Chapter 266 – Side Story 5: Woman of the Lake (1)  

‘I came to give you victory, glory, and eternity. But how much are you willing to give up to lose?’

The best first move that one could make on the battlefield was the move that would smoothly lead them to the next move.

There was no such thing as a method that would guarantee Juan’s victory. He had simply decided to extend his sword to the right so that he could bring about even the tiniest change on the battlefield.

“To the right!”

The Imperial Army’s line turned right while running. A huge black dog dressed with golden decorations swept through the Imperial Army’s line. Instead of barking, the dog exhaled harshly.

The grass on the ground dried up and turned into small grains of sand as the heat from the dog’s breath swept past them. The swamp-like desert seized the cavalry’s ankles at once, and the horses collapsed.

The screams of the soldiers could be heard everywhere.

However, Juan gnashed his teeth and made a path in the middle of the hot, harsh tempest. The armor on him withered and scattered away.

Mallev of Sollapse and Sand was creating another huge desert in the Middle East. If Juan failed to stop Mallev, Torra would be in danger. A great famine would occur once the fertile plains of the central region of the empire were devastated.

Mallev snorted and jumped backward with a deriding bark instead of tackling Juan.

However, Juan could easily cover the distance between them with a single leap.

However, the unit that Juan had sent in advance to the right flank was closer to Mallev than him. Someone among the fallen knights stood up and pulled the string of his backward.

Mallev noticed the archer a bit too late because he was too focused on Juan. When the knight released the bowstring, his arrow instantly penetrated Mallev’s eye.

Mallev whimpered and started rolling on the ground from the pain.

He suddenly remembered the long-cherished sun of the southern desert. However, the last thing he saw was not the sun of the southern desert but Juan’s burning sword.

***

Crack!

There was a shattering noise.

Juan managed to crawl up with difficulty.

It had been difficult for Juan to kill Mallev because Mallev possessed the attribute of fire like Juan, and he could also turn into sand.

Therefore, Juan decided to create a fire that was hot enough to turn Mallev into glass.

Mallev couldn’t transform, and he shattered into pieces with a terrible scream.

Juan also ended up being trapped inside the glass, but he was fortunate enough to avoid being humiliated in front of his subordinates.

Winoa Weaver and the Imperial Guards were running toward Juan.

“Your Majesty!”

“Winoa, do you happen to have water with you?”

Winoa was perplexed, but he quickly grabbed a water canteen from his side and held it out to Juan. However, Juan didn’t drink Winoa’s water. He poured it over his head. He couldn’t feel the heat, but the sand all over him made him feel uncomfortable.

“I’ll have to take a shower when I go back. How are the casualties?” Juan asked.

“The exact number is unknown, but there are significantly fewer reports of injuries and deaths compared to the previous three battles. It’s all thanks to Your Majesty’s strategy of shortening the battle.”

Unlike the other gods, Mallev was using guerilla tactics against the empire rather than confronting Juan. Therefore, it had been extremely difficult to track Mallev down, and he had managed to deal extensive damage to the empire due to his guerilla tactics.

Juan even thought about pushing Mallev all the way to the North. However, Mallev was found to be in the South and was approaching the Middle East, so Juan had no choice but to confront Mallev as soon as possible.

Juan shook his head at Winoa’s words.

“This victory is not thanks to me.”

Juan looked up at the eastern hill. A knight in pale green armor was looking down at Juan with a large bow in her hand. The pale green armor that she was wearing emitted a type of energy that seemed too surreal to exist. Juan instantly realized that the armor couldn’t have possibly been made by humans.

“Is she an elf?” Winoa carefully asked as he followed Juan’s gaze.

The unique shape of the luxurious leaf engraved on top of the steel was a symbol that the elves used exclusively. The helmet even had plenty of space to cover their long protruded ears. Looking at the knight’s armor, it also became clear that she was a member of the elven high society.

“Why does an elf keep on helping us? I thought our relationship with the elves was destroyed after Haranbal,” Winoa asked.

