Storm (3)
Until the Tide of Corruption arrives
The timer's hands swept past in the blink of an eye.
And in the time we were given, we had done everything in our power to prepare for the Tide of Corruption.
On the command side, weapons and armor were readied with remarkable speed — within just two days, every last piece of equipment had been brought inside the Cumul estate. As a result, those who received their issued weapons far earlier than expected spent the remaining time on maintenance and training, making full use of every hour.
In that interval, we ran mock battles and joint drills with the imperial army, drilling over and over in a dozen different forms of training. Before long, the imperial army was no longer an obstacle to us — and conversely, the number of times we became an obstacle to them was steadily shrinking as well. In the beginning, our coordination was so poor that the number of soldiers racking up simulated deaths only climbed higher, but as the training repetitions piled up and they were forced to stay side by side whether they liked it or not, our teamwork began to gel naturally.
"How far has the Tide of Corruption advanced?"
"Approximately three hundred kilometers remaining, my lord."
Fast. Who else could it be but demons? I could feel them charging toward us at a horrifying pace, giddy at the thought of devouring us whole.
Our strategy was a defensive siege. To pull that off, we first needed to establish our position at the fortress — and so, we were marching out now.
As for my horse, it was the same old steed I always owed a debt of gratitude to. At Elion Forest, it had carried me all the way into the woods, and even when a thunderous roar had erupted and any creature would have bolted in terror, it had held its ground calmly, waiting for me, its master. Thinking back on those days, I stroked its neck and spoke.
"I'm counting on you."
As if it had understood every word —
Neigh-hiiiigh...
It answered with a whinny instead of words.
"Yes, yes."
Well, horses are remarkably intelligent animals. There was a real chance it understood human speech.
Mounted on my horse, I waited for the hour of departure. And as I waited, I found that at some point, my crimson-haired lover Yeon had come to stand beside me in her light armor. At a respectful distance on my right stood Her Imperial Highness, commander of the healing corps; on my left, Mystic, deputy commander of the support corps.
And beyond Her Highness's healing corps, the archer division — which relied almost exclusively on ranged attacks — had, surprisingly, Seul as its deputy commander. The commander of the archer corps was none other than the deputy head of the Azure Scale Knights, Edgar himself.
It was Elie who had let me in on the fact that Edgar was not only a master of the sword, but of the bow as well. And his archery skills were astonishing... only a hair's breadth weaker than Seul's while she was using Dragon's Eye.
The moment Seul realized that even with her cheating skill active, the gap between them was almost nothing, she volunteered herself for the deputy commander position, declaring she would take the chance to learn from him in battle.
Of course, all actual command would fall to the commander, and in a crisis it would be her who stepped forward — but I had no doubt whatsoever that she would handle it splendidly.
At present, an army of staggering size was assembled before me — far greater than the one I had faced during my first Tide of Corruption.
Three thousand imperial soldiers. Seven thousand from the Cumul and Azure Scale Knights. Three thousand mercenaries.
As thirteen thousand soldiers stood assembled and waiting, Elie finally strode up onto the high platform under the beating sun, climbing in a single breath to a height where every eye in the army could see her. She took the voice-amplification artifact in hand and spoke, seeking to turn every gaze toward her.
"Attention, all forces!"
The instant Elie's words ended, every head in the army turned toward her voice, as if we had never once looked away — as if we had all been watching her the entire time.
"We stand at the very brink of destruction. If we do not step forward, the moment you have always prayed for — the moment you have yearned for all your lives — will vanish, here and now."
"Some of you may not survive this battle. Some of you may take a crippling blow to some part of your body and spend the rest of your days wracked with pain."
"And yet — do you know why so many of us have gathered here with weapons in hand? It is so that each of you can protect your people with your own two hands."
"The mercenaries are no different. That coin you earn is partly spent on yourselves, yes — but how many of you send it home to family?"
"So listen well. Cast out, once and for all, any thought of living wretchedly — of living small by abandoning someone else to save your own skin."
"Fight to the very end and die, if you must. Do so, and I will devote my utmost to every soldier who falls."
Shing—
Elie drew from her hip the white legendary blade I had given her — Constellation — and leveled it before the assembled army as she continued.
