Chapter 451: A Dream
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 451: A Dream
‘Dammit, dammit, dammit.’
It had all gone wrong. Those three words could explain the entire situation. The siege, which they had been so certain of winning, had inflicted enormous damage on their forces, and the fate of those who had entered through the right gate was unknown.
‘Eliane… Eliane…’
Trusting that overconfident, foolish elf had been a mistake. No, more than that, it didn't take long to realize that all the intelligence they had was completely wrong. The power level of the neighboring continent was beyond anything they had imagined; the martial might of the East's Queen, Jang Ye Ri, was so far beyond his own estimations that no other words were necessary.
And it wasn't just her. The proportion of individuals who had reached a level where firearms were ineffective was also incredibly high. Perhaps, if they had secured their supply lines and dragged the war into a long-term battle of attrition, they might have had a chance of winning.
But to recklessly throw their forces into a situation where victory was uncertain even at their peak condition—it was only natural that things would turn out this way.
‘This is fatal.’
They had taken a truly fatal blow.
After grasping the situation, she had ordered a retreat and was lucky enough to preserve some of her troops, but it was obvious that everyone had lost the will to fight. It was a situation where it wouldn't be strange for them to cry for unconditional surrender. She had no choice but to think of another way.
"Lady Maria."
"Yes. Speak."
"The soldiers are struggling. What about slowing the pace of the march…?"
"Impossible. We don't know when those monsters might spring out. We cannot afford any more casualties."
There was no pursuit.
Contrary to her expectation that the retreat would be difficult, no pursuit or subjugation force was sent from within the ice-walled fortress. The problem, however, arose from a completely different place.
‘An ambush.’
It couldn't even be called an ambush. It was merely that the Green Skins who had been blocking their supply lines and raiding cities had changed their target. Though they were the remnants of a defeated army, the scale of this retreating force was immense.
If they stopped to rest or set up camp, it was certain that an attack would come from a range the main force couldn't cover. Judging from their experiences so far, it was a very real possibility.
The number of allied troops who had already fallen to the ambushing Green Skins was substantial. If they lost any more soldiers, a fight would be impossible to even begin. They were heading toward a situation where recovery would be out of the question. Even if a city was nearby, the enemy wouldn't care. The Green Skins she had observed were like that.
‘…’
She bit her lip, but nothing changed.
"If we push just a little harder, we can enter the metropolis. It will be difficult, but please focus on encouraging the soldiers. Also, if there are any other attacks, be sure to report them."
"A-Ambush!"
"Monsters! It's an ambush!"
The voice erupted before she could even finish her sentence. Maria’s expression soured. There had been many enemy raids until now, but this was the first time they had come so openly. The screams were coming from the rear of the column.
"I will go myself."
"Yes, my lady."
Her forces were in a very weakened state. Due to poor supply conditions, many could barely move without holy power or mana. Because they had prioritized movement above all else, their preparations against raids were also weak.
"A battle may break out. Instruct all troops to prepare for combat. We will resume the march immediately after we drive off the attackers."
"Understood."
Maria began to run. This had happened several times before, but the result was always the same. By the time she arrived at the site of the attack with her elites to counter, the enemy forces were already gone.
The types of enemies were also diverse. Sometimes it was a clan composed entirely of Goblins, other times Orcs attacked, but their organized movements, like a well-trained army, made it easy for them to pick off her troops. This was clearly affecting morale. The distrust in the command structure was already so deeply rooted that it was beyond repair. It was crucial to make up for it somehow.
As she continued to move, the overall situation began to come into view.
"Aaaaargh!"
"Help me!"
Soldiers who had lost their will to fight were fleeing, while others were hiding on the ground. Some troops were trying to fight back, but it was futile. It was a type of Green Skin that even Maria herself had never seen before.
‘A Werewolf?’
They could be called wolf-men. With white manes and walking upright, they were rampaging through the allied forces. The lines had already been broken. A defensive line was meaningless. The problem was that many of her elites had lost their lives at the right fortress wall. Maria bit her lip and screamed in frustration.
"Form a defensive line and respond! Reinforcements have arrived from command! We will hold back the monsters somehow!"
"Fuck, what took you so long! Reinforcements! We need reinforcements!"
"Run! Quickly!"
"Aaaaaargh!"
The situation wasn't entirely negative. The fact that the forces had been intermingled meant that allied casualties would be high, but it also meant the probability of obtaining an enemy sample had increased. Unlike previous raids, this one was a bit more aggressive. If reinforcements joined in, it might even be possible to capture them alive.
