episode_0308

* * *

Although he was confused by the sudden attack, Epinel let out a sigh of relief inside.

‘If we had sent soldiers this way, it would have definitely affected the enemy’s main force’s march!’

If so, then it’s a relief.

I will be able to communicate with the sky again. It will be the same as having definitely blocked Serpina’s plan!

Although it was a given that friendly forces would suffer some damage, if the enemy formation was disrupted, the intended purpose would be achieved.

Now, let’s trust Yuuri. Trust your comrades!

Although it was absurd, Epinel had not been that shaken up until this moment because the things he had seen with his own eyes were evidence that greatly helped in this absurdity.

but.

Quite naturally, despite being increasingly pushed out –

Nothing happens.

‘what……?’

Now, lightning should strike the enemy, or an earthquake should suddenly occur… …Why isn’t anything happening?

Have you broken the formation yet?

Epinel rode back for a moment, then climbed a nearby hill and quickly surveyed the battlefield.

‘What is this…?’

The battlefield was certainly complex, with friendly and enemy forces fighting each other in a chaotic mix.

Even though our forces were being pushed back unilaterally, the enemy forces did not appear to be maintaining any strange formations.

‘But why… … is nothing happening?’

Thump, thump.

Epinel’s heart began to beat faster.

The anxiety that had been hidden deep inside my heart began to slowly rise again, just because I was afraid, just because there were no answers, just because there were many things in this world that could not be explained.

‘no way…….’

That anxiety soon raised its head and spoke to Epinel.

Wasn’t Anima right?

No, that can’t be true.

Serpina staged a play?

The destruction of the fortress, the repeated delays in sending troops, the desertion of soldiers – everything was according to her plan?

No matter how much I thought about it, it was a story that made no sense.

Think about it. If she had staged the play, our prayers would have been meaningless – she would have used magic to destroy her own fortifications, killed her soldiers, and wasted resources by repeatedly expanding and repelling her front lines, before letting her soldiers escape without even doing anything to stop them.

If she did that, she should have something to gain, but she didn’t have anything like that, right?

Anima couldn’t prove it either, so he couldn’t stop Yuuri and me.

Even now, Epinel’s thoughts were no different from then.

The very moment she thought that she had nothing to gain by doing so.

‘oh……!!!!!’

Epinel’s eyes became four hundred eyes.

Only then.

Only then does a lightning strike.

To be exact, it fell on Epinel’s head, and even that wasn’t a physical lightning strike.

‘Could it be… Serpina’s plan is to have this situation happen right now…?!’

No matter how the process went, the outcome was of utmost importance.

Given the results, I thought it was right to assume that the reason Serpina went through all this trouble was because she was aiming for this result.

I can’t say for sure. There is no evidence or proof for this, it’s just a feeling that Epinel had as he experienced the battlefield as an unmanned person.

Anyway, now that I think about it, it feels like Serpina wanted us to react this way.

So then the purpose is-

‘To exhaust our national power?’

The fact that our army launched a surprise attack from such a strategically foolish position was based on the premise that ‘our army is connected to the sky and the Serpina army is interfering with it in some way.’

If her fabrication is true, did it lead our military to waste time and money on building an altar?

Finally, a reason that seems plausible has emerged –

Still, there was something that could not be explained.

‘Wait a minute… … Is it really necessary to go that far?’

At least if the Aishus Army is slightly pushed back by the Serpina Army, then that would be understandable.

The Serpina Army didn’t care when or at what moment they would fight. The Aesus Army could never defeat the Serpina Army. No matter what happened.

If we consider the supplies and time that the Serpina Army had wasted just for the sake of exhausting our military’s national power, it meant that it was a deal that simply did not add up for Serpina.

So what is the real purpose?

‘… … Come to your senses!’

Epinel stopped thinking immediately.

He himself was not that smart. He had some insight into battle-related strategies, but it was his Anima, not his, who had the sharp eye to see what was happening outside the battlefield.

So, without thinking any further, I calmly thought about what I needed to do now.

