Chapter 356: 187. To the Theocratic Empire (Part One)
Translated by A Passing Wanderer
Edited by RED
In the main plaza of the city of Chaves…
I was sitting down inside the commander’s barracks.
A large map of the surrounding land was spread out on a table. it showed the locations of the Kingdom of Lome and its capital, as well as the fiefdom of Chaves on the border regions.
Inside the barracks was Hans, Charlotte, Alice, Harman, and the King of Frants.
I swept my gaze at them and began speaking, “The Fire Giant is currently marching towards our position.”
Really now, we weren’t even given enough time to take a breather here. For some reason, that Fire Giant bastard was directly marching towards this place while completely ignoring other territories.
If you could call this a saving grace, then that would be with the fact that Jötnar were simply trudging along at the moment. However, the length of their footsteps couldn’t be compared to that of regular humans. Also, they didn’t need to rest, and didn’t care whether it was the middle of a day or night. That meant their marching speed was truly absurd to behold.
“Charlotte,” I called out.
She nodded smartly and pointed to the map. “Judging from their walking speed, they should arrive at our location in around six days.”
Humans would’ve needed to travel without taking any breaks on speedy horses to cover that distance in the same amount of time, yet the giants only needed to trundle along.
“When that happens, the fiefdom of Chaves will be engulfed in flames of destruction, sire.”
So far, we’d only managed to spend two days in this city to rest. But if we didn’t want to get caught up in the giants’ pursuit, we’d have to lead the refugees across the Lome Kingdom’s border starting tomorrow morning, at the very least.
“In that case, let us depart right away, and…” Hans quickly spoke up, sounding a bit frightened.
Too bad for him, though, Alice shook her head. “No, that’s not going to be realistic. I’ve been taking care of the sickly within the camp, but it’s not just them. Everyone else is suffering from too much fatigue, Your Majesty. They have all reached their limits, both mentally and physically. We need to rest for at least another two days, sire.”
It seemed that departing now was impossible. Everyone was too exhausted to do so.
“B-but, at this rate!…” Hans spoke up in a helpless voice.
Harman carried on from there, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “…They will definitely catch up to us.”
Escaping the borders of the Lome Kingdom and entering the Theocratic Empire’s territory should take the refugees around seven days. Thanks to how large our procession of refugees was, the giants would quickly catch up to us with their ridiculous movement speed.
“How about assigning a portion of the combat force to buy more time?” the King of Frants offered his opinion. He thanked me for saving his family, then continued on, “Luring them away by dispatching a regiment of mounted troops could work, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“No, that’s not going to work. The giants do not get tired and more importantly, they are too fast for that,” I sighed.
Sure, the cavalry should be able to lure the giants away. But that would mean the sure death of the cavalry troop.
Most importantly, there was the Fire Giant to consider. Just being around that creature would make it hard to breathe, which in turn would exhaust the horses that much faster.
In the end, they would get caught in only a matter of a few hours, resulting in unnecessary sacrifices.
“For now, we don’t have any other alternative but to run.”
Even I didn’t feel confident at fighting off the Fire Giant and the three hundred Jötnar following it, plus other sundry vampires that might show up alongside them. The same story would apply to the Heavenly Army, too; not even they would be able to endure this ridiculous assault.
I made up my mind. “We shall depart the first thing tomorrow morning.”
We had basically only two days of rest in the city of Chaves. And now, over ten thousand refugees had no choice but to embark on a seven days-long reckless trek across hostile terrain.
“And in case the Fire Giant does catch up to us…” I didn’t know what to say at the end of my sentence.
When I remained quiet, Charlotte piped up in my place, “In the worst case scenario, someone will most likely have to remain behind to stop the enemy.”
Everyone gathered in the conference venue made stunned faces.
“And I’m most suited to stopping their advances,” said Charlotte while bravely stepping forward. But I simply shook my head.
After she said her piece, others also spoke up as well, saying that they would like to volunteer to stay behind.