“Who knows?” Juan shrugged.

The knight in pale green armor stared down at Juan for a while, but she soon disappeared.

This was not the first time that an unknown elf had helped Juan. Juan had received the help of that knight three times in total—and they were all in the crucial moments while he was subduing three gods.

It was no exaggeration to say that both Juan and the knight in pale green armor owed each other their lives when they captured Gepelude of Conquest and Domination.

“I’m sure she’ll come back again. The way she keeps on making us owe a debt to her means that she has something she wants to tell us.”

“I think she’s coming back…”

Juan turned toward the hill at Winoa’s answer.

The knight in pale green armor who had disappeared down the sandy hill was running toward Juan.

Winoa gripped his weapon tightly, just in case.

Iolin, the god of elves, had yet to appear. Elves and humans were intertwined in a complex love-hate relationship with each other, so Winoa couldn’t put his guard down because the elves could turn their backs on them at any time.

“Lower your weapon.” Juan lowered the tip of Winoa’s spear.

The knight in pale green armor was running on horseback, and she landed gracefully after jumping off of her horse. Then, she started walking toward Juan. The graceful demeanor and bearing she emitted while walking seemed a bit surreal.

The knight in pale green armor crossed her arms upon arriving in front of Juan.

“Long time no see.”

Winoa’s eyes widened at the knight’s voice.

However, Juan only nodded calmly. “Are you sure about that? I feel like I’ve seen you a few times recently, Haranbal.”

“Yes. But it’s been five years since we saw each other’s faces, Juan.”

The knight in pale green armor took off her helmet. Shining blonde hair poured down from her helmet, and her hair seemed transparent beneath bright sunshine. A few of the Imperial Guards were mesmerized by her otherworldly beauty.

However, Winoa rather lifted up his spear again.

“You…! You shot an arrow at His Majesty, and you appeared again?! How dare you!”

Haranbal pushed the spear away with a frown.

“I’m talking to your owner, dog. Do not interrupt me.”

Juan held Winoa’s spear and pushed it down before Winoa got even angrier.

“Winoa, I’m sure Haranbal is mad at me just as much as you are mad at her. There must be a reason she came back, even though she is upset. So, what’s going on, Haranbal? I thought I made it very clear that elves can’t be my ally unless the prerequisites are met?”

“Yes, I know.” Haranbal snapped with a displeased look. “I do feel bad about shooting an arrow at your face. Yes, I was angry, but I shouldn’t have done that. But I was just so angry that you didn’t listen to me at all.”

“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to Winoa instead of me. He was the one who took the shot.”

Haranbal’s expression turned ugly.

However, she soon turned to Winoa as if she had no other choice.

She was clearly displeased, but he extended her hand out to him.

“I’m sorry.”

Winoa stared alternatingly between Haranbal and Juan with a perplexed expression while still holding his spear. It was only after Juan kicked him in the foot that he dropped his spear and held Haranbal’s hand.

However, Haranbal pulled out her hand as soon as Winoa’s palm touched her palm.

Then, she shrugged toward Juan and said, “That was good enough, right?”

“You should ask Winoa if that apology was good enough, but…”

Winoa’s expression was ugly while he was rubbing his hand against his armor, looking like he had touched something filthy.

“I think a forced apology would be rather rude.”

Juan decided to respect Haranbal.

It was already a surprise that she was apologizing to someone.

“Why are you suddenly helping me?”

Haranbal looked surprised at Juan’s words.

“You knew all along that it was me?”

“It’s hard to find an expert archer as good as you—even among the elves.”

When it came to archery, no one was good as Haranbal throughout the continent. In addition, she was using a bow made out of dragon horns as well as the branches of the owner of the forest where the elves lived.

If her skills were added on top of her superior equipment, Juan reckoned that Haranbal was capable of piercing even divine beings with her arrow.

“All right. I’ll be straightforward since you already knew,” Haranbal said with a bitter look, “I suggest that you offer the elves an alliance once again.”

