Ch.704Hello, Big Brother?

Orhan’s death sentence had undoubtedly been conveyed all the way outside the city.

I could see it clearly. The battlefield view below my feet was nothing short of chaos.

Ibamai and the Valkyrie were still fighting, each with one arm torn off as they thrust spears at each other.

The Valkyrie was one thing, but Ibamai was now in a state where only his right arm remained.

He looked like he belonged in intensive care rather than on a battlefield, yet the force behind his spear thrusts remained ferociously intense.

“Not yet. It’s not over yet! Do you think I’ll let it end?”

No, rather than ferocious, perhaps desperate would be more accurate.

Orhan and Hatan’s deaths must have greatly disturbed his composure, as his shouts were filled with rage that seemed to make him cough blood.

“Takmarka. Yfirvofandi.”

Around the Valkyrie, who answered in a low voice, lay the bodies of Black Banner soldiers torn to shreds.

It seemed the Black Banner warriors had attempted a joint attack since Ibamai alone had slim chances of winning… and it had been somewhat effective. Judging by the Valkyrie’s severed left arm and right wing.

I wouldn’t have expected them to achieve such results against a hero-class female warrior who would normally just fly away. As expected of Ka’har’s elite.

Though they had suffered massive casualties in return.

Whether pushed back by the Valkyrie’s storm spear or the madness of the Danes who charged in using their lives as bullets, the Black Banner’s numbers had visibly decreased.

The remaining forces numbered around two thousand. Including those who had lost their horses, perhaps twenty-five hundred.

That was still a formidable force, but considering that the original Black Banner army had been a massive force of eight thousand, they had suffered truly devastating losses.

“Westerners…!”

Of course, in exchange, the Dane defensive forces had suffered near-total annihilation.

A literal lake of blood spread across the battlefield. If all those corpses had ascended to the Celestial Palace, it would be overflowing with new residents by now.

And… the world would become even more dangerous.

The number of deaths in this war easily surpassed even the Imperial Civil War, meaning if those apostle bastards wanted to, they would have more than enough to break through another layer of Heaven’s Wall.

—-

Unlike Ibamai, who was too busy dealing with the Valkyrie to command, the man who appeared to be the Red Banner commander seemed to have the capacity to rally his troops.

The surviving Dane forces had gathered to form a circular formation for their final resistance, but they were merely remnants numbering less than a thousand.

However, the Red Banner commander showed no intention of regrouping and reorganizing his forces.

“I’ll kill them. I’ll kill them all!”

…Or rather, he couldn’t even think about it.

He was raging wildly, mad even by Ka’har standards. He looked ready to charge toward the city interior, which had become a passage to the afterlife from their perspective.

“Haschal! You filthy traitor bitch! How dare you, how dare you kill my father!”

…Judging by his mention of “father,” he must be one of Orhan’s children.

What did Hersella say about them…?

Targiyan was like a mad dog, Sahakal was a rat with a snake’s head, and Amin was just a dog.

Then this must be Targiyan.

“Lord Targiyan! You mustn’t! Charging now would be suicide!”

“So what!”

Indeed, he was like a mad dog.

Unable to distinguish even his own death place as he rampaged.

Would capturing him improve Hersella’s mood…?

She must be quite upset after falling asleep without finishing Orhan off herself.

“Targiyan! It’s been a year!”

I shouted loudly from atop the wall, waving my right arm so he could see me.

Even for someone like me, charging into enemy lines where thousands of Black and Red Banner troops were gathered was challenging in my current physical state, so I thought to provoke him and lure him here.

“There you are, Haschal!!”

“How have you been? Is your mother well?”

“You, you unfilial dog of a woman…!!”

Targiyan’s face turned crimson with rage. I wondered if he might explode.

I smiled, raising Yekrindo proudly to show him.

“I’d like to take you to father’s grave and hold hands, but I don’t have a free hand right now. Should I give you a hug instead? Like siblings!”

“Grrrrrr…!”

He’s going to foam at the mouth.

Hersella’s assessment was spot on. A completely mad dog.

“Red Banner, prepare to charge! I will tear that traitor apart alive!”

Targiyan shouted, pointing his curved sword toward me.

Yes. Come this way.

I’ll burn everyone except you the moment you arrive.

I smiled, lightly licking my lips as if savoring the taste.

