Chapter 33

In the plains of Aslon, swept away by the madness of war, it had barely been 10 minutes since the battle ended…

Before long, crows flew down from the sky, beginning to peck at the eyes of soldiers who had recently died.

The crow, having completely devoured the eyes of an unnamed soldier who lay lifeless, cawed loudly, calling to its fellow birds.

In response to that sound, countless crows descended, starting to feast on the corpses of the dead.

The crows greedily consumed their banquet, and the area around them began to be stained with the flesh and blood they spilled.

If I were back in Korea, I would have vomited at such a disgusting and horrific sight.

However, the madness of the battlefield, particularly the satisfaction of having led the war and achieved victory, allowed me to remain calm, or rather, it presented me with boundless happiness even amidst such a scene.

Perhaps the soldiers beside me felt the same; they hugged each other, shedding tears of joy.

“Lieutenant, we survived!!”

“Yeah, Hans. We made it. Well done!! Now we just need to prepare to return!”

“Sergeant, as promised, when our war merchant arrives, you’ll be treating us to a round of beer?”

“Corporal Jackson!!! Why remember such trivial things, can’t you forget it for a while?”

“Marie, Marie! I’m alive!!”

Yet still, even here, in this battlefield, some of the surviving soldiers wept sorrowfully, calling out the names of their fallen comrades.

“Sand… we joined the army together and promised to earn our lieutenants’ bars and retire together! You foolish fool!! Why did you die! Just… just five more years and we could have received land from Baron Your Excellency. We even promised to both marry and live with beautiful wives!! You scoundrel…”

“Squad Leader! Why did you go to save that guy in the front line… Sir told you not to do that, why did you step to the front line… What about noble pride?”

Though we won the war, undoubtedly achieving an overwhelming victory, seeing those who mourned and the dead filled me with regret.

I certainly did my best, but if I had performed just a little better, I could have reduced their sacrifices…

As I stared blankly at the battlefield where the war had ended, I saw Balt running towards me from afar, waving his hand along with Helmut and Weiss.

Balt and Helmut looked fine, but Weiss had a bandage lightly stained with blood wrapped around his right arm.

Seeing that he wasn’t overly bloodied reassured me that his injuries weren’t severe…

I shook off my worries and approached the three of them.

“Balt, Helmut, Weiss, you all worked hard. Thanks to you, we easily won this war. Especially you, Balt.”

When I specifically mentioned Balt, he looked at me with an expression of pride.

“You commanded the infantry remarkably well. Thanks to that, we minimized the losses among the infantry. They didn’t even have a chance to step forward with halberds because you directed so well.”

“Indeed. I specifically emphasized the soldiers with halberds in the operational meeting… I find that a bit regrettable.”

I patted Balt’s shoulder, trying to console him.

“War always needs to be prepared for the worst, right? In this case, it went so smoothly that those guys didn’t have a chance to show up. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s correct. It’s disappointing that it didn’t go according to my strategy, but in the end, it’s a great victory. We’re still looking for the dead and injured and gathering the prisoners… but I think our soldiers have had fewer than 20 deaths. As for the enemy… it’s not worth mentioning.”

From Balt’s last words, which he hesitated to say with a smile, I felt his consideration.

It was as if he were giving me a pass, saying, ‘Even if they are the enemy, they were the ones who took the lives of many soldiers, and we had no choice but to protect our allies.’

And as he said, I was punishing those scum who had tried to invade my territory.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“It’s an honor, Your Excellency.”

“And send all troops except for those with halberds back to the camp immediately. Let them rest today and tomorrow, except for the minimum number of sentries. Balt, you will lead the halberd soldiers to capture the enemy’s ‘main camp’ and take the enemy knights as prisoners.”

At first glance, it might sound like I was giving work to a ‘commander who had just gone through hell,’ like a cruel superior.

But in reality, I was generously giving the glory and merit that should belong to the ‘overall commander’ to Balt and the halberd soldiers who had commanded the infantry.

In doing so, Balt may become a ‘knight awarded land’ if he’s successful, and the remaining halberd soldiers will receive ‘considerable rewards.’

Noticing that, Balt looked at me with tears in his eyes and said,

“Then, Your Excellency, may I take Helmut and Weiss with me as well? Weiss might be a bit injured, but I believe he can hold a sword with one hand.”

“Let it be so. Depart immediately. The enemy has already been fully exhausted.”

Upon hearing that, Balt knelt on one knee, bowing his head in utmost respect towards me before heading into the enemy territory.

**

I returned to my barracks, leaving behind the battlefield piled high with corpses.

Now filled with relief at the end of the war but still holding the unease of having killed countless people.

As I opened the curtain to enter the barracks, a fragrant smell tickled my nose.

Looking towards the source of the smell, I saw Ela cooking a rich stew inside my barracks.