“The terms I mentioned before are still valid,” Juan answered firmly. He answered so quickly and firmly that even Winoa could feel that Juan was frustrated.

It wasn’t really strange because many people were frustrated when the alliance between the elves didn’t come to fruition.

The elves were at their prime after the fall of the Hornsluines, so mankind would have gained not only tremendous power but they would have had fewer enemies as well if the alliance had come to fruition.

Haranbal’s expression didn’t change even after hearing Juan’s firm answer.

She simply muttered to herself, “I know. I just thought I’d ask again just in case you need help because of my absence, but I guess you were fine.”

“Of course, it was very difficult to fill your gap. You have been a great help to us in our quest to kill the gods. However, we can already fight without your help, and we still have not forgotten why we started this war.”

“I told you that I know...” Haranbal grumbled as if something was bothering her.

Juan grew curious upon seeing Haranbal walk back and forth while kicking sand with her foot. Haranbal had to have known that her suggestion would get rejected because Juan had always been a stubborn individual.

‘So why did she show up again?’

Haranbal sighed. She looked like she had made up her mind as she said, “Juan. My third wedding is in two weeks.”

“A wedding?”

Elves had a long lifespan, so most of them would get married multiple times throughout their lives. Considering Haranbal’s age, a third marriage wasn’t out of place.

“The wedding will be held at Bayeho Horm in the South-East, which is also called Fog Forest in human language. I’d like to invite you there.”

***

“It’s a trap,” Winoa suddenly whispered to Juan while they were on their way back to Torra. Juan stared at Winoa in silence, and Winoa knew that Juan was looking at him as if he were an idiot.

Winoa was no stranger to such a gaze, so he instantly saw through Juan’s thoughts.

Fortunately, Winoa didn’t really care about what other people thought. “Is there a reason why you don’t think it’s a trap?” Winoa asked.

“It’s because even an idiot can think of that possibility, and do I look like an idiot to you?”

‘Wow.’

However, Winoa wasn’t really the type of person Juan should talk to when it came to serious matters.

After all, Winoa was so infatuated with Juan that he would probably believe Juan if the latter said that the sun would rise from the west tomorrow and that Juan could see the future.

However, Juan had already made a decision. In other words, he didn’t have to discuss to anyone else about what Haranbal and the other elves were thinking.

“You’re not going to attend, are you?”

“No, I’m going to attend.”

“...Your Majesty. Didn’t you just say that even an idiot could tell that it’s a trap?”

“The elves aren’t a bunch of idiots, especially Haranbal. If they really wanted to kill me, then they shouldn’t have created such an obvious trap. They could have also shot me down directly.”

“There’s a chance that they have anticipated that and have set up a double trap…”

“Then, there will be endless doubts. Haranbal could have colluded with other gods to try and kill me. There were many opportunities where she could have done that, but Haranbal helped me and tried to win my favor by doing so. In addition, I know her.”

Winoa still seemed dissatisfied with Juan’s decision, but there was no way he could go against the emperor’s decision as the captain of the Imperial Guards. He couldn’t do anything else other than do his best by following Juan’s orders depending on the decision he had made.

“I know that Your Majesty has spent a long time with Haranbal…”

“It was from when I killed Talter.”

Talter was the first god Juan had killed. Winoa was surprised upon hearing that. In that case, the history between the two was longer than Winoa had expected. Many people had come and gone by Juan’s side in the interim, which meant that Haranbal could be considered one of Juan’s very first comrades.

Juan made a sidelong glance at Winoa.

“Don’t think that we’re comrades or anything. She’s just a guide from Aruntal. They got me a guide because they knew that I would be unfamiliar with the world. Haranbal used to be a wanderer despite being an elf.”

“Aruntal…”

Winoa didn’t know that much about Aruntal. He only knew them as a group of advisors who taught and guided Juan. If Haranbal was a member of Aruntal, then her skills and equipment all made sense.

