200 To protect the family
***[Heroine Oscar]***
“The grasslands have arrived at their intended location.”
“Women and children?”
“We are waiting at a pre-designated place. There are women who have not yet been given permission, but have already started making noise.”
The aide grinned.
“It seems to be as the duke expected. Hearing the signal from the women, it seems that the whole steppe people are agitated.”
I nodded slightly.
“Keep checking. Be careful not to make the women feel uneasy. If they become uneasy, the grassland tribes will react against it. Not only the grassland tribes, but also the red hawks may turn into enemies. Even if it is a threat, women and children Remember that the most important thing is to show that you are safe.”
“yes.”
“Before the explosions, take them out of reach of women and children. Don’t show them misery.”
“All right.”
Preparations are being made to attract the steppe tribes into the city.
If there was any sign of realizing that it was a trap, soldiers who would immediately attack and cut off the retreat were waiting everywhere, and there was also a red hawk that had lured the grassland tribes all the way here.
When the red hawk appears, the steppe people will run like moths to the fire.
But if you have the lure of a woman and a child, you can lure them into the city more surely than anything else.
It will stir up their agitation more than anything else.
I originally had no intention of using women and children, but if they intervene, there is no way not to use this.
I let out a small sigh.
The steppe tribe women and children were left standing sparsely from the road just before entering the mining city to the city entrance.
The distance between the women and the steppe tribes entering the city is quite far.
It was barely within reach of the sound.
From such a long distance, with the soldiers.
The soldiers were for the safety of the women, but at the same time they were a threat to the steppe tribes.
Steppe warriors who are sensitive to appearances may notice that there is a soldier near the woman and child, and perhaps such information may be mixed in the signal.
With many of their families safely on this side, and a soldier guarding the vicinity, it is sure to be disconcerting.
I heard that there are many tribes that are not on good terms with the Silver Moon among the steppe tribes.
However, the reason they joined this invasion was because the kingdom kidnapped their women and children and enslaved them.
Some of them may be willing to surrender thanks to their close relationship with the Red Hawk.
But using women as a threat is a double-edged sword.
If you do it wrong, you may rather cause their backlash, and you should be careful.
If you make a mistake, it may become a miserable war that will not end unless you kill the last person.
‘That shouldn’t have happened.’
I murmured to myself and let out a small breath again.
“hey.”
“Yes, Duke.”
After I finished the report and called the aide who was about to leave, I said softly.
“Pay special attention to safety. Make sure all women and children are back before it explodes.”
The aide smiled brightly.
“Of course. We understand their importance. Don’t worry.”
When the aide left, this time the Marquis of Hoven, his grandfather, rode his horse closer.
“Duke, our side is ready. It seems the same goes for other families.”
Even if they are grandfathers and grandsons, they are marquess and dukes in official settings.
As all the lords and Prince Emile from all over the world gathered together, the tone of my grandfather, who until recently hit me hard on the back and called me Oscar, had changed.
Well, the twinkling eyes that I can’t help but want to brag about my grandson are still the same.
Some distance away, the ducal family’s messengers were galloping with flags tucked in their saddles.
A yellow flag announcing the arrival of the steppes.
The tension of the soldiers of other families who witnessed the flag rises in an instant, and it seems that it is transmitted here.
Tension spread through the city like a wave as the flag-bearing messengers ran in each direction.
Prince Emile, who was talking to another noble from a distance, looked at me with a hard face.
The reason he was nervous wasn’t simply because he bumped into the steppes.
The expectation and fear of finally witnessing the power of the magic bomb may be greater.
I bowed slightly to Prince Emile and looked at my grandfather.
“As you know, you shouldn’t attack too early. The power of the explosion is quite large.
“Of course, Duke.”
Grandpa laughed out loud.
“Going back and forth in battle is familiar to these old men.”
He scanned all directions as if he was groping for a place where he could not see his grandfather’s gaze.
Perhaps he was checking the location of the magic troops stationed throughout the city in his head.
The mining town was very large, and each family was waiting outside the district they were in charge of.
Rather than simply hiding from the steppe tribes, it was to avoid getting caught up in the power of the explosion.
Grandpa gave them a swagger, as if to show off, then looked at me with twinkling eyes.
“I’m used to war… but I’m not sure if we old people can respond properly this time. It might be us old people rather than steppe tribes who are surprised by the new weapon.”
Grandpa smiled and lowered his head slightly towards me.
“Please be careful.”
“Even the Marquis Hoven.”
When I lowered my head a little, my grandfather rode like the wind and headed for his soldiers.
Now we are finally facing the final battle.
I glanced at the direction the steppes were coming from.
***[Plain tribe kid]***
The boy bit his lip.
It’s already been 3 years since I came here.
This year he turned 7 years old.
Although he is still young, he has the energy of the earth, and he would have started training as a warrior a long time ago.
However, because he was brought in at an intermediate age, he had not yet been properly trained to feel the energy of the earth.
However, after coming to the dukedom, he learned a little about the bow from a soldier here.
Their facial features and clothes are completely different, but they use the same way they do in the meadow.
Even though it was only a few days, he was taught by the Red Hawk Warrior.
It’s a bit ambiguous, but I want to say that I’m a warrior anyway.
‘I am… a warrior. He is a proud warrior of the grassland.’
The boy calmed his pounding heart and spoke to himself.
Warriors are brave.
The warrior of the steppe protects the family.
No matter how dangerous it is, I can do it to protect my family.
We have to do it.
because that’s a warrior
“…”
Courage soared.
Of course, it will disappear again after a while, but then you’ll have to be brave again.
According to my mother, our tribe and the Red Hawk tribe have had a close relationship for a long time.
