Extra Chapter 53 – When a Mute Cries, a Crow Falls (22)
Spring passed, and it was now the end of summer, when cool autumn winds offered a reprieve from the stifling heat. Under the warm sunlight, a battle raged in a ripe autumn wheat field. Fires burned across it, turning the crops to ash. During the massive ambush, some rushed to harvest what remained while others continued to burn them down, leading to pandemonium. After having only defended against enemy attacks, this was the result of Caradoc's attempt to advance north, believing that it was the perfect time to strike. Percival had expressed concern, but Caradoc had only played it off with an awkward smile.
Mordred advanced to the front line, following the sound of screams of despair, and swung his sword mercilessly. Every time he swung, a strong gust of wind blew enemy soldiers away like autumn leaves. Mordred swept the battlefield alone, like a human natural disaster. No matter what magic attacks were sent his way, they were all cut down by Mordred's sword. A few brave knights on horseback surrounded Mordred, but it was useless. Their horses fainted and foamed at the mouth the moment they were exposed to Mordred's killing intent, and a knight with no steed was the same as an ordinary soldier to Mordred.
"How pathetic! Is there no one who can entertain me? Aheletle is probably rolling in his grave for raising you cowards!" Mordred provoked.
The Giant warriors grew furious. The head of the great warriors, Aheletle, was a great man who all Giant warriors admired.
"How dare you make fun with that little tongue! I will avenge the head of the great warriors!"
"I, Waytel, will cut off the head of the great warriors' enemy!"
"Cut off the enemy's head and present it to the King of Giants!"
Giant warriors began to charge Mordred as they grew to gargantuan size. They were angry at Mordred's provocation, but did not dare to attack him alone. Aside from the infamy he had garnered after single handedly defeating Aheletle, it was terrifying to see his prowess on the battlefield in person.
"How boring."
The Giant's standard black swords were quick and sharp despite their size. Even though their attacks were powerful enough to crush his whole body, Mordred moved as if he were taking a leisurely walk. Four Giant warriors, who were busy concentrating on Mordred, were suddenly killed as arrows of light pierced through their skulls. The sudden attack baffled the other warriors. It was only for a moment that the Giants had slipped up, but the price was disastrous.
"How dare you look away. You all presented your necks to me, asking to be killed."
For a sword master who was essentially superhuman, a brief moment like that was like an eternity. Mordred shook his sword to shake off the blood that had stained it. In that same moment, the heads of the Giant warriors surrounding him slid off their shoulders. Even the witches who were attacking with magic from afar were killed, also by arrows of light.
- Mordred! Don't chase them too far, it makes things difficult for me!
Tristan, who was shooting the Holy Bow, Fail Not, from several kilometers away, used the resonance between holy objects to speak to Mordred.
Mordred put his hand on the Holy Sword at his waist and said, "Thanks to you, Caradoc's operation has become easier."
- Well, that's true.
Mordred was a must-kill priority for his enemies. Even though it had only been a few years since he had become a knight, the number of Giant warriors he had killed was in the hundreds, quickly earning him a reputation among them. They were more wary of Mordred than Captain Percival, or even Arietta, the next Holy Queen. Seeing Mordred entering the enemy camp by himself, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for the Giants. However, the warriors they had deployed to take advantage of this opportunity had been exterminated, all thanks to Tristan's long-range support.
"Since I've drawn this much attention, they must have done well on the Western Front."
As he looked around, he saw flames soaring up from all around. Not only within the area, but all across the front. It was an operation that showed their willingness to starve the enemy out, even if they couldn't push the front line forward. In addition, the number of Giant warriors who had died by Mordred's hand in this battle was in the hundreds, so they would not be back in full force for quite a while.
"Caradoc is very vicious."
- I know, right?
This year, there would be more enemy deaths from starvation behind the front lines than on the battlefield. Despite knowing that, Mordred and Tristan were willing to fight. In the end, the ones in front of them were their enemies, and they didn't have the privilege to be considerate of their enemies' lives as well.
