Volume 5 Release Commemorative Special Episode
The Former Master and Servant ② - Journey of Hardship
Translator : PolterGlast
The ten thousand cavalry led by General Weiss, having
slipped behind the fortress line of the Principality of Sura—which was
said to be impregnable—through a march so absurd that even the enemy army had
not anticipated it, charged straight into the mountainous region and launched a
surprise attack on a strategic supply base connecting the front line and the
rear. Receiving an unexpected assault, the principality army's garrison was
annihilated, and the supply base, a strategic point supporting the front line,
fell into the hands of Weiss and his men. Due to this, the provisions
that were supposed to support the military force of as many as sixty thousand
deployed on the front line were lost.
「General, how shall we move from here? We could strike their
fortresses from the rear right now, right?」
「There is no need to dare attack from
our side. The enemy army deployed on the front line beyond here is a massive
force of sixty thousand in total; from this point on, that number itself will
become their vital weak point.」
Saying so to restrain his eager adjutant, Weiss
continued his explanation.
「Given the sheer numbers, they will
dry up quickly on the food stockpiled at the front line alone. The negligence
in thinking they had capped us with an impregnable fortress and that the rear
was safe territory leading to their home country will prove fatal this time.」
「Then what about them?」
「Once they learn we have occupied
this place, they will panic and move to eliminate the threat in their rear. If
so, a hole will open in the front line, and Denka's army will strike them from behind. We will ambush and
shoot down the enemy forces that are pushed out here.」
「However... the enemy army is six
times our number! Will it really go well?」
Indeed, just as the adjutant said, it normally seemed as if
they had leaped into a death trap of encirclement and annihilation. However,
that was merely talk on a flat board.
「Their fortress line is constructed
along the steep mountain range that divides the principality's territory north
and south. Therefore, there are only three exits towards the Empire. But
conversely, there are also only three roads leading from the fortress line to
this supply base.」
As Weiss pointed out, there were only three roads
passing through the mountainous region from the strategic point connecting to
the fortress line on the front line, and moreover, the principality's strategic
point they had occupied was established where the three bypaths stretching to
the front line merged into one. Because of that, from this strategic point,
only a single road stretched out threading through the mountains towards both
the front line and the homeland of the Principality of Sura.
「Whether they wish to recapture the
strategic point or flee towards the principality side, they absolutely must
pass through here.」
That was precisely why the adjutant feared being caught in a
pincer attack from front and back, but Weiss's viewpoint was different.
「The bypath leading here is narrow
and a large army cannot deploy. Therefore, no matter how large the enemy army
is, they cannot utilize the advantage of numbers. They think they have capped
the Empire at the fortress line, but we have capped them at the very
root of it.」
Saying so, Weiss pointed at the map and smiled
fearlessly.
Truth be told, in the third world as well, what marked the
border between the ceded new territory of the Empire and the territory
of the Principality of Sura was this fortress line on the mountain range
stretching north and south. The reason Sieghart had narrowed down the
invasion routes of the principality army to three locations was actually
nothing other than because there were only three exits. Returning to the
story...
「Therefore, their food supplies will
run out and they will starve early on. Since ancient times, a starving army
suffers a drop in morale and cannot exhibit its original strength. Even more so
because the body of a soldier that has weakened once does not easily recover
its strength. This is something I myself know firsthand...」
Saying so, Weiss choked on his words, recalling the
bitter memories of the past etched into his mind.
『It was the same that time. If only
we hadn't suffered from starvation... I wouldn't have made such a blunder, nor
would I have let so many members die. That was entirely the result brought
about by my foolish arrogance...』
※
Eleven years ago from now, we, the Two-Headed Hawk
Mercenary Group, were suddenly robbed of the future we were supposed to
live. As a result, the journey until we could meet our true lord was harsh and
full of hardship. The beginning of that journey of hardship arrived abruptly.
One day, we were robbed of our future by a single merciless sentence!
