Chapter – 57
“…You came.”
Bergman smiled palely.
“Captain! Get a hold of yourself!”
“You’ll make me deaf, you idiot. *Cough!*”
“Ca-Captain!”
“Why did you come… looking for me… so dangerously… *Ghak! Ghak-ghak-ghak!*”
With every cough, blood gushed out of Bergman’s mouth.
“Damn it all!”
Wilson shoved Bergman’s intestines back into his abdomen and pressed a white cloth tightly against his stomach, where blood was pouring out, trying to stop the bleeding.
Meanwhile, Kudo bandaged Bergman’s half-severed left arm and tightened a tourniquet, struggling desperately to stop the bleeding somehow.
But it was impossible to revive the fading spark of life with such basic and ordinary methods.
“Quickly… go… Don’t get yourselves killed pointlessly trying to save just me……”
“Captain! Get a hold of yourself!”
“I’m… *Ghak! Ghak-ghak-ghak!* done for anyway… So quickly… save the others… and return to the fort… *Cough!*”
“Captaaaaain!”
Wilson held onto Bergman and screamed.
“Whine! Whine whine!”
The silver wolf, having returned to its wolf form from its beast-man form, kept licking Bergman and whining.
“To Dame Helen… tell her I was grateful… and that it was an honor to serve……”
A faint smile appeared on Bergman’s lips as he stood at death’s door.
“Wait a moment.”
Carlyle pushed Wilson aside roughly as he spoke.
*Whoosh!*
*Thud!*
Wilson was sent flying far away.
“W-what was that just now?”
“Was the maknae that strong?”
The scouts were utterly astonished.
Carlyle was tall and well-built, but he didn’t seem like the type to possess great physical strength.
Who would have thought he had such monstrous strength to send the sturdy Wilson flying…?
“Maknae……”
Bergman stared at Carlyle with his fading eyes.
“You came too… *Ghak-ghak-ghak!* But, wasn’t that just now insubordination……?”
“You must still have some life left in you. I can tell, since you noticed something like that even while dying.”
“Keu……”
“And if you have something you want to say to Dame Helen, tell her yourself.”
Carlyle rummaged through his high-capacity spatial inventory and pulled out a bottle filled with a liquid as red as a ruby and sparkling like a star.
*Glug glug glug!*
Carlyle poured the red, sparkling liquid onto Bergman’s wounds.
Immediately, Bergman’s wounds began to heal at a visibly rapid pace.
“Ah.”
“……!”
“Say ‘Ah’.”
“Ah.”
*Glug glug!*
The liquid poured into Bergman’s open mouth.
“Swallow it if you want to live. Don’t you dare spit it out.”
*Gulp gulp gulp!*
Bergman desperately swallowed the red liquid down his throat.
“Kheuu……”
Bergman frowned as if he had gulped down strong liquor.
“How do you feel?”
“Huh?”
“I asked how you’re feeling.”
“Of course, I was on the verge of dea… huh?”
Bergman’s eyes widened.
And he wasn’t the only one who reacted that way.
“H-he’s healed?”
“How did a dying man just…?”
The scouts looked utterly unable to believe that Bergman, who had been dying moments ago, was now fine.
And for good reason. The liquid Carlyle had used was a [High-Grade Health Potion] stored in the Sigurd family’s secret vault.
Although it wasn’t the highest grade, if the quantity was sufficient, even a High-Grade Health Potion could easily save a person on the verge of death, as long as they were still breathing.
“W-well, the rich kid is different after all.”
Russell looked at Carlyle with envious eyes.
And for good reason. For ordinary soldiers, Health Potions were luxuries they couldn’t even dream of.
One had to be at least an officer to barely receive a single Low-Grade Health Potion for emergencies, as potions were extremely expensive.
“Have a sip of this too.”
“Th-thank you.”
Bergman performed the miracle of even getting up on his own after receiving a Stamina Potion following the Health Potion.
Just a short while ago, he had been halfway over the threshold of the afterlife…
“Thank you so mu…”
“Save the thanks for later.”
Carlyle urged them on.
“Let’s hurry. We need to move quickly to save even one more person.”
“R-right.”
Just as Bergman was nodding.
“*Screech!*”
“There are two over there! It looks like Delont and a sapper are moving together!”
Marder, who was conducting aerial reconnaissance through shared vision with Hugin, pointed in a specific direction.
“How far is the distance?”
“Roughly 500 meters?”
“I’ll guide you.”
Coincidentally, a green arrow had appeared floating in the direction Marder pointed, so Carlyle could head towards the location of his allies without a moment’s hesitation.
***
Searching for scattered allies in an area controlled by the enemy was no different from a suicide mission in itself.
If they made a single mistake, they would be surrounded by the enemy in the blink of an eye, and that would mean annihilation.
Yet, there wasn’t a hint of hesitation in the steps of the scouts traversing the battlefield.
The reason it was possible was partly due to Carlyle’s guiding ability, but Marder’s role was crucial.
“*Screeeech!*”
Marder actively used his shared vision with Hugin to pinpoint the locations of allies.
He even sent Hugin to guide allies to safe paths so they could move without encountering the enemy.
It wasn’t for nothing that Carlyle had envied Marder for summoning Hugin.
Thanks to that, the scout team achieved the feat of rescuing two scouts and five sappers.
“Where next?”
“There is no next.”
Marder shook his head in response to Carlyle’s question.
His eyes were dyed white from the shared vision with Hugin.
“It’s impossible now. We have to go.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“There are too many.”
Marder released the shared vision and spoke.
