Chapter 18
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 018
Chapter Title: Evacuation
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"Emergency! Emergency! Everyone, wake up!"
"It's the Empire's army! The Empire's soldiers are coming!"
Clang clang clang clang clang clang!
The urgent bell tolled through the dead of night, echoing across the small village. The able-bodied men shouted as they roused the villagers. The village erupted in chaos.
One by one, people stirred and grasped the situation.
"The mountain... it's on fire."
"My God."
The mountain was ablaze. Beyond it, the night sky flickered with unrelenting light, and the distant booms of explosions reached even this far.
The Empire's battle mages were unleashing massive bombardment spells.
Part of the mountain range crumbled, vast flames roaring to life. A wide swath of land was swallowed by the inferno, burning fiercely.
The Empire's army was right on their doorstep.
That burning mountain range was just half a day's journey from the village. No one knew when the Empire's forces might charge in.
The villagers sprang into action.
"Grab what you need right now! We have to evacuate!"
"Move, quick...! We don't know when the Empire's army will get here!"
People hurriedly packed their belongings. They stuffed food and valuables into bags, mothers searching for their children.
Andy and Tom prepared for evacuation just as swiftly.
"Tom! Andy! Load the cart! Focus on food!"
Gavory Aunt, roused from sleep and having assessed the situation, dragged out the cart. Andy and Tom bustled about, hauling food from the storehouse without pause.
As they frantically moved supplies,
Andy gazed toward the northern mountains, lost in thought.
'That's war magic.'
He still remembered the rumors of mages he'd heard from mercenaries in the past—how a mere hundred mages had wiped out an army of ten thousand.
Even then, he'd thought it exaggerated, and even after learning magic himself, he'd figured it was somewhat embellished.
The idea of a hundred humans annihilating ten thousand soldiers seemed utterly impossible.
But it wasn't.
'Insane firepower. With that kind of power... they really could wipe out a legion.'
The Empire's battle mages conjured spell after spell, massive explosions ripping through the mountains nonstop, setting them ablaze. Even now, he could see parts of the range collapsing in landslides.
The boundary between the northern mountains and the sky shifted moment by moment. Sections of the peaks were crumbling away.
It was overwhelming power.
Of course, no single mage was doing this alone. He'd heard that battle mages on the field operated in groups of dozens or even hundreds, casting joint spells.
Even so, it was astonishing—the sheer destructive force.
To think humans could scar a mountain range with their own power.
Andy could see why mages on the battlefield were the soldiers' nightmares.
"Andy! What are you doing standing there like an idiot?! We have to move!"
"...Got it!"
The boy's thoughts didn't linger long. Tom slapped his shoulder.
Snapping to, Andy rushed to gather evacuation supplies.
The villagers began their flight.
The destination for the evacuees was decided from the start.
"South... We need to head south, as far from the north as possible."
"A week's journey from here, there's a city. Let's aim for that."
A city lay a week south.
It wasn't a big one, of course.
A town of about a thousand souls—too large for a village, too small for a bustling city. The kind folks called a small town.
Still, a city was a city. Reaching it would mean a chance to catch their breath.
Cities had crowds of people, so they kept a modest guard force and militia. Even a sturdy log palisade for defense.
A small town's forces couldn't hold off a massive army, but it was better than nothing.
Thud, thud, thud...
The people trudged on silently. Some shouldered bags, others pulled carts.
No fancy carriages. Those were for merchants or armies hauling heavy loads. Far too expensive for a remote rural village.
Carts were the best they could manage.
Over a hundred villagers marched south through the winter night.
Luckily, the path wasn't dark. Thick white snow reflected the moonlight, providing decent visibility even at night.
But the winter road was unforgiving.
Whiiiiiish!
Icy night winds clawed at the boys' tender skin, the cold slicing like blades deep into their clothes.
The evacuees' stamina plummeted rapidly.
The column had no choice but to halt midway.
"We'll rest here!"
"Quick, build a fire. We'll get frostbite and lose fingers otherwise."
They gathered nearby branches, hacked off live ones for more fuel, and struck flint to spark flames.
Whoosh.
Bonfires sprang up here and there.
Families or neighbors huddled together, warming themselves.
Crackle, crackle. The fires burned. Bodies frozen by the winter night began to thaw bit by bit.
