Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 265: Engagement - Kus
264. Engagement - Kus
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Blood spilled across a plain sparsely dotted with bushes. Leo gathered the still-warm bodies of the enemy soldiers into a pile and tied a small knot on a nearby branch.
The knot bore today’s date and the squad numbers of Leo and Lena. It was a record of when the enemies were defeated and who had taken them down.
A month had passed since Leo was released from prison. Despite being demoted to soldiers, Leo and Lena’s skills were recognized, and they were deployed to the battlefield as a pair, almost like knights.
However, the frontlines stretched out unimaginably far. To find another squad, one would have to traverse hundreds of meters. Leo was rummaging through the gear of the enemies they had just slaughtered to secure supplies when he looked up.
“You’re back?”
“Yeah. That one was fast.”
Lena had returned after chasing down and killing a fleeing enemy soldier. She clattered to the ground beside Leo, her gear jangling from her waist.
“You should’ve taken your gear off before you went.”
“I forgot.”
Only then did Lena unbuckle her belt.
Attached to her belt were a shrunken waterskin, a wooden knife, various small tools, flint and steel, and spare leather cords. As she adjusted her belt, Lena asked,
“Did you find anything to eat?”
“A little. But it’s something you don’t like.”
“Ugh. Boiled beans again. I don’t get how the Bellita soldiers can eat this stuff. If they were stewed in sugar water, maybe, but they’ve got that weird spice...”
“It’s not a spice, it’s probably soy sauce.”
“Whatever it is, it’s not to my taste.”
Lena grumbled as she picked up a bean, about the size of her fingertip. But hunger got the better of her, and she popped the sweet and salty bean into her mouth, chewing reluctantly.
Leo felt sorry for her having to struggle with food she disliked, but there was nothing he could do about it.
The food situation was dire.
They weren’t starving, but the rations had been cut to a third of what they used to be. It was a harsh decision, but the Astin Kingdom army had no choice.
The General of the Bellita Kingdom had declared total war. Serfs from the surrounding estates, who hadn’t been subject to conscription before, were now being forcibly recruited—a serious violation of the rights of the nobles who owned those lands.
The Bellita Kingdom wasn’t a single, unified state. It was a coalition of dozens of noble families with a few agreed-upon rules, but each family’s land and serfs were their own property. Even decisions about participating in war were up to each family, but the General, a member of the Swordmaster faction, had enforced compulsory participation through his declaration of total war.
This would undoubtedly lead to political turmoil, accusations, and lawsuits, but for now, the situation had turned in favor of the Bellita Kingdom. With troops rising from previously neutral estates, the Astin Kingdom army was now facing an overwhelming and sprawling front.
Villages they had previously ignored had become bases for guerrilla forces. The knights of the First Order, led by Count Forte, along with the serfs, were disrupting the rear supply lines, and the army had to capture every visible village to advance. Frustratingly, the Bellita Kingdom soldiers would set these villages on fire and flee whenever they were about to be captured.
The situation was a deadlock.
But now, with Count Herman Forte dead, they couldn’t afford to retreat. Having handed the Bellita Kingdom a legitimate cause, pulling back would only invite them to regroup and launch an invasion.
After much deliberation, the Astin Kingdom’s military leadership reached a conclusion. They called it
riding the tiger
.
Since things had come to this, they had to seize the Asgard Plains, proclaim victory, and hold the Toridom fortress on Mountain until they could negotiate a peace treaty in exchange for surrendering the fortress and the plains.
They hadn’t given up on the possibility of negotiations. Prince Arnulf de Klaus explained the political situation in the Bellita Kingdom and suggested a change in strategy.
The Swordmaster faction that had divided the Bellita Kingdom’s political scene had lost its leader.
With Count Herman Forte, who had wielded military power freely, gone, the Royalist faction led by Marquis Benar Tatian would likely rise to power. This meant that with a little more pressure, the current General, who was screaming for blood, might be ousted.
