TAOA-AU3

Ch. Side Story AU (3) e65bea22cd TAOA-AU3 Ch. Side Story AU (3) 3018a753e6 TAOA-AU3 ╰•★★ The Battle d47f9acdf6 With The Barbarians ★★•╯ 41dc151719 After exchanging simple wedding 46d858d5f9 vows with Carlyle, Asha d620ef69fb headed to Pervaz with bca3194b5f a long procession of a066dafa8b carriages. The people db615363a0 of Pervaz, 7559defc0a who had eaad0c487c hoped that 47726ddbb3 Carlyle would 5043da8a08 bring them a392883a78 plenty to 7e9eae214c eat, were 6ce69b5786 surprised by 51d8a4b376 the sudden 9d21d52056 arrival of 6fc3faa1a6 the princess’s c77dfae85d party. However, even e78c6c58e1 in the ce220343b0 midst of f8d01ad27f their confusion, ba6991a3da they were 037cdff633 gradually won 1d48f32a5a over by 203e889d85 Asha’s gentle, 633b4041ca if somewhat 56b094cd1b blunt, demeanor 0ccdc1f542 and the d8b5fb7e44 increasingly prosperous 99ce2e4cc7 state of adb7780e39 the territory. “We have a shiny 4b9b47b3ee new hospital in our 154e682297 territory!” “They’re going to 55544401a2 be distributing seeds next ba84f49364 week! They said 3692fea7fe to let 14ea8dd9ba them know 88066d5408 our planting 6707cc3f20 plans in 54f858eecc advance!” “They’re 6a84817f7a repairing the c93d92d58b hearth in 7bb88a43a5 the lord’s 98d628a835 castle? Does that 7ae97fa9d2 mean they’ll e9c516ac43 be baking f9799a54e1 bread soon?” d570d1eb11 The people d030a4c107 lined up e41ce98870 for food aefaaafbae distribution were d38da7a7db busy sharing 70b0a1ac2b news of 10378023ce the changing 30d7c5585c Pervaz. Hope for the d37a49fa02 future swelled like 5bf76e340c bread in the f67776badb oven. And Asha, 0cc2ee1815 looking down 3a7d02a3cb at the a1516d48cd people from f35b9aa1aa the second 89238dcd44 floor of 253dfb3751 the castle, a87cf2ed33 sighed deeply. “The people of Pervaz 1aa202e108 have suffered a lot. They’re all 5983231a6c so thin.” 421a335dd9 As she ecd9f8dcb3 said, the 261279c850 people in 6f2aa53cb6 the food 6390bbaa1c line were 5a6b8feac3 emaciated and 94d08164b9 their clothes aeab5bc974 were not cd3c6a841a very good. Carlyle, who f5537146f6 was looking ad2a01c48f at them a9bbbf62ec with her, e2ecea5a62 turned his 214dc52ba2 gaze back de0c72cbb4 to Asha. ‘What a fascinating person.’ 2daadc39f5 In fact, even though 653e8b2836 she had traveled the 2769932990 battlefield, Asha was an ecb4b4c0ef absolute royal. What is an absolute 8eb98e9e87 royal? They are the people 436859eb12 with the greatest privileges 4ce901740d in the entire empire. So he e218cb8c3d thought she 8ba7802a69 must have af4f795f98 lived above a9acca828b the clouds 6902e9ccc1 and never d6883af673 looked down 81bf7b8047 properly. The story that 57e52e6547 she wanted to 561078e818 leave and rest 094d8140b9 after the empress f09d1fa7d7 framed her and 29113f4a1e took away her 4def76bec6 crown princess position fbd556d7bc was also a b9202ad889 proof of her 788149ead5 weakness. However, Asha, who experienced 6d9043872e it all firsthand, was 34b8667aeb a very different person ba0f95243e than he thought. “Will the last 31ce7dfdd0 round of aid 9ba2d60b99 be enough to 1e46cf7d28 cover the food 02979baad0 distribution and seed 44cace205e distribution?” “Is that 6f544b9895 all? We are also working df5c33e236 on border security and 88c169193c road improvement