The Wall and the Song
Jeanne and her knights were not inside the walls of Yver Manor but outside.
When the manor knight asked if this was truly all right, Jeanne answered with a light smile and showed her knights the deep trust she felt.
Dust settled. The Rotinzel army appeared before them. Nael, who had been gauging their numbers, let out a smirk.
“Fifty per person should do it. Nothing special.”
His boastful words caused Dane and Ines to smile softly and ease their tension.
Before the walls of Yver stood a line of knights in full plate armor on horseback.
“Are you planning to trample the common soldiers underfoot with your knights? How naive.”
The Rotinzel commander Kevin sneered at the Bluisol knights who did not know the power of the new weapons.
In the past, cavalry had been a terrifying force against infantry. But after the development of new weapons, the situation changed. Kevin’s unit had been part of the force that shattered Liam’s knights on the Are Plain.
On Kevin’s order, Rotinzel soldiers drew their firearms toward the knights blocking their path.
“Ready to fire.”
Hundreds of gun barrels pointed at the knights.
“Fire!”
Tududududuk!
Simultaneously, dozens of bullets rained down.
When the smoke cleared, one expected to see only bodies torn apart beyond recognition, splattered with blood.
But what stood before them were mostly crushed plate armor and mounds of cloth spilling from between the gaps.
The expected blood and flesh had come from the horses.
‘Effigies? Why?’
What were they sacrificing valuable plate armor and horses to target?
‘Impossible?’
Before Kevin could realize the situation, soldiers began falling from all sides. Kevin turned his head and saw the Bluisol knight unit, springing like springs from the dead zone outside the walls, aiming for the Rotinzel soldiers’ necks.
The Second Knight Order was Bluisol’s proudest fighting force.
After neutralizing the first shot with the decoy, the plan was to leap straight into the enemy formation from the side. It was extremely reckless, yet it was something they could handle best.
As Jeanne’s personal guard knight, Fabian thoroughly blocked attacks aimed at her.
Jeanne turned her back on Fabian and swung her blade to protect the back of another.
Ines, holding a shield, moved not to take lives but to protect her comrades’ lives rather than enemy ones.
Attacks could be left to the others.
Dane’s two-handed sword severed the necks of enemy soldiers with every swing.
Ethan calmly brought down one enemy after another. His restrained swordsmanship had become the most efficient way to kill.
Nael and Chastan went wild like meat in water.
Nael was obsessed with killing as many enemies as possible. His two swords danced, sending limbs flying.
The path Chastan passed became a crimson sea.
Bodies torn apart, intestines exposed, and Chastan stood elegantly among them. No one dared approach.
Chastan looked around. The frightened soldiers were mere prey. He lifted one corner of his mouth and smiled.
Then, in an instant, he plunged into the midst of the soldiers.
It was like a wolf leaping into a flock of sheep. Finding him was easy. Just look at the red trail.
In the chaos, knights were moving weapons themselves.
“Charge!”
“Waaaaaaaaaaaa!”
After the Second Knight Order and Jeanne stirred up the enemy ranks, the Yver manor soldiers also charged. Even with the Second Knight Order, they could not fight alone forever.
Most Rotinzel soldiers held firearms, so they could not properly handle the sudden close-quarters battle. Firearms in close combat were just heavy iron rods.
Samuel also mixed with the soldiers and jumped into the fight.
The heat spewing from the excited, the smell of blood, sweat, and gunpowder. All of it made his heart race.
Samuel drew the sword he had trained for ten years.
His blade split the enemy’s ribs and severed the heart. Blood from the blade stained his hand.
The sensation of piercing flesh was different from pounding wood. Every moment of the sharp metal cutting flesh and tearing muscle felt vividly like time was slowing down in his hand.
“Kuhk.”
The Rotinzel soldier left only a death rattle and died.
Samuel pulled out his sword. Moments ago, the man was alive and now lay powerless on the ground. It was because of him.
Blood flowed from the corpse and spread on the ground. Samuel staggered backward.
Nausea rose. He wanted to spew everything out right then.
He had finally taken a life with his own hand.
It was disgusting. He hated himself for killing someone.
He had decided to kill people to save others, but this was not what he had imagined.
Shocked by killing a person, Samuel fought half-conscious. He could not tell friend from foe and simply moved his arms. He could not use his true skill and only desperately blocked attacks.
Jeanne could not pay attention to every detail while coordinating the entire battlefield. Other knights also prioritized protecting the manor villagers and eliminating the immediate enemy, so Samuel had to fight alone like the other soldiers.
Even with many people around, loneliness could be felt. Samuel felt it now. In a battlefield where everyone seemed like an enemy, he was terribly alone.
A sword flew toward him. Having his mind elsewhere, Samuel missed it.
His legs weakened and he sat on the ground. He looked at the foe trying to kill him with terrified eyes. He could not even lift his sword to block.
Samuel closed his eyes tightly.
But the expected pain did not come.
“High Priest!”
Samuel’s voice, which had opened his eyes a little, was filled with joy. The back of the high priest Jules in front of him had never looked so reliable.
“Stand up. And pick up your sword.”
On Jules’ words, Samuel painfully stood.
Jules had been fighting enemies in front of Samuel and protecting him. His hand had no mercy.
