Translator: Cinder Translations
...
With the help of the towering and sturdy walls of Eagle Beak Pass, the kingdom's army's first assault was repelled.
However, their attack had also caused heavy casualties among the defenders on the pass. And due to a catastrophic event that had just occurred in the rear, Eagle Beak Pass was now completely cut off from reinforcements.
"Does anyone have any ideas?"
"Speak up! Have you all turned mute?"
Seeing his subordinates remain silent, Duke Giles became even more irritated.
"Listen to me, all of you!"
He swung his cloak as he paced back and forth, his boots stomping heavily on the ground, producing loud thudding sounds. The noise made the gathered officers feel as if a massive hammer was pounding on their hearts.
"We have already suffered a disgraceful defeat at Phantom Wing Fortress! We absolutely cannot allow another humiliation at Eagle Beak Pass!"
Giles declared loudly, "In the name of the supreme ruler of Aldor's southern frontier, I swear that I will defeat Rodney's army here!"
With a clang, he drew the sword from his waist. "I will—"
Just as his subordinates prepared to listen to their lord's rousing speech, a deep rumbling, like muffled thunder, echoed from outside.
The kingdom's army was bombarding them again.
The sudden cannon fire interrupted Giles, deflating his momentum. He tried to continue his speech but found himself unable to remember what he had been about to say.
Annoyed, he sheathed his sword with a sharp motion.
"Your Grace!" A military officer rushed toward the room in a panic, only to be blocked by the guards at the door. He could do nothing but shout from outside.
"Let him in!"
With Giles' permission, the officer stumbled inside, gasping for breath.
"Why are you panicking? Is the enemy launching another assault?" Giles demanded.
"They haven't attacked the walls! But... after the bombardment, they fired many arrows with papers tied to them. There are words written on them," the officer said as he stepped forward, handing over a crumpled piece of paper.
Giles unfolded it and nearly passed out from rage. The message claimed that Frog's Croak Town behind Eagle Beak Pass had fallen to the kingdom's forces and that the defenders at the pass were now surrounded.
Utterly despicable! Truly vile!
He tore the paper into shreds and shouted with a murderous glare, "What was the reaction from the soldiers on the walls?"
The words on the paper must have been troubling. Could they be true? The officer hesitated. He couldn't read, but some soldiers atop the walls could. They had read the contents aloud—the fall of Frog's Croak Town and the encirclement of Eagle Beak Pass.
Naturally, word spread quickly among the troops stationed on the walls, causing an uproar.
"The town behind us, Frog's Croak Town, has already fallen!" the officer reported with a stiff voice.
"Heavens above!" Giles roared. "Use your brains! We are still holding this pass! Do you think those lackeys of Rodney can fly? Could they have dropped behind us from the sky? Have any of you seen anything flying overhead these past few days?"
Huh? That made sense. The officer scratched his head. He wasn't from this region, so he didn't know if there were passable routes through the nearby mountains. Even if he did, he wouldn't believe a full-fledged army could bypass Eagle Beak Pass through such rugged terrain—it was called the Devil's Belly for a reason.
Duke Giles spoke sternly, "This is a ploy by those northern barbarians, an attempt to shake our morale with lies. But I trust that any soldier with half a brain wouldn't believe such a pathetic trick."
"Spread the order—collect and destroy all those papers immediately! Anyone caught spreading these rumors will be severely punished!"
"Yes, Your Grace!" The officer felt somewhat reassured, saluted, and left.
Inside the chamber, the high-ranking officers remained silent. Unlike the skeptical soldiers outside, they knew the messages were true. The papers fired by the enemy weren't just scraps of parchment; they were nooses tightening around their throats, making it hard to breathe.
---
"Samal!" Giles bellowed.
"Yes, Your Grace!" Samal stiffened at attention.
Giles frowned. "We must recapture Frog's Croak Town before the soldiers learn the truth! I'm putting you in charge of this mission. I will give you…"
He hesitated. He still didn't know how many kingdom troops had made it to the rear.
Giles was certain that the enemy had circled through the mountains, but how many of them had managed to do so? Two hundred? Five hundred? A thousand?
Frog's Croak Town had only fifty of their own troops stationed there, so the kingdom's forces must have numbered more than that. But they shouldn't be too many.
As a commander, Giles had personally scouted the terrain in the nearby mountains. Based on his own experience, organizing a large-scale march through the craggy ridges of the Devil's Belly was nearly impossible.
At most, there should be around a thousand of them.
"I will give you 2,500 soldiers. Retake Frog's Croak Town as soon as possible!"
Though Frog's Croak Town was just a small settlement without walls, Giles, wanting to be cautious, pulled as many troops as he could spare from the already stretched forces at Eagle Beak Pass and assigned them to Samal.
But Giles hadn't expected that the kingdom's forces had actually sent an entire infantry regiment behind his lines. And a regiment in the kingdom's new army numbered 3,000 soldiers.
Samal accepted the command and swiftly set out with his troops.
Giles, meanwhile, felt it necessary to rally his army's morale.
Under his orders, the majority of the soldiers, aside from those at critical positions, were gathered.
The sheer cliffs of Eagle Beak Pass were bathed in the crimson hues of dusk, resembling bloodstained fangs. Duke Giles stood atop a high tower, his family's banner flapping wildly in the mountain wind.
He could almost feel the stone beneath his feet tremble in sync with the soldiers' heavy breathing. Many of them were already injured, their bandages stained with blood, their armor dented and scarred. Yet their gazes remained resolute as they looked up at him.
Giles had always been generous to those who served him, from the highest officers to the lowest foot soldiers. It was with their loyalty that he had secured the southern frontier of the kingdom.
"Look at the land beneath your feet!"
With a swift motion, he unsheathed his sword. The setting sun cast his shadow upon the rock, making it seem as though a giant had spread its dark cloak.
"Those northern bandits want to trample our fields, burn our granaries, steal our sisters, and take every last coin from the people of the south!"
His voice, deliberately amplified, echoed through the mountain pass.
"My loyal and courageous warriors, tell me—shall we allow our homeland to be ravaged by these thieves?"
A deep, guttural roar erupted from the ranks.
"Never!"
"Never!"
"Never!"
The voices merged into a tidal wave, crashing through the valley.
Giles nodded, raising his massive sword high. "Then we shall fight to the bitter end!"
"For the South!"
"For House Giles!"
The tide of voices surged even higher.
(End of the Chapter)
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