Chapter 362
Side Story – Memories of a Princess (78)
#97 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of the Kingdom of Merdea
The castle was exploding. It was a tremendous explosion as if explosive magic had been engraved on every brick in the castle.
The collapsing castle with booming sounds and fragments flying from the explosions. While that alone was overwhelming, explosions weren’t only occurring in the castle. They were also happening in civilian houses within the castle grounds.
Ordinary houses were disappearing with giant pillars of fire, and even the well-maintained roads had smaller explosions occurring.
To prepare explosive magic even in a single small brick on the road, and to set it up to be activated from a distance!
This was technology that the Kingdom of Merdea couldn’t match – no, that no kingdom on the continent could match.
This was the technology of the Karan Empire!
But there was something even more terrifying than that – the madness of the Karan Empire.
Having technology doesn’t mean one would commit such acts.
While there have been cases of setting magical traps while retreating after taking enemy territory, there had never been a case of blowing up one’s own territory. Moreover, not a small castle but a major stronghold like Fort Pesra!
It was impossible without the madness to sacrifice everything for victory.
“Frightening! Frightening!”
This is the Karan Empire! This is our enemy!
Although I felt goosebumps all over my body, I couldn’t stop here.
“Gather the soldiers! Gather them where there are no explosions!”
First, we must survive. We must save as many troops as possible and flee to the border.
If we can just reach Fort Mebelis, a fortress no less formidable than Fort Pesra, we can rest easy.
However,
“General! There’s nowhere in this castle that isn’t exploding!”
My order was an impossible one.
“Really! You’re saying there’s truly not a single place that isn’t exploding!”
They were like demons. To not leave a single path for survival!
“The castle walls are the only–”
Just as my subordinate officer began speaking,
Rumble!
“Ugh!”
The ground began to shake. No, more precisely, the castle wall I was standing on was shaking.
“No way…”
I felt goosebumps on my body, and had the illusion of goosebumps forming on top of goosebumps.
“General! The right castle wall is collapsing!”
“Curse those Karan Empire bastards!”
Destroying buildings inside the castle walls was understandable behavior. After all, all civilians had already evacuated, and it could be restored after the war ended.
With support from the country in troops and funds, it could be restored in 1-2 years.
But castle walls were different.
Castle walls are tall. They must be built very high so that regular soldiers, and even knights with magical tools and mages cannot easily climb them.
Is that all? They must be thick to withstand siege weapons and mages’ bombardments, and must be built with a good balance of earth and stone to prevent easy collapse. Stone-only construction is weak against projectiles, while sand-only construction risks easy collapse.
Additionally, for border fortress walls like Fort Pesra, royal sorcerers and mages visit at least once a year to imbue all sorts of magic into the walls. In other words, even for the Karan Empire, it would be impossible in 1-2 years.
To rebuild walls of the current caliber would take at minimum 5 years, possibly over 10 years.
Which means,
“They have no intention of restoring the castle.”
It meant they would go all the way.
“Where is the Grand General!”
“He’s in the central wall area!”
“Gather all nearby soldiers! We head to the Grand General first!”
“Yes, understood!”
I ran quickly across the shaking castle wall.
The wall was so precarious it wouldn’t be strange if it collapsed at any moment. Yet strangely, only the central wall remained stable.
“Perhaps the gods haven’t abandoned our kingdom yet…”
Without divine protection, it would be impossible for the area where Grand General Raisha was located to remain intact amidst the continuing explosions.
“Yes, there’s still hope.”
Grand General Raisha would figure something out. Just as he always had!
“Y-you lot! Protect me! Knights and mages, come to me quickly!”
However, what I saw upon reaching the central wall was quite different from what I expected.
“G-Grand General?”
The Grand General’s face was deathly pale, and his body was swaying unsteadily as if his legs had given out.
There were tear tracks around his eyes, and faintly visible mucus running from his nose.
It was the typical appearance of someone who had lost their reason to fear.
“Y-you came! Quickly, protect me too!”
“Understood.”
Following orders, I positioned the soldiers who had followed me around the outer wall.
And shortly after, as the mages finished their incantations, protective magic began to form around us.
“Grand General.”
After confirming some degree of safety was secured, I immediately approached the Grand General’s side.
“You must calm down. Numerous soldiers await your command behind us.”
It was inevitable for the Grand General to show such an unsightly appearance. Even the battle-hardened veterans were at a loss for what to do.
