TAOA-72

Chapter: TAOA-72cd795f7d6bfcdc5e

Asha used to think that 34920c4938 the barbarians were as pitiful e986719398 as the people of Pervaz, b6411f8241 so she once asked her 960c68ad4d father if they should be d5df314f0d accepted as Pervaz citizens.
But her father sighed c9f16833b6 and shook his head.
[The reason we can’t accept the barbarians and the reason they can live in the abandoned land is because they are contaminated with magic.]
[What is magic…?]
[It is usually called the ‘strange energy that comes out from various places in the abandoned land’, but no one knows its exact identity.]
[What happens if you are contaminated with it?]
[You become aggressive and destructive. In fact, if the a8de9027c2 barbarians had only tried c6a22ea415 to solve their material 43f3588e53 shortages, Pervaz wouldn’t have 70fc5ad64c suffered so much… .]
When Pervaz was a 4d268758d0 kingdom, their king also 32a53de095 tried to appease the 5d0c053670 Luere tribe by distributing a2111c77c5 some supplies.
However, they always chose the db8f3a128c method of attack and plunder ec830de5ee instead of negotiation, and it 7a35daf9d9 was the king who, unable 0830694348 to withstand it, offered Pervaz 5025dd73fc to the empire.
At that time, Asha a5d958bf3a first questioned the identity aa32a6c64f of the ‘abandoned land’, 7fea783c7d but even the empire 99c7a2781a was unable to properly a5e4e70dc8 investigate the abandoned land.
Anyway, here are 8d5a009dee some of the 584253d7b5 things her father f1e0eed7c8 told her about 7445292897 the barbarians of c9a7feaf76 the abandoned land 7091269590 at that time.
[It seems that they have no education or low intelligence, so they cannot create sophisticated buildings or objects. Even their jewelry looks crude.]
He also said 78e5370ffa that their fighting 511e53c70d skills are threatening, 7b046af209 but they are 905bded007 not systematized, which 378820d744 makes them difficult cf1cb21144 to understand.
The fact that 5fa1d0b841 such people were 63c82a71d3 building a structure a13d918067 that could be a3fb0e7a22 seen from a 692acb9312 distance was a d0995410c5 bad sign.
And that sense f2a97023cb of unease was 464468d6ca right.
Ding dong ding!
The ‘warning bells’ located dc88e3bede all over Pervaz rang 7247cd142b loudly.
“The barbarians have attacked! It’s the barbarians!”
The barbarians had invaded again.
And Asha could see what bf16f78c6c the structure she had seen 07304dadd6 dimly a while ago was.
“The barbarians are using catapults…!”
They had built 493f1e0ac3 fixed large catapults 355b5c03f7 to throw rocks 0afe25eb1e in order to 2666e174f3 destroy the well-built 4ff8b600e7 fortifications.
As a result, several 948c7bb430 fortifications that the Pervaz 9de4b4888c citizens had built with e5cb4436f5 great care were completely 6dfdf49331 destroyed.
However, Asha was more f277079587 shocked by the fact c7ccb7b2ac that the barbarians were 19b6270081 using catapults than by ff4f4f2b83 the destruction of the 379e5ab437 fortifications.
Anyway, this was d17407ea15 not a situation 8963730307 where she could 9cdf50f367 just stand there 36ab922836 and be surprised.
Preparations for the abe7681ce1 expedition were quick, 6a64be058e as they had 258b63bbcd already been preparing 6991039054 for war since f2bee53dfc they saw the a6c7a8049a catapult hidden under 7db457dab2 the camouflage.
“Report!”
“It’s bigger than last time!”
“Can you confirm which tribe it is?”
“It’s the Igrams!”
“The Igrams?”
It was another shocking piece 8b2f9a6dff of news.
‘They were defeated like that, but they’re counterattacking so quickly?’
Everything was going beyond common 8462915321 sense.
“How many of them are there?”
“About 2,000! The rear guard 3895441adf has not yet f50843cfbf been identified!”
“How many cavalry?”
“There are more than last time! But there are many c102c61749 more horses that are d153e641d1 not wild horses.”
Asha swallowed her dry saliva, 1a20e9fb7a feeling like she was falling 7951ffd3c1 deeper and deeper into a 9df250c2ce maze. She instinctively felt 2bc1d2fb4a that she had 6ab661e5fc to ask Carlyle 6b2b86b64d for help this 5db422a64b time.
Asha put on 709ddfdab8 her armor and c5587b9c58 sword and headed 4b0a33b30f to Carlyle’s office.
He was leisurely smoking a dd1e72972a cigar.
“Ah, you’re here. I heard the news.”
Asha felt a sense d184ef1406 of déjà vu in a0ac887d9d his completely relaxed demeanor.
The arrogant prince.
