WeTried Translations
Translator: Hydrogen B
Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 140: The Crumbling Boundary (8)
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The little girl stared as if entranced at the sword shining like a star and the person holding it. Perhaps because she had nearly died moments ago, none of this felt real.
Am I dreaming?
She did not scream. Even when she saw the corpses sprawled across the floor and the blood pooling around them, she was not surprised. What had happened before her was too unreal for that. Instead, she recalled something from before arriving in this village.
He's the knight escorting that lady.
Did he come to save us?
“...”
Silence fell over the house for a moment. Kyle looked down at the two Imperial cavalrymen who had become corpses, his eyes cold.
They have good equipment. Since they were about to kill even a child, they must have received an order to wipe everyone out.
The men had not even managed to scream properly, and grotesque expressions remained on their faces. One looked foolish, as though time had stopped, likely because his head had been cut off before he could realize what had happened. The other had his mouth covered as his insides were torn apart, leaving his face frozen in pain and terror.
He had committed two murders in the blink of an eye, but he felt no guilt. Kyle had become far too numb for that now.
When he considered that these men might have slaughtered northerners during the war against Hailen in the past, his blood ran cold instead. His grip tightened around his sword. All kinds of thoughts swirled through his mind, and Kyle reflexively clenched his teeth.
No. Don't let it shake you.
It's not over yet.
He forcibly crushed the anger rising soundlessly from deep within his chest. Wind Magic would have been faster, but there were people behind him, so he had no choice. He could only cut off their lives as quietly as possible without letting anyone get caught up in it.
Drip.
Kyle lightly shook the blood from the sword in his right hand and his left hand. Only then did the Federation soldier and little girl, who had been staring blankly at him, flinch.
Many emotions crossed their eyes. Surprise, confusion, relief. And a little curiosity.
“Are either of you hurt?”
Kyle asked indifferently as he stood in the blood-soaked room. The Federation soldier and the little girl answered a beat late.
“N-no...”
“We're fine!”
At the little girl's remarkably bold shout, the Federation soldier bit their tongue without meaning to. When they turned in disbelief, the girl was looking at Kyle with sparkling eyes.
“That's fortunate.”
Kyle had just looked around to see whether anyone else was there when a man and woman he had not seen before suddenly rushed out from deeper inside the house. They looked young enough to be a married couple.
“W-what...?”
“What in the world happened...?”
The couple looked as though they might faint when they saw the chaos in the living room. Two Imperial Army corpses lay sprawled across the floor. Blood was still pouring from them. And Kyle stood calmly in the middle of it all.
For a moment, Kyle's eyes met theirs. The couple immediately lowered their gazes. Kyle swallowed a small sigh and questioned the Federation soldier, who was watching him cautiously unlike the little girl.
“Are those two married?”
“Huh? Ah, yes. I've been staying with them since yesterday, and this girl came this evening...”
“I see.”
Kyle glanced through the open door.
“I've roughly cleared this area, so you protect those three.”
“Pardon?”
“It won't take long. Still, just in case, hide inside. If any Imperial soldiers come, stab them with your spear immediately. If it comes down to it, run out of the village.”
With that, Kyle turned around. He ignored the gazes on his back. The cold wind swept over his whole body when he stepped into the alley.
Imperial soldiers Kyle had killed earlier lay scattered everywhere.
Kyle narrowed his eyes as he looked at them all.
It should be ending soon.
After leaving the village chief's house, Kyle and Matis had not stayed together. The area they had to protect was too large. This was a fairly large village with more than five hundred residents. If they moved together, countless people would die.
So they split up. Matis took the main road running through the center of the village, while Kyle handled the alleys around its outskirts. Kyle was better at Wind Magic and detecting enemies, so he decided that would be more efficient.
This will be over quickly.
Kyle ignored the screams gradually dying down and drew up the mana from his ring.
He sensed Imperial soldiers not far away. Federation soldiers and villagers were resisting them as well. The moment he noticed, Kyle kicked off the ground.
Nothing remained where the wind had risen and vanished.
* * *
“Get inside! Don't push!”
“Move, now! Do you all want to die?”
After Kyle and Matis left, the three people remaining at the house quickly gathered the nearby villagers, Federation soldiers, and refugees in one place.
“What... what is happening?”
