Chapter 250 : Chapter 250
Chapter 250
Sen Hostanio was having a hard time.
He was called the Two-Flame Grand General.
He was also the 2nd seat of the Cordis Ten Great Generals, the second-in-command of the military command, seated in the position right after Deballo Debius.
The Two-Flame Grand General was an unusually warlike man.
There were several anecdotes that proved his fiery personality.
The most famous was the incident from over a dozen years ago when he crossed into the West by himself, saying he would cross swords with the White Lord.
The incident of a Cordis Grand General suddenly appearing alone in the West was still talked about by people to this day.
He was skilled in military strategy, but his military might was even more outstanding.
He could be calm, but he deliberately did not calm his anger.
The older he got, the more fiery he became, and that very fierceness was the man named Sen Hostanio.
Even though he was over seventy, he was still like a flame.
“Dammit all!”
Sen Hostanio was in the middle of raging furiously.
When he held his double-edged sword and showed his anger, everyone stealthily avoided him.
“How can you call this a war?”
It was in the mountains.
Enemy soldiers could be seen in the far distance.
But when he tried to approach, the ground would writhe.
Plains became canyons, and canyons became peaks.
It was the doing of the Widow Queen Aida.
Sen Hostanio, unable to get close even with the enemy right before his eyes, felt like he would go mad with anger.
“It’s been three months, three months!”
The angry Two-Flame Grand General's hair blazed a bright yellow.
This wasn't a figurative expression; his hairs were truly burning, each and every one becoming a flame.
“It’s been three months since I came here, and I haven't even been able to cross swords properly once!!!”
Those damned Earth Soldiers, that damned moving land!
The Queen of Schmeizen, who wielded two Ancient Weapons, seemed to have no pride, as she hadn't once faced Sen Hostanio head-on.
She was just persistently and covertly pushing him back and blocking him, so he could not get close to the West.
“It’s frustrating, so frustrating!”
Sen Hostanio roared.
If he were alone, he could cross into the West at any time.
He was the 2nd seat of the Ten Great Generals.
Even if the Widow Queen threw the entire great mountain range at him, it wouldn't be a big problem.
However, he was in the position of a commander.
He had tens of thousands of lives to be responsible for.
If he were to slip out of the great mountain range alone, the tens of thousands of Imperial soldiers would become the Widow Queen's playthings and lose their lives in vain.
As a man of the military command, it was a situation he could never tolerate.
‘Tsk. The food supplies will run out soon, too…’
Widow Queen Aida was particularly diligent in cutting off the Empire's supply routes.
Sen Hostanio had almost no aptitude as an administrator, so he had no choice but to be hit by Aida's attacks.
It had been three months since the supplies were cut off and they were isolated in the great mountain range; there was not much time left until his soldiers lost their ability to function.
“This won't do…”
Sen Hostanio's hair blazed as he muttered.
Even though he was over seventy, he still lived with a boyish impatience.
“At this rate, again! I'm going to end up losing to that bastard Deballo!”
“You’re still noisy, Sen Hostanio.”
There was a voice from the sky.
Sen Hostanio immediately glared and snapped his head up.
“Which bastard dares to use the Two-Flame Grand General’s name so carelessly… Huh.”
“Am I not allowed to call your name?”
“…Well, it’s not that you can’t.”
The Two-Flame Grand General said bluntly.
“What brings you all the way here?”
He spat out toward the old man who had appeared riding a cloud.
“Grand Dean Hermai!”
“How long has it been since I retired as Grand Dean…”
Hermai Merhes chuckled and landed on the ground.
The cloud he had ridden on scattered and disappeared.
Sen Hostanio discovered that Hermai was not alone.
Another old man was with him, and it was a familiar face.
“…No, wait, behind him, don't tell me…”
The Two-Flame Grand General raised his index finger.
That old man with the shiny, smooth head, vicious eyes and a hooked nose, and old-fashioned aristocratic attire was not a man who should be here.
And yet he was here, so it was a surprising thing.
“…Elder Kerenneus?”
“What ‘Elder’, Sen Hostanio. As if you've ever called me that.”
“Aren’t you His Majesty’s maternal grandfather now. If so, you’re an Elder. More than that, it’s really been 53 years since we’ve run into each other outside the capital.”
“You may call me comfortably.”
“Shall I, Bald Eagle?”
“…What a consistent reckless fool. You must be seventy as well.”
“Ha!”
Sen Hostanio cackled.
There were old men who survived the war from 53 years ago.
For instance, Great Emperor Continua, for instance, his three confidants and also for instance, Niko Nereyades and Sen Hostanio were survivors just the same.
Having seen each other's faces for 53 years and been through various battlefields together, there was a hard-to-explain intimacy between them.
Sen Hostanio treated Hermai and Kerenneus like old friends.
Hermai and Kerenneus didn't particularly refuse it either.
The Two-Flame Grand General's blazing hair lessened its momentum slightly.
“So, why have you come?”
“Why do you think we came?”
Hermai asked back.
The Two-Flame Grand General snorted.
“If it’s helpful, I refuse. I was just about to break through the Throat Gate.”
“That damned pride is the same as ever, Sen. I saw from above while flying over. You were struggling immensely.”
“Don’t call me Sen!”
The old general got angry.
“It sounds like I’m copying Sen Sorti! Attach my surname or call me by my title!”
“But it’s true that your name was taken from Sen Sorti, wasn’t it?”
“I hate mages! Damned desk-jobber bastards!”
“…Hey, I’m a mage too. The Imperial Chief Mage, Hermai Merhes.”
“The Grand Dean is an exception. A magnanimous man like you is different from ordinary mages.”
“…You really haven't changed, Sen.”
