Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Spoils of War
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Please take good care of me.
"Huff, heok..."
Mirat, a squire of Atar Estate, ran through the forest, breathing raggedly.
The mount he had been riding had already been felled by a spear that flew in from somewhere, so all he could rely on were his nimble legs.
From far off in the distance, the screams of comrades being captured or killed echoed faintly like a distant memory.
'Oh great ancestral god Matanaran, I beseech you—please let me live and return!'
Walking back to the castle was out of the question.
He had dropped his weapon while tumbling off the mount, so heading back unarmed meant he'd surely be devoured by even a single magic beast.
He had only one option: join up with the remaining guards left behind with the mage. They still had one mount among them.
After running for who knows how long, he looked back and saw no one chasing him.
Mirat closed his eyes for a moment, offering a prayer of thanks to the god who had saved his life, then looked around to figure out where he was.
"Damn it, it was definitely around here somewhere..."
At the start of the battle, they had clearly held the advantage.
The number of knights was equal, and they had far more regular soldiers.
Most of the enemy forces were poisoned, so weak they could be killed as easily as twisting a child's wrist.
If only that damned mage hadn't existed, the battle never would have turned against them.
Because of that vile creature's despicable tricks, they couldn't focus on the fight.
The moment they let their guard down, vines would snatch their mounts and topple them, or shoots would erupt and tear at their ankles. Getting pricked by thorns blurred vision or caused dizziness.
They had to keep staring at their feet while fighting—need I say more?
'What are we going to do now?'
As Mirat scanned his surroundings in a daze, a grim reality dawned on him, and he unwittingly tore at his hair.
To obtain the black star iron this time, Atar Estate had committed more than half its knights, most of whom were now lost.
Squires and soldiers alike would mostly fall to enemy soldiers or magic beasts on the way back to the castle.
They had even brought one of the estate's two mages, so if they couldn't return him intact, the estate's future looked bleak.
'This is all because of those bastards. Goddamn thieves, minions of that evil mage!'
Fuming self-righteously as he wandered the forest, he spotted a tree with an unusually bizarre shape.
Overjoyed, Mirat hurried toward it.
Right beside the tree was a hideout camouflaged with branches and bushes at the entrance.
To avoid getting attacked the moment he entered, Mirat stood before the entrance and called out his close comrade's nickname.
"Ground Hog! Ground Hog!"
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Mirat!"
The underbrush parted from below ground, and a comrade clutching a spear poked out his chubby face and climbed up.
The moment Mirat's face lit up with relief at the sight of his familiar friend, his friend's face—now looking at him—filled with shock and terror.
Wondering what was wrong, just as Mirat started to turn his head, a powerful impact struck his skull, and his consciousness cut off.
* * *
"Got 'em. Hiding in a place like this, no one would find them easily."
Palato had killed an enemy squire's mount with a javelin from afar, then used his keen eyesight to tail him secretly.
Fortunately, the target led him straight back to their hideout, achieving his goal. With a sense of mercy, Palato knocked out the tail and his comrade not with a javelin, but by hurling an ordinary rock.
Of course, bad luck could kill them, but that was on them.
As Palato approached the unconscious soldiers, two soldiers following behind him asked,
"What should we do with these guys? Ramun Knight said to kill them all..."
"That was just him heated from battle. We need prisoners to get information. Tie them up for now. Are they alive?"
"Yes. Both are still breathing."
"Good."
Nodding, Palato dismounted from Jin and entered the hideout.
It was pitch dark without a torch, but as a knight, Palato could make out the interior well enough.
A few weapons left behind, one wolf-type mount, and a palanquin that must contain the mage.
Palato lit a torch and ordered the soldiers who had followed him in.
"Open the palanquin."
When the soldiers opened it, they let out a startled "Eek."
Inside, the mage was huddled with his legs drawn together, trembling silently.
The two soldiers grimaced at the sight of the mage and stepped back.
"Good, he's alive. Bring him. We'll take him back to base and decide his fate there."
At Palato's command, the soldiers shut the palanquin immediately, as if they couldn't stand another second looking inside.
* * *
While others reveled in slaughtering fleeing enemies and basking in the joy, Arsen was tending to Eloise, who was in poor condition.
Just in case one of the routed knights doubled back to attack her, a knight needed to stand guard—and Arsen, having already earned great merit and being closest to Eloise, was the perfect choice.
Right after the battle ended, Eloise had complained of severe dizziness, clutching her head and retching for a long while before finally stabilizing.
Eloise, who had been lying with her head on Arsen's thigh, let out a groan and opened her eyes.
"Better now?"
"...This must be what it's like to drink too much."
"You've never even tried."
Eloise chuckled briefly at Arsen's words, then winced and turned her face away.
"Still not great, huh."
"No, better than before... I didn't know using up all my mana would backfire this badly. Luden wasn't kidding about saving some... Urk."
Arsen turned her fully prone and patted her back.
After a moment, she lay her head back on his thigh, her face even paler.
Eloise murmured in an utterly exhausted voice.
"By the way, Luden told me not to go all out with magic. This is bad."
"We would've all died there if you held back."