「What is the meaning of this? Our
contract should still have one year remaining, shouldn't it?」
「It means we cannot wave sleeves we
do not have; furthermore, in this famine, we have no need for useless eaters.」
「But we were told to prepare for the
coming war with the Empire... Viscount Gorman also said so...」
「We have no money to spend on a war
that we don't even know will happen. Besides, the Viscount, being solely
devoted to martial arts, completely fails to understand domestic
administration.」
Saying so, the steward of the Viscount Gorman family
laughed coldly. Together with a gaze that seemed to despise us...
「If you desire battle that much, it
would be best for you to find a new employer yourselves as you please. Though
under the current situation, I doubt there is any other fool who would take in
useless eaters like you lot.」
Although we protEstd the abrupt cancellation of the
mercenary contract, we were given the cold shoulder entirely, and in the end, parting
words were spat at us and we were banished from the Viscount Gorman
family.
「Commander... what will we do now?」
The one who asked that was an exceptionally young woman
named Kira, who had joined the mercenary group as an apprentice this
year. In the Two-Headed Hawk Mercenary Group, no, in any mercenary
group, female members are rare, but her upbringing—her village on the frontier
having been attacked by bandits—had made her choose the path of volunteering
for a mercenary group. Her father, a skilled soldier who protected the village,
surrendered because the villagers were taken hostage and was killed. Along with
her family... Intended to be a plaything for the bandits, she, who had not been
killed, could supposedly only tremble and watch as her family and the villagers
were killed by the bandits.
『Against unreasonable violence, we need a power that surpasses it!』
『I want power, being weak is a sin.』
By the time our mercenary group rushed over upon learning of
the emergency, she had stubbornly come to think that way, and volunteered for
the mercenary group on the spot. Even though she was only fourteen years old at
the time. Initially, she was added to our group as a caretaker, but after about
a year passed, she endured the harsh training, and now she had joined as an
apprentice member of the mercenary group, devoting herself to her studies to
become an official member.
「Kira, there is no need to worry. First, I think we will turn to
Baron Solis of the neighboring territory. He is also a gentleman who became
a Baron through martial exploits. I believe he would be interEstd in
strengthening his military force.」
For the time being, I tried answering Kira, who had
asked with an anxious face, but I myself had no guarantee of that. I had heard
that the Baron Solis family suffered a great blow from the fluctuations
in the grain market last year, and that the drought damage this time was worse
than in Viscount Gorman's territory. Would they have the leeway to take
us in? Though I had anxieties, clinging to a thread of hope, we departed,
aiming for Est in the territory of Baron Solis. However, that
journey was not an easy one. During a time of food shortage, even the
distribution and sale of food in Viscount Gorman's territory were
controlled by the steward!
「I want to sell to you, but right now
we are forbidden from trading freely by order of the lord. Besides, to begin
with, we don't have the leeway to sell to you either...」
At every town and every village on the way to Est, we
could only purchase a meager amount of food. That wasn't even half the amount
needed to fill the stomachs of thirty members. Unable to be unreasonable to
those who refused us apologetically, we aimed for Est while our hunger
and fatigue mounted. After several days of a journey where we could barely
walk, our mercenary group managed to pass through Viscount Gorman's
territory and entered the town of Est governed by Baron Solis,
but it was in a state of destitution that made one want to avert their eyes.
Starving territory residents from various places flowed in as refugees, raising
their voices seeking salvation in various parts of the town. However... the
lord's side also seemed to have their hands full, and the Baron was rushing
around various places to procure food; we couldn't even manage to meet with
him.
「I am terribly sorry. Under the
current situation, we have our hands full just keeping the refugees within the
territory from starving to death... Unfortunately, we do not have the financial
leeway right now to contract with a mercenary group.」
To the steward of the Baron Solis family who said so
apologetically, I could not hope for anything more. Even so, despite such a
situation, he made arrangements to distribute a small amount of food to us as
well.
「No... we were the ones who forced ourselves
upon you. Despite that, I am grateful for your goodwill.」
Saying so, along with the meager amount of distributed food,
we aimed for our second destination, Teigoon. Just as the steward of
Viscount Gorman had told us, we had no choice but to set out on a
distant journey seeking a battlefield. As the first step of an endless journey
far away, aiming for the camp of the Third Prince, who was said to be in
the middle of a battle with the Principality of Sura in the southern
part of the Empire, a battlefield where the fighting still continued.
