The Warrior's Ballad

Chapter 118

Translator: WilliaWhat is the meaning of tears? Is it joy, sorrow? Or is it resentment?

But can I bear the weight of those tears? Who am I. I am not such a great person.

However, even though there was something I could do, I couldn’t just pass by.

If one can cut down a person out of compassion, then why shouldn't one protect people out of compassion?

And I had already lived that way. Since the days at the academy. Not in the sense of sacrificing for the whole, but by doing what I could and thereby saving others. Like that time I set out in the cold winter to eliminate the Ernburg Five.

It may not have been just Roy, the disciple, who was maturing little by little, but Ricardt himself too.

“Ricky.”

Marie called. When he turned to her, Bori was also looking at him, and Bremen, Roy, Beka, and the siblings' mother were all looking at him. The look in their eyes all carried the same thought.

We respect your decision. No, we trust you. No matter what happens, we will follow you. Their eyes shimmered with that resolve.

Since when, from where did this trust begin to grow?

“Hm......”

Ricardt bowed his head and thought for a moment, then spoke to Harbert, who was kneeling.

“Let’s try what we can. But, I am not such a great person. I don’t know what you expect of me, but hope and salvation must be found by yourself. I am just helping a little.”

After saying that, he turned and descended the mountain. As his friends and companions followed, the people also rose from their spots and trailed after them in a crowd.

Spring flowers were in full bloom along the mountain path, swaying in the wind, but Ricardt’s heart was not entirely light.

The Kingdom of Adeloron was a vast basin. The south was a mountainous area, covered by moderately high mountain ranges, while the north was plains. Thus, since ancient times, the north farmed, and the south lived off livestock.

According to recorded history, the Kingdom of Adeloron had existed far longer than the Empire.

Although it had been inevitably incorporated into the Empire due to past invasions by orcs and Nordics, and wars with the Salaman, it did not hold a strong sense of belonging to the Empire.

One reason for that was the long-standing enmity with the Bering tribe of the northwest, now known as Beringen. The place where Beringen Academy was located.

Of course, tribes had now disappeared and it held little meaning, but there was still some lingering hostility.

People living in Adeloron were called Adelornians. They were exclusive toward outsiders, had their own unique culture, and were strongly proud of it.

However, on the other hand, they were somewhat behind the times. Perhaps that was the most fundamental reason for the current crisis.

Once, in its heyday, it had roared as the world’s first country to establish a knight system, but that was now a tale of the past.

What remained were only songs, heroic epics of past knight heroes, and hollow ballads.

Who could possibly save this ruined country? Even if those heroes all returned alive, it still seemed impossible.

However, because Ricardt didn’t have ambitions like saving the nation or redeeming its people, perhaps he was able to attempt this impossible task.

Just seeing what lay ahead, and finding what he needed to do from there. That was all.

Following the river, if you walked along the northwestern border of the kingdom with Beringen toward the northeast, at some point the mountain ranges on both sides broke off and a plain opened wide.

Adelivari was located around there. It was a city that developed after a past King of Adeloron discovered a hot spring there. It had been the king’s retreat, a gateway city, and a trade hub.

Whether it was naturally that way or made artificially, the city sat halfway up the mountain on a vertical cliff about four to five meters high.

Its entrance looked like a narrow gap between cliffs, as if a giant had struck it with an axe. Stairs led straight up from there, and that was the only path to the main gate.

The problem was the enormous crowd below the mountain. In an age when it was rare for so many people to gather in one place, everyone following Ricardt was at a loss for words.

“This is......”

Bori couldn’t bring himself to say that this wasn’t it.

There were simply more people gathered than in most major cities. And this wasn’t even the entire crowd.

With 10,000 people, one side of a small mountain could be completely covered. With 20,000, the whole mountain. From 30,000 onward, even if you spread them out on the fields, you couldn’t see from one end to the other.

Ten thousand combat troops, with fifty thousand others trailing behind them. Just hearing the numbers didn’t quite convey it, but seeing it with your own eyes, there was nothing you could do except be overwhelmed.

And we’re supposed to fight these people? It seemed more realistic to fight a typhoon or a lightning storm.

But not Ricardt. While everyone else was too stunned to pull themselves together, he alone calmly surveyed the scene.

Before long, he suddenly called everyone together.

“Everyone, gather around.”

People gathered near Ricardt. Bori and Marie looked bewildered, and the soldiers who had been guarding the border already looked as though they had resigned themselves to death.

It was also Ricardt’s role to present them with a possibility and help them steel their resolve. Since he had chosen to act, he had to do it right.

“Everyone, pull yourselves together. We’re not going to face all those people head-on. Just listen to me for a second. See that over there?”

Ricardt pointed somewhere off in the distance.

“No matter how large the force is, they can’t climb up the front. The enemy knows that too, so they’re just setting up camp and loitering around the area. There are no signs of combat. That means there’s only one thing the enemy can do. Go around, climb the mountain, and then attack the city from above.”

People followed Ricardt’s hand and examined the battlefield. At first, they had no thoughts, but as Ricardt explained, it felt like they were beginning to grasp a thin thread of understanding.

“Look at that side of the mountain. You can already see people climbing it. See those makeshift structures? But how many troops do you think are up there? From what I see, not even a thousand. Climbing a pathless mountain to attack a city isn’t as easy as it sounds. You all guarded the border, you know this better than anyone.”

