Traces of Battle
The rumor that Urwurt territory had fallen to the Silver Eagle Legion and that Lord Meldin was dead spread like wildfire among the residents.
“They say the lord is dead. You don’t think they’ll kill us commoners too, do they?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s forbidden to kill unarmed civilians during war. All we have to do is keep our mouths shut and endure until they leave.”
Just as they whispered, the Silver Eagle Legion followed Gruon’s orders and refrained from killing those who had not taken up arms. But the damage to the defending army was catastrophic. Everyone except those who surrendered at the very end and became prisoners of war had lost their lives.
That was why the families of the fallen soldiers did not welcome the Silver Eagle Legion or Gruon. Even though the tyrant who had ruled the territory like a despot was dead, their grief over lost family members was far greater. Some even threw stones at the legionnaires.
Thud!
“You bastards!”
The stones were aimed at the Silver Eagle soldiers who had remained behind with Gruon to patrol the interior of the territory after its occupation.
“Give me back my husband!”
A woman who appeared to be the wife of a dead soldier stepped forward, hurling anything her hands could find—stones, whatever.
Clang! Smack!
The Silver Eagle soldiers wanted to do something, anything, but they could only avoid her and retreat. What comfort would the excuse that it was war bring her? It would only fuel her rage, not soothe it. In the end, they had no choice but to flee in haste.
The woman who had watched the Silver Eagle Legion with bloodshot eyes, weeping over her spouse’s death, collapsed as if the world itself had crumbled. She dropped to her knees on the dirt floor hard enough to bruise them, pounding the innocent ground with all her might as she lamented the horrors of war. Others nearby tried to console her sorrow, but no matter what they said, the dead would not return.
“Alves!!!”
She cried out her dead husband’s name, sobbing so violently it seemed the earth might split open. And it was not only women who grieved this way. The sorrow of losing family, losing comrades, and the bitterness of defeat combined into an atmosphere where weeping was inevitable.
The Silver Eagle soldiers patrolling the interior could not help but feel the weight of those stares. Though they were known as a ruthless unit, they had not realized just how immense the tragedy of the war they had brought truly was. Until now, even as a legion, their time had been eighty percent training and twenty percent real combat—and that so-called combat had mostly been patrolling forests and hunting monsters. This was essentially their first true war.
Perhaps because of that, the more tender-hearted soldiers began to feel deep emotions during their patrols and eventually sought ways to address them.
“Commander. I know it’s presumptuous, but I don’t think I can live with this.”
It was Jamie who spoke. Recognized as one of the more skilled soldiers in the Silver Eagle Legion, he had demonstrated exceptional prowess in this battle, slaughtering a great many enemies. Yet skill and humanity were separate matters. While patrolling the grief-stricken territory of Urwurt, he had finally poured out the emotions he had been bottling up.
“Even though it’s war, this is something we did. They’re clutching mutilated corpses and shedding tears. I know we shouldn’t show weakness to the enemy, but can’t we at least bury them in a sunny spot and offer a prayer?”
Jamie could not ignore the child clinging to a body so mangled it was unrecognizable, calling it father and weeping. Perhaps that was why anger had overtaken him without him realizing it. After all, the only measure Gruon and Merchez had offered so far was to cover the bodies with black cloth. They had not even been cremated.
“Jamie, that remark just now was completely out of line, just as you said. Showing mercy to the enemy? Have you forgotten we are still at war? This battle is not the end! Steel your heart! You are relieved of patrol duty effective immediately!”
Merchez looked at Jamie and spat out harsh words, calling him soft. He trusted Jamie and regarded him as an upright soldier, but there were limits. At Merchez’s severe rebuke, Jamie barely managed to swallow the rage threatening to burst out of him.
“…Understood.”
Suppressing his emotions with great effort, Jamie returned to his place. Now excluded from patrols, there was nothing left for him to do. Yet even Merchez, who had issued the punishment, was not at peace. Though he had risen to the position of legion commander and was doing his best as a soldier, he had come to realize that war was far harder to endure than he had imagined.
With that in mind, Merchez went to find Gruon to report Jamie’s incident as well. Gruon was using the same room where he had beheaded Meldin several days earlier when they seized Urwurt Castle, examining the war situation.
“Lord Gruon, it seems this battle has severely damaged the soldiers’ morale. Many are in poor condition. The voices of the territory’s residents are growing louder by the day. At this point, perhaps a retreat…”
“No. The messenger has not yet arrived. You, as legion commander, understand better than anyone how great the advantage Seiros Kingdom gains by our holding this place.”
Gruon cut Merchez off as if the suggestion were absurd. Indeed, as Gruon said, the presence of the Silver Eagle Legion in Urwurt Castle provided Seiros Kingdom with a significant strategic advantage. The news that Urwurt had been occupied would give the Sog Kingdom a massive headache. Therefore, they could not withdraw from Urwurt Castle until a clear order arrived from De Seiran.
