“We don’t know who served as Botvid’s stand-in either. Damn that sly fox! He fooled us completely!” Helblindi seemed to seethe with hatred. He had to be feeling just as mortified as Jörgen—his grand ambition to wipe the Horn Clan from existence had been completely upended at the moment of victory, after all.
“It’s very likely that the Claw Clan and Horn Clan are in cahoots.” Helblindi audibly ground his teeth. Jörgen agreed with the observation. That would definitely explain why the Horn Clan had been so tenacious despite having a long history of losing to the Wolf Clan, and why they’d been so unusually intent on going on the defensive. They knew that, in the end, the Wolf Clan would get stabbed in the back and have no choice but to retreat.
“We’ve lost this war already. All we can do now is focus on sending as many soldiers as we can back home to Iárnviðr safe and sound,” Helblindi said.
Jörgen agreed on that point as well. With all of the Wolf Clan’s forces gathered in the west, the clan’s eastern territory would be a free-for-all if they didn’t hurry back as soon as possible.
“Jörgen, I’m sorry, but would you mind bringing up the rear as we make our retreat?” Helblindi asked.
“...Me?” He hesitated to answer right away, swallowing hard. The rear guard was one of the most honorable positions a warrior could ever be offered, but at the same time, it was the most dangerous and deadly. Jörgen had two wives and three kids at home. It wasn’t a decision he could make lightly.
“You are calm in the face of danger, and tough enough that you had the guts to stand up against me. No one’s better suited to the role,” Helblindi explained.
“In other words, a scapegoat,” Jörgen thought. Jörgen had joined Helblindi’s family because Bruno had retired from being second-in-command, but that didn’t mean he was loyal to Helblindi. In fact, Jörgen could even pose a latent threat to Helblindi’s position and become one of his worst enemies. In that case, when it came time to decide who was expendable, it only stood to reason that Helblindi would choose a potential future foe like Jörgen over an actual member of his Chalice family.
“I understand. In case the worst befalls me, please take care of my wives, children, and sworn children.” Steeling his resolve, Jörgen gave his answer. Truthfully, he couldn’t think of anything he’d like to do less, but it was an order from the commander of his clan’s army. It’d be hard to refuse, and they needed a strong rear guard to ensure that many more lives weren’t lost. If he was going to die, he at least wanted to make his death an honorable one.
Concealed in the shadows, Jörgen loosed several rapid-fire arrows in succession. As if matching his rhythm, several of his sworn children fired arrows of their own. Two enemy soldiers went down.
“Shit, an ambush?! Kill ’em!” one of them shouted.
“There aren’t that many. Surround them!” said another.
“That one in the middle’s mine. That’s a nice blade he’s got. Fine workmanship,” said yet another.
The enemy soldiers were all fired up as they charged forward. Even though two of their comrades had already been killed, they weren’t fazed in the slightest. But that made sense, considering that to the Horn Clan Army, the battle was already as good as won.
“Men! Swords at the ready! Whatever you do, do not let them pass any farther!” Jörgen barked.
“Yes, Father!” they shouted in unison. In no time at all, the air was filled with the frenzied clinks of metal against metal. The Jörgen faction was around three hundred in number. That was small compared to the enemy army, but they were currently on a narrow path sandwiched between a forest and a river. The most either side was able to deploy here was around a hundred total, so the difference really didn’t matter. Jörgen was also out swinging his sword on the front lines, cutting down enemy after enemy. His bravery motivated his sworn children, renewing their morale.
“Damn, these guys won’t quit!” one of Jörgen’s sworn children exclaimed. Two hours had passed, and the Horn Clan Army was beginning to get restless as their prey, the main forces of the Wolf Clan, slipped farther and farther away. They were probably getting real anxious right about now.
“Stand your ground, troops! Remember your daily training!” Jörgen barked, raising his sword high and boosting his allies’ morale. In truth, though, he knew that was a tough ask. As a faction, they’d split into three units and periodically swapped out soldiers on the front lines so that they could let each other rest, but it didn’t change the fact that they were fighting to the death. Anxiety threatened to sap the soldiers’ stamina. However, their battle spirit had not yet died out, so the Jörgen faction continued to put up a valiant fight.
Finally, sunset came, and the Horn Clan Army backed off at last. The Jörgen faction had somehow succeeded in holding out. But that had been the easy part.
“Haa...haa... All right guys, I know this’ll be tough, but now we need to get a move on and put as much distance between us and the enemy as possible,” Jörgen ordered.
Under the cover of darkness, the Jörgen faction began their retreat. They’d ended up buying a whole day’s worth of distance for the rest of the army, which was plenty. Now it was time to ensure their own safety as they made their way back home. However, that was easier said than done.
“Shit, my body feels like a sack full of stones,” a soldier complained. The Jörgen faction had been fighting all day, and they were all ready to collapse. But they had no choice but to press on. Tonight would be the only chance they had to flee.
“Looks like they’ve all been run ragged,” Jörgen remarked to himself. As the unit continued to put one foot in front of the other, one step at a time, the sun began to rise. In the dim glow of the sunlight, Jörgen looked back at his faction and grimaced. They had been traveling this path in the dead of night with no light whatsoever. Jörgen himself had lost count of how many times he’d lost his footing and tripped. Their clothes were completely ruined and riddled with holes, and they had scratches and cuts everywhere.
Even so, they were alive—alive! Two hundred and fifty of them had managed not to fall behind. Considering the fierceness of that battle and the strictness of the schedule they’d had to adhere to, that was nothing short of a miracle.
“Well, now that we’ve come this far, I think we can take a breather. Everyone, let’s rest for a bit and— Oh shit, you’ve got to be kidding me...” Jörgen’s knees almost buckled unconsciously when he saw something in the distance. The moment he thought they were safe, he was thrown back into the abyss of despair—because right before his eyes was the Horn Clan flag, flapping in the breeze as proudly as ever.