Maxi didn't need to look back to know that Riftan was glaring furiously at her fleeing figure.
Straightening her back, she did her best to look dignified.
Only after making sure they were no longer visible did she look over her shoulder.
After carefully examining her surroundings, she looked up and saw Kuahel looking at her as if she were a strange creature.
Embarrassed, Maxi gave a small cough.
“Y-You said… you had something to ask me about the basilisk farm?”
“Specifically, to confirm something about the tunnel connected to the farm.”
Kuahel's response was short.
Seeing that he had no intention of reprimanding her for her outrageous behavior, the tension in Maxi's shoulders eased.
“But I have already submitted my report… which contains everything I know about the tunnel.”
"I doubt that.
There are always details that can't be documented," he replied, quickly guiding them to where the soldiers were dismantling the tents.
The men were almost finished packing everything.
Kuahel took her to a military barracks that had not yet been dismantled.
Standing at the entrance, Maxi looked around the dark tent.
Dying embers flickered in the brazier on one side, and next to it was a long table with several chairs.
She assumed that was where the Temple Knights held their meetings.
Kuahel took a roll of parchment from a small chest and unrolled it on the table.
"To use the tunnel in this war, we need to know everything about it.
You are the only person who knows the entire structure."
“A-Are you planning to infiltrate the city through the tunnel?”
Maxi walked to the table to examine the map.
The yellow parchment contained a representation of Pamela's Plateau, the same one she had seen in every strategy meeting.
Opening a bottle of ink, Kuahel checked the contents before handing it to her.
"It would be ideal, but the risk is too great.
The tunnel is simply too long.
Getting to the city from the basilisk farm would take at least five hours.
If the monsters destroy the tunnel or trap us inside, it would be a big problem."
His words chilled Maxi's heart.
“If the tunnel exit works the same way as the entrance…” she said, “it would certainly make it difficult for our army to infiltrate that way.”
She remembered the moment she dove into the tunnel after the goblin.
They were forced to continue descending because they were unable to reopen the hidden door.
As long as the door's mechanism remained a mystery, the tunnel was useless.
"Most of the hidden doors created by dark wizards were decorated with a snake head carving.
Moving it...
opened or closed the doors.
We also found similar devices in the ruins...
but we couldn't figure out how to operate them."
“That’s what we need to find out,” said Kuahel resolutely.
Maxi nodded, with a serious expression.
"I'm sure...
there are records about these devices.
I haven't looked into them yet because I don't consider them important...
but I will do so immediately."
"Good.
Now, I need you to draw the tunnel space."
Maxi frowned.
"My knowledge of it...
is somewhat sketchy.
As you know, I only had time to confirm that the tunnel was connected to the city."
"A simple sketch will do.
It will be better than nothing," he said bluntly.
He addressed the soldier who was at the entrance.
“Bring a meal for two.”
With that, the Temple Knight sat down at the table and gestured for her to start working without even asking for her consent.
Although irritated by the man's arrogance, Maxi reminded herself that he had rescued her from a potentially humiliating situation.
With a sigh, she pulled out a chair and sat down.
After maneuvering through the narrow gorge of the Pamela Plateau, the army crossed a snowy plain.
They traveled about twenty to twenty-five maltions
1
a day, and sometimes covered forty maltions if conditions were favorable.
However, the speed of progress gradually decreased each day.
The strenuous march quickly wore down the infantry.
It became increasingly difficult to lead the troops, with some divisions beginning to fall behind.
From atop his horse, Riftan frowned as he inspected the soldiers.
“We should slow down.”Princess Agnes, who was riding on his right, frowned.
"We can't go any slower.
To conserve food, we should speed up even more."
"There is a limit to the distance the infantry can cover on foot in a day.
If we keep pushing like this, most will collapse before the fighting even begins.
We must give the men more time to rest between marches so they can recover, and limit the daily march to twenty maltions."
After casting a thoughtful glance at the Wedon army, the princess reluctantly nodded.
