Chapter 042
“The Weight of Blood”:
Standing atop the carriage, the view below could only be described as brutal.
Siruela, having effortlessly slashed through the hulking figure who had foolishly attacked with bare hands, strode forward, swinging her sword without hesitation.
Two rookie soldiers who had charged at her with screams were instantly decapitated.
“She’s determined, truly.”
Everything had gone according to Siruela’s plan.
She had been planning this ever since she learned that Cedric intended to plant spies among the new recruits.
It didn’t matter who was sent or how they were armed.
She had added engravings, pushed them through relentless training and combat drills day after day for an entire year.
They could not possibly stand against her.
Chae Jae-jang.
Following Siruela, Gardner and the elite combat squad drew their swords.
Mana flowed over their sharp blades, glowing faintly in the dim light.
“It’s the captain’s order.”
Gardner repeated Siruela’s words precisely.
“Do not let a single one live.”
The elite soldiers ran forward without answering.
“P-please… spare me!”
“We… we didn’t… it wasn’t us!”
“Damn it! You sons of bitches…!”
“Think you can just die quietly?!”
Realizing there would be no mercy, the rookies resisted, screaming.
They collided with the soldiers surrounding them, desperately trying to escape.
But the wall of shields held firm. They could neither break it nor get past it.
The rookies were trapped.
And the soldiers holding the shields were in the same position.
They were only holding their ground, hesitating to strike.
“What are you waiting for!”
“Kill them all!”
“Do not spare a single one!”
Gardner and other officers shouted.
Except for the elite and a few experienced soldiers, no one dared to swing their weapons.
Not all criminals are accustomed to killing.
Most had only done so when circumstances forced them.
It was nothing like killing a Snowworm.
Moreover, they had the advantage.
They could subdue them without lethal force.
There was no need to kill.
And yet… could it really go this far?
The hesitation, the empathy, prevented them from attacking.
As if expecting this, Siruela plunged through the soldiers alone, swinging her sword.
Shhhk!
The pale green blade flashed, splitting a dozen rookies in half at the waist.
Blood sprayed everywhere, soaking the ground.
At the center of the blood-soaked battlefield stood Siruela.
“Do not hesitate.”
Her calm voice, though not shouted, resonated through the fortress.
“If you cannot kill, you will die.”
Some of the soldiers who had been hesitating began to move.
“Damn it!”
“Die! Just die!”
“You… you bastards!”
Despite the overwhelming difference in strength, the soldiers forced out guttural cries.
They pushed with their shields and began striking with their weapons.
The encirclement tightened, and the rookies fell one by one.
Heads and limbs flew, crimson blood and pink guts spilling onto the floor.
The sloshing, sticky ground echoed with screams.
“Just… die already…!”
“!”
“You f-cking… bastards!”
Who was overwhelming whom?
“Guh, guh… aaagh!”
“No… no… I don’t want to die…”
Who was being overwhelmed?
The battlefield was a sea of blood; it was impossible to tell.
“Move! Get out of the way!”
“Do you even know who I am?!”
Only a few skilled survivors remained.
They brandished mana-infused weapons desperately.
Squish.
Ronan stepped onto the pooled blood and charged.
“Eek!”
An enemy swung a sword at his head.
Clang, kachak. Ronan smoothly parried and deflected it downward.
As the sword hit the ground, he twisted it with his wrist.
“Guh?!”
The blade pierced the man’s neck instantly.
“Ah… I… must… kill more…”
Before the man could finish speaking, Ronan’s sword tore his throat open.
“You little brat!”
Another enemy closed in, wielding an axe in one hand and a sword in the other.
He swung both weapons at Ronan.
Kaang, clang, kachak!
The blades clashed, mana flaring, sparks flying.
“Cut quietly!”
As the enemy overextended, Ronan seized the moment, targeting the hand holding the weapons.
A short, precise strike.
The enemy could not react in time.
Shhhk.
His fingers were sliced off, and the axe flew backward.
“Eh?!”
In that moment of panic, Ronan swung his sword again.
Shhhk! Blood gushed as the man’s chest split open.
“Guh… ugh, butcher…”
He collapsed to the ground, groaning.
Ronan, face splattered with blood, exhaled heavily and lowered his sword.
The rest of the soldiers looked much the same.
Everyone was blood-soaked, standing atop the corpses of those they had killed.
Following Siruela’s orders, not a single rookie was spared.
It was a perfect victory, yet no one celebrated.
The blood on their bodies seemed to weigh them down.
Shoulders sagged under the burden.
Crackle, crackle.
