The Emperor Has Returned

Chapter 114 – The Warriors of Arbalde (5)

Juan looked closely at the eye patch that Sina had handed over to him. The old and shabby eye patch made out of leather hardly looked like it could be an item belonging to a noble. Juan had a feeling that it could be the eye patch of the unfortunate captain of the fishing boat who died in the fierce waves.

“To be honest, I didn’t think you would be that depressed over the duke's death. I remember Duke Henna not being very fond of you,” Juan said.

“I would be lying if I told you that I wasn’t upset when she showed hostility toward me. But Duke Henna is a famous person, and I felt a sense of kinship with her since we are both from the Imperial Army. She was a great commander.”

Although Duke Henna often spoke harshly and acted violently at times, everyone acknowledged her as a competent military commander. Sina could understand Duke Henna occasionally acting out of madness; after all, even Sina herself had a dream about Ossrey and the Order of the Blue Rose just recently.

“Did you admire her?” Juan asked.

“I guess I did. I can’t believe that someone I respected disappeared in just an instant. We couldn’t even find her body… According to the fisherman who lent us the boat, the current flows toward the archipelago in the winter. So there’s a high possibility that her body is either in the ocean or has sunk to the bottom already.”

“Then we won’t be able to find her.”

“But we did find her eye patch today. So maybe tomorrow… I don’t know. I feel we should at least try our best to find her body and give her a proper funeral.”

“Sina,” Juan opened his mouth with a displeased look on his face. “Where do you believe one’s soul is?”

Sina wanted to ask Juan what he was talking about all of a sudden, but Juan’s face was more serious than ever. Sina hesitated, but soon pointed to the left side of her chest.

“In the heart?”

“Some people say that. Some say that it’s in the head, or somewhere around the navel area, the place where the mana heart is. Heck, some people from beyond the border think that one’s soul resides in their pillow, while some others believe that it flows in the nasal discharge. Some even say that it’s in the wind. But the truth is that no one really knows. It is certain that everyone has a soul, but no one knows where it is,” Juan said as he stretched out his empty hands. “Sina, I’m not talking about a stranger. My corpse is located in the capital.”

Sina closed her mouth.

“It is said that my glided body is sitting on the eternal throne. But I don’t consider that to be my body at all—that’s nothing more than a rotting corpse. Some give it authority and even worship it. But I, the owner of the body, think that to be completely meaningless,” Juan said with a firm look on his face.

“But we still need her body for the funeral and…”

“Do you believe that her soul is in her body, somewhere deep in the ocean being eaten by a fish, or do you believe it’s in her beloved eye patch that she wore her whole life? Wouldn’t it make more sense to bury her eye patch politely and solemnly?”

Sina looked at the eye patch with complicated eyes.

As the search for Duke Henna continued for a long time, the morale of the fourth division had hit rock bottom; the situation on the front line was falling into disarray. Horhell had been taking on the duties of the duke despite his injuries, but his authority as a centurion limited his power.

Sina realized that Juan was suggesting that the whole vicious cycle must come to an end.

“Take this to Horhell. Hold Duke Henna’s funeral, and tell him to stop the search. You’ll end up with a few more corpses if you continue to wander around the winter sea.”

***

Urkel, who led the northeastern rebels, looked up at the snowy sky through the open ceiling of the abandoned building. Urkel let out a long sigh after hearing the news of Duke Henna’s death. The beginning of a snowfall in the northeastern territory was signaling the beginning of a harsh winter.

Hela’s death in the winter was good news for the rebels, since the rebels were running out of food supplies. If the rebels looted Beldeve and the neighborhood surrounding it, they would be able to get more than enough food to last through the winter.

Of course, that wouldn’t be Urkel’s main purpose behind raiding Beldeve. Urkel’s heart pounded fast at the hope that he could finally achieve revenge for Arbalde. Urkel thought that he would only be satisfied once Beldeve, a fortress city located on the eastern front line, fell into a horrible situation, just like Arbalde.

“Congratulations, Urkel.”

Suvole stood up first and congratulated Urkel upon seeing Urkel remaining silent despite the good news.

“Finally, that persistent bitch is dead,” Urkel muttered briefly instead of answering Suvole.

Urkel’s voice was neither jolly nor light—it was unknown whether it was due to the death of an old enemy, or due to the regret of being unable to kill her in a dignified way.

“The empire helped you by not only providing military logistics, but also by neglecting your plan to kill Duke Henna at the expense of losing the great talent of the empire. You haven’t forgotten about our deal, have you?” Suvole asked with a smile.

“...of course not.”

Urkel had finally killed his old enemy, but the aftertaste of achieving one of his long-time goals was quite bitter rather than sweet. Suvole, an Imperial soldier, neglected Duke Henna’s life and death when he had been aware of Urkel’s plan to assassinate her. Such a situation made Urkel feel unpleasant; it reminded him of the empire’s neglect toward Arbalde's tragedy.

Both Hela and Urkel had been fighting since even before they had wrinkles and gray hair, and they took away each other’s precious people many times.

Hate sometimes becomes affection if it continues for a long time.

Urkel didn’t understand the complexity and subtlety of such feelings until he heard the news of Hela’s death. He had been trying to kill Hela for so long, but couldn’t accept that he was only able to succeed with the help of the Imperial Army.

‘Perhaps the old days are coming to an end.’

Urkel thought as he looked at Suvole who was still a competent young man. Urkel was well aware of the future that awaited him as well as the warriors of Arbalde—the rebels who fulfilled their duty and captured Beldeve will be treated as nothing more than a small insurrection. Besides, the Imperial Army will come to prevent the rebel’s forces from growing bigger, considering that the rebels no longer needed to exist to keep Duke Henna in check.