But this time it’s the enemy.
I don’t know why, but I heard that the Silvermoon tribe and our tribe are on the same side.
So it is said that mothers and women came forward to appeal to them to take their side.
They say that there is a moon child in this duchy, so we shouldn’t fight.
Even the boy had heard of the moon child.
When I was still in the meadow, my father told me while looking at the stars in the black night sky.
But that is not the real reason why mothers and women break the rule that they must not intervene in men’s wars.
I had heard mothers and women secretly whispering.
[I’ve only seen it once, but there’s a very scary weapon here. When there is a loud sound, the ground is dug up and all rocks and trees disappear.]
[I know.]
don’t know what it is
But the women thought that the dreadful weapon would endanger the men of our tribe.
Although I can’t believe it.
I don’t know why you say that when you know how strong the warriors of the steppe are.
But I can’t say anything about my true feelings.
Because this place is small.
The man of the plains keeps his mouth shut in enemy territory.
My mother, a woman, doesn’t know that at all.
With no father and no brothers, he is the only one who will protect her mother.
I thought I had to calmly pretend to be a child, catch the enemy off guard, and protect my mother’s side.
But the time has finally come for him to lay down his life as a man.
Mothers and women arrived at the place to invite surrender, and today they are finally on the road where the steppe people are passing through.
‘Mother, I’m sorry.’
Looking up at her mother’s face as she unknowingly held her hand, she felt a surge of guilt.
But you must warn yourself.
I’m sorry for betraying the expectations of mothers and women, but steppe men have a man’s way.
And people here probably don’t kill women.
I don’t know how I am as a man, but I think my mother will be safe.
I asked the soldiers several times as if they were passing by, but it seems that women and men are treated separately here.
Fighting with a man does not bully a woman.
yes, it’s okay
As the girls began to signal with birdsong, the boy pulled his hand away from his mother and started running quickly.
Startled, the mother calls his name.
But I didn’t look back.
I shed a few tears, but I hold back because I’m a man.
The Man in the Plain Doesn’t Cry
The soldiers started to gallop after him.
“Kid! Kid!”
Soldiers who do not know the language of the grassland call him by the word of the grassland, which means a child.
Until now, whenever they called him a kid, he would scurry to catch him off guard, but he’s not a kid.
7 years old.
He is a decent man.
So far, answering their call and pretending to be young has only been a way to catch the enemy off guard.
The boy threw a stone in his hand as the soldier’s horse approached.
The horse whirled in surprise and turned away, and the panicked soldier pulled the reins.
As the horse nearly collided with the horse immediately behind it, the boy dropped them in an instant and ran forward.
He was prepared to die, but luckily none of the soldiers shot an arrow.
I just call him a little kid as if he was embarrassed.
‘Okay, I did it.’
When he was still young, he was a child who ran faster than anyone else in the meadow.
While being captured by the kingdom, his body has weakened a lot, but his feet are still fast.
After a little distance, the soldier stopped chasing.
I think it’s because I got too close to the steppe tribes.
Instead, for some unknown reason, an unridden horse followed him.
A small, compact one, it looked exactly like the horse of the steppe tribes.
“?”
It’s strange.
Why is this word in a place like this?
I do not know.
But since I already have a word, type it.
The boy jumped on his horse and started running.
I heard my mother’s birdsong signal behind my back.
I was calling him to come back.
Mother, I’m sorry.
The moment the boy muttered to himself, the appearance of the steppe people caught his eye.
A lot of it.
I had never seen so many warriors.
All were riding horses and wearing necklaces and headdresses that were evidence of warriors.
cool.
I was dazed for a moment, but this is not the time to be admiring.
Risks must be informed.
Because among those warriors there will be my father and brothers.
The boy started shouting loudly.
“The enemy has a weapon! There is a great weapon to destroy all rocks and trees! Run! Run! Run!”
As I shouted that to the steppe people, the face of a man I had seen suddenly caught my eye.
One of the steppe warriors.
The boy’s eyes widened.
He was the eldest brother.
“Brother! Mother is all right! Don’t worry and run away! These people don’t kill women! So you can run away in peace!”
It was the moment when I cried out like that.
At the sound of a strong whistle, the horse jerked away.
As it is, it runs away from the grassland people.
The boy waved the reins, but the horse did not listen to his commands.
“ah!”
Perhaps it is a horse trained to return to its master when it hears a whistle.
got hit
He thought about jumping off the horse, but at that moment someone had already rushed to his side.
It seems that the horse belonged to that person.
I whistled again and the horse slowed down a little.
I didn’t see who
Thinking that I might die now, I was so embarrassed that I didn’t have time to look at his face.
Thinking that he had to run anyway, he was about to jump off the horse, but his thick arms wrapped around his chest.
His body was lightly pulled into the air and climbed onto the man’s horse.
“This guy!
uh! steppe people.
When he raised his head in surprise, the Red Hawk Warrior who taught him the bow was looking down at him.
“answer!”
“sorry.”
Surprised, I answered in a daze and got scolded again.
The mindset of men from the steppes is generally the same in any tribe, and for some reason, I heard nagging that men protect their families.
That’s why I acted to save my family and tribe.
‘But why are you being scolded?’
The man took him to the place where his mother was, but he didn’t drop him off and kept nagging him.
No, that’s why, as a man, I was prepared to lay down my life for the sake of my tribe, so why am I being scolded?
I do not know.
After being released by the man, I was scolded by my mother.
So, why are you upset?
‘By the way… did my older brother run away?’
I’m not sure, but I think I saw my father near my older brother.
My father and older brother must have run away properly.
The boy had been thinking about that all along even as he was being scolded.