Chapter 390: The Power of Friendship, Love, and Faith (1) |
“Are you enjoying the trip?” Lee Ki-Young asked.
“Bastard…” I[1] cursed.
“You’ll make me sad if you curse at me like that. I did compromise many things for you. Despite being betrayed, don’t the prisoners look fine? If I really were a psychopathic scum, then the prisoners would have long been buried alive. We wouldn’t have taken them to the battlefield with us,” he said.
“...”
“Didn’t I tell you that you’ll play a big part in the side of light as well? Ah! Obviously, your role won’t end here. I managed to convince you to work for the light, so it would be a waste to end things here. You’ll continue working hard for us moving forward, so I hope you’re prepared,” he warned.
“You’re making a mistake if you think the commander will be swayed,” I told him.
“Is there a reason for him not to be swayed? He’s human, not a god. Even gods get backstabbed as well, you know? Of course, I’m not an exception to that. Even smart people could make the wrong choice. Like what you did.” He pointed out.
“I don’t want to hear you speak,” I said.
“You can easily make a mistake by trusting the other person. It’s like when a successful businessman gets backstabbed by a close friend until they were bankrupt or when they become someone else’s cosigner. People who look like they’ll never get scammed are the ones who often get destroyed by backstabbers. It’s all because they trust other people too much. Successful people in society and those with special abilities won’t get backstabbed because they’re stupid,” he explained.
“I’m sure it’s hard to believe, but even I have three people I trust fully. Actually, there are four of them. I feel stupid for doing that, but it can’t be helped. I’m sure that if I were in Jin Cheong’s position and the person I trusted was captured, I would have believed them as well. I’m sure I’ll have several reasonable suspicions, but I’ll push away those suspicions and… believe them,” he continued.
“...”
“Commander Jin Cheong trusts you, not me, Yevkarina. I’m sure he’ll think about how I’ll make my move, but in the end, you’re the one he trusts. In that sense, this plan will be really meaningful and fun. If…” he paused.
“...”
“If we head toward Castle Rock rather than the capital, what do you think the Republican capital will think of this incident? Will they simply think that they’ve been backstabbed by bastards with no morals? Or will they think that the trustworthy Miss Yevkarina repented and is now serving the light? Aren’t you curious? If the Republic believes the hint you gave them, then I’m sure the Republic will be really shocked if what they thought would happen ended up not happening. It’ll be a serious issue. You’ll be hailed as the greatest traitor in the history of the Republic. Yes, that will happen,” he continued.
“...”
“I know that the respectable figures of the Republic won’t blame you in the end, Miss Yevkarina. Who would be bold enough to blame you? I’m telling you this because I’m nervous and worried. Well, time will tell us the results. Now, let’s go! I think we’re done planning the formation, so all that’s left is for us to make our move,” he added.
“You scummy bastard…!” I cursed.
“I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. The story of the light winning using friendship and the power of faith is a very cliche story, don’t you agree? However, it’s a type of story that is really popular with people. Pffft!” he laughed.
***
“I received a message. A very helpful message.”
“A message? That’s…”
“It’s a message from Yevkarina. You were right, Katia.”
“W-When did she…”
“The entire time the magic hologram was playing...”
“I-I see. So she did that.”
“Yes, she’s still fighting with us.”
I[2] tightened my fist as I recalled our conversation earlier. I couldn’t help but worry about my sister whenever I recalled her situation. The Everia Front had collapsed completely, and Lee Ki-Young captured her.
However, there was no way we would just sit by and watch.
‘We haven’t given up yet.’
We were in the worst situation possible, but we were still looking for a way out of the quagmire. I nodded when I recalled how my sister sent us a message through the magic hologram and the fact that the commander had caught on to my sister’s message. My sister’s message didn’t really contain that much information, but we still managed to find out the size of their army, the current situation in Everia, and the possibility that Lee Ki-Young was most likely heading to the capital of the Republic. There was a limit to how much information could be expressed through sign language, so we only managed to receive that much information. Still, it was an improvement since we basically had zero information before. Thanks to my sister’s message, we were able to determine the number of troops they would be sending toward the capital.
We created a detachment based on the number of troops the enemy had in Everia, but my sister’s message said that the enemy would leave some troops in Everia. The commander was the same. He decided to leave troops near Castle Rock in case a change occurred, and it was amazing how the commander reorganized our troops in the blink of an eye. He even sent more troops over to the Eastern Front. The commander was truly a skilled strategist. He basically created two detachments in the blink of an eye. The first detachment would counter the enemy’s possible ambush at Castle Rock, while the other would clash against the enemy’s army going to the capital. This was still a bit risky, but it couldn’t be helped because we had to make sure that our encirclement at Castle Rock would remain airtight while sending troops away to the capital at the same time.
It was a risky plan, yes, but there was one reason why we decisively executed it.
‘It’s the commander’s decision.’
Everyone basically had faith in the commander, and the commander also believed that the remaining troops in Castle Rock would be able to handle the enemy. As such, all we had to do was follow him. The Republic’s way of warfare had always been like this, and we obtained great results every time. The entire command center believed in the commander’s decision. No one doubted his decision, and he had created a perfect formation as well.
