Anke returned to New Border City with the remaining soldiers of the Coloque Army.
Although these soldiers had just experienced a major battle and were at their physical and mental limits—requiring a long period of rest before they could return to normal combat effectiveness—they were a welcome relief for the undermanned New Border City.
After losing twice, Gros, who had been allowed to return, had likely grown wiser. Perhaps he was simply focused on recovering from the losses sustained during the sneak attack on the Coloque Army.
In the three days following Gros’s return, the Iron Jaw Tribe did not launch another large-scale general offensive.
Instead, they shifted to small-scale harassment, though they achieved no meaningful results. Their only accomplishment was adding dozens of new “residents” to the Border City’s prisoner-of-war camp.
During this period, a Centurion named Kamal visited Border City once as an envoy. She proposed an exchange of prisoners and supplies, using the condition of Earl Oca’s eldest legitimate son, Kerok.
However, Anke simply replied, “I am not his father. Go find his father.”
This response forced Kamal to return empty-handed.
While Louis had some objections, he chose to remain silent when he remembered how Kerok had abandoned his army and fled.
In short, Border City and the Iron Jaw Tribe fell into a strange state of sitting war, with both sides quietly waiting for a new opportunity.
While this waiting was fine for Border City, which had ample supplies to last through the entire winter, the situation for the Iron Jaw Tribe was grim.
They had brought very little in terms of military rations and were forced to compress each person’s daily allotment to reduce consumption and prolong their stay.
This made the situation for the teenage soldiers in the Iron Jaw Tribe even worse.
They already received little food, and now they had even less, leaving them on the brink of starvation at every moment.
The teenage soldiers in Kamal’s unit eventually reached their limit and turned their eyes toward the donkey they had brought back from Border City.
However, since the decision was not theirs to make, they first went to request permission from Kamal.
“You want to slaughter that donkey for its meat?”
Kamal was currently agonizing over how to conquer Border City when she heard the request from the teenage soldiers.
“Yes, yes. We have no use for that donkey anyway, so it would be better to just slaughter it for meat. We can boil a pot of soup so everyone can have a little.”
Haru, the representative pushed forward by the teenage soldiers, began to drool as he spoke.
“No,” Kamal replied, disappointing them.
“Why, Lady Kamal? That donkey is useless to us. Are we supposed to send it back to the humans?”
“Yes, that is exactly what we are going to do. We are sending it back to the humans.”
The words of the teenage soldiers reminded Kamal that they still had the donkey cart.
Perhaps she could use the excuse of returning the cart to enter the city and conduct a reconnaissance mission.
‘The Lord of New Border City is a kind noble. If it is this group of teenage soldiers, it should not cause suspicion, and they will not be in danger.’
“Huh?”
The teenage soldiers did not understand Kamal’s reasoning.
“Listen to me, this is what you will do.”
Kamal called Haru over and gave him the task of taking the donkey cart back to Border City. He was to take any opportunity to enter the city and scout the situation inside.
“Regardless of whether you succeed, I will guarantee you a full meal—one much more satisfying than meat soup.”
“Understood, Lady Kamal. We will complete the mission.”
The teenage soldiers were somewhat dejected, but they had to obey Kamal’s orders and drive the donkey cart toward Border City.
……
At Border City, the addition of Louis and his thirty-three Imperial Guard Knights had bolstered the ranks of the junior officers.
Now, two Imperial Guard Knights were assigned to lead each section of the wall defenses.
When several teenage soldiers from the Iron Jaw Tribe arrived at the gates of New Border City with the donkey cart, they immediately caught the attention of the Imperial Guard Knights on duty.
“It’s the barbarians! Crossbowmen, ready! Aim!”
Ette, an Imperial Guard Knight from Louis’s guard, nervously ordered the crossbowmen.
“Wait! Do not fire!”
Fortunately, Gram, an Imperial Guard Knight under Anke’s command, immediately stopped the crossbowmen.
Though the crossbowmen were confused, they obeyed the order and lowered their weapons.
“Why? Those are barbarians! This could be another one of their tricks!” Ette looked at Gram in confusion.
“Wait until I take a look first. His Highness ordered that we should not initiate an attack lightly.”
After saying this, Gram picked up the monocular issued to him by Anke and scanned the surroundings. Once he confirmed the area was safe, he spoke again.
“There are no other barbarians lying in ambush. It’s just the few people down there. Let’s see what they intend to do first.”
“You can be sure just by looking through that little stick?”
“Of course. This is a monocular made by His Highness’s Alchemy Workshop. It allows me to see very far.”
“Is that true?”
“Of course. Though it is a pity you are not one of His Highness’s men, Ette, otherwise I could let you see for yourself.”
Gram finished speaking and put away the monocular.
Meanwhile, below the wall, Haru stepped forward as the representative of the barbarian teenage soldiers and shouted up at the battlements.
“Hello! Is anyone there? We have come to return your Lord’s donkey cart!”
Hearing the barbarians’ words, Ette turned to Gram. “What donkey cart are they talking about?”
Gram thought for a moment before answering. “Oh, His Highness gave them some bread a few days ago as a reward. In the end, these barbarians not only took the bread but also stole the donkey cart.”
“The Fourth Prince gave these barbarians bread to eat? Was it poisoned? No, if it were poisoned, these barbarians wouldn’t be returning the cart; they would be seeking revenge.”
Ette raised the question and then immediately dismissed it.
“No, our Prince has a good heart,” Gram countered. He then turned to go and inform Anke. Before leaving, he repeatedly instructed the knight from Louis’s guard, “You stay here and watch. I’m going to report this to His Highness and see what he wants to do. Remember, do not attack first! Do not attack first!”
Ette glanced at the barbarians below the wall and gripped his side-sword. Although his heart was full of hostility toward the barbarians, he nodded.
“Fine, I understand. Go ahead. I won’t do anything.”
……
“Haru, why hasn’t the human answered us?”
Outside the city gate, the teenage soldiers of the Iron Jaw Tribe looked at their leader when their shout received no response.
“Wait. It is already a good sign that the humans didn’t attack us immediately.”
Haru told his companions to sit down by the donkey and wait for a response from within Border City.
The sunlight shone on them, feeling quite warm, as their shadows traced an arc across the snowy ground.
Suddenly, the city gate opened.
The teenage soldiers instinctively grew alert and reached for their weapons.
However, they quickly realized that if their Chief and nearly 1,000 men could not take down these defenders, their own small attempt at defense would achieve nothing except to provoke the enemy.
They pulled their hands back and faced the people emerging from Border City with open arms.