No one could blame the inexperienced Grand General for being confused in such an absurd situation, even if he was a brilliant commander.
Because it’s my duty as a subordinate to bring the Grand General to his senses!
“Grand General! You must calm down! Now is the time to gather the soldiers and escape!”
“Escape? Where to? The Imperial army is ahead, and explosions keep occurring behind us!”
“But we can’t all die like this. There are still countless soldiers in there! You must save them, Grand General!”
The Grand General turned his head to look behind.
Explosion! Explosion! Explosion!
The explosions that had started long ago showed no signs of stopping.
The sound of things exploding could be heard everywhere, along with soldiers’ screams. If even knights could barely withstand these explosions, there was no way ordinary soldiers could.
“General…”
It was time to make a decision. Would he die engulfed in explosions, or would he go out and find a way to survive!
And after hearing my words, the Grand General made his decision. A way to survive.
Or more precisely…
“That’s it! The sky! If we escape to the sky, we can avoid the explosions!”
“What?”
“Mages, prepare immediately! We’ll lift everyone here into the sky and escape to the rear!”
A way to survive alone!
“Grand General! You must not do this!”
The personnel here would number at most just over a thousand.
Behind us, tens of thousands of knights and soldiers were still dying in the explosions. Moreover, most of them were soldiers who had voluntarily entered to save Grand General Raisha.
We cannot betray their trust.
Grand General Raisha was more than just a general – he was a military symbol who received absolute support from the people. If such a person abandoned his soldiers to save himself, who would take up arms to save the country!
“Grand General! You must save them. There is still hope. You need to look carefully at those explosions. While there are large explosions, most are very weak. Except for the massive explosions at the castle and walls, they’re mostly just small fires.”
While huge explosions were occurring at key points, the soldiers’ resting areas were only experiencing fires.
With just 100 mages, tens of thousands of soldiers could be saved.
Most people here were knights, mages, and magic warriors who could use magic. If they moved, they could save and return with up to 100,000 troops.
However!
“What if I die trying to do that! Soldiers can be recruited again, but if I die, the kingdom will fall!”
“Grand General!”
There were many ears listening.
It’s natural for morale to drop when such statements are made in front of numerous soldiers. Even if an ordinary commander said it, it would shake the army, but when the Grand General whom everyone trusted made such remarks, it could cause the army to collapse.
“I apologize, Grand General. But I cannot ignore all those soldiers. If you would just lend me some mages, I will gather the soldiers and follow behind you.”
“Really? How many do you need?”
“A hundred will do, Grand General.”
“Magic Corps Commander! Is this possible?”
“Yes, Grand General. We have 300 mages here total, so sparing 100 won’t be a problem.”
“Is that so? Then lend this person 100 mages. If you rescue many soldiers, I will grant you a great reward.”
“Thank you, Grand General.”
I knelt and received command of 100 mages from the Grand General, then descended the castle walls.
Thanks to the surprisingly intact central wall, I arrived without issues but had to bite my lip at the horrific scene before me.
“General… will this be alright?”
“It will be. We can do this.”
“Even the Grand General is acting like that in this situation.”
Thinking of the Grand General’s words, Commander Bate wore a dark expression.
He was someone who had risen from soldier to commander through military achievements. As someone who understood the soldiers’ perspective well, he seemed deeply wounded.
“The Grand General lacks experience. He’s just confused and unable to think properly in this situation. If he can escape from here and organize his thoughts, he’ll return to his usual self.”
“…I was short-sighted.”
“No. That’s precisely why we need to save as many troops as possible and bring them back. Didn’t the Grand General lend us mages for that purpose?”
“That’s right, Captain Bate. With us here, these explosions are nothing.”
Hareit, the most veteran among the 100 mages, smiled and calmed Bate.
“Yes, our Magic Corps’ skills are the best in the continent!”
We laugh. Though forced, we laugh loudly. Because without it, we couldn’t keep our sanity in this hell.
“Since the General said so, we should show our skills. Everyone! Show them that Merdea’s mages aren’t just tools who cast magic from behind like Imperial mages!”
“Yes, sir!”
Hareit takes the lead, deploying a magic barrier as we advance.
The remaining mages surround us protectively, deploying defensive magic to block the surrounding explosions as we move forward.
“There are soldiers over there!”
