༺ Whose Hand will the God of War Raise (3) ༻
An army of a thousand men left the gates of Sodomora and were now walking across the fields.
The sight of a large army marching through the fields was quite an amazing spectacle, to be frank.
But no one explained where we were going or what we’d be doing there.
I felt like a late invitee to a party, my presence holding no significance, only there to fill in the numbers.
It’s been a while since I’ve been in such a crowd, and it felt like I was losing my individuality already.
I was lost in thoughts as we kept walking on for a while.
All of a sudden, I could feel someone patting my back.
I slightly turned my head, only to see a blond man with a short beard and bow huddled on his back looking at me.
It was obviously someone that I didn’t recognize.
“What is it, damn it!?”
“Hehe, I heard it all earlier. My brother said that you were the famous Samaritan. Why are you making such a face, I was too scared to approach you at first.”
“What did you hear?”
“That pretty pink-haired lady was shouting your name earlier, Hassan, she was screaming. That peculiar name along with your black hair immediately jogged my memory.”
I recalled the scene at the town gate, the scene of the girl continuously waving her hand to me, mixed among the departing families— bidding me farewell.
It felt unbelievable that I was already walking on a field surrounded by dull men just after a day of separating from Luna and her ever-perceptible pink twin tails.
“Well, rumors usually can’t be trusted but now that I’m here, I know those about you weren’t exaggerated.”
The man in front of me kept talking while I was lost in my reveries.
“I am Jack, a hunter. I’m not an adventurer like you, I just make a living by selling the skin of the rabbits and deer roaming the forest.”
“Is that the case?” (he’s being formal here)
“Still, I’m confident in my skills with a bow. I can take down most beasts with only two arrows. Hehe, I hope I can make good contributions on the battlefield.”
At his words, images of the imminent battles and the scenes of people hurling arrows at each other surfaced in my mind.
Bow, their existence somehow slipped from my memory till now. I used a few in the past, but I couldn’t say that I was any good at it, so I quickly gave up on them.
“You’ll be safe as long as you follow me, brother. I’m glad that we’re in a good team. Moreover, victory is ensured since Lady Enya is taking the lead, we even have some wizards with us!”
At his words, I looked at the rider who was leading our procession. Because of the huge distance separating us, everyone just looked like ants, despite them riding huge horses, and holding tall flags in their hands.
But I could see that she had a good reputation and was highly trusted by the people.
“What’s with that Young Lady? Is she that great?”
“You don’t know? They say that she’s never been defeated in a battle. She’s also said to be favored by Lady Minerva— the Goddess of Wisdom herself and always employs extraordinary tactics that ordinary folks can’t even fathom.”
“Extraordinary tactics…”
So she was good at making all kinds of stratagems, I guess?
“From what I’ve heard, the Young Lady was the one to come up with this subjugation plan. The cultists probably never imagined that such a large-scale punitive force would be sent after them just a day after their attack on the city.”
This hastily built punitive expedition seemed to be the idea of the Young Lady, who was leading the front on her horse.
Well, this force, gathered in the span of a single day after the city was attacked, was certainly enormous— to say the least.
But due to that same hastiness during the gathering of the individuals for this force, the quality and level of the people here were bound to be reduced as a result. Would it really be fruitful to lead men without proper training and equipment to fight in a war?
The Young Lady was supposedly a brilliant woman, but I wonder if she really thought this through.
“So, where the hell are we going to fight? Do you have any idea?”
I opened my mouth after a long period of silence and asked Jack the Hunter. Seeing him chatter for so long gave me the impression that he might know a lot about the details of this subjugation battle.
“I don’t know, really. I was actually going to ask you the same. That aside brother, you’re quite fluent in our continent’s language.”
It seemed that even this knowledgeable fellow was unaware of where we were heading right now. Then, the turban-wearing man in front of me opened his mouth.
“Val. Death. Mountain. Range.”
The man looked like he came from a desert tribe. He was slightly shorter in height than me and had a rough complexion. Hanging from his waist was a peculiar-looking curved black scimitar, resembling a crescent moon.
Damn, he was a true sandman— the real deal. He was actually a better fit for the name Hassan than I was.
“We are. Heading to the Valdeath Mountain range. Kill the cultists. Me Drogo. Get citizenship. Marry continental woman. Give birth. Two sons, two daughters.
Holy, how could someone who could barely talk even be qualified to get citizenship?
Anyway, what I basically understood from the words that this Drogo guy said— it seems that we were going to a mountain range named Valdeath.
Jack, who was walking behind me, then added.
“Oh, the Valdeath mountain range, huh… I used to catch a lot of wild boars there. At this pace, we might reach the place by tomorrow morning or so.”
So we had to keep marching until tomorrow morning.
