I’m back!!! Thanks for waiting, everyone! Here’s the latest chapter. Enjoy!
Yuichiro shifted his focus to Goat. “Wake up Kiehland and all the platoon commanders,” he said, staring at him. “We’re going to battle.”
A battalion was formed immediately and set out at dawn. With the exception of Evelise, the battalion was made up of frontier units of platoon commanders. The battalion was also made up of surrendered enemy soldiers from the recent attack on the royal capital. When Yuichiro stated that he would bring the surrendered enemy soldiers with him, the regular army commander-in-chief, General Kiehland, vehemently opposed the idea.
“These surrendered soldiers were among those who recently attacked our royal capital. It is absurd to admit those who might betray us again into our ranks!”
“Do we simply tame them and leave them to rot?” If we mobilize our regular troops, Am Yisu will regard us as an enemy and attack us right away. We will not make it there in time unless we assemble a small group of those soldiers into our own force since we couldn’t move our regular soldiers.”
“No commander would ever consider those surrendered soldiers as part of his own force.”
“Yet, here I am.”
Kiehland glared at Yuichiro with a hateful expression in response to his uncaring response. The general’s one-eye was throwing a piercing gaze at him.
“Are you aware that your decision will result in the deaths of your men?”
Yuichiro slowly interlaced his fingers in response to Kiehland’s growl, which sounded like he was biting him to death with only his voice. Yuichiro then raised his voice in a friendly tone, “Hey Joseph,” after slightly tilting his head.
Kiehland wrinkled his nose in annoyance at being addressed by his first name as if he were an old friend. Yuichiro continued calmly, his gaze fixed on Kiehland’s scowling face.
“The same is true for the soldiers who have responded to my call by surrendering in order to fulfill their duty to their country. Those individuals and I are on the same wavelength. Furthermore, this will be their only opportunity to demonstrate their true loyalty.”
Kiehland’s face contorted even more as he watched Yuichiro spout toothless sophistry as if it were the truth.
“You bastard, you’re not really speaking the truth.”
“It does not matter whether my words are true or false. What matters is the number of people who believe my words are true. There are still more people who believe me right now.”
“You habitual liar.” Kiehland muttered angrily, pointing his index finger at Yuichiro.
“I don’t care what you want in this world,” he continued, “But I will never allow you to play tricks on Noah-sama and destroy this country. Don’t get me wrong. A goddess is not a god. You are neither omnipotent nor immortal. You, like us, are only a mere mortal.”
Yuichiro smirked in response to the general’s harsh reprimand.
“Don’t get me wrong. After all, I am just a mercenary.”
Yuichiro told the truth. He was indeed a lowly and shallow person who would do anything for money. Nevertheless, Kiehland’s expression looked glum. Yuichiro looked at him and quietly spoke, “Let’s have the regular soldiers stationed at a distance from Am Yisu. In case of an emergency, we’ll send a signal and leave the follow-up to the commander-in-chief’s judgment. Is that clear?”
After a brief silence, Kiehland responded, “Yes, sir.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Yuichiro’s battalion was stationed on a small sand dune a few hundred meters from Am Yisu. Ahead of their eyes, they could see a dense forest. The trees were tall, and the forest was dark and somber, probably due to the overgrown foliage.
“It’s a gloomy place.” He muttered indifferently and Goat who was standing beside him smirked a false smile, “That’s where my wife was from.”
“Ah, my bad.” Yuichiro immediately apologized.
In response, Goat loosely shrugged his shoulders. “No, to be honest, I don’t like Am Yisu very much either. They are stubborn and only recognize marriages within the tribe. When my wife said she would marry me, the Yellow tribeswomen branded her as a traitor. When my wife was being burned in the church, they must have heard her screams of despair, but they did not even offer a single word of condolence. They are extremely cold-hearted people toward everyone except their own people,” Goat said, barraging sentences of spiteful remarks—with a smile on his face. In fact, it was a twisted smile. If Goat added a touch of condescension and insouciance to his smile, Yuichiro thought Goat’s current expression would be very similar to his brother, Nikolai’s face.
“Do you have a personal grudge with them?”
“To a point, yes.”
