With hundreds of comrades dying in droves, the soldiers climbing the hill began to hesitate.
Those who came close to the wall must have felt it was too late to retreat; they extended the stairs and began to climb.
Armored monsters began scaling the outer walls, ignoring the coalition arrows aimed at them.
They leaned out from the battlements and struck with their iron maces at the soldiers who managed to get close.
It was such a horrible scene that Maxi had to look away.
After a few hours, Arex's army began to retreat.
Arrows rained down on the fleeing soldiers, killing hundreds more in the process.
Maxi tried to count the bodies scattered on the hill, but gave up after passing five hundred.
His rough estimate of the total was three times that number.
The situation was simply too disastrous to be the result of the reckless actions of a single man.
Armin was nearby, looking at the battlefield with a grim expression.
“I think it’s over,” he said.
“Let’s lower the wall.”
When he undid the spell, the mound of earth began to slowly descend.
Maxi walked past the soldiers as the ground leveled out.
Although Arex's army suffered more casualties, many of the archers who marched with them were from the forces of Osiriya and Wedon.
Maxi looked anxiously at the injured being taken back to camp, looking for a White Dragon Knight among them, but there were simply too many in need of medical attention for her to delay.
She was still searching desperately when Nevin came out of the ward with a desolate expression.
"The infirmary is full.
We'll have to set up another tent."
Maxi let out a heavy sigh and nodded.
“We can set up another tent at the bottom of the hill as best we can.”
With the help of the soldiers, they quickly erected poles behind the central battalion and covered them with stiff, tar-coated fabric.
As soon as the new infirmary was ready, the soldiers brought in the wounded and placed them on reed mats.
Maxi started treating those in critical condition first.
Most were bleeding from arrow wounds in their shoulders, backs or calves, and some also had broken limbs.
The sight of the terrible injuries filled Maxi with rage.
Restraining her wrath, she pulled arrows from flesh, set broken bones, and stitched lacerations.
After the most urgent treatments were completed, she left the tent to assess the situation.
The coalition army had quickly reorganized, forming a defensive line.
Her eyes swept the orderly ranks arrayed on the hill, and she sighed in relief when she spotted Hebaron and Ulyseon behind the central battalion.
Garrow's injury had left Maxi in a state of constant anxiety.
She felt the need to confirm their well-being, and began walking towards them.
Suddenly, the mass of soldiers parted, revealing a man being dragged into the camp.
The ominous scene stopped Maxi in his tracks.
Two paladins forcibly brought their prisoner to his knees in front of the other knights.
Enraged, the man bellowed, "I am a commander appointed by His Majesty King Balial!
I will not be subjected to such treatment!"
Maxi's eyes widened as he recognized the man as the commander of Arex's army.
As Adolf struggled to free himself from his captors, Kuahel Leon approached.
Maxi tensed, her shoulders hunched.
She had never seen the clergyman look so stern and merciless.
He stopped before Adolf, took off his helmet, and slapped him with the gauntlet.
Maxi gasped.
Blood ran down Adolf's cheek as he looked at Kuahel in disbelief.
“W-What the hell do you think“”
“You put the entire army in danger,” Kuahel stated coldly, wiping the blood off his gauntlet.
“I demand that you humble yourself and ask for forgiveness.”
“The result may not have been what I wanted, but I fought for the peace and stability of the Seven Kingdoms!” the man shouted, enraged.
"What gives you the right to punish me?
You may be the supreme commander of this army, but I am a representative of the King of Arex!
You have no authority“"
Before Adolf could finish, the cleric struck him on the other cheek.
The blow was so strong that blood ran from the Arex commander's nose.After observing the bleeding man, Kuahel spoke calmly as if addressing a child, "You violated military law, and your senseless actions have cost the coalition army dearly.
If you have a modicum of dignity, you will ask for forgiveness."
Adolf's face was red with embarrassment.
He looked at the cold faces of the knights around him, their shoulders shaking with humiliation.
Finally, he reluctantly spat out, “I beg… forgiveness.”
Kuahel looked at the man for a long moment before nodding his head.
Adolf tried to get up, thinking his moment of misfortune was over, but the Temple Knights did not loosen their guard.
They pushed his shoulders, forcing him to the ground.
Adolf's eyes moved upward in confusion.
Maxi didn't understand what was happening.
Kuahel drew his sword, and a second later, the man's head rolled across the ground.
The surreal scene left Maxi stunned.
After wiping the blood off the blade, Kuahel nodded to his subordinates.
“Hold him a funeral as soon as possible,” he said in an eerily calm tone.
Maxi hugged himself, realizing he had just witnessed an execution.
The plea for pardon had been extracted as an admission of the man's crime.
"We suffered heavy casualties in this battle.
As the enemy is probably aware of this, they may attempt a counterattack.
Everyone must remain vigilant!"
The knights quickly returned to their battalions.
Maxi watched with a stunned expression as the clerics collected the dead man's remains.
Blood was still dripping from the man's lacerated neck.
Feeling bad, Maxi spun around.
