Chapter 26: Major Accident

“Ehi, take care of the prince.”

Before heading out to battle, Nila came to me and said this.

“Why are you worrying about me when you’re the one going to the battlefield?”

“Even if it’s just for a short while, I still feel uneasy. Please, take care of him.”

Her serious expression showed genuine concern.

But what could possibly happen? 

Nominally, I was left behind, but with all the infected heading towards the shield, there was no threat to us in this northern land.

Still, instead of arguing, I nodded to ease my friend’s worries. 

Only then did Frennila show a relieved expression and led the troops out.

That image kept coming back to Werhe’s mind.

“Latia, cover me!”

After asking Latia for fire support, I swung my axe with all my might.

But the training axe, dulled to prevent injury, didn’t deliver the power I wanted.

Moreover,

“Why is this leather so tough? It’s not even steel!”

After exchanging a few blows, I distanced myself at Latia’s signal.

Latia’s supporting arrow flew but bounced off as if hitting a wall.

Damn, if only I had my beloved axe.

After three rounds of struggle, I didn’t feel like I was losing, but without effective hits, I couldn’t see a way to win.

“Latia, go back to the barracks and get my axe.”

“Understood!”

Quick thinking—it’s wiser than unnecessarily prolonging the confrontation.

Latia must have thought the same, as she quickly left.

Meanwhile, the chimera kept charging relentlessly.

Its movements were monotonous and unnatural, as if its skeleton was forcibly pieced together, but the sheer force of its swings seemed to compensate for all its flaws.

‘This is a blow to my pride.’

If only I had my beloved axe, I could have taken it down in one hit. 

I was furious inside but didn’t show it. 

Excitement on the battlefield leads directly to mistakes. 

I calmly received its attacks and observed the situation.

‘It’s a bit like Nila.’

Not to mock Nila, but their fighting styles were similar. 

However, there was a clear difference.

‘But it’s not as overwhelmingly powerful as Nila.’

After several exchanges, I gradually got used to the monster’s movements. 

At the same time, I split the rhythm of my attacks into two.

Gradually speeding up, but keeping the rhythm intact, I broke down the monster’s attacks into smaller pieces.

Thud!

There were no effective hits, but the monster started to falter under the pressure.

…If I can just hold on, I have a chance!

Just as I was about to smile at this positive sign.

“Werhe! Watch out!”

The prince’s shout—before I could even check what was happening, the monster slashed my side with its claws.

This bastard, knowing my attacks weren’t effective, decided to take hits while attacking.

Once I allowed one hit, I left myself open for more.

This isn’t good. I tried to dodge, but it seemed impossible to avoid the follow-up.

“Hyahhh!”

Thunk!

The prince threw his spear, and thanks to that, I narrowly avoided the monster’s consecutive attacks. 

With all my strength, I pushed the monster back.

Just a little more, just a bit more—!

“Werhe!”

There she was—Latia, throwing my beloved axe from afar.

I threw the training axe and leaped towards where my beloved axe was flying. 

The monster followed me.

“You’re dead.”

Faster, I grabbed my beloved axe and, like throwing a shot put, spun and struck the monster’s torso.

Thud—!

A one-hit kill. 

The centrifugal force added to the large axe caused the monster’s body to burst upon impact. 

Panting, I leaned on the axe like a cane.

“…Did I take it down?”

…Oops! I unconsciously covered my mouth after saying that.

As my strength drained, my vision cleared. 

Only then did I see the full scope of the battlefield, which I had been too focused on one monster to notice.

A snake’s body, a shark’s face, bird legs and wings. 

Another monster flying from the sky towards the prince.

The prince seemed to notice the monster too, but with his back to the river, there was no space to dodge.

Ah, why did I think there was only one monster?

I shouldn’t have let my guard down. 

This is a death flag—I shouldn’t have said that.

Without his only means of defense, the spear, and being a newly trained prince, there’s no way he could survive the monster’s attack.

‘Damn it!’

Without a second thought, I threw myself forward.

It’s better if I take the hit directly—it would be less of a shock than if the prince took it. 

The monster slashed my back as I shielded the prince.

Slash!

…Ah, it hurts more than I thought.

Thud!

In what felt like an instant, both of us were swept away by the river.

“Werhe! Prince!”

