Episode 256. Farewell
The night was deep in the meadow.
The rain caused by the cumulus clouds had stopped, and the cumulus clouds had returned to their original form. While the cumulus clouds lingered in the sky, the ground was busy cleaning up the aftermath of the war.
“It’ll take some time to deal with the orcs and monsters.”
Blane said, crossing his arms. Rubin nodded slightly.
The most efficient way to dispose of the invaders’ bodies was to dig holes in the grassland and bury them, but the Tuhunians did not want to do that.
They planned to return all the bodies back across the polar barrier.
Before that, the means of transport had to be prepared first. The number of corpses exceeded 10,000, and the barrier was at the northernmost point of the plains. It was obvious that a difficult process awaited them ahead.
“It’ll take months just to clean up the mess. That’s something that Tohun will have to take care of anyway.”
As Rubin turned and walked away, Blane followed him. Soon, their footsteps stopped again.
It was in front of Kalanta’s corpse.
“… … .”
Somehow, it still seemed alive. Even though we were facing an enemy, it was true that there was a sense of grandeur in its dead form.
He was kneeling, his upper body stiff. The heavy armor he was wearing was shattered in many places. Looking at it, it felt like the battle from just a few hours ago was vividly relived.
If it weren’t for the ‘tidal wave of fighting’ that had swept over him, and if the three hadn’t attacked together, they wouldn’t have been able to secure victory.
“Blane, are you okay?”
“Yes, it’s not serious. I’m recovering.”
Blane answered with a bitter smile. Blane was the one who took the biggest hit during the attack. She had been caught by Kalanta’s ankle. She was slammed to the ground several times, almost receiving a fatal wound.
The crocodile man and the rhinoceros man approached one by one. Their eyes seemed to indicate that they would now treat Kalanta’s body in the same way as the rest. Rubin nodded quietly.
“Now, what should the Empire do with the Tunghun Plains?”
Well, that was Rubin’s curiosity too.
In fact, the Tuhun people thought that another suppression force of the Empire would come soon. So, they prepared to live a different life than before.
Five tribes gathered together and lived in one place, building numerous emergency passages under the grasslands, and setting up traps here and there. In other words, it was a life as a resistance fighter.
“Things might not go as planned. The Emperor might not send troops right away.”
“Even though the general died here?”
Rubin nodded. It was because the general had appeared on the plains so secretly, and alone.
Rubin was troubled by this. Still, he thought that the general would show up with at least an escort force.
Where did Telmah’s will lie? It seemed more important to him to cover up the problems of the meadows secretly rather than actively solve them.
“Perhaps the Tohun Plains are not a problem that the Emperor needs to solve right away. In any case, he will need to deploy a large number of troops.”
Now the grasslands were no longer just lands to be devoured by orcs and monsters.
The ‘Tsundere Wave’ still holds out, and even a Suin unit has been created. And on top of that, there’s Elkio, the natural enemy of Grandbird.
“Blaane, think of a target where the Empire’s power should be concentrated.”
“Another target?”
Blane probably couldn’t have predicted it, but Rubin had said it with the Assassins in mind. At least Rubin knew it.
The Emperor’s army that Rubin had encountered in his previous life was not simply a suppression operation. It was an operation of enormous scale, involving a significant portion of the Imperial Army’s strength.
If an operation of that level were to unfold again, the current emperor would not be able to easily decide to develop the grasslands.
‘Whether it’s clearing the plains or conquering the Assassins… Telmah will focus his efforts on whichever he deems more important.’
Of course, it was dangerous to easily predict Telmah’s mind, who ruled the continent. It was best for both the Tohun tribe and the Assassin’s Blade to prepare to confront the emperor in their own way.
“The fate of the prairie will be known only after more time has passed. What matters is that it is now time for us to leave the prairie.”
Then Blanet asked.
“Yes, I will prepare right away. But, Master, may I return to Avern?”
“No, come with me to Bonga Roinen.”
“Ah, to the Roinen mansion… … .”
Blane swallowed hard at the thought of going to the place where the best siren was. Naturally, he thought he would return to Avern.
Rubin noticed the curiosity and smiled lightly.
“You will find out why I am taking you to my hometown when you get there.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Flop! Flop!
Tina and Ojos then came down beside them.
“Rubin! Are you really going home now?”
“Yeah, it’s time to go back.”
“I’ve only been in the grasslands, so now I feel like vomiting just by looking at green. I miss the sirens so much.”
From the beginning, Rubin had planned to leave quietly, without even saying goodbye.
