The Second Highness wanted to weep but had no tears to shed. He stared at the ruined military camp — blood and corpses blanketed the entire compound, buried under a thick layer of snow. The surviving soldiers, exhausted and despondent, turned over their stiffened comrades' bodies, hoping to find wounded men still alive...
Dawn was breaking. Snowflakes still danced through the air, though they had shrunk from the goose-feather flakes of the night before. The sky remained overcast and gloomy, but the earth had donned a coat of white so blinding that anyone who looked too long could not help but shed tears.
The Second Highness's bloodshot eyes drifted toward the enemy camp at the foot of the earthen rise. There, the bonfires burned bright, and cheers and triumphant war songs drifted over now and then. In a single night — just one night — on a night of howling winds and goose-feather snowfall, a night when a sneak attack was all but impossible and both sides would ordinarily have called a mutual truce, the fanatical Great Swordmaster Xianti had actually scaled the camp from the steep slope on the flank using a human ladder. She had led that squad of Silver Knights from the Visabrun Family, caught the Second Highness and his men completely off guard, and proceeded to slaughter their way through the camp...
Lipirede walked over. He had gained a sword wound on his head, and a thick bandage was wrapped around his forehead like a cap. This was the mark Xianti the Great Swordmaster had left on him — had the blow angled a touch lower, Lipirede would have risked not only losing an eye but also being disfigured for life.
"Your Highness, the casualty figures are in..." Lipirede said hesitantly.
"Out with it. I'm listening..."
"Your Highness, the longbowmen suffered a hundred and eighty-nine casualties — one hundred and twenty-eight killed, and sixty-one wounded and combat-ineffective. The spearmen took the heaviest losses. Of the three squads — three hundred men — two hundred and forty-seven were killed outright; most of the survivors carry wounds. The shield-bearers lost only forty-five killed with fifty-one wounded, and one squad remains combat-effective. In addition, twenty-two of the servants and attendants were killed..." Lipirede read from a piece of animal-hide parchment in his hand.
The Second Highness waved his hand impatiently. "What about our knights?"
"Your Highness, only seven Silver Knights remain. Knight Moerwa is also seriously wounded — he wasn't as lucky as I was and will need at least three months of bed rest before he recovers. Great Swordmaster Manster is fine. That one from the
The Second Highness let out a long sigh. "So in a single night, we've lost nearly half our fighting strength…"
"Your Highness, this isn't your fault. None of us anticipated that the enemy would bypass the main gate and instead come up the steep slope on the flank, rendering the two squads of longbowmen we posted at the gate completely useless…"
"I've always been known for my surprise attacks. Who would have thought that last night, the enemy would land one on me. Now I finally understand how all those people I've ambushed must have felt. I was too careless — I forgot that we're not dealing with ordinary soldiers, but a second-rank Great Swordmaster. If yesterday's victory hadn't made me complacent, if I hadn't assumed everything was under my control, I should have known that an enemy like a Great Swordmaster can't be predicted by conventional thinking. If I'd realized sooner, we could have even set traps inside the camp and made Great Swordmaster Xianti pay a heavy price for her sneak attack, instead of suffering such devastating casualties…" The Second Highness smiled, bleak and sorrowful.
"Your Highness, please don't blame yourself. It's us, your subordinates, who were incompetent and failed to hold the line. But Your Highness, now that we've lost so much of our strength, I was wondering whether we might hand over Redi of the Norton Family to those enemies below and make peace with them. After all, they came to capture that lad, and they've been chasing him for quite some time…" Lipirede glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before offering his suggestion to the Second Highness.
The Second Highness gave a bitter laugh. "Lipirede, I understand your loyalty, and I know you're thinking of my safety. But what you don't understand is that the moment those enemies below saw my banner flying over this camp, they changed their target from Redi to me. It's not as simple as handing Redi over and expecting them to stand down. Furthermore, as the King of the Andinark Kingdom, I can ask my knights to sacrifice themselves for me, but I cannot hand over a subordinate who serves under me just to make the enemy back off. That is a matter of a king's dignity."
Seeing that Lipirede still wanted to press the point, the Second Highness waved his hand dismissively. "I know what you want to say — Grand Duke Norton and I put on a friendly face but are at odds beneath the surface, right? He's disappointed my expectations of him multiple times… But regardless, he is still the Grand Duke of the Andinark Kingdom and has made outstanding contributions to the realm. Even if he and I have disagreements and conflicting views, it comes down to a difference in our visions. He focuses on the livelihood of the people, whereas I hope to reunify the territory of the old Empire.
You must respect him, Lipirede. Even if Redi isn't my knight, I still have a duty to ensure his safety — I can't hand Redi over just to placate the enemy. To Locke, Redi is his eldest disciple; together they train in the techniques of the Eastern Warrior Monks. That alone tells you Redi is someone he values deeply and is close to. As long as we can weather this storm, no matter how heavy the losses, I believe Grand Duke Norton will compensate us. So say no more — go and make your preparations. Once the weather clears, the enemy below will launch another attack."
