"Beautiful..."

On a ridge somewhere in the Notasia mountain range, Aurier stood on high ground, facing the increasingly bleak chill of the autumn wind as he gazed out over the vast plain below the mountains.

The sweeping green stretched from the foot of the mountains all the way to the horizon, like an ocean thick with seaweed, its color not faded in the slightest even in late autumn.

The Empire’s northern plain, also known as the Harvey Plain, was named after Harvey Dirk, the Imperial marquis who had conquered this land a hundred years ago, in commemoration of his great achievements in expanding the Empire’s territory.

But one hundred and fifty-three years ago, half of this region, together with the Notasia mountain range known as a natural stronghold, had another name—the Kingdom’s South Nfral Territory.

This had once been the southernmost edge of the Kingdom. The wheat and wine produced here had been famous far and wide, but now... it belonged to the Empire, and with it, the wheat and wine that created enormous wealth had become the Empire’s northernmost natural barrier.

"I see. There really was something like that, wasn’t there? But it was so long ago I forgot."

The Witch of Repentance stood beside Aurier. She did not share the emotion and grandeur rising in him at that moment. She was only thinking about how many people would be dragged into this blazing war if the Kingdom’s army drove straight in from here and attacked the great cities built across this plain.

But that was all it was—thinking.

Even the Witch of Repentance, who had no military experience at all and was a complete outsider in such matters, knew that if they did not chew through the hard bone that was Fort Notasia, then even if the Kingdom’s army could cross the mountains by that narrow path and bypass the Imperial forces stationed there... without military supplies, logistics, or a retreat route, once the enemy came to its senses, it would be easy to pin them down and crush them deep inside Imperial territory.

"Would it be better if there were cavalry?" the Witch of Repentance asked.

"Horses can’t get through that little path. It’s too rugged."

Aurier said, "And as you can see, the Empire controls vast grasslands with a mild climate. They breed more horses than the Kingdom does, and their cavalry is more elite too."

"Is that so?"

The Witch of Repentance # Nоvеlight # sighed. "It sounds like the Kingdom really is inferior in every way."

"...That was only in the past."

The muscle in Aurier’s cheek twitched. "As long as we can take Fort Notasia, the strategic advantage between the Kingdom and the Empire will reverse."

"Oh? Then how did it happen a hundred and fifty years ago—"

"The past was the past. The present is the present!"

"Hehe, don’t be angry, Your Highness. I know."

The Witch of Repentance’s soft fingers stroked Aurier’s cheek again. Her tone was so warm, so gentle, it seemed to soften even the cutting chill on the cliffside.

"I only wanted to confirm your resolve one more time."

"My resolve is firmer than ever."

Aurier’s face remained expressionless, but his breathing had grown slightly hurried.

"As long as what you said is true."

"Of course."

Her long robe swayed in the wind, and Aurier seemed at last to catch a glimpse of the stunning face revealed beneath the hood.

Smiling, the Witch of Repentance said with absolute certainty, 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Just watch, Your Highness. A real grand performance is about to begin."

...

...

"Kid."

"Kid..."

"Kid, wake up already. Get up, it’s time to сменить караул—"

The violent shaking jolted the young man—whose face still retained a trace of boyishness—out of sleep. He sprang up from the corner of the wall and fumbled wildly for his weapon.

"Reporting, sir, I wasn’t slacking off!"

"Heh... impressive, kid. You’re trying to suck up to your superiors even in your dreams."

The young man stood ramrod straight, but after waiting quite a while, he still did not receive an order from Baron Penick, who always wore that dead-man’s-face expression. Instead, all he heard was a somewhat hoarse, mocking voice.

He rubbed his eyes, finally waking up all the way.

"What the hell, it’s just you, One-Eye, you old bastard."

Standing beside him was an ugly man with a rough cloth eyepatch over one eye. His face was lined with wrinkles and looked very old, but those marks were not the traces of long years. They were medals carved into him by the wind and sun of military life.

He was not an old man. He was an old soldier.

"Old bastard? Heh. Beck, you brat really are getting worse and worse about respecting your elders."

One-Eye cursed as usual. He looked fierce enough to scare children into tears, but in truth he did not care at all about this rookie junior’s disrespect. Grinning, he held out an oil-paper parcel and a chunk of black bread.

"Look what I brought you. Lunch! Only your senior One-Eye would be thoughtful enough to pick up your share for you too when you couldn’t get away."

One-Eye flashed his blackened teeth, looking for all the world like a simple, honest good man.

But Beck looked at him suspiciously. Would this guy, who usually had no sense of decorum at all and didn’t resemble a steady veteran in the slightest, really be this kind?

With that doubt in mind, Beck opened the oil-paper parcel first—the thing he looked forward to most every day... and then he froze.

