Chapter 807 – 807. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated In The Baek Family
“The enemies are coming!!”
Someone’s shout echoed.
Kyle, who had been sitting on a chair examining a map and letters, jumped up, grabbed his sword, and rushed outside. Soldiers moved in perfect order, preparing for battle.
Kyle cast his gaze far out, looking at the Mavelotte Fortress. A river flowed around the fortress. At first glance, it looked as if the fortress was built on a lake. The fortress gate lowered, becoming a drawbridge. It was beautiful. From afar, it was a scene like a painting.
However, the current situation was too urgent to be called art. Even a moment of carelessness could cost the lives of his soldiers.
Clatter. Clatter.
Wooden puppets riding wooden horses burst out from the fortress gate. There were nearly 100 of them.
“Damn wooden puppets…!”
Kyle cursed, something he rarely did. Every other day, these self-moving wooden puppet knights appeared and attacked. It was presumed that they were created by the power of an artifact.
When the wooden puppets died, they turned into simple wood and disappeared.
The wooden puppets looked like knights, but their actual skills were at the level of elite soldiers, not knights. The wooden puppets didn’t cause significant damage to Kyle’s army. However, they exhausted the army, and minor injuries were constantly occurring.
‘The advantage of these wooden puppets is that Mavelotte doesn’t suffer any losses.’
With the power of the artifact, 100 wooden puppets riding wooden horses were summoned and deployed every other day. It was an outrageous artifact ability.
“Regular soldiers, fall back! Only knights and above engage the wooden puppets!”
Kyle shouted.
If regular soldiers stepped forward, they would only suffer losses. It was best for the knights to step forward and quickly deal with them before they could cause any damage.
He, an Aura Expert of the highest level, rushed towards the wooden puppets.
Plum Blossom One Red (梅花一紅).
Red aura surged from Kyle’s sword. It was a red color that was almost pink. Every time the aura flickered, the captivating scent of plum blossoms wafted through the air.
Plum blossoms were embroidered in the air by his sword. Every time he moved his sword, one plum blossom bloomed. A total of ten plum blossoms bloomed and began to cut down the wooden puppets. The wooden puppets were vulnerable to aura.
“Captain! Arrows!”
Someone shouted from behind.
Plum Blossom Return (梅花回走).
The plum blossoms drawn in front of Kyle rotated, blocking all the arrows flying from the fortress walls.
No more arrows flew. They were also isolated, so they were trying to conserve their supplies as much as possible until reinforcements arrived.
Knights rushed out from behind Kyle. Their sword blades mercilessly slaughtered the wooden puppets. In less than three minutes, the wooden puppets were cleared. Kyle lowered his sword. They had won. But it was only a temporary reprieve.
Creeeak.
The drawbridge, rising by the power of magic, could be seen. If they rushed towards the drawbridge, they would have to face numerous spells. They had no choice but to watch.
***
Kyle looked around at his soldiers.
They were all exhausted.
The siege had been going on for over three weeks, and they had gained little practical advantage. They couldn’t just launch a full-scale siege because of the river around the fortress. They had managed to cut off the enemy’s supply lines, but they had only received the grim news that Mavelotte Fortress had three months’ worth of food stored.
Kyle encouraged his soldiers. Fortunately, thanks to the soldiers who had gathered due to his reputation and popularity, morale was not too low.
“Terius.”
Kyle approached a young mercenary sitting in a corner, wrapping a bandage around his arm. He turned his head and looked at Kyle. His rough brown hair shook.
“Captain! Why are you here?”
Terius had many scars on his face and body. He had been sold as a slave to a mercenary when he was young. He had been overworked and periodically abused until Kyle rescued him from that mercenary.
“I was checking on the soldiers. Terius, is your arm okay? You got hurt this time, right?”
“It’s nothing. Just a scratch. I have no problem swinging my sword or holding my shield.”
“The potion I gave you?”
“I’m keeping it safe for emergencies. I can’t use a potion for just a scratch on my arm.”
“……”
Kyle couldn’t bring himself to tell him to use the potions freely. The army’s financial situation was not good right now.
An army was a drain. Just staying still consumed food. Food prices and potion prices were skyrocketing. Precious items like potions had to be conserved as much as possible.
Kyle sat down opposite Terius. He took Terius’s arm and bandaged it himself.
“Captain, I could have done it myself.”
“I have nothing else to do. Are you training well with the Mixed Origin Heart Technique (混元心功)?”
“I’m training every dawn as you taught me. I wouldn’t neglect it since this mana training method made me an Aura Expert.”
Kyle had taught Terius the martial arts of the Mount Hua Sect. Seeing Terius’s character and talent, he had decided to make him a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect. Terius would surely become an outstanding Plum Blossom Swordsman.
“Keep training. With your talent and the Mixed Origin Heart Technique, you’ll reach the master level someday.”
“Me, a former slave, an Aura Master… It’s like a dream.”
“That’s only if you don’t stop trying. If you’re stuck, come talk to me. My advice will help.”
“…Thank you, Captain. I’ve received so much from you that I don’t know how to repay you.”
“Just keep the promise you made to me.”
“Honestly, I don’t know much about the Mount Hua Sect or the Plum Blossom Swordsman… but since I promised, I won’t break it.”
Kyle nodded. Terius was young, but he was a trustworthy man.
Kyle’s gaze went to Terius’s left hand, which was holding the bandage. He was wearing a rough iron ring on his left ring finger.
“That iron ring… you’ve always been wearing it, haven’t you?”
He had previously ignored it. But now that he saw it, it bothered him. Yuria came to his mind. Yuria also wore a ring on her left ring finger, a gift from Eugene.
