Chapter 161
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 161
After a brief squabble with Patrick, Swallow turned to Azi Dahaka.
Azi Dahaka had already finished explaining everything she knew. She detailed how Hexabel, who had voiced negative opinions about the war during their meeting, later had a secret rendezvous with Kurak. She also reported Hexabel’s subsequent failure to appear at her own dungeon, Sand Hell.
“Is this information reliable?” asked Patrick, who had naturally drifted into the conversation.
Even though Azi Dahaka had used the Coward's Excuse spell to prove she was telling the truth, Patrick remained skeptical.
“If you cast Coward's Excuse on yourself, you can fake the truth, can’t you?”
“No, let’s believe her,” Swallow said, cutting off Patrick’s suspicion.
They could have had Melju cast the spell instead, but her magic level was lower than Azi Dahaka’s, so it wouldn’t have worked. And dragging Bathory into this was out of the question.
“Those with something to lose don’t lie so easily.”
The corners of Swallow’s mouth curled up slightly. It was a subtle threat, a reminder that he could destroy Margar at any moment if he wished.
Once things had settled down, Patrick spoke up. “This whole thing smells fishy. If what Azi Dahaka says is true, Hexabel’s actions are completely contradictory. Meeting secretly behind our backs means she’s hiding something from us.”
“But we don’t know what they talked about. And we have no other information on Hexabel’s whereabouts.”
Still, there were facts they could deduce. First, the secret meeting between Kurak and Hexabel took place right before the war. If their discussion had nothing to do with the war, there would have been no reason to hold it at such a critical moment, with their grand undertaking about to begin.
“Logically, there’s a high probability their meeting was connected to the war.”
Considering Kurak was the one leading the war, common sense dictated that if anyone had urgent business to discuss, it was Hexabel who most likely initiated it.
“It would be easier to guess if we knew what Hexabel usually wants, but unfortunately, I don’t know her that well. Of course,” Patrick added, “there is someone here who knows her quite well.”
Both Azi Dahaka’s and Patrick’s gazes turned to Swallow.
“Boss.”
“…”
Swallow’s expression hardened as he listened. He knew something. His over-the-top reaction during his initial conversation with Azi Dahaka was undoubtedly related to it.
“Hmm.”
In an uncharacteristically serious manner, Swallow let out a short groan. He rested his chin on his hand, then tilted his head up slightly to look at Azi Dahaka.
It was that cold gaze again. The way Swallow could abruptly turn dead serious after acting so playful sent a chill down Azi Dahaka’s spine.
“This information…”
“…”
“Are you the only one who knows?”
At Swallow’s question, Azi Dahaka momentarily thought of Fafnir.
“Yes. I haven’t told anyone,” she lied, swallowing hard. Swallow’s tone was too sharp for her to risk telling the whole truth.
Swallow muttered in a low voice, “It would be best if you kept it that way for the rest of your life.”
* * *
Ah. So this is what it’s come to.
Hexabel had always been far too curious. She was also a coward. That volatile mix of fear and curiosity had led her to revere Swallow back when she was just a gatekeeper.
Reverence was fine, but her reverence was overshadowed by fear. He’d occasionally caught her trying to dig into his past.
I’m sure I warned her that curiosity would strangle her.
He had only given her a warning because he couldn’t find definitive proof. Should he have just killed her back then?
If he had to guess what Hexabel was up to, a certain hypothesis naturally came to mind. Of course, with so little evidence, it was little more than speculation.
The war between Kurak and the Empire—and a truth that had to be hidden from his own side. In the current situation, only one hypothesis connected the two.
…Though I have no idea how she found out it was in the Empire.
Now that things had come to this, he had no choice but to track her down and kill her.
Did he have to kill Azi Dahaka, too, now that she was entangled in this? Swallow’s eyebrows twitched as he briefly considered it.
