33 – Rotate Ethlon Plains (5)

The plains of Ethlon, swept away by the madness of war, it’s only been less than 10 minutes since the war ended…

Suddenly, a crow came flying from the sky. He pecked out the eyes of soldiers who had just died and started eating them.

The crow, which opened its eyes and robbed the dead unknown soldier’s eyeballs, seemed satisfied, calling out to its compatriots with a loud cawing sound.

According to the sound, countless crows descended and began to eat the corpses of the dead.

The crows gobbled up their feast, and the area around it began to be stained with flesh and blood.

If I had been living in Korea, I would have vomited before seeing such a disgusting and horrendous sight.

However, the madness of the battlefield, especially the satisfaction of commanding a war and leading it to victory, made me calm even in this sight, no, it gave me infinite happiness.

Perhaps the soldiers next to me felt the same way, too, and they embraced each other and shed tears of joy.

“Sergeant, I survived!!”

“Yes, Hans. survived You did well!! Now all we have to do is prepare to go back!”

“Sergeant, as you promised, will you hand out a glass of beer to the warlords?”

“Sergeant Jackson!!! Remembering only useless things like that, what will happen if you forget about it?”

“Mari, Marie! I survived!!”

However, as if this was also a battlefield, some of the surviving soldiers wept sadly while calling out the names of ‘comrades who died on the battlefield’.

“Sand… I told you to enlist together and be discharged with a sergeant! You stupid bastard!! Why are you looking! In the future… If you roll for another five years, you’ll be able to receive the land bestowed by His Excellency the Baron. And both of you promised to get married and live with pretty wives!! You bastard…”

“Platoon commander! Why did you stand in the vanguard to save a guy like that… Your sergeant told you not to do that, why did you stand in the vanguard… What is the pride of a nobleman?”

Although we won the war, it must have been a landslide victory, but it saddens me to see the mourners and the dead.

I certainly did my best, but if I did a little better, I could have reduced their sacrifice…

So, while I was staring at the battlefield where the war ended, Balt came running towards me waving his hand with Helmut and Weiss from afar.

Balt and Helmut are fine, but Weiss has a slightly bloody bandage on his right arm.

Seeing that there wasn’t much blood on it, it must not have been that serious of an injury…

Then I brushed off my worries and approached the three of them.

“Bald, Helmut, and Weiss suffered a lot. Thanks to you, we easily won this war. Especially the Balts.”

When I specifically mentioned Balt, Balt looked at me with a triumphant expression.

“He commanded the infantry really well. Thanks to this, infantry losses were minimized. Thanks to the command so well, there was no time for veterans with halberds to step out.”

“That’s right. During the strategy meeting, I deliberately emphasized the guys with halberds… that’s a bit unfortunate.”

I said while patting the shoulder of Balt, who felt sorry for him.

“War is always prepared for the worst, isn’t it? In this case, it worked so well that they didn’t have to step out. it’s not like that?”

“That’s right. It’s a pity that things didn’t go according to my plan, but in the end it’s a great victory. We’re still looking for the dead and wounded and taking prisoners… but maybe less than 20 of our men are dead. Enemies are… not part-timers.”

Balt’s last words, hesitating and laughing, said, ‘Enemy… they’re not part-timers.’ In the words, I could feel Balt’s consideration.

It felt as if he had given me ‘an indulgence to the person who took the lives of countless soldiers, even if he was an enemy, that he had no choice but to protect his allies’.

And just like that, I punished the scum that tried to invade my territory.

“okay, thanks.”

“It is an honor, Your Excellency.”

“And send all troops except for the halberds back to the camp right now. With the exception of the minimum sentry, let me rest today and tomorrow. Balt, take the halberd bottles, occupy the enemy’s ‘base’, and capture the enemy’s knights alive.”

At first glance, it may seem like a vicious boss who makes the ‘commander who suffered to die’ work again.

However, in reality, it is a good intention to yield the glory and achievements that I, originally the ‘commander-in-chief’, should have taken to the ‘Baltic and Halberd soldiers who commanded the infantry’.

Through this, if you do well, Balt can become a ‘knight who has been granted a manor’, and the rest of the Halberd soldiers will also receive ‘a considerable amount of rewards’.

Perhaps he noticed that, Balt looked at me and said with tears in his eyes.

“Then, may I take your Excellency Helmut and Weiss with you? Vice is also slightly injured, but he should be able to hold the sword with one hand.”

“Do it. leave right now The enemy has already been completely exhausted.”

As soon as he heard those words, Balt got down on one knee and bowed his head in the utmost respect for me before heading toward the enemy camp.

**

I went back to my barracks leaving the battlefield piled high with the soldiers.

With the sense of relief that the war is over and the shame of having killed countless people.

To enter the barracks, I opened the barracks and went in, and the fragrant smell tickled my nose.

