WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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◈ Sword Master of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 62

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Two Exiles (9)

Kyle released his grip on Elysia's neck. He pulled back the sword he had driven down beside her head, scabbard and all. As he slowly rose, his surroundings finally came into focus. He was in the living room of the village chief's house, the place they had borrowed for the night.

"Sorry..."

"......."

"I'm sorry..."

Kyle grimaced and muttered the words in a voice that barely came out. He pressed a hand to his throbbing forehead. Once he realized what he had just done, a deep sigh slipped from him. Drunk on a dream, unable to tell friend from foe, he had attacked the person he was supposed to protect. It was beyond stupid.

"No. It was my fault for touching you so carelessly."

"......."

"It looked like you were having a nightmare... Do you usually have trouble sleeping?"

Elysia cleared her throat a couple of times and pushed herself up from the floor. She did not seem especially bothered. If anything, she was looking at Kyle with concern.

"It isn't usually this bad."

"Is that so?"

"Sometimes my dreams turn rough... and of all days, it had to be today."

"Do not worry about it. I have nightmares from time to time as well."

Elysia spoke as if to comfort him. Kyle gave a small nod.

When he looked around, the living room looked the same as it had yesterday.

The only difference was the faint bluish tint over everything. How long had it been since he had fallen asleep? Kyle stared out the window for a moment, then asked suddenly,

"What time is it?"

"Let me see... dawn will break soon. Twenty minutes until six."

Elysia took a golden pocket watch from inside her clothes, checked the time, and answered. Five forty. Dawn would come soon. It was a little early to move right away, but he did not feel bad. Since he had fallen asleep around evening, he had slept for nearly eight hours. As far as rest went, that was enough.

"How do you feel?"

"I am fine. Perhaps because I rested properly for the first time in a while, I feel light."

"I see."

Elysia rose to her feet as well. Her complexion was not bad. The fatigue had not vanished entirely from her face, but she looked far better than she had yesterday, when she had seemed ready to collapse at any moment.

"Are we leaving right away?"

"We should. We need to move as quickly as we can today."

Kyle opened the living room window that led to the backyard. Cold morning air stabbed deep into his lungs.

His mind, still hazy from the dream, cleared. Kyle untied the reins from the wooden post where the horses were tethered. Perhaps sensing movement, the two warhorses slowly opened their eyes. Kyle handed one set of reins to Elysia, then led his horse out of the village chief's house.

"It is quiet."

"That works in our favor. Slipping away will be better for the people of this village too."

The village was still. No one was outside except Kyle and Elysia. Kyle looked up. The early morning sky before sunrise was a deep navy blue.

"Let's go."

Kyle climbed onto his horse and pulled the reins. A beat later, Elysia followed behind him. The village still slept in complete silence, without even the sound of breathing. Kyle looked toward the distant mountain ridge only briefly, then urged his horse forward and began crossing the mountain range at speed, just as he had yesterday.

***

Thanks to a full night's rest, they moved faster than they had the day before. Kyle rode without stopping, exactly as he had planned.

Their horses raced across the broad mountain range. Kyle took the lead and found the path while Elysia followed behind him. He spread mana in real time, choosing the best route. By noon, the overworked horses were panting, but there was no helping it. Even if the horses collapsed from exhaustion, they had to cross the mountains as quickly as possible.

There was almost no conversation between them. It stayed that way even when they chewed on simple dried rations at noon. Elysia did not bring up what had happened early that morning.

Kyle did not say anything more about it either.

He knew she was deliberately avoiding questions about his past.

Right now, dealing with the wyvern knights and crossing the border came first.

Even if he told her everything later, that did not change.

The sun hanging high in the sky slowly began to sink.

And by the time sunset fell again...

"We're here."

Kyle spoke. Elysia, who had been riding behind him, pulled her reins after him and stopped her horse.

"That place is..."

"The First Ligrid Fortress. It's a fortress city built on the pass road where trading convoys can travel."

The two stood at a point in the mountain range. Below them stretched a canyon, gentler than the one around Ligrid Gate. Within it stood a large fortress city. Seen from above on the pass road, the city was livelier than expected.

"There are more people than I thought."

"It's the only route travelers and trading convoys can use."

"That sounds as though the wyvern knights will be able to read our route completely."

Elysia raised a reasonable concern. Kyle did not deny it.

"Right. There's a high chance they sent a messenger hawk to the fortress."

"Then should we not turn back? If we get held up again..."

Instead of answering, Kyle jerked his chin toward the ridgelines on both sides of the gentle canyon. The mountains, dyed by the sunset, were so steep they looked impossible to descend by any normal means. Under ordinary circumstances, he might have let out a quiet sound of admiration at the view. Not now. They looked like impregnable walls that could never be crossed.

