Chapter 101: The Colonel’s Decision

Dusk.

At the gate of the Umberlian Valley pass.

Colonel Pekra, facing Fred who was striding toward him, took two steps forward, yet suddenly stopped alertly. His right hand lifted slightly, only to pull back again, rubbing repeatedly against his trouser leg, not knowing where to put it.

In battle, this respectable middle-aged officer could hold his position, could charge out of the city walls without a thought for his own safety, could risk his life to rescue allies in dire straits. But now, he did not know how to face the handsome yet frail young man before him.

After all, the Colonel was from an aristocratic family of the former dynasty—an officer of the old regime. He still did not know how to face Fred, the hero general of the former dynasty, the rebel who had killed the king, and at the same time the one who carried the hope of the kingdom’s restoration.

Likewise, he did not know how Fred would treat him.

He would find out soon.

My friend shoved aside the soldiers who were supporting him, staggered toward the Colonel’s rigid figure, and then weakly but warmly embraced this respectable soldier.

He said only two things.

The first was: “I’m sorry, I’m late.”

The second was: “I thought I would never see you again. You… you’re still alive. I’m so glad!”

If it were possible, Fred would have said more, but he could no longer speak. Sobs filled his nose and throat, and tears of joy poured from his eyes. He did not know how to express his feelings. He could only hold the Colonel tightly, letting his emotions flow down his cheeks with his tears.

Before such a sincere expression, what could stop a person—a soldier with hot blood flowing in his veins—from responding to this friendship? Changes of identity, the rise and fall of dynasties, everything unrelated to a person’s true feelings lost all their power in that instant. Colonel Pekra could no longer control his expression. Tears poured from his red-rimmed eyes, instantly flooding his gaunt face and soaking the beard he had not groomed for a long time.

“My lord…” Trembling, he extended his uninjured right arm and gently patted Fred’s back.

“Seeing you safe and sound, I… I… I’m also very glad.”

Enough. No more words were needed. No one would care whether the Colonel’s honorific was “my lord” or “Your Majesty.” If he was rejoicing at the safe appearance of our mutual friend, who would demand his loyalty?

We had already gained his friendship, and that was more precious than his loyalty!

During our conversation, we learned that when Colonel Pekra reached the place where the Eastern Route Army was trapped, General Carterlake had already fallen in battle, and the Eastern Route Army was locked in a bitter struggle. The Colonel employed the “feint east, attack west” tactic he excelled at. After seven consecutive miraculous large-scale flanking strikes, he finally found a breakthrough position, rescued the Eastern Route Army in one stroke, and then quickly fell back to defend Umberlian Valley, repelling the Cretans’ attacks many times by relying on the favorable terrain. During this period, he repeatedly sent requests for help to Morning Light City, asking for more troops to defend the valley while also allowing him to break away and return to support us who were fighting desperately.

But none of the request letters he sent received any response. None of the messengers he dispatched returned, and the carrier pigeons also vanished without a trace. At that time, the capital must have been in the preparation phase of the fight for the throne. Marquis Meneval and Duke Gallett probably wished to hold every soldier firmly within their own reach at that time, so no one would pay any attention to his reports.

The last time, the Colonel’s request for help finally received a reply. The reply said, “The situation in the north has changed. Hold your position and plan for later.” At the same time, the person who delivered the message was no longer the messenger who had originally set out with the Colonel’s letter. By then, the one giving orders had become Miraze, and he naturally would not agree to let the Colonel return to support us.

His noble upbringing allowed Colonel Pekra to smell the scent of conspiracy. But the constant harassment of the Cretans meant there was not much he could do. He could only send his trusted guards to the capital to find out what was happening. Who could have imagined that the intelligence they brought back would be so shocking:

Who could have imagined that with two great nations’ armies pressing on the borders, the country would actually fall into civil war?

At that time, the Colonel had three choices: first, help Miraze against us; second, help us attack Miraze; third, ignore the civil strife and devote all his strength to resisting the foreign invasion. Colonel Pekra chose the third. He told us that he could not order an attack on his own countrymen, nor could he stand by and let foreigners run rampant on our land. He felt sorry toward us, because he had not been by our side when we needed him most.

His devotion to defending the homeland made us feel that we were the ones who should be apologizing. No matter how justified our reasons were, we had still drawn our swords against our own countrymen. As soldiers, that was our shame. And if he had not been defending the last remaining land we had, we would have had nowhere to go long ago.