Even though she had seen her share of horrible things, she was still shaken by the sight of someone being beheaded in front of her.
There is no need to feel sorry for him.
He just paid the price for his actions,
he thought, trying to compose himself.
But wouldn't executing Arex's commander trigger diplomatic problems?
Maxi frowned, thinking about it.
She didn't want to consider political issues when there were more important things at stake, like their lives constantly at risk.
For now, she needed to focus on ending this war so she could return to Anatol.
She looked at the charred remains of the siege towers and the bodies scattered across the hill before returning to the infirmary.
As night fell, intense anxiety kept her awake.
Within weeks, the coalition had lost three thousand men and all of its siege towers.
Although this was only her second experience of war, she knew enough to understand that things were not going well for the coalition army.
After tossing and turning all night, she left the wizards' tent before dawn.
The smell of smoke and burning flesh hung in the air.
The snow had been falling during the first few hours, and Maxi walked carefully so as not to slip on the slippery ground.
She stopped at the base of the hill.
From there he could see the soldiers on night watch and, beyond the blazing fires, the hazy outline of the imposing city.
Leaning against the wall of ice and stone, she watched the sky behind the city gradually lighten.
Tears welled up in her eyes suddenly.
Wiping them away with her sleeves, she tried to swallow her sobs.
All this time, the only way to maintain her composure had been to put Riftan out of her mind.
But she was reaching her limit now, and felt the urgency to start searching for her missing husband.
Why hadn't they heard of him yet?
She didn't think it was possible that Riftan, Elliot, and Ruth had all met a tragic end.
They were warriors who had survived the battle against the Red Dragon.
No, the most likely explanation was that they were in a situation that prevented them from sending news.
Steeling himself, Maxi was turning to begin the day's work when an imposing shadow caught his eye.
She tensed.
Richard Breston was perched on the low wall.
He was oiling his sword, a heavy weapon almost as big as he was.
His face looked even more cruel and cold in the blue light of dawn.
Maxi was retreating as quietly as possible when a low chuckle echoed from the shadows.
“I don’t see why you avoid me like the plague.”
The knight jumped from the wall and blocked his path.
Maxi summoned his mana to use magic if necessary.
As if realizing this, Breston raised his hands.“I don’t intend to harm you, so you don’t need to be so suspicious.”
“I suggest you get out of my way now.”
“My goodness, I didn’t know His Highness was so formidable,” the man replied mockingly.
Maxi looked at him angrily.
“I… I’m not your princess, so don’t call me that.”
"Who knows?
You might end up becoming one when this war is over."
After making that cryptic statement, the man took a step back.
Maxi kept his distance and gave him a suspicious look.
“W-What do you mean by that?”
“Do you think the armistice will continue after this war?” Breston muttered as he unclipped a canteen from his belt and opened the lid with his teeth.
Maxi frowned at the sudden question.
Breston took a sip before adding languidly, "The Armistice of the Seven Kingdoms was drawn up in response to the explosion of monsters.
Simply put, if there are fewer monsters, it no longer serves a purpose."
"A-Nonsense.
T-There is no guarantee that such a thing“"
"The purpose of the armistice was never peace.
It was an agreement made so that the rulers of each kingdom could protect their power.
And under this guise of peace, they have suppressed rebels and defiant nobles, but this land is still plagued by conflict."
A disturbing smile curved the man's lips, and his red eyes glowed as he spoke.
"This fictitious peace is destined to end, and the warlords who were stifled by the armistice will rise to reclaim Roem's former glory.
Only then will the myth of Rosem Wigrew truly come to life."
Maxi shrugged against the chill that ran down his spine, but Breston continued to prattle on as if he were under a spell.
"Wigrew is the hero who unified the Seven Kingdoms.
It's deplorable, isn't it?
That the forces preventing the revival of the empire are sullying his name.
Just the thought of these impostors fills me with rage." He gave her a teasing look.
“And the worst among them is your stray dog of a husband.”
“Don’t you dare…call him that,” she said fiercely.
Breston shrugged nonchalantly.
"The mongrel will not disgrace the Wigrew name for long.
The armistice will end once the monsters have been exterminated, and the true myth of the empire will begin again."
“And I suppose… you consider yourself the hero of this myth?” Maxi responded dismissively.
The man's eyes glittered dangerously.
“It’s certainly a possibility.”
“Although I feel sorry for you… I doubt that will happen in your lifetime,” Maxi said with conviction.
The smile disappeared from Breston's lips.
Maxi met his gaze and emphasized each word as he said, “Because you will never surpass Riftan Calypse.”
She prepared to throw a shield when his eyes glowed dangerously, but he made no move to attack and simply stared at her.
Then, in a disconcertingly lazy manner, he said, “We’ll see about that.”
He turned and walked towards where Balto's flag fluttered in the wind.
Maxi watched him leave, feeling a growing uneasiness.
Something told her she may have disturbed a hornet's nest unnecessarily.
She refocused on what really mattered: ending the war and returning home safely.
Maxi knew that as long as she focused on survival and helping her teammates, she would be able to overcome the challenges that lay ahead.