Chapter 275

“Hmm.”

Urich blinked.

Lying on the ground was a girl with an arrow lodged in her neck, still alive despite the blood flowing out from the wound.

“Ah, did I hit you? That’s too bad,” Urich muttered upon noticing her. Around them were scattered wagons and men.

The warriors sorted the loot and loaded them on their backs. They carelessly whistled as they finished off the gasping men.

The Alliance Army dispatched several plundering units to gather resources. Urich also led some of the warriors to ambush a passing caravan. They showered it with arrows before engaging, harming an innocent girl in the process.

“Cough.”

The girl coughed up blood with an unpleasant blood-gurgling sound as she looked up at Urich.

Urich drew the axe hanging at his waist and spun it in his hand as he strode over to the girl’s head.

“Reminds me of old times. I could’ve spared you if you weren’t hit.”

Urich smiled bitterly. In the past, he had saved a girl who was weeping inside the wooden barrel she was hiding in.

‘I wonder if that girl remembers me with gratitude. Or maybe she just sees me as the enemy who destroyed her family and village.’

Urich swung the axe down with force, snapping the girl’s neck with a loud snap. The girl's head separated from her body.

“Eh, it doesn’t matter, anyway,” he told himself.

Urich wiped the blood off the axe blade on his pants. He left the dead girl behind and looked at the warriors who had gathered the loot.

“Let’s head back. We have a long way to go.”

“Hoh!”

The warriors, whose faces were lit with smiles from the successful plunder, raised their weapons and laughed heartily.

Crunch, crunch.

Urich was also in a good mood from eating fresh fruit for the first time in a while. The juice dripped down his chin as he glanced back at the remains of the raided caravan.

He saw the girl's head. It was staring at Urich with lifeless open eyes from further than where he had left it as if someone had kicked it for no particular reason.

“I don’t care if you resent me or not,” Urich muttered.

He couldn’t laugh as freely as the other warriors. He felt that he wasn’t purely enjoying the plundering.

‘This is not right,’ he thought suddenly as he looked at the backs of his brothers. They were boasting about the methods they used to kill the people of the caravan while Urich felt a surge of contempt and disgust in his chest.

At some point in his journey, Urich had become different from his brothers. He felt a sense of guilt in his conscience.

“Urich?”

A warrior who was walking ahead looked back at the slowing Urich.

The warrior flinched and quickly averted his gaze. Urich was looking at the warriors with eyes full of ferocity.

‘Why is Urich looking at us like that?’

He pretended not to notice Urich's gaze after feeling a chill that was similar to getting stabbed in the back.

“I’m tired,” Urich muttered under his breath as he closed his eyes and shook his head.

‘Did I see it wrong?’ The warrior thought as he glanced at Urich again. The intense murderous intent had vanished like an illusion, and the Great Chief of the Alliance was no different from his usual self.

Urich's plundering party rejoined the main force along with the other small units who had gone out on various plundering expeditions. The Alliance Army marched with only three days’ worth of food and resupplied through plundering as needed.

“Great Chief.”

Katagi, whose body was particularly stained with blood, hurried over as soon as he spotted Urich.

“We found an imperial supply unit. The Imperial Army must be nearby.”

“Did you capture any prisoners?”

“Yes, Olga is interrogating them now. We should know the location of their main force soon.”

Screams of the captured imperial soldiers being put through an excruciating torture spread through the Alliance's camp.

Urich crossed the camp and entered the tent where the interrogation was taking place.

The prisoner, tied to a post, was sobbing and trembling with tears and snot running down his face. Standing in front of him was Olga, calmly cleaning his dagger.

“You can take your time with your answers. You see, I actually enjoy skinning people alive, so it’d be better if I could savor it for a long time.”

The interpreter conveyed Olga's words to the prisoner, which made the prisoner shriek in horror.

“Mmmph!”

The prisoner tried to say something, but Olga did not hear him out. Thorns were already embedded under his fingernails, and parts of his torso's skin were peeled away, revealing the red muscle underneath.

“Did you get anything out of him?”

Urich entered and asked indifferently.

“I... will now.”

“You don’t stutter much anymore.”

“I’m good with your... language now.”

“If you get a chance, learn these guys' too. It can’t hurt.”

“Not... interested.”

Urich shrugged and looked at the prisoner. Olga was sharpening his blade keenly as if he was excited to enjoy the process for a while.

“Olga, we don’t have time to play with the prisoner.”

Urich reached out and grabbed the prisoner's gag.

Crack.

Urich broke the solid wooden gag with just his grip strength. The prisoner, with splinters stuck in his lips, trembled as he looked at Urich.

“Where is the main force of the emperor?”

“Ugh, aah.”

Urich had no intention to give the prisoner any time to think. He pressed him harder by slapping him before he could even speak, and each time the prisoner stuttered, Urich broke another finger.

“Just say whatever’s in your head and don’t even try to think. If it gets to the guy behind me, you'll really wish you were dead.”

The soldier nodded with tears streaming down. As he sobbed like a child, he confessed everything he knew.

“The emperor’s main force is coming down? Have they already dealt with the northern front?”

Urich frowned. The emperor's arrival was quicker than he had anticipated.

The new information quickly spread to the commanders, and the leaders of the Porcana-Alliance army gathered in a single tent to discuss further actions.

“It would have been ideal to hit them from behind while they were fighting the Northern Independence Army... but we ended up being too late,” Duke Lungell said and clicked his tongue.

“We’re not that late. It’s not like we missed them, right? The worst outcome would have been the emperor going past us and making it to Hamel.”

“Urich is right, Duke.”

Varca supported Urich's words. Things could have been much worse.

However, Duke Lungell still looked displeased.