“Ah. This ring… it’s the most important thing to me. When I was a slave, I shared iron rings with a friend before we parted. As long as I wear this ring… I promised to find her.”
“Is that friend a woman?”
“Huh? Yes, she’s a woman.”
Terius blushed as he answered.
“Oh.”
Kyle smiled broadly and asked him various things about the woman.
“Her name is Nepia. The most distinctive thing about her is her silver hair. It’s been quite a while, so her face might have changed, but her silver hair won’t have changed.”
“Silver hair… Is it light silver hair?”
It was a question that popped out of his mouth without thinking. He knew that it wasn’t the her he knew.
“No. Nepia’s silver hair is closer to gray. …Come to think of it, the person who took Nepia away had light silver hair….”
“Really? Light silver hair is rare, but there are quite a few if you look for them. Should I help you find that Nepia woman?”
Terius stroked the iron ring. The iron ring was uncomfortable. It was an iron ring hastily made by a child. It was natural that it was uncomfortable since nothing had been done to it except to increase its size. However, Terius had never taken the iron ring off his finger.
“…I’m not planning to find Nepia right now. I don’t have any money saved, and if I find out about Nepia’s whereabouts… I’ll definitely drop everything and run to Nepia. At least when I can protect her safely… I’ll find Nepia.”
“Terius… you really like Nepia.”
Terius blushed. He was embarrassed by the blatant words. But he didn’t deny it.
“You’re right, Captain. I like Nepia. No, I love her. Surely… Nepia feels the same way about me.”
Kyle was a little envious of him. He felt that his ability to speak so confidently about the woman he loved was admirable.
“But what’s the meaning of wearing the iron ring on your left ring finger? I see other people wearing rings on their left ring fingers often.”
“It’s because it gets in the way if I wear it on other fingers. The pinky finger is too small. And… I heard from someone from the North that there’s a custom of wearing wedding rings on the left ring finger. They say the left ring finger is connected to the heart?”
“…Wedding ring…?”
“Gasp!”
Terius was startled. It was because Kyle’s face had hardened to a frightening degree. It was the first time he had seen Kyle with such a serious face.
“C-Captain…?”
“…Sorry. I had a bad thought. I think I’m overthinking it.”
Kyle relaxed his face. He gave a bitter smile and stood up.
“Let’s talk again later.”
Kyle got up from his seat and headed to his tent.
***
The speed of the carriage slowed down. It was because they were nearing their destination.
I turned my gaze to the side. Yuria, dressed in a maid’s uniform, was sitting next to me. She was leaning on my shoulder, her face slightly flushed, and breathing heavily. The reason her face was red was because we had just had sex. My semen would be quietly flowing between her legs under her skirt.
“Honey… I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Yuria closed her eyes and raised her head. I held her cheeks and kissed her lightly. *Peck.* Just as I was about to pull away, Yuria kissed me, as if she wasn’t satisfied with just that. Yuria only pulled away after kissing me a few more times. She smiled at me.
I opened the carriage window and looked outside. Tents and soldiers could be seen. And beyond that, the magnificent Mavelotte Fortress that Kyle was attacking.
I closed the window again. Soon, the carriage stopped. I looked at Yuria. She had straightened her disheveled clothes and was acting with a blank expression. Just by looking at her appearance, she seemed like Yuria before she lost her memory.
“Yuria.”
“Yes, Master.”
“You’ve memorized the information about Kyle, right?”
“Yes. I’ve memorized everything. Don’t worry, I won’t get caught.”
Kyle had had feelings for Yuria for a long time. If he found out that Yuria had lost her memory, he would definitely be annoying.
‘Well, Yuria will do well.’
Just because she had lost her memory didn’t mean her talents had disappeared.
“My lord. We have arrived.”
The voice of the Knight Commander, Floy, was heard. When I nodded, Yuria grabbed the carriage door and opened it. I stepped out of the carriage through the open door. Yuria followed me.
Stepping out of the carriage, I looked straight ahead. Kyle was there. Behind Kyle, his knights and soldiers stood in perfect order. You could feel the atmosphere that each one was an elite.
Kyle glanced at Yuria behind me and then held out his hand to me.
“Thank you for coming to support us. I heard you recently captured Mirpubos Fortress. You’ve become amazing while I haven’t seen you.”
I took Kyle’s hand and shook it briefly. I wasn’t in a good mood.
“Compared to Mavelotte Fortress, Mirpubos Fortress was easy. How’s the current situation? Brother Kyle.”
Kyle smiled bitterly.
“It’s the same as always. Mavelotte Fortress is holding out. According to the information, they have three months’ worth of food. That’s more than enough time for the Valt Kingdom’s reinforcements to arrive. The reason why reinforcements haven’t arrived yet… is probably because the Valt Kingdom also knows that fact.”
“When exactly are the Valt Kingdom’s reinforcements coming?”
“As early as five days. No later than seven days. There’s no time. Do you have a solution?”
“Instead of standing here, let’s go inside the barracks and talk. It’s an important plan, right?”
“You’re right. I was too impatient. Let’s go to my barracks.”
I followed behind Kyle with Floy and Yuria. The soldiers and slave soldiers I had brought would be well managed by the female knights.
Kyle spoke to Yuria as he walked.
“Yuria. It’s been a while. You haven’t changed.”
“It’s been a while, Young Master Kyle. You seem to have become more mature.”
“…Really?”
Kyle smiled awkwardly at Yuria’s compliment.
It was then. Suddenly, a brown-haired soldier jumped out and blocked the way. He was a young soldier with many scars on his face and body. The man, who was very excited, pointed at Yuria and shouted.
“Y-you! You’re the woman who took Nepia away back then?! I’m sure of it! There’s no way I could have mistaken it! Nepia! Where is Nepia now?! Answer me!”