“Don’t get your revenge right here. Endure it.”
“Haha, I know. Even if I look like this, I’m a pretty patient person, you know.”
Yuichiro shifted away from Goat’s meaningful smile and pressed a telescope against one of his eyes. The trees were swaying in the wind and there was still no movement on the Am Yisu’s side. Their own battalion that was currently stationed in the dune was probably visible on the opposite side instead.
“Are you sending a messenger?”
When Goat asked this, Yuichiro simply shook his head left and right.
“I’m not planning giving them more hostages. We’ll wait for their move.”
“What if they attack first?”
“Am Yisu is still part of Jeweld. Until their treachery is clear to everyone, we cannot attack them first. That would only give them a reason to retaliate.”
“Are you intending to strike back under the pretense of self-defense once we’re hit once?”
“Well, that’s the proper way to start a war,” Yuichiro responded while letting out a single yawn. Since he had woken up before dawn, the sleepiness still lingered inside his head.
“I’m going to take a nap. Let the soldiers take turns resting and eating. Make a fire in the cooking area so that they can see us. We’ll show them how we’re leisurely enjoying our meal.”
“You have a bad taste.”
In summary, it was nothing more than a psychological taunt by displaying their leisured, carefree actions while making the opposite side agitated.
After hearing Goat’s complaint, Yuichiro crooked the corners of his mouth, “Keep a watchful eye on them. Hide a turret in every camp. If anything goes wrong, order Klaus and his men to clear the entire forest.” Klaus, the gunner was ordered by him to be on his feet, ready to fire the turrets at all times. Afterward, Yuichiro continued to tell them to report back to him if there was any other movements. Goat then walked away, blurting out that the soldiers were probably scared out of their minds hearing his instructions.
After giving out instructions, Yuichiro eventually grabbed one of the blankets from the pile of supplies and approached one of the few trees standing on the dune. He lay down at the base of the tree, and his consciousness quickly faded away. After he had awoken, he sipped a thin gruel until a sentry shouted with a hurried voice.
“Two people have come out of the woods.”
The sentry who said this while holding a telescope to one eye was one of the soldiers that surrendered during the royal capital’s invasion. Despite his youth, Goat took him under his wing due of his fast thinking and willingness to speak his thoughts to his superiors without fear. Prior to joining the army, the sentry worked as an accountant at his hometown’s town hall.
“From their yellowish hair, it seems that they are both from the Yellow tribe. We also confirmed that they are carrying two daggers, one on each hip. Their distance from us is about 500 roth, and I estimate they’ll be arriving in about 10 wansuA time unit.[/tm].”
[Since 1 roth is around 2 meters, so five hundred roths would be roughly around 1km. However, I had never heard of the unit of measurement called wansu before…]
“What is wansu?” Yuichiro inquired, prompting the accountant’s eyes to bulge out, somewhat bewildered by the unexpected question.
The man immediately answered, “It’s one-thirtieth of eighth.”
[Since one-eighth is roughly thirty minutes, so one wansu is probably about one minute.]
At the same time, Yuichiro gulped down the thin gruel in one gulp, thinking that there were still many words he did not know. “Then prepare to entertain them,” he taunted, Goat grinning by his side.
Two women arrived at their station about ten minutes later. Apart from their differing hairstyles, the two women appeared to be remarkably similar. One woman wore her long hair in a single strand at the back of her head, whereas the other wore her hair short, just below her ear. They both had bright eyes, faded yellow hair, and translucent green eyes. In Yuichiro’s eyes, the women appeared to be in their early twenties.
“I apologize for the sudden visit. My name is Kiki Riri.” The long-haired woman spoke solemnly. Afterward, the bobbed hair opened her lips, wearing a soft smile, “My name is Kuku Riri. We are the daughters of the chief of the Yellow tribe. It’s an honor to meet you.”
[If both of them are the chief’s daughters, then are the two in front of me sisters?]
“I thank you for taking the trouble to visit us. My name is Yuichiro Ogami. If you don’t mind, please have a seat over there.”
Yuichiro put on a sly, smiling face while offering them a chair across the table. A few meters behind the chairs stood his men Yama and Belz, looking vigilant.