For now, he still needed to play the part of the lazy boss. Besides, having just destroyed Erebos, killing both Hexabel and Azi Dahaka would cause all sorts of complications. Azi Dahaka also seemed easy enough to control through sheer terror alone, without having to go that far.
If worst came to worst, he could always kill her later.
“Patrick, grab your sword,” Swallow said after a moment of deliberation.
* * *
“…You’re going out?”
The usual haughtiness had vanished from Bathory’s face. Her voice cracked, thick with disbelief. Having just woken from a nap, she was struggling to process the situation.
Are my senses still foggy? Or am I hallucinating?
Bathory rubbed her eyes, but when she looked again, the sight hadn’t changed. It wasn’t a hallucination.
Swallow, of all people, was moving of his own free will.
“No… way…”
What’s more, he had actually walked all the way to the three-way fork on his own two feet.
Rene stood beside the dazed Bathory. Unlike Bathory, Rene simply stood there with a blank, expressionless face. But while their reactions differed, their shock was the same. The fact that Rene’s eyes were noticeably wider than usual was clear proof of that.
“Swallow, what got into you…?”
“Rene, I can die happy now.”
“Hey, aren’t you guys overreacting a bit?”
“Oh, please. I thought you’d spend the rest of your life inside Falcon.”
“No, well… that… forget it.”
Swallow started to say something, but mumbled and let it slide. Judging by how he’d cut himself off at “that,” he had probably been about to say “I was planning to” or “that was the plan.”
As they watched Swallow with dumbfounded expressions, Patrick walked up silently from behind.
“…”
Patrick kept his mouth tightly shut. Normally, he would have been the first to react, but he simply stood behind Swallow in silence. He even had a large leather sack slung over his shoulder, as if intending to go out with him.
This is weird.
Patrick, of all people, wasn’t nagging him. What’s more, his jaw wasn’t even moving. As nice as it was to not hear his signature jaw-clattering, it was obvious how suspicious the situation was.
Deciding to take this more seriously, Bathory examined Swallow’s expression. His fatigue-ridden eyes and dark circles were the same as ever, but the laziness that always lingered in his gaze was gone.
Bathory asked, “Who are you going to see?”
“Hexabel.”
The answer came instantly.
Bathory flinched at the unexpected name, but she didn’t ask any more questions. Being quick-witted, she could guess the general direction this was heading, even without knowing the full story.
“I see. Have a safe trip.”
It was best not to show too much interest in matters like these. Trying to pry into Swallow’s secrets wouldn’t just strain their relationship; it could get her branded as an enemy. Perhaps Hexabel had made a similar mistake.
Making a reasonable guess, Bathory snapped her fingers. The bats hanging from the cave ceiling morphed into the form of a butler and stood at attention.
“Pack everything.”
With the master of the house leaving—and knowing how wary Swallow was of anyone nearing the Primordial Core—Bathory knew she couldn’t stay either.
In that short time, Patrick rechecked his gear. Unlike usual, he had brought two swords. Tanabella was on his back, and a thin, strange blade was holstered on the chain belt at his waist.
“That one looks unusual,” Bathory remarked.
Patrick laughed awkwardly. The sword, pitch-black from blade to hilt, had such an odd shape that it was hard to imagine it being used in actual combat.
“I figured I might need it if things get rough.”
Only after checking that sword one last time did Patrick seem ready.
“Boss, what about Waiting Darkness?”
“Since I’m going in person, I don’t think I’ll need to bring it.”
“Understood.”
After their brief exchange, Melju, having just woken up, shuffled over with messy hair. Her face mirrored their shock when she saw Swallow.
Chuckling at their identical reactions, Bathory thought of a simple question and asked Swallow, “By the way, where are you going? Is it a secret?”
After a moment of thought, Swallow replied, “Probably Riaze. Or maybe the Annun Plains.”
“Hmm. That’s quite far. How do you plan on getting there?”