He understood why Luden gave that advice, but if Eloise had half-assed it, they could've been wiped out in that crisis.
It was wise to hide a mage's power to avoid scaring people, but only if you were alive to do it.
Fortunately, the squires and soldiers around showed her not fear, but gratitude and respect.
Even with prejudices against mages, no one could resent the goddess of victory who healed them and led them to triumph.
She didn't show it openly, but Eloise would sneak a pleased smile whenever she noticed.
"Does using magic on people feel creepy or anything? You can tell me honestly."
"Not at all. They were trying to kill you and me. And they did horrible things to other mages too."
"Wise. And resolute."
At her sharp words, Arsen grinned and stroked her hair.
Normally she'd snap not to touch her head, but now, exhausted, she let him without a word.
Arsen had seen her only as a fragile child, so her vulnerability surprised and relieved him.
After a long rest, sensing her breathing had fully stabilized, Arsen patted her shoulder.
"Can you get up now? Seems like everyone's back, so let's move."
"I think I need to lie here longer..."
"Yeah, yeah, we know you're fine, so no more babying."
Ignoring her protests, Arsen lifted her up.
* * *
Belluan Estate's warriors returned to camp, eyes gleaming with excitement from battle and slaughter.
Checking casualties after, they had lost two knights, fifteen squires, and three soldiers.
A brutal toll, but bearable given their gains.
In exchange, they killed four enemy knights and thirty-four other troops, capturing five prisoners.
Plus, victorious, they seized all enemy gear and the meteorite—a perfect win.
The only regret: such a one-sided victory could've been achieved with a direct assault from the start, minimizing losses.
They hadn't anticipated Eloise's magic making it this easy.
The returning soldiers neatly piled captured armor, weapons, and other spoils stripped from enemy corpses.
And beside them sat the palanquin—perhaps the greatest prize.
"Open it."
At Ramun Knight's word, the palanquin opened, revealing the mage.
Terrified at being dragged out wordlessly, the mage curled into a ball in the corner.
"Drag him out."
At the order, two squires gritted their teeth, grabbed his arms, and pulled.
Once outside, the grim-faced squires flung him to the ground like filth.
The mage instantly knelt, head bowed, and cried out desperately.
"Master, Master! I stayed quiet. I didn't use any magic at all. Believe me! I swear!"
Ramun glanced at Palato. Knowing Palato was better at this sort of talk.
Palato nodded and addressed the mage firmly.
"Mage, your Atar masters are gone now."
The mage stared blankly, unable to process.
Palato drove it home.
"We're Belluan Estate's army. Your master fled after losing to us."
"So you're my new master?"
"You could say that. You caused us plenty of trouble with your healing spells, so we want you to atone by serving our estate."
"I... I don't know about that. I don't eat much. I don't make noise. I can hold it for bathroom stuff. Please don't hit me. I'll do anything you say."
Treating himself like a beast, the mage trembled with head bowed.
Ramun nodded, satisfied with the mage's servility.
Seeing this, Palato said cheerfully.
"Good. Welcome to our estate, mage. What's your name?"
"They call me Healer."
"That's your name?"
"That's all they called me."
Palato paused, frowned slightly, then shook his head.
"That's... we'll sort it later. Anyway, seems settled easily. Ramun, what do you plan for the mage?"
"Best to leave him to Knight Arsen."
Everyone in Belluan's upper ranks knew Arsen was the estate's mage expert.
The only one who approached mages without hesitation and mingled freely.
Palato nodded at Ramun's words and turned to Arsen.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Knight Arsen."
"Understood."
"And congrats on beheading the enemy leader. Biggest merit this battle."
Arsen smiled awkwardly at the praise.
"Thanks to Knight Palato's decisive strike. I realized how much I still lack."
"You held him off—that's why we won! If he'd harmed the lady, we would've lost."
Palato grinned, patted Arsen's back, and added.
"From what I saw, the enemy leader matched Ramun in skill. Holding him was impressive enough."
Glancing around, other knights nodded in agreement, smiling.
"You're embarrassing me with all this praise."
"Alright, enough."
Their laughter faded as they eyed the next matter: bound prisoners, bruised and battered.
Having lost many comrades to their cowardly poison and ambush, knights and squires alike burned to tear them apart if allowed.
Palato bowed lightly to Ramun.
"I took it upon myself to order prisoners taken. Sorry for defying the commander's orders."
"No, right call. I was heated and gave bad orders."
The knights nodded respectfully at their commander owning his mistake.
Ramun pointed to a nearby knight.
"Prisoners are Knight Yutin's specialty. Knight Yutin."
The fierce-looking knight with a mangled face half-seemed to nod lightly at Ramun's call.
When he spoke, his voice grated like scraping metal.
"I'll wring out the color of the clothes they wore at birth."
Seeing this, Arsen recalled the girl from the knighting ceremony who clung to him whispering—Yutin's niece.
Couldn't remember her name, but pretty, unlike her uncle's scary face.
"Alright, let's chat."
As Yutin grinned wickedly and pulled out tools toward the prisoners, Arsen covered Eloise's eyes and turned away.
Eloise cooperated meekly.
"Don't look."
"Okay."