Chapter 197: The Return of the Mountain Rabbits
Central Astria Kingdom, Northeast Border Region.
"They say going up is hard, but coming down is easy."
At Volga's murmur, Romance and Kotchap smiled bitterly. Not just them—every one of the Mountain Rabbits felt the same way. It had taken a full six months to reclaim the north, yet it had taken less than three weeks to reach the northern border of the Astria Kingdom.
Basim replied curtly.
"Of course, it was. We had horses, rations, all kinds of support. If we'd taken it easy, it would've been two months."
"Yes, yes. If that's what the Dwarf King says…… Ow!"
The veteran Mountain Rabbits exchanged casual banter. They'd always spoken bluntly, but since splitting off from the Alliance Forces, even physical ribbing had resumed.
At the front, Calix and Royce were talking.
"Reorganizing the troops will take considerable time. The mercenaries want to return home, and the soldiers are exhausted."
"Yes, that's why we left ahead of the others."
"There's no way to help the Gardia Kingdom, I suppose."
At Royce's words, Calix gave a heavy nod. Supplies and manpower were both lacking. Realistically, there was no way to sustain a long-distance expedition.
"I think persuading the alliance forces should come first. We need reinforcements."
"That won't be easy. We've been at war for years now."
Just then, Adrian cut in abruptly.
"I did send a letter pressing Latia to dispatch troops. Since I happen to be a prince of the Republic, I'm not sure how much weight it'll carry."
The Latian prince mentioned his homeland for the first time in a long while.
"Those island people won't move unless they have to…… though the fall of Kalahim must have given them quite a shock."
"The fall of Kalahim……"
"Yes. With Great Chief Yoman slain, the desert tribes will scatter again."
Calix heard those words and sank into thought. When all was said and done, the Gardia Kingdom and Kalahim had both withdrawn from the alliance.
‘Where, and how, would he find the troops?’
The Niboria expeditionary force alone would not be enough.
"In the end, we'll have to assess the situation in the Astria Kingdom."
"Right, that's why we've come. If the central region is holding, there's still hope."
Just then, the hoofbeats came to an abrupt halt.
Hadiya had returned from scouting.
* * *
The northeast of the Astria Kingdom had once been known for its gentle hills and wheat fields. When the wind blew, golden waves rippled all the way down to the foot of the mountains, and chimney smoke drifted lazily from every home.
Now it was different.
"……The stench of ash is overwhelming."
Basim sniffled and muttered. With every breath came a mix of burnt char and the smell of blood. In the middle of a field, a farmhouse had been reduced to a blackened heap of ash.
Royce examined the ruins and spoke.
"The ash is settled evenly. This didn't happen too long ago."
Everywhere his gaze fell, he found traces of where human life had once been. Crumbled stone walls, a half-broken cart, a doll buried in the mud.
Among it all, Hadiya read the identity of the attackers.
"The Corrupted."
"You're sure?"
"Sure. There are almost no intact corpses. The flesh has bite marks from mouths, and the cut wounds look as if they've been scorched. They were struck by Rite-Stone weapons."
At the edge of the deserted village, the Mountain Rabbits' banner fluttered in the wind. The thousand elite soldiers exchanged jokes, yet never let their guard slip.
"This area used to be rear territory too. The border near Elvra was peaceful, remote as it was."
Gregor, the old man who had lost his memories, scratched his head and said,
"Back then, even the sparrows sang like sparrows. Chirp—like that."
"……Isn't that what chicks sound like?"
"Ha, I simply mean nothing happened!"
"……"
Everyone let out hollow laughs, but no one lowered their guard.
Calix surveyed the entire village from atop his horse. The place filled with nothing but ash had, until recently, been a settlement where people lived. All that remained were the pillars that had once held up the roof and a few door planks. At a glance, there seemed to be no survivors.
Hadiya made the same observation.
"There aren't many bodies."
Marik replied immediately.
"They were taken by the Corrupted."
They turned their horses and rode down toward the burnt fields. The sound of dry crumbling rose beneath the hooves. As the ash broke apart and scattered, he reached out his hand, and a faint shimmer of heat rose from it.
The energy of darkness had crept this far.
"There aren't many traces left. It seems a small number of the Corrupted slipped through. The central defense line must not be completely intact."
At Hadiya's remark, Royce's voice dropped low.
"Astria is holding on, but it seems there are gaps. Some have slipped through the cracks."
"Yes, and with that small a number…… They've still managed to create this kind of devastation."
Rather than joining the Mountain Rabbits' exchange, Calix followed the flow of mana visible to his eye. The monsters had long since vanished, but something still lived and breathed here.
His gaze stopped.
On top of a stone wall, black splotches were scattered like dots.
"Blood."
Basim's face hardened, and he swallowed a curse.
"Vanguard, slow down."
Before Calix could even raise his hand, the Mountain Rabbits had already reacted. The riders spread to either side and drew their weapons.
But there was no need for alarm.
Calix approached the center of the field and dismounted. He swept the ash from the ground with his gauntlet, revealing a rectangular wooden hatch.
"……A grain storehouse. I'd heard the people in this region keep them underground."
"You found it well. That's Calix for you."
The wooden hatch was firmly secured, but Calix tore it out whole. From a place where grain should have been, someone's weeping seeped out.
"Please save us. Please……"
Before anyone could stop him, Basim lightly threw himself from horseback. He landed soundlessly through the narrow opening and dove in without even drawing his axe.
A moment later, Basim reappeared.
"They're not enemies. But…… They're not in good shape."