I smiled and greeted Ela, who had prepared a warm meal for me.

“I’m back, Ela.”

“Yes, Master…”

And Ela quietly came behind me, helping me out of my armor more gently than usual, cautious of my injuries.

After removing my armor, I sat on my bed, and Ela served me the stew.

Though the stew was just good preserved meat, dried vegetables, and a bit of flour…

To me, who had been through hell in the battlefield, it felt warmer and more delicious than any food.

While hastily eating the stew, I spilled some on my face, making Ela laugh as she wiped my face with a handkerchief.

“Take your time, Master. I have plenty of stew, so if you eat too fast in your current state, you might get a stomach ache.”

“Yeah, I got it. But aren’t you going to eat, Ela? It seems like you haven’t eaten anything…”

“Yes, Master. I will eat with you.”

So we ate the stew in silence, with no words exchanged.

After finishing the stew and clearing the bowls, Ela looked at me with a worried expression and asked,

“Master, are you injured anywhere? I heard before you arrived that the messenger said you were safe, but… perhaps you’ve scratched yourself somewhere.”

“No, I’m uninjured. Look. My armor is just a bit dirty with dirt and dust; there’s not a scratch on it.”

Upon hearing that, Ela scanned the armor I had left behind and replied.

“Thank you for coming back safe, Master. I would have been really worried if you had been hurt.”

I reached out and patted Ela’s shoulder, responding confidently.

“It’s okay. I came back uninjured safely.”

“Thank you for returning, Master.”

After those words, an extremely awkward atmosphere suddenly passed between Ela and me.

I desperately wanted to break this tension and blurted out without thinking.

“Right, now that the war is almost over, let’s think about what to do when we return. How about going out together like we did in the market before? Or we could eat some of the sweets made by the head maid.”

Seeing that, Ela seemed to have caught on to my intent to break the awkward atmosphere as she replied a bit loudly.

“This time I’ll bake the cookies for you, Master. Now I bake cookies even better than the head maid. When we return, I’ll make sure to bake plenty of cookies filled with raspberry jam that you used to love in Windheim.”

So I talked a lot with Ela about all the things I wanted to do after returning to Croilet until late that night.

During our conversation, I slowly felt the unease about having butchered the enemies fading away.

**

While I lay on the bed, suddenly, an incredibly loud voice calling me from outside my barracks echoed.

“Your Excellency!! Your Excellency!! It’s a messenger! May I come in?”

I splashed a bit of water from the wooden bucket next to my bed on my face and replied.

“Come in.”

“Yes, excuse me.”

Then, the messenger knelt before me, bowing his head.

“Lord Balt, Sir Helmut, and Captain Weiss have captured the enemy’s main camp with 400 halberd soldiers. The enemy, having already lost, offered little resistance, and we have taken Baron Celt, Baron Santoburke, and 40 knights as prisoners!”

… Finally, the war was over.

Capturing just one of them would have sufficed to declare a ‘complete’ victory in this war, yet we had captured both barons…

I felt my heart racing with excitement upon hearing about their impressive achievements beyond my expectations.

So, I couldn’t hide my excitement as I grabbed the messenger’s hand and asked.

“Is that so? Where is Balt now?”

“He will be bringing the prisoners shortly. Congratulations on the victory!”

“Thank you for your hard work, please wait a moment.”

Upon hearing my words, the messenger, perhaps thinking I was going to give a reward since I had received ‘good news,’ had a huge grin on his face.

It was somewhat amusing to see him trying to hold back his laughter knowing it wasn’t appropriate in front of me.

I handed the messenger a gold coin and signaled for him to leave.

The moment he stepped outside my barracks, he erupted into cheerful cheers.

“Long live Your Excellency!! A gold coin!! With this, I don’t have to worry about the expenses for my wedding with Alice!!”

**

The following day, Barons Santoburke and Celt entered the military’s barracks.

According to the traditions of warfare in this era, even in a state of captivity, they wore their helmets, armor, and swords.

While I knew that’s how it was done here, it was quite irritating to see those bastards who declared war for nonsensical reasons walking confidently in front of me.

Though I put aside those feelings and signaled to my subordinates to bring them seats to sit on and food equal to what I would eat.

Then, they both sat down at the same level as me, despite being defeated.

A moment of silence passed, and I opened my mouth to break it.

“It was an excellent battle, Baron Santoburke. Baron Celt. However, I triumphed in this battle because I was deemed more righteous in the eyes of the gods.”

The two maintained a momentary silence, not wanting to admit that.

To them, I then spoke in a voice laced with mild, if not severe, mockery.

“So, we must discuss the price of your defeat now. The price for insulting my honor will not be cheap, so you may want to prepare yourselves.”

How dare they start a war for such trivial reasons, causing the deaths of my precious soldiers…

The cost will be settled through your wealth and shame.