Chapter Twenty-Three #3
“My lady, the Remdragon Knights have overcome greater adversities than this. You must trust in Sir Riftan. Besides…” Ruth trailed off, and his expression grew skeptical.
“I’m not sure if Sir Riftan can successfully turn it into a full-scale war.
The trolls are well aware that it’s to their advantage to drag this war on. They won’t be baited so easily.”
“B-But…i-isn’t there a battle raging as we speak?”
“It’s merely one of many skirmishes launched by the monsters to chip away our numbers.
They used the same tactic to capture several of our castles.
Trolls have limitless regeneration. They can heal themselves of any wound in a day, while humans cannot.
They know that fighting more battles will give them the upper hand, so they’ll likely avoid entering an all-out confrontation.
And with the coalition army in such disarray…
I doubt they’ll manage to lure the monsters out. ”
Maxi’s face fell at Ruth’s explanation. Even after hearing that an all-out war was unlikely, her heart only felt heavier.
She felt like a child desperately trying to hold off a whipping. Even if the men were able to overcome the current crisis, it would only delay the inevitable, bloody conclusion. It would be better for them to end this war while the odds were still in their favor.
Collecting herself, Maxi picked up her quill once more. If Riftan was successful, they could return to Anatol at the end of this battle.
For once, Maxi prayed that Ruth was wrong. She wanted this torturous period to be over as quickly as possible. Gnawing her lip, she tried once more to focus her attention on outlining the rune.
By the time the rain clouds retreated and the sun beamed across the sky, the banshees disappeared along with the mist. Still, the trepidation brought about by their visit hung over the castle.
The faces of the soldiers were strained with a new tension, while the female clerics spoke less and less each day.
Maxi desperately kept herself busy to keep the heavy air from crushing her under its weight.
Attempting to drive the useless thoughts from her head, she dutifully tended to the twenty or so men remaining in the infirmary during the day.
At night, she helped Ruth search for a way to break Hebaron’s curse or worked on the magical device for the ramparts.
True to Ruth’s predictions, a large-scale battle did not happen. Reports stated that the monsters had retreated when the scale of the battle began to grow. The coalition army had given chase, but the unfavorable terrain had forced them to fall back mid-pursuit.
In the end, they suffered forty-six casualties, and the war returned to a state of inconsequential skirmishes.
The infirmary, which had managed to empty two-thirds of its cots, once again became packed with wounded soldiers.
Maxi heaved a sigh as she surveyed the influx of patients.
The accuracy of Ruth’s prediction gave her goosebumps.
While it would merely take half a day for the trolls to fully recuperate, it would no doubt take at least a week for the women to treat all the injured.
The coalition army was bound to dwindle the longer the war dragged on. Maxi was certain Riftan knew this as well. Even while bustling about the infirmary, she could not stop worrying that he might wage a reckless battle out of impatience.
Her worst fear was that Riftan would be struck with an incurable curse similar to Hebaron’s.
From what Ruth had discovered so far, the most efficient way to break the curse was to kill its source.
However, locating the creature responsible among the army of monsters was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Even if they were to win the war, they would have no means of tracking down the creature if it managed to survive.
Hebaron would likely suffer a slow and agonizing death.
The thought that Riftan might suffer the same fate rendered Maxi frozen with fear.
She irritably scrubbed at her ashen face. The lack of sleep over the past few days made her head throb, and she constantly felt dizzy. She tried to empty her racing mind as she stirred a pot of herbs on a brazier.
At that moment, Idsilla bounded into the tent looking exuberant.
“Lady Calypse! I just saw Elba!”
Maxi looked up in surprise. The girl clasped Maxi’s hand, sobbing.
“The Livadonian Royal Knights just returned to reorganize, and Elba was with them! He had a new scar on his face….” Pressing her quivering lips together, Idsilla wiped the tears spilling down her cheeks on her sleeve. “But he seemed fine.”
“Th-That is…wonderful news.” Knowing the extent of Idsilla’s worry for her brother, Maxi was relieved.
The girl smiled brightly and nodded. “I overheard the soldiers talking, and it seems as though they’re going to return to the battlefront with the remaining men as soon as they’ve finished regrouping. I think they’re aiming for a decisive battle this time.”
