Chapter 144: 143

The Day When the Sky Road Opens (2)

One of the imperial knights saw me and popped out from behind a tree.

I killed him where he stood by baring my mana heart. The pace of the other knights charging at me slowed, but they didn’t stop. They just became more cautious.

My name was still close to unknown in the Imperial Army. Even if I captured energy through the power of poetry, I was apparently still known merely as a common mercenary.

They wished to trample me and figured that they would be able to do so with ease. But they didn’t know: They would soon fall as if stones were chained to their ankles. The paladin in the lead ignored me, passing me by.

I didn’t stop him.

Instead, the knights following him were cut down one after the other.

“Noo!”

“Hold!”

The paladin, who was charging ahead with continuous roars, swiveled around.

“Bastard!” he shouted as he brought his sword about and charged at me.

I smiled as I saw such a paladin and threw myself back into the forest. The paladin’s angry bellows could be heard behind my back, but I ignored them. I didn’t mean to waste my time and energy on a paladin. Today I wished to defeat as many imperial knights as possible.

I hid in the forest and once more charged when the time was right.

The imperial knights who were in close melee with the knights of Dotrin came under my assault one more, and many of them fell by my unexpected strikes in an instant.

“You’re like a rat!” roared the livid paladin as his energy flared up. He saw that I planned to hide in the forest once more, so he readied his blade and came crashing into me in an instant.

I intersected his blow with my twin blades, then slashed out with my right-hand sword.

‘Krguck!’ the tip of my blade touched his breastplate with an uncomfortable, grinding noise.

The powerful knight shook his sword as he widened the distance between us.

In that moment, I ran back into the woods.

The same process was repeated countless times. I wandered about, weaving in and out of the imperial army, defeating knights.

Those who seemed interested in me for even a moment were ignored. I was only dedicated to slaying a large number of knights.

As a result, once our offensive was over, I had been able to defeat many a knightly enemy.

As dawn broke, the sound of a horn sounded through the forest.

It was the signal of our planned retreat.

I pulled myself out of battle without hesitation, joining up with Dotrin’s knights, and escaped the forest.

When I arrived at the main encampment, an old man was waiting for me.

It was the former fortress commander of High Seabreeze fortress, Berg Berten, and the old knights who followed him.

I watched him staring at me like a baby bird waiting for its momma bird, and I began laughing.

“Why the look? Didn’t the returning knights tell you of the result?”

“They told us that we won, but no one told us any details. Even when I tried to pry, they all had faces that seemed as if they would faint at any moment, so it made me feel sorry to bother them so,” grunted Berg.

“So let me tell you now, Berg,” I answered curtly, “it’s a victory. We won overwhelmingly.”

“In detail?” pressed the old man.

“The forces they fielded, despite their stretched lines, were overwhelmingly powerful. But our allied forces prevailed on each battlefield, and the enemy was scattered. Dotrin’s knights rushed about as they trampled over the foe. The moment the enemies finally formed up their ranks and tried to respond, we retreated.”

Berg Berten and his knights exchanged glances. I saw that they were trying to picture the battles that took place based on my report.

“So how knights did you defeat?” asked he.

“Add three-hundred gold coins to my fee.”

Berg frowned after I said this.

“Well? Didn’t I say I would do only my part? Anyway, a deal is a deal.”

“Ah, but I thought you would handle more enemies,” the elderly man said as if asking why I didn’t do more. I could see he was trying to tell me, “War is not a joke.”

“Dotrin is in a total war with the empire right now. Do you want me to exert myself outside the bounds of our bet?”

“It’s not about how many dead knights we wagered on, but rather that you are able to kill more than that. So what is the problem? The more you kill, the more you aid your allies. Don’t take the bet too seriously, in our own way, we made a bet so that you would aid your allies as much as possible by killing many enemies, so we were hoping for more,” came the Blatant reply from Berg, and his old knights nodded in agreement.

“That makes sense,” said I and shut my mouth.

After I had finished a few of my duties, I tried to return to my tent, but the old people followed me. It wasn’t a new thing anymore; Berg Berten and his elderly knights had become my shadows.

They had given up all their titles and retired completely once the retreat from High Seabreeze was a success.

The first reason for them doing so was that someone had to take responsibility for the fortress being captured, and the second reason was that an old man who took undue risks and could not properly read the tide of battle could not lead soldiers.

Dotrin’s central command took care of the civilians and the injured and tried to convince Berg to retire to his estate, but he refused.

He put everything down, renounced all his titles, and began following me.

I hated it, but Berg did manage to persuade me with his inspiring words.

“I have a lot of money,” was what he said.

There was no reason for me not to accept an alternative flow of income, seeing as I had to fight the imperial army anyway.

To Berg Berten, I was the official commander of the Veil Mercenaries.

“Hmgghm,” Berg coughed whilst I was contemplating such things, turning my attention to him. I turned around and saw that the old man was staring at me.

“You are strong, no doubt. But war is not a joke.”

