WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Sword Master of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 91

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Prey and Hunter (14)

“Are you saying... you want me to hand over the troops guarding this fortress?”

A short while passed. Baron Daren, having barely managed to rein in his emotions, spoke slowly. He was still clearly confused.

“Yes.”

Kyle answered in the same calm voice as ever. Before the baron could speak again, he explained the situation they were in.

They had personal reasons for needing to pass through the duchy quickly.

But an official order had come down from the capital, and every checkpoint and fortress had closed at once. So they had cooperated with the duchy’s regular troops, including Kellan Fell, on the condition that they would kill Great Chieftain Zakan and the traitor Count Barkan. In the end, the duchy would be rid of the barbarians causing so much trouble, while Kyle’s group would be able to cross the highlands quickly. Neither side had anything to lose.

The routes through the highlands were fixed, except for the third route, the Forgotten Road, where riding horses was impossible. That meant anyone crossing the duchy would inevitably run into the barbarians.

If their interests aligned, there was no reason not to split the risk. From Kyle’s point of view, it was convenient. With the regular army in front, they could pass through the closed fortresses and checkpoints along the way.

That was especially true now, when time was precious.

“I see. So that’s how it is...”

If they were going to clash with the barbarians anyway, it would be better to neatly deal with their Great Chieftain and the traitor Count Barkan. After hearing everything Kyle had to say, the baron rubbed his chin, his eyes narrowing.

“Then was your arrival to support the fortress a coincidence as well?”

“Yes. We didn’t receive a separate letter. We originally planned to request supplies and support from this fortress...”

Kellan, who had been silent for some time, spoke. Messenger hawks were precious. Even decent-sized fortresses often had only one or two.

“When we learned on the way that the fortress might be under siege, we hurried here. I’m sorry. We could have arrived sooner.”

Kellan lowered his head deeply. The only letter he had received was the official notice from the capital. In other words, this had been a lucky coincidence. If Kyle had not been there, the fortress would have fallen by now.

“Don’t apologize. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t change the fact that we owe you. Without you, we would have been wiped out in front of that wall.”

The baron, eyes wide with surprise, waved his hand.

“No. I only did what I had to do as a knight of the duchy. Even that would have been impossible with our strength alone.”

“That’s certainly true as well. I’m sorry my thanks came late. As for how I should repay you for this...”

The baron looked at Kyle’s group with a much softer gaze.

Kyle brought the conversation back to the point.

“So, is it possible?”

At first glance, his words and manner could have sounded rude, but neither the baron nor Kellan cared. The baron closed his eyes for a moment, as if thinking it over, then opened them again.

“You said you wanted the fortress’s troops and supplies?”

“Yes.”

“If it’s supplies, we have nothing to give. We were practically on the verge of starving inside these walls. Instead, the barbarian bastards had piled up quite a bit this time, so if you don’t mind, we can help you with that. By rights, more than half of it would belong to you anyway, considering your contribution.”

“And the troops?”

Kyle asked firmly. Supplies mattered, but this was the most important part. The baron could not answer right away. He could not bring himself to meet Kyle’s eyes and lowered his gaze, as if ashamed.

“That... will be difficult. I’m sorry.”

“Is there a reason?”

“First, I’m not doubting your strength. Regardless of your status, you practically swept away nearly three hundred barbarians and traitors. What would there be to doubt? But handing over the fortress’s troops goes beyond my authority. It might have been different in normal times, but an official order has already come down from the capital in His Grace the Duke’s name.”

No matter how chaotic the duchy had become because of the barbarians, the duke’s orders were absolute. An order had been given to hold out until reinforcements arrived from Brendel and Sarmaren. Pulling a large number of troops from the fortress on his own would be close to disobedience. This was not a checkpoint. Baron Daren’s fortress stood at the center of the main trade route, making it a vital stronghold among vital strongholds.

“Even if you shut yourselves inside the fortress and hold out again, you won’t last long. The supplies captured this time are limited, and since logistics have stopped, the same thing will happen again before long.”

Kyle stated the harsh reality without softening it. The baron said,

“That’s...”

“If closing the fortress and enduring was the best move before, things are different now. If you don’t move when the chance comes, you’ll dry up and die where you stand.”

“Exactly how many troops do you want?”

“Two hundred.”

“Two hundred?”

“I heard the fortress has a little over three hundred troops.”

“That was a month ago. We fought the enemy several times, and one ranger unit went out to scout the supply route connected to the capital. Right now, we only have around two hundred seventy.”

The baron muttered as if troubled. Even so, Kyle did not back down.

“Whew... Two hundred. Let’s say I pull two hundred troops from the fortress. What will you do? Their number is three thousand barbarians capable of fighting, plus five hundred rebel soldiers under the count. Thanks to you, their numbers have been reduced quite a bit, but they still far outnumber us.”

“That’s only if they all gather in one place. Since they have to control the trade routes throughout the duchy, their actual number won’t even be half that.”

“Even so, they’ll still have more strength than us. Are you planning to wage guerrilla warfare?”

“No. We’ll move straight down the main trade route.”

“What?”