“Now, my lord, everyone please rest. Please leave early tomorrow morning. The road ahead is still long,” the Colonel said to us.

“Leave?” I read an unusual meaning from that jarring word. “What’s going on, Colonel? Aren’t you coming with us?”

“I… I want to stay here.” Under my eager questioning, the Colonel hesitated.

“Why? Why would you do this?” Dakla asked loudly.

“No particular reason. Isn’t it a perfectly normal thing for a soldier to guard his own land?” Colonel Pekra answered slowly, every word spoken with such difficulty.

“Do you want to die here? You fool!” At this moment, Red Flame could not help but ask loudly.

“To die for the country, to die without regret!”

“That’s a completely worthless sacrifice!” Red Flame roared.

“Think about your soldiers, Colonel. You can’t let them die for nothing…” Millia persuaded in a soft voice.

“I…” The Colonel suddenly opened his mouth, as if he wanted to argue, but in the end he held it back. “They are all battle-tested soldiers. They already have this resolve…”

“Then you can’t sacrifice them for this stubborn idea of yours…” At this point, I felt anger devouring my heart. I could understand the Colonel’s desire to guard the homeland. But as long as people were alive, there was hope of reclaiming the land. The situation here was completely insufficient to withstand another attack of the same scale. Under these circumstances, staying to defend here was not much different from murdering the soldiers.

“A stubborn… idea… is it?” The Colonel turned his head away and slowly walked off. “Perhaps. After all… I am still a proud and vain noble.”

“A person who looks down on the lives of soldiers is not a true soldier!” Finally, I could not hold it in any longer and said those words.

The Colonel suddenly stopped. After a long moment, his voice, twisted with sorrow, came from the sight of his receding back:

“Then I… am not… a true soldier…”

I was stunned. I could no longer tell who this figure slowly disappearing before me was. There had been a time when this man had transformed himself for the acknowledgment of soldiers, had been deeply moved by a soldier’s recognition. But now, he actually said:

He was not a true soldier?!

He was denying his own pursuit and beliefs because of some foolish aristocratic pride and vanity?!

How could I forgive him?!

How could I believe that this figure was the same Colonel Pekra I knew so well?

The joy of reunion was scattered without a trace by those words. My heart felt hollow as I watched helplessly as the Colonel disappeared from my sight, as if he had also disappeared from my heart.

That night, restless and troubled, I lay on the hard wooden bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. The fire in the room was warm, but my heart was cold. I could not understand the Colonel’s sudden change. I did not know what had provoked him to say words that hurt me while hurting himself even more deeply. Finally, I put on my clothes and decided to go find him for a proper talk that night.

Oddly, the night was already so deep, yet the Colonel’s room was still lit. Two figures were cast on the window. One was Colonel Pekra, and the other, even more familiar, was my friend Fred.

He must have come to persuade the Colonel too. Thinking this, I felt curious, wondering how Fred was trying to dissuade that stubborn officer. So I leaned against the door panel and listened carefully to the voices in the room.

“…Is this news true?” This was Fred’s voice.

News? What news? Had more news arrived?

“The people from the merchant guild brought it early yesterday morning. Right after that, the Cretans began attacking. Now, an army of over twenty thousand is marching here, absorbing Cretan troops along the way. They will arrive here in about seven days,” Colonel Pekra’s voice came through.

“Is doing this… worth it, Colonel?” Accompanied by the rustling sound of paper, Fred’s voice trembled slightly.

“I cannot say for others, my lord. But if it is you, I think it is worth it!” The Colonel answered resolutely.

“You can’t do this!” Suddenly, Fred’s voice grew louder. “This is our matter and our trouble. It has nothing to do with you. We can handle it!”

“Can handle it?” the Colonel replied in a tone not without sarcasm. “Of course, it’s simple. All you have to do is spend seven days familiarizing yourselves with the vast and unfamiliar Holy Fox Highlands while searching for supplies, fighting against enemies several times your number, and finally defeating them. That’s all! Too simple!”

“That is the most dangerous choice, young man!” Colonel Pekra’s tone also turned serious. “Even more dangerous than what I am going to do!”

“Then I would rather stay and fight alongside you!” Fred said loudly.

