Chapter 16: Act 7 – The Plan
“So, exactly where are we?”
Seizing the initiative of the conversation subtly, Sophie began to inquire about the information he wanted. He truly noticed some changes in himself; in the past, he could only talk so confidently in games, easily grasping the rhythm of conversations.
Perhaps it was still because he viewed this place as the world of ‘Amber Sword.’
His in-game experiences allowed him to naturally exhibit a confident demeanor when facing these youngsters, treating them as if they were truly just children.
This confidence inadvertently influenced the others. Whether it was Freya or anyone else, they gradually sensed something different. The center of conversation shifted, either intentionally or unintentionally, to Sophie.
A few young people nearby also looked up at the interaction—
“This is Red Pine Forest, stay still.” The pony-tailed maiden took a breath, striving to calm herself as she answered.
Sophie looked up in surprise—true to her reputation as a future Valkyrie, she learned to regulate her emotions quite quickly. Still, it seemed a touch too inexperienced to him.
“Red Pine Forest?”
“Hold on, how did you all end up here?” Sophie was startled again. He remembered this place from the game—it was called ‘Dwarf Valley,’ the habitat of level fourteen brown bears. Yet here, south of Buche, the civilian militia had no reason to be in this direction.
“We’re looking for you.”
“To find Miss Romaine, she’s a friend of the leader.”
“And Romaine is a member of the third squad.” Voices chattered together.
“Did you drive off Madara’s vanguard?” Sophie looked at Freya, this was what concerned him the most.
“How could we do that!” The younger one looked at him in confusion, as if to ask how he could be so naive: “The guardsmen escorted the villagers to evacuate from the north, we got separated. Moreover, the monsters on the road are growing in number, so we had to head south, and I worried about Romaine…”
“So you’ve come here?” Sophie felt his heart sinking.
The young maiden nodded matter-of-factly, her long ponytail bouncing up and down with the movement.
Freya immediately felt something amiss—this young person was definitely not Captain Marden; why did she always feel inferior before him?
And Sophie couldn’t help but smack his forehead. He didn’t know whether to call these youths naive or foolish, thinking of saving others when they themselves were in danger.
No, perhaps he should call it kindness.
But kindness that wasn’t necessary on the battlefield only harmed oneself.
Sophie fell silent, and yet he wanted to berate himself inwardly. He had burned his grandfather’s mansion to warn the village, not expecting history to repeat itself—no, to retrace its old steps.
Even with these stubborn youth who acted rashly, Lady Martha, what sort of joke are you playing?
He sighed inwardly. There was still too little he could change, the inertia of history wasn’t something trivial could stop. Of course, he had to become stronger, but for now, he first had to survive.
“Captain Marden, oh Captain Marden, it seems I can’t save you either.”
Why would the Black Rose of Broamente, Madara, attack so prematurely before the May Eternal Oblivion Festival? Such a clear conspiracy surely had its reasons.
All of Sophie’s preparations had come to naught, leaving him with a hollow feeling. Having struggled so desperately, he realized that history hadn’t changed a bit, truly a disheartening blow.
But in the end, it was just the strength of an ordinary person. He had done his best.
“Brendel!”
He was feeling frustrated when an unexpected, joyful voice sounded by his ear, like the chirp of a happy lark. Sophie turned around to see Merchant Miss standing on the side of the forest, a look of disbelief and joy on her face, accompanied by a girl in gray-white leather armor—presumably the one who had come to alert her.
Romaine dashed to his side like the wind, cautiously staring at him, as though afraid he might disappear all of a sudden.
“I knew it, Brendel, I knew you’d be fine.” She breathed a sigh of relief, looking happy.
“By the way, Brendel. Freya wouldn’t let me go back to Buche, I…” Then Merchant Miss started explaining urgently, as if afraid he might be upset.
Sophie noticed the shiny tear streaks on her cheeks, and his heart softened involuntarily.
“No problem, I’m fine now.” He reassured her gently.
“Really?”
“Really.” Sophie nodded.
“Romaine, don’t move him, Mister Brendel is badly injured,” Freya couldn’t help but furrow her brows. Did these two even know how serious his injuries were? He had been close to death!
“Never mind.” Although she said that, Romaine stuck out her tongue and stepped back.
Sophie smiled, that was just Merchant Miss’s little quirks. Gazing at the two beautiful young maidens standing side by side, the young man couldn’t help but admire the sight.
He suddenly realized that not everything had to remain unchanged. From his arrival in this world, the world had already started changing.
If it weren’t for his arrival, Merchant Miss and Brendel might have already met misfortune. Madara’s gang of bandits showed no mercy.
Looking around at the others, including the young people accompanying Freya, how many of them would survive the coming war?
Sophie knew clearly that in that war, the civilian militia and the security forces on the border were almost entirely wiped out.
But now he was here, perhaps history should deviate from its course. Though he didn’t know much, at least he should protect these individuals. These young people were the seeds of the future for this kingdom…
Sophie would absolutely not allow history to repeat itself.
“Alright, let’s get back to the main topic. Do you understand just how serious the situation is?” The young man exhaled, trying to appear less distraught. Honestly, what he needed most now was rest, but the current situation obviously didn’t allow it.
Looking around the group, Freya and the young militia were puzzled.
Only Romaine blinked mischievously.
“Uh?” The pony-tailed maid asked in confusion.