「Our true worth lies in battle. If
so, we have no choice but to head toward a place still in the midst of battle,
where our strength is desired.」
Saying so, while encouraging the members, we aimed for Teigoon.
Our destination was the southernmost tip of the Empire, a place that
would literally take several months of continuous walking on foot. For that
purpose as well, it was necessary to stop by Teigoon to obtain funds for
the journey. However... upon arriving in Teigoon, the situation was
harsher than expected.
「You guys sure are eccentric. Even if
you come to Teigoon at a time like this, there's hardly any decent food.
The main hunters have all evacuated to Dimos or neighboring farming
villages, you see.」
To begin with, the land of Teigoon was not suited for
growing crops, and the livelihood of the hunters living there was supported by
food transported by merchants from other farming villages. And now, during a
famine caused by a drought, there was almost no food sent all the way to Teigoon,
which was at the very frontier and difficult to transport to.
「We are planning to move out of here
too. I'll let you have what's left over. Well... I'll take a corresponding
price for it, though.」
Saying so, the merchant who had remained until the very end
also left. We, who had planned to raise money in this land, had little to pay
with, and were forced to make a bitter decision to purchase the expensive food.
In the end, we ended up selling off even our armor—aside from our swords—and
spare weaponry. And... the true hell began from here. Originally, we had
planned to hunt monsters in the Demon Territory and procure
materials—which were considered precious in the Empire—to serve as the
price for the journey ahead. The hunters, from whom we had hoped to beg for
teachings in order to subjugate those monsters, were already gone. Therefore,
we ended up spending our days fighting monsters while in a state of having lost
the armor to protect our bodies and with only the 『Taboos of the Demon Territory』 we knew as knowledge. Of course, to begin with, our
mercenary group was full of those who were confident in their skills, and it
was a reckless act born from the thought that we could somehow fight against
monsters even with half-baked knowledge, but our bodies, starved and having
lost physical strength, did not move as well as we had thought. And one day...
in a battle against a Black Wolf and a Demon Wolf that we normally thought we
could easily defeat, we lost two members and three were severely injured.
「Commander! Come on now!」
「Kira! Don't abandon the severely injured! We retreat to the narrow pass and intercept them there.」
Here, I ended up violating a 『Taboo』. Unable to abandon my severely injured comrades, I pulled
back to Teigoon while taking them along, but that ended up attracting
new monsters. And when we somehow succeeded in repelling the surging monsters,
the lives of two more comrades had been lost.
「Kuh... It's my fault. Someday I
will... sweep away every last monster inhabiting this Demon Territory
and clear away the regrets of my comrades!」
Under that oath, we, the twenty-three of us who remained,
buried the three who passed away later without their wounds healing; while
suffering injuries in one place or another, we aimed for our next destination,
the national border. However... the village in Viscount Hiyorimi's
territory close to the Demon Territory that we stopped by next had been
attacked by bandits and was being ruled by them. Originally, we should have
been able to repel a mere fifty or so bandits without even taking casualties,
even with half our numbers. However... Lacking food and wounded, we were unable
to exhibit our true strength, and five more members were lost there...
「Aren't lords who cannot even
properly maintain public order unnecessary to begin with? Preparing for a
famine is also a lord's duty; what value does this country have in lords who
cannot even do that?」
Perhaps before I knew it, I had come to hold prejudices
against the lords of the Kyle Kingdom in my heart and shift the blame
onto them. No, it could be said that precisely because of that anger, we were
able to overcome the subsequent harsh journey and finally reach Ende,
the southernmost city of the Empire. And finally, I was able to meet a
lord whom I truly wished to serve from the bottom of my heart. At that time,
the comrades who accompanied me had already dwindled down to ten...
※
「General... General Weiss?」
My mind, which had sunk into the bitter memories of the
past, finally returned to reality at the adjutant's call.
「Hmph, to think it has been ten years
since I became a part of Denka's
attendant... The time to repay my debt of gratitude has finally come.」
Yes, my current mission is to guide Denka to the supreme rank of the Empire. By winning this battle, that will come true. And if I may hope for it... revenge for my comrades who perished while harboring regrets...
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