WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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◈ Sword Master of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 89

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Prey and Hunter (12)

A day had passed since they ran into Count Barkan's soldiers.

The procession continued toward Baron Daren's fortress at the center of the main trade route.

The mood had grown quiet in a different way. After fighting a battle, everyone in the trading convoy had become sparing with their words. With several people wounded, no one felt comfortable trading jokes. Even the normally talkative mercenaries and caravan members were the same.

The checkpoint soldiers were not much different. They were shaken by the fact that they had killed men who, despite turning traitor, had once been comrades from the same duchy. The attackers they had seen on the auxiliary trade route until now had been barbarians, enemies from the start. This was the first time they had pointed spears and blades at soldiers of their own duchy. Most of the civil wars that had broken out had never reached as far as the entrance to the auxiliary trade route.

"This place feels like a funeral. Though I guess the quiet makes it easier to clear your head..."

Jade clicked his tongue as he drove the wagon at the very rear of the procession.

"They fought and killed people from the same homeland. It is only natural. I can understand it."

Elysia spoke while leaning against the wagon's backrest. Jade glanced past her hood and shrugged.

"Young lady, you've done this before too, but sometimes you talk like you've lived through everything already."

"Do I?"

"Sometimes you seem like you don't know how the world works at all, and other times you're sharp. What about you two? You all right?"

This time, Jade asked Pico and the veteran ranger sitting across from Elysia. They were slumped down and had barely spoken.

"Ah, we're fine."

"I'm sorry. We weren't much help..."

The two of them, their faces clouded, looked at Kyle in front of them. The black-cloaked mercenary who had cut down nearly half the enemies in yesterday's battle sat with his eyes closed as if meditating.

"No need to apologize."

"......."

"Personally, I'd rather nothing happen at all."

Some mercenaries took pleasure in killing people, but Jade was not one of them. He only wanted to cross the duchy in peace. Jade scratched the back of his head a couple of times and looked ahead.

"How are things at the rear?"

Kellan, who had been watching the procession from the front to make sure there were no problems, rode over. Unlike the others, his eyes had not lost their sharpness, as befitted a senior knight. He kept scanning the surroundings as well, wary of another ambush or attack.

"No problems. At least not yet."

Kyle opened his eyes. Kellan peered into the cargo wagon and gave a small nod.

"I see."

"What about your side?"

Kyle glanced toward the front of the procession.

"No particular problems at the front either."

"Are the soldiers all right?"

"If that is what you mean, you need not worry too much. They may not look it, but they have all served since they were young. They are not the sort to break down simply because they killed someone. It is only because they fought soldiers from the same duchy. They will recover soon enough. Though..."

"Though?"

Kyle asked. Kellan gave a low hum and narrowed his eyes.

"The rangers who went out to scout returned a moment ago. They said they found tracks not far ahead."

"How many?"

"Over a hundred."

"The ones from yesterday?"

"It seems so. But there were some other tracks mixed in..."

"It doesn't matter. Keep moving as planned. The destination is the same anyway."

The procession, currently disguised as a trading convoy, was on a forced march with their rests kept to a minimum. It was unavoidable if they wanted to cover a journey of nearly two days in one.

"Does it bother you?"

Kyle asked, looking at Kellan as he rode alongside the wagon. The middle-aged knight did not answer at once.

"To be honest... yes. It bothers me. Since we minimized the cargo to carry soldiers, we need to resupply midway, but the fall of the fortress guarded by Baron Daren was not part of the plan. If that canyon is blocked, we would have to circle all the way back toward the auxiliary trade route. That would waste time, and we do not have enough food or fodder to endure it..."

The canyon at the center of the main trade route, and Baron Daren's fortress blocking its middle, were undeniably strategic points. Yet the barbarians had ignored that fortress, crossed this far west, and moved in and out of the auxiliary trade route. From that moment on, Kellan had not been able to shake his unease.

"Is the fortress managed by this Baron Daren easy to breach?"

Kyle asked, studying Kellan's frown.

"No. Its walls alone are over ten meters tall. On top of that, Baron Daren may be gentle, but he is not incompetent."

"How many troops?"

"A little over three hundred. Fewer than Count Barkan, but the rangers there are veterans as well."

"Then it should be fine. It isn't as if that canyon is the only way to cross the duchy. As long as their food doesn't run out, it won't be easy for it to fall. Being too pessimistic won't help."

"I hope you are right..."

Kellan swallowed a sigh and left. After moving for quite some time, the procession stopped beside a small stream.

"Stop! We rest for a moment!"

