The sun was slowly setting.
Karl tried to suppress his growing anxiety, but it was hard to endure.
“Any news yet?”
“Not yet. It seems something may have happened at Hilpin Castle.”
At Catherine’s reply, Karl clenched his fist tightly.
It had already been quite some time past when the messenger sent to Hilpin Castle should have returned.
If the messenger had arrived safely and successfully delivered the request for reinforcements, he would have ridden back immediately with news.
But there was still no word, which could only mean something had gone wrong at Hilpin Castle.
Could it be that Maldin had already left with the troops? No, if that were the case, the messenger would have returned with that information.
Karl stared into the darkening forest, barely restraining himself from biting his lip.
Unless Maldin was still at the castle exerting influence, this situation made no sense. But after being caught deceiving a prince, there was no reason for him to remain there.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t make sense of the situation. At a time like this, he found himself desperately wishing for the mobile phone from Han Chang-in’s memories.
“Please try not to worry too much.”
Catherine spoke carefully. Karl knew why she said that.
“I know worrying won’t change anything. But I can’t help feeling anxious.”
“Last night’s battle was your first. It was fought in the field, and under unfavorable conditions, yet you led it to the end without collapsing. You’ve already done far better than anyone could have expected.”
At Catherine’s words, Karl gave a faint smile.
He knew her praise was sincere, which made him a little glad, but at the same time, it did little to help the current situation, leaving a bitter taste.
Resting his hand on the newly replaced wooden palisade, Karl muttered under his breath as if chewing on the words.
“…If only we had arrived a day earlier… or if we had just one more day…”
Karl was painfully aware of how precious a single day could be.
If the subjugation force had arrived just one day earlier, they wouldn’t have suffered such heavy losses in last night’s battle.
And if tonight could pass without incident, Catherine would have been able to build the small outer fortification she had originally planned next to the village palisade.
Even in something so small, a single day is worth more than gold. When it comes to great undertakings, a single day could be worth an entire world.
And now, he might lose his life because of that very one day. It was a lesson carved deep into his bones.
“Don’t dwell too much on what’s already passed. If you’ve learned your lesson, it’s best to cast it aside.”
“…Thank you, Lady Catherine.”
Karl smiled at Catherine who was now quite actively offering him guidance.
The change in her attitude was a significant matter for Karl.
At the very least, it gave him a small sense of trust that she wouldn’t abandon or betray him when things truly mattered.
“Light the torches!”
As the sun was swallowed by the western forest, Corbin hurried along the palisade, shouting orders to light the fires.
They had been running low on oil, but fortunately, the supplies Karl had brought included some, so they were able to light the torches again today.
Hearing that they had previously rendered the remaining gnoll corpses to obtain oil, Karl had to make a serious effort not to frown.
On this brutal battlefield, it was unlikely that human corpses had been given proper burials. Anything that could burn had probably been burned.
Flames spread across the top of the palisade. In case the fire caught onto the wooden walls, buckets filled with water were placed all around.
Water, right… water.
Securing water was a challenge in itself. There was a well, but it wasn’t enough to supply the soldiers who were being pushed to their limits, leaving only a shallow layer sloshing at the bottom. Water had to be fetched at great risk from outside.
No wonder water mages are so highly valued.
Karl now understood why water mages were effectively “taken in” by nobles or at the state level.
They were treated exceptionally well, but strictly speaking, it was also to ensure no one else could have them.
A single water mage could drastically reduce supply needs and provide safe, clean drinking water at any time.
Free from disease and dehydration, troop management became far easier. Naturally, they had to be controlled as strategic assets.
“……”
A suffocating silence hung in the air.
Torches flickered violently in the bleak autumn wind, and the shadows writhed like the jaws of monsters.
Karl positioned himself facing the western forest, leading Catherine and the imperial soldiers, his strongest available force.
If they could hold firm here, the less capable soldiers would be able to fight with a bit more breathing room.
“It’s a shame Bilford isn’t here.”
“He should be able to move again by tomorrow, even if he’s not back to full strength.”
After answering Karl’s small complaint, Catherine glanced at him.
It had been such an intense battle that even Bilford had collapsed, yet Karl seemed perfectly fine.
It was clearly suspicious.
On top of that, Karl had even used his spare time to learn how to handle a spear from Catherine.
Strangely enough, despite yesterday’s battle and having lost consciousness, he seemed even stronger than before.
Catherine slightly lowered her head and whispered softly near Karl’s ear.
“Since we’re fighting along the palisade, there’s no need for you to take part in combat like you did yesterday. Simply showing the soldiers that you are here and holding your position will be enough.”
