Chapter 14
“Ha…”
Root Nyam.
The female lord who rules over Marah, one of the six city-states of Moabmon, had a deep expression of concern on her face at this moment. Although she had been forced into participation by the Pope’s declaration of a crusade and the pressure from neighbouring lords, Root was still secretly opposed to this war.
“Everyone is out of their minds… Even if it’s the Pope’s command, rushing into this so recklessly…”
What is war, after all? It may be adorned with grandiose titles, but fundamentally, it is an act of driving people to death. Although it claims to be about eradicating heretics and so on, in reality, it is nothing more than a gamble with precious lives to satisfy the “Honor of the church” and the ambitions of commanders like Roth and other lords.
Even if victory is achieved, many lives will be lost in the process. If the campaign fails, it might cost more than just the soldiers’ lives. Moreover, the Kanan Kingdom does not even show signs of invading.
Though they may worship evil gods and be branded as heretics, that is merely an internal issue of theirs. Given that the six city-states are already embroiled in their own disputes, it is foolish to waste precious lives and resources on a distant problem.
With such a deep dissatisfaction with the war driven by hollow pretexts and feeling distressed by her own powerlessness to prevent it, Root sighed heavily and continued the march in silence.
In front of her was the small mountain of Jeremiah. Once they passed that, Nyaemia Fortress would be directly ahead. As the tension for the imminent war grew, she hoped to end everything with minimal damage. Root tightened her grip on the reins of her horse.
Feeling a strange sensation as the mountain of Jeremiah seemed to grow smaller with time.
*
“Is everyone assembled?”
“Yes, Commander.”
Eva Gellion, the temporary commander of Nyaemia Fortress, quickly gathered all her forces and soldiers within the fortress. Her own troops, combined with hastily summoned militia, totalled about 6,000 men.
Eva surveyed the assembled soldiers and spoke with a clear voice.
“First, I want to express my gratitude to those who have come forth to defend our land. However, as you may have heard, the enemy’s forces are more than ten times ours. Even if we manage to hold this fortress until reinforcements arrive, most of those who have stepped forward to defend it will meet their end.”
“…”
“Swallowing…”
Eva began with a grim message, which caused a deep sense of anxiety among the soldiers. She continued speaking in a cold tone.
“Human lives are precious. Furthermore, our families are surely waiting for us to return alive. If there are any who wish to preserve their lives for the sake of their families, you may step down from this position now. Return home and live for your loved ones.”
“!”
“Um.”
“However, if we succeed in defending this place with our lives, we will etch our names into the history of this kingdom forever. The people of this country will be eternally grateful to us, and our descendants will take pride in having such ancestors. Those who wish to enjoy such glory should remain here. This country and all who live upon this land will remember your names!”
A Declaration That Those Afraid May Leave, But Those Seeking Glory Must Remain
Those who heard this declaration began to waver among the soldiers.
“Uh… what should we do?”
“I… I’m going home. Even if I roll in a dung heap, life is better. I don’t want to die like this.”
“But the fortress…”
“I don’t care. They’ll handle it. Is my absence going to cause the fortress to fall?”
Although most of these soldiers had volunteered to stay behind, the majority were conscripts who had been gathered by force. Given that they had heard so much about the high probability of death, it was natural for their morale to be severely dampened. As a result, only about 2,000 of the 6,000 soldiers remained.
Seeing this, Reeve, Eva’s aide, asked with concern, “Uh… Commander? Isn’t this bad? Only 2,000 left. Facing the enemy with this number…”
“It’s too many.”
“W-What?”
Eva spoke with a cold voice. Reeve, unable to understand the meaning of her words immediately, asked cautiously.
“Too many? You don’t mean that 2,000 is too many, do you?”
“That’s right. It seems we’ll need to trim the numbers further.”
“!?”
Reeve’s expression tightened even more at the commander’s incomprehensible words. She had already been feeling uneasy since the meeting with that Seraphim or whatever the deity was. Although she had seen the Seraphim herself and still had some trust in the commander, she couldn’t help but question the commander’s current behavior.
Meanwhile, ignoring Reeve’s reaction, Eva looked at the remaining soldiers and gave orders.
“Then, those who remain, follow me. Since we have some time before the enemy arrives, we’ll patrol this area for a while.”
Thus, the 2,000 soldiers began their patrol under Eva’s command. Although it was called a patrol, the mountainous terrain made it difficult to move, and the blazing summer sun made things even worse.