This time, both the baron and Kellan were startled. Jade and Elysia listened calmly, as if they were used to this sort of behavior from Kyle.

“You know there’s a fortress there, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And you still intend to go?”

“Didn’t I tell you our goal was to cross the duchy?”

“But that’s no different from suicide. Even if we seized favorable ground first, our odds would be slim. A siege battle would be...”

“That won’t be a problem. They’ll definitely come outside.”

Two hundred troops borrowed from the fortress. Adding the checkpoint soldiers and mercenaries they already had, their fighting force alone would reach two hundred seventy. Including the members of the trade convoy, the procession would be nearly three hundred strong.

Even that was far short of the barbarian main force and the count’s troops. That was exactly why Kyle was certain the enemy would not hole up in the fortress. They would push straight down the main trade route and defeat every enemy they met. Once their route was exposed, the enemy would set an ambush instead of hiding in the fortress. Their numbers were overwhelming, after all. They would not bother locking themselves up in a fortress and leaving a path of escape open.

Above all, the barbarians worshiped strength above all else. Hiding like cowards behind walls was unthinkable.

“Hmm...”

After hearing Kyle’s words, the baron let out a low groan. Still unable to let go of his concern, he asked one last question.

“Are you confident you can defeat them from the front?”

“I have a method.”

“A method? What kind of method?”

The baron asked. Kyle explained the operation he had prepared in advance. As he went on, shock twisted the faces of the baron and Kellan.

“Can that... really be done?”

The baron spoke in a voice full of worry.

“Great Chieftain Zakan is strong. Even the knight commander in the capital couldn’t guarantee victory against him. If you fail...”

“That won’t happen.”

Kyle said it calmly. There was not a trace of tension in his attitude. Without realizing it, the baron exchanged glances with Kellan across from him.

Ever since he had watched Kyle trample the enemy alone on top of the wall, the scales in his heart had already tilted to one side. A moment later, the baron opened his mouth, his eyes resolved.

***

By late night, the dim sunset had vanished completely.

After the battle ended, the soldiers who had sorted through the supplies piled up by the barbarians and the count’s soldiers held a drinking feast in the courtyard inside the fortress. It was a modest banquet for the soldiers who had practically starved for the past several days. It was also meant to comfort the soldiers who would soon be pulled out to fight the barbarians.

Since they had chosen to march rather than defend, there was no need to force themselves to conserve food. Whether it ended with the Great Chieftain and the count dead and the duchy victorious, or the reverse, the conclusion would come quickly. After burying the few dead soldiers and burning all the corpses outside, they let out the feelings that had built up inside them.

“Drink, drink!”

“Kuh. Today, I’m just going to eat and die.”

“What else is there to life? If you die drinking, isn’t that a good death?”

“They say they’ll pull troops from the fortress and head outside tomorrow or the day after...”

“What does that matter? Enjoy it for now! I thought I was going to die of hunger.”

On a cold autumn night, crimson campfires burned all around. Soldiers gathered in groups, eating and drinking with faces soaked in exhaustion but expressions brighter than ever. The checkpoint soldiers and the mercenaries of the trading convoy were no exception.

Perhaps the two major battles had created a kind of comradeship between them, because the checkpoint soldiers mingled with the convoy people and chatted happily. Laughter rang out here and there. Kyle, who had come out after coordinating the exact troop numbers and operation details in the reception room, quietly watched the scene. The noisy voices filled his ears, but it was not so bad.

Because it was proof they were alive.

There were times when he missed this sort of atmosphere more than eerie silence.

“Hey... look at these bastards. They stashed away all the good liquor. Isn’t this Thermail wine? This is expensive stuff nobles only exchange as gifts.”

In front of a campfire lit in a corner, Jade shook a bottle left and right, the flames flickering over it. A smile he could not hide hung on his lips.

“Thermail wine?”

Elysia, who had been quietly eating dinner, tilted her head. Instead of alcohol, she had stew in a wide wooden bowl and was soaking bread in it.

“You don’t know Thermail wine, young lady?”

“I don’t. That is outside my field of interest.”

“Huh... you’ve wasted your life. Not knowing something this good.”

“Stop talking nonsense and drink in moderation. We have to move right away tomorrow.”

“Listen to the nagging. Anyone would think you were my mother.”

Letting Kyle’s lecture go in one ear and out the other, Jade chuckled and opened the bottle the baron had given him. Then he drank straight from it without pouring it into a cup.

“I suppose I prefer tea to liquor after all. I don’t want to get drunk and turn into a dog.”

“Same here. I don’t want to force myself to drink a liquid that tastes like nothing but bitterness.”

Elysia, who was moving her spoon with dignity, muttered to herself.

Kyle, sitting beside her, added a word.

“What? Are you calling me a dog of a man with no taste for fine food?”

“I didn’t go as far as calling you a dog of a man.”

“Don’t lie, young lady. Even if you didn’t say it, you thought it, didn’t you?”

“That is... hard to deny...”

“Come on, young lady, try one cup too. It really is different once you drink it yourself.”

Jade stretched the bottle he had been drinking from toward Elysia. Her face twisted on its own, and she leaned back.

