Chapter 49 – Those Who Block Footsteps (Sub-Captain Illustration Rough)
A desolate snowfield with no sense of vitality.
A cold wind mixed with snow and ice continues to brush against your face.
—Wheeyi… Whiyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy… !
A loud wind chimes incessantly.
If you listen to it all day, it’s like the devil’s whistle taunting those dying here, and it’s easy to make people go crazy.
The sound of Bolmen comes out of the feeling that the terrible memories of the battlefield are being revived.
“I swore in His Majesty’s name that I would never set foot in this goddamn place again. He actually drove me back here.”
“Captain…”
Damn. Inadvertently, the old habit of talking came out.
Seeing her disheveled figure revealed for the first time in front of her vice-captain, the girl who was facing the blizzard next to her looked up at me with a worried look.
A sharp cat-like face staring at me. It’s a look that reminds me of someone more today. Because a place is a place, there are some things that are confusing.
“Well… I guess I’ve been too rude to the captain lately? I’m sorry…! Please calm down my anger…”
However, I smiled and patted vice-captain Agnes on the shoulder at a cute word that she would never utter if she was asleep in her past.
“No, it is not because of you.
Yes. He’s obviously a completely different person.
Also, right now I was in command of a decent unit called the Black Lion Knights, not honorable suicide hopefuls like some sort of assault force or death squad.
“Whew… I’m glad you did, but have you ever been here before, Captain?
“…”
I deliberately didn’t answer the vice-captain’s question.
The moment I answered yes, I felt like I would be buried in bad memories again.
As I thought so, I could see the faces of the subordinates behind me, grumbling but steadily following me.
“Hey. Where is this place again? The weather is so damn good!”
“If you run out of mana, then you might freeze to death.”
It’s not something the boss can’t get his head around and hesitate.
Now, above all else, getting out of here as quickly as possible was an urgent priority.
“No way, His Majesty the Emperor must have sent us here to tell everyone to die. There must be a way out somewhere.”
It felt like I was suddenly awakened by the remarks of one of the average knights, which flowed casually as if they were passing by.
Yes. No matter how omnipotent His Majesty’s words were, he really wouldn’t have turned back time and sent me and my men back to the battlefield.
If so, this place is a virtual battlefield that must have been created by His Majesty’s authority.
“Vice-captain. We must have been standing in the arena and then suddenly fell here. Didn’t we?”
“Yes. It’s exactly as he said. When His Majesty exercised his authority, the space was transformed, and when he came to his senses later, he found himself in the middle of a snowy field. Truly, it could only happen in a dream.”
“But it’s real. Look at the scent of your hair soap brushing your nose.”
“Ah! That, that…!”
It didn’t matter how or why this happened. Things have already happened before my eyes.
His Majesty the Emperor’s authority is certainly infinitely closer to that of a god.
However, since His Majesty, who exercised that authority, was not a god but a human being, this place was obviously created based on a place that already existed, not a place that did not exist in reality.
‘All of these terrains have been seen a lot.’
Besides, it was a fact she had vaguely felt from the beginning, but now she was sure of it.
This was definitely the northern frontline I knew.
I’m sure His Majesty said that he wanted a match like a real battle.
If that’s the case, I can understand why you dropped us here.
—Wheeying… !
“Whoa, damn it!”
“Everything, if nothing else, this fucking blizzard is real.”
The name of this damn place is Charitin Plains.
It is the place where one of the most fierce and boring battles in the history of the Empire took place.
How many times did the owner of this small piece of land change during the alternative war? If you add up the number of soldiers on both sides who died here, it will exceed tens of thousands.
After Master came out directly and defeated Kagan, the enemy leader.
In fact, they were northerners who had been bitten by the front lines as if they were running away, but they tried to defend this place with all their energy until the very end.
This was also a strategic point where the North Koreans’ munitions factories and logistics bases were located, and at first glance, it was even a sacred place named after some great ancestor.
I must have known what the original names they used to call this place. Forgot now
“Everyone! Follow me through the blizzard and head towards the strong wind! I can smell the water from there. There must be an unfrozen river nearby!”
“Yes!”
I led my men towards a base I knew in advance.
The 4th Centurion, Warren, praised me with an exaggerated expression.