Andy scanned his surroundings, thinking.
'It'll take more than a week to reach the city.'
The week's distance was based on a fit man's stride.
But the evacuees included children and elders, not just adults.
Plus, they'd packed heavy loads. Slow progress was inevitable.
At least ten days—maybe over two weeks.
Andy glanced at the food people carried.
His brow furrowed.
'No matter how I look at it, there's not enough food.'
The provisions were scarcer than expected.
Some had more, some less, but on average? Maybe five days' worth.
Even rationed to scraps, it wouldn't last ten days.
Andy sensed the evacuation would be brutal.
Awooooooo—!
A wolf's howl echoed from distant woods.
Not Kurt's—the spirit beast's cry was never so ordinary, always majestic and fierce.
Just a local wolf pack.
The howl made Andy think of Kurt naturally.
'I wonder if he's okay.'
The sudden evacuation left no time for a proper goodbye.
If he'd known they'd leave so abruptly, he'd have visited more often...
It'd be hard to see Kurt now. Returning to the village anytime soon was impossible.
Andy hated parting from him—his one true friend, gone like this.
He hoped they'd meet again someday.
Gazing blankly at memories of Kurt, Andy slowly looked around.
"Mom! It's too cold!"
"How are we supposed to live in the city? Losing our village like this..."
"Don't worry too much. We'll get back someday."
"I hope the village is still standing when we do... But that's unlikely."
The faces around the fires varied.
Elders dozing from exhaustion, women grieving lost homes, hollow-eyed men, middle-aged folk fretting the future...
All wore dark, negative emotions.
They already knew. Life without their homes wouldn't be bright.
'War.'
Andy finally felt it in his bones—this was war.
Even hearing of legions wiped out or fortresses fallen,
he hadn't truly grasped it.
His little village had always been peaceful.
No matter the deaths on the front lines, life went on unchanged.
Kids played, adults worked, elders rested.
He'd thought the humble border village eternal.
But no.
The flames of war between Empire and Federation had reached even here. In an instant, the villagers lost everything and were thrust into the harsh world beyond.
Only then did Andy understand war.
Unreal, colossal violence shattering daily life. Overwhelming despair devouring countless lives.
Ordinary folks' simple existences vanished like mist before those flames.
He murmured blankly.
"Why do people even wage war?"
In this era teeming with monsters and beasts, survival was tough even united.
Why fight instead of unite? The young Andy couldn't comprehend.
He closed his eyes for a brief sleep.
Day one of evacuation.
Ten days into the flight.
The people still headed south.
"..."
Their faces were gaunt and haggard.
Short rations, biting cold flaying skin.
Drifts of snow slowed them, packs crushed shoulders.
They pressed on south with labored steps,
grumbling bitterly.
"Stingy bastards...! Won't even share a scrap of food!"
"Can't blame them. Food's precious to them too... Come on, just two more days to the city."
They'd passed a few villages en route.
Supplies dwindling, they'd begged for food. Mercy for the starving, they'd pleaded.
Of course, no one helped.
Midwinter hardship. Strangers from other villages? Rare indeed.
'Some wanted money for food, but...'
Prices were extortionate, as expected. Winter fare was worth multiples.
With Empire forces invading north, no one sold cheap.
Begging failed.
Half-starved, they trudged to the city.
Kids whimpered from hunger, elders staggered weakly.
Pace slowed further.
Villagers inched toward the city, steps heavy.
Then,
they heard a rumble.
Thud thud thud thud...
Horse hooves.
Not the clip-clop of cart horses.
Swift, thunderous galloping. Eyes turned toward the sound.
And they saw them.
"Soldiers...? Cavalry!"
Far off, a throng of riders charged, hooves kicking up dirt and snow in white gusts.
Nearly a hundred bore down fast.
The people cheered.
"Federation army?!"
"The military's here! We're saved!"
At first, they assumed Federation cavalry—on Federation soil, after all.
But as the riders drew near,
faces stiffened.
"That uniform... definitely not Federation."
"No way...!"
They stared wide-eyed. The lead rider's banner bore not Federation arms,
but Empire.
"...Empire! It's the Empire army!"
"Scatter!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
Empire cavalry, deep in Federation territory. They ambushed the evacuees.
The hundred riders closed in rapidly.