"If we want to descend the mountain range by any route other than this pass, we'll have to make a long detour. The road is extremely rough too."

"Would that not be better? The enemy would not know our route either..."

Kyle shook his head.

"Elysia. Didn't you say before that we don't know whether they have some tracking method besides wyvern mana?"

"I did."

"I always move with the worst case in mind. Since two wyvern knights moved to track you, they must have some kind of method. We don't need to fight on land that's no different from enemy territory. If we can cross the border and fight in the Duchy of Tervan, we'll have a much better advantage."

Kyle did not think he could completely shake off the wyvern knights either. He was only considering the best move so they could choose a favorable battlefield.

He did not want to run into them under poor conditions and lower their odds of victory.

"If you're right, their wyverns are already at their limit. The faster we widen the distance to the border, the more desperate they will become. And the harder they push themselves, the more strength their wyverns will lose."

The best outcome was to cross the border and engage them in the highlands of the Duchy of Tervan. The second best was to fight near the border.

What mattered was taking the initiative. The enemy would try to settle things somehow before they crossed the border. In other words, they could use that to shape the situation in their favor. Once they crossed the border and entered the Duchy of Tervan, the wyverns' combat power would drop sharply. That would be even truer if they were exhausted.

"If we can cross the border, good. Even if we can't, this is better than detouring around the mountains."

"......."

"And we're almost out of food. If we keep eating nothing but dried rations, our condition will suffer."

They could not turn back now anyway. There was only one choice.

"We need to change horses too."

He looked down at the horse Elysia was riding. After nearly three days of a mad forced march, the horse looked as if it might collapse from exhaustion at any moment.

"You are certainly right."

"Horses are essential if we want to manage our stamina. We'll enter the fortress, change horses, and finish resupplying. I'd like to rest if possible, but... that will depend on the situation."

Kyle brought his horse closer to Elysia. While she blinked at him blankly, Kyle removed her dirt-stained robe, which had turned gray. Then he wrapped his own black hooded cloak around her.

"This is...?"

"Wear it. At the very least, we should change your appearance. Just in case."

He shoved her robe into the Inventory Pouch. Then he pulled the black hood deep over Elysia's face. With that, her appearance changed completely. She looked like a traveler hiding her identity, while Kyle, with his smooth leather armor and his face fully exposed, looked like a veteran mercenary who had been through every kind of hardship. They were the kind of party one could see anywhere.

"Are you sure? Giving me your cloak..."

"It doesn't matter. As long as it confuses the pursuit, that's enough."

"How will we pass inspection? I cannot use my Arven Mage Tower identification after being discovered at the gate..."

"We'll have to bribe them. I can't use my Mercenary Badge either, same as your identification."

Silver-rank mercenaries were rare. On top of that, Kyle's name was engraved on his Mercenary Badge. Since he was now attached to Elysia, who was being hunted as a first-class Imperial traitor, he could not use it, at least within the Kingdom of Brendel.

"But if we are discovered while doing that..."

"Plenty of people pay their way through gates or border fortresses. At the very least, it's much cleaner than showing an Arven Mage Tower identification or a Silver Badge. If we hand them two or three Gold Coins, they'll pretend not to know. Merchants dealing in smuggled goods all travel that way too."

Kyle urged his stopped horse forward again. Elysia glanced back at the path they had come from, then followed a step late.

The canyon under the sunset had a dreamlike air.

So did the fortress at the mouth of the mountains. Even from a rough look down from the pass road, it seemed large enough to house close to ten thousand people. There was also quite a lot of traffic passing in and out of the gate. That was good for Kyle.

A tree had to be hidden in a forest. If they blended into that many people, even the lord of the fortress city would have difficulty finding them. They might also be able to gather information along the way.

When had the wyvern knights departed? When had they sent the messenger hawk? Was there a tracking method besides wyvern mana? Everything on that side was full of uncertainty, so they had no choice but to lean on luck.

They could start looking now. Or find out firsthand.

"Stop! Halt."

One of the guards at the gate stopped Kyle and Elysia.

The two pulled their reins at the same time, as if they had planned it.

"Did you just cross the mountains?"

The guard asked. Kyle dismounted. Elysia, reading the mood, also landed smoothly on the ground. Kyle answered politely with a friendly smile.

"Yes."

"You look like a mercenary... Am I right?"

"Yes."

"And the one beside you?"

"My companion."

"Can you show me your Mercenary Badge?"

The guard spoke with little interest. Since it was almost dinner and he had been checking people all day, a hint of irritation and fatigue clung to his voice.

"Here it is."