“That won’t do, my lord. No matter what, this is still territory guarded by Viscount Pekra, a noble of the Delanmaya Clouded Leopard Dynasty. As a subverter of the dynasty, you are not welcome here. I ask you to leave.”

“Then I will occupy this place!” Fred said firmly. “No matter the cost, I will stop you from doing something foolish!”

“You have no right to do this…” the Colonel said slowly. “This is the real foolishness. You are no longer that kingdom’s general, Duke Frederick Ka Guderian. The responsibility on your shoulders is no longer limited to one army or one city. You must be responsible for this country…”

“…For a king, my lord, letting go is sometimes a virtue—a cruel but noble virtue…”

“…If you truly choose to stay, my lord, I will leave immediately, because I would have misjudged you.”

“But I can’t just stand by and watch you…” Fred said urgently.

“Walk into death, right?” the Colonel’s tone gradually softened. “Why is it that none of you have any faith in me? This attack caught me by surprise, and my defense plan is not yet complete. There are still over five thousand soldiers in the pass. Tomorrow, or at the latest the day after, the ambush troops outside the city will also move into position. If I have seven days to complete the defense perimeter, I can at least hold out for another month. One month is enough for you to do many things, my lord—at the very least, you can vanish without a trace in the Holy Fox Highlands. You see, I’m not just fighting the Cretans head-on with this broken wall. Rest assured, I won’t do the stupid thing of sending soldiers to their pointless deaths.”

“But what about after a month, Colonel? What will happen to you?” Fred pressed.

“…” Silence. A long, drawn-out silence came through the cracks of the door, yet it jolted my nerves more than a clap of thunder.

There was actually a powerful pursuing army behind us!

Colonel Pekra was actually planning to hold the rear for us at the cost of his own life!!

And I, the most foolish fool in the world, had actually insulted him with the most vicious words—him, that man who carried the heart of a true soldier!!!

“If it comes to that, I hope you would surrender,” Fred said in a low voice.

“I am no longer your subordinate, General. I don’t have to accept your orders!” Colonel Pekra retorted loudly.

“This is not an order. It is only the request of a friend. I beg you, for Daremoth’s sake, to cherish your own life.”

“I am a soldier!” the Colonel roared in pain.

“That is exactly why you should cherish life even more!” Fred answered passionately. “No one understands the preciousness of life better than a true soldier!”

“You… let me think about it…” The Colonel paused for a moment, then said weakly.

“I look forward… to meeting you again… Colonel.” After Fred slowly finished these words, I heard footsteps from inside the room. By the time he walked out the door, I had already left.

That night, I could not sleep. I did not tell anyone what I knew, because I knew that once they learned of it, they would rather give up their own lives than leave the Colonel here alone. If that happened, the Colonel’s painstaking efforts and Fred’s restraint would all be wasted.

But how could I resolve this conflict and guilt in my heart?

The next morning, outside Umberlian Valley, an army of over ten thousand stood ready to depart. About half a day’s journey ahead, they would step onto a foreign land, seeking their own way out on an unknown road.

Behind them, in the pass enclosed by a few broken walls, were strong comrades willing to exchange their blood for their beliefs. And all of this, they did not know.

Red Flame and Dakla did not say goodbye to the Colonel. Stubbornly, they left first. Fred looked at the Colonel apologetically, but the Colonel waved his hand unconcernedly.

Afterward, I followed behind Fred’s horse, gradually growing farther and farther away. But my heart never left the pass behind us that had raised a sturdy shield for us. The rugged mountain road seemed to deliberately work against me, and every blade of wild grass seemed to block my way. When I turned around a mountain ridge and the city wall became a thin line at the far end of the horizon, I finally could not hold back any longer. I turned my horse around and galloped back toward the wall.

“I’ll be right back!” I shouted, lying low over my horse’s back, not daring to raise my head, afraid that my friends who knew nothing would see the tears on my face. Once I turned my horse around, the mountain road immediately became wide and flat. My horse galloped through the mountains as if flying. Before long, I arrived beneath the wall again. The Colonel’s figure was no longer on the wall. Only a few guards stood at the battlements with their spears held straight.

“Colonel…” I shouted with all the strength in my body, forcing every word out from the depths of my heart through my lungs.

“I’m sorry…”

“Please… you must… survive…”

“Survive… survive… survive…” The mountains echoed my voice. That was my deepest blessing and my most sincere apology.