"What an unamusing place…" Lukas muttered to himself.
It was a rare event for him to let his thoughts escape his mouth.
As a soldier in the very middle of the army, he normally wouldn't have to be so careful. But he wasn't just a normal soldier. He was a summoned otherworlder. And that alone was enough of a reason for the local officers to pay him quite some attention.
But then, today was different.
'Or so it was supposed to be,' Lukas thought, back to hiding his thoughts from the world around him. 'But should I really take my leave when they brought me to such an interesting place?'
Baskar Tower wasn't just a tower but an entire complex of fortresses, small strongholds, keeps, and other fortifications.
Normally, just one of those fortified buildings would likely become a seed for a new town. And when taking this whole area into account, judging by the age of those fortifications, it should've long since grown into a bustling city.
The size was there. The seed areas were all there. All that was left was for people to settle in the proximity of those well-defended areas, create subtowns beyond the walls and then, with time, merge all of those defensive structures into a big, lively city.
But none of that happened.
There were absolutely no civilian structures stuck between the fortifications. No fields in sight that would usually provide the food for the soldiers manning those grounds.
No.
This whole area was nothing but massive, sprawling fortifications, forward defense points, and perfectly empty space between them.
All of that alone would merely make this place into a defensive complex easily able to rival even the greatest historical sites back on Earth. That alone was enough to make this place somewhat interesting — after all, all the cost and effort needed to raise such a network of fortifications wouldn't be extended without a valid reason for it!
But that wasn't the reason why Lukas cared.
Fortifications were just that — a bunch of stones stacked together with the help of mortar, there to give the defenders a height advantage over the potential attackers. The empty space between? A kill zone for all those who dared to enter it.
No. It was the ground itself that caught Lukas' attention. Or rather, the amount of blood that had soaked into it.
'Just who would be insane enough to attack a place like this directly?' Lukas thought, lost in his head even as the whole of the army he was traveling with split up into ten or so different units, each moving to a different fortress to be stationed at. 'And this wasn't just one person or two. Entire armies died and bled out here.'
As interesting as this place could be, it wasn't enough to make Lukas change his plans.
'I've lingered around doing nothing for long enough. And there's absolutely no need for me to get embroiled in that war of theirs.'
While there was no official way for the news to spread, one had to be either stupid or deaf not to know what was going on.
The war Lukas' class was summoned to fight in wasn't going all too well. All the news he managed to learn about it pointed to the same outcome — the empire was losing one battle after another.
And if that wasn't enough, those losses weren't just that — some minor defeats that forced the imperial army to retreat and regroup.
No.
In the war against the heretics, Plenaria didn't suffer simple defeats. It was faced with cullings, slaughters, and decimations.
And for such a streak of devastating losses to befall the country he was supposed to fight for…
That could only mean one thing.
Those so-called heretics outclassed the imperial army in too many ways for the addition of some so-called heroes to change the outcome.
Worse yet, the scale of this war meant that if Lukas lingered around long enough to be caught up in it, he would find himself in a situation where he could no longer be certain of leaving if he wanted to!
Which is why, while the news of the heretics' army was still distant rather than a present reality, Lukas had to leave.
"This is where you will be garrisoned," a local guide pointed Lukas' detachment toward one of the simple, rectangular barracks sitting just behind the wall of one of the many strongholds in the area.
And even without explanation, just the location alone was enough to explain its — and thus, their — purpose.
"While we don't expect the enemy to attack anytime soon, if they were to be stupid enough to do so, you guys will be responsible for defending this part of the wall!" The guide's finger moved up and pointed at the tall, thick wall, rising at least fifteen meters high into the air. "That's it for today. Go get some rest, clean yourselves up, and then wait for orders! Now, go!"
The guide left as soon as he finished what he came here to say, leaving Lukas, his unit, and roughly five other groups like his to fend for themselves.
"Let's go," Uriel, the officer of Lukas' unit, commanded before moving on ahead.
The man didn't waste a second to turn around and check whether his group followed after him.
The native cadets wouldn't dare disobey his orders. And Lukas?
Up until this point, he had never given the man a single reason to doubt his discipline.
Which is exactly why, when Lukas squatted down to fix the strap of his shoe, not a single soul paid him any attention. In the sea of similar uniforms, everyone simply assumed that this one squatting soldier belonged to a different group. And by the time the last cadets were about to enter the barrack area, Lukas simply… vanished.
'To think simple tricks like that work here too,' Lukas smiled to his own thoughts as he slipped away unnoticed.
He didn't use his magic to achieve this feat at all, just a little bit of social engineering and knowledge of how human perception worked. In the end, all he needed was just enough confidence in his step and a busy look on his face. With just those two elements, those who saw him leave merely assumed he had somewhere to go — likely ordered to do something.
And that meant, there was absolutely no point in even stopping him to question his purpose. After all, simple soldiers were here to follow orders, not to understand what their officers wanted to achieve by making them do stuff!
Lukas managed to slip past the entire length of the minor fortress and then, with the use of some funny little spells, he managed to actually leave it, finding himself right on the ground that to this day retained both the smell and the aura of all the blood that had sunk into it.
'Who the hell was stupid enough to push enough people into this place to make the ground stink so much?' Unable to help himself, Lukas paused for just a moment as he squatted down and pressed his hand against the ground before closing his eyes.
It was just a slight, super short detour — what could happen in the few seconds he would waste checking it out?
With his eyes closed, he injected a bit of his mana into the ground before diffusing it from its relatively condensed shape into a thin mist, spreading his power from just one tiny spot into as big an area as this amount of energy could cover.
And then, after letting his diffused mana sit still for a few seconds, Lukas summoned all of his magical energy back in.
It hit him like a speeding truck.
A mix of powerful, dark emotions, visions, auras, and feelings.
The pain of the soldiers dying from their wounds as they bled out on this very ground. The terror of the prisoners waiting to be cut down by their executioners. The fear of the innocent civilians chased to this place only to end up as blood sacrifices.
The mix was so intense, Lukas, even with all that he had seen and all that he was prepared to see, reeled back.
'So it weren't just soldiers that died here,' he thought, gritting his teeth as the emotions, while already washing away, still lingered in his head.
But those sights, those feelings… mixed in them was the one common factor, one question that most of those who bled out on this ground had.
'WHERE!'
Where did they take the others? Why did they split up our group? Where did the rest of the army go?
Still alive, with his senses unrestrained and no sword looming over his neck, Lukas found himself in a special position — one that allowed him to actually answer this question.
The fortifications, towers, strongholds, and massive walls… they weren't just a net of defensive buildings.
They made up the structure of a massive spell powered by all the blood that sank into the ground… all for the sake of dividing up whoever stepped upon this ground and confusing them, all so the defenders hidden behind the high walls would have an easier time picking the invaders off!
An ingenious strategy, especially when used against those who had no clue about it.
Lukas, however, was alone. And as someone who severed his ties to the system just so he could use his own magic unrestrained, he was likely the only person alive in this world who could simply ignore this spell, brushing off its effects with no more effort than he needed to spit down.
Or so he thought.
"I knew it was a good idea to keep my eye on you."
Out of nowhere, Ume appeared.
A sword in his hand, his eyes locked on Lukas' face.
And judging by the grim look on his face, he wasn't here to congratulate the man on figuring this place out.