All things aside, Mordred's heart had been pounding lately. He didn't have a good feeling about any of this. Unfortunately, his instincts would soon be proven right, in the worst way possible.
* * *
The offensive ended successfully. Although they were unable to push the front line very much, most of the wheat fields had been burned before the enemy could harvest it, thanks to some local guerrilla ambushes. In addition, they poured tons of salt on the remaining soil to prevent proper food production in the following year. Thanks to this, the salt's market value in the Holy Kingdom doubled. Still, the food shortage in the enemy country would be dozens of times worse than the economic damage in the Holy Kingdom. In order to produce proper food in the field, the fields would have to be purified for the next few years, but it remained to be seen whether they could even be revitalized at all.
At a meeting with all the knights, Arietta looked at a military map with cold eyes. "The enemy will become more vicious. Even if there's an increase in supply lines, we need to pull the provision storage further back."
Upon Arietta's judgment, they transferred the entire army's provision storage. Since they had played a strong hand, they had to prepare thoroughly. They were likely to see more raiding and looting from their hungry and desperate enemies in the days to come.
"How is the development of the eastern salt fields, are we prepared for the soaring salt prices?" asked Arietta.You are reading on novelping . com, the official source.
Lancelot studied his documents and replied, "It is going well. We have completed the pilot stage and are in the middle of the refining stage."
"Compared to rock salt it may not suit people's taste, but if we do well with these fields, we may be able to lower the price of salt even below its original price."
Salt was an important commodity. In the past, it had even been used as a currency. Arietta looked over the documents and the map of the front lines and said, "Sir Caradoc, you should put your focus towards preparing the winter operations."
Due to the harsh conditions, they tended to not fight in winter, but the situation was different this time. Just as a cornered mouse will bite a cat, enemies suffering from food shortages were more likely to fight and die than starve to death. If someone died fighting, at least there would be one less mouth to feed.
"I understand. I will summarize and report on the operational plan linked to each front line command."
Caradoc didn't want to push the enemy too far into a corner. The more desperate the enemy, the greater the damage they would cause. But now, there was no time. Whatever the immediate damage, he had to prevent the enemies from invading for the next few years.
In the middle of the meeting, a pigeon flew in from the window. It had a note tied to its leg; sad news that had been urgently delivered from the capital. They needed Arietta, the successor, to return to the court as soon as possible. The Holy King's condition had deteriorated rapidly. Arietta felt dazed. She already knew that he had a lot of minor illnesses, but she figured his condition must have worsened dramatically if they were calling for his successor.
"Did you know? That must be why you have been working so hard." Arietta asked Caradoc, who bowed his head in shame.
"It was His Majesty's order not to inform you, Holy Princess."
"… I understand. That's the type of person my father is."
He had done this during the last purge, too. To spare her the burden of such unpleasant business, he had moved quietly without informing her.
"We have to move urgently, so we will keep the group small. Sir Merlin, please." said Arietta.
Merlin bowed gladly. "I will build a teleportation magic circle to the capital right away."
"Sir Percival and Sir Caradoc, stay in the ancient castle and complete the winter operations. As for who will accompany me to the capital... Sir Mordred, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gwalchavad, get ready."
The knights knelt down.
"Understood, Holy Princess."
* * *
Arietta returned to the capital. She appointed Gwalchavad to lead the troops, while Merlin was entrusted with the administration of ministers and nobles. Then, she took Mordred and Euss and headed straight to the Holy King's bedroom. Arriving at the door, the same door she had known since she was young, Arietta stopped for a moment. It was a familiar door, but it felt very unfamiliar today. The space that she always saw as a place of comfort now filled her with fear. Mordred held Arietta's hand as she stood, frozen. When Arietta turned to look at him, he smiled slightly.
'I'm by your side.'
He didn't say it out loud, but his smile seemed to say so. Arietta nodded with determination as she felt the warmth delivered through his fingertips. Everyone tried to go inside together, but the knight who was guarding the door blocked Mordred and Euss.
"There was an order for you to come in alone, Holy Princess."