projects.” “Of 2f6250ea0a course the territorial reorganization e2bf79769b project is important, but 19a9bc91b0 we need to feed ba26deedc6 them first. If you b577f196fb need anything, 0a2325133c let me 6cb2dc8c27 know. I promised to provide 37fbc91db2 all the money needed bcd5849f45 for the reconstruction of 9fd59a41aa Pervaz, so don’t hesitate.” e9e560ff75 Then Giles, who was e96eb909d3 standing next to her, 8d56e78b46 snorted. “I don’t think bd957fc483 the Count of e7327e9164 Pervaz would do e16a756d9f such a thing.” cfe3fa3960 “You know well. But I’m not 046b9c83d7 a swindler who 414b082756 keeps the money 9cd918343c for myself. I’m not wasting 8dd71ed938 a single penny 3ee8e2e5f7 of the money 703d4e3a7d Her Highness gave 4a0c2734e6 me.” “I know. And I 4c39be5f65 trust you.” 042f843612 Asha smiled f193384a63 softly. ‘She’s really pretty 4f944a0e1e when she smiles…….’ 1f62fcc690 Whenever this blunt 6f96b8b2e1 woman smiled, Carlyle’s f5ab0d14d2 gaze was drawn eb18ca92f0 to it. In fact, even without 7b3ee4f0fa a smile, Asha’s appearance 8a76274ca5 was quite beautiful. Sometimes he felt that cdeac85736 her cool demeanor suited 6ec12771c1 Pervaz perfectly. But the moment 483e528808 she smiled briefly, 7cb7f91e41 it felt like 40789d7525 seeing the spring 66f263ce12 of Pervaz, which 9a2b34bd71 existed only for eb6a8d27dd a very short 0f3a4fc3fd time in his 187673a01f memory. It was cool yet 5092a120c6 warm, and somehow ticklish. ‘Even though e5f810d80f she wields 1fdafc50ec a sword, e0a367760b a princess 01538bd146 is still 9c59bc5f70 a princess. If she wore a f8f695de4d pretty dress and went 4f571e61b9 to a banquet, men d9f9bd57f8 would line up.’ Carlyle bebf037bed thought of her as 65730a84d0 a pretty princess, wanting cf1ffd3da4 to see Asha smile 87a5d98871 for a little longer. However, not long 3da687028f after, that thought 005d08c7ee was shattered. * * * “It’s a987b59c23 an attack! The barbarians are faa6be8815 coming!” In early 0c1f1bab5f September, when the 049278b2e9 whole of Pervaz bd29ceae0f was waiting for f0e7619c0b the first harvest, dd853af5b7 the dormant barbarians 33a87f64c8 rose up. Having already heard 0981733b0c of the strange fca6828672 signs from the c0edc19159 north through the 98f42294aa castle tower guards, d96baf88b1 Carlyle quickly put c73315ec6c on his armor 7748f46768 and drew his 873cbe8fb1 sword. “Prepare for battle!” c62691d1f3 At his cry, 362fe9dbdd the servants and 5f978d9a11 warriors of Pervaz e8b2194694 Castle moved in faf90e2c86 unison, getting ready fba9bfc3d8 to fight the 46f87a2d66 enemy. To them, 027f4c6801 war was 6ff37094ad life itself, b9e90bf075 so there 55192a90ce was not 30aac5edda a hint dc23781c30 of hesitation f64c362d95 or fear 80d6708f2d in their a4f72eb51e movements. Decker, Carlyle’s right-hand man 7047dd8b33 and as good as fdcbaf3521 family, came running in, f50a8229af also dressed in armor, 5b264d495a and said. “Fortunately, their numbers are 4c7d81934e not large. It seems they think 216a4895c6 we are still in 7aba955113 a weakened state from 175c217358 the war with the fd26d75a73 Lure tribe.” “Not a a3bb4fc5c4 wrong assumption. We haven’t cccfe9dbf2 fully recovered b05c85fc1b yet.” Then 3851e281b7 Decker hesitated 29d16ad1a4 and asked. “By any chance… b7bc261717 