Gunmage-Chapter 293: Calculated attrition

"Hey Cassius... what is the true nature of this war?"

Cassius stilled.

The atmosphere changed. The air, already still, seemed to thicken around them. His expression didn’t shift, but something subtle tightened behind his eyes.

He didn’t answer right away. Several moments passed before he finally spoke, his voice uncertain, almost defensive.

"W–why would you ask me something like that?"

"Well, you’re from House D’Aramitz."

Lugh’s tone was calm, nearly matter-of-fact.

"If anyone was to know, then it would be you."

Cassius looked away, jaw clenching as he gave a sidelong glance to the others.

Mirelle and Sela seemed a bit uncertain—maybe genuinely surprised, maybe just pretending to be. He couldn’t tell. Then his eyes returned to Lugh.

Another sigh escaped him, longer this time.

Eventually, he found somewhere to sit, lowering himself down slowly. Only once seated did he start to speak again.

"I’m not sure what exactly you mean by ’true nature’ of the war, but..."

He hesitated.

"...there are definitely some strange parts of it."

"And those are?"

Another sigh.

"You know I’m not even supposed to be telling you any of this."

Sela’s voice cut in.

"Come on. What harm could it do?"

Cassius shot her a skeptical look, but didn’t respond. Instead, after a moment’s pause, he relented.

"Like I said, I do not know much. I can only tell you what I find suspicious. That is to say, my words are speculation on my side only. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes."

"Okay then."

He adjusted his posture slightly and began.

"First things first—the war has been going on for a long while. Ten years, even."

"And?"

"And we still have food. Apart from the high-conflict area, most aren’t even feeling any changes or fluctuations in their quality of life. In the midst of a war, this is simply unthinkable."

Mirelle spoke up.

"Isn’t this just because of Ophris as a whole? We have fertile land, and though magic cannot be used openly, it can still be used discreetly in aspects like food production and plant development."

Cassius nodded.

"Yes, this is the case. But why then, is the situation also the same for Heieg?"

All three frowned.

He explained.

"Although Heieg might have the most robust and well-developed intelligence network, they are not the only ones who make use of spies.

I can even argue that ours, though limited in number, have a higher completion and survivability rate."

Lugh noticed something. He spoke immediately.

"Does Ophris use mages as spies?"

Cassius nodded.

"The Jade Tower, technically. Information gathering is one of the duties of Enforcers. And if this information will benefit the kingdom’s military, then why not?"

"I see."

Lugh acknowledged it with a nod, and Cassius continued.

"Now that not only Ophris, but also the citizens of Heieg, can’t seriously feel the adverse effects of war on their lives... what does it mean?"

Lugh pondered, and his sisters joined him. They were able to think up a few points, but none of them were certain of anything. No answer seemed solid.

In the end, Cassius bailed them out.

"It means the two countries aren’t really going all in."

They didn’t respond, instead waiting for him to elaborate further. He continued.

"Although we’re not putting forth our best, a war is still a war. People die every day. The situation is still a stalemate along the front lines."

He paused for a moment, then added:

"The true front lines.... Where all the trenches are."

Then, as if tired of letting out bits of information—or perhaps he had finally collected all his points into one cohesive form—Cassius began to explain more quickly.

"The battle keeps on happening in Ophris homeland. Although most civilians had already been evacuated. Drakensmar was an exception."

He continued without stopping.

"My thoughts—that is, my personal speculations—are that the forces of Heieg have been lured into our home territories for some specific purpose."

Mirelle seemed confused.

"Wait, why would they do that?"

He spoke.

"Logically speaking, the only reason for such actions would be if the rewards outweigh the risks significantly. Which leads me to believe that the kingdom is getting something out of the constant bloodshed."

Lugh spoke.

"A chaotic environment would be the perfect cover for illegal human experiments. Plus the war means an abundance of enemy soldiers, which could also translate to live experimental subjects."

Both girls seemed stunned.

"Wait? What?!"

Cassius merely grimaced.

He murmured carefully.

"Well, that’s... a line of thought."

Lugh looked at him.

"You didn’t anticipate this."

Cassius answered.

"Honestly I didn’t. But now that I think about it, it’s beginning to make more and more sense."

Lugh questioned.

"What then, did you speculate?"

Cassius blinked before answering, somewhat hesitantly.

"Actually... it’s not as well thought out as what you just said. But, I once heard that the dead release energy that can be used as fuel for spells."

Sela interrupted.

"Yes. That does not sound ominous at all."

Cassius deadpanned before continuing his explanation.

"Either way, it’s something I saw a long time ago—fairytale about evil sorcerers and that kind of thing. But what if it’s true?

If anyone would know, it’s the ancient elves that had lived for centuries. What if they’re planning some kind of... massive scaled project or spell that can be fueled using the energy of the deceased?"

Lugh frowned. Because what Cassius said was a real problem.

While the youth from House D’Aramitz couldn’t confirm the source, Lugh personally could. After all, both he, Aldric, and Lyra had learned from Xhi how to use the energy of the dead to supplement their mana.

Was that apparently some kind of lost ancient art?

Now thinking about it, it was definitely ominous.

Just who was Xhi?

He shook the thoughts out of his head, refocusing on the issue at hand. He spoke.

"I get what you mean. It seems the nature of the war itself is shrouded in mysteries for now."

Lugh could live with that. After all, the promise to unearth mysteries was the only reason he had been allowed to leave the Devil Sea.

He could think of this as practice.

Lugh continued.

"But... what I don’t understand is why Heieg would go along with this?"

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