“Ah, about that…”
Right on cue, a figure shrouded in darkness emerged from behind them. It was Azi Dahaka, wearing an incredibly awkward expression.
“I’m riding her.”
* * *
The Annun Plains.
Inside the Imperial commander’s tent.
“All forces, retreat,” Rashumer’s voice was low and heavy.
The Imperial army’s chain of command had collapsed. The so-called generals who remained lacked the courage to take responsibility, walking around with their heads hung low. Although Rashumer had not formally been given operational command, he was now the only person capable of leading the Imperial army in the Annun Plains.
To the soldiers of the Empire, there were always war heroes whose names were spoken with reverence. In this war, those heroes had been Sturman and Barisik. But with those heroes dead, the soldiers naturally looked to Rashumer, who wore the same uniform and belonged to the same knight order.
“You’ve crossed blades with them, so you should know better than anyone.”
There was no chance of winning any further battles.
Everyone knew this, so few opposed the order. Those who did object fell into two categories: loyalists determined to die on the battlefield, or those who had lost precious comrades and were consumed by grief.
“His Imperial Highness ordered us to die here if we must. If we return, we will surely face execution under military law.”
“So you fear execution, but you’re fine with dying here?”
“At least if we die here, we will have some semblance of honor…”
“There is no honor in a meaningless fight,” Rashumer countered. “If holding out here could halt the Orc army’s advance, then by all means, do so. But if we could have stopped them, we would have done so long ago. The Orc army will march straight for Riaze. The outcome is the same, so where is the honor in dying here?”
The objectors weren’t truly eager to stay. They were just clinging to their regrets, and those regrets were easily broken with a slight nudge.
“And rest assured,” Rashumer added. “If they execute us in this situation, the Empire itself will fall. Above all, the Heroes Sian and Uin are with us. Do you think the Empire would dare punish the Heroes?”
Every eye in the tent turned toward Uin and Sian. Sian glanced at Rashumer and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Another question was raised. “When will we begin the retreat?”
Rashumer snorted. “Right now, of course.”
There was no time to waste.
The retreat proceeded as planned, utilizing the Teleportation Hub. The Imperial army’s vigilance was at its peak. Their goal was to slip past the Orc army’s surveillance without being detected.
Swoooosh!
Sian stood at the front lines once more, unfurling a massive magic circle. However, it was not a spell with any real destructive power, but a fake designed to mimic high-tier magic. Having already suffered a devastating blow from Meteor, the Orc army feared Sian’s very existence. It took only an instant for his display to capture the full attention of the enemy sentries.
While he bought time, the Imperial army began their withdrawal to Riaze, starting with the personnel stationed furthest from the front. The method was simple: they would move through the hub in waves, from the inner command to the outer guards. Finally, a small unit would remain to destroy the Teleportation Hubs completely before escaping to a nearby territory on horseback.
“The final stage is the most important part,” Rashumer repeatedly emphasized. The Teleportation Hubs had to be destroyed. That mission was given to the most outstanding and trustworthy soldiers in the Imperial army.
“No unusual movements detected,” reported a soldier monitoring the enemy from a half-destroyed tent.
The retreat went smoothly. By the time most of the army had escaped, they had destroyed all but one massive Teleportation Hub to ensure a swift withdrawal. The Hero Sian returned to the capital only when the final guard unit was all that remained.
It was only after Sian suddenly vanished that the Orcs seemed to realize what was happening and hurriedly prepared to advance.
Just then, the last of the soldiers guarding the front lines finished their return to the capital.
Ten horses stood in a line.
An equal number of soldiers, dressed in their respective gear, stared at the Teleportation Hub before them. All the survivors of the Imperial army who had fought in the Annun Plains had now returned to Riaze.
This massive Teleportation Hub was the largest magical device in the entire region. The reason so many hubs had been established in the Annun Plains in the first place was different from other territories. With its wide-open fields and excellent geographical position, the Annun Plains had naturally become a major hub of trade.