WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 139: The Crumbling Boundary (7)

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Late at night, the village fell into a deep sleep. It was so quiet that even the sound of breathing could be heard clearly.

The lights in the houses, which had still been on when Kyle's group arrived, had all gone out. The same was true of the furtive glances directed at them. Everyone had succumbed to sleep: the original villagers, Kyle's group and the refugees who had arrived without warning, and the Federation cavalrymen resting from their injuries.

Even the horses tied up outside were asleep.

In the midst of that stillness, Kyle slowly opened his eyes. The unfamiliar second-floor room was the first thing he saw.

Remembering that he was staying in an empty room provided by the village chief, Kyle quietly turned his head. Elysia was sleeping soundly beside him. Like Kyle, she was not sprawled defenselessly across the floor. Instead, she was leaning against the wall, sleeping lightly.

Kyle watched her for a moment, then reached to pull the brown fur that had slipped down back over her shoulders.

Then he stopped.

What is this?

The strange feeling he had sensed from the moment he woke grew stronger. Kyle reflexively glanced at the moon outside the window, drew on the mana in his ring, and his expression hardened.

"Elysia."

"Ugh..."

"Elysia, wake up."

Kyle lightly shook Elysia by the shoulder. She let out a faint groan in her sleep before barely raising her eyelids.

"Kyle...? What's wrong?"

"There are people outside the village. Quite a lot of them."

The haze vanished from Elysia's golden eyes in an instant. Once Kyle confirmed that she was awake, he pushed himself away from the wall and stood.

"There are people outside?"

"I don't know the details. They could be enemies, allies, or simply refugees. But..."

Kyle did not finish his sentence. He simply looked down at Elysia.

She did not avert her eyes. Black eyes and golden eyes met in the air. It was only a brief exchange of glances, but it was enough for them to understand each other.

"Let us go downstairs first. It seems everyone is awake."

Elysia rose with Kyle and silently nodded. After putting the fur into her Inventory Pouch and pulling her hood low, she followed close behind him.

When they went downstairs, they found two people already awake, just as expected. Matis, the Council Knight, and Noel, his squire. Earlier that evening, the two had given Kyle and Elysia the guest room on the second floor.

What was unexpected was that Gren, the injured cavalry captain who should have been resting in one of the first-floor rooms since he had arrived earlier, was also in the living room.

"Sir Kyle? And... Ely?"

Noel looked surprised at the sudden appearance of the two. Kyle quickly looked over the three of them before speaking.

"None of you were asleep?"

"Yes. I couldn't sleep very well. But why are you two down here all of a sudden?"

Noel, who was seated to one side of the living room, asked in confusion. It was nearly midnight. They were awake because they could not sleep, but Noel had not expected Kyle and Elysia to come down as well.

"There are people outside the village."

"Outside the village?"

"Yes. A considerable number. Around a hundred."

Noel's question was shattered by Kyle's answer. The young squire's mouth fell open.

"You're not joking, are you?"

Matis, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, looked at Kyle and asked. Instead of answering, Kyle silently nodded.

Gren, the cavalry captain whose injuries had yet to heal, had gone pale.

"Enemies?"

Matis asked again, and the atmosphere changed at once. In a situation where the Imperial Army had launched a surprise invasion, there were only two possibilities for strangers arriving at a remote village this late at night.

They were either enemies who had pursued them or allies fleeing from the battle.

"I don't know the details either."

"Then?"

"I only know that there are more than a hundred of them... and that they are cavalry."

"How do you know that?"

"I have good instincts."

Matis only raised an eyebrow and did not press any further. Those especially sensitive to mana often had sharp senses. In extreme cases, they could use mana to enhance their five senses and perceive things hundreds of meters away.

It was not particularly strange.

"Damn it. Looks like we won't get away easily."

Matis swallowed a sigh and cursed. No one knew for certain, but Kyle and the others were already half convinced.

The unwelcome visitors outside the village were enemies, not allies.

"Gren."

"......."

"I would appreciate an honest answer. Do you know anything?"

Matis looked at Gren, who was trembling alone. Everyone's attention turned toward the injured man.

"We, we..."

"I'm not blaming you. Calm down and tell us. What matters now is who they are and how we should respond."

