Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Siege of Dreihart
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At the very moment Jeras found himself cornered by assassins, things began turning perilous for Hadem's side as well.
Even with Hadem captured by Zarha, the Lion Knight Order was plenty strong without him.
The reason they fell into crisis was this.
"Throw them!!!"
Whoosh-! Whoosh whoosh-!
As the battle devolved into a chaotic melee, the slave soldiers hurled something toward the Lion knights.
The knights initially dismissed it as a simple projectile attack, only to recoil in horror upon realizing what it was.
What they had thrown was none other than...
"Purple Iron Chains!!"
"The slave soldiers are throwing Purple Iron Chains!!!"
"Serpens Ignis!"
⟨ Flame Serpent ⟩
The magical tool Purple Iron Chains, designed to seal slaves' powers.
The knights ensnared by the slave soldiers' thrown Purple Iron Chains lost their strength, unable to bear the weight of their own armor, and began collapsing one after another.
"Ugh! So heavy!!"
"Quick! Get this off me!!"
The powerless knights bound by the Purple Iron Chains became easy prey for the slave soldiers.
Teams of three slave soldiers rushed the fallen knights, hunting down the weakened foes.
"Uahaha!! The knights are down!!! Let's send them straight to the afterlife!!"
Stab-! Stab-!!
"Gaaahhh!!!"
The Lion Knight Order couldn't regain their composure amid the Purple Iron Chains assault.
They never dreamed the slaves would repurpose the very chains meant to bind them as throwable magical tools.
Caught in a tactic unique to Dreihart, the Lion knights began getting steadily pushed back by the slave soldiers.
With Hadem's feet tied and his subordinates falling prey to the chains, Lagos—Hadem's vice commander, who had effectively been leading the knights—despaired with a calm expression.
"Hmm... looks like we're screwed."
Lagos had foreseen something like this the moment he crossed blades with the slave soldiers.
Their strength, honed from countless gladiator duels, far exceeded his expectations.
Yet he figured no one on their side could match Lord Hadem, and his well-trained men wouldn't buckle easily, so defeat hadn't crossed his mind.
But now Hadem was preoccupied battling that dragon-headed brute, and his men were thrown into disarray by the chain tosses.
Lagos realized they could suffer near-total annihilation if things went wrong, and he began contemplating retreat.
Still, he hesitated—ordering a pullback might enrage that mad lion of a lord for spoiling his fun, leaving Lagos to puzzle over the timing and method.
Then, an angel descended from the skies to resolve Lagos's dilemma.
A mage's incantation echoed through the air, and hundreds of flaming serpents rained down from above.
The serpents latched onto the slave soldiers, who fell back in panic at the sight of the fiery snakes hurtling toward them.
A red-haired mage alighted beside the relieved Lagos, who offered his thanks.
"Much obliged. Beautiful mage, if I may ask—what's your affiliation?"
"Sent by Lord Calix. I'm the Red Mage Sharen."
"Sharen! You're that rumored..."
Lagos was stunned by her introduction.
He'd heard her legendary tales and assumed she was some wrinkled old crone.
An elf beauty like this... In peacetime, he'd have tried his luck with her.
Sensing his impudent thoughts, Sharen replied curtly.
"Save the chatter for later. Full retreat order's come down. Time to fall back."
A short while earlier, War Situation Overseer Rakyu had assessed the dire state and issued a full retreat.
Calix, figuring a regular soldier couldn't extract Hadem's side safely, had asked Sharen to step in.
Hearing this, Lagos responded without hesitation.
"Music to my ears. Everyone, retreat!!!"
"Retreat!!!"
The Lion Family knights began withdrawing, and at that moment, the official retreat signal flare burst into the sky.
Seeing the light, Hadem gradually regained his senses, while Zarha started reverting from his draconified state.
"Interlopers crashed the party. We'll settle this next time, warrior Zarha."
"Hmph! Next time, I'll crush your neck."
"Kahaha! Bring it if you can!!"
Hadem itched to finish it right there.
But he wasn't fool enough to miss the unfavorable situation.
Hoping to cleave his worthy rival's skull in their next clash, Hadem withdrew.
"This is our victory!!! Brothers!!!!"
