WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Ode of the Brave ◈
Chapter 152
──────
* * *
War had a particular atmosphere to it. The anxiety and fear that made your heart pound and your flesh tremble, never knowing when you might die.
Every day brought grim rumors. A village had been devastated. Corpses covered the fields. They were killing everyone, old people, women, children...
But this war had none of that. The royal capital’s garrison wondered whether it could even be called a war.
The South Gate and West Gate had not been closed, and farmers went about their daily lives right beside the enemy.
They had even seen children approach the enemy camp to play. The soldiers of the Order only laughed at them or played along.
Everything was visible from the city walls.
There was one thing they envied. The soldiers drank wine made at Azuel Winery in Mareng as if it were water. It was expensive wine that only the king and a handful of great nobles could usually taste.
Perhaps they thought there was no use letting it spoil. The Order’s soldiers opened the oak barrels and scooped up wine with ladles, drinking it straight from bowls. They even shared it with nearby farmers.
To the garrison soldiers, it looked as though they were drinking gold coins. There was no greater extravagance.
Even now, the soldiers of the Order were drinking that costly wine in the distance, spilling it everywhere.
A garrison soldier watching from the wall, both envious and dumbfounded, spoke.
“What is this, some kind of wine war...?”
“Hey, did you hear? They say there are engagement talks going on. Between the Knight Commander and Princess Ainea.”
“Who’s Princess Ainea?”
“The king’s fifth daughter.”
“Really? Isn’t she young?”
“Nobles get engaged early and all that.”
“I guess so. But can’t they cut down our shifts now? Or at least rotate us more often? Why the hell are they deploying people at the West Gate? Isn’t that fucking moronic?”
“Because they leave that gate open during the day.”
“They’re funny too. Why did they set up near the North Gate instead of taking a position over there?”
“If they had set up at the West Gate, this gate would have opened. They know they can’t surround us anyway.”
“Whatever it is, I just hope these engagement talks or negotiations end soon. What have we been doing for days now...?”
The garrison soldier grumbled. There were separate night shifts as well. On an unlucky day, they had to stand guard twice at night.
Apparently finding it hard to stand, the soldier sat down. They had not even looked outside, yet another garrison soldier over there was already leaning against the wall, snoring away.
The garrison commander did not make an issue of it. The commander knew that managing the soldiers too strictly at a time like this would stir up complaints.
Work them when they needed to work, let them rest when they needed rest. Everything was done by people, so it had to be handled according to the situation. War was no different.
As the sun set, the people of the royal capital finished their work and returned home. Stars rose in the sky. The lonely calls of scops owls and other owls echoed from afar.
The garrison soldiers on night duty grew more careless by the day. Now they even brought blankets, crouched down beneath them, and tried to sleep.
Time passed, dusk gave way to night, and a bluish hue slowly seeped into the sky. The sun had not yet risen when one guard woke because their sleeping place was uncomfortable.
They yawned deeply and stretched. Then they spotted something dark far below the wall. It moved as one great mass, almost like a huge beast.
As they narrowed their eyes to look closer, they began to hear a sound.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Huh? Wait.
Then someone ran toward the wall at a terrifying pace, carrying a ladder alone as if preparing for a pole vault. The moment that person charged forward, an army could be seen advancing behind them.
“Ah!?”
The guard froze in shock. They knew they had to do something, but their heart dropped, and their mind would not work properly.
“Help!”
That was all he could shout.
Soon, the ladder hooked onto the wall. Someone came scrambling up in an instant, like a cockroach climbing a wall.
The guard grabbed the spear beside them with trembling hands.
That was the end of them.
Something flashed before their eyes, and the world spun upside down. Their head struck the ground hard. With only the thought that it hurt, their consciousness vanished.
Their head had been cut off.
Ricart cut down a garrison soldier in one stroke, then raised his burning sword in the pre-dawn darkness so it could be seen from afar.
It was a signal.
Knights carrying ladders rushed forward and swarmed up the walls. The rest of the troops waited outside the gate.
Those still sleeping on the walls were killed where they lay. The knights descended the stairs, then raided several barracks simultaneously in prearranged groups.
A Steel Knight carrying a torch kicked open a guard post door.
Bang!
“Wake up!”
The royal capital’s garrison soldiers jolted awake, only for heavily armored knights to burst in and beat them without restraint.