Sophie coughed weakly, “I mean, what do you plan to do next? Didn’t I guess correctly? Madara’s undead must control the main road, right?”
Silence enveloped the surrounding area—
“How… how do you know?” Freya looked at him, startled.
Of course, I would know. Not only do I know it, I’ve lived through it, Sophie answered inwardly. The surprised looks from around did bring him a slight sense of satisfaction.
Being prescient truly had its benefits.
But this little satisfaction couldn’t cover up the anxiety in his heart: Madara’s campaign in April was swift and comprehensive. He must devise a more thorough plan to protect himself.
As well as these young people.
Buche now faced the flank of Madara’s army. The general leading this army was later known as the famous ‘Black Lord’ Instalung. Though currently still a young man in his early twenties, it was from this war that the future military genius began to shine.
And what did he have? In the historical timeline now, he was just a nobody.
But Sophie understood that the only advantage he had right now was foreknowledge. Certainly, such an advantage could save his life in the series of upcoming encounters—provided he seized the opportunity.
He only had two opportunities.
One was to go through the relatively safe Sharpstone Valley. He clearly remembered that it wasn’t until the 17th that Instalung’s subordinate, ‘One-Eyed’ Tagus, would control this area.
But it was too far. He feared he wouldn’t make it before the enemy completed the encirclement unless he had horses, but where could he find horses for ten people now?
Thus, there was only one remaining path—escape through the Dagger Beach area before the encirclement by ‘Zombie’ Wesa and ‘White Knight’ Erluin could be completed.
Throughout late April, this area was defended only by a skeleton unit led by a single necromancer.
He couldn’t help but touch the cold ring on his index finger. With the Queen Wind ring, breaking through the line of defense consisting of eleven skeletal soldiers and one necromancer wouldn’t be so difficult, would it?
However, before that, he had to ensure that every single member of this militia unit followed his orders. This was why he had appeared so assertive from the very start.
Sophie glanced at everyone again.
“This conclusion is only natural, someone with even a little military knowledge would arrive at it. The main roads are sealed off to cut communication and to pave the way for the main army. The next step is to clear the remaining forces of Erluin centered around Buche,” he elaborated based on his experience, magnifying the severity of the situation. He paused and stressed, “That’s us.”
Silence followed, leaving only the sound of others breathing softly.
“So, what do you plan on doing now?” Sophie asked weakly.
Everyone exchanged confused glances.
The main road to Buche was guarded by more than a dozen skeleton soldiers; they couldn’t simply charge out. Despite a unique youthful confidence that these few enemies wouldn’t be much of an issue, there was still some trepidation when it came to life-and-death combat.
Freya was visibly worried. In making decisions, she hadn’t considered so many factors. As militia, they were still just inexperienced youths after all.
Although the pony-tailed maid remained silent, the anxiety was evident on her face.
Meanwhile, everyone’s gaze settled on Sophie. His experience made him appear more steady than everyone else around, which left a subtle impression that, in times of crisis, he seemed even more reliable.
“Brendel?” Romaine also asked.
Sophie turned and gave her a slight smile to reassure her.
“We must prepare for the worst.” Then he looked around at them, intending to dispel their overly optimistic mindset.
He wasn’t doing this for the first time. In the guild, the newcomers on the battlefield were always optimistic at the start, and once they encountered setbacks, they quickly fell into confusion and helplessness, leading to rapid collapse in the face of more experienced teams.
The gap between players was not as large as imagined; it was more about the mental state.
As older players, their responsibility was to give these newcomers the necessary warnings beforehand.
“The worst preparation?”
As Sophie was about to speak, there came an intermittent rustling from the forest. Everyone instinctively looked in that direction except Freya, who frowned slightly and called out to a patch of heather, “Joson?”
“It’s me, Captain Freya.”
Everyone sighed in relief.
But Sophie discreetly gestured for the pony-tailed maid to be on high alert. Freya saw his signal and immediately understood—there was no allowance for random desertion in the Erluin militia’s training.
Sophie was absolutely sure about the military discipline of the Erluin militia. Though youthful and innocent, that didn’t mean they could forget the basic rules of daily training.
The battlefield allows no carelessness—
“Is something wrong, Joson?” Freya asked, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.
“Sorry, leader, I… I was caught…”
The heather rustled and parted, revealing two figures. One was a pale-faced young man, wailing and raising his hands high.
Behind him stood a necromancer, its green fire in its eye sockets pointing towards the younger one’s head, looking around the group present.
“Heh heh, caught a bunch of little mice.”
Everyone was momentarily stunned.
“Joson!”
“How could you—”
A chorus of disbelieving voices ensued.
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[Note]:
Unyielding, the first awakened talent was known as a Bloodline Talent. Not every character possessed this—rather, or the protagonist was not yet aware of it.
Unyielding mainly had two abilities:
First, the Hardened state ignores all physical damage for the duration unless decapitated or the heart is destroyed. Mental fortitude is increased to ten tiers—this would allow one to remain conscious for five minutes even after fatal injuries or loss of breath.
Second, Regeneration, enhancing the organism’s self-healing capability, but this works only when injuries are stabilized.
Bloodline Talents would strengthen with the character, gradually revealing more characteristics.
(PS. It seems my goal of three updates is going to be missed again. Also, I’ve discovered that many comrades don’t see the announcements—since the noon updates aren’t working well, from now on the normal updates will be at midnight for one chapter and at 6 PM for another.)