Karl gave a small shake of his head at her words.
“It’s more efficient for me to keep moving since I recover quickly. It’ll help morale, and from a practical standpoint, it’s better than not having me out there.”
At Karl’s calm response, Catherine seemed to have nothing to say. Karl gave a faint smile and spoke to her.
“Thank you for your concern. But I came here to lead the subjugation and defeat the gnolls, not to be protected while I sit back.”
“…My apologies. I spoke out of turn.”
“No, your concern is valid as well. I’ll be careful not to put myself in unnecessary danger.”
If Karl were to suffer a serious injury or die, the soldiers whose morale had risen so high would collapse just as quickly. That was something they had to avoid at all costs.
Karl and Catherine fell silent, gazing toward the western forest.
The sound of Corbin running along the palisade with a spear, shouting encouragement to the soldiers, brushed past their ears.
Then, at some point, Karl felt a chill run down his spine.
“Sir Karl.”
Catherine who had been staring into the darkness called out to him.
Because of the torches lighting up the palisade, their pupils had constricted, making it hard to see into the forest. But Catherine could feel the killing intent.
And Karl, with survival instincts like a wild beast, felt it as well.
“Prepare for battle!”
“Yes, sir!”
Clang! Clang!
At Karl’s booming shout, the imperial soldiers raised their spears and braced them against the palisade, responding with a loud roar.
“Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle!”
Corbin echoed the command, and the tension atop the palisade tightened instantly.
The day before, they had been attacked by an unimaginable number of gnolls, and everyone had nearly died.
Even so, the soldiers of the rural territory and the conscripts stood united with astonishing morale, gripping their weapons without retreating.
There was no trembling fear of battle and death, no suppressed sobs.
Instead, there was a chilling, explosive intensity. Like that of elite troops.
Regardless of knowledge or experience, this alone is truly a demonic level of talent.
Catherine shuddered at Karl’s strange charisma, which turned a ragtag group of conscripts into something comparable to elite soldiers.
At this level, they could hold their ground even against a well-trained regular army. In fact, such absurd morale might even terrify professional soldiers.
The sharp-edged resolve shown by untrained farmers felt like the fanaticism of zealots. It was something incomprehensible. And therefore, naturally frightening.
“The shields of the Hardion Empire stand here! Here, we will not waver. We will hold back even the fiercest waves!”
Just like the night before, Karl lifted his chin proudly and shouted in a powerful voice.
His fluttering red cloak and the crimson plume on his helmet drew the eye.
“You have all seen how hundreds of gnolls crumbled like sand before merely thirty shields of the Empire!”
Thud!
Karl slammed the butt of the spear he had picked up for the first time that very day against the ground.
“Do not fear! When fear reaches out its dark hand to seize you, raise your head and look. See that the shields of the Empire stand firm right here!”
Thud!
As Karl struck the ground again, the imperial soldiers followed suit, stomping in unison and creating a single, resounding echo.
As expected of soldiers trained in imperial drill. Their awareness and coordination were impeccable.
Karl had gone a step further than the night before, when he invoked the Emperor’s authority and the Empire’s cause.
“Do not fear death! Duren, who watches over all things, is looking upon you as you shed blood for mankind!”
Because of Han Chang-in’s memories, Karl knew that gods truly existed in this world, yet he did not rely on them.
Still, through today’s experience, he came to understand just how desperately these people clung to their faith.
By invoking the name of a god, Karl erased the fear in their hearts and at the same time, ruthlessly gave profound meaning to their deaths.
However, he did not simply call for their deaths alone.
“Fight with everything you have! Protect yourselves, protect your comrades, and beyond that, defend the Empire. Defend the lands of mankind! And survive to claim your glory! The glory you live to enjoy on this land is the most radiant future Duren has prepared for you, and the most magnificent path that leads to paradise!”
There is nothing more intense than the will to live.
It is the most primal force humans possess and therefore the most powerful.
Karl gave meaning to their deaths while also praising life and pulling their will to live to its absolute limit.
His shout rose high into the autumn night sky, mixing with the heat of the blazing torches.
The stench of rotting corpses hit them, along with the foul odor of beasts and the sharp barking that battered their ears.
And in the darkness, countless yellow eyes gleamed in the torchlight.
“We must reclaim the land of mankind, the land of the Empire, our land, from those filthy, vile monsters!”
Even so, not a single person stepped back in fear.
Karl’s voice struck them like a blow, shattering their terror and igniting a fire deep within their shrunken hearts, filling them with burning breath.
“Fight for yourself! Fight for everyone! Do not forget that we stand here shoulder to shoulder!”
Us. A cry that bound you and me into one.