"Hmm. Let's see..."

That was when the guard's dull eyes widened. Instead of a Mercenary Badge, Kyle handed him three Gold Coins, clasping the guard's hand so no one else could see. At the faint golden glimmer leaking between their sunset-dyed fingers, the guard's eyes trembled slightly.

"The mountains were extremely rough."

"......."

"We nearly fell off a cliff and died. We lost a few things because of it too."

"Ahem! That can happen. The mountain range is terribly rough, after all. Losing a few things is..."

The guard looked around and cleared his throat. The other soldier beside him was too busy speaking to a merchant riding in a wagon that looked like part of a trading convoy.

"What is your business?"

The guard came closer and asked.

"We wish to pass through the fortress."

"Passing through right away?"

"Yes. We plan to resupply and leave."

"Resupplying, huh... If you simply plan to pass through the fortress quickly, you'd better head straight for the east gate. There's less than an hour until the gates close."

"Is that so?"

"This is the border region, after all. Crossing those wide hills at night would be a bit much, wouldn't it? In the end, it's your choice, so I won't stop you if that's what you want."

"Thank you for the advice."

"It's nothing. You must be tired after coming all this way. Sorry for holding you up. Go on through."

The guard smiled broadly and stepped aside. Kyle passed through the gate while holding his horse's reins. When he glanced back, he saw Elysia following while trying to look as calm as possible.

Soon, the two entered the fortress. After exchanging a look with Elysia, Kyle scanned the inside of the city. The streets, dyed orange by the setting sun, were full of people who had just crossed the mountains and people trying to pass through. Kyle watched the scene for a moment, then melted completely into the crowd.

***

The sun had nearly set. Ligrid Gate was silent and still. Dim dusk lay over everything.

Grrrrr.

A low beast's growl. On the massive wall facing the canyon, two wyverns more than three meters tall clung to the stone. Their wings, over ten meters long, were folded, but that alone was enough to inspire fear even from a distance. The people of the city were watching the wyverns in dead silence.

"It is about time to depart."

Damian was an exception. The red-haired knight stroked the head of his wyvern, Ignis. Beside him was Lorentz, likewise tending to his own wyvern.

"The messenger hawk?"

Damian asked without looking back. Lorentz answered at once.

"If it was fast, it should have reached the fortress by now. No matter how late it is, it won't be later than us."

"I see."

"Are you really going to use it?"

Lorentz looked at Damian with worried eyes. In the red-haired knight's hand was a pure white Magic Stone. A Magic Stone containing the mana of Progenitor Dragon Prisia. There was no need to say how dangerous its contents were. It was a power near a miracle, one humans could not use.

"Then do we have any better method?"

"Well..."

"It is His Majesty the Emperor's order. Do not doubt it. Do not question it either."

And there was Crown Prince Maximilian's message.

Damian's eyes narrowed as he looked at his wyvern, Ignis. Before he had followed the Imperial command to pursue the First Princess, the First Prince had come to him late at night and made an earnest request.

Please bring her back unharmed.

Maximilian's request had been simple. Bring the princess back as safely as possible. Though they stood opposed politically, the Crown Prince did not simply treat the First Princess as an enemy. When she had been chosen as the sacrifice for creating Izra's Thorn, he had been the one to push a maid with considerable magical knowledge into her place.

Damian's lips twisted strangely. The genius mage of the Arven Mage Tower. He knew she possessed incredible talent far beyond her age. If she had quietly listened to her elder brother, she would have kept her life until now.

The problem was that she was now a traitor. She had stolen information about the wyverns, one of the most important secrets of the Imperial family. As if that were not enough, she had stolen the sole Dragon Heart shard of Prisia. Even if she was a princess, this could not be overlooked. It was a grave crime that would deserve immediate execution.

That was why Damian had no intention of obediently granting the Crown Prince's request.

Even if the Crown Prince was the one closest to the next Imperial throne, the master of the current Empire was Emperor Leonis. He had ordered them to bring back the First Princess, Elysia, by any means necessary. Damian might have granted the Crown Prince's request before, but now they had come too far for that. He felt deep displeasure at the current situation, where he had to use Prisia's mana.

"Traitors must receive judgment fitting their crimes, without exception."

"......."

"And that mercenary who failed to know his place and joined a traitor... will have to pay with death."

Damian spoke through clenched teeth, making no effort to hide his anger. Lorentz, who had been watching, stiffened.

The red-haired knight crushed the pure white Magic Stone in his hand. Prisia's mana rippled through the air and spread. The eyes of the red wyvern, once crimson, turned completely white. Immediately after, the two wyverns kicked off the wall and soared high above the mountain range.

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