And when I looked where the smell came from, Ella was cooking a rich stew for me to eat in my barracks.

I smiled and greeted Ella, who had prepared something warm for me.

“I’m back, Ella.”

“Yes, Master…”

And Ella quietly came behind me and helped me take off the armor.

Compared to when I usually take off my armor, I’m a little more kind to avoid touching the injured area.

As I took off my armor and sat down on my bed, Ella cooked stew for me.

It’s a stew with good quality salted meat, dried vegetables, and a little flour…

For me, who suffered to die on the battlefield, it felt more delicious and warm than any other food.

So I hurriedly ate the stew, and when I spilled the stew on my face, Ella smiled and wiped my face with a handkerchief.

“There is a lot of stew, so eat slowly. master. If you eat it too quickly while overdoing it, you might get sick.”

“Yeah, I get it. But Ella, don’t you eat? I don’t think you ate anything either…”

“Yes, master. Then Ella will also eat with you.”

So we quietly ate the stew without saying anything to each other.

After I finished the stew, I cleared the bowl and Ella looked at me and asked with a worried look on her face.

“Master, are you hurt anywhere? I heard that a messenger came before the master came and said that the master is all right… but if there is a slight cut somewhere.”

“No, I am not injured. look. My armor is only stained with dirt and dust, but there is not a single dent in it.”

Hearing those words, Ella carefully inspected the armor I had taken off and said,

“Thank you for coming safely, Master. Ella would have been really worried if the master had been hurt.”

I reached out and patted Ella on the shoulder and said triumphantly:

“it’s okay. Because I came back without getting hurt like this.”

“Thank you for coming back, Master.”

After that, there was a sudden awkward feeling between me and Ella.

I spat out the words without thinking, trying to somehow break the atmosphere.

“Okay, now that the war is almost over, let’s think about what to do when we get back. Like how we used to go to the market and walk around, why don’t we go out together? Or, let’s eat snacks made by the head maid together.”

When Ella heard that, she answered in a slightly louder voice, as if she understood my intention to break the awkward atmosphere.

“I will bake cookies this time, Master. Now I bake cookies better than the head maid. When I get back, I’ll make you a lot of sweets with raspberry jam, which the owner often ate at Windheim.”

That’s how I talked to Ella about the things I wanted to do after I returned to Creutel until I fell asleep late that night.

While we were talking, I felt the resentment that had lingered in my heart about slaughtering the enemies go away.

**

I was lying in bed and sleeping when I suddenly heard a very loud voice calling me from outside my barracks.

“dismissal!! dismissal!! It’s a messenger! May I come in?”

I washed my face with some water from the wooden bucket right next to my bed and said,

“Come in.”

“Yes, excuse me.”

Then the messenger knelt down on one knee right in front of my bed and said with his head bowed.

“Sir Balt, Sir Helmut, and Captain Weiss took 400 halberds and occupied the enemy base. The enemy did not resist much because they had already been defeated, and captured 40 knights under the Celtic Baron and the Baron of Santoburg as prisoners!”

…. The war is finally over.

You could say you’d ‘perfectly’ won this war by catching just one of them, but to kill both barons…

I felt that my heart was pounding and overflowing as I came across an activity that exceeded my expectations.

So, without hiding my excitement, I grabbed the messenger’s hand and asked.

“is it? Where is Balt now?”

“The prisoners will be brought soon. Congratulations on your victory!”

“You’ve worked hard, wait a minute.”

Upon hearing that, the messenger laughed from ear to ear as if he thought that I would give him a reward now that I had heard the ‘good news’.

At least it was in front of me, so it was a little fun to see her holding back without laughing.

I handed a gold coin to the messenger and signaled to leave.

And as soon as the messenger left my barracks, he cheered loudly.

“Hooray, Your Excellency!! It’s a gold coin!!! With this money, you don’t have to worry about getting married to Alice!!”

**

And the next day, Baron Santoburg and Baron Celt entered the barracks of the military camp.

According to the warfare of this era, they wore helmets, armour, and swords even though they were in captivity.

I know that’s how it is supposed to be here, but I really hate the sight of those guys who declared war for nonsensical reasons holding their heads stiff in front of me for no reason.

However, I put all those feelings aside and signaled them to order their subordinates to bring them a seat and the same food I was eating.

After that, the two of them sat in the same position as me on the subject of defeat.

After a moment of silence, I opened my mouth to break the silence.

“It was a good battle, Baron Santoburg. Celtic Baron. But in God’s eyes I was more right, so I raised my hand and won this battle.”

The two remained silent for a while, as if they didn’t want to admit it.

To them like that, now I spoke in a voice that contained a little bit of sarcasm.

“So, now we must discuss the cost of your defeat. The price for insulting my honor won’t be cheap, so you can expect it.”

How dare you go to war and kill my precious soldiers for such a futile reason…

I’ll make you pay for it with your wealth and shame.