Thanks to Haneke, I could communicate with Rayubia, the ‘Lord of the Red Clouds’, at any time, so there was no problem.
however.
“Are you going to go now?”
As if they knew, Rayubia and Elkio approached Rubin. They weren’t the only ones. Following them were Imakarum and Kundalit from the Clavicle Tribe.
To them, Rubin was not someone they could send off without saying goodbye. He was the one who decided the fate of the prairie and opened up a new future for the battlefield.
“I understand that you deserve to be seen off by all the marks, but please understand. Knock knock knock.”
The first one to stand in front of Rubin was Kundalit. He had returned to his human form and was coughing the whole time he was seeing him off.
“If you want, I can tell you how to cure your illness. If you think about the future of your torment, it would be better for you to take better care of your health.”
“It is the fate of all the taunts to return to the wind of the prairie. Besides, even without me, the future of the taunts will be fine. Because there are Imakarum and Rayubia.”
Kundalit turned his gaze towards Imakarum and smiled. This time, Imakarum stood in front of Rubin.
“If you need my help, just tell me. I’ll be more than happy to help you. When I killed that orc earlier, my attack was the deciding blow. Did you see that?”
“Okay, if you need strength, let’s get help from Rayubia.”
“Yeah, thanks… What, Rayubia? Not me?”
“Layubia will surpass you soon, so you can be sure of it.”
“What! Hey, ‘Orc Hunter’. What do you think?”
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Imakarum opened his eyes wide and looked at Blane. Still, since they had been active in the battlefield together, he expected an answer that would help him maintain his pride.
But Blaine was as cool-headed as anyone. She nodded without a second of hesitation.
“You don’t even have to go that far. I think I can outrun you faster than Rayubia.”
“What?! I saved you earlier! From that orc!”
“Was it? I’m not sure. I know that it was because of you that I got hit hard by Kalanta.”
Next was Rayubia. She wasn’t touching the Black Soul Sword. Come to think of it, Haneke had already returned to his inner world.
“Goodbye, Rubin. Next time I see you, it’ll be a war unlike any other.”
That’s right. At that time, it will be a war to restore the lost balance of the continent. It will be a great war that will involve not only Rayubia and Elkio, but also the ‘chosen wizards’ Oscar and Selok.
As Rubin nodded resolutely, Rayubia smiled.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not scared anymore. And Rubin, you’re here too, so don’t worry. If anything happens on the meadow, I’ll let you know right away. Through Grandpa Haneke.”
“Don’t expect it, Rayubia.”
“Oh, but I have a favor to ask… Grandpa Haneke, would it be okay if you stayed by my side for a while? I want to become strong as quickly as possible.”
The question was whether it would be okay to summon Haneke often for training. In that case, Rubin’s inner world would become empty many days.
Rubin shrugged his shoulders in agreement. That was exactly what Rubin wanted.
“Ahem.”
Next to the excited Rayubia, Elkio bowed his head for a moment, his ash-colored fur fluttering.
“I owe you another debt after the Black Soul Sword.”
Before Rubin could answer, Tina, who was standing next to him, intervened.
“If you’re still worried about owing them money, maybe giving them something to borrow from you wouldn’t be a bad idea. Maybe a shiny jewel?”
Elchio ignored the squealing Roinecrow. It was a typical Elchio response.
“When we meet next time, I will be able to see your new body together. I look forward to it. It will be incomparable to this blood clan.”
Thanks to those words, Rubin remembered the divine beasts he had forgotten about. The divine beasts like Elkiona and Cellok, given to those chosen by the dark.
Shinsoo was stuck in the misty tree of Gillyfield Arboretum like other Roynecro. There was still quite some time left before he was born-
‘They said that once it’s born, it’ll find its owner on its own. For now, all we can do is wait.’
Besides this, I gained a lot from this fight in the meadow.
Lord of the Red Clouds, Rayubia.
Elchio, the wolf of wind and thunder.
The 5-star leopard beast tribe, Imakarum.
Including the orc hunter Blane and Lemonlive’s machine.
‘It will all be of great help in the upcoming war with Telmah.’
And so the farewells with everyone came to an end.
Flop! Flop!
Leaving the two men behind, Rubin and Blane climbed into their respective Roinekrows.
As the two crows flew into the night sky, they seemed to immediately be enveloped in darkness.
Then, when the moon became the background, their shadows came into view for a moment. The farewell party watched them until Rubin and his party completely disappeared.
* * *
Two weeks later, the palace.