It was obvious what would happen next. The eastern territory will continue to be in ruins, and it will take at least one hundred years for them to rise again.

‘Whatever. That’s none of my business.’

Urkel had already decided to devote his whole life to getting revenge when the tragedy of Arbalde occurred. Urkel thought that dying in the fortress where Hela had died would be his apology to Hela for killing her in such an unfair way. He no longer had a reason to live.

Urkel stood up.

“Warriors of Arbalde, we will advance to Beldeve. Destroy and sweep everything into the sea.”

***

Upon hearing the news of the dragon’s crash as well as the death of Duke Henna, the warriors of Arbalde united under the opinion that now was their best opportunity to attack Beldeve. The snow that had just begun to fall poured heavily, almost as if it was foretelling just how severe the rest of the winter was going to be.

The villagers joined the expedition to Beldeve as usual, because they lacked supplies to last through the harsh winter—it was a perfect opportunity for them to loot supplies.

All the villagers and warriors of Arbalde stood up all at once and began to march through the snow. Only those who weren't capable of fighting, such as the elders and the children, as well as a few people who were meant to look after them remained in the village. A gloomy song started to ring out in a singular note within the huge moving procession.

“My ears are going to rot,” Velkre, the captain of the Order of the Evil Snake, complained as he watched the march from the hill.

“You’ll be fine as long as you don’t hum along. That’s when the encroachment begins,” Suvole answered lightly as if it wasn’t a big deal. “My subordinates’ nerves are also on edge. They might have just started to run wild to kill Urkel if he hadn’t made a move. I’m glad that Revenge King finally moved his heavy ass.”

Suvole and Velkre were not very close in terms of their affiliated groups, but they were willing to cooperate with each other at any time for each other’s purposes, while also keeping an eye out for the knife that the other might be hiding behind their back.

“Be honest with me. Are you the one who instigated this rebellion?” Velkre asked, feeling suspicious.

“I just follow the orders from the capital,” Survole shook his head with a smile.

“You induced internal strife within the eastern territory to make them weaker, endured that the rebels were short on supplies and food before the arrival of winter, got my knight order to drop the dragon, told Urkel that now was his only chance to attack Beldeve and encouraged him to kill Hela. Are you saying this was all done on orders from the capital?” Velkre questioned with cold eyes.

Suvole looked a little taken aback upon hearing Velkre’s words. Suvole had thought that Velkre was an ordinary Templar, but he was much sharper than expected. Suvole blinked as he realized that Velkre had seen through his plan.

“You’re not the only one setting up things behind the scenes. I have no idea what your role within the Order of the Capital is, but I also have lots of duties to carry out under the surface,” Velkre snorted with a grin.

Suvole took a glance at Velkre’s green flagpole. The flag had a green background with a black snake in the middle. Those who are commonly referred to as ‘Evil Snakes’ were often given missions to deal with the secret orders given by the Pope under the surface. Getting the cooperation of other groups was easy for them due to their purpose-oriented nature, which often involved assassination.

“Thank you for your understanding. Once those rebels take care of the fourth division, you will be able to find the black-haired young man you’ve been wanting to find so badly,” Suvole said.

“I thought you were also looking for that black-haired bastard.”

“Me?” Survole shrugged and pretended like he had no idea what Velkre was talking about. “Is the reason why you think that because we are trying to clean up the eastern territory now? It’s just a coincidence. We were able to do so because we got lucky and the situations lined up.”

“Do I look like a fool to you?”

“All right, Captain Velkre. If you’re not a fool, I don’t understand why you’re trying to pick a fight with me. I told you that I would allow you to handle the black haired young man, and I’m giving you that opportunity right now. That black-haired young man might escape, but that’s your business, not mine.”

Velkre lifted the flagpole and slammed the ground with a thud. With a rumbling sound, a vibration shook the land surrounding Velkre and Suvole. The northeastern rebels freaked out and looked at the ground and the sky in alarm, but they couldn’t find anything wrong.

Urkel glared at Suvole and Velkre from a distance.

“What I’m trying to say is, you shouldn’t think of everyone as your chess pieces. The power that His Holiness has granted me might be heretical, but it is sharp. I hope you won’t do anything that goes against His Holiness’s will,” Velkre said to Suvole with a sharp look.

“How could I dare to do anything against the will of His Holiness?” Suvole bowed and apologized in an exaggerated gesture.

Velkre hesitated for a second—he no longer had any more business with Suvole, and Suvole was no longer useful to him. Besides, there were no troops guarding him at the moment. The only thing that was stopping Velkre from killing Suvole was the fact that he still couldn’t figure out what Suvole was up to.

‘It might be better to get rid of him now than to neglect him and let him cause trouble in the future.’

“All right. It seems like Captain Velkre is still worried about me because I’m alone and I have very mediocre swordsmanship skills. Then how about this?” Suvole raised his hand. “I’ll depart from the eastern territory right now. I’ll leave the rest of the matters here to you and Urkel. Will that be enough to relieve you?”

Velkre was still suspicious and uncomfortable, but didn’t want to continue pressing Suvole; after all, he was already backing down to this extent. Furthermore, Suvole was a part of the Order of the Capital. Considering that Barth Baltic was behind Suvole, picking on him was not a wise idea.

“Sounds good. Where are you headed to? If you don’t mind, I’ll have one of our Templars guard you on your way,” Velkre offered.

“Thank you for the generous offer, but there’s no need. I have to go far in a completely different direction from where you are going anyway.”

“A completely different direction… are you, perhaps going toward the north?” Velkre tilted his head.

“Yes. I have an appointment there,” Suvole smiled.

Suvole had not forgotten the promise he had made to Duke Henna.