Chapter 129

129th Episode

Whose Side Will the War Gods Favor?

Approximately a thousand people, having departed from the preface of Sodomora, walked endlessly across the fields.

The sight of armed individuals stretching in a long procession across the field was, even to me, quite an impressive spectacle.

But no one was around to explain to us where we were headed or what we were supposed to do upon arrival.

It felt as though I, among the crowd, existed merely to fill a headcount, devoid of any significant purpose—like someone unintentionally invited to a party.

How long had it been since I had lost myself so completely within a crowd?

While I was lost in thought as we walked for quite a while, someone tapped me on the back.

Turning my head slightly, I saw a blond man with a short beard, carrying a bow on his back, looking at me.

Of course, he was a stranger to me.

“What, d*mn it.”

“Hehe, I heard it all a while ago. You’re the famous Samaritan, right? What did you paint on your face? You looked so intimidating, it was hard to approach you.”

“What did you hear?”

“Didn’t that pretty pink-haired girl shout out earlier? — Hassan, come back safely — or something like that. With black hair and the name Hassan, it all clicked in my mind immediately.”

I recalled the scene of Luna standing at the castle gate, waving goodbye to me amidst women bidding farewell to their loved ones. It was hard to believe that I, who now trudged across the fields surrounded by men, had been with a pink-haired girl just yesterday.

“Wow, seeing you in person like this, the rumors don’t seem exaggerated. Generally, rumors aren’t that reliable, you know.”

As I was lost in reminiscence, the man continued to chatter.

“My name’s Jack the Hunter. I’m not an adventurer like you. I make a living selling deer and rabbit skins from the forest.”

“Is that so?”

“I’m pretty confident in my archery skills though. I can take down any beast in just a couple of shots. Hehe, I’d enjoy having a chance to shine on the battlefield with my bow.”

At the mention of this man named Jack the Hunter, images of a hurried battlefield and people wielding bows came to mind. I’d handled a bow a few times previously, but it didn’t suit me, so I quickly abandoned it.

“If I just follow behind you, I won’t have to worry about dying, right? sh*t, it’s lucky to have been grouped well. Especially since Lady Enya is our commander; victory should be a foregone conclusion. I’ve also heard that there are a few mages in this expedition.”

Looking ahead at the head of our procession, I spotted the mounted figure of the knight leading our group. Even though they were far away, riding a large horse and hoisting a tall flag, they looked like nothing more than an ant.

However, I understood that this person enjoys a reputation and level of trustworthiness.

“Is this young noblewoman really so extraordinary?”

“Haven’t you heard? She’s led every battle without a single defeat. It’s said she was granted favor by the Goddess of Wisdom, Minerva herself. Rumor has it that she executes strategies beyond the imagination of ordinary people.”

“Strategies….”

Does that mean she’s good at tactics and strategies?

“From what I heard, she’s the one conducting this suppression mission. The cultists wouldn’t expect a large-scale suppression force to descend upon them so soon after attacking the city, just a day later.”

This hastily assembled suppression force, it seems, was an idea conceived by the lady herself at the very front.

It was quite impressive to rally around a thousand troops within just a day after the city had been raided.

But given the urgency, they certainly couldn’t be the best quality force. Leading poorly armed and untrained individuals like these—would it even be helpful?

She’s supposedly a genius, so I’ll guess she knows what she’s doing, d*mn it.

“So, who exactly are we going to fight, and where? Do you have any information?”

Breaking my long silence, I asked the hunter Jack. Judging by his chatty demeanor, he seemed to know quite a bit.

“I don’t know that either. I was going to ask you if you knew. Besides, mister, you speak the Continental language quite impressively.”

This man, despite being talkative, seemed equally clueless about our destination. Right then, the turban-wrapped man walking in front of me spoke up.

“Bal Deth. Wilderness.”

This man was a desert native, a head shorter than me with dark skin. At his hip hung a curved scimitar.

sh*t, this guy looks more like a true Sandman than Hassan does.

“Our group. We’re headed to Bal Deth wilderness. We’ll arrive, k*ll the cultists. I’m Dorgo. I’ll gain citizenship. Marry a continental woman. Have two sons, two daughters.”

d*mn, this guy’s speech is so poor that I doubt he’ll ever get that citizenship.

Anyway, from what this desert-dweller Dorgo has said, it seems we’re heading towards Bal Deth wilderness.

Behind me, Jack spoke up.

“Bal Deth wilderness, huh? There used to be plenty of boars hunted there. If we keep walking, we should reach by tomorrow morning.”

Tomorrow morning?

sh*t.

The ones riding ahead might have it relatively easier, but us infantry trudging along on foot are already worrying about what’s going to be an exhausting journey.