Latia was at a loss, not knowing what to do in this unexpected disaster.

No, before that, only she and the monster remained. 

Survival was the priority.

She had to survive to report what happened here. 

Latia aimed her arrow at the winged monster.

But strangely, the monster seemed indifferent to her.

It was more focused on chasing the two swept away by the river.

I can’t let this happen.

To increase the survival chances of the two swept away, I had to stop this monster.

Fortunately, while the monster wasn’t paying attention, Latia shot an arrow at its wing.

Thud!

“Kreeeek!”

Luckily, unlike the previous monster, this one seemed less durable. 

The arrow sank deep into its wing.

The paralysis poison from the blue swamp viper should temporarily disable it.

Approaching the fallen monster, she stabbed its neck. 

For a monster that caused such havoc, its death was rather anticlimactic.

Now what? 

What should I do?

The monster’s fate didn’t matter.

If Nila finds out about this, I can’t imagine what will happen. 

But instead of fearing that, I need to focus on what I can do now.

The harsh plains’ weather won’t give us much time.

Latia hurried back to the base to organize a rescue team.

*

Leaving the prince behind made me a bit uneasy, but I decided it was just my imagination.

After all, my reliable friend Werhe stayed behind. 

Except for the infected, there’s nothing in this northern land to fear.

“Hold the shield up to the end!”

Below the plateau, Arsakes, the land of  shield, the shield warriors were fighting desperately.

There was no more room to retreat. 

The warriors holding the shield wall fought bravely but soon reached their limits.

As they began to fall one by one, the gap widened rapidly.

The shield tribe’s chief, Argin, stepped forward to fill the gap himself.

His massive size and even larger shield still couldn’t easily mend the growing breach.

“Grooar!”

Contrary to the warriors’ despair, the infected’s assault intensified. 

Is this the end? 

Just as that thought crossed Argin’s mind,

“All units, open fire!”

Countless arrows and fireballs rained down on the infected.

The barrage swept through the infected ranks, cutting them down and giving the shield tribe a moment to breathe.

‘…Those are bows, axes, and swords?’

We had turned them away, yet they came to our aid in our time of need.

A mix of gratitude and wounded pride, but there was no time for second thoughts.

Now was the time to drive back the common enemy.

“Hold the shield and stand your ground! Reinforcements are coming!”

Unlike before, where we were pushed back, we now surrounded the infected like a sandwich. 

The shield wall acted like a cliff, pushing the infected back.

The infected, sensing the danger late, began to retreat, but Frennila wasn’t about to let them go.

She led her cavalry in pursuit, firing arrows in all directions to reduce their numbers.

She only stopped when her quiver was empty and her horse was too exhausted to continue.

The infected forces, having lost more than half their numbers, retreated.

Frennila, having demonstrated immense valor, approached the shield tribe. 

Despite being enemies, the warriors bowed in respect.

“You must be Farzan’s daughter.”

“…I am Frennila, daughter of the former chief Farzan. It’s an honor to meet you, Chief Argin.”

“Honor might be a stretch, but thank you nonetheless. Thanks to you, we survived this crisis.”

Though he said thanks, his expression showed clear discomfort.

Just as Werhe had said.

The Saka civil war, a conflict between ethnic groups over thirty years ago. 

While young leaders have since emerged, healing the scars, he still couldn’t move past the old wounds.

Of course. The civil war cost him his wife and drove his daughter away from the tribe.

He had lived a lonely life, longing for his family. 

Frennila, blessed by Anes, wanted to comfort him, leaving the past behind.

She had come all this way to deliver a message for the sake of this once glorious but now faded old warrior.

“…Anes, I came here under Anes’s will.”

Argin’s eyes widened.

Why was his daughter’s name coming from the mouth of this young girl he’d never met?

Argin, wide-eyed, threatened Frennila with his shield.

“Are you mocking me? If you’re playing games with my daughter’s name, I won’t forgive you.”

But Frennila didn’t flinch at his threat. 

She simply took out a small glass vial.

[Thanks to Lady Anes’s grace, we were saved. That’s why we stand proudly on this land now.]

As she opened the vial, the soft scent of golden jasmine filled the battlefield.

A familiar scent—his daughter had loved it so much, while the infected despised it.

[Chief Argin, Lady Anes’s son, your grandson, has come to the great plains.]