So, they had to win. And then, they had to be prepared to make concessions.
Previously, they had hoped to claim the Asgard Plains under the pretext of the prince’s insult, but now they would be content to establish the river in front of Lanzra as the border.
As a result, the Astin Kingdom army chose to advance. This was the outcome.
The Astin Kingdom army focused all its efforts on maintaining an incredibly long front and a fragile supply line. Reinforcements that arrived late secured the rear, while the existing troops were scattered across the Asgard Plains in hundreds of meters of intervals. Leo and Lena were on the very front lines.
In such a situation, supplies weren’t reaching them properly. Occasionally, a messenger from the centurion or the main force would deliver food and water, but the rations had been reduced, and they only came about once a week.
After filling her stomach with rations from the Bellita Kingdom, Lena looked up.
“Ugh, here they come again.”
She clicked her tongue and grabbed her sword.
The chilly autumn wind blew. White breath hung in the air. With a somber expression, Leo stood up and gazed into the distance. Far off on the horizon, the towering Astro Mountain loomed over them.
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Sometimes, diligence is valued more than brilliance.
Leo Dexter, who had been fighting a tedious battle on the front lines, considered summoning his mount to wreak havoc on the enemy camp. But he quickly dismissed the idea.
He didn’t want to show off or act arrogantly in a battlefield where tens of thousands were clashing. Instead, he and Lena carried out their duties as soldiers, following the orders of the centurion without complaint. When ordered to advance, they advanced; when ordered to retreat, they retreated. Like a small wave in a larger tide, Leo learned to conform.
Was there nothing boiling inside him? No, there was. But he realized that his abilities were not truly his own and that he was tied to Lena’s life and happiness.
The fact that Lena had been demoted because of his reckless actions weighed heavier on him than any pride he felt as a Swordmaster. Leo became as calm as a tamed horse.
In truth, he had tried summoning his mount one night. While he and Lena took turns standing watch, he whistled long and low across the Asgard Plains when she fell asleep.
The horse that came galloping across the vast plains under the moonlight was not Bante. When Rev had summoned it, it was a warm-hearted, quick-witted brown horse. But the one that answered Leo’s call was a jet-black stallion.
“…Kus.”
—Snort.
The horse, with its broad hooves better suited for farming than riding, was strong and reliable. It was a hard worker, content with a single carrot after days of toil. Leo couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle.
He understood what the god wanted from him.
It wasn’t to carry Lena on his back and run off, but to
raise
her, to see her thrive and be happy as his reward.
Fine. I concede.
Leo had never attended church.
Except for when Lena was injured by the paw of the Noguhwa. Unlike Rev from the childhood friend scenario, who frequented the church because of Lena, or Lean de Yeriel from the ninth cycle, who sought solace in the Church of the Cross while searching desperately for his sister, Leo had never stepped inside a churChapter It seemed this aversion dated back to before the scenario even began.
The reason for this was unclear.
Until now, he had rejected the gods because he didn’t like the way they treated humans as mere tools. But now, he had to acknowledge that he, too, was a tool of the deity… or rather, of Minseo. If the result of this was Lena’s happiness... then he would accept it. Even if it was infuriating.
Leo turned his head to look at Lena, who was fast asleep in the bushes. There was the endless sky swallowed by darkness, the moon, and the plains stretching to the horizon, but in his eyes, only Lena existed. She was everything given to him.
A shooting star streaked across the sky, and Leo turned his head back, brushing aside his stray thoughts as he stroked Kus’s mane. A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
"If I have Kus, and Rev has Bante, then… does Lean have Woody?"
A mare, huh? A pampered and flirtatious horse for that guy who always attracts women. A white horse suited for a prince like him… Let’s hope it doesn’t limp when summoned.
As these thoughts passed through his mind, Leo sent Kus away. The black stallion vanished into the darkness as if melting away, avoiding the red moonlight.
The war dragged on.
