Chapter 56

I was just in a vast, open grassland.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing, and the leaves, about the height of my ankles, swayed in the wind.

Looking at it this way, it becomes clear that borders are defined by human standards, and in reality, there are no real boundaries.

As I watched this scene, a group approached from the direction of the road.

We had around 300 soldiers, and they had about the same number.

The reason we had gathered here wasn’t for war, but to exchange prisoners.

A knight, presumably a representative from their side, stepped forward—an elderly man.

From our side, we sent out Kurt.

“…I assume the lord is unharmed?”

The elderly knight asked, and I signaled to my soldiers, who then revealed the captured nobles and knights before them.

The elderly knight confirmed the sight, nodded, and gestured to the group behind him. A man, presumably a butler, holding a wooden box emerged from the group.

The butler stepped a pace behind the elderly knight and opened the box, making sure we could clearly see its contents.

Inside the box were gold coins and jewels—what could be considered the ransom for the prisoners.

“Can I confirm this?” Kurt asked.

The butler, carrying the wooden box, took a step forward, bringing it within reach.

Kurt chose a gold coin from the box, stared at it, and bent it with his fingers.

Can you bend a gold coin with your fingers? Oh, but I suppose he’s a knight who can use aura, so that makes sense.

It seemed Kurt confirmed that it was real gold, as he nodded and turned to me.

I also gave a signal, and together with the knights, we sent the prisoners off.

The elderly knight received the box from the butler, and Kurt took the reins of the prisoners from the knight.

By exchanging the reins and the wooden box, the prisoner exchange was complete.

I watched the former prisoners returning to the enemy’s group and called out to them.

“If you come to attack again, I won’t show mercy. But if you agree to cooperate, I’ll reward you. Just like them.”

At my words, they merely glared at me without answering.

Without a word, they returned to the enemy’s group.

Maybe I was too obvious with that…

Well, now they’ll be a little more suspicious of each other. Perhaps some of the smaller, weaker nobles will disappear due to the responsibility of their defeat, but there’s no room for sympathy once they’ve attacked. This is the fate of a chaotic world.

Kurt returned, holding the wooden box.

“Now then, before we head back, I want to make a detour.”

The retinue, including Kurt, were puzzled, wondering where he would detour to in such a vast, empty grassland.

“Since we’re already in the east, I want to inspect a village.”

We moved through the familiar plains and headed toward a nearby village.

As we approached, the outlines of the village came into view.

What had once been wheat fields, what had once been houses.

The foundation of life was destroyed, and only faint traces of human activity remained.

Yes. This was the village that had been plundered during the earlier battle.