At Kellan's shout, the soldiers inside the cargo wagons climbed out and stretched. The caravan members watered the horses that had been pulling the wagons and fed them fodder. Those who were hungry chewed on dried rations and jerky.

Kyle's group rested like the others. Jade let the horses loose by the stream to drink, then sprawled across the driver's seat, using the breeze as a blanket as he closed his eyes. Kyle sat with Elysia at the edge of the stream and filled the empty water containers. Whether they boiled it later for drinking water or used it for cooking, replenishing water along the way was essential. Condensing moisture from the air with magic consumed too much mana and was inefficient.

"Tell me if you're tired or if anything feels wrong."

Kyle spoke while closing the cap of a canteen. Elysia's eyelids, which had lifted slightly, slowly settled back into place.

"Are you worried about me?"

"Yes. For now, I am your escort. The client's safety matters."

If something happened to Elysia, Kyle would be the one inconvenienced. At least until they reached the Federation, he needed to bring her there as safely as possible. Her existence was essential if Kyle wanted to gain the Assembly's cooperation. She was necessary both as justification and to seek help from Grand Duke Rivelius, Elysia's uncle.

"Thank you."

Elysia knew that as well. She knew Kyle was using her. She also knew that the request to escort her to the Federation had only been made because their interests aligned.

"I have recovered quite a bit, thanks to you. The barbarians may be everywhere, but they are not as bad as wyvern knights. It almost feels like I am traveling."

But she did not show any of that. Elysia smiled faintly. Her complexion looked far better than before. Clear water rushed past beneath their feet.

Listening to the stream trickle by, Kyle stood.

At least Elysia did not seem to be lying.

"You said Baron Daren's fortress was at the center of the trade route. Once we arrive, will you secure troops and leave right away?"

"Yes. Time is short. After the bare minimum rest and resupply, we move straight on. To Sarmaren."

"The journey may end sooner than expected."

"Maybe. We are already almost halfway there."

Assuming the fortress was still standing.

Kyle muttered softly and put the canteen in his hand into the Inventory Pouch. Elysia stood after him as well and picked up a container filled with water.

"We move soon! Everyone, prepare to depart!"

The rest was brief. Kyle and Elysia returned to the wagon and woke Jade, who had been lying nearly flat. Jade muttered a low complaint and gripped the reins again. At Kellan's command, the front moved first, and the procession quickly followed.

How long had they been running like that?

The road gradually narrowed. The slopes on both sides grew steep. The gentle ridges disappeared, and the terrain turned into a canyon. The procession's speed slowly dropped.

Not far away, the walls of their destination came into view. There were no clear signs that the fortress had fallen, nor were any barbarian tribal flags flying above the walls. The faces of the trading convoy brightened at that. But when they saw the scene below the walls, those brightened faces hardened again.

"Barbarian tribes..."

"Goddammit."

Someone muttered. Everyone looked straight ahead.

A group stood there as if blocking the canyon before the fortress walls. The gazes of countless barbarians and traitors began pouring all at once toward the slowly approaching procession.

***

"Reinforcements?"

"None."

"No supplies came separately?"

"No. I am sorry..."

"No. What do you have to be sorry for? This is all because I am incompetent."

Baron Daren, lord of the fortress at the center of the main trade route, swallowed the sigh that tried to escape him. From atop the wall, he could see the camp of the barbarians and Count Barkan's soldiers, set up as if to block the canyon road that passed through the fortress.

"Baron... what will you do now?"

The knight beside him looked back at the baron with a grim expression. The other soldiers on the wall were no different. Unlike before, there was no hope on their faces. Something close to resignation had settled in their eyes.

"We have almost no food left. The arrows and oil were all used up long ago. Any longer, and..."

The knight trailed off. Many rangers stood on the wall.

Yet they could not draw their bowstrings. Even if they wanted to loose arrows, there were none left inside the fortress. All that remained were empty, useless quivers and blades such as swords and spears.

Was it time to make a decision?

The baron slowly looked up at the fading sky, his eyes full of regret. Then, all of a sudden, a man who appeared to be a knight approached from the barbarian camp below the wall.

"Baron Daren! Are you listening?"

He shouted in a booming voice. His voice echoed through the canyon and reached the ears of everyone nearby.

"Why not open the gate? If you surrender now, we will not kill you! No, join our side even now! Count Barkan will surely show you mercy out of consideration for who you are!"

"Hahahaha!"

Snickering laughter sounded from here and there. Baron Daren's soldiers on the wall ground their teeth.

