Chapter 11
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The Siege of Aristapo (2)
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A sense of panic, as if the blood flowing through his head was hardening into a solid white lump of lead.
“I-insane…”
“Almighty Terbel, by the light of the azure heavens, the azure heavens, the azure heavens, save us, save us, save us…”
An otherworldly sight writhed in the retinas of the human soldiers, who were stumbling back as one.
“Ra, Rabi? Pathe? Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic!”
A physique so magnificent it was almost laughable.
A pair of absurdly large claws. Five human soldiers were impaled on those steel talons, dying in agony.
This wasn’t a battle. It was a massacre.
“And you call yourselves Otous? Warriors? Are you warriors?”
The 5,800 riflemen defending Fortress 22 of the Inferno Line were annihilated in an instant.
By that single Uruk before them.
He was a monster who had single-handedly slaughtered the other half of the soldiers while the rest of the Uruks killed the first.
“I am Kishun? Kishun Gjolovepeda!”
Caked in the gruesome blood and flesh of humans, the Uruk war chief slurred in the human tongue, revealing his name.
“Fae, the FakeWarrior, humanity’s greatest warrior? Where is he now!”
The End of Youth,
Siege of Aristapo (2)
“Kaisen, you punk. Can’t you be a little nicer to Lady Camilla?”
Long Rifle Jin said.
Jin was a man in his thirties with a swaggering tone, always a toothpick dangling from his lips.
“Why should I?”
“Hey, if she hadn’t taken you in back then, you’d be dead already, you little shit.”
“Who knows. I might have met someone a little more normal, like Sharon Alter Tassalpo.”
In the twilight, the city of Aquitaina was garrulous and bright.
A city visited after a long time…
The inns were all lit up, and you could hear the flirtatious calls of barmaids and male prostitutes trying to entice mercenaries of both sexes.
“Hey there, handsome mister. Won’t you stay and play?”
“Whew! You’ve got a good eye, miss. But I’ve got a prior engagement.”
Jin, a master at handling women, joked good-naturedly with the approaching lady before turning back to Kaisen.
“Kaisen, do you know that Lady Camilla looks for you after every battle?”
“...?”
“Mercenary grunts like us don’t get that. We’re just remembered as part of the ten casualties, or whatever the number is.”
That… was certainly true.
Thinking about it deeply brought a sense of confusion. Kaisen shook his head, clearing the stray thoughts.
“Camilla and I don’t have that kind of relationship, where we care for and respect each other. We’re bound by a contract.”
“You’re still just a kid, you punk. You don’t know the first thing about the world.”
“If you’re looking for a fight, I’ll give you one.”
Kaisen was on his way to the armory. His boots were half-rotted, so he needed to buy a new pair.
“Well, now.”
As they reached their destination, Jin suddenly let out a sly whistle and slapped Kaisen on the back.
“Good luck, Kaisen the virgin. This old Jin knows when to make himself scarce.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Kaisen tried to grab him, demanding to know what nonsense he was spouting, but Jin slipped away like an eel and disappeared into the night streets, cackling.
“What’s with him?”
Kaisen glared sullenly at his retreating back before looking forward again, and then he understood why.
Long, elegant blond hair, damp in the twilight, caught his eye. It was Ria Raily. Were all noble daughters so beautiful? Her eyes, like something from a painting, were wide open.
Kaisen narrowed his eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Want another fight?”
At that, Ria Raily gave a deliberately solemn cough and shook her head.
“You clearly don’t understand. We of House Raily do not dwell on past victories or defeats.”
“Is that so?”
“I apologize for the conflict that arose from my misunderstanding. I didn’t realize you were Lady Camilla’s disciple. I mean, you’re a man. And you didn’t know the origin of the sword style.”
Ria Raily.
He would learn later, after wandering through many battlefields, that she was an exceptionally admirable noble.
He had met very few nobles who would admit their own faults and apologize first.
“I’m not Camilla’s disciple, though.”
As he replied and entered the armory to pick out some boots, Ria followed him in, looking dumbfounded.
“Not a disciple? What do you mean? You use the Sipmunjado.”
“It’s the truth. Hey, mister, how much for these?”
“You have a good eye. Have you heard of the Manja Alliance?”
“Manja Alliance?”