Thud! Thud! Crunch! Thud!
“Argh!”
“W-What is this!?”
“Ow! Help!”
They grabbed the soldiers by the hair or the nape and dragged them outside. They lined them up facing the wall, forced them to kneel, and made them put both hands behind their heads. They were all in their underwear.
The garrison soldiers had no idea what was happening in the middle of the night. Their eyes were wide as they looked around, their jaws trembling.
They could barely see through the darkness, and they were terrified to death. Their fear was greater than the pain from the kicks and punches.
“Don’t turn your heads! You’ll die!”
The knights killed several people as an example. The garrison soldiers were so frightened that some wet themselves, while others went numb with shock. Any trace of sleep had long vanished.
Before long, the gate opened. Raimund came running, holding the red horse’s reins.
“Commander! Commander!”
It was dark all around, so Raimund shouted loudly. But there was no need for confusion. The plan had already been made, and Ricart, who had been waiting, approached and mounted his horse.
The Order’s forces then entered the royal capital in formation. The knights rode swiftly ahead and seized the main roads.
Clatter! Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!
They blocked every alleyway leading from the roads, while soldiers lined both sides of the streets.
When the people of the royal capital came outside because of the commotion, one knight pointed his sword at them from horseback and shouted with icy menace.
“Go back inside! Come closer, and you die!”
They usually looked as if they spent their days resting idly, but once the operation began, the knights spoke threats of death at every turn. And they truly did kill people.
Not knowing what had suddenly happened, the people hurried back into their homes with wide eyes.
What was going on? What was happening?
Meanwhile, Ricart led fifty selected knights in a rush toward the royal castle known as the Water Palace. He had taken up position near the North Gate because it was closest to the royal castle.
But the castle was surrounded by a moat, forcing Ricart and the knights to stop in front of it. They halted their horses and looked toward the distant east.
The drawbridge of the royal castle was lowered and raised at set times. The plan was to seize the North Gate by surprise around the time it lowered, cut off communications, and wait.
There had been a reason for allowing people to pass through the West Gate and South Gate.
Ask those people, or rather, the farmers living on nearby farmland, and they would tell you everything. When the drawbridge was lowered and raised, how many guard posts the royal capital had and where they were located.
They even told them the guards’ personal details, family relationships, home addresses, and who their wives were sleeping with.
It was an age that did not fully recognize the importance of intelligence warfare. Only those who had learned it through experience could make use of such things. Ricart and the Steel Knights were seasoned in that regard.
To the garrison, the Order may have seemed to be drinking and playing around. In truth, they had been gathering information and making plans.
What would farmers know? They were happy to receive expensive wine, so they freely told them even things they had not been asked.
When Ricart looked back, the main roads had already been almost completely secured. Every army needed routes of advance, and routes of retreat mattered as well.
They had divided their responsibilities and seized the gates, guard posts, and roads with the precision of weighing something on a scale or measuring it with a ruler.
Ricart looked back at the drawbridge. There was still no sign of it lowering. Honestly, he grew a little impatient.
But as dawn approached, the drawbridge slowly began to come down, unaware of the chaos outside.
The moment it landed on the ground with a Thunk!, Ricart and the knights surged inside as if thrusting spears. The castle guards fell onto their bottoms in shock.
“Eek!”
Forty knights stormed into the royal courtyard and raided the quarters where the Royal Guard slept. Ricart and the remaining ten entered the castle itself.
Ricart grabbed a passing maid by the nape.
“Take me to the king’s bedchamber.”
The armed, heavily armored intruders threatened her, and the maid’s eyes rolled back as she fainted.
But there were plenty of people who could guide them. They simply grabbed another passerby and made them lead the way.
On the second floor, the king’s bedchamber was not far away. Two guard knights stood watch outside it.
The two saw Ricart and the knights, their eyes gleaming with murderous intent. Instinctively sensing danger, they shouted urgently into the bedchamber.
“Your Majesty!”
But Ricart rushed forward like lightning and brought his burning sword down, then swung it. The two knights drew their own swords swiftly enough, but before they could even settle into position, they fell spraying blood. Their broken swords fell with them to the floor.
Clang!
Meanwhile, the knights secured the stairs and halls, driving back anyone who approached by pointing their swords at them.
“Get lost! Come closer, and you die!”