If Serpina’s true purpose was simply ‘this situation’… … then the battle was as good as over.

The surprise attack had left the friendly forces in disarray, and they would be annihilated at an astonishingly fast rate. It was only a matter of time before the minimal number of troops defending the castle collapsed and the white flag was raised over the castle of Valharat.

Then she will definitely be caught. Yuuri. The woman who is our master. The only person and symbol who can lead the Aishus Army.

Although she was currently in a state of ruin after going through some bad events – after all, her survival as a monarch was of the utmost importance for the future.

Under the cruel reality that being captured by Serpina meant her death, what was the best thing Epinel could do?

Fight to the death here to prove your loyalty?

It was meaningless. It was against his pride that he believed that true loyalty was about achieving merit rather than giving up his life.

There is only one way. We must somehow save Yuuri.

‘then……!’

Epinel quickly withdrew from the battlefield with both eyes closed, without informing tens of thousands of soldiers.

The commander’s departure. This was something that should never have been done under normal circumstances… … But Epinel, at this moment, had no reason left to choose between means and methods.

‘Fuck… … !’

There was nothing she could do other than continue to repeat empty cries.

* * *

Let’s turn back time a little bit-

On the hillside where the old mansion where she had briefly lived existed, Anima was cooling her head.

‘Is it really okay to leave it like this?’

No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t seem like the fairy tale of our military communicating with the heavens and finally pushing Serpina away with miraculous powers had become a reality –

As Epinel said, there was no way to show Yuuri any evidence that it wasn’t true.

Besides, the current Yuuri was in a kind of runaway state where he couldn’t control himself.

She was also aware that in a country already on the verge of destruction, shaking the monarch unnecessarily could lead to self-destruction.

‘What I can do… … .’

After spending some time like that, she arrived at the castle of Balharat and heard-

“Did you say invasion… … ?”

“Yes! Epinel asked me to make sure to pass it on!”

The feeling of unease I had when I saw a soldier standing in front of the door became a reality.

‘Why, why now of all times… … !!’

At this point, Anima naturally wanted to curse her own pitiful fate.

I learned swordsmanship, but unfortunately I had an accident where one of my arms was cut off. Even during the war, I was taken prisoner by Serpina.

Although he was fortunate to have survived the plague – when Emma died, he couldn’t help but feel that she had died in his stead.

And then, of all things, when I was away for a moment, I heard this news.

“… … Where did Epinel go?”

“Going out right away.”

A sortie? Not a siege, but an interception?

It was obvious that we wouldn’t be able to win even if we went out to intercept –

‘There’s no way Epinel would act so thoughtlessly. Right now, we have to trust Epinel.’

Anima said that and headed to the place where he managed the remaining troops to hold out.

What you can do now is to trust your colleagues. And create an environment where you can help your colleagues, no matter what they are thinking, no matter what the situation is.

Given the circumstances, I was hoping that a miracle would really happen like Yuuri said.

A wish really sprouts in his heart that Emma and Hernando will watch over us from heaven.

‘Yes. There is evidence, and it is certain that magic exists, so there is nothing that cannot happen… … !!’

At that time, while preparing for battle, I spent time on the wall, looking in the direction where the battle was taking place.

From over there, I saw a general on horseback riding towards me.

‘Epinel… …?’

* * *

“What happened? The battle? The soldiers?”

Anima asked Epinel a series of questions as he climbed up the wall, but-

Epinel, without giving any answer―

“No. I don’t have time, so listen to me carefully. Okay? ”

“What… …What is it?”

“Take Yuuri and a minimal number of soldiers and hide in the most remote place possible.”

“Shut up? Retreat? To Lacline Castle, or to Zeta Castle above? More importantly, what about the soldiers who intercepted―

“Yuuri.”

Epinel cut off Anima’s words with a single stroke of a sword.

And then, he looked at Anima with an extremely serious expression that he had never seen her show since they decided to go beyond a priestly relationship and live as a relationship where they drank from the same bowl of blood.

“The Aishus Army… … That’s it.”