160 Trackers
***[Prince Emile]***
When dealing with demons, they wear armor to protect themselves.
Because of that, summer was a particularly difficult season.
‘Well, winter isn’t as easy as it is in winter.’
Moreover, it had not rained for a while in this area, and the midsummer heat was in full swing.
Even taking off the armor, sweat trickled down his body, and even if he moved even a little, the hot air choked his breath.
However, since it rained a few days ago, the heat rising from the ground has lessened.
It’s a little difficult to express, but it’s not just because it’s raining, it seems that the whole air has become relaxed.
It was still hot, but it felt like something warm was floating in the air.
Emil wasn’t the only one who felt that way, but all the soldiers involved in the subjugation seemed to think so.
Occasionally, I heard a voice asking if the rain was a blessing from the goddess.
Emile slowly drove the horse and glanced to the side.
Most of the soldiers are enjoying the rain after a long time, but the color of Howie’s face has not been good for a while.
“…”
After the Duke’s family added more soldiers, the escort attacks disappeared.
It must be because the duke’s soldiers are shining their eyes 24 hours a day.
Perhaps an attack was attempted, but at least nothing happened that Emile himself would notice.
‘What I noticed, you must have noticed by now. A prince whose life is threatened by an escort who has been with him for a long time…’
It’s funny.
Something bitter spread in my mouth.
If you subdue the monsters in one area to a certain extent, you will move to another territory.
He was on his way to a nearby jasalyeong now.
As with all territories, the road to the destination is not straight.
Sometimes the road went around a mountain or a cliff, and sometimes the road was just cut off.
You have to wind around or pass through another territory.
This time through the barony in the middle.
Suddenly looking at the desolate land, Emile sighed.
‘It’s a really difficult land to live in.’
For a long time I had heard that the barony was difficult and poor to live in.
It is said to be one of the poorest areas in the kingdom.
However, knowing what you hear and feeling when you actually see it are quite different.
He thought he had seen a lot of things he couldn’t see while wandering around the battlefield, but the misery of everyday life was different.
It hurts more deeply.
Arriving at the right place, Emil raised his hand and ordered the soldiers to stop and rest.
Although it has softened somewhat, the sun is still hot and the heat rising from the ground is still there.
The fatigue of the soldiers who marched repeatedly while being chased by the monster must have been considerable.
Emile himself was slowly losing strength.
The waist seems to bend forward.
Beads of sweat flowed down like water.
‘Really… If I continue like this for a few years, I think the first queen will die the way she wants.’
I will die from overwork, not from the beast or escort.
Sit in the shade of a tree and drink water from a canteen.
Then, in the distance, I saw dust rising white.
soldiers on horseback
From a distance, the weapon could be seen glistening in the sunlight.
Emile grabbed the knife and jumped up.
The fatigue from a while ago disappears in an instant and tension fills the body.
Looks like they found us too.
A group of soldiers came closer and closer.
All were armed.
Their atmosphere is unusual.
The scattered soldiers immediately rose up and grabbed their weapons.
However, seeing the captain of the soldiers approaching, Emil relaxed from his weapon grip.
someone who knows
We once stood on the battlefield together.
But that person must have been the self-made man he was looking for from now on.
‘Why in a place like this.’
For some reason, my heart grew cold with an ominous feeling.
The viscount man who came closer got off his horse.
“Long time no see.”
At Emil’s words, the man bowed his head.
He was about to say hello, but the man shut his mouth and swallowed.
If you look closely, you can see thick dried tear marks on his dusty face.
It seemed that her voice was trying to mix with crying.
“What’s going on? Why are you here…”
When Emil’s gaze turned to the soldiers lined up behind him, the man swallowed his tears and raised his head.
“The Viscounty was attacked by barbarians. We were chasing them now.”
“What… is the viscount okay?”
“The Viscount…”
Tears poured from the man’s eyes.
“Everyone… All died. The Viscount and wife in the mansion, as well as the Bocchan and all the servants… When we arrived, there was no one left alive.”
