IYAMD: Episode 37

Marsilia couldn’t shake the frown on his face from the morning. After spilling his heart to Jaha in the early hours, he couldn’t stop regretting the unnecessary words he’d said, which kept him awake all night.

To still be so inexperienced—he couldn’t help but sigh. He should have avoided acting like a fool who hadn’t grown at all.

But there was no time to dwell on regret. As soon as dawn broke, Marsilia stepped out of the tent and gathered the commanders to recheck the strategy.

A total of 600 knights were mobilized for this hunt. Today, 300 knights would be deployed.

The 300 knights were to be divided into ten squads, with each commander leading two squads. Marsilia was assigned three squads, and the remaining two squads were to move to higher ground for reconnaissance. They were to spot the Minotaur groups’ positions and signal with flags.

The colors and signals had been decided the day before, but Marsilia made sure to double-check them again.

Yellow meant a warning of nearby Minotaur groups, red signaled a quick retreat, and blue indicated no Minotaurs nearby, allowing the troops to advance.

Additionally, black and purple flags were prepared to account for any unexpected variables, and the scouts were to depart as soon as breakfast was finished.

Marsilia, who had little appetite, barely ate anything before gathering his sword and leaving the tent. Since the previous day, he had not exchanged a single word with Jaha.

Outside the tent, Sasha was waiting.

“Sasha, make sure Jaha can move freely within the camp, but follow him closely and ensure his safety wherever he goes.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Feel free to use as many men as you need,” Marsilia added. If Jaha wanted to run away, one person wouldn’t be able to stop him. Actually, even with more people, could they really stop him? If Jaha set his mind to it, he could disappear without a trace.

Marsilia sighed as he approached the prepared horse at the entrance of the camp. If only he had brought chains.

The peaceful atmosphere around Jaha made Marsilia regret not being more cautious. But he had made a promise, so he needed to trust him.

Marsilia mounted his horse and glanced at the tent where Jaha was, then set off.

On the ridge of the territory, which connected to the Deto Mountains, the scouts waved blue flags.

As Marsilia’s unit advanced, other units spread out, creating a wider formation.

The first Minotaur group encountered consisted of just three creatures. Their large size made them visible from a distance, which was an advantage, but the biggest drawback was that approaching them would expose their own position.

If the Minotaurs threw their axes, they would be struck while on the move.

So, it was better to take position in a visible location rather than recklessly approaching.

Marsilia drew his sword and began issuing commands as the troops swiftly took their positions.

Unit 1 prepared to advance while waiting on their horses, while Unit 2 dismounted and prepared to throw large ropes with hooks at the Minotaurs.

The plan was to either hook a Minotaur and pull it down or secure it in place, while Unit 1 would charge in to deal with them.

Other units stationed at a distance would either rush in to provide support or assist with ranged attacks using bows.

The first group of Minotaurs was handled fairly easily. With only three to deal with, one was secured with a hook while the other two were eliminated first.

When Marsilia severed a Minotaur’s leg with his enchanted sword, it made things a bit easier.

However, every time the Minotaurs swung their axes, arrows scattered and knights were struck, some of them bleeding.

Marsilia summoned a healing field to cover the troops, healing them, while also placing powerful defensive shields on the knights to prevent them from dying with a single blow.

The problem was that the Minotaurs’ hides were tougher than expected. It felt like dealing with multiple creatures at once was much harder than taking them on one by one. Perhaps it was due to his impatience.

It took about 20 minutes to defeat each Minotaur. The time to eliminate them shortened with each one that fell, but there was no sense of swift victory.

If Marsilia could fight directly in the frontlines, it might have gone faster. But since he was focused on one of the free Minotaurs, he couldn’t join the main battle.

Even after dealing with just three, a lot of divine energy had been expended. He couldn’t keep using it every time someone was injured, so for now, this method was the only option, though he knew it wouldn’t last long in a prolonged battle.

Marsilia wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed without realizing it.

“Take a ten-minute break and then move out. Our goal today is to defeat three groups, so everyone just needs to push a little harder.”

Marquis Pablo encouraged the knights and reported on the situation. Marsilia, still catching his breath, listened to the Marquis’s report.

“It seems that fighting while leading the horses isn’t very efficient. The horses may have recovered from their injuries due to your divine power, but many of them are still scared.”