And the one who spoke it was none other than Karl, the Emperor’s son, a prince of the Empire, the most noble of all.
An unbearable blaze surged up from the depths of their chests.
“Fight! For everyone!”
“Waaaah!”
Like a volcano erupting, like thunder crashing, a roar exploded forth.
The soldiers stomped their feet and pounded their shields, answering Karl’s cry.
The force of it was so overwhelming and intense that the gnolls charging at the palisade flinched and stopped in their tracks.
“Prepare fire arrows!”
As the gnolls’ momentum faltered, Corbin seized the moment and gave the order.
Originally, the fire arrows were meant to threaten and drive off the gnolls hacking at the palisade.
But they couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.
The archers moved quickly, wrapping oil-soaked cloth around their arrows and lighting them from the torches.
Seeing they were ready, Corbin shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Fire!”
Thud-thud-thud!
There weren’t many archers to begin with. At most, there were only about ten, and even they didn’t have enough arrows to mount a proper attack. They couldn’t retrieve their arrows since the gnolls carried away the bodies.
But to the gnolls, who had already faltered before the soldiers’ sky-piercing momentum, even ten flaming arrows soaring toward them at once felt threatening.
Thud-thud!
Yelp!
The gnolls struck by the flaming arrows collapsed. The flames did not go out easily, thanks to a mixture not only of oil but also dried, hardened human waste collected from the latrines. It produced a horrific stench along with the smell of burning fur and flesh.
As thick black smoke spread from the stubborn flames, the surrounding gnolls hastily retreated.
Normally, no matter how many flaming arrows were fired, the gnolls wouldn’t have cared. After all, being hit didn’t mean instant death. Out of ten arrows, at most three would be killed.
And since they would run out of arrows after about thirty shots, it wasn’t even worth scoffing at.
But now, shaken by the explosive momentum Karl had created, the gnolls were completely distracted by the flaming arrows. They could clearly see their kin writhing in horrific agony, spewing foul stench and smoke.
“Prepare more fire arrows! Quickly!”
Seeing this, Catherine shouted the order in a loud voice.
Though Karl was the commander of the punitive force sent under the Emperor’s command, authority over command had not been clearly defined, so Catherine could only command the imperial soldiers.
But there was no time to argue over such matters now.
At Catherine’s command, the archers once again prepared flaming arrows and set them to their bowstrings.
“Fire!”
Thud-thud-thud!
Once again, flaming arrows streaked across the sky and plunged down upon the gnolls.
Yelp! Yelp!
Not all of them hit their mark. Three struck the ground instead.
Even so, the gnolls panicked in fear, scattering in confusion and unable to approach the palisade easily.
“Waaaaaaah!”
At the sight, the soldiers’ morale surged even higher, and they let out blazing, thunderous cheers.
As soldiers atop the palisade waved their torches wildly, Corbin went around shouting for caution, worried that the structure might catch fire.
Fear filled the eyes of the gnolls as they looked up at the wildly swaying flames above the palisade.
Though the gnolls had crudely learned to use fire to make axes, at their core they were beasts, and their instinctive fear of fire ran deep.
Until now, they had maintained the upper hand against humans for so long that they had forgotten that fear.
But after suffering devastating losses and a crushing defeat just the day before, and with the soldiers’ morale soaring to the skies because of Karl’s presence, the gnolls’ momentum had noticeably weakened, and fear was beginning to creep into their hearts.
“Lady Catherine, do you think they’ll retreat?”
Karl asked, steadying his slightly ragged breathing after finishing his speech.
From the look of things, it seemed possible they might pull back…
“I don’t think they will. If they were going to retreat, they would have done so already. There must be something unknown forcing them to keep fighting.”
Catherine replied calmly.
If they were the type to retreat at this point, they wouldn’t have attacked a human village to begin with.
More than anything, despite the heavy casualties inflicted on them, they had somehow replenished their absurd numbers in just a single day. Something was clearly happening within the forest.
And just as Catherine had said, the gnolls, though visibly afraid, were still inching closer to the palisade.
Gripping his spear tightly, Karl raised his arm in a bold motion, making sure his crimson cloak billowed visibly for all to see, and shouted,
“Show those wretched beasts the strength of humanity! Kill them all!”
“Waaaaaah!”
Even as the gnolls continued to advance without retreating, the soldiers’ morale showed no sign of breaking.
Even so, Karl could not bring himself to feel pleased.
Once close combat began, losses would be unavoidable.
Tonight too would become a time like hell.
Karl recalled the scene from his dream.
A mountain of corpses, a sea of blood.
Even if he had to pile up bodies to climb, he would survive.
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