“Any further operations are impossible. It’s already very late. We have to go now.”
“But……”
“There’s nothing we can do. It’s truly every man for himself now. All we can do is hope that at least a few survive.”
“……”
Carlyle bit his lower lip firmly.
‘But we haven’t found her yet…’
He couldn’t bring himself to leave, worried about Gwen. His feet refused to move.
Why was that?
They weren’t even that close; they had only exchanged words a few times…
“If we hesitate here any longer, we’ll all really die. This is our last chance.”
“Marder is right. It’s not really my place to say, but… there are times when you just have to go.”
Bergman supported Marder’s words.
“Since they said they were scattered, it’s not like there’s no chance of survival. The enemy’s goal isn’t just to kill everyone, after all. At this point, we’ve done our best too.”
Kudo also lent his weight to the opinion of retreating.
Carlyle wasn’t unaware of that fact.
The scout team had done their best.
They had carried out a rescue operation to the point where it was uncertain if they could even return to the fort safely; by that measure, they had done all they could.
It was just that he couldn’t get Gwen off his mind.
If he at least knew whether she was alive or dead, his heart might be more at ease…
“…Let’s go.”
Carlyle forced himself to take a step.
“When we return to the fort, I’ll immediately send Hugin to guide any survivors to a safe place, so don’t worry too much and let’s go.”
“Alright.”
And so, the retreat operation began.
“Let’s go this way.”
Carlyle led the scout team and the surviving soldiers according to the green arrow shown by the [Guide of the Earth].
“*Screech!*”
Hugin continued to scout, flying above the heads of the scout team.
“This is a route that’s hardly used.”
“This is my first time coming this way too.”
In response to Bergman’s words, Kudo also looked around, seeming somewhat unfamiliar with the area.
“They say this place was truly hell in the old days.”
“Hell? What do you mean?”
“Can’t you tell by looking?”
In response to Kudo’s question, Bergman pointed around them.
Here and there lay rusted metal pieces and pure white bones scattered all over the place.
Furthermore, traces of once-established outposts and positions still remained intact.
“They say this was the largest battleground in this region until about 50 years ago. Apparently, the magic stone deposits were enormous?”
“I see.”
“I can’t even imagine how many died here. Even after all this time, bone fragments are still scattered about…”
“Captain, you must be feeling better now, I see.”
“Huh?”
“Just a moment ago, you were dying and giving your last words, but now you’re talking about the old days like an old man.”
“You brat… Urgh!”
Bergman flared up at Kudo’s teasing! He tried to get angry but clutched his stomach in pain.
Even though he had been doused with a [High-Grade Health Potion], his body needed at least a month of proper rest and steady treatment to fully recover.
“It seems I spoke out of turn unnecessarily. Let’s go quickly.”
Just as Bergman, frowning deeply, was about to take another step.
“*Screeeeeech!*”
Hugin, flying overhead, let out a long cry.
“Shared vision.”
At the unusual cry, Marder hastily linked his vision with Hugin’s.
“Ah……”
A groan-like sigh escaped Marder’s lips.
“What’s suddenly happened?”
Bergman asked Marder.
Carlyle didn’t even need to hear Marder’s answer.
*Bzzz…!!!*
Gramungand was vibrating intensely.
The direction was from behind.
The direction the scout team had come from.
*Thud thud thud thud thud!*
Soon enough, vibrations and noises that seemed to shake the very earth were felt, and then dozens of boars carrying barbarian warriors were seen charging towards them.
Their name was the [Raging Hooves Cavalry].
A cavalry unit of barbarians riding boars, operated by the Butcher tribe.
***
“Ev-everyone, scatter! Now!”
Bergman yelled furiously and hid behind a tree.
*Crash!*
*Crreeak!*
A tree hit by a boar toppled over.
The charging power of the helmeted boars was fearsome enough to knock down even large trees in a single blow.
Fortunately, thanks to the experienced Bergman giving appropriate commands, no one was trampled to death by the boars.
However, the boars’ charge was merely the beginning.
“Valhallaaaaa!”
“You rat-like bastards!”
“I’ll kill you all!”
Over fifty barbarian warriors of the Butcher tribe quickly dismounted their boars and began attacking the Decaron troops.
And so, the battle began.
“Goddamn iiiit!”
“Argh!”
“Th-these damn bastards!”
The scouts and surviving sappers gritted their teeth and resisted, but the barbarians’ offensive was more powerful than ever.
The Decaron troops were merely desperately holding on, and it was only a matter of time before they fell one by one.
And even in that desperate crisis, Carlyle did nothing.
‘Don’t tell me he’s frozen.’
Kudo looked at Carlyle, who was standing still as if bewitched, and thought that maybe it was possible.
In fact, such cases weren’t that rare for those who had experienced many battlefields.
It was quite common for people who usually fought bravely to suddenly give up and fall into despair when faced with a specific situation, like this hopeless predicament.
Or sometimes, they would become stunned or freeze up on the spot, unable to move.
‘Are you breaking down after all? How unlike a Sigurd.’
However, Kudo’s expectation was merely a mistaken worry…
Carlyle, who had been standing still as if frozen, slowly reached his hand out towards a rusted sword stuck in the ground.
It was clearly a sword abandoned from the time this area was a battleground in the past.
*Crack!*
Carlyle’s grip closed around the sword’s hilt.
*Sssss!*
A sacred light began to emanate from the rusted sword.
“Go, now.”
Carlyle’s voice had changed.
“Do not halt your steps, do not look back. That is my final command.”
It was the final command and last words of a knight who had once stood alone against the enemy.
