Chapter 202: Traveling Carriage
TN: Start of the new volume: Journey.
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In the spring of the year 831 of the Altera period, the momentum of the Republic’s invasion on the Enzo continent had waned, with their forces being expelled from every front.
By autumn, the Eastern Front had completely driven out the Republic’s army, and the Central and Western Fronts, which had paused battle for the winter, intensified their offensives as soon as the snow melted. The presence of a front that defeated the Republic’s forces had greatly boosted their morale.
On the contrary, the morale of the Republic’s army had utterly collapsed. Their spiritual pillar, the descendant of the gods, had been defeated, and their offshore fortress had sunk. With no vision of victory in sight, there was no reason for their morale to improve. The battles on those two fronts had turned into one-sided affairs.
However, the war on the Enzo continent was far from over. Not only were the Central and Western Fronts still struggling to completely expel the Republic, but the Eastern Rakil Empire, which had successfully driven out the Republic’s forces, had now splintered into three factions and begun fighting among themselves.
Although the nature of the conflict differed between the war against the invaders and the internal strife, it was a war nonetheless. The finest warriors and domestic resources were prioritized for the battlefields, where they were rapidly depleted. This led to a deterioration in the internal security previously maintained by these warriors, and simultaneously, the scarcity of resources within the country resulted in widespread hardship among the populace.
“Isn’t it dangerous with the war still going on… Couldn’t something else be done, young lady?”
Amidst this situation, a carriage was making its way along the highway. Its destination was the Galar Kingdom, located slightly north of the center of the continent, specifically its royal capital, Gaelia.
The road leading to Gaelia, although now distant from the battlefields, once served as a crucial supply line for transporting materials to the front lines. In times of peace, the road bustled with merchant caravans and travelers, but their numbers had drastically dwindled.
There was only one reason: the deterioration of security due to the war. Initially, the presence of numerous merchants naturally attracted bandits. However, before the war, the Galar Kingdom’s patrol teams effectively maintained security and helped keep damages to a minimum.
But the situation dramatically changed with the start of the war against the Republic’s army. While patrolling the highway was important, the fight against the Republic concerned not just the kingdom but the lives of all its citizens. Given the enemy’s strength, which required the combined forces of nations across the entire Enzo continent to counter, the elite soldiers had no choice but to head to the battlefields.
Consequently, key members of the patrol teams were reassigned north, leading to a decrease in their numbers and an unavoidable weakening of their forces. On the other hand, those fleeing from the war-torn countries and the destitute joined the bandits, causing their numbers to surge.
As the number of bandits increased, the number of people traveling on this highway decreased. Now, only those in a hurry or large-scale caravans able to afford their own escorts were seen on the road.
The war had led to such a depletion of human resources that the security of the main highway to the royal capital could not be maintained. This was becoming a problem not just for the Galar Kingdom but for the entire Enzo continent.
“After my uncle sent his approval, there was nothing I could do on my own.”
Traveling along such a highway was a carriage, lavishly decorated yet surprisingly small considering the current circumstances. In proportion to its size, the carriage held only three occupants: two women inside and a coachman holding the reins.
The two women in the carriage were a noble girl and her female warrior guard. Faced with the need for long-distance travel in these troubled times, the warrior voiced her complaints for the umpteenth time. The noble girl just smiled bitterly when she saw this.
“Besides, we haven’t been attacked even once since entering the Galar Kingdom, have we? So, it’s all right,” the noble girl reassured.
“Are you serious? Have you forgotten how many times we were attacked in other countries? The fact that we haven’t been attacked here is almost eerie. And about your uncle… I can’t believe that scoundrel is related to you by blood.”
“Hilda, a lady mustn’t use such coarse language.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, young lady Lieselotte.”
The noble girl was Lieselotte Herzfeldt, and her guard was Hilda. The two of them hailed from the Harlasia Kingdom…the same country where Antares was born. And, strangely enough, the two had briefly fought alongside Antares during the day of the coup d’état when he was still a scorpion.
On the day of the coup, Lieselotte and Hilda had managed to escape to a safehouse maintained by the “Goddess of Protection” church. However, Lieselotte’s parents were slain by holy knights, and she had no siblings of her own. As a result, she ended up inheriting the title and lands of the Stahlern Earldom at a young age.
However, there was no way for a girl who was as young as Hilda to manage such a territory. Hence, Lieselotte’s uncle stepped forward to assist her until she came of age.
Her uncle was the second son of the earl’s family, and since he could not inherit the land, he worked as an official in the royal capital. Although he was not exceptionally capable, he had knowledge of governance from his administrative experience, which made him a suitable candidate for an assistant, especially considering his bloodline. Liselotte also accepted having her uncle assist her.
In fact, although the Stahlern Earldom had not seen significant improvements from the previous generation’s rule under his management, it also avoided any major scandals. Although the income had slightly decreased, it seemed sufficient to maintain the territory until Lieselotte came of age.
“You haven’t forgotten, have you? That guy’s intention to snatch the family title from you, the young lady of the Earl’s family?”
“…Yes, well. It was quite obvious from the start.”
When this was pointed out by Hilda, Lieselotte affirmed this not with a bitter smile but with a bitter expression. It was clear that her uncle was not incompetent, given that he was maintaining the territory reasonably well. However, what she didn’t know at first was that her uncle was a greedy and ambitious man.
Being the second son, he had no chance of inheriting the family unless something happened to his elder brother. And in the Harlasia Kingdom, where women were allowed to inherit, Lieselotte’s birth had made it nearly impossible for him to inherit the earldom.