Gruon waited in silence, hoping the mounted courier he had sent immediately after the occupation a few days ago would arrive soon.
“More importantly, how are the woman and children faring?”
While he could do nothing but wait, one matter had been weighing heavily on Gruon’s mind lately: the slaves who had been in Meldin’s grasp. Their shackles and iron collars had been removed, but the accumulated exhaustion, mental trauma, and physical abuse had left them in terrible condition. Some among them reacted with extreme rejection to any touch.
Not only the Silver Eagle soldiers but even Gruon—the very person who had rescued them—terrified them. Whenever he approached, they would turn their heads away and shrink deeper into the corners. Seeing this, Gruon could not help but feel profound pity. He did not know how they had become slaves, but the thought that they could have lived normal lives had they been born free only made it worse.
“No change. They refuse any helping hand. Especially that silver-haired girl—she seems to be their emotional pillar. She protects them fiercely, which makes things difficult. She is still using that wooden plank as a shield to block anyone from getting close.”
Merchez reported on their condition, which he had checked before coming to Gruon’s room. Gruon recalled the girl who wielded a wooden plank nearly as large as herself like a shield. He had sensed from their first meeting that she was no ordinary child, and now he felt she possessed something special that set her apart from the others.
“She may be a bearer of blessings. Given her frail build and age, it seems unlikely she learned shield techniques through normal training.”
“I agree. Whatever the case, she is an extraordinary woman. The one fortunate thing is that she makes sure they eat on time. Seeing how painfully thin they were from starvation was heartbreaking.”
“A silver lining, at least. Continue monitoring them closely and report any unusual developments.”
“As you command.”
“Good. We will withdraw as planned.”
Upon receiving the reply from De Seiran, Gruon began preparations to pull out of Urwurt territory. Simply by annihilating the territory’s army, they had already provided significant support to the De Seiran forces holding the front lines. Presumably, the Sog Kingdom had redirected some troops to the struggling southeastern front. This had given the De Seiran army enough breathing room to consider a counterattack.
If we vacate our position now, the enemy’s efforts will have been in vain. Moving large numbers of troops is no easy task.
As he had predicted, the Sog Kingdom was caught in a terrible dilemma. Both fronts had been breached, forcing them to split their forces, yet dividing them only left each side critically understrength. On the other hand, maintaining the northern front while the Silver Eagle Legion remained stationed in Urwurt would be an unbearable thorn in their side. It was an utterly miserable situation.
“Withdraw! Pack quickly!”
In the end, the Silver Eagle Legion departed Urwurt Castle and began the march back to De Pruna. But at that moment, one soldier broke from the returning column and approached the watching residents.
“Hey, Jamie! Where are you going!”
His comrade called out, but Jamie paid no attention. He walked straight toward the territory’s people.
“H-here. Please take this. I am truly sorry for the horrific things we have done. And I am sorry that this is all I can offer. You may curse me, strike me—whatever you wish. But I know it won’t ease your pain. Still… I am truly sorry.”
Jamie had removed his Silver Eagle armor after being excluded from patrols. Wearing only sweat-soaked, ragged civilian clothes, he had spent his time collecting the bodies. He had begun gathering items that the bereaved families might recognize. At first, the patrolling soldiers had mocked him for it. But as time passed, even some of them began helping him search for severed body parts from the worst-mangled corpses. They were soldiers moved by Jamie’s heart.
He had placed the collected mementos into a bundle and delivered it to them—to the mother of the child who had wept so desperately while clinging to a corpse that might not even have been his father. Her face was swollen from crying. She had tried to hold back for her child’s sake, but she must have wept through the night in secret.
Slap!
The sound of a sharp slap rang out as she hurled the bundle to the ground.
“I don’t want anything from you people! Get out of here right now!”
“…Once again, I am sorry.”
To them, Jamie was a sinner. The crime of killing their loved ones weighed so heavily on his back that his legs refused to move. It would have been easier, he thought, to simply die beneath their clubs.
“I said get lost! Hurry up and come back!”
Even in such a moment, the Silver Eagle soldiers’ joking tone grated on him. But what could he do? He belonged to that very group. Jamie bowed to reality and slowly turned away at their command to leave.
Tears began to well in Jamie’s eyes as he turned his back. The rage he had suppressed finally broke free. Yet he neither wiped nor brushed them away. It was not something he could show in front of them. So he swallowed his bursting sobs, holding them in until he had passed through the castle gates without letting a single tear fall down his cheek.
And when the last in line—Jamie himself—finally stepped through the gates…
They rolled down.
He wiped them away.
As if erasing the guilt in his heart and everything that had happened here. He returned once more to being a soldier.
Jamie, soldier of the mighty Silver Eagle Legion.