"Soldiers! Will you stand idle while others trample the home we hold so dear?"
"NO, MY LADY!!"
"Or will you watch, to the bitter end, as demons ravage and crush the ones you love?"
"NO!"
"Your sword does not protect me, your lord. It protects that precious person you carry within your heart."
"I am merely the one who shows you the way — so that as many of you as possible may return home to the ones you cherish."
"......"
"So swing your weapons not for me — for your people! May the Azure Dragon watch over us all!"
"UWAAAAAAAAH!!"
A thunderous roar erupted from the army. Judging by the sheer volume of the cheering, morale across every unit had soared sky-high.
The hour of departure had come.
The First Army exited the estate first. Then the Second and Third. After them, the healing corps, the strike corps, and the archer corps marched out in succession. And at the very front, naturally, would be Elie — supreme commander and head of House Cumul — leading the entire army down the road.
During the first Tide of Corruption, I had marched out alongside her — and only far, far too late did I learn that her taking me with her had been an act of consideration. Which means, if only to repay that gratitude...
I had to survive this war.
Time slipped by, and before long we arrived at the ground where our defense would be staged. A fortress that had taken us a full day's march to reach.
Its name was Spreckle.
Spreckle had one outer wall and two inner walls. The distance from the first wall to the second inner wall was roughly two kilometers. If the demons' assault proved too fierce and we risked a breach, we might have to surrender the outer wall outright and fall back to a defensive line already prepared at the second — that was an option we needed to consider in advance. Nothing to be done about it. In a battle like this, preserving manpower mattered above all else.
Until the Tide of Corruption arrives
The timer had shrunk dramatically — roughly a day and a half remained. Half a day was enough time to tinker with the fortress cannons and to let the archer corps, infantry, and strike corps scout the terrain.
My unit consisted of fifteen hundred elite soldiers, led by our deputy commander, Yeon. The strike corps' mission was to hit hard and vanish using guerrilla tactics, whittling down the enemy while drawing their attention — which was why every single soldier in the unit was at the minimum rank of Mid-tier Sword Expert, capable of using sword energy. On top of that, the corps was mainly composed of High-tier Sword Experts, and while Peak-tier Sword Experts were few, every one of them had experience and swordsmanship you could rely on without question.
Whenever we went after the enemy, we would always have to strike and flee by surprise — which meant studying the terrain and its features was an absolute necessity.
Since leaving the fortress required the supreme commander's authorization as a matter of course, I asked Yeon to keep the unit in line, then made my way swiftly toward Elie.
As I walked, I quickly spotted her inside a tent, spread over maps and drawing up plans with her retainers. When I stepped inside, every gaze in the tent — the retainers' and even Elie's — snapped to me, but the stares soon died down, and I watched Elie return her focus to the tactics.
Elie traced the map with her fingertip, pointing here, sweeping across there, laying out the plan step by careful step. At length, she finished briefing every commander present — and only then did she turn to look at me.
"Hyeon. What brings you here?"
...Not "Lord Successor"?
I stood dumbfounded by the sudden shift to a private form of address, unable to get a single word out — and into that silence, a voice slipped in.
"Ooh, our Successor's still going all hot and heavy with the supreme commander... Well, can you blame him? Our commander is gorgeous."
Perhaps just to break the tension, Cloud melted away what could have been an icy atmosphere with a single joke.
"He's right. During that first Tide of Corruption, he stayed up for days on end nursing the supreme commander all by himself. Now that's what I call devotion..."
Cloud chiming in was just the cherry on top. Naturally, Elie and I — who had heard every word of this — went scarlet, while the remaining commanders traded knowing smiles and promptly filed out of the tent.
"....."
"Don't worry, Hyeon. I'll make absolutely sure those commanders get shoved onto the front lines."
My lady, saying that with your face as red as it is rather undermines your credibility.
"So — what did you come to see me about?"
"Ah, right. If we want to deploy the strike corps efficiently, I think we should scout the terrain first, so I came to request permission to open the gates."
"I see. Yes, that much permission I can grant. I'll come with you — I need to survey the terrain myself anyway."