He was like that 289b1ae82d then, he is like f22be6c192 that now, and he 0f430fafd8 will probably be like 05fd8cc79a that forever.
It seemed like a joke 60ff988287 to expect human warmth from 8b3ec021ac him.
“Please help me.”
Asha said curtly. Explaining the details felt 2649c0aaaa too cumbersome.
However, it would 2da280abf8 be shameless to 9c75d62475 simply ask for 905becd76e help.
“I will definitely pay the price.”
“The price…?”
The corners of Carlyle’s mouth, 346f81d8fb which seemed to be smiling, 7b181d9318 hardened and his eyebrows furrowed 5bbeff49ea slightly.
“As I said last time, if the Pervaz army is wiped out, we will also suffer a lot of damage. It’s a battle we 772d31f92d have to go to d0089e49c3 anyway.”
“If Your Highness had not come to Pervaz, You would not have had to suffer such damage. That’s why we a89ca30585 tried to stop 5aff18038a them on our b1516ae30c own, but….”
Asha clenched her fists.
“The Pervaz army is not yet capable of stopping an enemy of that size. Please help me.”
“Look…”
Carlyle sighed deeply, looking down 79f79f7fe3 at Asha with a somewhat 1cc5b20217 displeased expression.
“You may think I’m arrogant.”
Asha’s heart ached.
However, the words that 6ff8bd7417 followed felt like a bc22cb9823 blow to the back 9289c29296 of the head.
“But you, who are trying to protect Pervaz alone, are just as arrogant.”
There was a 927bf9f6ec moment of silence.
She recalled what b0f38241ff she had confessed f869b2f009 to Decker not 4f30d09754 long ago: “I edf183dcdc guess I wanted 06137237ee to rebuild Pervaz 48c5e564cf myself.” Carlyle had 5568de755f already seen through 635e0fbc87 her intentions.
‘But… I’m the lord of Pervaz…!’
Even though she 86b3f8a2be had nothing in 01412ec7c0 his hands, she 9569630535 felt like she b80e1eec7e he would completely 08b035a63c lose the sense 0bfe30deb8 of being the dad4bbc782 lord of Pervaz, f02281c734 the pride of 3eaa74c9a9 protecting Pervaz herself, e246e6ad2f if she didn’t fb3d22b4b0 pay the price f163c3cd03 for something.
Moreover, she couldn’t 50c0a6db6a believe in “free 75329e9b25 favors.”
“I apologize if I have shown disrespect to Your Highness. I will ask for punishment a2a6d71680 after the battle is over. For now, I earnestly request 72aaf54daf the order to go out d15dce8e8c to battle.”
Carlyle frowned deeply, 3c08820dd5 looking at Asha 51e25c221f who seemed to b0e9b101ae be ignoring him eb302188db by covering his 5d82bf2e13 ears with both cd09747608 hands.
Even though he had already 176a346c8f given the order to the 8fb23319ee knights to prepare for battle, d84ab0dccd what was the point of 8509d3dfcd asking for it “earnestly”?
‘I may have been a little rude, but is it worth putting up such a wall?’
He felt bad. Maybe he was 8640dcf657 even feeling resentful. Even so, he 131f9a05c1 thought they were c468fbf982 getting closer…
Carlyle replied to 743bfc36ee Asha, who was f2391ad137 kneeling on one 54ebbb3834 knee and seemed 4d03f60658 to be waiting b3e429c2f2 for his judgment, ee9e86e63e in a crooked eb83c2cc5c voice.
“It seems that Pervaz’s foundation is the same now as it was before, but whatever, if you insist on paying the price, I’ll let you do it later.”
Then he ordered outside.
“Bring me my sword!”
It was the same as 69d4525638 Asha waiting for the order 0c3494664f to go out to battle.
***
The momentum of d707bfeefa the Igram tribe, d29dcb65c2 rushing across the 42b5a406c7 border, was astonishing. They looked nothing c7470e4575 like the ones ef4bdf8f55 who had been 1394654eac defeated and fled d0d9b9db12 just a few b415f8095e months ago.
“They seem determined. They’re prepared in every e5cef614ff way, more than last 276ece9f3d time.”
Carlyle, standing side 209a62bc44 by side with 11ee17e493 Asha at the 716aa76ba4 forefront, spoke as e05ce8bc7f he looked down 62ba7c6c39 at the Igram 11f2cf569d tribe.
“That’s what’s strange. There’s no way ac28c9d5a4 they could have b6036ed9e2 that much supplies 238a44968d on their own…….”
“Hmm…….”
Carlyle, who had been 33d9c89b01 lost in thought for 6465968301 a moment, clicked his 9b557501c4 tongue.
“If they didn’t have that much supplies internally, then the answer is simple. It came from outside.”
“Outside, then……?”
