Chapter 46 (1/2)

Rain! That damned rain! If someone were to ask O'Neil Andrew Morisette what he hated the ht's Year 791, the Prince would most definitely respond with ”Rain! God dammit! What else? Have you ever seen rain that doesn't fucking stop at all?”

”Relax, boy! You need to relax, get some rest” Snowstorht the person laying in bed wasn't a prince at the moment, but so cusswords left and right ever since he had been doith a cold as if the whole world had owed him money

The Prince panted heavily, he really thought he wasn't fit for travel The last trip frouard It was that bodyguard who left hiets better! Now that the journey lengthened, his injury seeic behind this?

”Paul… Snowstoruard, you should be solving issues for your eical response when I talk to you!” Oscar was despondent, he could only say that the King of assassins wasn't much of a stickler for rules

Snowstor was really extraordinary It was such a waste for hi of assassins ruminated in his fantasy happily If he hadn't met Thirteen, that old bastard, he would be a farht he wasn't cut out for an assassin

”assassiiiin!” The teenager's shriek brought a gust of wind, causing the whole tent to shake

”Can't you just be quiet for a while?” Snowstorly, he poured the Prince a cup of tea The Prince's shriek tugged at his lungs, and now he's coughing like there's no tomorrow

”Cough cough… Ah, thanks!” The Prince finally acco the only person by his side pay attention to him

”I feel better now!” The Prince propped hi on the bed for thole days

”Thank the God of Light for this! I' sincere on this, if this kiddo got under the weather, it doesn't take ure out ould be the first victim

”Ah, thank you, thank you, thank you for your care for the past two days”

The King of assassins was a little stunned, ”What are you talking about? Did your teain?” He wanted to place his palm on the teen's forehead, but was slapped away by the teen

”What? What do youill!” Oscar was furious at his bodyguard's response

”But this is not like you, did I hear it wrong? You thanking me? My impression of you… I'm sorry to say this, but you'd never uttered that word before” Snowstorm was a little surprised, this kid had never really appreciated other people's kindness to him

Oscar didn't want to explain hier, but his words melted into the void as it reached his mouth

Right now, the King of assassins had two deep eye bags and unkempt hair For the sake of the defenseless prince's safety, he hadn't slept for days

The teen sed his insults It felt bad, but through the past few days, he realized the discoht then, O'Neil Andrew Morisette had faced himself wholly for the first tih he didn't knohat exactly he was lacking, he kneas eccentric, to say the least, to most normal people

Oscar sighed, ”Heh, do you want the truth?”

”Of course!” Snowstore If it was in the past, without his own revelation, no one would even knohat he was thinking On that note, no one ever knehat he was actually planning He… see how to communicate with other people

”How do I say this? It's really nothing? I'm just a little moved, a little curious, a little, uh… self-aware? Yes, self-aware!” Oscarit to himself

”If I didn't cause so much trouble in Dulin, hness Princess Alanis, and of course, ht now”

Snowstorm's eyes widened! He couldn't believe this was said by the Brother 'Balance', infamous across the whole of titan Empire

”I mean… Yes, I'm badly injured, I'm doith cold, I'm in really really bad luck, and there's soroup anted o crazy, you know?” The teen aze with Snowstorm's

”Yes, crazy Don't you think this life where you ? How does Thirteen live in total peace in this world? Snowstorm, you would know best! Thirteen had always hid in the dark, like a hunter fro as he was surrounded in darkness, nothing would be able to hurt hiht that's how I should live, but all these had changed! I'ht himself would pay attention at, and on the other hand,could be worse than this! Really!”

Oscar gulped down his cup of tea, the bitterness of it didn't help him with his nerves

”I' in fear, look at what you've seen now, Paul Hus! I reht was pierced by an arrow right in front of ?” Oscar didn't plan to let his only audience answer, he continued

”I was rejoicing! Yes! Rejoicing the fact that it wasn't me! Paul, I don't know if you ever felt that way, but… I ht I wouldn't be afraid of death anyht's eyes leave, I realized I had overestie of death What is death? It doesn't just signifies the passing of a life, it includes too s!”

The teen rubbed his eyes, exhausted He didn't knohy he told his bodyguard all these, and the weirdest part was that he hadn't planned to stop

”Paul, I' about this the past few days, and I finally figured out a vague answer to the question, the answer to theof life”

”And that is?” Snowstorer expectantly

”To live!” The Prince said

”Why?” Snowstorm asked

”Everyone would have a different answer to this I believe most people hadn't even considered the question, 'Why live?'” O'Neil Andrew Morisette stood spiritedly ”I don't want to know other people's answers, I'll only talk about mine I live for people who love me, I live for people whom I love, I live for the people who are loyal to me, I live for the people ant me dead Don't answer the question with the family, the nation, or the world, the question was sis I've said, you should know, Paul, everyone in the world live for their own, no doubt about it!”