He led the dwarves in carrying out the village survivors. At first, they all wept and curled in on themselves, adults and children alike. But when they caught sight of the banner bearing the Mountain Rabbit emblem, the crying stopped.
"……Mountain Rabbits, it's the Mountain Rabbits."
A thin voice slipped out.
The old woman staggered to her feet. Her face was pale and bloodless, and a blood-soaked strip of cloth was wrapped around her forearm. She stared at Calix with trembling eyes, then sank back down.
"You really…… Came."
At those words, the fear dissolved. Those who had been blinded by the light recovered their sight. They were all exhausted, filthy, and hollowed by terror.
But the moment they saw the Mountain Rabbits' banner, relief appeared on their faces for the first time.
They had returned.
None other than the Mountain Rabbits.
* * *
Riding less than half a day south from the northern border of the Astria Kingdom, the scenery grew bleaker still. Clouds hung low as if pressed flat against the earth, and the pine forests that had once wrapped around mountain villages had been cut away here and there.
Calix gripped the reins and came to a halt.
"Here too…… Traces remain."
Basim cast his gaze downward.
This time it was not ash—a severed wrist lay rolling on the ground. Beside it, drag marks stretched far into the distance.
"……This looks more like bandits, doesn't it?"
At Hadiya's words, Royce looked up.
"Bandits?"
"Yes. The footprint patterns are irregular, and there are wheel tracks too. More than anything, the Corrupted don't raid villages this way."
She was right.
The Mountain Rabbits urged their horses toward the next village.
An hour later, from the distance came the shouts of men tangled in a brawl and the screams of women. It was a small village nestled on a mountainside.
The village entrance was already in chaos, and two carts had been overturned by what appeared to be bandits. The dirt ground was already soaked with blood.
"Bastards……"
Marik ground his teeth.
In the distance, bandits could be seen dragging someone from the center of the village. An old woman, two young men, and a newborn infant.
Calix immediately drove his horse forward and charged out.
A thousand riders followed in his wake. The sound of hoofbeats turned to vibration and shook the earth. The bandits only then became aware of the mounted force, and stared blankly at the dense cloud of dust rising toward them.
One of the bandits narrowed his eyes. Atop the flagpole Volga carried, a somehow familiar emblem caught his eye.
"M-Mountain Rabbits? It's the Mountain Rabbits!! The Mountain Rabbits are here!!"
The other bandits snickered at first, but the moment they grasped its meaning, their faces drained of color.
"W-why are the Mountain Rabbits here? Those monsters were in the north……"
"Just cross the mountains, and you're right here!"
The village residents also realized what was happening—a beat behind. The infant wailed in fright, but life returned to the eyes of the adults.
Calix entered the village at full speed without slowing.
The bandit leader was watching cautiously before stepping forward. People who claimed false identities appeared now and then, but no one had ever dared to impersonate the Mountain Rabbits. He shouted in a trembling voice.
"W-wait! Just wait! We were only trying to surv—"
"That's exactly why we need to cut it out at the root."
A low, firm voice answered in his place.
It was Marik.
The bandits had harmed people to survive. There was no reason to show mercy, and the Mountain Rabbits fanned out in an instant and swept over the bandit gang.
Marik channeled mana into the tip of his sword and swung. Before they could even react, blood sprayed from the napes of 3 bandits.
Volga swung his massive two-handed sword and cut down 2 bandits in a single stroke.
To the right, Kotchap sent his opponent flying with a mounted charge. His warhorse kicked out with its hind legs, sending an enemy soaring, and simultaneously, his spear blade pierced through the chest of the bandit standing directly ahead.
The cleanest of all was Basim.
He leapt from his horse and cut down everything within reach. Whether it was a shield, a sword, or a man's skull, he split them all without distinction.
"If you killed someone simply to fill your belly…… Then I will be the death that comes for you."
Basim muttered as he shook the blood from the handle of his axe.
Less than a single minute passed before the battle was over. There were those who resisted briefly, but they were never a match for the Mountain Rabbits from the start.
And so the bandits were swept away by the storm that had come howling from the north.
The villagers bowed low to the ground, heads pressed down. Moisture gathered in eyes that had been dead and dark.
"Mountain Rabbits…… It's really the Mountain Rabbits……"
"We're alive, we're alive."
"Sir Calix……"
Their voices carried plain disbelief. Calix sheathed his sword and approached the elder who had been dragged to the center of the village earlier.
The old man who called himself the village chief pressed his forehead to the top of Calix's foot and wept.
"The Corrupted came, and bandits roamed. The kingdom's soldiers disappeared long ago, and we all thought we were going to die without being able to do a thing."
While Volga comforted him, Royce quietly scanned the surroundings and said,
"It's worse than expected. The central defense line seems to be buckling badly."
Calix's expression hardened.
"It looks like this entire region has been in a state of vacancy. The defense line is holding, but barely breathing."
"That means……"
"Yes. The central defense line is in danger."
He reached a single conclusion.
"We need to hurry to meet Master Belmar."
Ella and Adrian looked up at the same time.
"Indeed, he would be the one holding the central defense line."
"He is my master, after all."
"Yes. If the central region is still standing, it is surely thanks to him."
At that, Calix gave the Mountain Rabbits their orders.
"We move the moment reorganization is complete. There's no time to linger here."
The late sun sank beyond the mountain range, and red light fell over the bodies of the bandits. And at dawn the next day, the Mountain Rabbits set off south once more.
Before the center could be lost, someone—anyone—had to reach out a hand.