WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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◈ Sword Master of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 88

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Prey and Hunter (11)

Over the yellowing field, the corpse of a man split in two spilled its entrails as it collapsed. The life faded from the man's unfocused eyes.

Kyle did not need to look back to know he was dead. It had been a clean, instant death, like a duel decided in a single blow. With his bloodstained sword lowered behind him, Kyle raised his left hand slightly. Inside the white ring on his middle finger, a faint five-colored glow slowly swirled.

So that used about three days' worth of mana.

As expected, in a one-against-many situation, magic was more efficient than Sword Aura, which consumed too much mana. Even if he wrapped Sword Aura around his blade, he was still the one who had to swing it in the end. Wind Magic, on the other hand, let him sweep away a large number of enemies as quickly as possible with minimal mana. This was better than he had expected.

All that was left was cleanup.

Kyle lightly swung his sword behind him. The horse of the barbarian that had been thrashing madly had its neck severed in a single stroke, then collapsed onto the field just like its master. With a wet thud, the horse's scream died out in an instant.

When he turned his gaze toward the convoy, enemies and allies alike were holding their breath and watching Kyle's every move. Kyle's black eyes swept across the faces of the surviving enemies. After the last remaining commander died, the barbarians and Count Barkan's soldiers flinched whenever their eyes met Kyle's. Since Kyle had killed every archer on the hill, they were the only survivors left.

"Wai..."

One of the count's soldiers, a veteran by the look of him, had just started to speak.

"Finish them."

Kyle gave the short order. The checkpoint soldiers and the caravan's mercenaries, who had been watching for his cue, immediately thrust out their spears and blades. The men who tried to fight back too late fell like scarecrows without putting up any real resistance.

"What are the losses?"

Kyle shook the blood from his sword once, sheathed it, and slowly walked toward Kellan. There were no enemies left now. Seeing Kyle approach, Kellan dismounted and answered, looking thoroughly exhausted.

"Thanks to you, not too heavy."

"Any dead?"

"No."

"Wounded?"

"A few, it seems, but none serious. Mostly light wounds."

At Kellan's answer, Kyle looked over the convoy from front to rear.

The blood-soaked area was a mess, but surprisingly, not a single person had died.

"That was thanks to you. You were incredible. I truly didn't think you would sweep away the troops on the hill by yourself."

"It wasn't anything that impressive."

"Not impressive? That is far too modest."

Excluding the Merchant Head and the merchants, the enemy had twice as many combat troops as they did. Yet aside from a few soldiers with light wounds, there had been no real losses. By common sense, that exchange should have been impossible. Kyle, however, seemed indifferent, showing no particular reaction.

"The Merchant Head is alive too."

"Well... the moment you cut off that knight's head at the start, he ducked straight into the carriage. I doubt he is the type to die on the road somewhere. Merchants know how to protect their own lives better than anyone."

Kellan and Kyle's gazes turned toward the carriage at the center of the convoy. Just then, Silas poked his head out from the Merchant Head's carriage, which was different from the ordinary cargo wagons, with cold sweat pouring down his face.

"The rear was well guarded by your group too. It helped that they kept blocking the arrows."

Kyle looked at the carriage at the very back of the convoy. Four familiar faces were there. Jade, who had somehow ended up serving as coachman, Elysia with the hood of her white robe pulled low, and Pico and the veteran ranger, who had been riding with them to conserve their strength, all seemed safe.

There had been no need to worry in the first place.

Kyle was about to turn his head when his eyes met Jade's as Jade glanced around. Jade silently moved his lips and asked.

"Are you okay?"

"You?"

"I'm fine, obviously. The lady blocked all the arrows, and I gave anyone who got close a quick taste of my sword."

"After how much I paid you, you should at least earn your keep."

"What?"

"Help clean up for now. We will be leaving soon."

"Ha... Somehow I feel like I am losing out here. Shouldn't you give me at least a small cut of the fee you got for escorting the lady?"

Jade narrowed his eyes. Kyle stopped mouthing words back to him and turned away.

Following Kellan's orders, the convoy disguised as a caravan began handling the aftermath. Soldiers and mercenaries treated their wounds, while the merchants patched up the broken parts of the wagons, if only temporarily.

"More importantly, what will you do now?"

Kellan asked. Kyle jerked his chin toward the head of one of Count Barkan's knights lying nearby.

"Do you recognize this knight?"

"This traitor?"

"Yes. A knight under Count Barkan who turned traitor."

"Hmm... Sorry, but this is my first time seeing him."

"You don't know him?"

"The duchy is different from other nations. We rarely leave our assigned strongholds. Whenever we visit the capital from time to time, we only exchange enough greetings with the knights and nobles we know to keep up appearances."

