Chapter 12 - Sword Hero

A total of 50 soldiers were riding through the grasslands. Each of them was muscular, vigorous, and attention-grabbing. These men could only be described with the word "robust". Even dressed in armor, one could see the muscles underneath.

A man, in his 30s, with skin tanned from sun exposure, short hair, and black eyes sharp as a sword, looked at the man behind him.

"Marshal, we are approaching the first village."

"I know Captain."

Axel Halheimer, the Hero of the Sword, Wielder of the King Soul, the Grand Marshal of the Kingdom of Lothal, was traveling in the direction of the shadowy mountains of the southern region of the Duchy of Riverland.

The duchy of Riverland was the duchy that was in the east of the Kingdom of Lothal, this duchy shared a border to the East with the Empire of Kaleth (with which the Kingdom of Lothal was at war).

Suppressing the anxiety he felt, Axel prayed that his horse would be able to maintain a steady pace.

Although the current speed shouldn't tire the horse, he had to take into account that they were riding from the capital of the Duchy of Riverland, Riverheim.

Tiredness builds up little by little and penetrates the body. Even a horse would be tired after the long journey so he could not allow himself to tire the horse any more.

"I hope it's not too late yet."

The Captain's words had an air of unease. Axel shared the same thought as him. The king, who ordered the trip, begged Axel to investigate the sighting of invaders near the edge of the Kingdom's border in the shadowy mountains.

If he found the invading force, Axel must subdue it quickly.

Initially, since his objective was outside the city of Riverheim, sending troops from there would be faster. However, considering that the enemy was unknown, doing so was unreasonable.

In the conflict against the Empire of Kaleth, the only soldiers from the kingdom of Lothal who could be a match for the empire's elite knights, the Praetorian Guard, were the soldiers under Axel's command. As such, the task of suppressing the incursions of the Imperial forces fell on the shoulders of the King's sword, Axel Halheimer.

One could have mobilized soldiers to protect the villages before Axel arrived, and doing so would be enough to withstand the attacks, giving Axel more time. And although there were a thousand other possible methods of resisting the attacks, nothing had been done ... no, the thing is that nobody could do anything.

Axel, knowing exactly the reason for this situation, was uneasy. He was trying to calm himself but his hands were tightly holding the reins of his horse. It was certainly difficult to suppress the burning sensation that tormented his heart.

"Marshal, it is inconceivable that no one began a search before we arrived. Not only that, why didn't they send anyone else besides us? For example, they were able to hire mercenaries or even adventurers. They too could have sought out the invading force. Why was nothing like this done?"

"... Enough Captain, if Imperial forces appeared in the Kingdom's territories in broad daylight, the situation would be much worse."

"Marshal, there is no one near us. I hope you can tell me the truth. "The Captain, showing a bittersweet smile, said dismissively. "It was the decision of the nobles, right?"

Axel didn't answer, because it was the truth.

"Those bastards dare to use people's lives in their power games! Not only that, since this territory is under the control of the King, they cannot miss the opportunity to make a fool of him!

"... Not all nobles are the same, an example is Baron Zahradnik."

"Maybe the Marshal is right, there are nobles who live for the good of the people, like Baron Zahradnik, another example is the Silver Prince. Yet they are very few and far between... If we could only centralize power like they did in the Empire, then we could oppose those damn nobles for the good of the people, don't you think?"

"But if we act carelessly, maybe that could lead us to a civil war, that would tear our country apart. Even now, our Kingdom is facing the expansionist ambitions of the Empire. A civil war would not only be a national problem, it would be a complete calamity."

"I know but...."

"Let's leave this for now....."

Suddenly Axel lowered his voice and looked straight ahead. A column of smoke rose behind the small hill in front of them. They all knew what that meant.

Axel couldn't help but click his tongue. As he rode up the small hill, the scene he greeted him was exactly what he expected. The entire village at the base of the mountain was completely burned and destroyed. Some of the burned debris looked like tombstones erected on that ruin.

Axel said in a firm voice, "Everyone back down. We have to act fast."

The village was completely razed and the remains of the houses were unrecognizable. Walking through the ruins, Axel smelled a faint but recognizable smell of blood.