We kept walking and walking and walking.

The only thing that changed was the scenery around us. Just as the endless field started to get monotonous, Jack the hunter, walking quietly behind me, started speaking again.

“d*mn it, I feel like I’m about to collapse. Mister, you walk better than you look. Are you from the wilderness? You seem to have a knack for walking these open fields.”

“Just sort of thing. You can either empty your mind and walk or fill your mind with thoughts and walk—it works either way.”

Truthfully, I was tired too, having walked non-stop for about an hour or two. Just as I thought it was time for the people ahead to consider a short rest,

Dong, dudududong. Dong.

The drummers dispersed throughout the procession started creating a rhythm like a round song.

Dag, dag, dag.

Then, a knight riding leisurely beside us loudly proclaimed:

“Young Lady Enya has given her orders through the drumbeats! We are to increase our march speed! We will reach the Bal Deth wilderness before sunset today!”

The knight then urged the crowd to quicken their pace.

Are they serious now? We were already walking fast enough, but now even faster? It seemed they weren’t joking around.

Zelgruk, tsheng, zelgruk.

After increasing our pace, the noise from metal and tools clanking together became incredibly loud.

Until just moments ago, there was room for idle chatter, but now, weighed down by the armor and equipment, it was hard to focus on anything but keeping my pace, so I couldn’t even speak.

“sh*t, d*mn it, how the hell do they expect us to reach there before sunset?”

Jack muttered under his breath about the extreme pace. Dorgo, the sandman walking ahead of me, was also breathing heavily and grumbling.

“I want to give up on citizenship. Running away sounds appealing.”

“Shut up! You don’t deserve citizenship anyway. Young Lady Enya has granted you the opportunity to participate in this glorious battle and become a worthy member of society! Show your gratitude towards her kindness!”

The officer riding ahead, having no clue how taxing this march is for us on the ground, continued giving orders.

The dryness in my throat and the heavy sensation in my legs already made me worry that I might faint. With summer approaching, the scorching sun blazed down, not a cloud in sight, causing sweat to drip profusely from my forehead.

Seriously.

Would I even perish from dehydration before reaching the battlefield?

Right as I was about to take a sip from the precious water in my flask,

“Stop! Stop!”

The group began slowly halting from the front, and we followed suit. Did the commander finally notice the lunacy of this forced march? Enya was supposed to be an exceptionally smart strategist who had never lost a battle. Surely, she must have realized by now that draining our energy like this would lead to failure in combat.

At least, we were permitted a brief respite as the line stopped moving.

However, this sweet moment of rest didn’t last long.

I looked up and noticed something odd happening at the front. I saw Young Lady Enya Sardich, wearing a gold-plated armor and holding a high banner, riding toward us.

“Oh, d*mn.”

The knight nearby seemed quite flustered.

“You, you all! Stand at ease for the break! Young Lady is approaching!”

“sh*t, d*mn it, break drill.”

“Quickly!”

Due to the knight’s visibly urgent command, I, along with Jack the hunter and the sandman Dorgo, had no choice but to stand at ease.

Young Lady approached swiftly. Her tall yellow banner fluttered and came to a dignified halt.

“First Lieutenant Bendam.”

“Here, Lady Enya. Lieutenant Bendam, at your service.”

Lady Enya stopped her knight beside us. Bendam, I guess that’s the knight’s name. From the front, at close range, Young Lady Enya was completely encased in solid armor, making it impossible to confirm if she was as beautiful as her reputation suggested.

I had some hopes but alas, it’s too disappointing.

The moment I thought that,

“Bendam. We will initiate a Whirlwind Strategy from now on.”

“Wh, whirlwind strategy…what is that exactly? I’ve never heard of such a tactic in any battlefield manual…”

“I just made it up. In short, the Whirlwind Strategy involves enhancing speed. Starting now, everyone will remove their armor.”

“Remove… armor?”

Zelgruk.

The knight, clad in armor, swayed significantly, as if what he just heard made zero sense.

“Why remove… armor?”

“Our armor protects our bodies. It’s equivalent to our lives. However, even if one is armored and still gets stabbed, the result is d*ath anyway. In that scenario, isn’t it more beneficial to discard the armor and gain agility instead? Hence, the Whirlwind Strategy.”

“Armor…”

Lady Enya’s calm explanation made the knight tremble. Honestly, even to me it sounded totally absurd. A knight at his rank must possess knowledge of battlefields and tactics, which might explain why he seemed even more troubled by the situation.

Telling people going into war to remove their armor isn’t something a sane mind would suggest unless something was terribly off.