Matis spoke in a slightly gentler tone. Gren swallowed hard, his eyes darting around before he finally opened his mouth.

"When we left Krosen Fortress, many pursuers followed us. We were the only soldiers who had escaped alive from a fortress taken by wyvern knights."

His voice grew quieter as he continued.

"Naturally, there was fighting. The three wyvern knights who took the fortress flew off in another direction in an instant, as if they had never been there. The ones who followed us were Imperial cavalry."

"And?"

"We kept fleeing east. The major cities along the main roads were obviously going to be taken by the Celestial Knights, so we deliberately turned toward the forest, taking a slight detour. All we could think about was retreating to the rear somehow and reporting everything we had seen..."

"Yet before you could even reach Marent, you lost more than half your cavalry. The survivors were all injured as well. You must have had a difficult time."

Kyle interrupted Gren in the middle of his explanation. The injured cavalry captain could not bring himself to argue and lowered his head.

"How many enemies were there?"

"Three times as many as us. More than three hundred..."

"Fighting them head-on was impossible, so your only option was to retreat as quickly as possible. Once they caught your trail, you must have suffered losses before you could even fight properly."

"...I'm sorry. I thought we had shaken them off, but it seems some of them pursued us to the end. If my guess is right, they are one of the cavalry units that chased us."

Once Gren identified the people outside the village, everyone let out a low groan as though they had agreed to it beforehand.

Kyle looked out the living-room window and fell deep into thought.

One of the cavalry units that pursued them all the way here.

He could roughly picture what had happened. The three divided Imperial cavalry units had likely tried to annihilate Gren's force from the beginning, driving them away from the cities so they could not join up with other Federation soldiers.

The Celestial Knights were swallowing the fortresses and cities along the front line one by one, at a speed the Kingdom of Russel could not even respond to.

But there was one thing they had overlooked.

This was foreign land to them.

Gren's cavalry, familiar with the terrain of the Kingdom of Russel, had somehow made it this far despite suffering near-total losses. Yet one Imperial cavalry unit that refused to give up had chased them all the way here.

"What do we do now?"

Silence lingered for a while. Elysia was the one who broke it.

"We kill them all."

Kyle spoke firmly. The other four stared at his face.

"If they really are Imperial cavalry, we can't retreat any farther. We could escape by ourselves, but everyone else would die. They have no reason to let them live."

Even apart from that, this was an opportunity to reduce the enemy's strength, even if only a little. If they could keep pace with the Celestial Knights, they had to be elite cavalry renowned even within the Empire.

"But we can't protect the entire village. Someone will die."

Noel spoke cautiously, watching the others' reactions. Matis rubbed his face with one hand as he frowned.

"We have to do what we can. At the very least, we promised to take the Federation cavalry and the refugees to Marent."

Just as Matis touched his sword, Kyle suddenly approached the window and threw it wide open.

There was a faint presence in the cold winter wind blowing in.

The clatter of horse hooves. A slight tremor traveling through the ground.

And screams.

Neighhh!

The terrible cry of a dying horse cut through the silent night sky. Kyle instantly turned around.

"Noel. Stay here and protect that young lady and Gren. Gather all the nearby villagers and soldiers in this house and hold out. Cut down anyone who comes near, no questions asked."

"Understood. What about Sir Matis?"

"I will act separately with Sir Kyle."

Matis gave Kyle a look. Kyle turned to Elysia, who was watching him quietly.

"It's all right. You can go."

"......."

"I can protect myself. Besides, someone needs to stay here and protect the others."

Kyle started to say something, then stopped.

He knew Elysia's abilities better than anyone. She also had the protective armor he bought for her before, so she would not be in great danger. For efficiency's sake, separating was the right choice.

No matter how skilled she was with Wind Magic, she could not match a knight's physical abilities.

His hesitation was brief. Kyle exchanged another glance with Matis and nodded.

"Don't overdo it. It won't take long."

If they remained here, everyone except Kyle's group would be slaughtered. The right move was to strike quickly and deal with the remaining enemies.

Having made his decision, Kyle left the village chief's house with Matis. The village, which had only just realized it was under attack, had fallen into chaos.

* * *

The Imperial cavalry racing across the white snowfield reached the village in an instant. With the hour so late, everything inside was quiet and still.

"As expected. They're still here."

