Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: A Wild Horse Wearing a Crown
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“What a shame. They’ve just been through some intense real combat. If we did some special training right now, they would’ve become a formidable force in no time…”
At my words, Kalserik glanced left and right before whispering.
“Don’t you dare say that in front of the soldiers. Morale is already in the gutter… Seriously, what do you have against these warriors? You should have given them at least two nights of rest, for goodness’ sake. Ordering them to march out the day after they return, and now you want what? Special training?!”
“Is that my fault?”
“If it’s not the commander’s fault, then whose is it?”
“It’s Harun’s.”
The Gale King, Harun. A very bad man.
Honestly, did I want to march out again today after just returning yesterday?
But I couldn’t stand by while that man so blatantly revealed his ambitions.
“Still, there’s no need to rush things this much, is there? Even if he is the Gale King, he can’t possibly conquer Kinalo in one fell swoop…”
“I have a bad feeling.”
“A feeling?”
“Yes. A feeling.”
Of course, I knew.
I knew that Kinalo, known as the City of Mages, was no pushover.
Thanks to Sea’s strategy, the Sea King, Zafar, was also keeping the Gale King’s forces in check.
Perhaps there was no need to be in such a hurry.
‘And yet… it feels unsettling.’
What makes an extraordinary person extraordinary?
It’s because they do things that far exceed normal expectations.
And the Gale King, Harun, was extraordinary by anyone’s standards.
Ten years ago, Harun inherited Egira, a city of 600,000, from his father. It was the smallest of the five cities that made up the Ailun region.
And in just four years, he wrote a legend by conquering all four of the other cities in Ailun. Even Ilunael, Norverge’s greatest city with a population of 2.3 million, couldn’t stand against him and raised the white flag. He was only thirty-three at the time.
Then, when he turned thirty-five, he entered into a conflict with the Sea King, Zafar, who was based south of Lake Naelund. He fought Zafar, then one of the Four Kings, to a draw in a duel that lasted a day and a half, and thus the Four Kings became the Five Kings.
That was the kind of man he was.
An extraordinary human, impossible to rashly predict.
“Reclaiming Kashu City comes first. Rest comes after.”
“…Well, a commander’s intuition is important, I suppose.”
Kalserik conceded, one way or another.
He seemed to trust my judgment more since we returned from the monster subjugation.
“Anyway, I’m sorry. Dragging you right back out after you were finally reunited with your brothers.”
“We’re used to it. We’re scattered all over the continent, making a living as mercenaries. There are plenty of times we don’t see each other for a whole year.”
While we were away on the subjugation, all the members of the Kalserik Brotherhood had gathered in Kushan. Though they must not have had enough time to catch up with their long-lost family, Kalserik showed no signs of complaint.
‘Their lives are quite something, too.’
An entire knightly order from a fallen kingdom, all living as mercenaries.
And they were already on their second generation.
It seemed like everyone in Roverland had a story.
“Kalserik.”
“Yes?”
“You won’t regret it. Deciding to follow me.”
“Of course not. I have good intuition, too. I almost always win when I gamble.”
I had spoken with sincerity, but Kalserik brushed it off lightly. He spotted the landscape appearing in the distance and asked me.
“Ah! I see the Snake Sea over there. What should we do? Cross now? Or tomorrow?”
We had started our march in the morning, but the Broken Moon was already hanging brightly in the sky.
Beneath its soft moonlight, I could indeed see the Snake Sea.
‘We’re about a third of the way there.’
The Snake Sea, which I hadn’t seen since I killed the Blood Count Delkashu.
I had intended never to even pee in this direction again…
To think I’d come back here to strike Kashu after occupying Kushan City. You just never know what life has in store.
“We cross. We should have a comfortable place to sleep, even if we go to bed a little late.”
The Snake Sea, submerged in darkness.
Though it was called a sea, it was low tide, so there was no water in sight.
Only pitch-black mudflats that seemed to swallow even the moonlight, stretching out left and right like a black river.
A glowing blue path stretched across the mudflats to the other side.
The path of blue light, being drawn into the deep darkness, felt as if it would lead us into a legend featuring dragons and mages.
Hmm… it suddenly reminds me of the Age of Magic.
Back then, every single day was truly like something out of a legend.
Anyway,
“We’ve arrived at the perfect time.”
If we crossed along that path, we would reach Busk Cape, the land where Kashu City was located.
***
The vast sea to the north of the continent snaked its way around the southern tip of Busk Cape, stretching long and thin to the east of Kushan City.
This long, narrow stretch of sea was called the ‘Snake Sea’.
