Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 255: Betrayal

Serdan needed a drink, a strong one.

She was riding one of the strange riding monsters that the warlord company brought along, and she had to tie herself with roots so she would not fall to her death, something that had caused amusement among the guards surrounding their warlord.

Serdan scowled but did not have the drunk excuse to snap back at people who could fold her in two. They were all Errant Knights too. She was the only Knight rank there.

She stood beside her Captain, Zenon, who was in charge of the borderland Knights. They were all standing beside the warlord.

"We have seen their forces. They are not any weaker than us," Vorath said.

They were standing in front of the combined forces of both Black Sun and borderland Knights. And even though Atrox did not specifically say who to lead it, since he did not put Pomora in charge, it meant he wanted Vorath to lead it.

But it seemed like the man wanted everyone to be carried along. Behind them, the army spread in a long, straight line, two ranks deep, stretching across the battlefield.

Vorath said he was going with the simple formation.

But what Serdan did not understand was the placement of the Knight ranks. Squires formed the main line, Knights reinforced weak spots, and Errant Knights waited in the rear to take advantage of the chaos the two would create.

What concerned Serdan was that the Errant Knights were concentrated on the right side. The right side where their own borderland army stood.

In front of them stretched Thrain’s forces, pouring out of the sloping hill onto the plain grounds. If it were up to Serdan, she would have ordered that they begin attacking with their flying ships and towers immediately.

But then again, she was not in charge.

Vorath and Captain Zenon spoke, but she tuned them out as she continued to watch the pouring army in front of her while silently lamenting her inability to get herself a drink.

"...This bastard should stop hesitating and just tell the fight to start already... I feel like I am going to snap at any moment..."

Suddenly, she sat up and turned toward Vorath with a small frown on her face. "He is hesitating?"

Just then, one of the flying ships exploded, raining down hot, blasting debris on the army below. Serdan shouted in panic and turned to watch the commotion as the army rippled, trying to get away from the falling ship.

Another explosion happened, but this time Serdan was frozen in shock because she saw how it happened. The ships that exploded came from those positioned above the borderland army. They were the flying ships given to them by the army.

And the attackers were from the Black Sun. The Black Sun was attacking the borderland army.

Serdan felt ice in her bones as she turned to Vorath, her grip on her wooden rod tightening. But just as she finished turning, something splattered her face. Something warm that smelled of iron. She heard a heavy thud and a ball rolling on the ground in front of her.

She looked at it, her mouth working but no sounds coming out. She looked stunned. The ball was the head of Captain Zenon—the man who had just been talking with the warlord.

Serdan touched her face and looked at the blood that coated her hand. She then turned to the warlord, who was looking at her in flat amusement.

"He talked too much. You better not take after him. I need to send someone back to relay what their eyes see, and you have been chosen. Do not worry. Just sit back and enjoy the show," Vorath said.

Serdan could not say anything. She was gripped by a fear that seemed to have been shoved down her throat, blocking it. All she could do was stare dumbly at the blood-coated sword in his hand.

But then the shouting from the army in front of her reached her ears, and she perked up. Thrain’s forces were rushing them, pouring down like a black river. Above them floated flying ships and towers mixed with the occasional flying monsters.

But it was not their appearance that jarred and stunned her. It was the way they were moving—totally ignoring the main army and instead swinging to the right where the borderland Knights stood.

The realization of what was happening hit her like a bolt to the head, and she gasped. The Black Sun had betrayed them. Her eyes widened as she watched the Black Sun turn. The Errant Knights who had been positioned so carefully swung their attacks into motion and cornered the borderland Knights. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Something twisted in her heart, and her face crumbled. She knew it was war, but not like that. Not getting slaughtered without even having a chance to do anything.

It was not a fair fight at all—if it could even be called one. Most Squires and Knight ranks died first, fast and brutally, as the Errant Knights did not hold back. They were the first to break formation and run.

A faint mist seemed to cover the battlefield. Different colored lights flickered as attacks flew through the air. Bodies went down and were trampled, turning the ground into a paste of blood and gore as inhuman feet crushed whatever was in their path without remorse.

This was the first time Serdan had seen a clash between large numbers of Knights at once. She did not know when she fell to the ground and retched. Disgust coiled in her gut as the wind blew the smell of the battlefield to her nose.

It smelled of guts, shit, and blood. The sight and the smell were instantly burned into her memory. People she knew were gone—just like that—turned into another body on the ground.

But the battle was not completely one-sided. The borderland Knights also took down some of their opponents, but it was not a matter of raw strength. It was a problem of numbers.

Then she heard shouting as they finally stopped fighting and started to run. Dust billowed in the air as figures flickered and blurred across the ground.

Flying ships gave chase, shooting down Knights from the air.

Serdan shivered. She did not know what was worse—to be the onlooker or to be part of those fighting.