When Kaisen tilted his head, Ria Raily, as if seizing the opportunity, cleared her throat with an "Ahem!" to draw attention and answered for him.
“It’s a famous military suppliers’ guild in the western part of the Holy Human Empire.”
“That’s right. It’s a premium military outfitter created through a collaboration between the Lorad Federation of the Dwarves and the mages of the Magic Alliance.”
“I’m from the Republic, so I didn’t know. So?”
“These were made by those eccentrics. They’re masterpieces enchanted with magic for both durability and ventilation. They’re not just goods; they’re magic tools. Twenty-five silver pieces.”
Twenty-five pieces…
The boots were meticulously crafted from dark brown leather, with enchanted iron plates reinforcing the ankle and heel, making them look truly sturdy.
“Too expensive. Do you have anything under three pieces?”
A hint of disappointment was in Kaisen’s voice as he placed the boots back on the counter. Ria Raily grabbed his shoulder.
“Expensive? You said you were a soldier, not a disciple. You must have received your pay all at once this time, so you should be able to afford this easily. The FakeWarrior Corps’ pay is incredibly high.”
“I’m not part of the corps, so I don’t get paid.”
“?”
“It’s complicated. If I say I need something, Wolf buys it for me… but I can’t keep relying on him forever. Mister, do you have anything else?”
“If you’re looking for a cheaper model, please come this way.”
Kaisen was about to follow the merchant deeper into the armory.
“Ahem, ahem!”
Ria coughed repeatedly, as if to make sure she was heard, a strange look of satisfaction on her face. Kaisen glared at her.
“Did something go down the wrong pipe?”
“This price is expensive? You there, measure Kaisen’s feet. I’ll pay for them.”
Kaisen, who had long since learned that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, took a wary half-step back.
“You… what are you up to?”
“Up to? I’m simply repaying you for not touching my wrist earlier.”
“Repaying me?”
Ria Raily.
This hero, who would be recorded by future generations as a peerless strategist who led the Heroic Age, was at this time nothing more than a mischievous girl.
Born into a strict and prestigious family and immediately becoming a disciple of the FakeWarrior, she’d never had a chance to befriend her peers.
Perhaps that was why her manner toward the opposite sex was innocent yet stiff, playful yet awkward.
“‘If you receive a kindness, repay it twofold.’ That’s what my master always told me.”
So this was a freebie, then?
The calculations in his head finished, a faint glow lit up Kaisen’s face as he gripped both of Ria’s shoulders.
“You’re actually a good person, aren’t you?”
“You can praise me more. I’m more than worthy of it. No one will think you’re strange.”
“You’re the best.”
“Hehe, you can do even better than that.”
The sight of the girl nodding in triumphant satisfaction and the boy’s excited expression was almost refreshingly innocent.
My friend, Ria Raily…
The boy would never forget the sound of her clear laughter, which he heard for the first time that day, until the day he died.
“Ugh, that damn thief.”
“Be happy, my lady.”
“Hey, don’t worry about Kaisen. He’s hopeless with women. That guy doesn’t even twitch unless it’s for a female Uruk.”
“Gasp, he’s a total psycho.”
As the soldiers from both corps, who were peeking from outside the armory, bantered about the scene, Jin’s face was full of smiles.
‘That kid Kaisen… He can make a face like that when he’s with a girl his age.’
For Jin, who had been Kaisen’s squad leader before he was requisitioned for Camilla’s reserves, the memory was particularly special.
“Hm?”
Just then, a strange scream and the sound of something tearing through the air erupted from the sky.
“Wh-what was that?!”
Before the startled mercenaries could even scatter, a massive flying object crashed down, tearing up the paving stones of the road.
“What crazy…?”
“A catapult? Don’t tell me it’s the enemy.”
“No, look. That’s a griffin!”
Not just the griffin, but the rider in its saddle was also gruesomely covered in blood from head to toe.
There is a peculiar aura that only fresh blood can exude.
At that moment, everyone present was overwhelmed by that aura, their hearts trembling with an inexplicable tension.
“Where… where is this…?”
“Aquitaina. Hey, rider, are you okay? Need help getting down?”
“The Marshal is staying…?”
“Yeah. Hey, give me a hand. Let’s get this guy down.”
“No, this… this dispatch… I have to… deliver it to him… quickly…”
“Hey, what’s wrong? What’s the big rush?”