The village chief, who had given up his house, was among them. The elderly man seemed unable to grasp the situation after everything that had suddenly happened.
“The Imperial Army has attacked.”
“What? Come to think of it, where are the knights...?”
“Get inside quickly. We don't have time for this.”
Just as the village chief questioned Gren, the captain of the Federation cavalry, Noel forcibly pushed him deeper into the house.
“Whew...”
“Is that everyone?”
“Yes. I think so. At least everyone living nearby.”
Elysia, who had been silently fingering the necklace inside her clothes, turned around. The tightly shut village chief's house was already packed with people they had brought in by force. The three had shoved them inside without asking questions.
The injured Federation soldiers were an exception. Like their commander Gren, they had blood-red bandages wrapped around their bodies, but they did not retreat. They gripped their weapons with determined eyes.
Horrible screams still filled the air from every direction.
Cries begging for help. The dying shrieks of horses. The tremor of hoofbeats passing between them.
“...Are you all right?”
Elysia unconsciously frowned. Noel, who had been glancing at her, asked in a concerned voice.
“If you'd prefer, you can stay inside. We'll stop the enemy ourselves. You seem highly skilled in magic, but being a capable mage and facing real combat are different matters. More than anything, you may find the sight of blood unpleasant...”
“Are you worried about me?”
“Ah... well...”
“It's fine. I'm not soft enough to tremble in battle. I won't hold anyone back.”
She was used to seeing people die. She had killed quite a few with her own hands as well. She was no longer naive enough to hesitate over getting blood on her hands.
Her heart was only unsettled because the Imperial soldiers committing this massacre had once belonged to the same homeland as her. Once she accepted the reality she had been too frightened to face, her determination only became firmer.
To think I've changed this much in less than a year.
What would Uncle say if he saw me? Would he be saddened?
Or would he... be proud?
“Over there!”
A Federation soldier's shout pierced the air. Everyone standing outside the house turned toward where the soldier pointed.
Eight cavalrymen had just rounded the corner into the alley.
They first quickly searched their surroundings. Having been ordered to exterminate everyone in the village, they intended to kill every person they saw. Yet they could not find any prey. There were no lights from the houses, nor were there villagers standing in the streets to find out what was happening.
There was only an unusually large two-story house at the end of the road, and a group gathered in front of it.
“Th-they're coming!”
One soldier holding a spear shouted. Gren's expression hardened in an instant, and he raised his voice.
“Lower your stances and raise your spears!”
The soldiers extended their spears far ahead, braced against the walls on either side. They did not mount horses. They had fewer people, and they were defending. For now, their best option was to block the narrow entrance with spears from inside the house's walls.
We can stop them. Stay calm.
The Imperial cavalry charged straight toward them. In that fleeting moment, Gren kept himself as calm as possible while countless thoughts raced through his mind.
They just can't break through. We have a Council Knight of the Chevaliers here, along with another knight he vouched for.
If we can just hold on...
Gren tightened his grip on the spear in both hands.
Then the charging Imperial cavalrymen suddenly coughed up blood and fell. Horses with severed legs let out horrible screams as they collapsed.
“Wha...?”
Gren's eyes widened. His subordinates were no different. Invisible blades shot out without warning.
When he turned to the side, Elysia stood upright with her right hand extended forward.
“Y-you...!”
“Don't stop! Kill them all!”
The surviving Imperial cavalrymen were shocked, but they did not slow down. Their numbers had been cut in half at once, but it was too late to turn back.
They had not expected a mage capable of using Incantationless Magic like that, but she could not use it repeatedly. All that remained was burning rage and the blind thought of tearing apart the white-robed mage standing among the wounded soldiers.
Then a young man rushed out between them.
A brown coat? Is he a knight?
The question did not last to the end. Noel, who had strengthened his body with mana, ran against the oncoming cavalry and drew the sword at his waist.
Slash!
Under the bright moonlight, Sword Light flashed once. Horses and people with severed limbs tumbled to the ground as blood burst in every direction.
Noel slaughtered the four cavalrymen left in the rear in an instant, then turned and calmly walked back toward the house.
“...You're amazing. Honestly, I wasn't expecting this much.”
At Noel's admiring words, Elysia shook her head.
Only the Federation soldiers, who had never seen a knight of the Chevaliers fight before, could not close their mouths. Even Gren, their commander, was the same.