“Our opponent this time is the emperor’s private army—the army composed of the elite of the elite of the empire. Just because we defeated Carnius doesn’t guarantee we can defeat the emperor with ease.”

“So, are you saying we should flee?” Varca retorted.

“That’s not what I mean, Your Highness... I'm saying we should be cautious.”

Various opinions were exchanged inside the tent.

“Hmm....”

Harvald, the Sun Warrior in Urich’s camp, looked at the map and spoke up.

“The empire couldn't have conquered the north this quickly. They must have rushed to occupy a few key points first and come to attack us first. They would have had to leave garrisons at each point, so that should have weakened the emperor’s main force.”

Harvald knew the northern front quite well.

“If Harvald is right, then we can’t miss this opportunity.”

Urich grinned as he looked at the others.

‘This is the final battle.’

Urich was sick of war. He wanted to stop the meaningless plundering and killing.

* * *

The main force led by Yanchinus was heading back toward Hamel. They had left enough forces and supplies for the northern fortress to hold out for the time being.

“Time is key for us,” Yanchinus muttered on his horse.

The longer the war of attrition dragged on, the more the plunderers would falter. There were still plenty of troops left in the vast territory of the empire who could be gathered as long as they were given time.

‘Carnius’ defeat was fatal. Losing troops is one thing, but we’ve lost a capable general.’

There was no suitable replacement for the dead Carnius. Yanchinus’ tyrannical rule drove him out of many competent and experienced generals’ favor, and giving command to such individuals could incite rebellion.

‘Carnius didn’t like me either, but he wasn’t the type to turn his back on the empire and start a rebellion. That's why I could entrust him with troops.’

Several names flashed through Yanchinus' mind.

“I miss Noya, hehe.”

His shoulders shook. The Sword Demon Ferzen was an absolute figure even to the emperor, almost like a father.

‘Back in the day, Noya had no problem resolving any problem.’

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

Yanchinus' horse carefully stepped forward, even without its master holding the reins.

The Sword Demon Ferzen had been by Yanchinus’ side growing up and was a close friend of his father.

‘I wonder if I would have been in such a defensive position right now if Noya were still here?’

But hypotheticals were meaningless.

Though technically considered missing, Ferzen was probably dead. It wasn’t uncommon for people to go missing during expeditions. Perhaps he had disappeared on his own upon sensing the impending death.

Yanchinus raised his head, shaking off his thoughts.

‘Look at you running around all happy, Basha.’

Basha was moving among the soldiers on a white horse given by the emperor and in an elaborate and flashy armor that was more decorative than practical.

Basha’s role was to attract attention. Her armor had no practical use, and even the white horse was just an old one that was not fit for battle at all whose coat had turned white from aging.

Basha looked at her reflection as he passed a stream. She saw herself in shining armor, mounted on a splendid white horse.

“Ah.”

Basha smiled and let out a soft exclamation.

‘Lou loves me. The high-ranking people, even the emperor, all acknowledge me. It’s proof that He is watching over me.’

It was a strange feeling. She felt so light that she could float and even getting stabbed by a sword wouldn’t hurt a bit.

“Please grace me with a word of blessing, Lady Basha,” a soldier approached Basha and asked. Basha placed her hand on the soldier’s helmet and uttered a blessing as if she were a priest.

“With Lou's grace, arrows and spear tips will not harm you.”

Upon seeing this, other soldiers began to gather one by one to receive her blessing.

“My goodness, someone who isn’t even a priest is giving blessings!”

A military priest angrily tried to approach Basha. The Sun priests already disapproved of her, as everyone knew she had killed a chaplain.

‘He was a respectable chaplain. He would have never even thought of assaulting a woman.’

However, the emperor and the Imperial Army defended Basha.

“Are you knights stopping me?”

The Sun priest glared at the knights assigned as Basha’s guards standing in his way.

“It’s the order of His Imperial Majesty. Do not interfere with what that lady does, Priest.”

“Someone who isn’t a priest is arbitrarily invoking Lou’s name to give blessings!”

The knights shook their heads and stood firm in the way of the priest. The priest grumbled as he returned to his place.

The priests voiced their complaints to the Sun Warrior Commander Alfnan, with whom they were close in the army.

“If His Holiness the Pope were here, he would have immediately called that woman a witch. Commander Alfnan, are you just going to watch the arrogant behavior of that girl?”

Alfnan was in a difficult position. The Sun Warriors were in close relations with Solarism, but their loyalty ultimately lay with the emperor.

‘I cannot go against His Majesty.’

Alfnan consoled the priests, speaking in a whisper.

“She is kept around because of her usefulness. His Majesty doesn’t truly think she is a saintess.”

“Then should she not be expelled immediately?! If such a woman remains in the army, Lou will not be on our side. Isn't the empire in this whole mess because its army is being led by those with weak faith?”

Hearing the priest's anger, Alfnan's mouth twitched.

“You best not speak like that in front of others, Priest. You are not one fighting on the battlefield with swords and blood. If faith and prayer alone could win wars, go ahead and try.”

Alfnan clenched his teeth in anger. No matter what anyone said, the credit for victory belonged to those who fought and bled. He didn’t like Basha either, but at least she risked her life at the forefront of the battlefield. Unlike some, she didn’t just stand around and talk with hands behind her back.

“C-Commander Alfnan, you are a Sun Warrior who has dedicated your body and soul to Lou! How could you say such things?”

“I will answer for my insolence after the war is over. What matters now is winning the battle. If the power of a madwoman is what we need to do just that, then we will gladly use it.”

Alfnan patted the priest’s shoulder as he passed by. He was also in a tight spot as losing the war would mean that he would lose everything.