“oh my god.”
At that time, the duke’s captain, who was standing quietly next to him, whispered so that only Emil could hear.
“Please be careful with your answers.”
Almost at the same time, the viscount man opened his mouth.
“Please… help us. We hurriedly gathered soldiers and started tracking them, but we don’t know how many barbarians there are. Looking at the ruins of the mansion, I think they must be quite a number. I’m sorry, but we can’t deal with them alone…”
The viscount’s man shed tears.
What is there to be careful of in response to his words?
The savages… The grassland tribes attacked first and killed the kingdom’s nobles.
From the man’s words, it seems that everyone in the mansion was brutally murdered.
All the powerless women and children.
Resigning from here is inappropriate behavior for royalty.
As a royal family, no, if you were a human, you would of course have to add strength to them.
I thought so, but Emile kept his mouth shut.
The Duke told me to discuss everything with Captain Lee.
I put it euphemistically, but in reality it’s more like a command to follow this person.
Jake, the captain from the duke’s family, was his escort, counselor, and spokesman for the duke.
When he told me to be careful with my answers, it was the same as not to help.
If he dares to interrupt, you must obey.
It was only then that Emil remembered that the duke was very close to the steppe tribes.
My chest became turbulent.
Several possibilities come to mind at once.
I don’t know exactly what happened.
However, the response of the duke and other nobles to this incident may be completely different.
Following the duke would likely incur the wrath of other nobles, and perhaps even of his father.
‘Still, I have to follow the Duke’s words.’
It’s different from the days when I was only paying attention to my father and the first queen, hiding my thoughts and keeping my mouth shut.
He has already chosen a path of no return.
If something goes wrong in this situation, you and your mother will die.
Even if you don’t die, you will fall into a more painful situation than if you live.
Emile calmed down and turned his head slightly away from the viscount’s gaze.
Return the words that do not come out to the man who expects.
“I’m sorry. I can’t do anything about the steppes without your permission.”
“What…? What now…”
The Viscount Man’s atmosphere became grim.
He seems to have forgotten that Emile is of royalty.
In a state where the lord and his family were massacred, it might be a natural reaction.
Maybe his family was also in it.
“…”
Even if Emil has little real power, he is a member of the royal family.
To a man, it would have seemed like the royal family had turned their backs.
The viscount man reacted harshly for a moment, blaming him for not helping him, then turned his back.
The word coward came out of the mouth of the man on the horse.
The man turned his head away, but it was clear that he was talking about Emil.
The royal escort came closer and called out to him reproachfully.
“Emile!”
“…”
Emil looked at the viscount soldiers who walked away for a moment without responding to him.
‘But why did the steppes suddenly invade?’
Steppe tribes only operate close to borders.
I’ve never had one come in like this before.
Something is strange.
For some reason, an ominous feeling spread to a corner of his heart.
***[Goruka, Red Hawk Chief]***
The condition of the wounded was getting worse and worse.
I was very weak because I hadn’t had proper food for a long time.
Even though it’s not a big wound, it doesn’t recover.
The wound itself seemed to get better little by little when the herb was applied, but the body gradually lost its strength.
It seems that it is difficult to even withstand the shock of the rattling cart.
Because of this, the pace was much slower than expected.
‘If the enemy attacks like this…’
The mind becomes restless.
In the meantime, the news brought by the warrior who went to look around was devastating.
They say there is a tracker.
It wasn’t one.
be two
One was still a long way away, but the other group followed fairly close.
“The ones closest to us had dogs. Judging by the sound, I think there were at least ten.”
“…”
“I don’t know about those far away. There didn’t seem to be any dogs, but when I saw them properly tracking them, it seemed like there was someone capable.”
Maybe there is a hunter who is good at tracking in the group.
The kingdom’s hunters are often mobilized in wars or disputes between territories.
I had heard of it from Oscar before.
“how will we do it?”
The warriors gathered and looked at each other with calm faces.
It’s hard to deal with both of them at once.
