North x Northwest

Chapter 282

Side Story 4 Liloas Chapter 2: Mortus Castle

The Karabinae Regiment, which had moved away from the centre, made a detour to cover the flanks of the federal troops.

Liloas whole body became tense, because, like the rest of the carabiners, she had to secure her accuracy despite moving at maximum speed.

The colonel of her battalion shouted.

Aim!..

The moment she grabbed the gun barrel again, an unexpected swarm of arrows shot out from the side of the federal army.

Damn it! Archers!..

They have archers behind their shields!..

Look up! Look at the sky!..

Liloa looked directly at the arrows gently rising into the clear sky. The objects that peaked at its parabolic path soon rushed at her at an alarming rate.

Liloa slammed the reins down harshly. Koud Bhan started to gallop at a speed that was close to a full sprint. When an arrow approached her left shoulder, Liloa adjusted the reins to the right. With another one to her right side, she steered left. A third arrow, that almost hit the top of her head, forced Liloa to lower her upper body.

As she soon was within range, she quickly wrapped the reins in one hand, lifted her rifle, and loaded it.

Aim!..

But something was strange. Gaps gradually began to form between the enemys infantry formations, which were initially densely covered with shields As the distance between the shields increased rapidly, huge shadows appeared behind them

Liloa instinctively grabbed the reins again. At the same time, war horses with thick horns attached to their bridles rushed out among the federal infantry. The fierce federal cavalry surged toward the waist of the Imperial armys line, which had just been disrupted by the attacks of the archers.

The colonel of her battalion roared.

Its the Counts cavalry!..

Its a trap!..

Hold your positions! Damn it, aim!..

Fire!..

However, despite the attempt to reorganise, chaos had already broken out. The battalions guns fired, but their accuracy was extremely low. Meanwhile, the federal cavalry successfully broke through the Karabinaes line. Even Liloa, who had been dodging arrows by lying down flat on the agile Koud Bang, fell off her horse when an arrow grazed the beasts side.

The grassless, muddy ground rushed in front of Liloas eyes.

She reflexively placed her hands lightly on the ground and rolled at an angle to reduce the harsh impact. Her hat flew off somewhere. Seeing a federal cavalrys sword aimed straight toward her neck, Liloa quickly lowered herself and crawled on her stomach, instantly covering her uniform in both mud and blood.

Liloa stood up after ripping a rifle out of the hand of a corpse near her. She aimed at the back of an opponent fighting the colonel and fired. With the elimination of his enemy, her colonel turned to her and nodded.

Liloa then looked around, but Koud Bhan seemed to have run away in surprise and was nowhere to be seen. There were also no suitable warhorses nearby either. She had no choice but to pick up a random shield and put it on her left arm.

Then suddenly, a voice behind her cried out.

The prostitute of Obernyu!..

It was a voice Liloa knew very well. She quickly turned and threw her dagger.

Arthur!

Arthur swung his spear and struck down the dagger.

Hahahaha! Not bad!

Liloa groped around her waist, but there was no gun left. The distance between them was also too short to waste more time searching another dead body for a loaded one. As such, the only thing she could do was raise her shield against the charging black warlock. Her tightly clenched fists were slippery from the mixture of mud and sweat.

As Arthur rushed toward her with his back against the setting sun, Liloa squinted her eyes and tried to gauge his movements. She knew that whether it was the horn-adorned bridle, the front hooves of the huge warhorse, or Arthurs spear itself, a single blow by one of those would instantly kill her.

Arthurs magnificent spear drew downward in a semicircle. The blood-caked metal reflected the orange sun from time to time. Liloa opened her eyes to pay attention to her opponents tracks. If she missed even a moment, her body could be split in two.

Soon, the blade of the spear struck her shield. At the moment of impact, Liloa twisted her shield and deflected the spear.

Arthur, who was now charging to the other side after going past her, turned his horse towards Liloa again while still managing to kill three infantrymen with the spear he swung. Liloa threw down her broken shield and frantically searched for a gun among the corpses around her, but the damp bodies were soaked in puddles of blood.

Rushing forward, Arthur shouted.

I dont intend to kill you, so dont worry!

The mouth beneath the helmet grinned, revealing his teeth.

Because I would like to have a taste of you as well!

