Ch.194Chapter 194

There was no such comfortable news as the dead emperor’s army retreating from the border.

The story of the emperor marching across the border spread throughout the kingdom without a chance to stop it.

The people of Manheimr were so afraid of the emperor’s army that they held their breath…

“That bastard is making a fuss now that things are getting better!”

“He must be jealous that our king has brought prosperity to the north!”

“Let’s kill him and protect our families! We will never clutch our hungry stomachs again!!!”

…was not the case. The farmers of Manheimr were burning with fighting spirit more than ever before.

People who grow up in deprivation from birth don’t recognize their deprivation. But once that deprivation is relieved, even just once, people begin to feel anger.

They cannot bear the fact that what they suffer from is nothing to others.

How high would that anger rise if someone tried to take away what had just relieved their deprivation?

Just as that anger was about to pierce the heavens, official documents from the capital were delivered to the farmers through officials and nobles.

“This village is on the path of the emperor’s army! Everyone gather only your important belongings and evacuate!”

“Oh my lord! If we abandon this land, how are we supposed to make a living?”

“The government office will provide food until the war ends! Also, depending on the situation, we plan to support relocation to the pioneer village at the End of the World—”

“Hey you fools, can’t you hear what the official is saying? Pack your things and prepare to leave now!!”

While they couldn’t change the direction of the enemy’s march, moving people wasn’t impossible. This was the moment when the bureaucratic system, built while establishing universities, shone brightly.

Once the immediate worry of starvation disappeared, the farmers actually prayed for the emperor’s army to destroy their village.

What did this land matter when they could cultivate fertile soil near the capital?

The footsteps of the refugees on the evacuation route were as light as if they were going on a picnic. Instead, the officials’ steps were incredibly busy.

“Oil, what happened to the warriors sent to requisition oil!”

“W-we told them it was needed to repel the emperor’s army and received active cooperation. However…”

“However?”

“The farmers are causing a commotion, demanding to be taken along, so it might be a bit delayed.”

“What? Tell the farmers that farming and taking care of their children is the best fight they can do! How can public affairs be delayed for such trivial matters in these busy times!”

Moving farmers to safety, transporting oil for the army, gathering warriors and sending them to the meeting point…

Even in normal times, there was no shortage of work, but it was inevitable that officials’ workload would increase in preparation for war.

Then shouldn’t the nobles who cooperate with officials also be doing this kind of work?

“Huh, I’d rather quit being a noble than wrestle with letters like that.”

“We’re not disloyal rebels like those imperial folks, so why should we learn to do such things just to hold a handful of power?”

“My children’s children, and their children after them, will live in the kingdom ruled by His Majesty anyway, so how much power could we really hold?”

Rights and duties are proportional. And since the nobles of Manheimr weren’t particularly attached to their rights, their duties were reduced accordingly.

Doesn’t ambition only ignite when there’s possibility?

Most nobles were satisfied with being respected and wealthy while acting important like local dignitaries.

Naturally, it was rare to find cases where current nobles studied to help with official work, though their children might.

So…

“Please burn to death with this oil!!!”

“I should have listened to my senior back then…”

“That’s not the problem. I can’t even remember when I last saw my wife’s face.”

The officials were being worn down today as well, their fingers stained with ink from hard work.

* * *

Several weeks later, unlike usual, the audience hall was filled with numerous people.

Forest keepers with bone skulls at their waists knelt with their heads bowed, and even the nobles who were permitted to stand couldn’t raise their heads.

This was because Wendigo had not given permission to raise their heads.

Only Skadi and Geron, who occupied the left and right of the throne, and the direct vassals who had sworn allegiance to Wendigo first, were allowed to raise their heads.

‘Someday, even this scene will become familiar.’

Wendigo sat on the throne watching the scene and soliloquized.

A king could not be free. Those who have nothing can enjoy freedom, but those who have much must let go of freedom.

It would be a lie to say it wasn’t frustrating. But he didn’t want to ignore his duties.

He couldn’t keep viewing his responsibilities as burdensome forever.

“Everyone, raise your heads.”

When Wendigo’s command echoed through the audience hall, the forest keepers and nobles raised their heads to look at him.

Sunlight shone on him through windows made of thin amber. Draped in black silk and sitting with an ice sword erected instead of a throne, he looked as majestic as a king from legend.

His subjects forcibly held up their heads that naturally wanted to bow. This was because the king had not yet spoken.

“As everyone knows, the dead emperor’s army has reached near the forest. I am well aware that you and the people have worked hard for this.”

All civil and military officials listened to Wendigo’s words with bated breath. Honestly, they wanted to say it was nonsense.

They wanted to say that the people of Manheimr could act as one body thanks to the grace bestowed by His Majesty.

But they didn’t answer. They knew that wasn’t what His Majesty wanted.

“I reveal only now that the enemy is not the emperor’s army. They could be called poor souls led by remnants of ancient mysteries aiming for my head.”

Wendigo spoke calmly, but his subjects’ hearts began to burn fiercely. A hostility that made them want to slaughter the enemy immediately boiled up.

They didn’t care if the enemy was the emperor or a Djin. Even if it were a god, their hostility would not disappear.