Maxi’s face fell. The coalition army had ultimately decided to bear the risk and attempt to end the war. It was an inevitable decision. After all, even Maxi had come to realize that a drawn-out war was unfavorable for the allied forces.
Maxi swallowed dryly. “W-Will you really…not meet your brother before he leaves for battle again?”
Idsilla adamantly shook her head. “I’ll go see him when this war is over. He will return alive. I know it.”
There was such conviction in the girl’s voice that Maxi felt her pounding heart go still. Emotions surged inside her as she gazed at Idsilla’s undaunted face. Squeezing the girl’s hand, Maxi lifted up an earnest prayer for the coalition army’s victory.
—
After spending the night at Eth Lene Castle, the Livadonian knights made preparations for departure the very next day. Soldiers hauled weapons and provisions onto carts, and the female clerics supplied them with ample stores of emergency curatives.
It was a massive party. With the Temple Knights and the remaining mercenaries and soldiers gone, only three clerics, five mages, thirty-five knights, and about four hundred soldiers remained at the castle.
Those who stayed back stood vigilant guard at the city gates, and a squadron visited the battlefield every two days to transport the wounded.
Maxi and the female clerics tended to the injured men all day long.
Even the mages helped heal the men in the infirmary, as maintaining the army’s numbers was the most pressing priority.
They did not hold back on their mana usage, either.
Men who arrived severely wounded were able to return to the battlefield after just three or four days.
Even so, no one considered it fortunate.
Maxi felt the heart-wrenching process in her bones.
Whenever she thought about the soldiers who had to return to battle mere days after being on death’s door, she felt the weight of a rock lodged in her stomach.
The hardest was burying the young soldiers who returned as cold corpses. Her only solace was in knowing that the coalition army’s relentless pursuit was gradually pushing back the monsters.
“If the coalition army continues its advance north, they will join forces with the Baltonian Royal Army near the Pamela Plateau,” Ruth said. “With Balto’s army also advancing eastward, we should be able to corner the monsters as long as everything goes according to plan.”
Hearing the good news, Maxi smiled despite her exhaustion. Ruth had taken to relaying the details of the war to Maxi after each of Grand Duke Aren’s meetings.
“It shouldn’t take more than two or three batches of provisions till the end of the war,” he added.
Hearing Ruth’s confidence in a complete victory, Maxi’s heart felt a bit lighter. If even Ruth, a skeptic to the bone, believed they could win, it must mean that the coalition army had fortune’s favor.
As she stirred a boiling pot of herbs, Maxi began calculating with her mental abacus.
One would have to ride for a day and a half without rest to reach the Pamela Plateau from Eth Lene.
Considering the mobility of the infantry, the round-trip would likely take two to three days at most. Since the army had taken fifteen days’ worth of provisions, sending an additional two or three batches would mean that this war would be over in less than a month and a half.
“Your remedy is spilling over.”
Ruth’s voice snapped Maxi out of her thoughts. She quickly removed the pot from the brazier and set it on a table beside her.
The infirmary was full of injured men who had arrived in the night.
Even though the remaining mages were doing their best to heal the wounded, they could not restore all of them to full health in a mere couple of days.
For this reason, they treated the patients according to the severity of their wounds.
It was left to the female clerics to keep these thirty or so men alive until the mages could see to them.
Maxi rubbed her tired eyes as she transferred the detoxicant into a small vial. Ruth regarded her for a moment before furrowing his brow.
“Are you getting enough rest, my lady?” he asked, running a scrupulous gaze over her. “You look pale. You are eating properly, aren’t you?”
“I-I do eat whenever I get the chance,” Maxi mumbled, avoiding his eyes. In truth, she had not had a proper meal since Riftan’s departure. Anxiety dampened her appetite, and forcing bread down her throat only made her stomach churn.
After studying her gaunt face, Ruth let out a small sigh. “I think your nerves have grown overly sensitive, my lady. You won’t be able to hold out long in that state. We don’t know when this war is going to end, so you must take better care of yourself.”
“I…I am aware of that.”