The king’s bedchamber had a surprisingly small door. It was thick, however, and Ricart kicked it open with all his strength.
Bang!
The room inside was large.
“What is going on!?”
As Ricart smashed open the door, the king rose from his bed in nightclothes and shouted. His eyes met Ricart’s as he stormed in with a sword in hand.
“W-Who are you!?”
“Revenge was a lie, actually. That does not erase what you did. Framing innocent people and having them killed is truly something no one should do, isn’t it? So do not feel too wronged. You are less wronged than they were.”
Ricart spoke with his coldly gleaming sword in hand. His hazel eyes were colder than its blade.
King Leonar felt a chill shoot up his spine. His jaw trembled as he spoke.
“W-What? I, I... Everyone else was doing it...”
“I am Ricart. I hold no personal feelings against you.”
At the name Ricart, King Leonar suddenly recalled that elegant signature. For some reason, it came to mind at once.
What? His handwriting does not match his appearance at all.
Then a woman who had been behind the silk curtains surrounding the bed emerged in a sheer nightgown. She spread her arms and stood before the king.
“You bastard! How dare you come here!”
She was younger than expected. She was not the queen, but apparently the king’s mistress. Her courage was admirable, but Ricart struck her across the cheek with the back of his leather-gloved hand.
Smack!
The king’s mistress went flying with a single blow and lost consciousness. King Leonar stared at her with wide eyes.
Then his neck suddenly flared hot, and the woman lying on the floor loomed before his eyes.
Huh? What was this?
He did not even realize that his head had been cut off. His headless body collapsed over hers. Ricart took only the head and left.
Outside, the people of the royal castle were stunned by the sudden situation. When they saw what Ricart held in his hand, they looked as though they might faint.
“Gasp!”
“Eek!”
The king’s severed face had eyes pointing in different directions. His mouth hung open foolishly, and his tongue lolled out.
Ricart squared his shoulders and walked proudly. The chancellor, the military commander, the treasurer, and the other members of the advisory council did not even dare meet Ricart’s eyes. Like cowardly rats, they hid behind servants.
Only now did they understand whom they had been dealing with.
Had there ever been such a headlong, destructive man in this world?
Whatever those cowards thought of him, Ricart left the royal castle without hesitation.
He pulled down the flag of the Basque royal family, a yellow lion reclining on a red field, and impaled the king’s head upon its staff, then planted the head-bearing flagstaff in the very center of the courtyard. Blood ran down the pole and soaked the flag.
Around then, the Steel Knights emerged from the Royal Guard’s quarters. Their blood-soaked appearance made it clear what they had done inside.
Ricart shouted loudly.
“Look closely! This is the end of the one who framed the Knights! This is what God has decided! He has received divine punishment!”
Then he mounted Red Comet, took up the flag once more, and left the royal castle.
Though the roads were blocked to prevent the people from approaching, crowds packed the surrounding area.
When Ricart appeared carrying the flag with the king’s head impaled upon it, everyone stared. The sight was so shocking that the people of the royal capital went blank.
“The Knights are innocent!”
Ricart shouted as he slowly rode along the main road, carrying the flag with the king’s head.
Clatter. Clatter. Clatter. Clatter.
The knights and soldiers of the Order knew this was all part of the plan, but emotion welled within them anyway, and they shouted together.
“The Knights are innocent! The Knights are innocent!”
Amid the crowd’s silence, only the Steel Knights shouted. Six thousand men overwhelmed the entire city.
On the whitewashed wall of an especially large building, Ricart wrote with the king’s blood.
<Thus, God has separated the guilty from the innocent.>
Then he planted the flag before it and displayed King Leonar’s head.
Seeing this, the people of the royal capital thought their country was doomed. Some even wondered whether they were all going to die. It had happened so suddenly and without warning that they could not gather their thoughts.
The Order’s attack had been like lightning striking, like fierce winds and angry waves crashing down. It had all happened in an instant.
But when examined closely, only several garrison soldiers, the Royal Guard, and the king had been killed. The actual events and the shock people felt were vastly different.
After leaving people utterly stunned, Ricart and the Steel Knights continued occupying the roads while looting the royal treasury and storehouses. They took everything openly.
Then they left the royal capital with their heads high and headed north. The sun had just fully risen, announcing the morning.
The farmers near the royal capital did not know what had happened inside. Smiling, they waved at the departing Order.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