Nodding, I walked with Elie toward the strike corps' tents — when a familiar voice, unmistakably Yeon's, reached us at a steadily rising volume. I approached cautiously alongside Elie, and spotted a soldier who seemed to be dismissively picking at every word she said.
"Stand in position and wait until the strike corps commander arrives."
"...And just why, exactly, should I trust you enough to wait? I don't know you. Word is, you're the commander's lover."
"Romantic relationships mean nothing in war. A relationship is private; war is public business. When weighing what matters more, the latter always outweighs the former."
"If your plan is to pick a fight with me without a single thought behind it, you'd best abandon it now."
"Whatever. You got the deputy commander's seat by snagging the commander, didn't you? Plan on racking up a few kills and heading home, too?"
"You're... from the Eastern Empire, aren't you."
The mood was crossing the line, further and further with every exchange.
I moved to step in — but Elie, standing beside me, caught my arm and held me back. Then her voice reached me through transmission.
You can't be the one to step in for something like that. This is a problem Yeon has to resolve herself. If you intervene now, you might settle it in the moment —
— but it would only make the misunderstanding clearer: that Yeon is receiving special treatment. And that could fester into real discord within the unit. So for now, you need to watch and let Yeon handle it on her own.
We observe until it's on the verge of turning physical — then we step in. That's the best play in this situation.
So I swallowed my anger with effort, lowered my stance, and watched to see how Yeon would weather this.
"That's right. I'm from the Eastern Empire. What of it?"
"Everything's wrong with it. Do you actually know anything about our Holy Empire? No — you don't. And yet we're supposed to entrust you with our lives?"
"Hm... Fair point. It's true I don't know this land well."
"Then surrender your post, right now—!"
"But I'm hardly the only one who doesn't. Doesn't the same go for the commander — and for all of you?"
"Wh-what's that supposed to mean!"
"If any of you truly knew the Holy Empire's terrain well enough to work it into tactics, I'd have acknowledged that much. But aren't you just as ignorant of the land, waiting on the commander's orders in exactly the same position I'm in?"
".....!"
"Had you known the terrain well, then the proper course would have been for you to inform the commander of it and take her counsel. But it seems that isn't the case either."
"Moreover, the role of deputy commander isn't merely to command this unit. It's mine and the commander's job to get all of you out alive, first and foremost, when a crisis hits."
"War sometimes goes according to plan — but when luck turns bad, plans fall apart more often than not."
"In a situation like that, what exactly do you gain by making an enemy of the one who puts your lives first?"
"....."
"I will always leave the battlefield last — after every one of you. And I will always enter it first, ahead of every one of you. Do you have the courage to say the same?"
"...Ghh..."
"If you don't, then this behavior ends today. Usurping authority corrodes a unit's discipline. If you understood me, return to your post."
With overwhelming command of words, Yeon put the usurper firmly back in his place.
And then I walked over to her, Elie at my side.
You came? Hehe...
As if nothing had happened at all, Yeon sent a playful, affectionate greeting through transmission. She must have sent one to Elie as well, because Elie's smile was turned warmly toward her. As for the soldier from before — he was trembling in fear, apparently struck by the realization that the two of them might have witnessed his little act of insubordination.
Once the entire strike corps had finished preparing, the gates opened, and a representative force of about a hundred set out. Dragging all fifteen hundred soldiers around just to survey terrain would have been absurd, after all.
The terrain was a U-shaped valley — the kind anyone who'd studied world geography would recognize on sight. For a floodplain to have formed a U-shaped valley like this, the region must once have been bitterly cold, thick with glaciers.
We were in the middle of surveying the land when a rumble of collapsing rock echoed from somewhere nearby. We made for the sound and found a stretch of terrain piled with an enormous mass of stones — the kind of place where one good push would send the whole thing thundering down. The entrance was narrow, which made it far from ideal for a mass retreat, but if we could seize the enemy's attention and lure soldiers inside, it would be an exceptional killing ground.
I made a mental note of it.
Pressing on a little farther —
"Whoa—!"
"ALL FORCES, HALT!!"
A cliff. It had looked like nothing but flat ground, and I'd nearly walked straight off the edge. And it was high — high enough that the bottom was lost in a dizzying haze below.
