Chapter 17: Wire

After two more days of relentless travel, we finally arrived at our destination, only to find the situation far more dire than we had anticipated.

“Infected have appeared!”

“The left fence, hurry and block it!”

The front lines of the northern plains.

Here, a standoff between the allied tribes and the infected was unfolding.

Though no one voiced it aloud, everyone present could feel the grimness of the situation.

The allied forces took considerable time to replenish their ranks whenever casualties occurred.

The infected, however, were different.

As long as their hearts weren’t destroyed or their heads severed, they could turn anyone they bit into one of their own.

This meant that the longer the stalemate continued, the more advantageous the situation became for the infected. 

The tribes, relying heavily on close-combat weapons, suffered even greater losses.

The accumulated damage created gaps, and now those gaps were widening.

“It’s, it’s breaking!”

“Grrrr!”

Crash!

A section of the fence collapsed, and the infected poured in.

The tribal warriors gritted their teeth, struggling to hold back the onslaught, but it was no easy task.

“I’ll lend a hand!”

The tribal shamans of Svioha and the staff tribe unleashed their magic, sending forth flames.

“Shoot, not a single arrow to spare.”

The archers of Frennila and the bow tribe fired volleys of arrows, painting the sky.

“Grrrr!”

The infected momentarily recoiled under the barrage, but as soon as the firepower slackened, they surged forward again.

Unless their heads were severed, their hearts destroyed, or they were burned to ash, there was no stopping their advance.

Even seeing an infected with a dozen arrows lodged in its body charging forward was terrifying from a distance.

“The situation is worse than I thought.”

Svioha, who had just arrived at the front, surveyed the surroundings. 

Following her gaze, I noticed the palisade surrounding the base was heavily damaged, and the warriors’ condition didn’t look good.

“This won’t do. Our shamans will buy some time. Let’s abandon this position and prioritize the retreat of the warriors.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Svioha’s quick decision.

The frontlines, which had been in a stalemate due to repeated skirmishes, were now overflowing with wounded. 

The palisades and equipment were in severe disrepair.

It was a wonder how they had held out this long.

“Prioritize the retreat. Don’t die, my brothers. Retreat quickly!”

Frennila, who usually appeared delicate, showed a completely different side on the battlefield.

With a commanding presence and a booming voice, she ordered the retreat of the main force.

But her voice was lost in the chaos of the battlefield.

Warriors in poor condition still trying to fight the infected, others too injured to move despite hearing the retreat order, and some frozen in fear from the relentless assault.

‘What? Were the tribal armies always this disorganized?’

It wasn’t just a matter of poor condition.

It was a command issue.

Despite Frennila’s orders, they weren’t properly relayed, leading to chaos and individual actions.

Despite Svioha and Frennila’s efforts to buy time, casualties continued to mount.

It was fortunate that the infected had few cavalry; otherwise, the damage would have been unimaginable.

“Don’t look back, just run!”

“Retreat, retreat!”

Only after losing a quarter of their warriors did the allied tribes manage to retreat from the frontlines.

The scale of the loss was such that recovery seemed unlikely.

Frennila, who had barely managed to gather the remnants, wore a dark expression.

“Frennila, are you okay?”

“…Your Highness.”

Her face looked like she was on the verge of tears. 

I wanted to hug her or pat her back, but given her nature, that wasn’t easy.

“How… as soon as you arrive, this happens. Ha, it seems like I only show you pathetic sides, Your Highness. I wanted to show you a more impressive side, like my father, a great warrior. If he were still alive, would things have been better?”

Seeing her worried expression, she let out a deep sigh and lightly slapped her own cheek.

“Sorry for the weak talk. Fortunately, the pursuit seems to have stopped, so let’s get as far away from here as possible.”

Having composed herself, she once again issued commands to her subordinates in a strong voice.

The rear supply base would now serve as the new frontline. 

The army, ready to move, began to slowly traverse the plains.

Despite her young age, she was remarkably resilient. 

I wondered how much she had suffered in her previous life of isolation.

Honestly, I thought my role was done when I sold all my belongings to help the tribes.

Even if I just stood by like a sack of rice, no one in the tribe, including Frennila, would blame me.

But after experiencing multiple regressions, including this one, I realized this world was far from a simple game or novel.

This world is not fiction, but non-fiction.

As that eerie voice had said, not just me, but Frennila, Rii, Svioha, and even the ordinary tribesmen and citizens of the empire were all living, breathing beings.

If I could save even one more life, it was worth the effort.

Currently, the tribal warriors were individually powerful but lacked unity and organization.

This was starkly different from when they had invaded the empire on a large scale before the regression.

They must have gone through numerous trials and errors to reach that point, shedding much blood along the way.

The fewer the trials and errors, the better.

I decided to share my knowledge of the future and the game to help her establish a new system and structure.

Where to start? 

The relay system? 

The thousand-household system? Stirrups?

I began organizing the necessary information in my mind as I followed her.

*

The damage was severe enough to be called a crushing defeat.

But despite the losses, the atmosphere at the newly established base wasn’t bad. 

In fact, it was quite positive.

The reason was the long-awaited good news.

Frennila, leading the bow tribe, had secured supplies from the Ron Empire.

Moreover, the staff tribe, which had been observing the situation, declared their participation, boosting morale.

“It’s been a while, Frennila.”