“Then we’ll have to lure them in by taking a position somewhere and drawing them closer.”

The weight of the hooks and ropes was significant, so fighting while carrying them without the horses was impractical.

“Shall we settle here, or try moving further?”

Watching the horses’ movements, Marsilia judged that staying here was better than moving further.

“Let’s gather the horses and send them back, then take position here.” He figured they might even get some rest before the next group arrived.

Marsilia confirmed the knights were following the Marquis’s instructions and then glanced toward the scout on the ridge.

There was still no sign—no flags in sight. If General Des was correct, they would have at least two hours of quiet ahead.

Marsilia dismounted and took a moment to scan the surroundings. The air was thick with the rotten smell of corpses among the ruins of destroyed homes.

The crows gathered around the corpses, seemingly indifferent to the presence of people as they greedily fed.

The smell of decay around them reminded him of someone. The yellow eyes of a man who had waited for death, surrounded by decay, suddenly flashed through his mind.

…

By dusk, the returning knights were in no condition to be spoken of. Not only were they covered in blue-colored bodily fluids, but many of them had also returned with their armor bent and warped, holding it in their hands.

Although there were no injuries on the knights’ bodies, Jaha could guess the reason for this and searched for Marsilia with a calm gaze. Marsilia was absent, possibly in a strategy meeting. He wouldn’t mind staying up all night for a day, but still, a sense of worry lingered.

However, with his healing powers, Jaha didn’t think Marsilia would be injured. Naturally, he thought Marsilia would recover quickly, but when the man returned to the camp well after sunset, he had a bandage wrapped around his arm.

It seemed the blood hadn’t stopped flowing, as the bandage was still stained with red marks.

Jaha stared at him with a shocked expression, then stood up from the bed. Just as he tried to approach, Marsilia raised his arm to block him.

“It’s better if you don’t come too close. It smells awful.”

Now that it was pointed out, Jaha noticed a peculiar smell of decay in the air. Marsilia, without Malek’s help, took off his shirt and looked awkwardly at Jaha.

“Could you turn your eyes away? It’s embarrassing.”

Jaha turned his back, his face flushed, as the man spoke while touching his pants. The rustling sound only intensified the awkward atmosphere. The wet, sticky fabric falling off made Jaha instinctively hunch his shoulders and cross his arms.

Malek, who had entered late, sighed, and the sound of something being dragged followed.

“Why is Your Majesty doing this in the middle of the tent when we’ve already set up a partition?”

“Too lazy.”

When Marsilia muttered this, Jaha turned to see a partition similar to those in the palace blocking the space between them.

It wasn’t very tall, reaching only the chest of the tall man, but it was better than nothing.

Malek, behind the partition, was focused on cleaning the emperor’s body with a damp cloth.

Thanks to the several rounds of heated water brought from outside, Marsilia soon emerged from behind the partition, looking much cleaner. Jaha looked over the body of the man, who had already put on his clothes. Aside from his arm, it seemed like there were no other injuries. There were no bloodstains or signs of bandages under the thin tunic, so Jaha finally let out a sigh of relief.

Marsilia looked down at Jaha with a peculiar expression.

“Did you worry about me?”

He had a rather pleased look on his face. Jaha couldn’t understand why he seemed so happy about being injured.

Jaha didn’t like the mischievous smile spreading across his face. He couldn’t stop worrying about the wound on his arm.

As Jaha stared at the injured arm, Marsilia covered it with his other hand, wearing an awkward expression.

“I got careless when I was catching the last one. It was just a small scrape, so it’ll heal quickly.”

‘What about divine energy?’

Understanding Jaha’s unspoken question, Marsilia answered.

“I’ve been exposed to divine energy frequently since I was young, so it doesn’t work as well on me. It might sound funny to say I’ve developed an immunity, but that’s probably the best way to explain it.”

Jaha couldn’t understand the man’s smile. While he was healing others, wasn’t he exhausted himself? And yet, he was using his powers without being able to heal himself.

Why? Jaha couldn’t figure out how to ask him this long-winded question, so he remained silent.

Marsilia, for some reason, looked uncomfortable, which only made Jaha hesitate even more.

Both of them kept quiet, and the atmosphere grew heavy. Malek, who had been tidying up, let out a quiet sigh that lingered in the air.