With hundreds of their comrades dying in droves, the soldiers charging up the hill began to falter. Those that made it close to the wall must have deemed it too late to turn back; they extended the ladders and began to climb.
Armored monsters began scaling the outer walls, paying no mind to the coalition’s arrows directed back at them. Leaning out of the battlement, they bashed their iron maces against the soldiers who managed to get close. It was such a gruesome sight that Maxi had to look away.
After a few hours, the Arexian army began retreating. Arrows rained down on the fleeing soldiers, killing additional hundreds in the process.
Maxi tried to count the bodies scattered on the hill but gave up after passing five hundred. Her rough estimate of the total was three times that number. The whole situation was simply too disastrous to be the result of one man’s reckless actions.
Armin stood nearby, gazing down at the battlefield with a grim expression. “I think it’s over,” he said. “Let’s lower the wall.”
As he lifted the spell, the earthen mound slowly descended. Maxi pushed past the soldiers as the ground leveled out. While the Arexian army had suffered the most casualties, many of the archers who had marched with them were from the Osiriyan and Wedonian forces.
Maxi anxiously scanned the wounded being carried back to camp, on the lookout for a Remdragon Knight among them, but there were simply too many requiring medical attention to linger for long. She was still searching desperately when Nevin stepped out of the infirmary with a despondent expression.
“The infirmary is full. Well have to set up another tent.”
Maxi let out a heavy sigh and nodded. “We can pitch another tent at the foot of the hill as best we can.”
With the help of the soldiers, they quickly erected poles behind the central battalion and draped a stiff, tar-coated fabric over them. Once the new infirmary was complete, the soldiers brought in the wounded and laid them on rush mats.
Maxi began treating those in critical condition first. Most were bleeding from arrow wounds on their shoulders, backs, or calves, and some had also sustained broken limbs. The sight of their terrible injuries filled Maxi with rage. Containing her anger, she pulled arrows from flesh, set broken bones, and stitched up lacerations.
Once the most pressing treatments were complete, she emerged from the tent to assess the situation. The coalition army had swiftly reorganized, forming a defensive line. Her eyes swept over the orderly ranks arrayed on the hill and breathed a relieved sigh when she spotted Hebaron and Ulyseon behind the central battalion.
Garrow’s injury had strung Maxi into a state of constant anxiety. She felt the need to confirm their well-being prick at her, and she started toward them. Suddenly, the mass of soldiers parted, revealing a man being dragged into camp. The ominous scene stopped Maxi in her tracks.
Two paladins forcibly brought their captive to his knees in front of the other knights.
Incensed, the man bellowed, “I am a commander appointed by His Majesty King Balial! I will not be subjected to such treatment!”
Maxi’s eyes widened as she recognized the man as the commander of the Arexian army. As Adolf struggled to break free from his captors, Kuahel Leon strode over. Maxi tensed, her shoulders hunching. She had never seen the clergyman look so stern and merciless. He halted before Adolf, removed his helmet, and slapped him across the face with his gauntlet.
Maxi gasped. Blood trickled down Adolf’s cheek as he stared up at Kuahel in disbelief.
“W-What the devil do you think—”
“You endangered the entire army,” Kuahel stated icily, wiping the blood from the metal of his gauntlet. “I demand that you humble yourself and beg for forgiveness.”
“Th-The result may not have been what I wished, but I fought for the peace and stability of the Seven Kingdoms!” the man shouted, enraged. “What gives you the right to penalize me? You may be the supreme commander of this army, but I am a representative of the King of Arex! You have no authority—”
“Dear me, i didn’t know Her Highness was so formidable,” the man replied mockingly.
Maxi glowered at him. “I… am not your princess, so do not address me as such.” “Who knows? You might just become one when this war is over.”
After uttering that cryptic statement, the man took a step back. Maxi put more distance between them and directed a wary glare at him.
“W-What do you mean?”
“Do you think the armistice will still stand after this war?” Breston muttered as he freed a flask from his belt and maneuvered the lid open with his teeth.
Maxi furrowed her brow at his sudden question. Breston took a sip before languidly adding, “The Armistice of the Seven Kingdoms was drawn up in response to the explosion of monsters. Simply put, if there are less monsters, it no longer serves a purpose.”
“N-Nonsense. Th-There is no guarantee that such a thing—”
“The goal of the armistice has never been peace. It was an agreement made so the rulers of each kingdom could protect their power. And under this pretext of peace, they have suppressed rebels and defiant nobles alike, yet this land is still plagued by conflict.”
A disturbing smile curled the man’s lips, and his red eyes glinted as he spoke. “This fictional peace is bound to end, and the warlords who’ve been stifled by the armistice will rise up to reclaim Roem’s former glory. Only then will the myth of Rosem Wigrew truly come alive.”
Maxi hunched her shoulders against the chill that ran down her spine, but Breston prattled on as if under a spell.
“Wigrew is the hero who unified the Seven Kingdoms. It’s deplorable, is it not? That the forces preventing the rebirth of the empire are sullying his name. Just the thought of those imposters alone fills me with rage.” He gave her a goading look. “And the worst among them is your mutt of a husband.”
“Don’t you dare… call him that,” she said fiercely.
Breston shrugged nonchalantly. “The mongrel won’t be debasing Wigrew’s name for long. The armistice will end once the monsters have been exterminated, and the true myth of the empire will begin again.”
“And i suppose… you consider yourself the hero of this myth?” Maxi retorted derisively.
The man’s eyes flashed dangerously. “It’s certainly a possibility.”
“Though I feel bad for you… I doubt that will happen in your lifetime,” Maxi said with conviction.
The smirk vanished from Breston’s lips.
Maxi met his gaze and emphasized each word as she said, “Because you will never surpass Riftan Calypse.”
She readied herself to cast a shield as his eyes flashed dangerously, but he made no move to attack and simply glared at her.
Then, in a disconcertingly languid manner, he said, “We’ll see about that.”
He turned around and strode toward where the Baltonian flag flapped in the wind. Maxi stared after him, uneasiness pooling in her gut. Something told her that she might have needlessly disturbed a hornet’s nest…