"Wooooooo!!!!"
As the suppression force retreated, Zarha and the slave soldiers roared in triumph.
And so the first official battle to suppress the Dreihart rebels ended in failure.
The suppression force's camp after the retreat was absolute pandemonium.
Countless wounded overflowed, and even as hordes of physicians treated them nonstop, the numbers barely dwindled.
"Uwaaak!!!! Mommy!!!"
"My eyes!!! My eyes!!"
Witnessing the gruesome scene made me feel like utter trash for having enjoyed that monster brawl just moments ago.
As I inwardly apologized to every wounded soldier, Lord Jeras passed by on a stretcher.
He'd been safely rescued by Rikain.
Spotting me, the stretcher-bound Jeras called out.
"Lord Calix! I owe you my life. The Silla Family will never forget this debt! Hohoho, ow ow ow!"
He'd saved his skin, but the assassins had roughed him up good—diagnosed unfit for combat for the foreseeable future.
Hadem was still raring to go but now saddled with a nemesis in Zarha, while Jeras was sidelined as an invalid... Were we really going to suppress this?
As that thought crossed my mind, War Situation Overseer Rakyu approached.
"Lord Calix, got a moment?"
"Yes, Rakyu. What's up?"
He mentioned a confidential matter and led me to his tent.
There, Rakyu briefed me on the current situation.
"There's another force on this battlefield we don't know about."
The assassins who'd shredded Jeras to rags, and the Purple Iron Chains that mysteriously activated without their mage...
Putting it all together, Rakyu sensed something unknown backing the rebels.
I'd sensed it too—and I had a damn good idea who: the Bloodkin, 100%.
"Which is why the Platinum Council has shifted to a protracted war strategy."
"Protracted war?"
Deeming two families insufficient for suppression, the Council planned to encircle Dreihart, gather intel, muster several times the current forces, and unleash a proper slaughter.
"So until then, we'd like the Cron Family to handle the siege."
"Siege, huh..."
I got the gist.
Our knight order, held in reserve, remained at full strength.
We'd maintain the encirclement while their two orders recovered in the rear and linked up with reinforcements for the next push.
Honestly, I hated dragging this mess out against slaves.
But balking here could see me beheaded before I ever became a beloved lord, so I nodded reluctantly.
Thus, the Siege of Dreihart began.
Truth be told, I'd underestimated a siege.
Just loosely surround and monitor, right?
But the reality was pure hell.
"Supply line's been ambushed again!!"
"Again!?"
Day in, day out, slave soldiers crawling out of Dreihart raided our supply convoys, plundering food.
No matter how we rerouted, they somehow snatched the grub—and worse...
"This kid?"
"One of the raiders. Young enough to fall behind."
Among the attackers was a boy of about thirteen, just shedding childhood.
The blue-horned child glared at me with venomous hatred and screamed.
"Kill me if you're gonna! Noble!! I'll never be your slave again!"
His body was a map of whip scars.
I gazed at the pint-sized death-stare and asked.
"Kid... what's your name?"
"I'm not a kid! I'm Rakan Legion! A warrior!"
Endless loathing burned in the boy's eyes.
That alone told the tale of his abuse.
"Do I disgust you?"
"You disgust me!! All you tormentors disgust me!!"
"This brat mouthing off to the lord!!"
"Enough!!"
It just saddened me that a kid my nephew's age had become a warrior seething with world-hating rage.
It'd change nothing, but... I apologized to the boy.
"I'm sorry. My words won't fix a thing, but still... I'm sorry."
"Uh..."
Pure hypocrisy.
Self-serving hypocrisy, excusing myself for bothering to apologize to one kid.
But that's what I wanted right then.
"Feed this child and take him to the guest quarters. If the chance arises, reunite him with his family."
"Yes, my lord."
I sent the boy off, unable to mask my heavy heart, and stepped out for a walk.
I wanted to end this war and free those slaves.
Not to become a beloved lord—just as one human being.
But I saw no path forward.
No future where the war ended, slaves were liberated, and I survived unscathed.
As I berated my feeble mind, a lovely voice called from behind.
"My lord? What are you doing out here?"
There stood the snow-white beauty who lost none of her allure amid the sands.
Noah.