had been thoroughly stabbed in the back.

Even while Vines was moving busily, they took no action whatsoever.

For people who had confidently told him to trust them, their response was utterly pathetic.

They were even advancing here together with the Lords who had been driven out of Levelium.

He had only shown a brief opening, yet chaos erupted from all directions.

“If it comes to this…”

Defeat in this war was inevitable.

All the strongholds they had secured so far were about to be lost.

Then what should he do?

He had to inflict a fatal blow on the enemy somehow, and withdraw while preserving as much of his forces as possible.

And fortunately, Octosia still had one fairly useful scheme left.

“They’re Beastmen, so it should work somehow. Besides, this is something you can’t avoid if you don’t know about it.”

It wasn’t originally meant to be used like this, but given how things had turned out, he had no choice but to use it as efficiently as possible.

“And even in the worst-case scenario, nothing will happen to me.”

The Empire was very accustomed to sacrificing the small for the greater good.

And Octosia had never once been on the side of the “small.”

This time was no different.

He had a way to safely escape this place.

Octosia tightly gripped the pendant he had been carefully keeping.

---

The battle entered a lull.

First, the Cow Tribe.

The moment they appeared here, they immediately charged into the Imperial Army.

Even I was a bit surprised—they showed up so suddenly and slammed into them that there was no time to coordinate anything.

That’s how hastily they moved—they didn’t even contact us and just charged in blindly.

‘Seriously, these hot-blooded idiots…’

The Cow Tribe had rammed into the Imperial positions several times upon arrival, but now they had calmed down somewhat.

That was because their Chieftain, Rioxen, had been severely injured while dueling Octosia.

Apparently, he got carried away and went deep into enemy lines, and while fighting Octosia, he was ambushed by another Master.

It seemed that speed-specialist I fought before had been hiding and ambushed Rioxen.

“Hey, what were you doing instead of stopping him?”

* Well… sorry about that. I got carried away too.

“…Sigh, is that so.”

I had even sent Rudick over to restrain the Cow Tribe, but he got excited himself and couldn’t stop them.

These guys, all of them… not a single one is normal.

Maybe it was my mistake for not considering that Rudick was just as single-minded as the Cow Tribe.

“This got awkward.”

Perhaps because the Cow Tribe’s offensive had dulled, the Imperial bastards were holding out reasonably well.

If it were up to me, I’d join in and beat them down, but their remaining strength isn’t exactly weak.

About half their Knights and Soldiers had fallen, but even half still left around 500 Knights.

And more importantly—

“They’re more skilled at defense than I thought.”

That wall was the problem.

On the first day, it was just built to block the Horse Tribe’s surprise attack.

But now, they had fully enclosed it and turned it into a fortress.

Honestly, I still don’t understand—how did they create such walls on the spot?

It was even a proper wall engraved with enhancement magic.

It’s not like they have a Builder unit… so how is that possible?

I almost feel like capturing a prisoner just to ask.

‘…Not possible. They execute everyone, no exceptions.’

Even though I’m here, this battlefield ultimately belongs to the Cow Tribe.

This was their territory, and the one in charge of defending the Castle was the Cow Tribe Chieftain, Gariman.

The Beastmen kill Imperial bastards on sight, so there’s nothing I can do about that.

And suggesting we treat prisoners well in this situation would be ridiculous.

‘It’s not like the situation is bad.’

The Bolino–Darian alliance had already taken over Luda Territory and were now advancing toward Lucas.

As for Lucas, the Horse Tribe had already completely looted it, so there’s nothing to worry about.

Apparently, the Horse Tribe that looted Lucas is now personally hauling Wagons back to their territory.

They defeat enemies themselves, loot Castles themselves, and even transport supplies themselves.

Those Horse Tribe guys are seriously absurd.

New Level is also moving swiftly.

New Level forces that departed from Saint, along with the former Levelium Lords, have captured Lete, the central region of Levelium.

Since both Hawrun and Lete had sent all their remaining forces to support Luda, it was taken very easily.

From our perspective, that’s great news.

Instead of approaching Hawrun, which we’re defending, they circled around and rushed straight to Lete—so they’re not idiots.

‘At this rate, the Imperial bastards are completely wiped out.’

Now if we just eliminate that remaining force, it’ll be clean.

“Shouldn’t we be fighting more aggressively?”

“Well, if we leave them alone, they’ll collapse on their own.”

“The regret is that we failed to kill the one who climbed the wall on the first day.”

“Ah… yeah, that was unfortunate.”

Leisha clicked her tongue, recalling the first day.

“That shield was ridiculous.”

“Yeah, it did seem like an incredible item.”

“The shield aside, the space was too narrow. There was no choice but a frontal assault.”

She had fought Octosia atop the narrow wall, with no room for anything but a direct breakthrough.

But the opponent held an incredible Artifact, and even her attacks couldn’t break through the shield.

Honestly, that day had been the opportunity.

After that, neither Octosia nor that Master bothered to climb the wall recklessly again.

Thinking about it, it’s a bit disappointing.

If I had taken down that Master and helped Leisha, the war might’ve ended that very day.

“The one I fought had an amazing weapon too. And he was insanely fast—I couldn’t do anything.”

“Faster than Bear? That’s impossible—…wait, Bear. Don’t tell me you were playing around with Aura Blade nonsense again?”

“Playing around? That’s a bit harsh…”

“If you have Aura for that, focus on strengthening your body instead. That’s the Bear Tribe’s combat style. I don’t know which Great Warrior it was, but no one moves faster than Bear.”

“…Hmm.”

For a Knight, using Aura is like breathing.

Even without thinking, Aura supports movement.

But if you concentrate more, it’s also possible to actively enhance your body using Aura.

‘But with my Aura reserves…’

The problem was that my Aura reserves were so low that if I focused on body enhancement, I couldn’t create an Aura Blade at all.

Without Aura Blade, I can’t split large monsters in one strike.

So I tend to prioritize using Aura Blade, but Leisha says that’s wrong.

Instead, I should focus more on my body’s natural strength.

‘Was that what I felt at the end? It felt like my muscles were absorbing Aura like crazy…’

Since I trained using the Bear Tribe’s methods, it might be better to follow their combat style as well.

Come to think of it, Leisha had been like that from the start.

That Aura Blade isn’t what’s important.

Though, ironically, she herself unleashes massive Aura Blades constantly.

‘I’ll have to think about it.’

“Anyway, what should we do now? If this drags on too long, it’ll be troublesome for us too.”

Winter was approaching.

Honestly, I didn’t expect them to hold out by building something like that fortress, so it’s a bit unsettling.

And those guys—are they even eating properly?

They couldn’t have brought that many supplies, so they should be running out by now, but there’s no sign of it.

Even with all their strongholds being wiped out, they’re acting like this—it feels like they have something in mind.

We’re not exactly in a comfortable position either, so it’s not a pleasant feeling.

“…What?”

And then—

The Imperial bastards made a move.

In a direction completely different from what I expected.

Instead of us, they sent an envoy to the Cow Tribe.

* The Imperial bastards are asking us to open a path.

“What? Now they’re asking for a path? Are they insane?”

* Of course, it’s not for free.

“Not for free? What could they possibly offer? Leaving their heads behind or something?”

* No. They’re offering a Divine Relic.

“…A Divine Relic?”

* You know, sister-in-law. They’re offering the Silver Fox statue.

In exchange for handing over the Fox Tribe’s Divine Relic—the Silver Fox statue—they were asking for a path.

It was a development I had never expected.