At high tide, the seawater would rise to the level of a fairly large river, but at low tide, all that water would drain away, leaving only the mudflats exposed.
Because of this, crossing it on a whim was impossible.
You couldn’t cross a mudflat that sank you up to your waist while wearing heavy armor and pulling carts and horses.
Fortunately, an ancient causeway existed that allowed passage across the Snake Sea.
Twenty meters wide, seven hundred meters long.
Gravel had been poured over the mudflats and packed down, and on top of that, a road was paved with Blueshine Stones that glowed blue at night.
Most of the time, the road was hidden under mud and sediment washed in by the sea, but at night, the Blueshine Stones beneath the mud would tinge the mudflats themselves blue, revealing their presence.
Thanks to this, one could find the solid path and cross without sinking into the mudflats, even in the dark of night.
“Wow… To think I’d ever get to see this place. The blue-glowing night road. It’s considered one of the Eight Sights of Roverland.”
“The Eight Sights of Roverland? What’s that?”
Kalserik stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.
“You don’t even know that? The eight scenic wonders of Roverland you have to see before you die!”
“…Never heard of it.”
“Sigh… You should live your own life too, Commander. Stop looking after your brothers all the time. Go travel to other cities. Of course you wouldn’t know, cooped up in the backwoods of Kushan all the time.”
He wasn’t wrong. As a child, I had lived only in the royal castle of Vanroah, and after that, only in Kushan City. The only other city I had ever visited was Kashu City, when I went to kill the Blood Count Delkashu. That was the first and last time.
“This is a place that every romantic couple and explorer dreams of visiting at least once. It’s my dream to see all Eight Sights of Roverland before I die… I just never thought I’d be coming here leading an army to go wreck a city.”
“Is that so? But it’s not really that romantic a place.”
Frankly, from my perspective, it was less romantic and more of a damned land.
“Is that right?”
“Yeah. This is the land of the berserkers.”
“Ah, berserkers. I’ve heard of them. Are they very difficult to deal with?”
“They’re tiresome bastards. They don’t feel pain, and they know no fear. Cut off their arms and legs, and they’ll squirm their way over to bite your heels.”
“Oh…”
Just then, far in the distance, a lit fortress on a hill across the Snake Sea came into view.
That was Havelnor, the fortress-village where we would be staying tonight.
Busk Cape.
It was a vast land, making up nearly 60% of the Vanroah Kingdom’s territory, but the only city here was Kashu City.
Cities in Roverland were generally spread out, but this was a bit extreme. A piece of land the size of Busk Cape could have easily fit two cities with room to spare.
Instead, fortress-villages like that one filled the void.
Fortresses and villages of berserkers, with populations ranging from two thousand to as many as ten thousand.
The homeland of a warrior people who had maintained their independent way of life without submitting to the 850,000-strong Kashu City, all while fighting bloody battles amongst themselves.
Tonight, we would be staying in one of them, Havelnor.
And the day after tomorrow, by sunset, we would be able to see Kashu City.
***
“Lansen! Great warrior! Welcome!”
The chieftain of Havelnor was an old man with snow-white hair. But his body was bulging, fit to burst with muscle.
“We’ve prepared plenty of boiled mutton and ale, so enjoy yourselves!”
“Hold the ale, fruit juice instead, please. We have to march all day tomorrow.”
“Ah, right. Lads! Switch it to fruit juice!”
“Yes, sir!”
At the chieftain’s command, the brawny berserkers answered with a roar. The beer barrels on the large tables were instantly replaced with barrels of fruit juice.
Kalserik wore a strange expression.
“Um… I thought berserkers would be much rougher, but they don’t seem to be?”
“I have a history with the berserkers here.”
The more skilled a berserker was, the more freely they could control their fighting spirit and bloodlust. So it wasn’t strange that they appeared gentler than expected.
However, even considering that, the favor they were showing me was indeed special.
‘It’s been a while. Here, too.’
In fact, this was the place where I had stayed with Sir Balseon when we fled after I killed the Blood Count Delkashu.
Even back then, the berserkers of Havelnor had treated me with the utmost respect, as more than a friend.
At the time, Delkashu was a vampire who had relentlessly tormented the berserkers who refused to submit to him, and I was the Sword Master who had killed that very same Delkashu.
Of course, I paid properly for today’s meal and lodging, but the berserkers treated me to more than my money’s worth.
An overflowing feast of food. A comfortable environment.
Thanks to them, my soldiers were able to relieve their deep fatigue and regain some of their vitality.