After about half a day of arduous marching, the exhausted soldiers arrived at a stream.
“Let’s take a break here.”
After enduring the scorching sun for the better part of the day, the soldiers rushed to the stream, feeling intense thirst.
“Gulp! Gulp!”
“It feels like I’m going to survive…”
The soldiers, suffering from extreme thirst and heat, quickly submerged their heads in the stream and drank greedily. However, among them, a few—Eva’s knights and some other soldiers—cautiously dipped their hands into the water and drank slowly, even though they were parched.
In wartime situations where enemy attacks could come at any moment, they remained vigilant and did not let their guard down, even while drinking water.
There were 300 such soldiers. Seeing this, Eva smiled slightly.
“Uh… Commander? Please tell me that what I’m thinking isn’t true…”
“Hmm…”
“Please say it isn’t true…”
Seeing Reeve’s distress over the commander’s behavior, Eva merely smiled faintly.
*
Commander Roth of the Allied Forces
Looking at the Jeremyah Mountain in the front, Commander Roth had been in high spirits this morning. He had heard that the troops stationed at the fortress beyond the mountain were only around 6,000. Since this was less than one-tenth of his forces, he thought that capturing the fortress before reinforcements arrived would be a piece of cake.
Once they captured the fortress, they would advance straight to the capital and behead King David, thus ending the conflict. Even though there was a Seraphim or whatever the deity was that these heretics worshipped, Roth had in his possession a holy relic sent by the Papacy, said to contain the power of Baal.
Although he wasn’t sure of its exact nature, he believed that with this relic of Baal, he could easily deal with the heretical god. With this confident thought, Roth marched on with an upbeat mood throughout the morning.
However, as noon passed and afternoon approached, his expectations gradually turned into doubt.
“Hey… should we be arriving soon? I mean, Jeremiah Mountain. Given how much we’ve moved, we should have at least reached the base of the mountain by now…”
“That’s right. Even the commander isn’t sure what’s going on…”
Despite marching for over half a day, the distance to Jeremiah Mountain showed no signs of decreasing. The group began to sense something was amiss.
“That rock over there… didn’t we see it before?”
“Yeah… the olive tree next to it is the same.”
“Could it be… are we going around in circles?”
“Impossible! We’ve been heading straight towards Jeremiah Mountain all this time. How could we possibly be lost? Everyone, stay alert and keep moving forward! We need to get out of this unsettling place immediately!”
Despite the anxious murmurs of his subordinates, Roth’s voice was resolute. Yet, he too knew that the current situation was clearly strange. Jeremiah Mountain, which should have been reached long ago, was still far off, and the surrounding scenery perfectly matched what they had seen earlier. The bizarre situation began to instill fear as the sun began to set. This was not only Roth’s sentiment but also the collective anxiety of all the soldiers of the Moabmon Alliance.
“We’re not getting anywhere.”
“Could it be… are we going to be stuck wandering here forever?”
“That… can’t be…”
The familiar surroundings from earlier that day were now becoming eerily repetitive. The only difference was that night was falling and their bodies were drenched in exhaustion. The soldiers had been forced to march continuously due to Commander Roth’s insistence on not resting until they reached the mountain. Their legs were trembling, their throats parched with thirst, and the unchanging path was increasingly putting a severe mental strain on them.
“Damn it!… What… what’s happening… How… How long do we have to keep walking…?!”
Fatigue, anxiety, and fear. One soldier, overwhelmed, looked up at the sky without realizing it. Then…
“Ugh… Aaaaah!!!”
“!?”
“What… What’s that?”
“What… What’s happening?”
The soldier’s sudden scream startled everyone. Nearby soldiers, sensing the shock, hurried over to him.
And…
“Th… The sky… the sky…!”
Pointing erratically with a terrified expression, the soldier indicated something in the sky. The others, feeling a growing sense of foreboding, turned their gaze in that direction.
However.
“… What… What is it?”
“What… What’s wrong with the sky?”
“Over there! Look over there! In the sky!”
Despite his cries, the sky appeared nothing out of the ordinary, simply darkening as evening approached. The other soldiers, thinking the soldier was hallucinating due to exhaustion, tried to calm him down amidst the already chaotic situation.
“Calm down! There’s nothing in the sky!”
“L… Look! They… they’re watching me!!!”
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