"The meat... my jerky..."

Beck’s eyes widened. "Why is there only this little?"

Ever since Beck enlisted, the Empire had been steadily losing ground under the Kingdom’s offensive. But the more they retreated and contracted, the more clearly Beck could feel that the food and supplies in the army had actually become more abundant.

He didn’t understand it himself, but according to some of the more reliable old soldiers, once they had pulled back into a defensive position, the pressure on Imperial logistics in the rear had actually eased dramatically.

Take Fort Notasia, for example. Behind it lay the richly productive northern plain of the Empire, and harvest season had just passed. Vast quantities of supplies could easily be transported into the fortress, so even if they held out for a year or two, there would be no need to worry about going hungry.

But those veterans had also said a year or two would definitely not be necessary. They only had to wait a month or two more. Once the other reinforcing armies arrived, the Empire would surely strike back under the Empress’s orders, and that day would not be far off.

"You ate my jerky?" Beck suddenly glared at One-Eye.

He had grown up in a remote little frontier town in the Empire and had never eaten anything good, so even though the jerky rationed out in the army was salty and hard... it was still meat, something rare for him. It was what he looked forward to most every day.

"Ate it?"

One-Eye put on a stern face. "Nonsense. What are you talking about? Do I look like the kind of man who steals food?"

"You absolutely do! There are still shreds of meat stuck in your teeth!"

"Ah, that was from yesterday... no, just now..."

Seeing Beck’s expression grow more and more severe and his gaze sharper and sharper, One-Eye realized he wasn’t going to bluff his way through this. He quickly leaned in with a grin and patted Beck on the shoulder.

"Come on, so what if I ate it? I’ll cover you on the battlefield later."

"Who wants your protection!"

"Hey! You’ve got no idea how lucky a new recruit like you is to have an old soldier covering him in battle. It’s no different from getting an extra life. Plenty of people would beg for that and never get it!"

"I can protect myself just fine. Compared to that, my meat—"

Beck was just about to have a serious discussion with One-Eye about how he intended to repay the stolen jerky when a long horn blast suddenly rang out in the distance, cutting him off.

"That sound?"

One-Eye tilted his head and listened, his face changing slightly. "It’s those Kingdom bastards starting an attack!"

"Huh? Right now?"

"If not now, then when? You think they’re going to wait for you to finish lunch?"

One-Eye instantly dropped the joking tone, spun around, snatched up his weapon, and ran for the top of the wall. His movements were incredibly nimble, and in the blink of an eye he was already in position at his post.

Beck was much slower. He wolfed down the black bread in a few quick bites, then looked at the half piece of jerky still left in his hand. After hesitating for a long time, he finally decided to save it until later, once everything was over, and tucked it into his clothes.

Half stumbling, half swept along by the hurried flow of soldiers, he struggled for quite a while before reaching One-Eye’s side. Standing on tiptoe and craning his neck, he peered down below the wall, but the yellow dust clouding the air blocked his sight, and he could see nothing clearly.

"Your helmet," One-Eye said with a glance at him. "Straighten it."

"Oh."

Beck hurriedly fixed his helmet and muttered, "It was only crooked a little. What difference does it make..."

"That little bit might cost you your life!"

At that moment, One-Eye’s whole bearing changed. His voice turned shockingly stern.

But Beck was still not convinced. "What do you mean, cost me my life? Those Kingdom dog bastards are probably just sending another little squad to probe us again. Yesterday Baron Derik beat them so badly they were running all over the place, and they still dare come back today? They’re asking for a beating..."

"Shh—"

Beck was about to go on, probably tracing back earlier Imperial victories to prove how weak those Kingdom bastards were, when One-Eye suddenly lowered his voice, signaling for silence. Then he cocked his head slightly and said, "Something sounds off today."

"What sounds off?"

Beck frowned, then looked at One-Eye suspiciously. "I’m telling you, are you doing this on purpose? Looking for an excuse not to pay me back for my jerky? I’m telling you right now, my meat absolutely has to—"

"Get down!"

Before Beck could finish, One-Eye, who had been staring into the dust, suddenly roared and slammed him flat to the ground.

"You old bastard, what the hell are you—what are you freaking out over now?"

Beck flew into a rage and instinctively tried to struggle up, but the moment he lifted his head, he froze. His whole body went rigid.

Because he saw a heavy black cloud pressing down toward the fortress.

But it was not a black cloud.

It was a rain of arrows so dense it seemed to cover the entire sky.

The deafening blare of horns poured into Beck’s ears, surging like a flood, mixed with shrill screams that seemed ready to tear his eardrums apart.

Beck stared blankly for a long moment before he finally understood what those horns and shrieks meant...

The Kingdom had launched its full-scale assault.