Chapter 74
Chapter 74
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Lured into the Forest
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After parting ways with Arsen's group, Carrick kept urging his mount southwest.
The rising sun and moon, along with every subtle slant in the landscape, served as signposts guiding his path. Thanks to them, he avoided drifting aimlessly across the endless rust-colored plains like some ignorant wanderer.
After days of marching and resting in turns, the northern Orgon fortress finally came into view.
As he drew closer, a guard atop the ramparts bellowed down.
“Halt! Stop right there! Who goes there?”
Judging by his sturdy build, the man was clearly a knight, so his tone remained polite.
Hearing the familiar accent of his homeland after so long brought a smile to Carrick's face.
He shouted back with joyful vigor.
“I'm Knight Carrick of Manar! Is the castellan present?”
The soldiers startled at his call, exchanging glances before yelling to wait a moment and vanishing below the walls.
Soon after, the gates creaked open with a groan.
Carrick rode in with a pleased grin, but his smile froze when he saw who had come out to greet him.
“Knight Carrick!”
“How in the world did you get here?”
A crowd of soldiers—far too many for a fortress of this size—along with no fewer than five knights, swarmed to welcome him.
Caught off guard, Carrick shot back.
“What are you all doing here? I heard you were at war with Bern. And what's with all these troops?”
One of the knights stepped forward in response.
“We've been in a truce with Bern for a while now. Plague's been spreading over there. Can't risk it jumping to us.”
That jogged Carrick's memory of the vague rumors he'd overheard at camp about a recent outbreak.
In a world where people lived in isolated domains like estates and fortresses, plagues ranked among the deadliest weapons. Whether the enemy wanted it or not.
If even a few soldiers caught it during battle, it could spiral into catastrophe, so unspoken rules dictated leaving plague-ridden lands alone.
Plagued domains rarely wielded it as a weapon unless they were ready to burn everything down.
They'd just get it back in kind otherwise.
“Ah, so that's it...”
“Yeah. Plus, bandits have been rampaging around here lately, so we're out to crush them. When did you get back from the east, anyway? I heard the estate lord was forming a separate punitive force to deal with the bandits blocking the gorge. Did they already wrap it up?”
As the knight rattled on, Carrick absentmindedly replied while instinctively gazing north with a troubled expression.
If they were hunting bandits, they'd scour the area thoroughly, and Arsen's group had almost no chance of slipping through that net.
“Knight Carrick?”
“Oh, no. As for how I got here...”
* * *
After Carrick left, Arsen's army pressed on west, keeping the forest to their right.
Their goal was to march until the Eodun Woods vanished from sight, so the route was straightforward.
But one nagging obstacle hounded them.
“Another one.”
A dead bandit's corpse, sprawled in the dirt.
Gazing down at the face twisted in agony and despair, Arsen murmured softly.
“Bandits are thick as flies around here.”
“Tell me about it.”
Bazkal agreed as he wiped bandit blood from his sword.
They'd already wiped out ten small bandit packs over the past few days.
There was a saying that 'unpeopled lands belong to bandits,' but even accounting for that, there were too damn many.
Lino offered an answer from the side.
“Refugees from the pass fortress, maybe?”
“Most died in that fight, didn't they? They charged like madmen without fleeing. Besides, the punitive force is blocking the corridor entrance to the west.”
“A few sneaking out at night? Hard to catch every one. They weren't sealing it tight enough to stop a rat, after all.”
“You think? Could be...”
As they chatted while cleaning up the battlefield and preparing to move out, Bazkal spoke up.
“Brother, what's that on the hill over there?”
Arsen whipped his gaze south, following Bazkal's point.
Atop a gently rising hill stood a speck-like figure.
Squinting hard, Arsen realized what it was.
Someone mounted on what looked like a magic beast. From the hill, humans on mounts gazed down.
“Chief, no way...?”
Lino trailed off, but Arsen spat his reply.
“People. If they're nearby, it has to be Manar soldiers. Looks like we've been spotted already.”
“They're— they're vanishing!”
As Bazkal said, they whipped their mounts and bolted behind the hill, soon vanishing from view.
Halfway there or not, getting caught now made Arsen sigh as he turned away.
Bazkal cried out urgently.
“Shouldn't we chase them down and grab them? Letting them go...”
“Forget it. Don't waste your energy.”
Chasing and silencing them was impossible.
They'd been on a hill, and only knights like Arsen and Bazkal could even spot them at that range—over six kilometers away at least.
Even on Jin, closing that gap would've taken minutes.
Assuming the enemy stood still, that is.
Everyone else's mounts were too slow, so only Arsen and Maroon, the Jin-riding knights, could've tried. But there were at least a dozen of them.
Once they realized pursuers were faster, they'd split into groups while fleeing.
No way to catch them all, and letting even one escape was as good as blowing it.
Bazkal tilted his head.
“But did they really see us properly? Even we knights barely made them out.”
“No idea if they're knights, but plains folk have sharp eyes. Assume we're made. Plus, the mages would've stood out for sure.”
Mages triggered aversion regardless of distance, based on perception. Spot them clearly, and you'd feel it from afar like now. Miss them entirely, and you could share a wall with one undetected.
The moment they locked eyes on the group, they'd clocked over a dozen mages.
Arsen swallowed a heavy sigh and issued orders to the whole unit.
“Pick up the pace. And...”
Hauling baggage-laden mounts made shaking pursuers tough.
They might win a skirmish or two, but it'd be endless nipping until they escaped the domain. So he added one more directive.
“Prepare yourselves. We might have to head into the forest.”
* * *
The soldiers who'd spotted Arsen's army naturally raced their mounts back to the fortress.
Their report hardened the face of the knight commanding the force.