Not too far away, Liloa found a rifle slung over the shoulder of a sprawled out soldier. Liloa ran towards him and grabbed the barrel of the gun. Reaching the man, Liloa got down on one knee, reloaded the gun and aimed the muzzle at Arthur.

How dare you!

Arthur threw his spear at her.

Zeng!

The long barrel of the gun got hit by the blade of the spear, which was thrown with incredible force. Liloa, unable to withstand the impact, had to let go of the rifles grip plate, causing both the spear and the rifle to fly into the air.

Arthur repositioned himself and was already holding his drawn sword high. Now that Liloa was facing him away from the setting sun, Arthurs entire body appeared to be stained red. His steed raised its front legs as if to trample Liloa, while Arthur, confident of an imminent victory, raised his chin.

However, just like the count, Liloa also had a second weapon. And a sword raised above the mans shoulder couldnt be faster than a pistol. Without hesitation, she took out the gun that she had hidden in her arms as a last resort.

She stretched out her arms towards her opponents forehead. Aiming wasnt difficult as the bright glow of the sunset made a sharp contrast between the metal of Arthurs helmet and his bare face.

Bang!

When the faint smoke blowing before her eyes cleared Arthur seemed to have frozen in the same position in which he was swinging his sword. But the puzzlement only lasted for a moment, and the sword slowly fell from his raised hand.

Although the huge weapon fell, Liloa heard no sound. The horses body, who still had his front legs raised, sank slowly, while the commotion and cries of the battlefield became increasingly distant.

Liloa could barely breathe.

Slowly opening her left eye, which she had closed to take aim, the hole on Arthurs forehead became clear. A trickle of blood flowed from the dark red hole. The face that met its death relaxed and fell apart.

It was then that Robero came in front of her.

Liloa! Are you all right

Liloa shook off Roberos outstretched arm while he still rode horseback. She caught one of the wandering horses by the reins and climbed into the saddle. Soon, words came out like her exhaled breath.

Arthur

Liloa found herself increasingly out of breath.

Where is Roberos gaze directed at?

She turned her head in the same direction and saw a horse roaming around the battlefield, carrying its dead master. The federal supreme commander, who was lying face down, wasnt even given the chance to close his eyes. His helmet covered in red fur rested precariously on the head but eventually fell to the side of the horse.

Liloa cried out with a pounding heartbeat that was too much for her to handle.

Arthur is dead!

The rest of the cavalry, who had come after Robero, surrounded her as well.

Liloa shouted again.

The Count is dead!

Liloa cried out until her throat felt like it would tear apart and threw her arms toward the sky. The soldiers around her began shouting as well. With the sporadic shouts turning into cries uttered in unison, the federal infantry around them were the first to lose their fighting spirit, laid down their swords and fell to their knees.

But further away, battles were still in full swing. After all, victory and defeat couldnt be noticed in an instant. So, Liloa waited.

When the sounds of the clashing blades subsided, the rain of gunfire stopped, the thick smoke dispersed, and the slash-and-burn fire cooled down

After the murderous movements stopped, the survivors took a second look.

The federal flag was raised to declare a cessation of fighting.

Against the backdrop of the peaks of the Risch Mountains, covered in perpetual snow, red flags fluttered miserably

***

After a ceasefire dedicated to mourning, the federal army suffered a crushing defeat in another major battle. The imperial army advanced with momentum until the White Federation was eventually defeated and signed an agreement to end the war.

***

The advance party, which included Robero and Liloa, departed Pontenbach for the triumphal march. Liloa was so excited that she was unable to sleep properly. The officers mood was strange, however, as if they were hesitant about her, but she paid it no mind as she thought it would only be for another day or two.

Oddly, it remained the case till Robero called for her a week after leaving Pontenbach.

Liloa listened with no sense of reality as the Robero in front of her spewed out insane words. No matter how many times she thought it over, his meaning seemed to remain the same. Liloa was so shocked that she reacted dumbfounded.

What

Robero cut her off firmly.

It is all for you.

I beg your pardon?

Who will believe that you killed the Count? If you dont want to be accused of being a witch, listen to me.

Witch? Why are you suddenly bringing up a fairy tale from a thousand years ago?

Then how should I explain this? Is this something that can be explained by common sense? A noble lady, who was chaste, all of a sudden mounted a horse, fired a gun, and defeated the enemy commander?