“I told you not to call me that!”
Kerenneus, who had been listening to Hermai and Sen Hostanio's conversation, cut in.
Kerenneus Cansella Caseptus had no intention of indulging in their frivolous conversation.
“Two-Flame Grand General.”
“…Don't be so grim. Ever since the old days, when you, Bald Eagle, get grim, it’s really scary.”
“Do you know why that is?”
Kerenneus slowly moved his steps.
His momentum was fierce.
Sen Hostanio flinched without even realizing it.
The top of Kerenneus's head only came up to Sen Hostanio's Adam's apple at best.
Even so, the Two-Flame Grand General felt a strange fear and took a step back.
“Because ever since 53 years ago… you have consistently done things deserving of a scolding, Sen Hostanio.”
“……”
“If it were me, I wouldn’T dare run my mouth. What are you doing now, taking the Empire’s precious soldiers?”
“…I also did my best.”
Sen Hostanio muttered in a disgruntled voice.
“But you know, don't you. How important terrain is in war…. For me to not have lost troops while she manhandles the land as she pleases is worthy of praise in itself…”
“So, I’m asking why you are facing the one who manhandles the land head-on.”
Kerenneus's gaze was as fierce as an eagle's.
Sen Hostanio, his spirit broken, cast his eyes down.
“Isn't your specialty the detached unit? You should have done as you did when you crossed into the West saying you'd cross swords with the White Lord. Wouldn't it have been fine if you had picked and chosen two or three hundred men, quietly crossed the mountain range, and struck down and killed every Western bastard in sight?”
“…Beyond the Throat Gate, it’s all just private homes. Only ordinary people who cut trees and catch birds live packed together…”
“Then all the better.”
Kerenneus smiled faintly.
“The one who manhandles the land is the Widow Queen Aida, the King of Schmeizen. If so, you should have shown her her own subjects dying and collapsing in rows. If you shake her heart so she doesn't even have the leeway to use her Ancient Weapons, isn't the fight already won?”
“…You should know what kind of war I wage, Elder Kerenneus. This Sen Hostanio does not wage such a war.”
“You should know me as well. I do not regard a brat who shoves philosophy into war as a person.”
“…You, you've gotten even more vicious. It's unsightly.”
“Is it more unsightly than a bastard who's over seventy and still thinks he’s a boy?”
The eagle-like old man tidied his attire.
It was an attire of white, long cloth wrapped around, so it looked extremely cold at a glance.
There was snow piled up in places, yet he was dressed like that.
But Kerenneus paid it no mind.
A humane side was something one just couldn't find in him.
“Two-Flame Grand General, do you think I don't know your inner thoughts?”
“…What inner thoughts?”
“It’s because your competitive spirit is burning again, isn’t it. Saying you'll show you can break through the gate faster than Deballo Debius, who went to the Waist Gate…”
“……”
Sen Hostanio, hit squarely, shut his mouth.
He rolled his eyeballs around and met Hermai Merhes's gaze.
Hermai sighed softly and gestured with his chin.
It was a signal not to bother hiding it, as he was completely found out.
Sen Hostanio also let out a deep Phew sigh.
“…That…”
“Go ahead and speak.”
“…Was it obvious?”
“How could it not be?”
“Damn it.”
The Two-Flame Grand General covered his face in embarrassment.
He rattled on with excuses, his face flushed.
“…Hmm, still, I have something to say. There are injured, but I'm saying there are no dead. There are no seriously wounded either! I’m also at an age where I can make that distinction…”
“Keep rambling.”
“…Before I die, shouldn't I beat that bastard Deballo at least once. Just how long has it been since I had a chance to compete with that bastard…”
“Look here, Sen Hostanio.”
Kerenneus tapped the Two-Flame Grand General's chest tuk tuk with his finger.
It was a considerably insulting act, but the Two-Flame Grand General couldn't react with more than just grumbling.
Kerenneus whispered softly to such a Sen Hostanio.
“You’ve already lost.”
“…Eui?”
Hermai Merhes cut in and held out a small piece of paper.
It was news delivered from the Waist Gate.
“Contact came last night. Deballo Debius broke through the Waist Gate, and the Western forces have all retreated.”
“E-ui!!?”
Sen Hostanio's hair caught fire.
Even his eyebrows momentarily began to blaze bright yellow.
The Two-Flame Grand General raised his voice once again.
“Lies!”
The blazing flames drew the soldiers' attention.
However, the soldiers just felt a sense of wonder. Sen Hostanio, Hermai Merhes, Kerenneus Cansella Caseptus.
The sight of the heroes from the Great Emperor's era gathered in one place talking came to them like a myth.
“Don’t lie! They said the White Lord has returned! I know because I crossed swords with him myself! Obro Denoebang is at the Waist Gate, so how could it be broken through already!”
“I don't know the method either. In any case, a definite report came last night.”
“…Dammit all!”
Sen Hostanio roared.
He muttered to himself. …Is it a fake White Lord? Of course, it must be.
If it were the real White Lord, it wouldn't be easy even for Deballo…. He didn't collect his emotions and his eyes shot open.
“So, you’re going to help this Sen Hostanio? The two of you, Grand Dean Hermai and Elder Kerenneus?”
“Is it not enough?”
“Not enough, you ask? Ha!”
The Two-Flame Grand General laughed heartily.
“It’s more than enough, Bald Eagle!”
Kerenneus was starting to feel bad.
It was an objective fact that he looked like a bald eagle.
That was why it was all the more unpleasant.
However, the Two-Flame Grand General, in his own impatience, didn't care in the slightest about Kerenneus's feelings.
“Aish! I’m too angry, this won’t do. I’ll have to eat dinner in the Schmeizen palace tonight!”