As Samuel expected, Jules’ swordsmanship was excellent. It was not the formal knightly style. It was thoroughly focused on cutting off the enemy’s breath. It looked like a skill he was very familiar with.
“Look. Killing a person is like this.”
Jules’ low voice clearly reached Samuel’s ears even in the noisy battlefield.
“Even if it is to protect someone, killing requires enormous resolve.”
“Priest.”
“Do you remember the sensation of drawing the sword? Did you see the eyes of those who fell?”
“I remember, and I saw them.”
“Then they will follow you to the end.”
As Jules continued, he beheaded another. Blood spurted onto his face.
“Do you have the resolve to bear that sin and that pain?”
Jules looked back at Samuel. The sight of Jules, soaked in blood and looking like a demon, made Samuel understand why he had wanted to protect him so much.
He himself would look similar.
Still, Samuel strengthened his grip on the sword.
“I will live bearing the sin for the rest of my life.”
“I know.”
“Can you?”
“Honestly, I am afraid. Whether I can walk that path. But I do not regret holding the sword to protect people.”
That was enough. Jules’ eyes seemed to say so. Not a momentary impulse or childish mind, but true resolve. That was enough.
***
The battle ended.
In front of Yver Manor, it was too pitiful to look at with open eyes.
The corpses scattered in front of the manor were a mix of enemy and ally.
The survivors sat on the ground amid the exhausted corpses, resting.
Nael tapped his sore shoulder and sat on the bare ground. His blood-soaked clothes looked impossible to wash back to their original color.
“Hey, are you alive?”
“The clothes are definitely alive.”
They exchanged banter while confirming each other’s survival. The Second Knight Order, including Fabian, was all alive.
The manor villagers inside the walls were all safe. Thanks to everyone, including the knights, fighting desperately. The manor villagers came out and cried in tears of sacrifice for protecting family and neighbors.
Following Presnel, all the priests of Yver Mountain came down from the mountain.
Right after Jules left the temple, Presnel persuaded the other priests.
Persuasion was easier than thought. Presnel, high priest before Jules, had high reputation among the priests. They were thinking similarly to Samuel that helping others might be the true path of atonement.
They had said they would come as fast as possible, but the battle had already ended. All the priests could do was hold funerals for the dead.
“If only you had come a little earlier. Then even a small contribution would have been made.”
Presnel clicked his tongue in disappointment.
Presnel then found Jules and Samuel. The two blood-soaked priests prayed, closing their eyes to the sins they had committed.
“All humans born commit sins. There is not even one who has not sinned. Therefore, the priests of Hode have been confined to the mountains, washing their own sins.”
Presnel looked around. They had saved the manor, but it was not the end. The manor villagers who lost family needed comfort. Battles elsewhere also needed preparation.
“But turning a blind eye to those suffering nearby is also a sin.”
Jules bowed his head to Presnel, who had found him.
“The title of high priest does not suit me. This position is more fitting for Presnel priest. I will return it.”
Jules said this and returned the sword given by Presnel.
The sword Presnel had given to Jules was Mistilteinn, the sword used when Hode killed the god of light.
“That sword can cut what cannot be cut.”
Presnel then looked at Samuel.
“The sword was originally made to fight. It is better for those who need it to hold it than to keep it in the temple.”
Samuel hugged Mistilteinn Presnel offered.
Presnel wondered whether he should tell Samuel the past Jules had shared.
‘No. It would be too much for him to accept right now. If the connection comes, it will reach his ears somehow.’
But he finally decided not to tell.
Samuel felt the weight of Mistilteinn and thought about what he would have to bear in the future. It was heavy, but he would bear it. He looked up at Jules with eyes full of resolve.
***
“Children, have you all memorized it?”
“Yes!”
“Good, good. Well done. Eat one more.”
The day after the battle, while others were cleaning up the manor, Devaein gathered the children alone.
“What are you doing here?”
Jeanne, who had come looking for Devaein to discuss the next schedule, frowned when she saw Devaein pretending to be lazy. Devaein smiled brightly when he heard her voice.
“Want to hear it?”
“What?”
“Children, will you sing the song I taught you?”
“Yes!”
The children answered with one voice, then sang with their own pitches and rhythms.
When I was weary from crying I could not stop
The saint who descended from heaven
Will save us all
The sea of light illuminated
Washed away the red stains
A song praising Jeanne no matter how many times sung.
Jeanne, face red with embarrassment, smacked Devaein.
“What is this?”
“When children sing, the rumor spreads very fast. After all, rumor is something that passes from mouth to mouth.”
Moreover, song form is easy to remember and spreads better. The candies Devaein brought from La Rochelle were a kind of bribe for the children.
“What is that?”
“It is a very effective method. It has already been proven. It is called the ‘South Dongyo’ operation from the eastern lands…”
Jeanne sent an unimpressed look, but Devaein did not care and showed off his knowledge.
“Anyway, I will make Her Highness the savior of this country, the saint who came down from heaven. Just trust and watch.”
Devaein struck his own chest and said confidently. Jeanne did not like the plan, but since the servants believed in her, she decided to believe in them too.
Over the recovering villages, thanks to many people, the sound of children’s songs echoed.