"I agree.
I will discuss this with the other commanders tonight."
Riftan looked at the armies of Balto and Arex that marched far ahead.
Although Kuahel would likely follow his guidance, Richard Breston and the Arexian army commander would certainly be stubborn.
Both men were maddeningly impulsive and had been setting this relentless pace with no regard for how much their men could take.
Riftan grimaced in irritation.
"Don't say it was my suggestion.
That would only give them a reason to object."
Agnes responded with a bitter smile.
Riftan had refrained from speaking during strategy meetings as much as possible, mainly because of Breston, who had a habit of criticizing everything he said.
He didn't want the plan he was forming in his head to be ruined by that man, nor did he want to make this campaign even more difficult by causing unnecessary conflicts.
Riftan spurred Talon as he thought about the almost fully formed plan.
He would have to meet with the other commanders to explain it soon, but he intended to delay that meeting as long as possible.
It wouldn't be good to give your opponents an opportunity to find fault.
He swept his gaze across the Wedonian army as he thought about how to deal with Richard Breston.
It was then that his eyes fell on his wife's pale face among the dark-skinned soldiers.
Instinctively, he pulled on the reins.
Having dismounted, she was walking to the rhythm of the soldiers' march.
It seemed as if she had dismounted from her mare to ease the creature's burden in any way she could.
He watched her silently before his face contorted into an angry grimace.
Maxi had approached Ruth and was pushing the staggering wizard with both hands.
Riftan's lips thinned as he watched the pathetic scene.
He knew well that his wife felt comfortable with Ruth and that their relationship was purely platonic.
However, he still felt like a hot iron was burning his skin whenever he saw how close they were.
He searched his memories to remember if she had ever treated him the same way.
Maybe it had, but those times were long gone.
Now, they were no better than strangers.
He also knew that it was only his fault.
After bitterly observing Maxi and Ruth, Riftan turned his horse aside.
Suddenly, distant screams echoed.
He turned his head in the direction of the sound.
The soldiers in front of him stopped their march and began to murmur among themselves.
At first he couldn't understand why the men had stopped.
A second later, the smell of blood reached him on the wind.
He passed the knights, who were trying their best to get the soldiers back into formation, and galloped across the field to the front of the army.
He tugged on Talon's reins as he spotted a puddle of bloody snow on one side of the hill.
Decapitated bodies were piled to the side, their pale heads displayed on nearby stakes.
Riftan watched the horrific scene with half-closed eyes before approaching one of the knights next to the bodies.
“What does that mean?”
The northerner shrugged and said calmly, “They are deserters from Balto who tried to escape with our provisions.”
Riftan's face hardened.
The display of bodies was a cruel punishment reserved for those who committed atrocious crimes such as treason.
After examining the muttering soldiers in agitation, Riftan shouted, "Take your heads off immediately!
Haven't you considered the monsters that can attack us with all that blood?"
"But Sir Richard ordered them to be displayed as an example.
Other fools may try to desert us if we do not," replied the knight, looking displeased.
Riftan glared at the northerner before bringing his sword to the man's neck.“If you don’t take these heads off immediately, yours will be placed next to them.”
A touch of fear appeared on the man's face at the threat.
After cautiously looking at Riftan, the knight reluctantly began to remove the heads.
Riftan watched the man, his gaze stormy, before giving orders to the Wedonian soldiers waiting behind him.
“Help them bury the bodies!”
Some men ran and came back with shovels.
They began digging through the frozen ground, and Riftan positioned himself nearby to oversee the burial.
His face suddenly clouded as he spotted Maxi among the crowd of muttering soldiers.
Her face was pale as she stared at the stakes in horror.
There was no way around it“when he saw her terror, he couldn't move away any longer.
He jumped off Talon and marched over to her.
Taking her by the arm, he spun her around and led her out of the crowd.
The palpable shock in his eyes pierced like a dagger through the chest.
Approximately 32 to 40 kilometers.
[
↩
]