Chapter 37: Fifth Episode: Chapter 1 (1/2)
Chapter 37: Fifth Episode: Chapter 1
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
There was something peculiar about the thick fog in Dulin forest. Walking through the mystical forest, one could feel both the humidity in the air and also the hot and dryness of the weather.
Fine water droplets layered the knights’ cloaks and armors. Nevertheless, having to carry those heavy equipment in the blazing hot weather still made them sweat profusely. Traveling in this weather was not a pleasant chore.
After traveling out of Westberg Fort, His Royal Highness Prince’s convoy turned into a small country road in the outskirts of Dulin, as that was the main route to access the east of the capital. Although the emperor and the ministers have been discussing their plan to renovate the road to become bigger and wider, nothing has changed in this trail for many years.
In fact, this road was not the only route to get to the east. In the north of Dulin city, a new national highway could reach the eastern part of the empire too. However, this road led northward to the Pomerania Province first before it unfolds toward the east. If the prince chose to travel by this road, then their journey would be delayed at least by an extra three days.
The troop soon entered the forest outside the jurisdiction of the capital Dulin. The forest was extremely large, and most importantly, it does not belong to anyone, which is almost a miracle in Titan today. Unexpectedly, there were no aristocrats competing against each other to have control over this piece of land that was rich with resources.
Almost every piece of land in Titan has been assigned with a certain degree of value. Lands filled with resources that could bring forth fortune such as mines, forests and lakes have almost all been occupied by different aristocratic families. Although ordinary people can choose to be free citizens or tenants of the lands, the tenants of Titan were not any more powerful compared to the serfs of the other kingdoms in the west, and the same applied to the free citizens. The richest and most profitable lands were usually taken over by the imperial royalties and aristocrats, and the land handed over for free citizens to cultivate were usually either located in the far-flung borderlands or were extremely barren.
It was not certain why this extraordinary piece of land was spared from being taken control of. When Oscar initially learned that it was still an unclaimed land, he thought of calling it his own, but this young fatty later realized that his possession of a forest would undoubtedly attract more hostile forces against himself in the capital. Hence, he only fancied that idea for a short while and quickly dismissed it.
The prince had no choice but to focus his attention on the forest. His previous attempts in trying to start a conversation with the princess had failed miserably. Her Royal Highness Princess Alanis did not intend to communicate with him at all. He felt like his presence in the carriage was like a disgusting annoyance.
”Alanis, did you not just celebrate your adult ceremony? That is to say you are already an adult, so would you please forgive me? You do not want this to continue throughout the journey, do you? Just say something, even if it’s just a mere hello?” Oscar’s sounded sincere. He knew he would never be forgiven if he did not seem desperate.
”Hmm,” The princess raised her beautiful eyelash and finally looked at the prince for the first time in the whole morning.
”Oh! Your voice is wonderful to the ear! Would you please try it again?”
Alanis looked at the helpless prince and sighed gently. She was no doubt in a very bad state of mind at the moment. She finally realized the problem between the prince and herself, and that was she had overestimated how much she meant to the prince. Her passionate heart that was filled with deep feelings of admiration was not reciprocated by the young man she was trying so hard to reach.
”You should be able to see that I do not mean to say nothing. I really do not think I should say anything, and this is my answer. Do you think it is possible for us to communicate in such condition?”
Oscar scratched his nose clumsily. He did not know how to comfort the princess, and he had no idea how to start. It was a grave mistake that he left the princess all alone in public and wounded her pride for the sake of another woman.
Once again, the prince casted his gaze on the forest outside the cart window. The vast forest, filled with thick fog, was blurry and obscure, just like the princess’ unpredictable heart.
A weird sound of a bird chirping caught the attention of Kamille Rayen, who then rode his horse a few steps to the side of the road and raised his shield, which was previously rested on the saddle.
Suddenly, a thin sound of a shooting arrow rustled through the forest. When the knights responded to the direction of the sound, a shaking feathered arrow was seen mounted on the paladin’s shield. Strangely, the Narcissus Knights pretended that nothing happened and immediately returned their gazes back to the road and hurried in silence.
The feathered arrow was tied with a small note. That was the method of communication between the Narcissus Knights and its scouting squad. The reports or information will be sent back to the main troop briefly every half an hour, and each time the method used to pass the notification would be different. Among the main troops, different people would be assigned at different times to receive these notifications to effectively confuse the enemy so they would not easily recognise the team commander. On real battlefields, the leaders and men in command were usually the first ones to be shot by snipers of the rangers.
Kamille looked at the scout’s report. He really started to admire those people from the Ministry of Justice.
”Your Highness!” The colonel knocked on the window of the princess’s carriage. Shortly after, Oscar’s round head popped out of the window.
”Someone has been really interested in our troop since last night.”
The prince understood that Kamille meant the men from Ministry of Justice that they encountered the night before. He closed the small window and turned his attention back to the princess. ”Alanis, there are some matters waiting for me to handle and I’m afraid I cannot accompany you for the rest of the trip anymore.”