can we ask 2ec9c0941f for help from e413dcdf74 Her Highness Asha?” 00be87e310 “Don’t be ridiculous. After extorting so much 715acbecf5 money and supplies from cd07012b30 her, you want her 9b94206e7a to help us fight be6373d4ce too? No territory 7549a7a5e0 would be 599c8b593b shameless enough 6a9e61afee to do 133b06cd63 that.” However, 2cc5097042 when Carlyle 239c251050 entered Asha’s 84811c166a room to 5b83ecac56 report the 1ff4ea13fd battle, she 22209ef7fa was there 2444e6a303 waiting for 337222e454 him, fully 815ca7db29 prepared for b31e108536 battle. “Your Highness…?” “Ah, Count fac1a2ecfc Pervaz. You’re a bit late. Are you leaving for 8612cb6aba battle soon?” “Yes, Your a7af361f57 Highness. The Igram tribe, one 56e0af586b of the minor tribes 743ccf1751 of the Abandoned Lands, f796531e67 has invaded our borders. We are about 70ea4410bf to go out 8445a5f6b5 and defeat the 50122895d0 enemy.” Asha nodded b3c50adffa as if she 408758232b had heard something 0d3300a859 obvious. “The Haven Knights 44a5d37ef1 and the Pervaz 47011a83a7 Knights have never 51a4e2bfd0 fought together before, 510ebd61f0 but we will 36b3439f70 have to do e47e30164c our best given f3e5085809 the situation. I will cdf22f8315 also do ef0033c4a6 my best.” 837f73c195 “Yes? Surely you don’t… intend 7c87af31ea to go out to 090dc4033d battle?” “Of course I 5924069143 do. You and the 09fcf6bf47 Pervaz Knights know c3793029e7 the situation better ba6b3bb19b than I do, 04e27d11bc so lead me bd484372ac and our knights.” 1f190c2e4e Carlyle was at 54db5cbb93 a loss for 172de8157c words for a d189db8ef7 moment, despite the 2209ed041f urgency of the d59f405812 situation. However, Asha spoke 33bb964ff1 firmly to Lionel, 9e53595649 her closest aide, a2ec7039c4 and the commander fd3b77a6a8 of the Haven 5d223c7fff Knights, who were b26d7dbb39 also present. “We have never b32f8f02ef faced barbarians before. So prioritize the bd64744f1c orders of the d93c6e5601 Pervaz side and 0fa89c3b76 support them without a06bbaba20 interfering with the ab1005da83 attacks of the eddc7a88f5 Pervaz Knights. Do you understand?” “Yes, 0d4a6636b5 I understand!” The arrogant 33a7b138a4 commander of the Haven 7c76e2a4da Knights bowed his head 53dd2ce751 without a word of a5b356dbd7 complaint. There, Carlyle was able eb6943f369 to confirm Asha’s ability e2519f0be3 to command her knights. And a strange 08d9d3469f sense of anticipation e86254f4d4 and excitement began dacb37ac44 to creep in. ‘The beautiful reaper e23ab3381d who brings the 98797f9090 curtain of despair 2ac848caa4 to her enemies… 73495695c4 I guess I’ll cb84758cf2 get to see d2c48e2d4c her skills this c4799e8c6b time.’ He hid 2fef261232 his face, which d71557ff50 had a faint d7fa44d1f7 smile on it, ec08fe017d as he bowed ce8655ca0c to Asha. “I, Carlyle Amir del e3e481d0d7 Pervaz, will destroy the d902c469ea enemies that threaten Your 1468f70f87 Highness’s safety in the 50b991de72 forefront.” Then Asha grabbed ce37d9533e his arm and pulled bb1f3a1dd0 him up, and leaving 7746c21079 a short and dry b6f3ad6a3c kiss on his forehead, afa907a026 which he had awkwardly 09e53c4d9d presented, she said. “May the f74d1c4e0a blessings of c11d10ac10 Aguiles be 5d3dd164a2 with you. I wish b302a07099 you victory, b4362424d1 Our