Chapter 214: Live to Sienna Pt.214
A sword that Carl had not been able to look at was aimed at his neck.
"Be careful!"
Jamie cut off the wrist of the one who aimed the sword at Carl and cut his throat. Without Jamie's help, Carl might have died. But Carl had no time to be surprised that the God of Death had just come near.
It has always been the case in battles of life and death. It was natural to take each other's lives. He was more accustomed to running toward his target than to keep his own life.
Carl wielded a knife at a man coming at him and kicked his chest. Then, without hesitation, Carl stabbed the sword under the man's chin.
His sword never stopped. He slashed the enemy's stomach and cut off their wrist. His glaring eyes turned to Arya.
As the enemy backed away from the fierce fighting spirit of Carl, a round circle formed around him. Drenched in enemy blood, he looked like a god of war. The figure intimidated the enemy enough but gave his own soldiers strength.
Carl rushed at the enemy with a shout. The shout and military prestige he uttered encouraged the soldiers fighting beside him. They followed him with a shout.
Their magnificent shouts shook the earth's axis. The morale rose, and they wielded the sword more intensely.
The citizens, who hid themselves in the building at the sound of the shouts and prayed for the end of the terrible battle, stuck their heads out through the windows one by one. They chanted the Emperor and cheered for Carl.
Carl's name rose along the street. It was a great help to his troops and played a part in demoralizing the enemy.
When the Royal Knights and Carl fought better than expected, Arya, who read the sign of defeat, tried to run away. Carl couldn't let her go.
"Hurry up! Empress Arya is about to run away!"
Encouraging his knights, Carl kicked the enemy in the stomach that was blocking his way. Jamie's sword following Carl was stuck in the neck of a knight fallen under the foot. Carl rushed at Arya to catch her.
"What are you doing?! Protect me!"
Arya screamed in a bewildered voice and hid behind her knights. But that only lasted for a moment, and soon, the knights protecting her lost their lives and lay on the ground.
Arya, who realized that there was no one left to protect her, collapsed. It was Carl who was soaked in blood and sweat, but Arya, who was watching the battle without a drop of sweat, was even uglier.
The tip of Carl's sword touched her stomach. It meant that everything Arya had prepared was over.
WHAAAA-! There was a louder shout in the distance. Carl's army was coming.
Carl smiled dejectedly at the sight of the rescuers who appeared only after he caught Arya. It was the same for the Royal Knights who were by Carl's side. Some burst into laughter.
From the end of the procession, the reinforcement began to protect their combat-weary comrades and victims, then cleaned up the remnants of the battle.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty the Emperor!"
A familiar voice came in. It was Kissinger. He came running from the end of the alley riding a thunderous dark-brown horse. A group of knights followed behind him.
The narrow alley was filled with fallen carriages and dead bodies, so Kissinger got off the horse and ran towards Carl and the Royal Knights. The knights who followed him arrived in a flash and surrounded them.
Now that Arya was caught, it was already a concluded battle. In addition, when the reinforcements appeared, Arya's knights lost their fighting spirit and laid down their swords in despair.
Carl said to Kissinger, who was running with sweat.
"You slow bastard. You're just eating into your salary."
Unlike his disgruntled words, Carl had a look of joy and relief.
"The outer part of the northern castle was on fire. I think it was done to distract us. Moreover, they had ambushes all over the Imperial Island, so that held our feet."
"Enough of excuses. Just clean up here."
Carl ordered Kissinger to arrest Arya and the knights involved in her rebellion, then turned back to check on Sienna. The white dress was a mess with soil and blood splashing, but Sienna looked safe.
'I'm glad you're safe. I can keep my word with Lord Jaime.'
'I'm glad you're okay.'
Sienna and Carl thought so, making eye contact. But he never uttered the word. It was a tragic incident, and there were too many lost lives to say "Thank God."
The soldiers tied up Arya.
"Let me go! How dare you touch me!"
She lashed out at the soldiers who had seized her. But they didn't even blink. In the past, the empress may have had a noble status, but now she was just a criminal.
"Father! Father!"