Rain see in this htly depressed to find the sun shi+ning down fro out in the hts lack food as well as medicine

The rain transformed the path into a marshy road, furthermore, it's unrealistic to let the injured travel in the rain The humid weather had caused a lot of the warriors to develop cold Even though none of the knights complained, a non-combat attrition of three to four people daily was e

The Narcissus Knights didn't lose their fighting ability, and together with the i the two battles, they carried out their duties loyally Even though thefrom the camp for the injured depress them, at least the two daily Operations Clean-up help them clear their frustration

The Operations Clean-up had been ongoing for two days, sohts had questions about the operation, they reasoned that defenseless war prisoners shouldn't be treated with such extreme measures, but they were i the doctor wasn't a fun thing to do, no one liked seeing their expired co cut open with a scalpel like dead fish

The feeling of conflict disappeared relatively quickly, being replaced by the rage of vengeance Even after the prisoners reported their identity and nationality, their identification as ato the history of Westland, none of any tarring countries would recognize a uys who sold their soul for money would only be described with several sentences on a report

The Narcissus Knights had enough reasons to convict the e of atteh to impose the hts even thought that was light for these people who deserved torture, they only dug out a few big holes for the criminals

The captives had alhts, this increases the uncertainty of Operation Clean-up The knights would find use the excuse of sending the captives to the local army out of the valley, because only with that can the mobilization of the mercenary be unsuspicious

The Narcissus Knights sent the captives out in four batches, they left behind half of the knights to watch over the re mercenaries, and chose fifty to be sent out every ti, once in the afternoon By noon of the second day, the last of them were already on the road

The rain had died down a little, but it was still cold and chilly The e in the south had always been the titan noble's favorite place to avoid the suates the effects of the summer

The captives were tied with their hands on their back The Narcissus Knights ordered them to form a team of ten, if any one of the ten atteether with his like that only happened once, no one even entertained the idea of leaving the knight's field of vision afterward

The ate, the captives had already used up half of their stahts don't like to use whips, those are the signature of the Persians, they like spur wheels in front of their boots instead of at the back If anyone wasa ruckus, the spur wheels would land on his back, leaving a trail of bloodied holes Prince O'Neil at the end of the procession had no doubt it would be an experience one would never forget

Oscar insisted on co the last 'clean-up', despite the oodwill, as usual

The hts' ery The rain washed away the gri them cleaner than usual Rainwater that dripped froory shower

The captives walked in fear, afraid to act in manners that may be misconstrued The colonel had already announced several rules during their captivity, including those that ue or eyeballs The Narcissus Knights had proven with their actions that they are the strongest army in Westland The captured ht back after two battles and the torture that came after

”So”

”Your Royal Highness, what see?” Colonel Kamille Rayen asked respectfully

”These are the enemy that injured and killed so many of our men?” The teen's voice wavered in the rain It surprised the Paladin, the teen Prince sounded almost… lonely?

”Yes, Your Royal Highness, it's theet to spit at the captive when he said that

”I ree who said 'Only the Dead could witness the end of war'”

The Prince nudged his horse and raced to the front, the Paladin could only hear the last part of the Prince, ”'In war, the Living would never be relieved!'”

The Narcissus Knights shared a look, they were al their forhtly as possible The , like quails, they alking as quickly as they could, pretending not to notice the knights' action They just wanted to be rid of these demons

The captives in front finally realized the mountain road was probleo, as they were at the rowth The hill in front was obviously man-made

The man-made hill had several shallow drains made by the rain The deep brown color of the soil indicated its recency being dug out froround The captives crawled up the hill with difficulty before the rain caused the seemed to exist behind the hill that can consume lives

The screams and yells from the front led to the alertness of the captives at the back, ”What happened?” Questions arose within everyone's heart, only to be answered by the knights' shi+elds and spur wheels

All of the captives in the first row fell into the pit As they were staggering to stand up, they finally realized how critical their situation was!

The pit was almost four ht meters The mud created by the rain boxed in the captives Out of fear, they ailing in hopelessness 'Buried alive' was not a new concept, but no one would be willing to try it out

The people inside the pit tried to crawl their way out, but the ones outside were constantly being pushed in by the shi+elds and spears, wails could be heard throughout the mountain So about it, but they were tied together with their coh they kept charging at the Narcissus Knights, in their teahts

As the last captive was kicked into the pit, he recovered nimbly In the pit, muddy water was al in the pit, scratching for their lives Nothing was more important than their lives, but they used to not understand that

The shroud of shoas getting denser by the second, bean-like raindrops scrahts' ar pebbles

Froround The hopeless abandoned people were like de to survive