Chapter 217

Episode 217

Beatrice was coming this way, holding a wooden cup in one hand and a plate filled with dried and grilled beef jerky in the other.

She only looked at me and approached, but when she saw Selina, her face hardened.

I heard a voice mumbling, “You came before me?”

“What happened?”

“It looks like you haven’t eaten anything.”

Contrary to what she said casually, her earlobes turned red.

It may look red in the light of the bonfire.

“thank you. “I will eat well.”

I took the plate from her and put some well-cooked beef jerky in my mouth.

The salty taste isn’t bad.

It’s delicious, but…

‘Even if you eat just a little bit, you’ll get bitten.’

After eating about two, I quickly lost my appetite.

It’s delicious at first, but if you keep eating it for several months, you’re bound to get sick of it.

“….”

I returned the plate to her and continued mumbling, unable to swallow the beef jerky in my mouth.

I looked at the soldiers.

They sang military songs, laughed and chatted, with their arms around each other’s shoulders.

They have to go to war tomorrow, but they don’t seem to care about that at all.

I could see that he wanted to enjoy this moment as much as possible.

My cheeks tingled as I looked at them, so I turned to the side and saw Selina staring at me.

Beatrice is concentrating on eating the grilled beef jerky because it is so delicious.

“Why are you doing that?”

“I thought you were fine.”

What does this mean?

It seems like nothing is wrong with me.

“In what way?”

“You participated in the war, but you look so calm.”

He looks calm… That’s not wrong.

Actually, I’m not that impressed.

It is said that people who participate in war for the first time experience the aftereffects of killing someone.

To be honest, it’s not that I didn’t kill people, and I experienced worse situations in the North.

When I think about the time when I had to wield ignorance for several months while not being able to sleep, rest properly, or eat properly.

‘It’s nothing special now.’

It’s safe to say it’s a kid’s joke.

She probably knows what it was like for me in the North, but she must be really curious to ask this.

Unlike me, who immediately joined the war, Selina and Beatrice did not participate.

Since she has never killed anyone before, she must be worried because this is her first war.

Moreover, if the war is against barbarians who are not surprised to die at any time.

“I’m used to this kind of situation. Even in the North…”

“Ah… I see.”

Even if I didn’t continue speaking to the end, she understood.

And there was no word for a while.

When I looked down at her blankly looking at the soldiers, I saw that her shoulders were shaking slightly.

Although they came here to help in the war effort, they must be scared as that situation is right around the corner.

‘I was like that too… was I scared too?’

I don’t remember very well.

When was the first time I killed in obscurity?

Was it at the Academy or North?

Honestly, at that time, I think I swung my sword without hesitation because I thought I might die.

And the fear of being swallowed up by Ahar’s personality was greater than the aftereffects of killing a person.

To be honest, I don’t really remember the situation at that time.

Because it wasn’t that important.

“….”

But she is different from me.

They have not experienced such fierce battles like me, nor have they experienced killing.

Although I have received some training as a knight, it can be difficult in practice.

Because dealing with monsters is different from dealing with humans.

What should I do to comfort you?

Will my comforting help her?

I thought about it again and again, and suddenly I realized that worrying about it was meaningless.

No matter what I say, it’s useless if it doesn’t touch her.

“You will do well.”

“…?”

She looks up at me.

He turned his head from her, looked at the soldiers, and opened his mouth.

“Even if you fall behind, your colleagues will support you. “They may not be that trustworthy, but when the time comes, there is no one more reliable than them.”

It actually did.

Although it was only for a moment, I was able to see their battle.

When an ally is attacked by a barbarian, he quickly takes him out and fills the hole.

Although it was only for a moment because they were focused on me, they would have won in the end even if it wasn’t me.

It’s not just soldiers. Only a few of the knights who followed along came forward, but not all of them.

In addition, the Rangers had not yet shown their full strength.

So there is no need to be too nervous.

‘More than anything, if it seems dangerous, I will step forward.’

Even if it’s not me, there’s Bane. He wouldn’t let his daughter die.

I looked down at her.

She tilts her head when she sees me keeping my mouth shut without speaking.

As she tilted her head, her silver hair fell down with a soft sound.

Her appearance reflected in the moonlight was so beautiful that it was safe to say that the goddess of beauty had descended.

And even an innocent face.

‘This is why men can’t leave without confessing.’

Even my heart was pounding loudly for a moment.

It was when I was staring at her blankly without realizing it.

“What about Raymond?”

“…?”

“Raymond, aren’t you going to help?”

I never thought the look in her eyes staring at me would be so burdensome.

I turned my head to avoid her gaze.

“….”

There was no answer.

She didn’t ask me any more, as if that was enough.

I looked up at the sky.

A brilliant starry sky unsuited to war shone on me.

***

Morning dawns.

The soldiers were moving diligently even before the sun rose.

The scene of the small party that had been held before was now neatly cleaned up.

