Chapter 211.3

Volume 3: Chapter 211 – Living Off of Ingenuity(3/4)

“No, my liege, you mustn’t…” Carlion muttered when he was informed of Brandika’s departure .

His already slender body was now nothing more than bones and skin . And his skin was so white it was basically transparent .

Despite that Cell still gathered the information he asked for, and when Carlion heard of Brandika’s departure and the rebellions, he closed his eyes .

As the person who knew Brandika the most, Carlion could tell what sort of mindset Brandika had when he left .

It was probably too difficult for him to bear the burning emotions just sitting atop his bloodstained throne .

In the first place, Brandika wasn’t a schemer . He was a man who valued bravery and preferred to face the world with his own strength . He probably couldn’t bear the weight of the throne unless he fought a powerful foe . And odds were that he wasn’t even aware of that .

“Did I change him?” [1]

Genius Tactician? What a joke . Carlion smiled in self-derision .

To present one’s liege the greatest throne .

It sounded nice in theory, but the truth was that Carlion actually wasn’t sure if that was really what Brandika wanted . But then again it might be nothing more than Carlion’s self-conceit that has made him suspect that Brandika might have actually been satisfied as a mere clan leader .

“Are you going?” Cell, who was tending to Carlion, cast her eyes down .

“Yes . Partly for the sake of my master, and… Partly because if I’m going to die, I’d like to die in the battlefield . I suppose you could say that it’s my real motive . ”

“You… No . It’s fine . ”

Carlion wryly smiled and gave her the order to go east .

“Please inform Grave-san to prioritize time . Tell him to try and make peace . As for Saldin, it’s okay to abandon the likes of Tortoki, so tell him to rendezvous with the king as fast as he can . ”

As Cell nodded, Carlion smiled .

“The enemy seems dead set on the king, so it’s probably a survivor of the Elks clan . But odds are that the reason Elks Clan is picking a fight now is because they think they can kill the king . Send a messenger to Germion Kingdom…”

Carlion’s hands shook like a withered tree as he got out of bebd and changed his cslothes .

“Ha ha ha… Riding a horse with this body might prove difficult .

Carlion tottered and was even about to fall, but Cell supported him with her shoulder .

“Is that your last order?” Cell asked .

“Take care of yourself…” Carlion replied .

“…You’re the worst . ”

“I know . ”

After finally being able to leave his bed, Carlion looked up at the sky . Its beautiful azure hue covered the expanse above as dazzlingly as ever .

◆◇◆

Pale Symphoria used the darkness of the night and the morning fog to toy around with the 6,000 soldiers of the mixed army . She only had 500 demihumans under her, since the other human forces were busy completing the construction of the fortress of the foggy plains, Melgion . But the movements of the mixed army were being leaked to her thanks to a spy she managed to sneak into the mixed army .

Which is why even though the enemy forces numbered tens of times more than her own, she was able to somehow put up a fight . But no matter what, dealing with so many with so few meant that they couldn’t engage directly, and that greatly burdened Pale . One wrong move and the fog between her and the enemy would disappear .

With Shirak as their base, Pale and the centaurs of Tianos scouted the enemy repeatedly . They would come out in the night, coat the area under their eyes with a special medicine, and depart with an eminence of centaurs that could see in the night .

The mixed army slept in the various towns of the borderlands, but only Shirak Town had walls . Originally, the mixed army would’ve liked to position themselves behind its walls, but Pale’s incessant interferences forced them to give up that position .

“The town is within sight,” Tianos said .

“Any shadows near the watch fires?” Pale asked .

“Please wait,” Tianos said with a kneel, then the scouts came back and reported with great detail .

The late Daizos, their old chief, was excessively loyal to the elves; hence, the centaurs themselves were meek when it came to an order from the elves .

After receiving the information of the scout, Pale immediately gave an order .

“Three volleys in succession . Shoot the watch fires . Wait for my arrow . Afterwards, we will retreat while shooting down the enemies as they come . ”

“Understood . ”

Although Pale spoke casually, Tianos naturally bowed his head when he replied .

The sound of bowstrings being drawn to the limits resounded faintly within the dark of the night . The bow Pale is using is a favorite of hers from the time when she was an adventurer . She nocked an arrow on that bow and aimed at the distant camp of the enemy .

After a moment of silence came an air-tearing arrow that shot through the night sky, behind which followed countless arrows . One moment passed, then Pale heard the sound of screams and angry yells coming from the enemy camp .

After a moment, Pale shot more arrows toward the night sky, landing themselves into the soldiers that were just about to leave their tents, causing the screams to become louder .

“Let us retreat . ”

Tianos believed they could do even more damage if they were to just keep shooting at the humans, but he did as Pale commanded and retreated .

Perhaps they might have indeed dealt more damage to the humans, but being able to deal damage didn’t mean also being able to escape . Centaurs shined the brightest when they were able to attack while moving . Hence, harassing the enemy was the most that they could do .

By the time the mixed army had readied their forces and were about to strike back, Pale and her centaurs were long gone and a rain of arrows once again descending from the darkness .

Being attacked one-sidedly not only struck fear into the hearts of the mixed army’s soldiers, but it also did a great deal of damage mentally . And after repeating this several times, Pale had managed to corner the mixed army mentally .

When Melgion fortress was almost complete and Pale was beginning to repair Shirak Town, word of Attibel’s King, Brandika, arriving at the battlefield reached her .

[1] – Could be ‘it’ too . Could be referring to the plans instead of Brandika since he mocks himself for his ‘genius tactician’ title .