“If you bet on how many I kill and then say war is not a joke, aren’t you contradicting yourself?”

The old man ignored my glib response and continued to talk.

“The battle has just ended, and with your own mouth, you said you killed a hundred enemies, yet you remain so calm. It all seems rather fun to you. The other knights don’t look at it this way.”

The old man’s eyes looked sunken; they had a sorrow-filled depth to them.

“Some of these men have killed someone for the first time in their lives today. Even those with a sense of duty who had pledged to die fighting for Dotrin are aggrieved by the blood on their hands. You don’t act like that, you don’t have such grief.”

I now turned around all the way and looked straight into Berg Berten’s eyes.

“I can’t even guess how much murder has been done by your hand. If you have reached this level as a mercenary by fighting from a young age, then you must have slaughtered many.”

“So, what do you want to tell me?”

“Don’t be one to consider the lives of other people as meaningless. Kill the enemy, but be reverent. And do not joke around in the face of death, do not ridicule the death of your foes.”

I looked at Berg and nodded.

“I will remember that.”

“Murgh,” Berg grunted in a strained manner. Had my answer sounded insincere?

“Something is wrong with you, Ian. Something is missing from you. Only you don’t seem to realize this.” The old man shook his head sadly as he said this, and was grabbed by his old knights.

“That’s enough, Sir Berten. Let’s go get some strong drink,” urged a knight.

“Just this once, yes,” came Berg’s weak reply.

Berg Berten and his old knights headed off somewhere after they said this.

I was left alone, feeling stupid, and then saw Bernardo Eli and Gwain appear from afar.

I told them of the conversation I had with Berg.

Bernardo laughed.

“That old bag is full of himself. I’m just happy that I’m not covered in piss and shit after this battle. If we don’t kill them, we die, so what? Must we see their flesh as sacred? Must we consider the feelings of the man rushing at us before we stab into him?” said Bernardo as he looked at him. For once, there wasn’t a tone of sarcasm to his words.

“Don’t worry yourself with such senile sentiments. Because you are doing well.”

As Bernardo smiled at his own assertion, Gwain spoke up.

“Berg is not wrong.”

“You’re going to spout some bullshit again!” Bernardo shouted at Gwain as emotion flared up in his eyes.

“It is true that Commander Ian is missing something somewhere. He’s somewhat inhumane.”

“You bastard, do you know what you’re saying!?”

“I don’t have to lie in admitting this. Commander Ian is a war fanatic.”

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Extreme anger came to Bernardo’s face, and I have never seen him show such emotions.

“You bastard! How can you say that!? His Highness fought for Winter Castle! The orcs gained the wall! Rangers were dying one after the other! Did you ever see His Highness jump into the fray alone to save those men, until his body became a tattered mess of wounds!?”

My heart grew dark.

Up till now, I knew all the knights of Dotrin were treating me as a mercenary, which was right. They respected my skills yet did not appreciate the baseness of my motives or my attitude of being a battle fanatic.

I was like the mercenary king, the composer of the [Golden Poem]. I was treated exactly like that, just like Berg Berten had treated me just now.

I didn’t truly care about it, but Bernardo seems to have unwittingly taken such stress upon himself with his sudden rampage. His excitement has reached a peak, with him calling me ‘Highness.’ I tried to stop him, but he didn’t hear me over his own words. This was because Bernardo Eli was locked into his own unpleasant memories.

“The day when Winter Castle fell… Do you know that His Highness was half-dead, almost a corpse? And that half-unconscious man put a horn to his mouth and kept signaling the retreat! And do you know what he said?”

Even though I felt embarrassed, the old memories being revived by Bernardo’s passion blocked my speech.

“I will make the time myself. My chest is split and my wrists are weakened. I cannot control my own body! Everyone, flee! Retreat! I cannot recognize who is before me, who is a lancer, or who is not. I don’t even know where you are, and you’ll be left behind. So go… Flee…”

I instinctively closed my eyes. I did say that, yet I couldn’t remember. I was half-conscious at the time.

“And you call him a war fanatic? What would a child of fifteen or sixteen know of such things?”

Maybe Bernardo suffered from nightmares, from the nightmare of that day when Winter Knights and Black Lancers threw away their lives to save me. That might be why Bernardo was speaking so rabidly that the spittle flew from his mouth.

I tried to calm my grief and then opened my eyes with sudden vigor.

“The Warlord. Anyone who remembers crying as they felt the presence of that beast would not say such things. No!”

Bernardo now snarled, looking ready to draw his sword and slice Gwain’s throat.

“Shut up, Gwain. Before I kill you.”

How excited he was! I caught Bernardo’s arm as his hand slipped to the hilt of his sword. Then I shook my head.

“Aaah!” Bernardo cried as he looked at me, then kicked at the ground.

The man, who held such resentment within him, took his hand from his sword.

“So, Your Highness, do not prick your ears to the bullshit of the elderly. What’s wrong is the times that we live in, not Your Highness.”