However, the situation changed with the coup. He was made to return to the Earl’s household as an assistant due to his young niece; this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him to usurp the family position. And his ambition was too great to let this opportunity slip by.
Once involved in the management of the earldom, her uncle first attempted to adopt Lieselotte as his daughter. By making her his own daughter, he aimed to automatically coerce her into relinquishing the family’s noble title to him.
However, she quickly unraveled her uncle’s scheme. Lieselotte, despite being young at the time, sensed her uncle’s greed, and her guard, Hilda, had also urged her to be cautious.
When his proposal to adopt her was rejected, it seemed her uncle had begun to regard Lieselotte as his enemy. He would make sarcastic remarks at every opportunity and dramatically scold her for the smallest mistakes, attempting to break the young girl’s spirit.
Yet Lieselotte withstood her uncle’s attacks and grew up to be on the cusp of adulthood. The time for her uncle to end his role as her guardian was rapidly approaching.
“‘Your great aunt in the Galar Kingdom is in poor health, so you should pay her a visit’ he said… but why does it have to be you personally, young lady! And he’s even gone ahead and promised on your behalf!”
“It seems she would be pleased if I myself visited, rather than a representative.”
“Do you actually believe that?”
“No. Most likely, he plans to do something in my absence.”
“Ugh~! This is really going to be troublesome, young lady.”
Hilda’s face, which had previously carried the easygoing air of an elder sister, now tightened into the visage of a warrior. Simultaneously, the coachman lightly tapped the carriage’s rear three times.
The coachman’s taps on the carriage’s rear had a coded meaning based on the number of taps. One tap signaled a break, two taps indicated a stop due to some issue, and three taps warned of an enemy attack.
“Young lady, lock the door and stay put, please!”
“Yes. Be careful, Hilda.”
Hilda quickly put on the helmet that was on the seat and grabbed a large round shield before jumping out of the carriage. While instructing Lieselotte not to move, she closed the door of the carriage’s cargo area and drew her single-edged sword from her waist.
Meanwhile, the coachman was also preparing for battle. The coachman’s face was obscured by a hooded cloak, worn for protection against dust and debris. However, when drawing their weapon, the cloak was brushed aside, revealing everything below the neck.
The coachman was a woman who was armed as well. Unlike Hilda, who was dressed in sturdy armor, this woman wore only a leather chest protector over her easy-to-move-in clothes. Her lower half was clad in pants, prioritizing ease of movement, with the only armor being shin guards. This could certainly be considered light gear.
However, the gauntlets protecting her arms were impressively rugged, almost as if they were torn from the arms of a heavily armored soldier. They were so large that, combined with her average height for a woman, it might seem as though her arms were disproportionately enlarged.
This woman held a straight sword in her right hand and a war hammer in her left; it seemed like she was skilled in an unusual style of dual-wielding with different weapons.
Without a word, the coachwoman moved to the opposite side of the carriage from Hilda. Then, from the forests flanking the road, a group of filthy, armed men emerged, surrounding the carriage with practiced ease.
“A smart woman, you are. Had you gone a bit further, you would have fallen into our trap.”
“Thanks for that. But I’m not exactly flattered to be complimented by ugly men like you.”
Among the bandits surrounding the carriage, one particularly well-built individual clicked his tongue and spoke, to which Hilda responded with utter disdain. The bandits seemed to take this as an act of bravado as they looked at the two women with lewd eyes.
Observing this, Hilda inwardly sighed in relief. From their demeanor, it was clear that the bandits in front of her were significantly weaker than herself and her companion, and they were even too inexperienced to realize the disparity in their skill. She figured that they wouldn’t pose much of a problem.
“Watch yourselves, scum. Even if you try your hardest, you poor losers stand no chance against those women.”
“Y-yes, head!”
“…. Are you mercenaries? You could earn more in the war, couldn’t you?”
“The pay got cut. Being too useful can be a problem, you know.”
However, it seemed Hilda’s relief was premature. The ones who emerged, pushing through the bandits, were a group of skilled warriors. Even in Hilda’s eyes, they appeared strong, not the kind she could easily defeat with a mere flick of her hand.
As Hilda had discerned, these individuals were mercenaries who had turned to banditry. When the war with the Republic swung overwhelmingly in the coalition army’s favor, the demand and value for mercenaries dropped sharply. It became foolish to hire mercenaries at a high cost for an enemy that could be easily fought against by the coalition army alone.
They had been approached with a reduction in their pay when renewing their contracts and had chosen to withdraw from the battlefield. Their number exceeded ten, but this was too few to form a proper mercenary band. It was likely that more forces were held in reserve at their hideout.
Though these fallen mercenaries turned bandits were strong, their individual abilities did not match Hilda and the coachwoman. However, the situation differed when considering the need to protect the carriage behind them. With other bandits nearby, an attack while they were held up would make it difficult to respond effectively.
Hilda was at a loss for how to safely navigate this situation. No matter how much she pondered, she couldn’t find a proper answer, and cold sweat trickled down her back.
“We’ll capture the women. You guys pry open the carriage. Oh, and if there’s a woman inside, take her alive. You can manage that much, right?”
“Yes, head!”
“Tch! Like I’d let yo…!?”
“Bumoooooooo~~!”
“Wait! That’s our dinner for tonight!”
Just when Hilda and the coachwoman were about to be forced into a hopeless battle, a beast’s roar and a boy’s voice emerged from the forest. The sounds grew closer and closer… until a boar burst out onto the road.
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