The soldiers who had joined Ricardt were those who had guarded the frontier, people who originally lived in mountain strongholds. And since it was their homeland, they knew this mountain better than anyone.

“It’s simple. We go even farther around, sweep those bastards out. Marie, Bori, and I will lead. Their defenses are practically nonexistent, so even if they outnumber us, we just have to push through. Bremen ssi and Elia ssi, lead the others and follow us slowly from behind.”

Ricardt’s orders were straightforward. Circle around even farther, climb the mountain, then follow the ridge to strike the enemy from behind and drive them out. That was it.

Now that they heard it, it really didn’t seem like much.

“Since it’s a trade city, the key is defending the pass behind the city. If we lose that, it’s all over. As long as the supply line is open, we can hold out as long as needed. First, let’s enter the city, join forces with the people there, and then discuss the next plan.”

Ricardt mixed casual and polite speech. There was a sense that he used casual speech on purpose to be more assertive when giving orders.

“Let’s go. Marie, Bori, and I will tear through the enemy, and you all just keep formation and push through.”

Ricardt repeated even the simple instructions and moved out first.

As they took a longer detour to climb the mountain, they saw people living in tents scattered throughout the area.

Among them were mercenaries, but because the crowd was so massive, even upon seeing Ricardt and the soldiers, they simply assumed it was some unfamiliar unit or group.

They never once imagined they were enemies or that they’d be attacked.

And it made sense. At this point, who would dare attack them? They vaguely believed that. With so many people here, attack us? What kind of crazy bastard would?

Of course, Ricardt wasn’t crazy. Neither were his friends or the soldiers following him now.

But the lack of proper trails made the climb difficult. The slope was steep, and they had to use trees for support to climb.

The soldiers, essentially mountain troops, climbed like mountain beasts, but the civilians following midway struggled. So time was spent helping them along.

Once they reached the ridgeline, there was an old path that soldiers or merchants had once used, stretching along the ridge.

It was hard to spread out in formation, but it wasn’t really a formation, it was more about standing as widely apart as possible.

Some of the group walked along the ridgeline, while others had to traverse the slope. It was somewhat dangerous, but they were familiar with the terrain, so it was fine.

Ricardt watched as the soldiers prepared, then slowly walked ahead with Marie and Bori.

Before long, they saw enemy troops who had climbed the mountain and were conducting an operation. It was unclear whether they were building a mountain fort or hastily assembling catapults, but they were chopping trees and putting things together. They were also leveling the ground with pickaxes and shovels.

It seemed the enemies weren’t fools, they knew this was the only method available, but the work was dragging.

The invincible Grantz’s subordinates were a kind of loose mercenary coalition, and they were disgruntled about why they had to participate in the operation at all.

In any case, they weren’t standing guard and paid no attention to any outside intrusion.

So, when Ricardt approached wearing a red cloak, they just stared at him blankly.

“Greetings.”

Since no one stopped him, Ricardt took the initiative to greet them first.

"......Who are you? I've never seen you before."

“I’m Ricky, newly assigned to this operation.”

Of course, the man had never heard the name before, but he just figured it was someone he didn’t know.

“I mean, we already have enough people, seriously. So, when are they sending up the booze? I’m dying of thirst here. Was the message not delivered?”

“Well, if you're that thirsty, go down and get it yourself.”

“What?”

The mercenary looked confused and asked again, but Ricardt suddenly kicked him in the chest. The man tumbled down the slope, hitting trees along the way, and the dull sound of bones breaking could be heard.

When one person fell to his death, the nearby mercenaries turned in shock. Just as they were thinking, “What was that?” Marie and Bori drew their swords.

As the violet and black stars glinted, the nearby mercenaries were instantly cut down and rolled down the slope, blood spraying everywhere.

Ricardt leisurely drew his sword and slashed the support beams of the hastily built wooden structure.

The structure slowly tilted, then collapsed and tumbled down the mountain with a crash. Dust billowed into the air. It was quite a spectacle in its own way.

From that moment, the tens of thousands of people below the mountain all turned to look at where Ricardt stood. Those who hadn’t seen were nudged by others and told to look over there.

But they still didn’t realize they were being attacked. They just assumed there had been an accident. Oh dear. They should’ve been more careful. How unfortunate.

Then, after a while, another structure collapsed. Screams could be heard, and if they looked closely, things seemed to be in disarray.

If they stared carefully, they could spot what looked like red flags here and there. Then suddenly, a loud shout echoed from the mountain.

It was the soldiers from the mountain stronghold who had joined Ricardt, shouting in unison.

“The prince has returned! Make way!”

“The prince has returned! Make way!”

From then on, mercenaries on the mountain were seen tumbling down even from afar. Uh......?

Someone was definitely attacking. Grantz, the so-called invincible, was under attack. It was clearly visible. But it took time for both Grantz and the people to accept that reality. Because it couldn’t possibly be true.

Then Ricardt, having completely taken control of the mountain pass, stood there looking down. He was so far away he looked like an ant, but he held a flaming sword that, in the eyes of the people, looked like a torch in broad daylight.

Ricardt burned the battle flag of some unknown mercenary unit under Grantz’s command. Then he tossed it aside carelessly and entered Adelivari through the back path.

The tens of thousands of people had been quietly watching what was happening on the mountain, but once Ricardt disappeared, a noisy commotion began to spread.

Everyone was saying the same thing.

Who came back?

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