Axel's face looked calm, as if he didn't feel any emotion. But if one were to look closely, he could see his true disposition. The Captain who walked next to him had the same expression.

Axel had been to many battlefields, he did not need to see the corpses to know what had happened in this place.

More than two hundred people, each of them had been ruthlessly murdered. Without distinguishing between women, children or even newborns, all the same.

"Captain, send 10 soldiers to search for survivors, the rest will continue."

"After looking for survivors, do I order you to follow our route?"

"No, the soldiers escort the survivors back to Riverheim."

"Mister. Wait a minute, do I consider our current situation?"

"Yes, especially under these circumstances, we must protect them."

Riverland is one of the territories controlled by the King. It would cause the King a lot of trouble if the survivors were left here. One could imagine factions of the aristocracy using this opportunity to stir trouble and weaken the King's influence.

"Please reconsider. We do not know if there are any survivors. We discovered the existence of an invading force. That was the order the King gave priority to. I think we should take our men and quickly retreat to Riverheim. We need to prepare properly to counterattack.

"Not."

"Marshal! It should be clear to you that this is a trap, it cannot be a coincidence. Those brutal acts are meant to attract us. This is clearly a trap."

"I know this devastation was planned to entertain us searching among the ruins for survivors. For that reason we must divide our troops to encompass all possibilities."

"Marshal, knowing this is a trap, you won't intend to continue, right?"

"I will continue."

"Are you serious?! Marshal, I cannot deny that you are very strong, and even if you were to face a unit of the Praetorian Guard, you would definitely win. But the Empire has a Wizard capable of level 7 magic. If that old man is among the ranks of the enemy, it would be dangerous even for you."

Axel listened quietly as the Captain continued to speak intensely

"Not only that Marshal, there are also the four Judges, the pride of the Empire, if there is a Judge among them, I cannot say who would win the battle, but sir, if there is more than one Judge..." Swallowing with difficulty, the captain continued "I don't want to imagine what would happen. Please, I beg of you, let's walk away for now. For the sake of the Kingdom, sacrificing a few villages is not comparable to the loss of your life. "

"I know, but we must, if there are survivors, do you think they would resist the trip to Riverheim?"

The Captain was speechless, because he knew that the possibility of survival was almost nil for the survivors. If they did not send soldiers to protect them and escort them to the safety of the city, they would be killed in a few days.

"... Marshal, your life is the most valuable, it cannot be compared to the lives of the villagers."

Axel fully understood the pain of the Captain's decision, that's why he had let him continue saying such things. But even then, she couldn't agree with him.

"You and I were born commoners."

"Yes, but most soldiers enlist because of their admiration for you, Marshal."

"I remember you were born in a village."

"Yes, I..."

"Life in a village is not easy and people die easily in them. Monster attacks are common, right?

"...Yes."

"Against a monster, even a normal soldier would be in trouble. If there is no money to hire adventurers specialized in facing monsters, the villagers could only wait helplessly for death."

"...Yes."

"So you, finding yourself in a desperate situation and knowing that the nobles won't lift a finger, wouldn't you wish no one would help you? Who would have the strength to do that?"

"... They would be fooling themselves if they thought someone could help them, because no one ever really helps. The aristocracy would never give money to the affected villages. "

"That being the case... Let's show that reality is not like that. I want to help the villagers."

The Captain lost his words after recalling his own experiences.

"Good friend of mine, let us show the villagers what it means to face danger even risking our lives, let us show that the brave will come to the rescue and that it is true that the strong help the weak."

Axel and the Captain looked at each other and shared a number of emotions. The Captain finally relented and replied in a weary and exhausted tone.

"... Then let me go and take the lead of the men. There are many who can replace me, but no one can replace you, Marshal."

"Do not be silly. There is always the possibility that a person with great talent or special ability will emerge; who knows, maybe the following sword of the king could be a child who dreams at this moment of being a knight. Also we are not going to die, but to save the people of the Kingdom."

The Captain wanted to open his mouth several times, but finally decided to keep quiet.

"Choose some soldiers quickly and start the search, the rest will accompany me to the gloomy mountains, our objective is the town of Gelhorn."