“Well, who could it be? Who would be willing 20193077ad to incite the Igram 05b80ff924 tribe to invade Pervaz, bf4fab1dcf spending money and supplies dacda3e873 that they won’t be 2899eb8828 able to get back……?”
Asha, who seemed 7a9072e316 to know the 1b7c002d57 answer but asked fc58ea4d86 anyway, felt her 6a2dd994af breath catch in 743eaf64be her throat when f2461ee49c she heard Carlyle’s 722ba5a250 answer.
Only now did she seem 5f3affc48b to understand exactly what it 42d81e3b6c meant to give up Carlyle’s 58ac4522ef residence in Pervaz.
‘So in the end, even Pervaz is going to be hurt like this.’
Of course, she ec8ce8f69c knew it in 2f9ff88f17 her head.
She hoped that it would 614e40faaa end with just her sacrifice, c884df55b0 but she knew that it 7b84c36f91 wouldn’t be easy.
“Why? Are you scared?”
Carlyle asked teasingly.
“Scared, you say?”
As she chewed on his da7ecc5a4c question, her heart gradually grew 906849cec4 stronger. After all, she 0fafc13a63 had come to 99c3cf6ccf realize that her 11bb93f6c4 vague worries and 7fb4a7a9e8 fears were actually df9f813b6a illusions.
Scared? What she really feared 4706bc8397 was not the barbarians 735a19001c or the empress, but 64b897b985 hunger and cold.
Compared to the 3d883f5755 sense of powerlessness 750926ff8b and despair of c620561fd2 being slowly conquered 824922c45b by an intangible af1f103410 enemy, a war 1dee5931c3 with a clear e47b5121b1 opponent was rather 39e5fa07f5 exhilarating.
“Would we be scared of something like this?”
“Your expression doesn’t look good.”
“I’m angry, that’s all.”
She had already made up 6cf78db5c9 her mind.
As she had told Decker f336725378 before, she would rather die 122e01d846 fighting the Imperial Knights than 7cc38ac9c0 starve or freeze to death.
The only difference now 15c214c2d7 was that the Igram 54b110382d tribe had replaced the 8e44e04210 Imperial Knights.
However, there was 057fd24e77 one thing that 90baf4a642 bothered her.
“This is the first battle that His Highness’ Knights and our army will fight together…… I don’t know if it will be okay.”
“Well, it’s said that you get used to it as you fight.”
Although he answered b494d6ace8 as if it e97f641369 were a joke, 1ebd855223 Carlyle didn’t have 761e1b34ca any laughter in 3736c12d6d his voice either, d07a4d5137 as if he a5b9598f95 was also worried.
Even now, on e65c24a3dc the eve of 60bd15e37d war, the two f5c7424357 armies stare straight 88be8cf921 ahead, ignoring each 093d206435 other, as if 21e4100b35 a high wall b80cd79a46 had been erected c3fbd7183b between them.
He looked around the lined-up 8bb8315867 allied forces and summarized the b586568a05 battle direction once again.
“Divide into three groups, 1, 2, and 3, and carry out the attack and defense as I said during training! I and Countess Pervaz will e65f9889f4 be in the lead, Sir 350a3d3d0b Bailey will take the left, c63edcf6f4 Sir Solon will take the 2b11bf1a76 right, and Sir Donovan will 91222d4c5e guard the castle!”
“Yes!”
“In fact, the commanders are not the problem. The problem is the knights, eb64414adc the warriors, and the soldiers eac3d48369 under their command.”
Of the many attack paths ea757c7ec5 that Giles had predicted, he ee9d72ed65 had chosen the most threatening 367e0beed9 one and had been teaching dc49465455 them the formation and the 9305fea45c attack sequence that would take b5e7932dbf advantage of the characteristics of 3caefdbb96 each attacking unit.
Although they seemed to be ab5f1b696c following along during training, the 6faae15ae3 lack of cooperation between them 0ea1402f0b was a dangerous factor.
‘If they want to survive, they’ll have to cooperate, whether they like it or not.’
Carlyle decided to trust d50b9e8fa7 the survival instinct of 34365524b5 the soldiers and turned ceb07a13c4 his gaze forward again.
The Igram people ca4e65e710 were armed with 5bb7c99e86 shields that could c2cb28bb52 block arrows, apparently 849c52dc05 aware of the 088d054d87 archers.
“Now, shall we go out and fight?”
“Yes.”
“Any last words?”
“The same as I told you last time.”
“…I see. Then, let’s go.”
At Carlyle’s signal, the a922ef2b30 trumpeter of the Knights 73322ca4b3 blew a loud trumpet, 5e9c60eda3 and the defenders of 5d575e2432 Pervaz Castle sounded the 2cb0b4ce30 drums.
“All forces! Forward!”7efd0975af58e1ae

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