“The Inferno… the Inferno Line… has been… breached…!”
Even the mercenaries, who had been chattering away as if they hadn’t a care in the world, held their breath and blinked uncertainly.
The Inferno Line, humanity’s lifeline.
It had been breached?
A mercenary who had just been loudly playing dice stared blankly, clasped his hands, and said.
“I guess I should pray.”
***
By order of Marshal Krauzan, all officers stationed in Aquitaina were summoned to the city hall, which had been converted into a temporary command headquarters.
“To think the Inferno Line has been breached…”
Wolf muttered as he stepped into the elevator heading to the mayor’s office, as if he found the fact impossible to accept.
“It was only a matter of time, given its structural flaws.”
Camilla replied nonchalantly, and Sharon sighed as well.
“That’s right. It was designed to fall like dominoes if even one fortress was breached.”
“Those idiots in the Old Republic should have trained professional soldiers instead of spending an astronomical fortune on a defensive line like that.”
“They say that in the old days, martial artists called the Nangin protected the Republic alongside witches, but technology has advanced too far. The witches have become completely secularized, and the Nangin have vanished into the annals of history, haven’t they?”
It’s said that an elite group of Nangin called the Six Great Sects was once responsible for the Republic’s security, but…
“It’s all because of those damn guns. They made training in martial arts unnecessary.”
“The freedom of the Republic’s people is also a problem. The Empire and the kingdoms can force people to train, but the citizens here are all free. They didn’t want to bear the duty of military service.”
In the end, about fifty years ago, the last of the Six Great Sects, the Suunpa, disbanded, and the Nangin disappeared into history.
“Eltram, what’s the status of our logistics and supplies?”
“Perfect. We can move out at any time. However, we didn’t have the time to screen new recruits.”
“It seems our departure date will be moved up, but it can’t be helped. The Church will handle the payment. Have everyone assemble at the west gate before noon tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.”
When the elevator reached the fourth floor, they headed toward the mayor’s office at the end of the hall.
The city’s crest, adorned with splendid gold leaf, meant nothing now that they were in a state of emergency. They were at a point where they needed to gather every last piece of that gold to raise more troops.
As they took their seats at the head table, Marshal Krauzan got straight to the point.
“Camilla’s corps will join with Sharon’s corps and act as the vanguard for the mission to relieve Aristapo.”
Aristapo.
A major port city in the western Old Republic and one of the seven great cities of old.
It was a historic metropolis and a strategic naval point, built on a bay that reached deep inland from the southern sea.
“Aristapo is a crucial location. If it falls, it will be worse than the Inferno Line being breached. It will be tantamount to humanity’s entire southern line of defense being crushed.”
“What is the current situation in Aristapo?”
“It is currently under attack by a coalition of thirty-one clans. The number of Uruk warriors alone is approximately 160,000. The total demonic force is said to be 850,000.”
“And the number of defenders?”
“A little under 200,000.”
“850,000… Who is leading that many Uruks?”
“The chieftain of the Kiral is acting as the great chieftain, I’m told.”
The Kiral Clan…
Just those two syllables were enough to etch a gloomy despair into the officers’ eyes.
“Of all the clans, the head of the Hai-tark…”
Hai-tark.
The collective name for the top twenty-one clans among the Uruk tribes, where rank is determined solely by strength.
“No, the head clan is Valkrush now. The Kiral are a traditionally strong clan, but they’ve been pushed aside.”
“Valkrush’s rise is a bit strange. For an unknown to become the head of the Hai-tark in just four years.”
“Enough. Valkrush is a matter for the eastern front. Our opponent right now is the Kiral.”
“But don’t the Uruks hate siege warfare? They lack the racial aptitude for it.”
“It’s too optimistic to think that way. The forces of the other six great demonic races are already joining them one by one.”
“If we lose this place, we’ll be giving them a bridgehead for their invasion. This will be a truly difficult fight.”
Wolf let out a sigh.
Camilla, silently gazing down at the map, carefully checked her own physical condition. Her strength, her life force, was gradually fading.
Is this to be my final battle?
‘Then this will be the place where I die.’
The vague realization that the long race of her life was coming to an end settled in her heart as a poignant ache.
‘Master…’
I have taught the boy everything I can. So I will be coming to see you soon.
“We will depart at dawn tomorrow.”