“It isn't over yet.”
Elysia spoke as though warning them not to relax. Noel roughly shook the blood from his sword and nodded.
“Of course. With Sir Matis and Sir Kyle... I doubt there will be much of a problem.”
“It looks like they'll finish soon.”
Elysia stared through the darkness beyond the other side of the village chief's house. Another scream sounded from not far away. It was a little different from the earlier ones, a horrible cry from Imperial soldiers.
* * *
The Imperial cavalry captain leading the main force through the center of the village pulled out the spear he had driven in. The Federation soldier who had resisted until the end coughed up a mouthful of blood, rolled their eyes back, and slammed face-first into the ground.
“What about that side?”
“It's been dealt with.”
“We move immediately.”
The cavalrymen nodded and quickly mounted their horses. Leaving their subordinates to pursue the survivors still fleeing, the cavalry captain gathered the soldiers who were free and crossed the broad main road.
He killed the Federation bastards who came out of their houses and had his men deal with the villagers trying to escape.
How much time had passed like that?
“Halt.”
The cavalry captain at the front raised a hand. The Imperial soldiers following him stopped.
“What is it?”
“Someone is ahead.”
At the captain's words, the soldiers narrowed their eyes.
Something was blocking the road not far away.
“A knight...?”
Someone muttered.
Under the bright full moon stood a man with bright blond hair and vivid emerald eyes, blocking the Imperial Army's path. A crest matching the one engraved on his breastplate was drawn on the dark navy cape draped from his shoulders.
It was a famous emblem even the Imperial soldiers recognized at once.
“Chevaliers...?”
The Imperial cavalrymen, who had been full of confidence until moments ago, shrank back. The cavalry captain at the front felt his mouth go dry.
Why are Chevaliers here?
It made no sense. Since Federation Council Knights were few in number, they were assigned to top-secret missions or important battles. There was no reason for one to be in a village of barely five hundred people.
It was impossible unless he had stopped by here by chance.
Damn it.
A strange standoff continued for a short while. The Imperial Army could not hide its confusion at the Council Knight who had suddenly appeared, while the knight in the dark navy cape slowly moved his eyes as though examining them.
Step.
Another set of footsteps entered the silence.
The Imperial cavalrymen, rigid with tension, sharply turned their heads toward the source of the sound. A man was slowly walking out from an alley behind them.
Black hair and eyes matching the color of his cape.
A sword in his hand, shining with an especially brilliant light.
“...”
An odd silence followed. Faint screams drifted over from far away now and then.
They were surrounded from the front and rear by only two people, yet no one dared move carelessly.
“...I'll open a path.”
The silence was broken by a veteran cavalryman who had survived the Northern War. He gripped the spear in his hand hard enough to crush it.
The cavalry captain could tell the man was not in his right mind from fear. He also knew the man would deny reality and do something reckless.
“No!”
The veteran cavalryman sprang forward faster than the captain could shout. At almost the same time, the blond knight's sword moved.
Slash!
The cavalryman who rushed in first could not even resist. His body split in half and collapsed along with his horse.
The Imperial cavalry captain immediately turned his horse around when he saw it.
“Retreat.”
“But...”
“That's an order! Break through the rear!”
While the senior cavalrymen who had rushed forward on their own were cut down by the blond knight, the remaining Imperial soldiers turned and charged toward the black-haired swordsman.
The cavalry captain raised his spear and aimed at the man standing there without a hint of concern.
Do you think I'll die here?
He, too, was a formally knighted knight. He could not compare himself to a wyvern knight of the Celestial Knights or a Council Knight of the Chevaliers, but he had risen this far through his own skill and took pride in that.
He might not be able to defeat the blond Council Knight, but he could easily beat an unknown black-haired swordsman. Their side had an overwhelming advantage in numbers.
If we all charge together...
Slash!
His thoughts were cut off by red blood spraying everywhere.
Amid screams of pain, his subordinates following behind him fell to the ground all at once.
What?
The cavalry captain stared blankly with his mouth open at the unbelievable sight, then felt his own body tilting as well.
When he lowered his gaze, he saw his horse with all four legs severed.
Why?
The question did not last long. Momentum flung him forward.
At the end of his fall stood Kyle, whose expression had not changed at all.
The pure white blade cut straight through the falling cavalry captain's body.
Footnotes:
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