"Those sons of bitches..."

"If only the supplies had arrived on time, those traitorous bastards would..."

Yet even when the count's soldiers provoked them, there was nothing they could do. The mood, already heavy, sank even further. Their supplies had been cut off, while the other side was growing fat by plundering the trading convoys that tried to pass through the fortress.

Baron Daren unconsciously clenched his fist. He slowly examined the enemy camp, which stood a short distance from the fortress.

A roughly thrown-together camp. The troops moving around numbered a little under three hundred. Excluding the rangers who had gone out scouting at first and never returned, their numbers were about even. But if he opened the gate and fought in melee, the difference would be severe between the baron's forces, centered on rangers, and the barbarians, who excelled at riding and close combat.

"Baron..."

The knight beside him looked back at the baron again. The baron clenched his teeth and spoke in a simmering voice.

"We endure. An official order came down from the capital."

"Until when?"

"Until reinforcements arrive. They cannot keep blocking the main trade route forever. If the duchy's trade roads are blocked, Brendel and Sarmaren will also suffer heavy losses, so there is a good chance their armies will come to support us soon."

The baron mixed the letter that had arrived by messenger hawk not long ago with his own speculation and gave them a hopeful answer. Even so, the knight's and soldiers' expressions did not soften. The same was true of the baron himself.

He knew.

This was far too optimistic. Sending reinforcements to another country, especially dispatching one's own army into a country like the Duchy of Tervan, where most of the land was mountainous, carried enormous risk. At the very least, the armies of Brendel and Sarmaren would not arrive in time for them to survive today and tomorrow.

In the worst case, the ruler of the country might change. Brendel and Tervan were not on bad terms, but they were not blood allies like the Grandecia Federation either. Sarmaren was the same. As a country built on trade, gold-first thinking was widespread there.

Rather than force out an army and suffer heavy losses, they might simply wait for the duchy's ruler to change and the trade roads to reopen.

Even to him, that seemed far more efficient and reasonable.

"Would it not be better to open the gate and charge?"

Unable to bear it any longer, the knight voiced his opinion.

"That's right! If we're going to starve to death here, I'd rather die after driving my blade into the bellies of those barbarian bastards and traitors!"

"Please give the order!"

"Baron!"

Shouts rang out from all over. The supply route had been cut off long ago. The barbarians and traitors in front of the wall were not the whole of the enemy force. It was bad enough that the supply route connected to the capital had been blocked, but now some of those troops had moved separately and were even eyeing the auxiliary trade route.

Was there truly no way?

The baron kept thinking, trying somehow to find a way out. His side would soon be starving, while the other side had plenty of food and all sorts of loot taken from passing trading convoys. No matter how much he thought, he could not see an answer.

Perhaps they should make a clean charge, cut down as many of them as possible, and die gloriously...

The baron was just about to open his firmly closed mouth when a sudden stir spread like wildfire from below the wall. The baron's soldiers on the wall sensed the shift as well and looked beyond the canyon.

"What is it?"

"Over there! Someone's coming!"

A soldier shouted. Everyone, including the baron, looked beyond the barbarian camp. What first appeared as tiny dots gradually grew clearer with time.

"Wagons?"

"It looks like a trading convoy."

"The size. How large is it?"

The baron asked urgently. The knight beside him frowned.

"It appears to be about ten wagons. The visible troops number fewer than twenty. With that..."

Sighs came from every direction. They could already see what would happen. Until now, every trading convoy that had tried to pass through this fortress at the center of the main trade route had met the same end. Mercenaries, caravan members, merchants, all of them had been killed, and the remaining loot and food had been taken by the barbarians and the count's soldiers. There had not been a single exception.

This time would probably be the same.

"Stop!"

The soldiers' faces darkened in an instant. Around the time the lead wagon drew quite close to the wall, the knight from the count's side who had urged them to surrender below the wall proudly blocked the road.

The trading convoy came to a stop. As a mounted mercenary who looked fairly skilled approached the knight, a black-cloaked man climbed down from the rearmost wagon and strode toward him. The barbarians, Count Barkan's soldiers, the baron on the wall, and the fortress soldiers all focused on one place.

"......."

For a moment, everything went quiet. The count's knight, wearing a crooked smile, lifted his chin and began saying something.

At the same time, pure white flame rose from the man's waist. The white blade split the knight's sword in half as he reacted too late, then swept past his neck. It was early evening, and the sunset fell at a slant. Amid the clear ring of metal, bright red blood and a severed head scattered through the air in an unreal spray.

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