Still, there were people voicing their dissatisfaction. However, it was all because they had no faith in other people aside from the commander.
“We don’t have anything to say about the formation itself. I was worried about how they had a lot of spiritual sorcerers, but I’m sure the formation will be enough to stop the enemy, and the issue with the supplies seems perfect as well. Hm, I’m worried that the Dawan Front will lose some firepower, but…” Riot paused.
“I’m glad,” Jin Cheong commented.
“Of course, it doesn’t mean I’m not worried at all,” Riot continued.
“Is there something I’m missing?” asked Jin Cheong.
“No, I’m not saying you missed something, but… Hm, I don’t feel comfortable saying this, but I think it’s something you should reconsider,” Riot replied.
“Please tell me,” he said.
“What… I want to tell you is…” Riot paused.
“...”
“Please think of it as me being cautious. I-I just can’t understand how the Everia Front was destroyed so easily… It’s even harder to understand if we consider the size of the Everia forces Miss Yevkarina had informed us about,” he continued.
“What are you trying to say, Mr. Riot?” Jin Cheong asked.
“I know it’s rude of me to say this when Miss Katia is here, but maybe Miss Yevkarina…” he stopped.
“...”
“We should consider the possibility of Miss Yevkarina having other plans,” he added.
“Are you saying that my sister betrayed us, Mr. Riot?!” I yelled.
“That’s not what I mean, but I don’t think we should ignore the possibility. If we consider the number of priests, the size of the army, and the wall they made at the Everia Front, isn’t it difficult to believe that the enemy defeated them in one day? Miss Yevkarina even said that s-she was now on the Democratic Country’s side… I-I didn’t watch the magic hologram, but she seems to be in a comfortable position despite being a prisoner,” he replied.
“You’re talking as if my sister—no, Miss Yevkarina should’ve been suffering.” I pointed.
“That’s not what I mean, but it’s something we should consider. If we assume that Miss Yevkarina helped the enemy conquer the Everia Front, then it would explain how they were able to conquer it so quickly. Perhaps she started having other thoughts after hearing the enemy’s propaganda, and it led her to make an extreme decision,” Riot explained.
“He’s framing her for a ridiculous reason. This isn’t worth your time, Commander,” I told Jin Cheong.
“But we should consider it at least once, Commander. I don’t want to think this way either, but we have to think about the possibility that she had already changed sides,” he added.
“Do you… really think that my sister would abandon me and join the Democratic Republic?!” I questioned.
“This is not the time to be raising your voice, Miss Katia! I’m just telling the situation the way I see it. And if you think about it, Miss Yevkarina is the commander-in-charge of the Everia Front, so it’s her fault that our forces failed there. You shouldn’t get caught up in your emotions. You should think about it objectively,” said Riot.
“Say that again,” I scowled.
“Stop it,” Riot shrugged.
“...”
The room suddenly became quiet, and I had no choice but to bite my lips at the old man’s remark. It could just be me, but I had a feeling that there was a political reason behind his remark.
‘This cunning old man…’
Everyone in this room knew that my sister had always spent most of her time with the commander, so it didn’t make sense for her to suddenly turn her back on the Republic. If anything, she would die for the Republic. It was absurd how he hinted that the information my sister gave us could be false. The fact that he brought up his suspicion about my sister betraying the Republic meant that he was thinking about what would happen after the war.
‘How can you talk about betrayal when I’m right here?’
However, the words that came out of the commander’s voice were beyond my expectations.
“Both of you are right, and it’s definitely worthy of being considered.”
“Commander!” I yelled.
“If there’s a possibility of it happening, then we should obviously consider it, and I have also thought many times about Yevkarina changing sides. I’m prepared for a sudden change in the situation, but the possibility of her betraying us is low, and it’s not because I had spent a lot of time with her. If we think about it rationally, it’s very unlikely that she’ll betray us,” Jin Cheong continued.
“Ah…”
“She had no contact with the Sacred Democratic Country until recently, and she probably doesn’t have the time nor the luxury to betray the Republic. We still have no idea why the Everia Front collapsed so quickly, but I guarantee that it’s not because she changed sides,” he added.
“But…”
“You don’t have to worry, Mr. Riot. I’m also keeping all possibilities open,” he told him.
“I-I’m sorry for talking about something so absurd,” Riot apologized.
“It’s fine. It’s worth thinking about,” he said.
After they finished their conversation, the commander didn’t mention anything about completely trusting my sister, but when I turned to look at him, I saw his determined face.
‘He believes her.’
As he had mentioned before, I was sure he had considered many possibilities, but it didn’t change the fact that he trusted my sister, and I nodded in joy at that.
‘He trusts her.’
I was sure my sister would repay his trust, and just as I was thinking that way…
“Commander, the enemy forces are moving.”
“Where are they headed?” he asked.
“I-It seems like they’re really headed to the capital,” they replied.
‘Nice.’
“Let’s move.”
1. Yevkarina’s POV ☜
2. Katia’s POV ☜
Comments 1