Lipirede bowed deeply to the Second Highness, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
Just as the Second Highness had predicted, as noon approached the sky finally began to clear, and the snowflakes ceased to drift down. The duchy's soldiers below the ridge were already assembled and ready to move. They formed their battle lines with high morale, prepared to launch their assault on the camp atop the ridge. Great Swordmaster Xianti stood at the front of the formation, flanked by more than a dozen Silver Guards of the Feisabulun family carrying wooden shields.
Four squads of seventy to eighty men — he had no confidence that these three hundred-plus longbowmen alone could suppress Great Swordmaster Xianti's assault. Great Swordmaster Manster stood beside him; once Xianti charged up, it would be Manster who had to face her. His expression was grim. Last night during the raid, it wasn't as though he hadn't crossed swords with Xianti — but he knew full well in his heart that he was no match for her.
Leydi stood beside Great Swordmaster Manster, his left shoulder still wrapped in several layers of bandages, stained with blood. This was the souvenir he'd earned when facing Great Swordmaster Xianti the night before. He had managed to block two of her strikes, but the third had pierced his shoulder. If Great Swordmaster Manster hadn't come to his rescue in time, he would have lost his life right there under that blade.
Lipirede and the remaining seven Silver Knights formed the final charge unit. The Second Highness had entrusted the task of holding off Great Swordmaster Xianti to Leydi and Great Swordmaster Manster. In other words, apart from these eight knights, every soldier still in the camp had only one enemy to deal with — Great Swordmaster Xianti. As for Lipirede and his seven companions, they were to charge headlong into nearly two thousand duchy soldiers. It could be called a one-way mission — eight against two thousand. No matter how poor the duchy's soldiers were in combat strength, sheer numbers alone would bring about a qualitative change. The only unknown was how much damage Lipirede and his eight knights would inflict before being swallowed by that human tide…
A sharp eagle cry rang out across the sky once more. Looking up, they saw the same majestic golden eagle from the day before circling over the ridge camp.
Great Swordmaster Manster remarked with a sigh, "That eagle is quite clever. It knows a battle is coming soon, and there will be plenty of corpses for it to feast on…"
The Second Highness laughed. "Great Swordmaster Manster, you're mistaken. It's vultures and crows that like to scavenge corpses on the battlefield without earning their keep. The golden eagle is noble — it wouldn't stoop to eating the dead. It's probably circling here because it finds it strange to see so many people below. After all, during winter, the marshlands around White Heron Lake are rarely this lively…"
The battle formation gathered below the ridge sounded the deep, low horns of the advance. The assault had begun.
The first attack ended in less than half an hour, and Great Swordmaster Xianti had gained nothing from it. Though she had stormed up the ridge, she hadn't expected the Second Highness to rally nearly the entire camp's forces against her. This was broad daylight, not the cover of night with its blizzard like the previous raid. Under the Second Highness's methodical command, Great Swordmaster Xianti realized with considerable frustration that fighting alone accomplished nothing, and she withdrew without hesitation.
Lipirede and the other seven knights were drenched in sweat. With the assistance of several dozen servants and laborers, they had blocked the duchy soldiers' advance up the slope. They didn't even need to charge — they simply kept hurling tangled branches and raw logs down the ridge. The duchy soldiers forming up below were battered by these projectiles, their heads split open and their ranks thrown into chaos, unable to climb the slope and coordinate a pincer attack with Great Swordmaster Xianti.
After resting for half an hour, the duchy soldiers below the ridge reformed their ranks and prepared to launch another assault. This time, Great Swordmaster Xianti no longer went up the ridge alone. It seemed she intended to lead the duchy soldiers in storming the slope together, which would prevent herself from becoming the sole target. Just as the duchy formation finished its briefing and began its slow advance toward the ridge, a long, piercing howl echoed from the distance, shaking heaven and earth…
Nearly everyone turned to look toward a snowy slope on the left. At some unknown moment, a figure had appeared atop it, standing on two thin plank-like objects beneath its feet, clutching two black, curved rods in either hand. With a single thrust of the rods into the snow, the figure launched itself off the slope in a downward flight. It was indeed like flying — the Second Highness had never seen anyone descend a slope so close to the snow, at such tremendous speed, leaving behind only two shallow traces on the surface…
Generally speaking, to descend a snow-covered slope, one would need to take slow, careful steps, or lie flat and roll down while avoiding the rocks jutting out of the hillside. Yet that figure went from the top of the slope to the bottom in what seemed like a mere few blinks of an eye, covering the distance with striking grace and blinding speed. Upon reaching the bottom, the figure made a slight adjustment in direction and began gliding toward the earthen ridge…
Lipirede was so excited his entire body was trembling: "Your Highness, it's fine now, we're fine — His Highness has arrived…"
The Second Highness stared with wide, disbelieving eyes: "You're telling me that person is Locke? The Grand Duke of the Northland?"