“Haranbal only saw me as a filthy little boy at that time. She seemed to be interested in my determination to hunt the gods rather than taking the mission seriously. When I killed Talter, she was surprised and thought that it was a miracle.”

“Hah,?that’s ridiculous.” Winoa snorted.

However, Juan understood both Winoa and Haranbal. It was after Juan had already hunted more than a dozen gods that he met Winoa. In other words, Winoa had already taken for granted Juan’s ability to kill gods.

However, Haranbal had lived for hundreds of years, but she had never seen other gods die unless they were killed by other gods.

Haranbal thought it was just a fluke the first time, but she was surprised the second time. When Juan killed his third god, Haranbal was finally convinced that Juan could kill gods. Upon killing ten gods, however, Haranbal became sure that Juan was the pioneer who would open up a new era.

It wasn’t that long after Juan killed his tenth god that Haranbal finally collected the seven seals of the elves’ noble families and was entrusted with their authority.

She then offered Juan an alliance with the elves.

“Haranbal is arrogant, but she has foresight. We did not have any decent territory except for the Capital at the time, but she still managed to convince the other elves. In other words, she’s smart and decisive, as well as quick on the uptake.”

The elves occupied the largest territory and enjoyed their heyday after the fall of Hornsluines. Nevertheless, Haranbal did not come bare-handed when she suggested an alliance. She proposed an alliance with enough gold to cover the entirety of Torra, promises of enormous troops, and countless weapons made by their craftsmen.

It was such a generous offer that it felt servile beyond generosity. Above all, Haranbal was a colleague who had shared life-and-death experiences with Juan. Therefore, Haranbal didn’t think that Juan would refuse.

It was an understatement to say that Haranbal’s offer was generous.

Juan only had one condition.

“All gods must die.”

Juan declared that he would accept the alliance with the elves if they agreed to accept his condition. Juan smiled and looked back at Winoa. Winoa was eagerly nodding as he listened to Juan’s story.

However, none of the elves approved of Juan’s condition.

The death of a god meant losing all the blessings that the species had been enjoying.

The death of the elven god meant that the elves would lose their long lifespan, the blessing of the spirits, and their amazing physical prowess. They would be rendered to nothing more than an ordinary human being.

Haranbal tried to convince Juan for a long time and even threatened him. She even threw away her pride and begged him for a few days, but Juan stubbornly refused to accept her offer.

The noble families of the elves withdrew their decision to give their authority to Haranbal after hearing about Juan’s term. In the end, the alliance was shattered before it even started.

Haranbal’s frustration reached its peak, and she shot an arrow at Juan and ran away.

“Well, I thought that was the end of the alliance with the elves, but…” Winoa murmured.

Winao took Haranbal’s arrow for Juan, but even he couldn’t help but feel disappointed. The elves’ proposal was like a rainstorm in drought for the empire that lacked money, troops, and weapons.

There were some who were more than disappointed. The Western Kingdom and the Northern Tribal Union broke their alliance with Juan out of anger.

After all, Juan had not only lost his biggest ally but had also made the biggest possible enemy out there. Their judgment would have ended up being correct if a war with the elves started.

However, the elves didn’t wage war for some reason.

Juan couldn’t tell whether it was because of Haranbal or the nobles’ decision to wait and see, but the elves didn’t budge in the forest. However, the unlucky people who got lost and inadvertently entered their forest were never found.

“Don’t you think it’s because of a new alliance proposal that Haranbal has invited Your Majesty to her wedding?”

“If they have changed their minds, then it’s possible.”

“What if their plan is to kill us if something goes wrong?”

‘He is still suspicious, huh?’

Juan sighed and looked back at Winoa. “I believe in Haranbal. Yes, she can betray us, but the possibility is very unlikely—I would say about one in a hundred. In addition, I still believe in the elves.”

“Your Majesty believes in the elves?” asked Winoa, seemingly dumbfounded.

Juan nodded. “I believe that the elves cannot kill me.”