Anyone who fell from here — demon or human alike — would die instantly. The battlefield made no exceptions.
We scouted out a few more stretches of terrain suitable for traps or tactics, and then returned to the fortress. Even after returning, our work was far from over — we had to draw up plans built around the terrain, and think through every variable those plans might face. Somewhere in the middle of all that, a new morning arrived without my noticing.
After spending the night in the command tent, I checked the timer.
Until the Tide of Corruption arrives
Three hours remaining. Three hours from now, this place would become a bloody struggle between those who came to take it and those who came to hold it.
But a heart on the eve of war is never at ease. I knew all too well that casualties were inevitable in this battle, too.
All the same — our footsteps had to stay as light as we could make them. Because even with the dead weighing on us, only those who refused to quit and kept swinging their swords would live to see the end.
Before I knew it, couriers must have carried word through the ranks, for every soldier had rushed back to their stations, hurrying to make ready for battle. Alongside them, my own strike squads stood armored and prepared, fixing me with blazing eyes as I passed.
Catching the gazes of my squad members, I spoke.
"All forces — don't let your nerves get the better of you. Behind you stand the deputy commander and myself. Two Sword Masters. What is there to fear?"
"SIR, YES SIR!"
The soldiers answered with voices loud enough to lift the fortress off its foundations. Yes... at this level, we stood a real fighting chance.
Leaving my troops waiting briefly before the gates, I stopped by the command tent to receive my ambush authorization from Elie. Stepping inside, I felt a different atmosphere from yesterday — calmer on the surface, yet threaded through with tension at every corner.
Elie, already fully armored and putting the finishing touches on her battle preparations, looked up at me and said,
"Hyeon. Here for another permission slip?"
"Yep."
"Honestly... I really should just grant the strike corps commander independent command authority. This back-and-forth is a hassle."
"Mm... even if you gave me that, I'd still come."
"Why?"
"Think about it. Why do you think?"
"You sly little... honestly."
We giggled together, and with that laughter, all the tension between us simply melted away.
"They do say lovers grow to resemble each other."
With a bright smile on her face, Elie chuckled as she handed me the permit, steady and sure.
"Here. Your permit. Remember what you said to me, back during the first Tide of Corruption?"
"Ah... the promise. That we'd both come back alive."
"That's the one. You have to survive, you hear me? I refuse to be made a widow."
With those words, Elie swept out of the tent.
We're not even married yet and she's talking about widows... honestly, I can't tell which of us is the sly one...
In the emptied tent, I let out a quiet snort of laughter, then stepped outside with the permit clasped in my hand.
Heading toward my squad, I checked whether the mood had frayed like it nearly had yesterday. But my soldiers, too, seemed to feel the war looming just ahead — they stood in orderly formation, held together by just the right amount of tension. Thank goodness. There were no signs of any quarrels.
My gut was fervently backing me up on that judgment, too — and when my instincts agree that warmly, I've learned to trust them.
[2:32:06]
The battle would begin soon now.
Yeonyi and I passed through the fortress gates together, resolved to carry out the plan we had laid down the night before. Which meant we had to split up. Dividing into two detachments to hold the attention from both cliff faces and bleed away the demons' numbers — that was the heart of our strategy.
Let's part here. I'll take the left.
Once we split here, we might never see each other again. The face I was turning away from right now might be the last image I'd ever have of her with her eyes open — and that thought made letting her go almost unbearable.
But victory demanded it. There was no other way.
Perhaps she felt the same, because she looked up at me for a long moment, then smiled — and with her final transmission,
Hyeon. I'm coming back alive. So you'd better come back alive too!
"Second Army detachments, this way!!"
She led her soldiers toward the left cliff. She must have felt the same way I did — only yesterday she'd been wheedling and pouting about how much she hated this plan. And yet she, too, was giving everything she had for the sake of winning this war.
So I had to give everything I had, as well.
For the sake of the soldiers who followed me. For the sake of the people who trusted me without a shred of doubt.
Watching the timer dwindle toward zero, I led my squad forward — spurring my horse toward the right-hand cliff.