As if receiving punishment, the squad that had been composed solely of Leo and Lena began to grow as Lena was promoted to a decurion. Despite the difficult situation on the frontlines, their accumulated merits were recognized, and soon, Lena was promoted to centurion.
Leo, burdened by his past mistakes, wasn’t promoted. He remained a member of Lena’s squad, but this arrangement suited him better. It was far better to stay by her side than to be separated from her as a commander.
He advised Centurion Lena on {Tactics}. Lena Ainar had the makings of an excellent swordswoman, and she already was one, but as a commander, she was woefully lacking.
She didn’t fully grasp strategy and logistics, so it was unrealistic for her to dream of becoming a general, and even rising to the rank of chiliarch was out of reaChapter Her limit as a commander was leading a centuria of ten decurions.
Knowing this, Leo didn’t push her too hard. While centurions could achieve significant results by coordinating with other centurions, Leo gave Lena advice that was within her comprehension, letting things flow naturally.
“Ugh. My head is killing me. It’d be so much easier if I just went out and fought myself.”
“That’s one way to handle it.”
“Huh? How?”
“If you were to spot an enemy centurion… over there, what would you do?”
“I’d immediately take them down! What kind of idiot would put their commander out front? They’re begging to die. Ah!”
“Exactly. Now, sit down. Let me explain with a diagram.”
“Wait a sec!”
Lena suddenly raised her hand.
She glared at Leo, who was about to draw on the ground, her eyes narrowing to slits.
“I’m not that stupid, you know? You’re saying that if I go out front waving the centurion’s flag, the enemy will rush me, thinking it’s a trap, right? They’re all hiding in the bushes, so it’ll be hard to find them, but if I become the bait, we can lure them out. Got it! Let’s go…”
This time, Leo raised his hand.
As Lena was about to command her squad, Leo pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her. The squad members had grown accustomed to this and pretended not to notice.
“Pfft! What the—why?”
“You can’t just go without preparing. You need to assign someone to take over your role. And the enemy isn’t stupid; they’ll probably think it’s a trap. So, you need to expose other squads a bit and act like a hot-headed centurion… It’s okay if a knight comes after you, but a mage might show up. In that case…”
“Yeah. Yeah.”
Leo sketched a diagram on the ground. With him and Lena in the battle, they wouldn’t lose a small-scale skirmish, but he wanted her to earn recognition as a commander, hoping it would help her be knighted.
A knight is sometimes also a field commander, like the knights of the Bellita Kingdom who, alongside serfs, were disrupting their supply lines. Tactical acumen would be advantageous, and while her martial prowess was already proven, she needed a verified path to knighthood. Jensen would likely take care of that.
“Oh…”
Lena nodded, understanding the plan. She thanked him and issued orders to her soldiers, while Leo watched her quietly.
This is my role.
To let Lena shine.
Feeling that this wasn’t such a bad thing after all, Leo prepared his gear. Lena’s centuria quietly gained a reputation among the struggling Astin Kingdom forces...
“We can’t find the enemy.”
It was winter by the time the Astin Kingdom forces had pushed halfway across the Asgard Plains. A messenger arrived, ing to Lena.
“We’ve scoured the area you ordered us to advance into. There’s no sign of the enemy. Should we push further?”
More messengers arrived, all ing that the enemy had vanished. “Hold your position,” Lena ordered, then went to meet the chiliarch, where she learned that this phenomenon wasn’t unique to their front.
Holes had opened across the frontlines.
The knights who had been relentlessly conducting guerrilla warfare had vanished, and the mages who occasionally patrolled the battlefield on horseback hadn’t been seen for some time. Only the conscripted serfs, untrained and unwilling, remained on the frontlines, dying miserably.
What’s going on?
The Astin Kingdom’s high command was perplexed but pressed the advance. They speculated that the enemy had retreated to hold the fortress at Toridom, and they marched to the base of the imposing Astro Mountain, expecting to besiege the fortress.
But it, too, was empty.
Chapter 265: Engagement - Kus
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