Aside from the plateau where the capital stood, most of the Duchy of Tervan was rugged highland terrain. Naturally, unlike in other countries, travel was difficult.

On top of that, the checkpoints and fortresses built along each trade route had to stand guard twenty-four hours a day. The tolls collected from them were the duchy's main source of income. It was only natural that they rarely saw one another's faces.

"What about the other knights?"

Kyle had not killed only one knight. Aside from the knight presumed to be the commander who had stepped forward first, there had been two more.

"As for that knight who died first... I may have seen him before."

Kellan frowned as he looked at the severed head lying not far away.

"Was he one of the stronger knights under the count?"

"Probably. You killed him right from the start, so he never really had a chance to do anything..."

"How many soldiers and knights does the count have, exactly?"

"From what I know, the fortress he guarded on the main trade route is in the eastern part of the duchy, near the border with Sarmaren. The fortress has about five hundred troops. There should be a little over ten knights. A small outpost like a checkpoint is one thing, but a walled fortress and the troops under its lord are closer to private soldiers. That means their chain of command is almost separate from the capital's defense force."

There was a reason civil wars happened so often. This time, the situation had grown much larger than usual because Count Barkan, the lord of the fortress at the far end of the main trade route, had colluded with the barbarians.

"Let me ask one thing."

"Go ahead."

"Baron Daren's fortress, the one we are heading to. When was the last time you exchanged letters with them?"

Kyle asked while looking down at the corpse underfoot.

"The last messenger hawk arrived a month ago..."

Kellan had answered without thinking, but his face went pale. By then, he had realized what Kyle was trying to say.

"Are you saying Baron Daren's fortress may have fallen?"

"I don't know. If the last letter was a month ago, then we know nothing. It may have fallen before the official notice came down from the capital, it may have fallen after, or it may still be barely holding out under siege."

The convoy had almost left the auxiliary trade route and was now close to the main trade route. Their first target, Baron Daren's fortress, was at most two days away from here.

Yet Count Barkan's private soldiers were roaming west of the fortress, not east. That meant there was a very high chance Baron Daren was either holding out under siege or had completely fallen. Baron Daren's fortress stood at the exact center of the main trade route. If it had fallen, it would cause a major setback to their future plans. In short, for both Kyle and Kellan, the situation was extremely urgent.

"Damn it."

The middle-aged knight cursed, which was rare for him. Around then, a shout came from the rear of the convoy.

"Sir Kellan! We have finished tending to the wounded and temporarily repairing the wagons. We can replace the dead or injured horses with the enemies' horses. What should we do?"

Jade at the rear and a nearby veteran soldier shouted at the top of their lungs. Kyle and Kellan exchanged looks almost at the same time.

"Can we shorten the trip to the fortress to within one day? Enough to arrive by tomorrow afternoon?"

"If we push through a forced march, it is possible."

"Then we have no choice."

"Then..."

Kellan trailed off. Kyle quickly gathered the heads of the three knights and the barbarian commander, then spoke.

"We move at once. As fast as possible."

Kyle carried the sack containing the four heads and returned to the rear.

Kellan gave a small nod and immediately ordered the convoy to depart. Not long after, the ten-wagon convoy left the blood-soaked field behind. All that remained were the corpses of barbarians and traitors with their limbs cut apart, along with the carcasses of horses.

***

A hawk descended smoothly toward the ground. A single letter was held in its beak.

"Hmm..."

After receiving the messenger hawk's letter, Count Barkan let out a low hum in his office. The letter contained unwelcome news. As he frowned at his desk, a mage who had been writing documents about the plundered spoils on the sofa opposite him tilted his head.

"What is the matter?"

"The cavalry unit on the auxiliary trade route has been defeated."

"Cavalry unit? You mean the barbarian unit led by the Third Rider of the Krakes Tribe?"

"Yes. Most of the riders were killed, and three or four surviving barbarians barely escaped and hurriedly sent a messenger hawk..."

"Who was responsible?"

The mage lifted his gaze from the documents and asked. The count answered as if it were nothing serious.

"Two swordsmen and one mage, presumed to be mercenaries who came up from Brendel."

"That is all? Only three of them nearly wiped out a Krakes Tribe cavalry unit of over fifty?"

"That is what it says."

"Hah. This has become troublesome."

Tap, tap. The mage clicked his tongue briefly as he drummed his fingers on the desk.

It did not last long. A sly smile crept onto the lips of the mage in the smooth, tailored black robe.

"What is so amusing?"

The count spoke in a curt tone.

"Nothing. I simply thought they did fairly well for mere mercenaries."

"You are a mercenary too."

"Ha ha. I am different from ordinary mercenaries, Count. There is an uncrossable wall between those born on the streets and those from a Magic Tower."