Telmah sitting on the throne, resting his chin on his hand. Today was the day to receive the final report on ‘Operation Sunset’.
In the center of the Emperor’s magnificent study, Rulfo was lying face down, thirty paces from the throne.
But soon something happened that made the distance meaningless. Telmah rose from the throne and walked towards Rulfo, dragging the hem of her long robe.
Thud thud.
Rulfo was nervous because it was unusual. Then, Telmah’s laughter overtook the sound of footsteps.
“It’s so absurd that it’s almost funny. Isn’t it, Rulpo?”
Rulfo only shrank further. There was a subtle, but rage in the Emperor’s voice.
“This is an operation carried out by the General’s Office, and you are the one who has to report on it.”
“I am sorry, Your Majesty.”
Originally, the person who was supposed to report was General Lemonreeve.
However, Lemonlive has not been located since the day he was sent into the meadow to find out the cause of Grandbird’s death. It has not even been confirmed whether he is alive or dead.
The next in line of the Grand General’s line was supposed to appear before the Emperor on behalf of the Grand General, but the Emperor did not allow it, as he did not want the failure of the ‘Sunset Operation’ to be leaked out any further.
He knew about the ‘Sunset Operation’ and was a trusted subject of the Emperor. In the end, Rulfo was the one who gave the final report on behalf of the General Staff.
In a way, it wasn’t just the report. What was stealing Rulfo’s time until he could face the Emperor was the aftermath of the ‘Sunset Operation’.
A large-scale purge. Everyone who had obtained relevant information within the General Headquarters and the Northern 2nd Corps was completely eliminated.
“I think we need to hurry up and appoint the next general.”
“So, you’re saying Lemonlive is dead?”
“Considering the General’s loyalty to the Empire… I think that is the only reason why his whereabouts have not been identified until now.”
“But there was no explosion in the meadow. If Lemonlive had died, the machine would have exploded. How could there have been no explosion if he had died?”
Swish swish.
Telmah did not remain still while he spoke. The sound of the hem of his clothes being dragged continued around Rulfo. It was like the sound of a sword tearing through the air, and sweat was beading on Rulfo’s face.
“… We could organize an army to officially investigate the plains. If we could gather some of the continent’s renowned magicians and swordsmen and come up with a proper justification for it-”
“No. That’s not a good idea.”
“… … .”
“You know how many troops it takes to eliminate the Assassin Sword Family, right? It’s a task to eliminate the shadow of the continent, so we can’t waste our energy on that.”
This incident has led to the grasslands being labeled an unknown enemy.
But what was certain was that no matter how great the power hidden in the grassland was, it was nothing compared to the Assassination Swordsman.
After the Assassination Swordsmen were exterminated, the development of the grasslands would have become an easier task. They would have become even more complete rulers than they are now.
“Let’s leave the meadow alone for now. We’ll watch it a bit more and then decide.”
“I understand, Your Majesty.”
“Who else knows about this operation?”
“All the soldiers and officers involved have been cleared out. Fortunately, it was a secret operation, and the Imperial Army was directly involved, so we were able to clear everything out cleanly.”
Telmah nodded and returned to the throne. Next to the throne was a report that Rulfo had organized. Telmah’s eyes, which were absentmindedly looking over the report, stopped at one place.
“Three Grandbirds died? Not two.”
“Granbird, who was returning to the corps headquarters after dropping the general off on the grassland, also lost connection with the ‘situation board’.”
The connection to the situation board was lost. That meant the connection to Graham’s heart was lost. There could be no other reason for this than death.
“Your Majesty, the Imperial Department is currently working on finding the next Commander-in-Chief. You can leave Lanka alive until then.”
It was Lanka, not Karanka. The Emperor’s sword was placed on the two-headed ones, and in the end, the head that survived the fight was the hairy Lanka. Of course, its lifespan was only a few years.
“The next Commander-in-Chief… Didn’t you say that Graham’s descendant is in this ‘Sunset Operation’?”
“Lord Nerheim of Hiberdad is believed to have been killed in action.”
“That’s too bad.”
The Emperor, who had covered the report, rested his chin on his hand again. He tried to dismiss Rulfo with a nonchalant gesture.
Just as Rulfo was about to stand up and walk backwards out of the office.
“Oh, wait a minute.”
“Yes, Pheasant!”
“Rubin, that kid, did you return to Siren’s side?”
“Yes, he was reported to have returned two days ago. Do you have any orders regarding Rubin Roinen?”
Telmach shook his head.
“I should think about what to give him as his next task. Where on this vast continent would he be of use?”