“…All meaningless sacrifices.”
One sentence from me, and everyone went silent.
Even if someone were to stay behind, they would only stall the giants for a dozen-plus hours at most. The damn giants would catch up to us soon again after that.
“Nothing will change by sacrificing yourself. Someone staying behind is the absolute worst case scenario, anyway.”
To be honest, I really, really didn’t want to play that card if I didn’t have to. I hated the very idea of losing someone I knew. If someone were to stay behind and stall the Jötnar, then it would have to be someone who could do the most effective job.
That’s right, there was no one other than me who could stop them the longest. Me staying behind should be the best method available to improve our odds of survival.
It was at that moment that I sensed this peculiar gaze lingering on me.
I glanced around and noticed Alice quietly staring at my face. “What’s wrong? You have something to add as well, Alice?”
“No, sire. It’s nothing.” She shook her head side to side.
I tilted my head a little, then addressed everyone else. “Do not let the refugees know about what’s going on. We need everyone to be as settled and stable of mind as possible, after all.”
“Excuse me…” Hans raised his hand. “What should we do about the supplies, sire?”
Hans had brought along enough supplies and provisions that, according to our original plan, should’ve allowed us to camp in the fiefdom of Chaves for about a week. That meant there was a lot of stuff. A heck of a lot.
“Do we need to abandon it all, sire?”
If we set off tomorrow, then other than the bare-minimum necessary amount for the forced marching, we’d have to throw the rest away. They would just get in the way of the evacuation efforts, after all.
“No, don’t. Distribute the supplies right away. The best way to settle people down would be to let them enjoy a relaxing night’s rest with full bellies.”
The refugees had been starving. I figured that it’d be a good idea to distribute enough food to fill their bellies up to the brim and grant them relatively comfortable places to sleep tonight.
Hans nodded in understanding at my order.
“Okay. Now that things are sorted out, this meeting is done and dusted. I’m sure you’re all feeling tired, so get some much deserved breaks.”
“His Imperial Majesty has released provisions for us all!”
The city’s main plaza was currently in a celebratory mood.
Tables were brought out from the abandoned houses found inside the city and were lined up in a row. Plates of food were then placed on top.
We weren’t even talking about luxurious food, either; just about every food type available was things like hard bread that didn’t spoil easily, soup that was mostly water, and those easy-to-eat army provisions.
But to these refugees who had been starving for the past few days, even this sort of food would come across as god-sent.
Refugees settled down together and shared the food amongst themselves. They chugged the water down while enjoying themselves considerably.
I wore a nondescript robe and hood to hide my identity so that I could survey the situation in peace. The tense faces of the refugees seemed to have softened, which was a good sign.
It indicated they were relaxing more.
If they were in a panicked state and couldn’t get a proper rest because of that, tomorrow’s march would’ve been negatively affected. I wanted them to at least enjoy full bellies and get some good rest tonight, at least.
“Allow me to thank you all.”
I heard a familiar voice coming from somewhere nearby and shifted my gaze over there. That’s when I spotted Gril, Adolf, and Yuria in front of one of the army tents. Marcus was standing with them.
“Although I can’t reward you right now, once we make our way back to the Theocratic Empire, I shall speak to His Majesty the Holy Emperor on your behalf.”
Yuria rejoiced greatly and asked back, “Seriously, sir?”
“Haha, now Charlotte will seriously look at me as her father!” Gril spoke up while standing tall and proud.
But Adolf just sat there, silently drinking booze out of a mug.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at them, and walked over to their position.
Adolf discovered me first and the booze in his mouth spewed out. “T-The Ho…!”
I pressed a finger to my lips, indicating that he should keep it down. It was meant to tell him that I didn’t want to raise a ruckus right now.
Gril’s eyes widened as well after recognising me, while Yuria curiously looked up at me, her head tilting this way and that. She even muttered out, “Feels like I’ve seen your face somewhere…”