Chapter 52: Soldiers Pulling Chains

An unfamiliar cloud of dust was rising in the east.

I noticed it after patrolling the area around Rue, when I had flown a little farther than usual.

There wasn’t only one.

Several thin trails of dust stretched along the road, broken at intervals.

(That’s too many for merchants…)

I climbed higher.

When the figures eventually came into view, I slowed down.

They carried weapons.

Spears.

Shields.

Bows.

And they weren’t walking in a disorderly mass. People in similar equipment were divided into several groups, all advancing in the same direction.

One group led the column.

More soldiers followed a short distance behind them.

Then came horses and carts carrying supplies.

Farther back was yet another line of people.

(Soldiers.)

They were different from the bandits I had seen before.

It wasn’t only that there were more of them.

The way they advanced was organized in itself.

Those at the front, those transporting the supplies, and those following behind did not move independently. They formed one great current.

I didn’t approach at once.

I watched them while circling widely.

Several people on the ground noticed me.

They pointed.

Some reached for their bows.

But no arrows came flying.

(Then I won’t do anything either, for now.)

Keeping my distance, I circled around the side of the column.

That was when I noticed something mixed in among the soldiers.

(Magical beasts…?)

They weren’t horses.

Several four-legged beasts larger than humans walked with the column.

One kind had thick gray skin.

Another had what appeared to be hard projections lined along its back.

They weren’t all the same species.

But they had one thing in common.

Each wore a collar.

A thick chain extended from it into a human’s hands.

I focused on Racial Trait (Magical Beast Empathy).

The emotions that came back were anything but calm.

Fear.

Irritation.

And a dull, unending pain.

(They don’t want this.)

One beast suddenly stopped.

The soldier holding its chain pulled.

The beast didn’t move.

Then a man standing a short distance away pointed a long, slender rod at it.

The next instant, the beast’s body convulsed violently.

At the same time, a sharp burst of agony reached me through Magical Beast Empathy.

(!)

The beast gave a low growl.

Even so, it started walking again.

The man lowered the rod.

(That thing…)

Was it connected to the collar somehow?

Or did the rod itself contain some mechanism?

I couldn’t tell that much.

But immediately after it was pointed at the beast, the beast had suffered.

That fact, at least, I would remember.

As I continued studying the column, several people near its head broke away.

Two were mounted.

Several others were on foot.

They traveled ahead of the main force.

When they reached a fork in the road, one drove a narrow stake into the ground.

Elsewhere, they tied a small strip of cloth to a branch.

(What are they doing?)

After watching for a while, I found my answer.

The soldiers coming behind saw those signs and entered the same road without hesitation.

(Markers for the people behind them.)

They scouted the road ahead.

They left signs.

Those behind followed them.

It was probably how humans moved such a large number of people at once.

I looked east.

More dust hung in the far distance.

I couldn’t see how far the column extended.

At the very least, it didn’t end with the soldiers before me.

(I should warn them.)

I didn’t know if these soldiers were enemies.

I didn’t know what they had come to do either.

But a large number of armed humans were advancing west with supplies and magical beasts.

Sedol lay ahead of them.

It would be better to give warning first than to let them draw close while no one knew anything.

I left the column and headed for Sedol.

◇

When Sedol’s gate came into view, I landed outside the town.

Landing inside the gate would cause an uproar.

One of the guards noticed me and came closer.

“Val? What is it?”

I turned east.

“East. Many soldiers.”

The man’s expression changed.

“Soldiers?”

“Yeah. Lots. Coming this way.”

My voice itself had become a little easier to produce than before.

My individual sounds were no longer as distorted either.

As a result, people asked me to repeat myself less often when I spoke in short phrases.

But that was separate from being able to speak at length.

When I tried to say everything in my head at once, I still became stuck partway through.

“How many are there?”

“Don’t know. More behind them.”

“Are they armed?”

“Spears. Shields. Bows. Horses and carts too.”

I could say that much.

But when I tried to explain the magical beasts, I stopped for a moment to find the words.

“Magical beasts too.”

“Magical beasts?”

“Chains. Collars around their necks.”

I continued, using gestures as well.

“Point rod. Beasts hurt. Then walk.”

“You mean they’re taking them by force?”

“Probably.”

The gatekeeper looked east.

The army still wasn’t visible from here.

“Then this isn’t something for us to attack them over either.”

I nodded.

“Yeah. But I warn you.”

“Right. That helps.”

The man immediately called to another guard nearby.

“Pass word inside. And we should send someone east to confirm it.”

“Understood.”

One man ran through the gate.

The remaining guard looked at me.

“Will you warn Rue too?”

“I’ll warn them.”

“You should.”

I spread my wings.

They hadn’t been confirmed as enemies yet.

So there was no need to attack.

But there was no reason to pretend nothing was happening and wait either.

◇

On my way back to Rue, I climbed high into the air once.

I looked back.

A trail of dust was visible in the distance.

One.

And another behind it.

(There really are a lot of them.)

A large number of soldiers.

Supplies.

Horses.

Magical beasts led by chains.

Humans who examined the road and left markers so those behind them could advance without losing their way.

They didn’t look like a group merely passing through.

When Rue came into view, I increased my speed.

I landed outside the village.

Perhaps Dario heard my wings, because he came over.

“What is it, Val?”

“Soldiers coming from the east.”

“Soldiers?”

Dario stopped in his tracks.

“A lot. Coming toward Sedol.”

“How many?”

“Don’t know. More behind them.”

“Did you warn Sedol?”

“I warned them.”

“I see.”

Dario thought for a moment, then faced me again.

“Did you see anything else?”

“Magical beasts. Chained.”

“Even magical beasts?”

“They don’t like it. But the soldiers hurt them with rods and make them walk.”

The lightness vanished from Dario’s face.

“This is no ordinary journey.”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll spread the word here too. If anyone is outside the village, we’ll be ready to call them back immediately.”

“Please.”

“What about you?”

I looked east.

“I’ll look again.”

“To find out what they’ve come to do?”

“That too. But also how far they extend.”

“All right. Don’t get too close.”

“I won’t.”

Short.

For now, that was enough.

Even as the things I wanted to say increased, my mouth couldn’t keep up with all of them.

Only my voice had become somewhat easier to understand. My manner of speaking itself had not changed greatly.

Dario returned to the village.

Before long, I heard people calling out to one another.

I spread my wings outside the fence.

This was different from the bandits who had come to Rue before.

It was different from the starving people who had drifted here as well.

A great number of humans with matching weapons were approaching while preparing the way so that even those behind them could advance without hesitation.

And among them were magical beasts made to walk in pain while humans pulled their chains.

I still didn’t know their purpose.

That was precisely why I needed to find out.

I took to the air once more and flew east.

Several trails of dust still hung in the distance.