Arietta felt conflicted for a moment, before she slowly let go of Mordred's hand. Letting go of his hand didn't mean he was no longer by her side. Then, she stepped into the Holy King's bedroom. He laid in his bed, looking gaunt and frail.
"… Father." Arietta whispered as she held his hand in hers.
The Holy King slowly opened his eyes.
"Are… Khmm! Are you here?" he said feebly.
Arietta nearly burst into tears. She couldn't believe that a man as strong as her father had become so weak. No, she didn't want to believe it.
"Huhu... You look like you're going to cry."Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
"I will not cry. I was taught that the tears of a king should not be shown carelessly."
"Yes, that's right. So don't cry."
The Holy King raised his trembling hand and wiped away the tears around Arietta's eyes.
"Yes..."
"Huhuhu, I taught you not to show tears lightly, but I don't feel so bad seeing you cry. The heart is tricky."
"It's mischievous." Arietta grumbled.
The Holy King smiled. "I gave you everything and taught you everything you need. I don't have many regrets, but I wish I had a little more time so I could hand everything over to you in a more stable state."
The Holy King's words were sincere. His daughter was bound to become a great queen, but now was a turbulent time. A warm heart did not suit turbulent times.
"Arietta."
"Yes, Father."
"Regarding Euss. Don't give too much heart to that lowly creature. Only you will be hurt."
Arietta was speechless. The Holy King, who valued the pure blood of the Holy tribe, couldn't stand the way that blood of the Holy tribe collateral lines had faded so much. Due to the importance placed on the purity of the bloodline, the number of Holy tribe people had decreased sharply in recent years. Looking at the silent Arietta, the Holy King laughed as if he knew she would react like that. In the end, he was just worried about his soft-hearted daughter.
"Cool your head… and harden your heart. That is how you will… Cough! Protect yourself...!"
"Father!"
The Holy King stroked Arietta's head one last time before he drew his final breath. Arietta held his hand in hers and sobbed. She sobbed in the empty room by herself so no one could see her. This was the Holy King's final gift. After this, she knew it was no longer a time to shed tears.
* * *
The eighteenth year of the Holy Month, the sixth day of the lunar month. That was the day the Holy King passed away. Traditionally, unlike the common calendar system, the Holy Kingdom counted a year as every thirteen months from the ascension of the new Holy King. As a result, it was now June in the middle of winter.
A fierce war had broken out again in the north. It was the first time that a battle had broken out in winter. There were more dead from the cold than the fighting. The deaths occurred mainly in the enemy countries that were unprepared for winter combat, but that did not mean that there was no damage to the Holy Kingdom's troops. The cold took no sides. Meanwhile, in the capital, after the Holy King's funeral, the streets were bustling in anticipation for Arietta's coronation ceremony. Arietta had done many of her fathers tasks before ascending to the throne as preparation, so it was not difficult to take over the rest of her father's work. In fact, after leaving the work of the Northern Front to the knights, her workload had actually been reduced.
"Has the preparation for the coronation ceremony been completed well, Sir Merlin?" asked Arietta.
Merlin jokingly asked back, "Don't you think it is too late to ask that question, Your Majesty the Holy Queen?"
Arietta was already standing at the door, and the ceremony was about to begin.
"Of course, I believe the answer is 'yes', which is why I'm asking you now."
Merlin jokingly breathed out a sigh of relief. Arietta smiled, looking more emaciated than usual. Then, she gave a glance and a slight nod to the head servant, who opened the door and shouted loudly, "Her Majesty the Holy Queen!"
Arietta strutted across the coronation hall with dignity. A colorful yet boring ceremony was held, and a holy crown symbolizing the royal authority was placed on Arietta's head. When the archbishop declared that a new Holy Queen had been born, the coronation hall filled with applause. Now officially the Holy Queen, Arietta climbed onto the astrological magic circle and predicted the future of the country, as per tradition.
- The Holy Queen will be betrayed by the one she trusts the most.
At the same time as the prophecy, Merlin's magic staff shone and pulled in his consciousness. A newly painted future unfolded in front of him.