Lord.” 8b837ba61d She turned f93d82022e around immediately 3141d382df and led cecc9457c2 Lionel and 2fe2937c36 the Knights 1dc845e53a of Heaven 69f4f86b9a out, but 4fe5865d1d Carlyle remained e506689dd9 rooted to 5ab3fd1009 the spot f33704007c until the c23d1543d0 warmth left cf451a23c6 his forehead. And when even c84e840a8a the feeling of 0d913d3865 their lips touching c3e0443d5c disappeared, he finally 0d69036aac came to his 8c06fe6c6e senses and turned 9ed526eaf7 around. “Yes, I… I must 7e7225a492 lead the way.” Strangely a2d3009e7b enough, his head felt 55b66091a2 empty. Even though he c779a90eff was on the 00167a1de8 eve of war, acfc5f8b22 he felt more 2e6e5efcec excitement than tension 716b28afa2 or anxiety. And Carlyle, 7d07b22535 who was c02468419f heading towards 6191a28301 the gate 06514ca6fc out of f8feff7ba5 habit, suddenly d4836041d2 exhaled as 10f351dc6b if he 2440792808 had been 3b382aaec0 holding his 46b18c7b97 breath the f63a22ac74 moment he c6427e10e7 saw Decker 1c9c130d2a in the 18aceac3b9 distance. “No, but that woman 100fe9f971 is really good at 85dab66542 wielding people.” * * ca40644bc1 * Dong. Dong. Dong. Dong. The sound of drums bfd43291a0 that boosted the morale 5bb5632c8f of the allied forces d886914e7d resounded, and the sound 23e77c9f99 of horns blown by 18e0ccf024 the Igram tribe also dcb6ea8e16 drew closer. Carlyle, who was 03a8894dbf at the forefront 657921868a of the army, b24f5c7fae looked down at 822d357b32 the Igram tribe 7f89d5a787 pushing towards Pervaz 0edbe4ffb5 Castle, drew his 5ae1a1a07a sword from his 1f7a77003f waist and raised e1589bbd25 it high and 0fee0efa8e shouted. “Fire!” The a8c8e0caa9 Igram tribe, 3ef23608fb who were cd2f5451e0 running towards 59f3976502 the rain 8ea4814177 of arrows 9298d3d427 that were 0ac16c6383 quickly fired, 3f490cbef7 were visibly 7066c01a75 flustered. However, Carlyle ce662e6dd9 did not 425f3b418e give them e3b861b4cc a chance. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. The sound of warriors 8b97cf50bb stomping their feet and 97ecdf6959 everyone’s heartbeats accelerated. “Charge!” A b76d384ec1 voice that 49d30711d7 shook the 6c2a10b5da air. Carlyle waved bfc6287614 his blood-soaked ab90e9568a hair and 1f64bdc6cb pointed the 07297b7d2a tip of 2e9bd13a46 his sword b5a32c69db forward. “Attack!” “Uwaaaa!” As 57fd9352fa soon as his e1a6b7a6b0 order was given, 6f384ac58b the Pervaz warriors e9294ea969 started to run f5773d90f9 out shouting, and 4f46944a1f Asha, who was 432edc229c watching them, also c984248061 drew her sword. “First Legion of 0b7df0239a the Haven Knights, 6dbde224d0 protect the Pervaz fe9367b0c8 Warriors! Second Legion, search 96b5ecc9fe the area and 20f9449b4c deal with any c9b32cab38 ambushes! Third Legion, defend the 6b3d998dfc Castle!” Asha quickly gave 7dca397283 the order and stood 4ea501d391 in front of the 22004be7ca first legion, waving her dbd708df93 sword forward. “Advance!” “Waaaah!” The ecc8f79b39 Igram tribe, who 24654853f9 were fighting the c6338284e6 Pervaz Knights, were 48e37c1008 speechless at the 32089df375 sight of the 2b56bfd037 Haven Knights pouring f6e9b7838f out one after c105464ed5 another. “What, what is 8f39c73c78 that!” “I don’t 069b4baf24 know! It looks beb6652c3d like they 96dc2e5d53 