Kiki and Kuku exchanged an uneasy glance before settling back in their chairs without saying anything. Perhaps using the special ability of the people of the Yellow tribe to communicate their intentions even at a distance, they exchanged words with each other in an instant.
As soon as they faced each other across the table laid out outdoors, Tyet, Yuichiro’s subordinate, brought warm water for the group. After taking a sip of the water, Yuichiro opened his lips.
“It’s just a cup of plain warm water, please help yourself.”
“It’s fine, we appreciate your gesture,” Kiki interjected hastily.
Yuichiro, however, upturned the corners of his mouth in response. “I didn’t put any poison in them.”
Both Kiki and Kuku glared at Yuichiro’s chuckling voice. Afterward, both of them looked at each other, as if trying to ascertain the meaning behind his words.
“What on earth is he trying to do?” Kiki initiated the conversation.
“What do you mean?”
Yuichiro noted Kiki’s enraged expression after softly shrugging his shoulders.
“Are you attempting to put Am Yisu under pressure?”
“Hmm, we’re not putting any pressure on you. We’re only here to find something.”
Kuku then asked in a probing voice, “What is it that you are looking for?”
In return, Yuichiro rested his lower jaw on his clasped hands and softly spoke, “I’m only asking you to return my men.” His calm yet threatening voice abruptly caused both Kiki’s and Kuku’s bodies to jolt in surprise.
“Two female soldiers and a servant. You will return these three people to us.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking—”
“I see… You’re feigning ignorance. Then, we’ll attack Am Yisu right away,” Yuichiro stated, raising one hand to signal Goat.
Kuku then abruptly raised her voice, “—Please Wait!”
Yuichiro looked at her with a blank expression. “What do you want me to wait for? You knew this would happen from the beginning. That’s why you shot my subordinate with an arrow, isn’t it?” he exclaimed, recalling the arrow lodged in Evelise’s back. Soon, Yuichiro felt immense hatred crudely streaking down his throat as he remembered the sight of unending rivers of blood running down Evelise’s pale back.
Feeling ashamed, Kiki muttered, “I didn’t mean to hurt her. The arrow I shot was simply meant to keep her from fleeing—”
“I’m not going to listen to your excuses.” Yuichiro interrupted, dismissing the woman’s justification. While keeping his gaze fixed on the two women, he continued, “You shelter enemy troops, hurt my men, and now you want to claim that you have not betrayed your country. Don’t just say whatever suits your fancy. You have two choices. Either you quietly return my men to me, or we fight until either Jeweld or Am Yisu falls.”
Kuku instantly cried, “Please! Please give me an eights of your time. I shall speak to my people,” after hearing Yuichiro’s promise about willing to burn the country to the ground if the need arose.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I can’t wait that long.”
“Then, ten wansu.”
“—Five. We will launch an attack if you do not make a decision.” Yuichiro instantly responded and summoned Goat. “Are the troops ready for battle?”
“They are already ready, sir.”
Yuichiro grinned and nodded, his stare piercing, in response to Goat’s quick response. In front of him, both women .remained silent, staring still at the tabletop. At a glance, he could see both of the women’s tongues slightly moving stealthily. At this, Yuichiro mused to himself, wondering if these two people were currently communicating with their own inside the forest.
Nonetheless, Yuichiro slowly sipped the remaining lukewarm water. Currently, he felt the afternoon sun was unusually bright. While he was squinting at the sky, he heard Kiki’s voice.
“We’ll release the two female soldiers.”
“What about my servant, Temeraire?”
Kiki and Kuku exchanged bewildered eyes as they debated whether or not to let Temeraire free. After a brief pause, Kuku murmured, “Uhm, are you… the goddess?” Her voice was tinted with reverence as she sought to figure out if he was a goddess or an evil god.
On the contrary, Yuichiro smirked and responded with another query, “How do I look to you?” Deep down, he too was unsure if he was actually a goddess or not.
“I… don’t know. Black hair, black eyes… like Aoi-sama…. We came here thinking you were a fake, but when we actually saw you, we couldn’t tell…” Kuku responded timidly.
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