As Bernardo said this, he marched off in a direction with a ‘thump, thump,’ of his boots.

“Where are you going!?” I demanded.

“I’m going to rest!”

“Our barracks is on the other side!”

Bernardo groaned, turned about, and passed us by.

“I didn’t know, but I won’t apologize,” said Gwain as I stared at Bernardo’s back.

“It’s okay. With the things between us – We will never be apologizing to each other,” came my profound reply. Yet, Gwain pressed his point.

“But it is true that you are somewhat inhumane. That’s why I feel reluctant to apologize. Well, it’s like staring into the heart of winter. There is no life, only death.”

I shrugged.

Gwain wasn’t that wrong.

Because I am not a human but a sword, and not a sword but a devil.

* * *

After that day’s battle, the imperial forces did not rush out of the forest. They formed their ranks up tight and interspersed their knights and paladins at regular intervals to ensure that they were prepared for surprise attacks. Additionally, the imperial wizards regularly employed large scale exploration-magic, and the chances of using the element of surprise diminished to a great extent.

Several surprise attacks ended with no gains and only casualties on our side. The commanders of Dotrin conducted daily meetings.

Although significant damage had been done to the empire’s vanguard, the main body and the rearguard remained intact. Before they left the forest, we had to inflict as much damage as possible.

But it wasn’t easy.

To shake up the empire’s great army had become no simple task, as, over time, they had adapted to battling in the forest to some extent.

If there was any comfort, it was that the third princeps, who had been recognized for his contributions in the last war and firmly established himself as a leader, stood as commander of the main corps.

Such a situation had to be unfortunate for the empire.

According to intelligence reports, it was the third princeps who had pushed the vanguard on so forcefully. In fact, the incompetent and impatient third princeps had left the advance lines on their backs, like tortoises.

And then it was said that it was the third prince who had saved the vanguard just before it broke down. It was by his orders that the knights, wizards, and paladins of the main body had been sent out to aid the van. The commanders of the advance line ended up being held accountable for their tragic defeats, while the princeps gained the honors for saving them.

It was a strong-armed and practical response so unlike my idiotic destroyer of the empire.

“There must be a person with brains by the side of the third princeps.”

I was certain of this.

There was someone beside him, someone not only intelligent but also skilled enough to give the princeps wise council while enduring his personality.

I was half-wrong, half-right.

I was correct in surmising that someone with an agile mind stood beside the third princeps. However, my idea that he counseled the princeps on what commands to give was in error.

He was one who didn’t have to council the princeps; no, it was rather the third princeps who followed this man’s will.

I realized this when we were about to smash through the imperial army’s logistical force, which was under heavy guard in the depths of the forest.

“Hold.”

We had defeated the imperial knights who had resisted until the end, but I now stopped in my tracks, without even considering drawing one of the swords strapped to my back.

‘Buduk, Buduk, Buduk,’ my heart beat faster, pounding.

I released the energy in my mana heart into the surrounding area, ignoring the will of the [Golden Poem].

My mana arose and headed in all directions.

‘Gwoo-woo—ooh-ooh~’

Even though the mercenary king’s poem was protecting me, my heart did not stop pounding. My neck creaked as I turned my head.

“Ah…”

And I saw it: On a clear day with nary a cloud, dark clouds had gathered into a single place.

‘Krrdga~ Krrdguu~’

Thunder rumbled in the massed clouds, ‘Krgka! Krgka!’ and dozens of lightning bolts struck the earth, with their thundering sound following moments later.

The bolts stopped flashing, and the sound of thunder subsided.

But I still couldn’t move, for this was a mighty being who had summoned this lightning and thunder. I clenched my teeth under that terrible presence and then shouted with my mana, “Retreat! Retreat!”

Dotrin’s knights and soldiers had been fascinated by the spectacle, yet they now turned to me.

“Run away, you idiots!” They were crushed by my strong flow of mana, yet some managed to ask, “Where are we going?”

“Abandon the operation! Return straight to camp! Run for as long as you can!”

Forgetting that I was but a single mercenary ordering them, they rushed from the battlefield without even having attacked the logistical units or destroying any supplies.

As I ran along the trees, I cried, “Run away! Flee as far as possible! Watch where you run!”

The knights and soldiers had stiffened under the sudden flaring up of magical energies, yet now pulled themselves together after hearing my words.

I kept running.

The troops deployed for this massive surprise attack were close to half of the total defensive line. If they were wiped out, the front line was bound to collapse.

I had to get them all out.

There wasn’t enough time, for the tremendous presence I had felt was coming from the road to this side of the forest.

I urged the soldiers on with my mana-enhanced shouts, and I ran like that for a long time.

“Huh?”

The great presence disappeared like a mirage.

I halted where I was and looked up at the sky. There were great banks of dark clouds that I hadn’t even known had gathered.

“Haha,” I laughed as I watched thunder arcing through the clouds.

“Somehow, I thought things would go well.”

At that moment, the entire world was engulfed in light.

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