“Because no one returned alive, they probably still don’t know how things work. We must catch that guard down. “Their headquarters is here.”

Inside the command barracks.

The commanders gathered together and held a meeting, centered around the Marquis of Easton.

Even before the afterglow of their first victory had subsided, they were preparing for the next battle.

“…And this is where their supplies are. “It must be certain because the elves and Sir Raymond saw it and confirmed it in person.”

On a long table, there was a map of the South and words carved out of wood and stone.

The dozens of small horses represented the barbarians, the horses made of woven leaves represented the elves, and the black horses represented the Eastons.

Easton’s horses were of various types.

From a round stone representing a soldier, a piece of wood resembling a horse representing a knight, a wood piece shaped like a bow representing a ranger, etc.

Such words were placed all over the map.

“At their base, there may be tens, if not thousands, of people. But that doesn’t mean their houses are empty. There are hundreds of barbarians there too. “It must be difficult in many ways to rob an empty house.”

What are you, ants? – one of the commanders blurted out.

The words came out without me knowing, but thanks to them, the tense atmosphere was able to relax a little.

“haha. yes. “They are no different from ants.”

I took a moment to curse at the barbarians who had been reduced to insects in an instant.

If there were fewer of them, it wouldn’t have been this difficult.

Their monstrous bodies and goblin-like fertility make them difficult to deal with.

“We hit their supply column. The commanding force includes Lord Bane, Raymond, and five rangers, one from each unit. “You can be nice to me, right?”

The Marquis of Easton raises his head and looks at me and Bane.

What he later said to us was, ‘You can be nice to him, right?’

I didn’t really reply, but I felt Bane nod next to me.

“You just have to do it like you do now. Just like now…”

“And soldier…”

The meeting ended only when the sun rose.

Bane spoke to me as I left the barracks.

“Are you tired?”

“it’s okay. “I’m used to not sleeping.”

While the soldiers were eating and sleeping, I went scouting with Bane.

Since speed and secrecy were essential, Arjuna and I took a ranger with a bright night light and inspected their camp along with the elves.

‘It was enough to make me laugh out loud.’

I thought I was seeing a swarm of ants.

Their base was not only large, but their numbers were enormous.

For a moment, I doubted whether I could win.

It can be considered 10 times that of Easton, which has barely 1,000 people.

Each person has to deal with 10 people, but excluding children and the elderly, there are about 5,600 people.

Each person must deal with more than 20 people.

Yes, if it was just that, it was difficult, but not impossible.

‘Half of them are Auror users, and about a hundred of them are intermediate or top level…’

It was an incredible amount of power.

Even considering that they only had one master and this one had two, their power was incredible.

They are monster-like people to begin with, but the thought of them even using Aurors gives me goosebumps.

When I told this to the Marquis of Easton, his face hardened.

And I realized that this war would really be their end and last fight.

That level of power is not a burden even for barbarians; it can be seen as all they have.

The winner of this war will determine the loser of the South.

“You definitely adapt quickly.”

“If you don’t adapt, you will be left behind.”

“That’s right. “This mission… you can do it well, right?”

“Is there any problem with Lord Bane being with us?”

Bane laughs.

Even though he pretended not to, he seemed to like what I said.

“Don’t relax though. “In war, you never know when, where, and what variables will strike.”

I nodded.

I also know that I have to be cautious.

“Maybe it’s my imagination, but you look a little lighter.”

After saying that, he left.

Do you think I look light? I?

Am I struggling desperately because I don’t want to die?

Before I could ask what he meant, he disappeared.

What does it mean? I can’t believe I look light.

It didn’t seem like a joke.

It was neither a situation nor an atmosphere to joke.

What on earth did he see in me that made him say it was light?

The doubts deepen.

At noon.

The time when the sun rose in the sky.

I was running through the forest while the soldiers were periodically moving around the castle.

‘It takes about 2 hours to reach the supply station. The sun will set by the time we arrive and begin our mission.’

The Rangers lead the way, with Bane running on the left and Arjuna running on the right.

Is it because Arjuna, who received the blessing of the World Tree, is with him?

The forest opened the path on its own and erased the traces of our passage.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The forest was helping us to the extent that even veteran hunters could not find it.

Perhaps thanks to that, I was able to arrive at my destination faster than I expected.

“Huh… that’s no joke.”

“It’s not even the main base… Even if we don’t do it, there will be more than 200 people.”

Bane clicked his tongue as he glanced at the area where the animal corpses were piled up.

The staple food of barbarians is meat. And the number of animal carcasses in front of me was so large that it was safe to say that all the animals in this area had been killed.

“If you light it, it will burn well.”

“I guess so.”

If they all burn up, the barbarians will have nothing to eat right away.

It is unlikely that there will be enough animals left to hunt them all.

As I looked around to see what I should do, I froze when I saw something I had not seen before.