Chapter 203
Chapter 203
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 203
Chapter Title: Chapter 5-1. These People Here Are Gifts Prepared for You.
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It was an absurd situation. Unbelievable. The duke felt as if he were still in a dream. What a vividly realistic dream. Yet the cold wind brushing his cheek and the chill seeping through his coat told him otherwise. He reinforced his body with mana against the bone-shaking cold and turned to the soldier.
The soldier, who had been staring blankly at the castle ablaze—the most entertaining sight in the world, apparently—flinched under the duke's gaze.
"Soldier."
"Yes, Your Grace."
"Am I seeing things right now?"
"...No, sir."
"Then what is that? The castle's on fire, and no one reported it to me? Did my men act on their own and set it ablaze? Or did some third party I don't know about attack it?"
"......"
The soldier had ventured beyond his pay grade. He was just one grunt among hundreds of thousands. He'd spotted the flames rising from the castle, judged it urgent, and woken the duke. That was more than enough. "I don't know, sir," he replied, unable to meet the duke's eyes.
"...Hah."
The duke stared silently at the soldier, then let out a hollow laugh and turned away. He couldn't jump to conclusions yet. He ordered the men to wait until the flames died down and to tighten security even further before retreating to his tent.
A signal chimed from the communication orb. He connected it, and it was from the units advancing east and west.
"The castle on your side is burning too?"
-Yes, Your Grace. Flames shot up at dawn, and now they've engulfed the entire interior.
-No screams, no attempts to put out the fire. It looks deliberate... We suspect the elves set it themselves and fled.
The duke furrowed his brow and rubbed his forehead. Elves burning their own home and running away? Unthinkable.
"Haa... What a mess."
What were they thinking?
Did they decide the castle was indefensible?
Scared off by the siege engines and retreated? Burned it because they hated to just hand it over?
It flew in the face of everything he knew.
The duke sighed deeply, instructed each unit to scout the castle once the fire subsided tomorrow and report back, then severed the connection. There must have been a mountain of flammable materials inside, because the blaze raged through the morning without letup. At least the snowfall from the sky helped; otherwise, they'd have been stuck here even longer.
Once the flames finally ebbed, the duke ordered Ort, bearer of the spirit sword, to scout the interior. Ort led a thousand infantrymen toward the firmly shut gates. The troops trailing behind were visibly tense, fearing elves might suddenly appear on the walls and rain arrows down.
But even up close, there was no sign of life from the battlements. They were well within bow range, yet nothing.
"Hmm."
Ort drew his sword. The satisfying *shing* as it slid from its sheath never got old. Humming a tune, he strode toward the castle, then glanced back at the sound of swords being drawn behind him.
"What're you doing?"
"Uh, I thought it meant prepare for battle, so..."
He'd interpreted the drawn sword as a battle signal—shield in left hand, sword in right. Ort eyed him with a bored look.
*Pointless.*
At this range, if elves ambushed with arrows now, they'd be sitting ducks. He, as spirit sword bearer, would survive, but these men wouldn't last. Fortunately, the walls remained silent, so no fight was coming.
Ort channeled mana into his blade and unleashed a flurry of strikes at the gates. They shattered like a mangled pizza, crumbling in a cloud of dust.
"Hoo?"
Beyond the wreckage lay another wooden door. He stepped over the debris and kicked the cracked wood. Another iron gate waited behind it.
"Triple gates, huh? Not bad for a small fort. ...And they just abandoned it?"
He could see why the duke was so baffled. Small fortress or not, it had triple gates, and mysterious thorny vines clung to the walls. True, the duke had siege engines, and two armies had converged, outnumbering them vastly. Even a sturdy castle would fall eventually. Still, they could've bought time.
*Hard to understand.*
Ort clicked his tongue and pressed on into the castle, ignoring the soldiers behind. They were the ones suffering for it.
The interior was choked with soot. The outer flames seemed contained, but fire flickered through shattered windows—best not to enter the buildings.
*Crunch!*
A pillar snapped in his ears, and a nearby structure collapsed entirely. "Lord Ort!" The infantry scrambled toward him, but he didn't break stride. There were no presences inside the castle anyway. Safe to roam. No traps either.
Just...
"Nothing left."
He seemed to wander aimlessly, but Ort scanned sharply. Every building's windows were smashed. Glass shards littered the ground, interiors charred black, but essentials were gone.
Fearlessly passing smoldering ruins, he entered a relatively intact house. Same story: nothing usable. Tables, chairs, beds—basic necessities—were there, but all broken beyond repair.
*Nothing. Absolutely nothing.*
Street planters proved elves loved plants. Winter made growing tough, but he expected a few pots indoors. Not even that. No daily items, no food at all.
"...Useless castle."
Worse, the fire had weakened the structures. Good for blocking snow, maybe, but no soldier would sleep soundly in a death trap. One collapse causing casualties would panic the rest...
Ort sighed and headed to the central keep. Maybe something there. But the keep's walls, scorched black, greeted him coldly. Using lingering flames, he made a torch from scraps and scouted diligently, leaving the infantry outside.
"Same here."
Nothing left.
He found the kitchen—empty. No water, no food.
Ornate furniture, once fine, lay in splinters. Fire would've claimed it anyway...
*Tap.*
"?
Ort looked down. In the torch's crude light, something gleamed from the shadows. Bending, he picked up a feather quill.
"This isn't a castle; it's a garbage heap."
Cold assessment. No point looking further. Useless for the war. Rebuilding would take forever—clearing trash, repairing weakened buildings, removing rubble. No time. Ort returned to base with the infantry and reported to the duke.
The duke's face hardened at the report. Not just here—the other castles too, probably.
Reports from Changseong and Cheriu Clan, pushing straight for the World Tree, said they'd delved deep into the forest without sighting elves. Scattered villages showed recent habitation, but nothing left... They'd clearly evacuated ahead of the invasion.
The duke scowled.
*Owning part of the forest means nothing.*
Clearing it gradually toward the World Tree was an option, but come spring, new leaves would complicate everything. They'd be hunted instead. Good thing they'd mobilized in winter.
"That aside, I didn't expect the elves to go this far."
Abandoning their homes entirely. Brilliant tactic against humans. He had to admire it.
"A real headache."
========== Author's Note ==========
1) Not going for publication or premium. I ended up contracting with Joara a few months back by chance, but I stipulated staying on Noblesse continuously, so no need to worry.
2) Monday's here....