Fighting on the plains would be quite troublesome, but enemies pouring through the narrow city gate didn’t frighten me at all. Even if they were Ka’har cavalry.

“No! Please calm yourself!”

However, a middle-aged man with a stern expression standing beside Targiyan desperately tried to stop him.

That man must have also reached the Champion level, as Targiyan couldn’t shake him off and could only shout loudly.

“Let go of me, Mersin!”

Ah. I thought that face looked familiar.

It was Mersin, who had been a Centurion in Hersella’s personal guard like Jahan.

I heard he betrayed us using my defection to the Empire as an excuse, and now he was serving under Targiyan.

I thought he was quite intelligent, so I don’t understand why he chose to suffer like this.

“Mersin? You’ve become a Champion? I should give you a congratulatory drink!”

Unfortunately, Mersin didn’t respond to my provocation at all, focusing only on restraining Targiyan. He seemed to have completely closed his ears.

Well, being a smart man, he probably understood that falling for provocation now would be the end. What a shame.

“How do you plan to face a monster that even the Kagan couldn’t defeat?”

“So you’re saying we should just watch? Even if I die, that woman…!”

“You must think of the future! What will happen to Clan Aishan if you die too? Have you forgotten Sahakal?”

Sahakal. At that name, Targiyan’s eyes widened. As if he had just remembered.

I thought he was willing to rush at me for revenge even if it meant giving all of Orhan’s legacy to his half-brother, but had he completely forgotten in his blood rage?

Hersella was quite hot-tempered too, but this is at the level of mental illness.

—-

Anyway, Mersin’s persuasion seemed quite successful.

“Right, Sahakal. That bastard is still there…! Damn it…! Damn it all…!”

Seeing Targiyan grinding his teeth and trembling while turning his head away from me.

“All forces prepare to retreat! All remaining Champions support War Chief Ibamai! We must withdraw before the Imperial forces pour out!”

When Targiyan’s order fell, the Aishan soldiers, though somewhat perplexed, began turning their horses to distance themselves from the Dane forces.

The surviving Champions—five men including Targiyan and Mersin—rushed toward Ibamai.

“Lord Targiyan! Don’t come! Retreat while I hold this monster—!”

“How could I leave my last War Chief behind?”

Ibamai shouted that he would sacrifice himself to hold back the enemy so they could escape, but Targiyan refused, pulling out his bow and shooting at the Valkyrie.

To others, it might have appeared as a truly loyal relationship between lord and warrior.

Of course, from my perspective…

‘They’re making quite a scene among themselves. Did anyone give permission to let them leave peacefully?’

[ …. ]

A habitual mutter. However, unlike usual, there was no response. Hersella was asleep.

She had been falling asleep constantly these days, truly like a sleeping beauty in the forest.

Anyway, I put down Yekrindo and picked up a spear leaning against the wall, aiming at Ibamai. I had no intention of letting Aishan’s main forces return to the steppes, unlike ordinary soldiers.

The distance is quite far, so I’m not sure if I’ll hit properly.

If it were Frider, he could have taken out Ibamai, the Valkyrie, Targiyan, and the other Champions all at once… but he was already dead. I suddenly felt regretful.

“Wouldn’t it be better to let them retreat?”

Just as I took a deep breath and pulled the spear back behind my shoulder, Sean, who had followed me, carefully asked.

“After we’ve caught them all, you want me to let them escape?”

Sean nodded.

“Yes. The Margrave previously mentioned that if we succeeded in killing Orhan and the enemy retreated, we should let them return to the steppes. He said they would then wage civil war among themselves and decline.”

…It was a reasonable point.

Seeing Targiyan’s temperament, it wouldn’t be strange if he started a war to kill his brother as soon as they returned to the steppes.

If we just send them back, they’ll wear down their own forces on their own.

“We don’t have the strength to prevent their retreat anyway. The Imperial forces are at their limit of fatigue… and you know well what could happen if we rashly pursue retreating Ka’har.”

True, shooting arrows backward while retreating is their specialty. Though it seems they don’t have many arrows left.

“Hmm….”

I pondered for a moment, weighing the potential risks of letting them go against the benefits.

“…Alright, fine.”

And finally lowered my spear.

It was the moment when the war between the Empire and the Ka’har came to a period.