“I’m fine. At least until we pass through the duchy, I don’t want to put it in my mouth.”

“Tsk. I’m really offering it out of care...”

Clicking his tongue, Jade brought the bottle back to his mouth. As if by agreement, Kyle and Elysia looked at each other and laughed softly.

Now that he thought about it, he had had a similar conversation with Jade before.

It was nearly three years ago. Back then, Jade had been just like he was now, a wanderer who lived as he pleased, while Kyle had lost everything to the Empire and wandered without a single goal. Sometimes...

For some reason, this brought back old memories.

“Hm? Mage?”

“So you were here. Were you eating?”

While they were chatting, eating, and drinking, a group of soldiers approached from not far away. Half were rangers from the checkpoint, and the other half were soldiers from the fortress.

“What is it?”

Kyle looked up at them and asked. Once they actually stood in front of Kyle, the soldiers hesitated, as if choosing their words.

“Well...”

“W-We came to thank you! So, your name was...”

“Kyle. Kyle.”

“Ah, right. Kyle! Jade! And Mage Ellie! Thanks to you, we survived.”

“Me too. Thank you for avenging my comrades.”

The soldiers spoke with one heart. In the eyes of the soldiers looking at Kyle, Jade, and Elysia, there was an emotion close to reverence.

“Well now... I never thought I’d live long enough to get thanks from the duchy’s rangers. Living long really does bring strange things.”

After they each gave their thanks and left, Jade muttered while watching the soldiers disappear into the noisy crowd. Due to the nature of their country, the duchy’s rangers tended to be quite closed off toward outsiders. Katrin, the ranger from the duchy whom Kyle had met while helping Count Metis’s trading convoy, was more of an exception.

In that sense, it was quite surprising that they had lowered their heads first.

“It feels strange. I don’t feel like I did much...”

“Maybe that’s how it seems to you, young lady, but not to them. More than a few soldiers kept their lives because of one Wind Magic spell.”

Elysia blinked her large golden eyes. Kyle silently continued his meal and tossed a branch from the corner into the fire.

“It’s nothing worth boasting about. Nor is it something to be thanked for.”

Kyle quietly stared into the wavering flames. He had not cared whether those soldiers died, or whether the fortress’s regular army was wiped out. What mattered was how quickly they could cross the duchy. How quickly they could reach Renavik, where the Federal Assembly was. Killing the barbarians and the count’s soldiers this time had only been part of that.

I am not a good man.

Much less a hero. He was the kind of person who no longer felt sadness when he saw someone die, and who could swing his sword without hesitation if killing someone let him achieve his goal. If anything, hearing thanks like that made him uncomfortable. He had only acted for himself, yet whenever people thanked him with those eyes and expressions, it felt as if they were prodding the guilt he had buried deep in his heart.

Should I call this fortunate, or unfortunate?

Was it necessary for revenge against the Empire that a handful of human feeling still remained in him?

“Seriously. You’re such a twisted bastard.”

Jade glared at Kyle, then put a large chunk of meat from the stew into his mouth and chewed. The campfire before them crackled and burned bright.

Crimson sparks leapt up with the flickering flames and melted into the air. Silence lingered between the three of them for a while. Nearby, the lively mood continued.

“So... once this is over, are you going straight to Cadis and taking a ship across? To the Federation?”

Setting down his half-empty bottle, Jade broke the silence.

“If nothing goes wrong.”

“Hmm... Well, with your skills, it probably won’t be a problem. Actually, about that operation you mentioned earlier. I was going to do it myself. I don’t know how strong that Great Chieftain is, but wouldn’t my sword be faster?”

For a moment, Jade made a serious face and waved his hand with swishing sounds. Elysia, sitting beside him, could not hold back a small laugh.

“Why are you laughing, young lady? Does what I said sound like a joke?”

“No, no. I wasn’t mocking you. It was just a little funny when I imagined it.”

“Something about that feels insulting...”

Kyle, who had nearly finished his meal, spoke. Jade turned his gaze away from Elysia and looked at Kyle.

“Hm? Ah, right. My destination is Sarmaren, not the Federation.”

“Do you have an exact final destination?”

“No. You know my personality. I’m just wandering around. If I find decent work along the way, I handle it. If there’s tasty food or liquor, I eat and drink a little...”

With a vague expression, Jade downed the rest of his liquor in one go. Kyle cleared away his empty bowl and utensils. Elysia, perhaps starting to feel tired, was also tidying up with slow movements.

“I hope we cross safely.”

As they were doing that, Elysia suddenly spoke. Kyle turned to look at her. Elysia’s golden eyes, which had been staring straight into the campfire, looked up at him.

“We will.”

“Will we?”

“Yes. I took on the duty of escorting you. No matter what happens, I keep my promises.”

“That is very reassuring.”

Elysia smiled gently. Kyle turned his head back toward the campfire.

The flames burned fiercely. The noisy mood continued past midnight and through the night. Then, when people’s voices finally faded, dawn passed, and the sun began to rise, the procession disguised as a trading convoy left the fortress. The procession moving east had swollen unlike before, now nearly three hundred soldiers strong.

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