Alanis nodded so slightly that Oscar almost thought she did not hear him. He involuntarily scratched at his itchy nose again as the princess took out a book from behind and started reading, as if Oscar already left the carriage.
The prince jumped out of the carriage swiftly while the carriage was still moving steadily. He did not request the troop to stop as he did not want others to notice his actions.
The well-trained Narcissus Knights moved forward like nothing happened. In fact, they could not perform any actions without receiving orders from their commander or master.
Soon enough, Godot, King of Sins, the Hedgehog, Oscar’s coachman, Ricky the Liar, and the Poison Doctor, all these people who came out together from Damorga prison left their initial positions and gathered around in a secluded spot hidden in the woods. The convoy had already gone ahead.
”What happened?” The King of Sins’ eyes shone with excitement, he knew something big was about to happen.
Oscar stared at him angrily. ”I’m surprised you have the guts to ask. All of us here are now thinking of ways to clean up the shit that you and Godot have left behind. The mess you created was so huge I’m afraid even with our numbers we can’t finish cleaning it.”
”Yes, there are fourteen people on the other side, and we absolutely have to do more cleaning than expected,” Kamille felt the atmosphere became tense after he spoke. He noticed all the criminals looked at him in a suspicious light.
”Uh…I meant to ask, do you mind if I join the mission?” Although the young paladin has a fiery side, his experience of getting in and out of the battlefield led him to know that he was currently facing a bunch of cruel murderers. Kamille felt a little scared when they all casted their gazes on him, to be honest. He always thought the prince’s followers were some very easy-going men, but now it seemed that he might have thought wrongly.
The criminals turned their attention to Oscar, this little guy was the head of the group after all.
Oscar looked calmly at the crowd, and finally he turned to the paladin, ”Colonel Kamille Rayen, can I trust you?”
Without a second of hesitation Kamille knelt to the ground, ”The 17th generation of the Rayen family Paladin Kamille is always ready to dedicate his life to you, Your Highness.”
”Alright, get up, knight, and I’ll reintroduced my men to you again,” Oscar helped the kneeling paladin to his feet.
”This is Damorga’s infamous ax murderer, Godot. You must have heard of this one here, the King of Sins of the West, Doramy Basinger,” The man humbly greeted the young paladin.
Oscar went two steps forward as he came to Ricky, ”This is our butler, Ricky the Liar, who organized a fake diplomatic corps and is under arrest from the Faran Kingdom. This is Poison Doctor, or Percy, as you wish. And this, he is your senior, Paladin Sarlat. He is also called the Hedgehog.”
”Well, Your Highness, and this?” Narcissus Knights leader Kamille Rayen was facing the last person whom the prince had not yet introduced, and instinctively his hand hovered over the hilt.
Oscar paused for a moment, unsure of what to say. He knew that when a Narcissus knight encounters a Persian man with a machete, there would be nothing more to say than to pull out the sword. In fact, the colonel’s reaction was not even excessive.
”Calm down, this is Wozakad Elladan, but Kamille, you have to know that no matter who he was before, he is now only my coachman.”
Wozakad raised his hand and rested the machete across his chest. Kamille knew that it was a gesture to show courtesy, but the paladin also knew that the prince’s coachman was by no means an ordinary machete warrior. This man standing in front of him was much stronger than those he encountered on the battlefield.
The young paladin released the hilt and nodded slightly toward the machete warrior. The prince was right, and the warrior was only a coachman now.
Everyone was relieved. Narcissus Knights’ cruelty and persecution toward the Persians was widely known across the continent. Everyone was worried that this young Narcissus Knight might do something beyond control. However, if any real conflict actually broke out between them both, they would surely stand on the side of their prison mate, who proved himself to be a really worthy friend.
Oscar also relaxed when the tension in the atmosphere was relieved.
”Well, now that everybody knows each other, Kamille, why don’t you brief us all on our current condition.”
Paladin squatted down and picked up a short branch and began drawing a basic map on the sand.
”We are right here, and they should now be about a kilometer away from here,” Kamille tried explaining using the figures he drew on the sand, but he knew these super-prisoners would not understand anyway. ”My scouting squad scared them so they will not get close to the convoy. Well… they have fourteen people, lined up in a loose formation, just like the typical formation taught in cavalry textbooks.”
Oscar pondered for a short while before coming up with a decision. ”Doramy, I remember one of the criminal formulas that you taught me was, ‘wipe your mouth after eating on the sly, and kill the eyes after taking a life’.”
Doramy was proud of his favourite pupil and laughed happily.
”Then we should lend them a hand on their journey home! I do not want to be blocked outside of my own house again the next time I return to Dulin.”
Everyone nodded as a signal that they understood the command. At the sound of Kamille’s whistle, two knights came rushing toward them from afar, leading eight horses behind them.
After the two knights pulled to a halt, the others finally noticed that on the back of those horses were various weapons.
Doramy cheered at the gifts, ”Aha! Kamille, you are definitely a thoughtful guy.” The King of Sins chose a good saber from among the various weapons. He spent some time north as a horse thief and he was clear of the terrifying things this toy could do to people.
