Chapter 254: The Battle of Yoman (1)

The Great Wall of Yoman loomed ahead.

Murmur... Murmur...

The voices of the soldiers seemed to carry from outside the tent.

As she drew back the flap, Serica looked at the five people standing before her and asked, “Are you the ones making all that noise?”

At that, the soldiers instantly went silent, tension filling their faces in response to her question.

“We gathered the soldiers from among the mountain people, selecting those who lived in the northern forests,” reported the lieutenant, who saluted Serica Lauren.

She tilted her head slightly in response.

“Hmm...”

The soldiers standing there had to be wondering the same thing—why had they been summoned? The knights who looked on were just as puzzled as them.

What on earth is this kid planning...? Why would Sir Fran entrust the Battle of Yoman to a child like her? I don’t get it.

The most anxious among them was the commander of Fran’s army, stationed at the base of the Great Wall. Having spent many years on the battlefield, he struggled to accept the idea of entrusting their lives to someone who looked no older than fourteen or fifteen.

It’s a battle we can’t win anyway. Just maintaining the front line is already more than enough...

The commander stared at Serica, his gaze full of doubt. Of course, he didn’t realize that his years of experience had fostered certain biases—beliefs he regarded as undeniable truths, as most veterans did.

The Great Wall of Yoman is impenetrable.

Those words had practically been ingrained into their minds. Naturally, the soldiers of the principality took pride in this belief, and never had they imagined that they would be the ones tasked with assaulting this place.

And it wasn’t just that.

The Great Wall of Yoman was known as an impregnable fortress, but it was also guarded by Ganeth, the Sword Master of the principality.

Yoman and Ganeth—just hearing those two names was enough to convince the soldiers that they couldn’t possibly emerge victorious from this battle. Their strongest ally had become their worst enemy, making it seem as though maintaining a stalemate was the only option.

But then, Serica Lauren had confidently made a declaration, one that also sounded like an undeniable truth.

“We will breach the Great Wall.”

At first, they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. No one had ever dared to imagine assaulting Yoman—it was unthinkable. And yet here was this young girl, suddenly appearing before them and trying to shatter that belief.

Of course, everyone snorted at first, dismissing her declaration as the nonsense of a clueless kid.

But... Sir Anthem also spoke in her favor...

Though they were skeptical, none of them tried to stop her. They assumed she would tire herself out before long anyway.

However, a day passed, then two, three, four... As time went on, Serica never missed a single day of surveying and investigating the area outside the fortress, even in the fierce weather.

The blizzards in Yoman were brutal, so harsh that even those who had lived in the principality struggled to endure them. The mere thought of venturing out into those deadly conditions for hours on end was unimaginable.

But Serica did just that. Day after day, she faced the blizzards, enduring them for countless hours without a single complaint, as if they were nothing more than a hurdle on the road to victory.

We have no choice but to acknowledge her.

At some point, the soldiers’ views of her began to change. Regardless of the outcome, they could no longer deny her resolve. What they once dismissed as the recklessness of a novice now seemed like a genuine effort to prepare for the siege of Yoman.

Her determination forced them to confront their own mindset—how they had approached the battlefield already resigned to defeat.

A week later, Serica Lauren called them together for the first time before heading to the wall.

“Those who lack confidence may leave. What I’m asking of you is no ordinary task. After all, this is something that even the immigrant tribes, who have lived their entire lives in the mountains, would probably find daunting.”

The soldiers exchanged confused glances, wondering what she was about to ask of them that warranted such a warning.

“But if you succeed, you will become the heroes of a most glorious victory.”

Thump— Thump—

Her words, spoken so casually, made the soldiers’ hearts race.

A talent more suited to war than battle—that was why Karyl had deployed her to the front lines, despite her youth.

Although Serica was still a kid, the soldiers felt strangely exhilarated by her declaration.

“I am from Dephtar, a village where we cultivate and gather mountain plants. Though I’m now a soldier, I used to help my father collect herbs when I was young. When it comes to soil, I’m more confident than anyone else.”

One of the soldiers boldly stepped forward, perhaps emboldened by Serica’s words.

“Really? That’s perfect.”

“...What?”

Serica Lauren pulled a handful of soil from her pocket. The soldier looked at her, bewildered by her sudden gesture.

“Smell it.”

“...What?”

The soldier hesitated, exchanging awkward glances with the others before reluctantly taking the soil she offered. He sniffed it, and his expression hardened slightly.

“This is—”

“Shh...”

Just as he was about to speak, Serica raised her finger to her lips, arching an eyebrow.

“Do you remember what I asked when I first arrived?”

She turned her head, and the young soldier standing beside her nodded. He was the one who had been attending to her since she arrived in Yoman and had accompanied her during every investigation of the wall.

“You asked why the Sword Master of the principality was here.”

“That’s right.”

Serica nodded and gestured for them to come inside the tent.

“How many soldiers do we have here?”

“Three thousand, but Sir Anthem has ordered us to prioritize guarding Yoman, as we’re not in a position to launch an attack."

“And what about

them

?”

“...What?”

“How many are inside the fortress? You should know, given that you were once part of the same principality. Assuming no reinforcements have arrived.”

The commander nodded quickly in response to Serica’s question.

“I suppose... their garrison should be similar to ours. But I know that when Sir Ganeth arrived at Yoman, he brought an additional two thousand soldiers with him."

“The defensive force totals five thousand, and the only Sword Master of the principality is stationed at Yoman?”

“...Yes.”

The mere thought of it was suffocating. The enemy had more troops, the topography of the Great Wall favored them, and to make matters worse, Ganeth was on their side...

“Doesn’t that seem strange?” Serica asked calmly, seemingly oblivious to their feelings.