“Hey, Captain! You’re really amazing. How could you say ‘Chuck!’ At once in a crazy place like this?” Did you find a way?”
“It’s no big deal. Seeing that you’re talking nonsense, it seems that you’re still full of energy.”
“Oh, no! I feel like I’m going to die from the cold right now!”
“Please maintain your dignity as a centurion, Lord Warren.”
In fact, the reason was roughly attached to it. No matter how keen your senses are, can you tell the difference between the smell of water in a snowstorm?
It was covered with snow everywhere, so at first glance, everything looked the same.
Being used to the terrain here, I could only easily tell where was where.
—Wahhahahaha!
— Giggling… !
Still, laughter blossomed among his subordinates due to the trivial joke.
It was unreasonable for even a superman to survive in such an extreme environment for a long time without cold protection equipment.
Now, the subordinates were slowly getting tired.
Judging by the fact that Sir Warren, returning to the ranks, winked at me, it must have been to comfort his men for a moment. He was a great commander.
“Hey, it’s near that ridge. Everyone, try harder.”
“Yes!”
It was fortunate that the resting place was not too far from where we first fell.
If you cross only one river over the low ridge, grass and moss grow from there, and at least there is land suitable for people to live.
“Vice-captain.”
“Yes?”
“You don’t know how strong I am to have you.”
“Boo, it’s embarrassing. Why are you doing that?”
Of course, we had to cross the river, but there was no need to worry.
We didn’t know if the already unreliable bridge would be fine, and we didn’t have time to prepare for crossing, but we had a vice-captain.
If she were to manifest images, it wouldn’t be much of a job to make one of her legs out of her ice.
But.
—Stopped
The moment you look down at the wide riverside while standing on the ridge.
“Hey, nice to meet you! You guys also landed around here! The head of the Pilgrim Knights, Scott of Count Tosen!”
“…I am the leader of the Black Lion Knights, Wolfgang of Count Schwartz.”
We came face to face with passengers who were not very happy.
* * *
Pilgrim Knights.
It can be said that among the finalists, who were the best monsters in the empire, they were on the easy side.
Literally, the power of those who were faithful to the basics could never be ignored, and the other side had already taken enough rest by the riverside where non-freezing water flows and had refined their formation to some extent.
On the other hand, our troops were clearly exhausted, and their formation was all messed up because they had just crossed the ridge, making them unable to demonstrate their full fighting power.
“Sir Scott. I have to cross the river, so if I ask you to open the way, would you listen?”
Haha! A big, distracted guy, making all kinds of funny jokes!”
“Does this sound like a joke?”
I openly showed my annoyance at the leader of the Pilgrim Knights, who had the upper hand and gave me a needlessly smirk.
It was a rude act, but it was because I shouldn’t even look funny in an unfavorable situation.
“Haha! As expected… He is said to have the personality of a beast, so the rumors are true. I heard that your inaction is very good. However, the situation is not so good for you to run amok to your heart’s content.”
It was as it was said.
If he was determined to manifest his own image immediately and wipe it all out at once, he was confident that he would be able to finish the battle in a short time.
We were not fighting a life-or-death war.
Of course, the Knights Competition is an important event. Its essence is a kind of unit-unit open sparring, which obviously corresponds to friendly battles.
Unlike the preliminaries, it was not possible to overwhelm those with enough skills to advance through the fierce competition and advance to the finals with moderate circumstances in their hands.
If I fight like this, I might be fine, but my subordinates will definitely suffer damage in some way.
“Captain. What should we do?”
“First of all, start from the back and slowly refine your formation.”
Since it was a situation where it was impossible to step out recklessly, first of all, while maintaining the confrontation as much as possible, passing the time, exchanging small whispers with the vice-captain.
The Pilgrim Knights Commander’s sharp gaze penetrated our disorganized formation.
Half of the subordinates were still in the middle without crossing the ridge, and the power was divided in two.
“It’s really a pity for you guys who haven’t been able to get enough rest, but don’t you think we have to do this to be polite?”
“Of course. It’s completely understandable.”
After that, there was no further conversation between the two knight commanders.
A momentary stillness that lasts until it is suffocating.
“Great pilgrims, all turn around!”
With a roaring battle cry, the lead force of the Pilgrim Knights mercilessly penetrated the weak points of our disorganized formation.