came from 0891a43ce8 somewhere else d78af2ec5d to help?” b25b0285e6 “Damn it! It’s too 49576b48a5 late to e996cc5f56 do anything 0ceee84220 about it 8686484d9d now! Push through!” d2fc3d71cf The Igram e85253ea0f warriors knew b64dfc3e28 that the 31a82cf91a situation was 9ba1204590 disadvantageous, but 10f2e20f6e they could 2e00ae8e04 not retreat. It was already be28f0df46 too late. “Did you 40bc4c59b5 want to 4dd3a6867f end up f9a77e0727 like the c54ca9039c Lure tribe? I’ll grant 3fcbb7c7a4 your wish!” 8c77d69428 Carlyle’s sword 6d224c1313 deeply pierced f1e334d9ef the chest 18a4710cbe of the c6b382f7b7 Igram warrior a268870907 who was 38f026f042 running towards 1c0647e8df him. The morale of a4a38baa76 both Carlyle and aef7fc5562 all the Pervaz ec150d9224 warriors was skyrocketing 6c37793542 due to the 0ffd7d6425 fact that there d20ac74c4e were people behind 73b2a3bb34 them to take 9d62614e19 over. At that moment, when d55bf297fa the sound of weapons 237c7c21fa clashing, screams, shouts and 28c37f71a3 neighing of horses were 93b9a2f968 noisy, someone who seemed 09f4ccefb5 to be the leader 4f8f8ace26 of the Igram attack 204585421f force shouted: “Call the 2ba9779c6f rear guard! Hurry!” At 8822de099c that moment, aa75b82e0b Carlyle’s gaze 3195518822 turned to 08c284c039 the direction 02c6d8d79f the Igram e358f4257a leader was 039cac87cc pointing with ea0aab919a his fingertips. At the same time, c899c26c42 Hector shouted: “It’s Mount 97178bc9ea Cruze, lord!” The thought 14db3c00a7 of crossing the rugged 6528451f69 Mount Cruze was a 10245eb5f9 crazy one, but if 4c24204621 they succeeded, the rewards 6d7b9cb8a8 would be endless. “Damn it, Decker! Take Hector, Danilo, 7946513ec5 and a hundred b6f5340bc0 warriors! Go!” Carlyle shouted urgently. But Decker, who d063f12480 had been looking b6e13535c2 back, smiled and c573479a10 replied. “I don’t think 7427fed34f you have to 10ce7cd99d worry about the 9ae912c9cb rear! Her Highness Asha is 88317d62f6 already on her way f775e79e21 there!” Just then, Carlyle c85dd4a9fa saw a group of bb65d46db9 knights riding across the ae437b3309 Kiker Plain towards Mount a61541b086 Cruze. To be exact, to ad29940f1d the incarnation of Aguiles, f3568dc8c4 who was leading the 6e9e061229 charge with a red 21e5ec2642 cloak and black hair 3267dd177e flying in the wind. “Her Highness Asha, what 5ffc76d9e0 a great person she 7a775564e7 is! Let’s leave Mount d0f60216bf Cruze to Her ee3fcf5013 Highness and wipe 60d216d933 out these bastards!” fc2171f046 Decker laughed and c26b0b61c4 brandished his sword. Carlyle didn’t 1c60ef22be like the dc12e91270 expression “great 5dd59dba81 person,” but 13020399a1 he felt af224f53da his strength 394b23ee33 surge at cba861dd2b the thought ef5c1ec6a4 of simply 5c8a06d234 wiping out 980c06ccaa the enemy d0a768a3b5 before him. “You rat bastards! You dare 42688240ae to attack d267b82769 from behind?” 4945472c40 His wild 61bbae7f53 eyes scanned 485fcb1494 the barbarians, b666869457 and the 801c1faa4a sword of 2b5fa6b1cc death that a0d6eda93b won victory 1a3ac12eae from Pervaz 4b48fc34b5 began to da401967c7 wave on d8edb658f1 the battlefield ff9245f539 again. That day, they won ef0ac7fb52 a great victory after d58205365e an unusually short battle.beccbf89dd431d20