As we were eating and drinking, the chieftain asked.
“By the way, are you going to kill Kesserles?”
Kesserles was the governor of Kashu, appointed by Ksias.
Since we were going to strike Kashu City, it wasn’t wrong to say we were going to kill Kesserles.
“That’s right.”
“Heh heh. I heard there are still some cowardly traitors who sided with them. They’ll all be joining their ancestors soon. Serves them right.”
These people believed that warriors who died in battle became heroic spirits and protected this land alongside their ancestors.
“Isn’t joining their ancestors a good thing?”
“No way. You think the ancestors would let those weaklings be? I bet they’ll get beaten into shape every day. Hmm…? Then is that a good thing? Ah, now that I think about it, it is a good thing! They’ll get stronger! Right?”
…Why are you asking me?
The berserkers’ train of thought was impossible to follow.
Even though they lived right next door, I couldn’t understand what went on in their heads.
“Do you know anything about Kashu City?”
When I subtly changed the subject, the chieftain shook his head.
“It’s been quiet. But that Kesserles fellow is a very unpleasant man, so be careful.”
*Fwoosh!*
The light from the blazing hearth cast flickering shadows across his face.
That one phrase, ‘be careful,’ lingered in my mind like some profound prophecy.
‘An unpleasant man…’
When berserkers described someone as ‘unpleasant,’ it usually meant they were ‘good at scheming.’
Indeed.
Kesserles was a smart one.
He must have prepared something.
Something unimaginable.
But,
“It doesn’t matter. Whatever he’s prepared, the stronger side will win.”
“Indeed! You are a warrior!”
Glancing at the chieftain, whose eyes were sparkling, I emptied the bowl in front of me.
The well-roasted mutton left me with a pleasant feeling of fullness.
And the next day.
“Kill them well! Great warrior Lansen! You are always welcome here!”
“Right. You always win, too. See you again.”
Leaving Havelnor, we continued our march with renewed vigor. Two days later, as the sun began to set, we crossed a large hill and laid our eyes on Kashu City.
The small forts and outposts in the village areas were all empty, so we reached the outer walls, made of wooden palisades, without a single battle.
But…
“Hey, Commander. I think we’re screwed.”
Kalserik was right.
The moment we saw ‘it,’
Everyone froze with dumbfounded faces.
“Ugh… That’s a wild horse wearing a crown… Isn’t that the Gale King’s flag?”
Yes.
It was the Gale King’s flag.
“Only the sound of hooves remains…”
A few terrified soldiers even recited the most famous line from the ballad of the Gale King’s deeds.
Something about a city that defied the Gale King being instantly crushed, leaving only the thunder of hooves.
In any case, that meant,
The Gale King’s flag being there meant,
‘Kashu City has already fallen to the Gale King?’
Impossible.
That was impossible.
What about Kinalo?!
***
*Clip-clop, clippity-clop.*
The blood-soaked city of Kinalo.
The Gale King’s cavalry rode through the city, spearing the last of the stragglers.
The citizens were terrified, barricaded inside their homes.
The Gale King, Harun, rode his horse straight to the top of the lord’s castle and beheaded the city’s ruler, the mage Kalidora.
In front of Harun, who was said to have surpassed the level of a Sword Master, Kalidora’s vaunted grand spells were nothing more than the empty sleight of hand of a street hustler.
“Fools. Did they really think I left them alone because I was afraid of magic?”
At Harun’s words, Jahir, one of his eyes still blackened, let out a smirk.
“To be honest, what was truly annoying was the vampires’ intelligence network. Every time we tried to raise an army, they’d find out like ghosts and form a united front…”
“My point exactly.”
*Clip-clop—*
Harun spurred his horse and looked down at Kinalo City spread below.
“But now that that vampire has become my subordinate, things are so much easier.”
“His intelligence network is one thing, but his strategic mind is also excellent.”
“That Kesserles fellow. I was surprised when he came to me asking to just hang up the flag first.”
A playful smile formed on Harun’s lips.
Though he would be turning forty next year, his face still held a boyish innocence.
“Lansen. I wonder if he’s seen it by now? I’m curious about the look on his face.”
“He must have. His blood must have run cold.”
“Right? Then this is the perfect time to give him one more chance.”
Harun called to the aide standing behind him.
“Send a letter to Lansen. He should be setting up camp in front of Kashu City by now.”
“What should the message be?”
“An ultimatum.”
*Whoosh—*
A fierce wind swept across the top of the lord’s castle.
On the wind, the heavy scent of the dead mages’ blood wafted through the air.
< Busk Cape >