“Three or four knights with troops... and over ten mages?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Any banners from other domains?”
“None!”
Truth be told, banners didn't matter.
Manar tolerated no mages on principle, and every neighboring domain knew it.
Mages stepping into Manar territory was blasphemy and a declaration of war.
Nearby knights erupted in fury.
“Filthy mages daring to trespass! We have to kill them!”
“Rip off their limbs and impale their heads!”
“Purify this land with their blood...!”
“Enough! Calm down! Quiet!”
The commander bellowed over the heated knights, shaking his head like he'd doused them with cold water.
“We're outnumbered. Knight Carrick's just back from hardship afar and needs rest. We're five strong. We don't even know their knights' caliber. Attacking like this is suicide.”
The others shot him displeased glares but held their tongues.
He was the eldest, most experienced, and skilled among them.
Excluding him and the fortress castellan, the other three knights were green youths out for battle experience.
The castellan just went with the flow, spineless as ever.
“Keep scouts on their tail and request reinforcements from the estate. Knight Ultin, you go yourself. Rotate three wind-talkers; won't take long. Tell them we need at least five knights and fifty troops.”
“Can't we strike now?”
“From their position and heading, they were skirting the forest to slip through the domain undetected. We can beat them to Sencho Gorge and ambush. Perfect spot—no escape, total encirclement.”
Carrick had joined the meeting too.
He'd planned a quick return to the estate after resting briefly at the fortress, but learning the knights were out bandit-hunting, he'd claimed illness to stay.
All for this moment.
“Knight Joren.”
“Yes? Y- young master... Knight Carrick, what is it?”
The commander, nearly slipping into childhood habit, corrected himself.
Carrick smirked at the familiar reaction.
“I think we can handle them ourselves.”
“Pardon?”
“I know who they are. They were with the group that crossed the mountains with me.”
“You just let mages go?”
One young knight grumbled.
In a flash, the commander lunged, shoving his face into the complainer's.
The youth recoiled in terror at the demon-like snarl, but the commander advanced, keeping the distance zero.
“Say that again. What'd you say?”
“K-Knight Joren...”
“What was that? You got the guts to charge an army with four knights solo to kill mages? Ballsy enough to take me on too? Want a round?”
The snarling face inches away, reeking breath, booming roar, and spittle—enough to send the young knight into panic.
“N-no, sir!”
Carrick's childhood attendant and friend overreacted to any slight against him.
He always believed Carrick deserved estate-lord treatment, even if not the lord himself.
As he geared up to chew out the cowed youth for disrespecting a senior knight and the lord's kin, Carrick patted his shoulder.
“That's enough. No need to go overboard between knights.”
“Ah... Understood.”
The young knight sagged in relief as the commander backed off.
He looked utterly broken, not daring to push back.
Once tempers cooled, Carrick continued.
“Anyway, their knights and mages were nothing special. With you and the young ones pitching in, we can take them easy. Count me in.”
“Weren't you unwell?”
“Feeling much better. Can't sit out something like this over a little ache.”
Carrick felt a pang of guilt at the commander's concerned gaze.
But in his mind, this was the best way.
Following Joren's plan would've trapped Arsen's group for sure.
Sencho Gorge sat at Manar's northwest edge—a rare rugged spot nearby, ideal for ambushes.
Given Arsen's group's strength, any clash would leave both sides bloodied. Even with nearly ten Manar knights.
Not what Carrick wanted.
“What if they flee into the Eodun Woods?”
Carrick smiled at the young knight's question.
“No worries. They fear that forest more than we do. They'd die first. And if they do bolt there? Less mess for us—they'll handle their own graves.”
Carrick's wish was clear.
May Arsen's group flee into the forest unharmed, or annihilate the pursuers and bolt from the domain fast.
Either beat mutual destruction with Manar's elites.
Even if it meant Carrick's own death.
“Very well, then...”
The commander agreed.
Per Carrick, two veterans plus four subpar knights against four weak ones.
One spare knight could butcher the mages easily. A sure win.
No need to request aid and waste supplies on a winnable fight.
“No need to alert the estate first. It'll be a quick skirmish.”
Carrick sealed it.
Even if wiped out, no swift reinforcements to chase Arsen.
For Arsen's sake—and Manar's too.
* * *
“They're here.”
A knight whispered.
They'd seized a low hill ahead of Arsen's path, lying in wait behind it.
Better than trailing: ambush bonus plus energy saved.
Carrick, handed command by the commander, scanned around.
“Everyone set?”
“Yes, ready!”
The youths followed him willingly—he'd granted their mage-hunt wish.
Carrick nodded approval, then declared.
“Charge!”
Knights and troops surged from the hill, barreling toward Arsen's army.
They formed a planned semicircle to encircle, denying escape. Contrary to Carrick's words, it was a formation Arsen's drilled troops could shatter.
“Surround them—no escape! Herd them toward the forest!”
At Carrick's shout, knights and soldiers shifted formation instead of attacking outright, driving Arsen's group toward the Eodun Woods.
Hoping it'd panic them like backing onto a river.
“Full speed right!”
So when Arsen's group bolted straight into the forest without hesitation, the punitive force reeled in shock.
“Wha...”
“No, those bastards!”
As knights raged and panicked, Arsen's army vanished into the trees.
None dared follow into the Eodun Woods, so they stood frozen, watching the vast treescape swallow their foes.
“K-Knight Carrick? What the hell...?”
“Got me too. They swore death before the forest.”
A knight pressed in confusion, but shut up seeing Carrick's 'shock'—he felt none.
Just relief at avoided bloodshed, and guilt for endangering his benefactor.
'They chose that path... Stay safe.'
“No telling when they emerge—keep patrols vigilant!”