In a deep pit, over a hundred bodies burned.
The smell of burning flesh and thick black smoke rose.
Facing the raging fire:
“Was it necessary to go this far?”
The question was directed at Siruela, who stood silently.
“They could have been used as scapegoats,” I said.
“I didn’t think it would help.”
Siruela didn’t take her eyes off the flames.
“And this helps?”
She gestured toward the burning pit.
“Most of the remaining soldiers have not experienced much death. That’s all thanks to you.”
“Is that a compliment?”
Siruela smirked.
“Yes. Not a single death while containing the flood, taking down the Snowworm outside—only injuries. There are many soldiers unfamiliar with death.”
“There’s no need to get used to it.”
“You must. Otherwise, you’ll falter when a comrade dies before your eyes.”
“….”
“Have you never considered it?”
“No. I never thought about it.”
“You don’t really believe anyone could face a calamity and survive without deaths, do you?”
“Isn’t that possible? That’s what I prepared for.”
It was genuine.
No one wanted to die.
Not out of concern for their lives, but to increase the witnesses, the mouths that would spread the name of Esric, to make magic known.
It was a means to fix this broken world’s magic.
Siruela shook his head, letting out a hollow laugh.
“Blood never lies. Elios was a crazy one, but not like you… How could you think no one would die against a dragon?”
“I will make it so.”
“I hope you can.”
For a long moment, he was silent.
His dark green eyes, fixed on the flames, seemed to reflect a long and painful past.
It was easy to guess how many comrades had fallen before him.
Centuries of lost companions in the snowy mountains.
From Elios Spelder and the Ice Rock companions to those defending the fortress from the flood—each death gradually eroded the half-elf’s resolve.
Perhaps even now, he wanted to give up.
But…
“It’s irreversible.”
The water is spilled, the dice thrown.
Worry changes nothing.
“You live prepared to die.”
“Yes. That’s it exactly.”
“Pardon?”
“Prepared to die.”
Siruela smiled and nodded.
“Today, the soldiers have steeled themselves for death, seeing all this blood.”
“Ah.”
I couldn’t help but let the words slip.
“Don’t try to do everything alone.”
His dark green eyes, still fixed on the flames, turned toward me.
“An old man’s advice.”
“I’ll remember it.”
Siruela smiled faintly.
“Ronan is complete now. He’s on par with Gardner. What he needs now is experience… and opportunity, perhaps?”
“I saw it earlier.”
Ronan no longer lagged behind those with engravings.
He overwhelmed them with pure swordsmanship.
“Thank you for granting my request.”
“Now it’s your turn to fulfill mine.”
“Pardon?”
What request?
Siruela smiled faintly.
“No matter what, bring down the calamity.”
On a day with unusually little snowfall,
the Guardian Fortress was filled with solemnity.
Soldiers gathered their equipment and assembled at the wall.
Gardner and the elites were the first to appear.
They carried multiple swords, preparing the formation.
Combat soldiers carried shields on their backs, swords at their waists, and long spears in both hands.
Magic troops wore thick robes, with oil bottles dangling from them.
“All magic troops, present.”
“Good.”
Hearing Hagen’s report, I rose as well.
Hog, waiting at the door, fell in step beside me.
He carried two shields, a newly-made large shield, and a hammer on his back.
“You know I can’t use magic yet.”
I showed Hog and Hagen the mark still on my wrist.
“So I’ll leave things to you during the ascent.”
“Don’t worry, Seyo!”
“We’ll do our best!”
Their voices were full of determination and confidence unlike before.
At the wall, the soldiers were already in formation, disciplined and resolute.
Not a single face showed fear.
They looked as though they had steeled themselves for death, as Siruela had said.
Siruela, already out front, nodded at me.
Finally, when all the soldiers were in position:
“Open the gates!”
Siruela shouted.
Clang, clang. The massive iron gate slid upward.
Beyond it stretched the endless white snowfield.
Whooosh. A sharp wind swept across the plains.
When the noise settled:
“From the moment we step out…”
Siruela spoke.
“We do not stop.”
Swish.
She drew her sword and raised it high.
“Until the calamity of the snowy mountains is defeated!”
A powerful roar erupted instantly.
“We do not stop!”
“Do not stop!”
“Do not stop!”
Gardner and the officers echoed Siruela’s words, and all the soldiers raised their voices together.
Amid the prolonged cheers, Siruela mounted her horse and shouted:
“Move out!”
For hundreds of years, Ice Rock had been stagnant.
At last, it took its first steps toward the calamity of the snowy mountains.