What if within her golden armor was not Lady Enya but a disguised cultist? Perhaps a spy posing as a commander? While I was seriously considering these ideas,

Tsheng, tsheng teng.

Knight Bendam began removing his own armor. Soon, his grey short-cropped hair and his rugged square-jaw face emerged.

He shouted with an immense voice.

“Ah-hah, removing my armor feels lighter than having it on!”

“Exactly.”

“Such tactics! No wonder Lady Enya! Truly a tactical genius! What are you all doing! Quickly, everyone, remove your armor!”

Knight Bendam not only took off his armor but also issued orders to us.

“Remove your armor for speed! Clearly, a strategy beyond ordinary people’s understanding!”

Ulgreok, bulgreok.

Whether it was sweat, embarrassment, or some complex emotion I couldn’t decipher, his face turned red. His eyes darted around, as if watching for any sign of hesitation.

So, we soldiers also, including myself, Dorgo, and hunter Jack, took off our heavy armor and set it down on the ground.

Sure enough, without the heavy armor, the body felt lighter and better, though, well, it’s obvious, isn’t it?

“Hurry up! Don’t you feel lighter?”

But because the knight’s question was delivered with so much enthusiasm, we had no choice but to play along with this awkward charade.

d*mn, time to show off my acting skills again.

“Woah, really feeling lighter… How on earth… Why does removing armor make me feel lighter?”

“Dorgo. Feels light. Like a feather. Dorgo. Like sand grains of the desert.”

Perhaps moved by our strange acting, Young Lady Enya shivered slightly in her armor while muttering “Indeed…” softly.

At that moment, I realized.

This was like a d*ath march.

If we kept following this woman, we’d all collapse.

“Enya-sama!!! What an amazing strategy!! Truly a blessing from the heavens! Hail the sage of the middle realm, Noble Enya!! Sir Bendam! I’m overjoyed! I’ll perform a backflip in celebration!!”

“Hold back, Bendam. This was not from my wisdom alone; it was solely due to Lady Minerva’s grace. Oh, by the way, there was a black-haired Samaritan…”

Zelgruk.

The young lady on her steed, her helmet shaped like an owl, peered down at me. I felt tense, wondering what this odd woman might say next.

I wonder, what does it feel like when a platoon commander talks to a private?

“Excuse me, Lady Enya. Is there any issue with this fellow?”

“Not so. Personal curiosities do not concern the war. Now, all of you. Now that we have cast off these burdensome metals, there’s nothing left to stop us! Let our swift movements be like a whirlwind, raiding our enemies, eradicating the cultists!”

“OOOOHHHHHH!”

The Young Lady’s roar was met by a cry from Knight Bendam.

When he signaled with a flick of his hand, we echoed with a roar too.

“OOOH OH OH! AHHH WOOH!”

Vibrant war cries erupted throughout our ranks, making the earth tremble powerfully.

Yet these weren’t soldierly shouts; they were the wild roars of primitives, shedding their armor to become beasts.

“Morale at its zenith! Now follow me like the wind! Whirlwind formation—go!! Heh!!”

Lady Enya set off on her horse towards the distant mountain range.

The noble’s eldest daughter indeed mounted a horse worthy of its name, sleek and fast like a sports car.

Tak Tak Tak.

With each of its steps, the steed seemed like it had wings, covering huge distances in the blink of an eye.

No doubt the price of that steed was far beyond the gold I could afford. d*mn, we had no choice but to sprint to keep up with that incredibly fast horse.

Though we had taken off the armor, since we couldn’t just leave it behind, we stashed it in our backpacks, which meant the weight stayed almost the same.

But like an arrow in flight that couldn’t be stopped, none could hinder our charge.

“Me, Dorgo, I’m going home. Sand. Desert. Miss. Uncivilized continents. Can’t endure. Mother-.”

“Fugitives! Stop them! Whip them mercilessly!”

Because, d*mn it, deserters faced ruthless immediate punishment.

This raised morale in an entirely different direction.

“Over there, look! Bal Deth Mountain appears!”

[Postscript]

Kadeom-san!!! Gardheim-san!!! yayayeah-san!!! Alliance-san!!! Potatoserver-san!!! Thank you for your support coupons…!!!! Many anonymous people have sent me draft fee coupons too…!! MiChooRi’s pocket is getting heavier…!!!

Thank you to those who commented and gave recommendations…!!!

As a token of gratitude, I will give you a tip for your future travels in MiChooRi’s world…!!!

In the south of the continent…!! Look for Coriune Village, and if you stroke Elga, the daughter of the village chief’s, behind and shout “Long Live MiChooRi,” you’ll get a special bonus…!!!

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