“Can’t I lure you in?”
Someone suddenly muttered, but several shook their heads.
From nob le mt l dot com
Dogs are more likely to follow the smell of blood and head for the wounded if it’s a chase.
To get rid of the smell, you have to cross water or confuse it with animal feces, which was difficult for the injured.
A hunter’s eye could be somewhat deceiving.
“How far are those who are far away?”
“About half a day for us.
Goruka’s expression darkened.
Half a day for steppe tribes is quite a long time.
That was enough distance to completely hide their presence and run away.
But now it is impossible to achieve that speed.
At this pace, in the end, those who are far away will come closer in a day.
The chances of dealing with both at once increased.
Goruka put her hand in the pocket of her waistband.
There is a brooch given by Oscar.
‘Although I didn’t want to use this.’
Goruka pursed his lips.
*
The first pursuer showed up about an hour later.
From nob le mt l dot com
Dogs run ahead of people and bark noisily.
As discussed with the warriors in advance, Goruka turned his horse’s head back.
Against the pursuer this time, Goruka and three others.
The carts carrying the wounded and most of the warriors do not stop and run away.
It would be great if Oscar’s brooch could stop the pursuers, but if not, Goruka planned to tie them up as much as possible.
‘It’s okay, I can do it. They are different from steppe tribes. If you think you can’t win, you’ll get scared and run away. The important thing is to show overwhelming strength enough to completely drop their fighting spirit.’
Goruka drew several arrows.
Make eye contact with the remaining warriors and draw a protest at the same time.
Even if the Gorukawa warriors die on the spot, we must not let them pursue the wounded.
‘To do that, the first thing you need to aim for is…’
An arrow flew towards the dog that barked while showing its teeth.
Four dogs were hit by arrows and fell down, and four dogs who were hit by arrows fell down again.
Realizing the situation, the dog turns around and runs away.
But the remaining dogs were also shot down by arrows.
While the warriors aimed their bows again, Goruka rode his horse forward.
Three other warriors were going to shoot the kingdom’s horse if the brooch didn’t force them to retreat.
Without horses, they wouldn’t be able to track them on foot.
As they approached beyond the reach of their arrows, Goruka held Oscar’s brooch high.
“Do you see this sentence! If anyone recognizes this, stop walking. I will let you go without killing me!”
Among the people in the kingdom, someone muttered that it was Duke Weiss.
However, when they saw that a steppe tribe had that crest, they seemed to think it was a fake.
Or maybe he thought that if only the people in this room were to keep their mouths shut, even if he killed the steppe people, the duke would not know.
The people of the kingdom continued to run towards this side without stopping.
Everyone was drawing their weapons.
“Duke Weiss knows that I carry this! If I die here, someone from the duchy will contact me! Don’t think that the duke doesn’t know! Are you prepared to trample on the duke’s coat of arms!”
To those words, the people of the kingdom who were at the forefront responded.
“Stop! Stop!”
When the reins are suddenly snatched, the galloping horse neighs and raises its feet into the air.
“Are you a steppe tribe Goruka?”
the kingdom man asked.
“That’s right. I am Goruka, the chief of the Red Hawk of the steppe tribe.”
“I’m the chief of the guards belonging to one of the cities close to here. A group of bandits raided a domestic aristocratic mansion, and I was asked to help and was pursuing it.”
The kingdom man glanced at the warriors behind Goruka.
“I’m sorry.
The kingdom man immediately turned the reins.
“Let’s go back! These are not the people we were after.”
“But boss!”
Someone raised an objection, but the captain of the guard ignored it and went back.
A breath of relief came out.
“I wondered what kind of power that kind of ornament would have, but it’s amazing.”
The warrior approaching closer looked at the brooch in Goruka’s hand.
Really, it worked better than I thought.
Goruka took a long breath and nodded.
“Now let’s go too.”
It took a while for him to breathe a sigh of relief.
Around noon the next day, they encountered a second pursuer.
It was on a street that left a short distance from the border leading to the meadow.