Oscar frowned at the sight. Like Doramy had praised him earlier, Kamille was sensitive and also observant of people around him. Looking at the young prince’s troubled expression, he immediately realized the problem.
”Your Highness, this is Kaga and Johanne. They are the knights of Rayen family and they joined the cavalry the same time as me.”
Oscar nodded, ”So the knights of the Rayen family are also my knights, is that right?”
Paladin Kamille Rayen hesitated this time, they were not talking just about allegiance now. The Rayen family could be regarded as a prominent big family in Narcissus County. However, Kamille felt that following the young prince did not violate the knightly spirit and his family tradition, and he was quick to find the answer that had long remained in his heart. It seemed that following the prince was more likely to bring him closer to a bright future.
”Yes, Your Highness, you can say that that is a fact.”
Oscar was especially satisfied for getting Kamille’s confirmation. While the others were busy picking their weapons, he did not choose one for himself because he believed he would not have to deal with the fourteen people himself.
After a brief moment, they finally settled with their choice of weapons. Godot picked an immensely heavy Tomahawk, Hedgehog Sarlat hooked on his waist seven rapiers, while the coachman selected a few throwing axes. Any guesses on what Ricky the Liar Extraordinaire chose? Oscar looked at him warily, and the young prince had never heard of which Kung Fu Ricky was master at.
Ricky skilfully examined a four-foot bow like a professional. He stretched the bow string and inspected carefully the whole handle riser section. It was undoubtedly a perfect bow made out of precision. Ricky also picked up a belt-quiver filled with arrows before taking a swift leap back onto the horse.
Kamille and the two other Narcissus knights remained silent, as the real warriors were trained to treat any battle with incomparable seriousness. They only loaded themselves and their horses lightly with minimum equipment and all the other things irrelevant to the battle were thrown to the ground. They prepared themselves with a real knight's standard equipment, which included two-meter long guns, wide-blade knight's swords and heavy iron shields. The shield was painted with bright Narcissus flowers, but at this time it was very well covered with soil and dust.
The forest was extremely quiet and the knight squadron sent forth a heavy murderous force. Although only three of the warriors were proper legitimate soldiers, every one of them in the group was no doubt a great murderer.
At that moment, Oscar appeared a little awkward. He was staring blankly into a handsome, claret-coloured warhorse.
The first person to realize the problem was indeed the understanding paladin. He lifted his face armor and looked at the young prince. ”Your Highness, are you…”
Oscar touched the sturdy neck of the purebred Raytheon stallion. He hesitated before answering. After all, the young man still cared about his face, but also knew that it was definitely not a matter he could get along with without admitting his weakness.
”Yes, you’re right. I… I do not ride!”
Everyone was astounded at this new knowledge about the young prince. How could the leader of a cavalry not know how to ride? Now it was not only Oscar, but these men already riding on the horses felt a little bit embarrassed too.
”Hey! You guys know that there are a lot of military dogs in Damorga, but stallions? Not so much. I’ve not even touch them once before. Have you all not noticed that I only travel with a carriage?”
Kamille felt that they could not afford to waste any more time. In order to keep their action confidential, he withdrew all the scouts along the way, and those gentlemen from Ministry of Justice were now almost catching up with them. Paladin put down the face armor. ”Kaga, take care of His Highness, if His Highness was in any way injured, I believe you should know better the consequences.”
Kaga apologized to the Highness before grabbing the young prince onto the back of his horse and held him tightly in his arms. In the arms of the big knight, young Oscar looked no different from a little kid.
The young paladin looked at the crowd to make sure everyone was ready, and he was the first one to set off with his stallion. Within seconds, all the other riders disappeared in the gradually thinning mist one by one.
***************
The sergeant of the Fourteenth Criminal Investigation Team of the Ministry of Justice was somewhat impatient with the complaints coming from his comrades-in-arms, but he was persistent and did not want to give up. This was such a rare opportunity to take down the prince. If they succeed today’s mission, even the tallest mountain in the world could not stop the money and status that would come flowing toward them. But at this moment he could not help but wonder about the clean and tidy route in front of him. Where did the convoy go? How could such a big group disappear in the thin woods without leaving any trace?
The woods on both sides of the trail were extraordinarily tranquil. The sun shone its soft rays across the earth, covering the woods and trail with beautiful golden dust. Al Kairi was staring at the trail in front of him with a blank thought while his men whispered behind him. He would never figure out how the Narcissus Knight’s scout so thoroughly covered up the team’s whereabouts, and also, he would never have thought that the most prestigious liar of the Westland targeted him as the first victim.
The sound of the vibrating bow string was short but harsh. Al Kairi turned around instinctively to the source of the sound just in time to see the sharp arrow that slid over his shoulder, and then he was knocked down off the horse by a gigantic force.
”Attack! Attack!” The men screamed like some poor helpless ladies! The horses were terrified too by the neuroticism of their owners and they began to flee.