Shit…
Let alone for us walking on our feet, this journey would be worryingly difficult for even those bastards on their horses.
And just like that, we walked, walked, and walked again.
The only thing changing in this constant walking regimen was the scenery surrounding us.
As I started getting bored after watching our surroundings endlessly stretch out in the distance, Jack, the hunter who had been quietly walking behind me, spoke up once again.
“I’m tired damn it. I feel like I’m dying already. You’re keeping up better than I was expecting brother, do you have a knack for walking because you’re from the wilderness?”
“Nothing of the sort. You can either walk with an empty mind or walk with your mind filled with thoughts.”
Actually, it was becoming hard for me too. I’ve been walking for one or two hours straight without a break, it would be good to take a break right about now. Just as I looked at the atmosphere ahead.
Dam— Damdam— Dam—
The drummers following the procession began to follow a certain rhythm like a round as they started beating their drums.
Gallop— Gallop— Gallop—
And along with the rhythm of the drum, the lieutenant, walking slowly beside us till now, spoke up.
“The change in the sound of the drums is part of the Lady’s instructions! Speed up the march! We shall arrive at the Valdeath Mountain Range before sunset today!”
He began urging people to speed up.
What, We were already walking quite fast and he wanted us to walk faster? I thought he was joking at first but he seemed dead serious from the looks of it.
Clang— Cling— Clang—
As I increased the speed of my gait, I could hear my armor and weapons clinking and jingling even more than before.
Until now, I had enough energy to chat while marching but pressed by the weight of my armor and equipment, I was constantly out of breath and couldn’t say anything unless I slowed down a bit.
“Holy fuck! Just how are we supposed to get there before sunset?”
Jack grumbled at the unreasonable march speed. The Sandman, Drogo, who was walking in front of me, also complained while roughly breathing through his nose and mouth.
“Citizenship. Give up. Try to escape. Get caught.”
“Don’t talk! It’s an opportunity for you who don’t have citizenship to participate in this glorious battle and have a chance at becoming a member of society! Be thankful for the generosity of the Young Lady!”
Of course, someone riding a horse wouldn’t understand the struggles of foot soldiers like us.
Even though it had just been a few minutes since we increased our pace, I was already breathless and my legs were feeling numb from the constant walking.
Perhaps due to the fact that summer was approaching, the scorching sun was shining down on us without a single cloud in sight, and huge beads of sweat were falling down from my forehead as a result.
Seriously.
I think I was going to end up dehydrated before even reaching the battlefield.
Just as I opened the water bottle at my waist, and planned on drinking the water I had saved.
“Stop! Stop!”
The group, which had been walking at a brisk pace, suddenly stopped. Did the commander finally realize the absurdity of this reckless march?
This Young Lady who had never suffered a single defeat till now must have realized that such an excessive march would just tire the troops out and lead to a terrible loss.
Anyway, this also meant we were finally allowed to take a short much-needed break.
But this sweet time didn’t last for long.
As I raised my head, sensing an unusual atmosphere in the front ranks of the gathered army, I saw the Young Lady, clad in brass armor and holding the flag high, approaching us from the front.
“H-Holy crap!”
The lieutenant reacted with a startled shout as though taken aback by the sight of the approaching lady.
“You, You! Get your posture right! Show correct rest discipline! The Young Lady is coming!”
“Ah, shit! Resting discipline is like a punishment.”
“Quickly!”
However, seeing the urgency on the Lieutenant’s face, I, Hunter Jack, and Sandman Drogo had no choice but to stand up properly and show proper resting discipline.
The Young Lady approached us with her yellow flag raised high up and fluttering in the air. She then proudly stopped near us.
“First Lieutenant Bentham.”
“Lt. Bentham at your service, Young Lady.”
The Young Lady called out to the Lieutenant who was walking beside us along the way. His name was Bentham, I think?
Anyway, now that the Young Lady was close I tried to take a good look at her. She was encased from head to toe by solid armor, making it impossible to confirm whether she was as beautiful as the rumors suggested.
I was really looking forward to seeing how she looked. What a shame!
Just as I smacked my lips in disappointment…
“Engage the Gale tactic starting from here.”
“T-The Gale tactic? W-What is that exactly, Young Lady? I’ve never heard of such a thing before even in the field manuals…”
“I just created it. The Gale tactic consists… of everyone being as fast as the Gale. From now on everyone should take their armor off.”
“T-Their armor?”
Clang— Cling—
The body of Bentham, the armored lieutenant, started trembling violently as though he had just heard something outrageous and utterly absurd.
“W-Why the armor…?”
“Armor is something you use to protect your body. It’s akin to having an extra life. But even if you’re wearing armor, a sword can still pierce through and reap your life. So wouldn’t it be better to remove it and increase your agility instead? That’s why it’s called the Gale tactic.”