Wendigo, who had given the gift of prosperity for the first time to a land full of eternal winter and poverty, was a ruler they should rightfully serve.

“If I offer my head, they would retreat. Both the incompetent emperor who summoned the dead and that cursed army would disappear together.”

“……”

“So I ask you. Do you think it is right for me to offer my head to them?”

“NO!!!”

The subjects shouted loudly as if there was no need to consider. Wendigo nodded and continued.

“That’s right. I too have no intention of handing over my head. Unlike the past, I have many precious things and many responsibilities.”

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t worried about fighting an entity that had slaughtered numerous heroes and might even be death itself.

But he couldn’t avoid it just because he was worried. The burden he chose to carry on his shoulders wasn’t just a burden but a responsibility. And bearing responsibility was honor.

At least, that’s what honor meant to Wendigo.

“As always, I will be at the forefront, defeating the enemies. Since this enemy was the original owner of my head, I might struggle more than expected. Perhaps I might be the one to die.”

Therefore, Wendigo asked his subjects once more.

“I ask you. Are you prepared to face my enemy with me?”

A brief silence flowed through the audience hall…

Tap!

“Shir of House Freyr, I am ready to face Your Majesty’s enemy.”

“Anton of House Duenor, I am ready to face Your Majesty’s enemy.”

“Miloshi of House Lefrune is also ready to face Your Majesty’s enemy!”

When Shir, once a tribal Summoner and now the head of House Freyr, declared, voices erupted from all directions as if they had been waiting.

Wendigo savored the sounds echoing through the audience hall… and the clear, refreshing scent. Not one person answered falsely, and there was no one who was not loyal.

‘So my efforts until now were not in vain after all.’

After the last person’s declaration, silence returned to the audience hall. But this silence had a different atmosphere from before.

They were waiting for Wendigo to say just one word.

“We march.”

At that one word, the subjects’ cheers erupted as if they would bring down the audience hall.

* * *

Following Wendigo’s instructions, Manheimr’s army marched in three divisions.

Carts filled with oil, water, and sand rattled along, and warriors sang songs as they marched.

It wasn’t a special song. It was a song wishing they could return to their hometown and see their families after this battle ended.

“… Personally, I find the song a bit ominous.”

Wendigo muttered as he looked at the warriors singing. Somehow the song made him uncomfortable.

“Is that so? It’s a common song warriors have sung since ancient times, so there’s nothing special about it.”

Geron, who had joined the campaign after a long time, asked with puzzlement. He had experience singing it in his youth.

Wendigo looked at Geron with a complicated gaze. It wasn’t easy to judge that singing a song about returning alive meant they would die.

As Wendigo was pondering how to explain this feeling, a messenger riding a wolf came running from far away.

The messenger blew a horn taken from his breast pocket and shouted.

“Emperor’s army spotted ahead!”

“… It seems I won’t have time to explain.”

As Wendigo raised his ice sword, Geron shouted in a resounding voice as if he had returned to his youth.

“All troops, pour oil on your weapons!!!”

“Don’t forget to ensure the oil doesn’t drip down. I trust there are no fools in my command who would burn their hands before even fighting!”

Following previously issued instructions, the warriors methodically applied oil to their weapons and began lighting them.

As their numbers grew to hundreds, the forest sparkled as if stars had descended.

And then…

“There they are!”

“… They truly look horrific.”

At the edge of the light, the dead began to gradually reveal themselves.

As corpses covered in strange fluid approached with their empty eyes glistening, the warriors gripped their weapons more tightly, and…

‘What is this? This inexplicable sense of familiarity?’

Wendigo felt an inexplicable familiarity with those he was facing for the first time.

He was perplexed. He had prepared to send them all back to the afterlife, yet he felt an inexplicable comfort and familiarity in his heart.

A feeling like meeting an old friend, like gazing upon an unforgettable sight of home—

“Lord Wendigo? Lord Wendigo, are you alright?”

“Hmm, Skadi.”

When Skadi, perched on his shoulder, asked with a worried expression, Wendigo finally came to his senses.

Now was not the time to worry about such things. He needed to focus on dealing with the enemy that had reached right in front of them.

“Skadi, I ask of you.”

“Yes, we’ll open the way.”

Skadi, answering with a smile, jumped down from Wendigo’s shoulder and prepared a large-scale spell with the Summoners and Witches waiting for her.

The mystical forces swirling from all directions condensed around her ring, and that power manifested through the magic circle prepared by the Summoners.

The forest, which had equally concealed both Manheimr’s army and the emperor’s army, began to move.

With a loud noise and a small earthquake, the forest betrayed the emperor’s army and retreated in all directions. Skadi and the Summoners had created a wide clearing in the forest.

“This is our repayment for making us suffer.”

Skadi didn’t stop there. Roots emerging from the ground pierced through the corpses’ legs and wrapped around their bodies, restraining them.

The corpses tried to forcibly pull their immobilized legs, but it was useless.

A wide clearing where they didn’t need to worry about fire spreading, and targets momentarily immobilized.

Wendigo didn’t miss this opportunity. He raised his ice sword toward the sky and then lightly swung it forward.

Then, as if stars were falling from the sky, hundreds of flaming arrows rained down on the corpses’ heads, leaving red trajectories.