"Drive the monsters back quickly."
It took only a moment for the allied reinforcements to reach the ambushed soldiers. Maria also drew her beloved weapon and charged forward with her troops. It was then that she saw the werewolves who had been watching them slowly begin to pull back. Maria snatched a rifle from a soldier next to her and opened her mouth.
"Don't let them escape!"
BANG!
With a loud report, a magic bullet was fired. The bullet, which she had no doubt would strike the back of a retreating werewolf, was suddenly blocked by a massive figure that stepped in front of it.
"Ah…"
Before her eyes stood a werewolf slightly larger than the others. The creature, with its silver fur, slowly opened its mouth as it stared at her with red eyes. In its long claws, it held the bullet that should have been embedded in the other werewolf's back.
"I always think this, but it's an interesting weapon. Efficient… and powerful."
"You are…"
"I am White Silver Fang, chieftain of the Silver Fang Clan, which leads the Werewolves of the North."
‘…’
‘Can I win?’
That was the first thought that came to Maria's mind when she saw the werewolf. He had clearly entered the heart of an enemy formation. If they surrounded and attacked him, they could surely capture him or inflict a major wound. But a signal in her heart kept screaming that it was dangerous.
An incomprehensible amount of fighting spirit was pouring out of the monster with the wolf's face. It wasn't just her who felt the mana and killing intent. The others around her also seemed to be gripping their weapons tightly, unable to even think of using them. Their spirits were crushed.
‘I’ll die.’
If she started a fight, she would die. She would undoubtedly be torn to shreds by those claws and teeth. Everyone felt it.
"Your name."
"Maria. It's Maria."
"Are you not going to attack?"
"..."
She could win. If she accepted a great loss and everyone fought this being together, there was a chance of victory. They might lose troops, but capturing this man could be an even greater gain.
But this was…
‘A gamble.’
It was a gamble. Even if they could capture or kill him, there was no guarantee that she herself wouldn't die. It was a gamble with her own life, the troops here, and the elites she had painstakingly trained. A fight where the losses outweighed the gains—this was not the kind of fight she wanted. In the end, Maria slowly began to lower her weapon. I should have just shot him dead without a word. I can win. If I'm lucky and capture him, I can enter into various negotiations. Even as she thought this, even as she recognized that not resisting him here would crush morale, Maria found herself speaking.
"W-We are already a retreating… f-force. There is no meaning in fighting any further…"
A dog with its tail between its legs.
Right now, she was a perfect dog with its tail between its legs.
She could feel the surrounding troops looking at her. Some seemed to think they might live, while others looked as if they couldn't understand her. But one had to survive to have a future. Even if she fought a life-or-death battle with him here, there was nothing to be gained.
‘The losses are greater than the gains.’
After a heavy silence, what she saw was the werewolf called Silver Fang.
"I see."
"…"
"You lot are not warriors. I heard the story from the Great Tribe Leader, but it was true. I now understand why he said there was no need to kill you. You are not warriors. Not everyone who holds a weapon can be called a warrior. You are not even worthy of killing each other. I can only think of this as a waste of time. Trash. I miss the old North."
She couldn't understand what he was saying. The one certain thing was that she had saved her life. The large werewolf began to walk away with heavy steps. His defenseless back seemed to be screaming at them to try and attack.
‘…’
No one said a word. No one said they should capture the werewolf, and no one cried out for revenge for their fallen comrades. Only a heavy silence continued to blanket the area.
‘Humiliation.’
This was a humiliation. A great humiliation, too large to bear.
She had avoided a fight with an enemy who had walked into the middle of her own forces. There was no way a warrior of that caliber was unaware of the danger he was in. The enemy was already prepared to die. The only ones not prepared to die were them.
‘Can we win?’
Even if they preserved their forces in this war and entered the metropolis, even if they got another chance to counterattack, the question of whether they could win this war began to spiral.
"We… we survived."
"We're alive…"
"Sob… hic…"
"Fuck… we're alive."
The murmurs of soldiers who had lost their strength to fight could be heard. Morale was already at rock bottom. The king of the dwarves and most of his people had been captured, and they never had the strength to sustain the war in the first place. The enemy was stronger than they could have ever imagined, and everyone, including herself, had lost the grit to continue fighting.
‘I can't lose…’
"I can't lose."
‘Everything I've built, everything I have, everything I've lost, everything I've gained, everything I've made, my dream.’
"I can't lose."
Staring at the walls of the metropolis they were heading toward, Maria kept muttering. "I can't lose," she said, over and over.