Another figure in the revolt, Bluebell, was wailing in front of Count Ferrer's body. His body was in terrible condition as it had been stepped on by the feet of those who fought.
Sienna took off her cape. The red cloak, decorated with precious white leopard fur, remained intact in this tough situation.
She covered the body of Count Ferrer with her cape. It was evident that Bluebell had been involved in the rebellion and that his father, Count Ferrer, had also revolted—but having to face one's father's terrorized body was considered too horrendous, even for Bluebell.
Bluebell wailed, burying her face over her father's body covered in a cloak. Sienna turned around because she couldn't watch her like that. As soon as Sienna stepped away, the soldiers drew up Bluebell.
Carl, along with Pavenik, organized the scene. Following their instructions, soldiers began to move quickly to identify and move bodies or clear carriages blocking the road.
"Sienna! Are you alright?"
Jamie ran to Sienna. Normally, she would have made a joke about him not using honorifics to her despite his promise to Carl, but Sienna didn't call him Lord Jamie either.
"Brother."
Sienna burst into tears of relief at Jamie's voice. She tried to comfort himself and act calmly, saying that everything would be all right with Carl, yet she couldn't help but feel the misery that lay before her.
She checked Jamie's face. He looked tired, but he didn't look hurt. She hugged him and dug into his arms, and he patted Sienna's back.
"You must be shocked."
"Yes. Did you get hurt anywhere?"
She had to keep hiding behind Jamie's back. She had to watch vividly as fierce blades flew toward him over and over again.
Behind his back, she was overcome with helplessness that there was nothing she could do, and with anxiety that a sharp knife might hurt Jamie.
"You know, this is nothing. I used to deal with monsters in the rough snow. You know I couldn't be afraid of these sloppy bastards."
Sienna can't wield a sword, but she was not insensitive. She could tell that the skills of those who had flown swords at him were also impressive.
"I'm fine, but..."
Jamie's voice, who pretended to be calm, got heavy. The Phoenix Knights, the second most powerful force in this battle, suffered as much damage.
"Dmitri was only twenty-years-old, and he still even had baby fat... He's gone too early."
Jamie gnawed his teeth to hold back his tears. A beastly groan flowed through his teeth. Tears poured down his eyes.
Sienna patted him on the waist. The Waters consoled each other on the ground where so much blood had infiltrated into the soil.
After a while, Jamie raised his head and wiped his tears. Sienna wanted to get out of this terrible scene as soon as possible. The carriage could not get here, so they tried to walk out, but then Carl approached them. Unlike before, he had dealt with his emotional pain and hugged Sienna tightly.
"Sienna, you're not hurt, are you?"
Sienna hugged Carl and said.
"I'm fine. But... I think this took too many lives."
Carl did not offer words of consolation to Sienna. He just hoped that his warmth would comfort the indescribable grief. Just as he was consoled by her safety.
Carl comforted Sienna for a long time. While he was familiar with battles, he felt enormous emotional and mental fatigue every time he witnessed death. But he was worried that if Sienna was not used to this kind of brutality, she would have been too shocked by this incident.
"What about Sharillo? Does it look okay? You must have been very shocked..."
Sienna stroked her stomach and said with a tired face, "Fortunately, it's all right. It seems more stable than me. I don't know what kind of guy he is, but I think he's got the guts."
"That's the blessing of the Leipsden Empire."
Sienna smiled gently and looked around. The battle was over, but the streets were a mess with broken carriages and bodies.
"It'll take a lot of time to clean this place up. You should be here for a while, right?"
Only
"Yes. I think I have to wait and see how the cleanup goes."
"Then I'll go back to the castle first. There's nothing I can do to help, so I think I will be a distraction."
Carl put on a troubled look at Sienna's words.
"That might not be a good idea. I know it's uncomfortable and hard for you to be here, but I think you'll have to stay here until things are sorted out to some extent. We don't have enough men to escort you. We couldn't even clear the roads where we can move the carriage."
At Carl's words, Jamie, who was by her side, stepped up.
"Don't worry if you don't have enough guards. I'll take her with me. The distance from here to the castle is not far."
Carl shook his head at Jamie's words.