“Form groups of four! Each group must have one mage! Remember, going out alone means certain death!”
Survivors started gathering one by one.
Some had terrible injuries, and some were barely alive.
“Ugh… Leave those… Who are dying.”
“Yes, General.”
The numbers were too few. The wizard’s barrier had its limits, and there weren’t many soldiers who could carry the wounded.
Priority goes to saving those who are unharmed.
Those who were dying had to be abandoned. If we tried to save them, everyone would die.
“Please save me….. General… Please…”
Voices begging to be saved could be heard. It was a voice that seemed unable to speak properly due to blood filling the throat.
“I’m sorry….. I’m sorry…..”
I couldn’t save them. So all I could do was apologize.
If we try to save everyone, everyone will die. We must save those who can survive first.
While soldiers, non-commissioned officers, and officers were fighters, those called commanders and generals were the ones who had to make decisions. That is the duty of a general.
I must bear this burden.
“How long can we hold?”
“I’d like to say a solid hour… But realistically, about 20 minutes is our limit.”
Though we’re taking turns drinking magic recovery potions from our pockets, casting such a massive barrier still consumed enormous amounts of magic.
“Then now…”
“Yes. We must escape.”
I look at the rescued soldiers.
Even with maximum concentration formation to minimize the mages’ magic consumption, the numbers were now too much.
“Roughly 30,000…”
Only 30,000 from over 200,000.
“All we can do is hope as many as possible managed to escape…”
We could only hope there were some lucky ones who escaped.
It was time to retreat.
“We’re evacuating this position! While retreating, guide any able soldiers to join us here, but if you find severely wounded… Abandon them and move on.”
“Yes, General.”
This will leave an eternal scar on everyone. But we must bear these scars and return alive.
We moved as quickly as possible toward the rear castle wall.
Though there was no gate in that direction, it was where the wall first collapsed. We judged it would be difficult to move through but better than the main gate guarded by Imperial forces.
And that judgment,
BOOM!
“ARGHHHH!”
Became the worst decision–.
“Heroes are born in times of chaos and crisis. In other words, this is the perfect time to cut down the sprouts of heroism, Sir Ria.”
“…Is it just me? Do we seem like the villains right now?”
“In war, where is there good and evil?”
The Imperial army. They were waiting for us, as if they knew we would come.
“You bastard!”
We were played. We had been dancing in the enemy’s palm all along!
Realizing this, I shouted in fury, but,
“There are only winners and losers.”
Click.
As the ordinary-looking but malevolent man before us snapped his fingers, Imperial magical bombardment began raining down from above.
“Hareit…”
“I’m sorry, General. We have neither equipment nor magic left.”
“I see…”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
We’re dead. We’re all going to die.
But I couldn’t just die like this.
“Everyone scatter and flee! Live! Survive! That is my final order!”
As I shouted with all my remaining magic,
BOOM!
The sound of magical bombardment and soldiers’ screams began to ring out.
“I am Kingdom Army 5th General Flade la Latias! I’ll kill you bastards until my last breath!”
I draw my sword and wrap it in sword aura.
I am one of Merdea Kingdom’s 10 Swordmasters! Even against magical bombardment, I could survive if I stayed alert.
“Die, evil Imperial dogs!”
I advance forward while cutting down falling bombardments.
I must push forward so that even one more soldier might survive.
Slash, slash, and slash again.
I feel the bombardment increasingly focusing on me. For just a fraction of a second, I let my guard down.
“Kuh!”
And not missing that fractional moment, the female knight beside the evil man thrust her sword into my heart.
“Sword… Master?”
Red sword aura coated the blade piercing my heart.
“Pardon my late introduction. I am Ria Ril Areis.”
“The Empire’s… Genius…”
I had heard there was a genius who achieved the youngest Swordmaster title as a woman in the Karan Empire’s thousand-year history, but to meet like this…
“If we had fought properly, it could have been a good match… I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t just empty words. Her eyes showed genuine regret.
“Your downfall had one cause. You just happened to… Unfortunately face Lord Ast.”
“…”
Words wouldn’t come out.
I feel my body rapidly growing cold. Death. Death has come for me.
In my fading consciousness, there was one thing I wanted to ask.
‘Wasn’t this Lord Ast person the one who devised this brilliant strategy? Then why did she make that expression of describing irredeemable trash when speaking his name?’
I was truly curious but…
Sadly, death came first.