One cavalryman grinned and muttered.

Horses were openly tied in front of each house in the village. They were not ordinary pack horses, but warhorses. It meant the Federation cavalry they had been pursuing remained in this village.

"We split into three groups from here."

The cavalry captain at the front spoke. The other cavalrymen fell silent at once.

"One goes through the center. The other two sweep the outskirts. Focus on the Federation soldiers and do not let a single one escape. Kill them the moment you find them. I won't stop you from taking what you want."

"Understood."

At the same time as their reply, the more than one hundred cavalrymen split neatly into three groups. After confirming that the cavalry captain was racing through the center of the village, the remaining two groups spread out to either side under the command of veteran cavalrymen.

"Who's out there?"

"Enemies... enemies! It's the Imperial Army!"

"Aaaagh!"

"Help me! I don't want to die!"

The village, which seemed to have a population of around five hundred, was larger than it had appeared from outside.

Still, the Imperial cavalrymen were used to this. They found villagers drawn outside by the commotion and killed them on sight.

"You fucking Imperial bastards...!"

Among them were Federation cavalrymen who had retreated while wounded. The Imperial soldiers snickered, cut down the horses tied in front of the houses with a single stroke, then killed the Federation soldiers.

The resistance was fierce, but it did not last long. Wounded and dismounted, the cavalrymen fell one after another, vomiting blood.

"Too easy."

"Let's finish this quickly and take our share. Not like there'll be anything impressive here."

Even as people died before their eyes, the Imperial cavalrymen did not so much as flinch. Instead, they laughed and searched every corner of the village outskirts.

The veteran cavalrymen were even worse. As elites, they skillfully mounted and dismounted their horses as they killed people. Neither the villagers nor the Federation soldiers could resist.

It was a completely one-sided massacre.

Then, in front of one house.

"Do you think something is happening outside?"

"What do you mean?"

Faint voices drifted from behind the tightly closed door. One belonged to a young girl, and the other was an adult man's voice.

"Wait, didn't you say there was an Imperial noble among the refugees who came earlier?"

"There was. Why?"

"That woman might be a spy. Don't tell me they came all the way here..."

"Don't say strange things! That lady was nice. She even let all of us ride..."

"Hey, you idiot. There are no good Imperials in this world."

The man's voice rose. The young girl cheerfully argued back.

"But everyone says Grand Duke Rivelius is kind. Even though he is an Imperial royal."

"That is because His Grace the Grand Duke... Never mind. Stay here. I'll go check what is happening outside."

The moment rustling came from within, the Imperial cavalrymen exchanged looks and kicked down the closed door.

Bang!

The door burst open. Beyond the door that had been torn off its hinges, a Federation soldier who had just unsteadily risen and a ragged young girl turned toward the Imperial cavalrymen in surprise.

"Well, look at that. More of them."

"These rat-like bastards sure are annoying."

The two cavalrymen snickered and stepped into the house's living room. Their spears were stained bright red with blood.

"D-Don't come any closer!"

The Federation soldier desperately gripped a nearby spear and shouted, but the two Imperial cavalrymen did not stop.

"What? Don't come any closer?"

"That's a little short for last words."

"Do we kill the brat beside him too?"

"We have to. Orders are orders."

The soldier and the girl backed away. The cavalryman on the right smirked and raised the spear in his hand.

Splurt!

Bright red blood suddenly sprayed before the soldier and the girl's eyes.

The head of the Imperial cavalryman, cleanly severed at the neck, flew through the air. The unclosed eyes seemed to deny reality.

"Uh...?"

Before the remaining cavalryman on the left could even turn around, a blood-red blade burst out through the center of his chest.

Someone who had approached from behind covered the cavalryman's mouth so he could not scream, then twisted the sword's hilt in their hand. The remaining cavalryman's eyes widened.

"Ghk... Ghk..."

The hand covering his mouth released him. With a wheezing sound, the cavalryman with the pierced chest collapsed almost at the same time as the cavalryman whose head had been cut off.

"Ah..."

Only then could the Federation soldier and the young girl see the figure standing beyond the open door, with moonlight pouring behind him.

The man in the black cloak had black hair and eyes, just as the girl remembered. The bloodstained sword in his hand gleamed like a star amid the crimson stains.

Footnotes:

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