"Yes, it's my teacher — Grand Duke
"Nonsense! Even if he is your teacher, the Grand Duke of the Northland can't possibly handle nearly two thousand duchy soldiers on his own, let alone with Great Swordmaster Xianti still in the mix. I'm more worried that the Norton Grand Duke will end up putting himself in danger. You'd better call him up here to join us so we can deal with the enemy together," Lipirede said with a roll of his eyes.
He, like the Second Highness, had never seen Lorist fight in person. All the rumors about Lorist's prowess they had dismissed as the Norton Family's exaggeration to prop up their new patriarch. Just like the Second Highness had once assumed, all the tales of Lorist charging into battle and the like were merely fabricated to build up popularity for the newly appointed head of the Norton Family. The real truth… heh — the Second Highness absolutely refused to believe that a noble with
Lipirede shot Lorist's student a fierce glare: "Don't spout nonsense when you don't know my teacher. His Highness never does anything without certainty. The fact that he's charging toward the enemies below the ridge means he doesn't regard them as threats in the slightest. Aside from Great Swordmaster Xianti, every other person down there is nothing more than a chicken or a clay dog in his eyes…"
The figure went straight for the duchy soldiers' battle formation arrayed below the ridge, and the first to take offense was Bierchek, the Great Swordmaster of the Handra Duchy. Although he had taken a sword wound to the left thigh from Lipirede earlier, it only hampered his mobility slightly. He was nothing like the Great Swordmaster from the Sabaji Duchy, whose right ribs had been severely wounded by Great Swordmaster Manst — the moment he had returned to camp, he had collapsed. While there was no danger to his life, he would be bedridden for at least two to three months.
Great Swordmaster Bierchek dragged his injured leg and limped to a position directly facing the direction from which Lorist was charging. He drew his sword and bellowed: "Halt! State your identity and your purpose! Step aside and await orders!"
"Fool…" Lorist did not slow down. Instead, he transferred the curved rod in his right hand to his left, then drew the longsword from his back.
There was nothing left to say — it was plain as day that this was no friend. Great Swordmaster Bierchek let out an angry roar, shifted his injured left leg behind him, stepped forward with his right foot, and brought the longsword in his hand down in a diagonal slash like a bolt of lightning aimed at Lorist's charge…
A deafening clang rang out as two blades collided. Lorist's longsword was not sent flying upward the way Great Swordmaster Bierchek's had been. Instead, he simply twisted his wrist, swept his blade horizontal, and streaked past Great Swordmaster Bierchek's side.
Great Swordmaster Bierchek froze in a bizarrely rigid posture. It was not until a cold gust of wind blew past that people noticed his figure sway several times — and then his head suddenly tumbled off, rolling across the snowy ground. His headless body soon afterward crashed face-first into the snow, and the blood gushing from his neck dyed a vast patch of the snow crimson…
One sword stroke, and Great Swordmaster Bierchek lost his head. Nearly everyone turned pale with shock, and even the fully assembled duchy soldiers' battle formation involuntarily retreated several steps. Who was this man? He was even more powerful than Great Swordmaster Shanti! Everyone knew that even Shanti would need three or four exchanges to take down Bierchek — they had witnessed the two spar before, after all.
Lorist carved a wide arc and came to a halt in front of Great Swordmaster Shanti as though nobody else existed, the distance between them less than ten paces. He casually tossed the two curved rods onto the snow, slipped off the skis from his feet, and with one hand ripped away the face-covering scarf. Flashing a faint smile at the fully alert Great Swordmaster Shanti, he said: "How wonderful to see you here, my dear Great Swordmaster Shanti…"
When Great Swordmaster Shanti made out Lorist's face, he was visibly startled. "What are you doing here, Lorist? How did you even make it to this place? Don't forget — you are the Grand Duke of the Northland…"
Lorist raised an eyebrow. "So what if I'm the Grand Duke of the Northland? Am I not allowed to come here? Even His Majesty the King has run all the way out to this place — naturally I, as a duke, have come to protect him. Besides, I heard that Great Swordmaster Shanti has been exceedingly attentive to my mediocre disciple Reddy. So I came specifically to express my gratitude…"
"Heh heh, is that so? You are far too kind." Great Swordmaster Shanti let out two hollow laughs, then his expression turned cold. He drew his longsword: "Enough pleasantries, Norton brat. Since you've come today, don't expect to leave in one piece! Take this!"
Great Swordmaster Shanti merged body and blade as one and charged straight at Lorist.
……(To be continued.)