“Now’s not the time for pleasantries. Give me a detailed report on the current situation.”

Inside the central tent of the new base.

The seasoned war chiefs, though they might have been annoyed by the young girl’s commanding tone, showed no signs of displeasure.

A war chief from the sword tribe stepped forward to report.

“Right after we exhausted the petals, their attacks increased noticeably. They seem to never sleep, attacking us every night, leaving everyone exhausted. That’s why… it happened.”

“Where is Werhe? She should have arrived before me. What about reinforcements?”

Werhe, the strongest warrior of the axe tribe and Frennila’s close friend.

While Frennila went to the empire for help, Werhe had gone to the kingdom.

Given the distance, the kingdom was much closer, so she should have returned by now.

“…The kingdom refused to help. Werhe went straight to the shield tribe after returning. She said overcoming the current crisis was more important than past grievances, so she went to seek their aid.”

Typical Werhe. 

She always took her responsibilities seriously. 

She must have felt the weight of failure.

Frennila thought that if it weren’t for Kenneth, she would have returned empty-handed.

If that had happened, she would have been ashamed to face her siblings who had trusted and waited for her.

“I’ve brought a considerable amount of golden jasmine petals, so we should be fine for a while. Although some supplies were damaged during an attack, I also brought excellent weapons and armor from the empire. Equip the warriors with them.”

“Golden jasmine petals! You’ve brought them! That’s a relief. We’ll follow your orders immediately.”

Their expressions brightened more at the mention of the petals than at the weapons or food. 

The golden jasmine must indeed be effective.

“Ahem, ahem.”

“…”

A brief silence followed, and all eyes turned to me.

“By the way, Frennila, who is that slender, delicate-looking young man over there?”

The question came from the eldest war chief, voicing the curiosity of everyone present.

The war chiefs, who had been maintaining solemn expressions, perked up their ears, showing interest.

“He’s the third prince of the Ron Empire. A noble who has come to aid our tribe.”

The third prince? 

What’s such a person doing here? 

The war chiefs began to murmur.

Instead of asking directly, they started speculating among themselves.

“Did he come for sightseeing?”

“Hey, who goes sightseeing in such a dangerous place? He must have a reason for coming.”

“A reason? What reason?”

“How should I know? Maybe love? Hahaha.”

Frennila’s commanding expression began to falter.

At an age where love was both desired and embarrassing, her ears turned red, clearly flustered.

Though asked out of pure curiosity, her reaction provided the war chiefs with ample material for teasing.

They began to smirk, looking like uncles who had found a new way to tease their niece during a holiday gathering.

“Wow, where did the violent girl who used to beat kids with a stick for not listening go? Are you sure you’re the same young lady? Your reputation for violence even reached our sword tribe.”

“True. And with her pale skin and skinny frame, I can’t understand the tastes of young people these days.”

“I thought she’d live alone forever. To think she’d bring a man here. Didn’t she say she’d crush any boy who made her cry? Seems like she’s grown up. Retas of the axe tribe, feeling nostalgic. Hahaha!”

Frennila’s face turned as red as a boiling kettle, her pale skin making it even more noticeable. 

But it didn’t last long.

“How far have you gone? Surely the shy young lady hasn’t gone all the way? Holding hands? Or maybe even a kiss?”

The clueless last war chief’s comment turned Frennila’s embarrassment into anger.

Even Svioha, standing beside her, tensed up, watching Frennila’s reaction.

Her body trembled like a volcano about to erupt.

“Your Highness, did you understand all that tribal language?”

“Huh? …Yes.”

Though I hadn’t deeply studied the tribal language, I had spent some time learning it. 

As a Korean, I was confident in listening, if not speaking.

At my affirmation, Frennila’s face turned even redder. 

Though I couldn’t see her expression, the pressure was palpable.

“War chiefs? You seem to have a lot of strange things to say. Have you been too comfortable while I was away?”

Her voice, laced with venom, made some war chiefs realize the gravity of the situation and start to backpedal.

“Ah, I need to check on the stables. I’ll go ahead.”

“No, I was supposed to do that. Let’s go together!”

“I’m not feeling well, cough cough.”

The last one was left holding the bag.

The quick-witted ones had already fled, while the slower ones scrambled to find excuses to escape.

Ultimately, a war chief from the bow tribe was left behind.

Perhaps archers, being strength-based, were less agile than sword or axe users.

Facing him, Frennila crossed her arms and smiled.

“Well, you’re the only one left. What should I do with you?”

It was terrifying. 

Even though I wasn’t the target, the pressure was giving me PTSD.

Tap tap, Svioha patted my back, and I quickly followed her out of the impending disaster zone.

Scream!

Please don’t use me as a target! 

Ah, an arrow in the anus! It hurts! 

Blood!

Gasp!

I thought I heard a scream I shouldn’t have, but I decided to ignore it. 

It was better for everyone that way.

Still, it was good to lighten the mood after such a defeat. 

This was better than staying depressed.

Of course, even if we became closer, I decided never to tease Frennila.

*

“Frennila, there are a few important things we need to discuss.”

“Important things?”

After the meeting ended and the war chiefs left, I shared some ideas I had been thinking about.

“As an outsider, I may not have the right to interfere, but I’d like you to consider a few things.”

“Consider what?”

“Have you heard of the thousand-household system?”