"So you are saying it is no great matter?"

"Yes. It is certainly unfortunate that the Krakes Tribe's cavalry unit was defeated, but it is not enough to cause any major disruption."

They had plenty of soldiers anyway. In particular, the three tribes unified by Great Chieftain Zakan alone had an astonishing three thousand troops available for battle.

That was more than three times the capital's defense force. Add Count Barkan's forces to that, and the number exceeded three thousand five hundred. The Krakes Tribe's cavalry unit was elite, but their deaths were not enough to overturn the scales that had already tipped.

"If only three people were able to crush the Krakes Tribe's cavalry unit, there may be a Gold-rank Mercenary among them."

"......."

"Well, it is not a problem. Put another way, it means one or two Gold-rank Mercenaries are all they have. As you know, we have seized most of the auxiliary trade route as well as the main trade route, have we not? By now, a messenger hawk should have reached the Great Chieftain's side too, so they will send a new cavalry unit at once. Stronger than before, and in greater numbers."

The mage's words were reasonable. But the count did not take them at face value.

"I do not know how that barbarian chieftain will respond."

"The Krakes Tribe worships strength as the highest virtue. An elite cavalry unit of over fifty was defeated by only three people? That is an indelible disgrace and a worthless death. At the very least, the sparks will not fly this way."

"Can you be certain?"

"Have I ever been wrong, Count?"

The count could not refute that. The mage's smile stretched wider.

"In the end, he is still only the leader of barbarians. His limits are obvious."

"True."

"At this point, the convoy's food should be nearly gone as well, so we will see visible results soon."

After Count Barkan turned traitor, Duke Tervan had remained hidden in the capital without taking any action worth mentioning. Thanks to that, the knights and nobles at the checkpoints and fortresses on the main and auxiliary trade routes were growing more and more dissatisfied. Naturally, the more the duchy's nobles turned against the duke, the more favorable the situation became for Barkan's side.

"There is no need to attack the capital directly. The spoils we have seized by blocking the trading convoys already exceed one year's tax revenue for the duchy. Duke Tervan is no different from a man with his arms and legs cut off, and we need only use the barbarians to tear into the throat of a dying man."

Killing with a borrowed blade, using the barbarians. Once the duke's family was dragged down, the duchy would belong to him. It was not particularly difficult. He had already come halfway, so from Count Barkan's perspective, all he had to do was leisurely wait for the fruit to fall.

If there was one thing that bothered him,

"What about reinforcements?"

The count asked again. The mage shook his head.

"So far, Brendel and Sarmaren show no signs of moving. If we make the duke come down on his own before that, everything will be resolved."

From Brendel and Sarmaren's perspective, sending reinforcements and directly setting foot in the duchy's highlands carried a great deal of risk. If the trade routes continued to remain blocked, no one knew how they would act, but there should be no problem as long as everything was settled before that. If the trade routes opened without losses for both sides, they would bury this incident on their own, no matter who became master of the duchy.

"Yes. If Baron Daren's fortress in the center of the main trade route falls, that means we are halfway to victory."

"How many troops did we send there?"

"Over five hundred, a mix of some of our forces and the barbarians. According to the letter that arrived yesterday, they have completely cut off supplies going to and from the capital, while the remaining troops are controlling trading convoys passing through the western area. There was even word that they had so much room to spare, they were eyeing the nearby auxiliary trade route as well."

"Hmm..."

The count hummed for a while. As the mage said, the war situation was unfolding far more favorably for them.

Then what was this unease? Without realizing it, the count frowned. His instincts kept sending him a signal. As if he had missed something. Something was lightly scratching at his nerves.

More precisely, it had not stopped since he heard that three mercenaries had crushed a Krakes Tribe cavalry unit of over fifty.

"Count?"

The mage's questioning voice broke the count's thoughts. When he lifted his gaze slightly, the mage was staring at him.

"What is the matter?"

"No, nothing. I was lost in thought for a moment."

The count blinked a couple of times. Then the stray thoughts filling his head melted away cleanly in an instant.

"You will soon become His Excellency Duke Barkan... Were you already imagining what comes after?"

The mage joked. The count gave a small laugh.

"I should write a letter to the barbarian tribes."

"What kind of letter?"

"Tell them to send more troops."

The count picked up the pen lying at the corner of his desk.

"I do not know how strong those three mercenaries who crushed the Krakes Tribe's cavalry unit are... but this works out well. It would not be bad to use this chance to reduce the barbarians' forces."

He could always hand them gold and treasure anyway. The count forced down the unease rising inside him.

"Before overwhelming numbers, the strength of a lone individual holds no meaning. There is nothing a mere mercenary can do."

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