“...What?”

“The Great Wall of Yoman, which has never been breached in the history of the principality—the impregnable fortress the principality takes pride in. Why would they station a Sword Master there?”

“What do you mean by that...?”

“Everyone knows well just how strong Sword Masters are. Just one can change the outcome of an entire battle by themselves. If it were me, I’d deploy him to the front lines, where he could achieve much more.”

“Well, yes, but...”

The knights stared at her, bewildered.

“The fact that Yoman has never been breached simply means that no one has ever tried to,” she said with emphasis. “Is the Great Wall truly an unassailable barrier? Who can truly testify to that?”

“...What?”

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

“And what if the opposite is true? What if the truth you’ve always believed in is nothing more than a fabricated rumor?”

“Th-That’s impossible.”

“My father was just a mercenary, but he traveled to many countries beyond the principality and told me stories of what he saw. And from what I’ve seen with my own eyes outside the principality, I’ve made one resolution.”

Serica Lauren swept her gaze across the soldiers.

“I won’t believe anything until I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

She looked directly at the commander.

“What if Ganeth, the sole Sword Master of the principality, is stuck here with his personal troops because the Great Wall is actually so vulnerable that it needs someone of his caliber to protect it? What would you do then?"

“...”

No one could refute her words, as none of them had ever considered such a possibility before.

“What else? We have to find out.”

She smirked at their speechless expressions.

“But... But that’s just speculation. What if the Great Wall really is an insurmountable fortress? It would just mean handing our lives over to the enemy,” the commander spoke cautiously, his voice quivering.

Serica nodded, acknowledging his concern.

“You’re right. That’s why I brought them here.”

“...What?”

With a mysterious smile, Serica gestured toward the tense soldiers standing nearby. The one who had sniffed the soil from her pocket looked particularly grim.

“There might be a secret hidden within the Great Wall.”

She glanced out at the blizzard raging outside the tent.

“Perhaps a secret of ancient heat and sand that we can hardly imagine in the current northern lands.”

“...?”

The commander merely stared at her, his face still riddled with confusion.

Nevertheless, Serica spoke with conviction, “Let’s find out whether this is truly an insurmountable barrier or if it’s just a fragile sandcastle that needed a monster to guard it all this time.”

***

“Kinu, what do you think?”

“What do you mean?”

“They say that canyon is called Frau Hat, right?” Miliana remarked as she gazed at the twin peaks. “The Lady’s Hat... Quite fitting, don’t you think?

Kinu cocked his head. Naturally, having lived his whole life in the Great Plains, he had never been interested in the world of nobles or the adornments of ladies. He didn’t see how a lady’s hat was connected to the twin peaks, nor did he care. To him, it was just a small hill to be crossed.

“In the principality, women have long worn wide-brimmed hats. They use them to cover their faces and hide their expressions, to the point where there’s a saying: ‘If you want to steal a woman’s heart, untie the ribbon on her hat.’”

“Hmm.”

“That canyon between the twin peaks—it’s like a woman’s face hidden beneath a hat. You can’t see what lies within. Perhaps there’s a trap set, waiting for us.”

Kinu listened to her explanation but responded in a calm voice, still unimpressed.

“Well... compared to the south, calling those peaks is a stretch. They don’t seem significant enough to hide anything.”

Milliana chuckled at his remark.

“Yet here we are, having been delayed for quite some time. If we keep this up, that little girl might beat us to it.”

“You seem impatient, Empress. Do you really think the Great Wall will fall?"

Kinu seemed more interested in the discussion about Yoman than in the twin peaks.

“Isn’t it just a stalling tactic?”

“Not necessarily. The Great Wall’s reputation of being impregnable is well known, but I don’t think Karyl would’ve placed Serica there without some chance of success.”

“Even so... she’s just a kid, having only recently turned sixteen. She may have experienced the civil war, but all she did was flee. She’s never truly seen battle. Can such a child really command thousands of soldiers...?”

“True, but you forget she’s been trained by Antihum. Karyl also seems to regard her as special, so there must be something about her that we don’t know.”

Kinu Mukari recalled when he first saw Serica in Tatur, and indeed, he had sensed that there was something extraordinary about her. However, given that he had yet to see Serica in battle, he figured Miliana worried too much about her.

“I’m not entirely sure of Serica’s abilities either, but that’s not the issue,” Miliana went on. “It’s us.”

“Pardon?”

“Serica is merely challenging the impregnable Yoman, so even if she fails, she can make excuses. In other words, it's a battlefield where she has nothing to lose. But for us? This is the one place in the civil war where victory is undeniably within reach.”

Miliana pointed toward Frau Hat.

“We have to win here just to break even. And a simple victory won’t suffice. If Serica manages to breach Yoman, we’ll have to advance immediately to save face.”

“So then...”

“Now I understand why Karyl placed me here. You mentioned that Ganeth, the principality’s spear, is where Serica is, right?”

Kinu Mukari nodded at her words.

“No matter how skilled she is, defeating the current Sword Master would be difficult. So even if she succeeds in taking Yoman, it will be a victory achieved through strategy, not combat.”

“But I’m a different story,” Miliana said with a chuckle.

For a moment, Kinu felt a chilling intensity radiating from her.

“Not only do I need to secure the first victory, but I also need to win here through battle, not just strategy, to uphold my own honor.”

She grasped the two crossed weapons, Arc and Gale, strapped behind her back.

“They say there are about six thousand troops in Frau Hat, including those who retreated from the Brown Ant?”

“Yes, that’s correct,” Kinu confirmed.

“Then I’ll go alone,” Miliana said with a nod. “I shall show these bumpkins of the principality what the Dragon Queen is truly capable of.”