“A-Armor…”
The lieutenant’s voice trembled incessantly at the Young Lady’s answer as if he was doubting whether what he heard was real or not.
Frankly, that was ridiculous even to someone like me. So I couldn’t imagine how a serious lieutenant, experienced in battlefield and tactics would react to something like that.
What did she mean by having men remove their armor before a literal war? Only someone crazy would suggest something like this.
Was the one wearing that yellow armor actually a cultist or something? Did one of them infiltrate the city pretending to be a commander? Just as I began seriously considering such a possibility…
Cling— Clang— Thud—
Bentham, the lieutenant, soon began removing the pieces of armor that he was wearing over his body. As a result, the rough and gruff face of a man with short-cropped gray hair and a square jaw was revealed for us to witness.
He then shouted with a wide-open mouth.
“Woooo, waooo, my body feels so light after taking my armor off!”
“As expected.”
“How could she think of such a tactic! Lady Enya is truly a genius tactician! What are you all doing!? Come on, come on, take off your armor right now!”
Lieutenant Bentham began giving instructions to us after taking off his armor.
“T-Take off your armor! Quick! It’s an idea that common people can’t even fathom!”
Clang— Cling—
His face, whether it was because of anger, shame, or some complex emotions I couldn’t even begin to understand, his face had become completely red.
His eyes were glaring at us, seemingly warning us to listen to him unconditionally.
So, me, Drogo, along with the rest of the procession, including Jack, also took off the heavy armor we were wearing and began stretching out.
Of course, you’d feel lighter after taking your heavy armor, this is common sense, damn it.
“Come on, you too! Don’t you feel lighter without the armor?”
The Lieutenant uttered that question in such cheerful words that we had no choice but to respond to this awkward play that he was enacting for the Young Lady.
Shit, it was really time for me to show my acting skills once more.
“Wow, I feel so light…! How on earth…? Why do I feel so light after taking off my armor?”
“Drogo. Like body. Like feather. Grain of sand in the desert.”
Perhaps impressed by my and Drogo’s awkward performance, the Young Lady in the armor trembled ever so slightly atop her horse.
Then in a voice no one close could really hear, she murmured “As expected…”
It was then that I realized.
This was a death march.
We were all doomed if we kept following this lunatic of a woman.
“Lady Enya!! How could you think of this strategy?!! Truly a blessing from the heavens!! Long live Lady Enya, the sage of the Middle Realm!! I, Bentham, will perform aerial acrobatics in joyous celebration!!!”
“Take it easy, Bentham. This tactic isn’t mine and just a favor Lady Minerva bestowed upon me. Rather, that black-haired Samaritan…”
Clang—
I could feel the horse-riding Young Lady look at me from under her owl-shaped helmet. This made me nervous as I anxiously waited for what this crazy lunatic of a woman may say to me now.
Is this how Lieutenants being approached by their commanders feel?
“Well, what’s wrong with him, Lady Enya…?”
“No, my personal curiosity shouldn’t impede the workings of war. Now everyone, since you’ve thrown away those sinister pieces of metal, nothing can stop us any longer! Let’s swipe on those cultists and wipe them with swift movements!”
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!”
The Young Lady loudly shouted and Lieutenant Bentham, keenly listening to her words, shouted too as though responding to her shout.
At that moment, Bentham motioned towards us in a way that the Young Lady wouldn’t notice and we all shouted too.
“Waaaaaa! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw!”
Soon, the ground began shaking with all the shouting all over the place.
It was not the sound of soldiers, but the roar of savages who had taken off their armors and had turned into bloodthirsty feral beasts.
“Now that our morale is at its peak! Swift as the wind, unleash the gale! Hiyah!
The Young Lady began vigorously running towards the Mountains that were stretching far away in the horizon.”
The horse she rode was like a sports car, stretching out magnificently, befitting a noble’s daughter.
Gallop— Gallop—
With each step of its hooves, the distance between us seemed to be increasing as though it had wings attached to its back.
That horse must have cost more than all the gold coins I had in my possession combined. Damn it, we had no choice but to catch up after that fast horse.
Although I had pretended to take off my armor, I had secretly hidden it inside the bag I was carrying on my back, because I couldn’t find it in me to throw this expensive armor away, and thus ended up with the same weight as before.
But like arrows that were fired, there was no stopping us any longer.
“Drogo, go back home. Miss sand and desert. Continent uncivilized. Can’t stand it. Mother—”
“A deserter! Catch him! Whip him!”
Because only a merciless judgment of suffering and death would await fugitives, fucking shit!
Morale suddenly went up among the soldiers marching towards war.
“There, there it is! Mount Valdeath!”
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