Chapter 1462: Chapter 29: Negotiation (Final) (Part 5)
The sound of a zither emanated from the tent, with a melancholic male voice singing a lullaby recounting the deeds of an ancient Paratu king.
The aides were familiar with this song.
Many aides had been lulled to sleep by this lullaby in their childhood.
Yet hearing it again today brought a different feeling.
The melancholic voice sang softly:
“Oh, dear Flowering Tree, where do you grow in the swamp?
“Hey, hey, oh dear, where do you grow in the swamp?
“Where do you grow in the swamp? Could it be on the moss-covered path?
“Hey, hey, oh dear, could it be on the moss-covered path?
“Oh, dear mother, why did you raise me?
“Hey, hey, oh dear, why did you raise me?
“Why did you raise me only to send me to the battlefield?
“Hey, hey, oh dear, why did you send me to the battlefield?
“Why send me to the battlefield and give me three horns?
“Hey, hey, oh dear, why did you give me three horns?
“Blow the first horn when stepping out the door.
“Hey, hey, oh dear, the child has left the yard;
“Blow the second horn when leaving the hometown,
“Hey, hey, oh dear, the child has left the homeland;
“Blow the third horn when leaving Paratu,
“Hey, hey, oh dear, the child has left the native soil;
“My horse strides forward proudly…
As they listened, the aides became entranced.
Yet Alpad had already wielded his whip and continued onward.
The melancholic voice continued singing:
“A lowland army came attacking, a brave lowland army,
“Hey, hey, oh dear, a brave lowland army;
“We rode across the battlefield, defeating all the lowlanders,
“Hey, hey, oh dear, defeated all the lowlanders;”
The aides unanimously glanced at the slender figure of Alpad Duyome.
“Fearless child of Hokaid, he is a true king,
“Hey, hey, oh dear, he is a true hero.”
—————–
[Monta Republic]
[Steel Fortress]
A team of lance bearers advanced along the valley road, and as the fog rolled in, the officer ordered the soldiers to rest.
Due to pressure from the United Province, Monta Republic’s forces were also assembling at the Paratu border.
But due to various resistible and irresistible reasons, the assembly of the forces was not progressing well.
However, since the United Province decided to invest unprecedented forces in North Paratoo, the need for support from the Montans was less urgent.
Among the soldiers resting on the ground, someone gazed at the fog-shrouded valley and softly hummed a song commemorating the uprising thirty years ago.
Soon, everyone began to hum along:
“On an early morning, I walked down the valley to a town for the market,
“A marching army passed by me;
“No bagpipes and no war drums,
“But some sound echoed in my ears;
“It was the morning bell of prayer drifting over the valley,
“Passed through the dense fog;
“The town in the mountains reveres justice,
“They raised the flag of uprising;
“If we die, let it be under the sky of our homeland,
“Better than being buried in the North Sea, the Eastern Territory, and the lowlands…”
Singing along, the voices grew quieter.
For no Montan was unaware of the conclusion of the story.
“I walked down the valley again,
“Heart aching with sadness;
“I have forever parted from those brave souls,
“Never to meet again;
“But time and again, I reunite with them in dreams,
“Day after day, I pray for them;”
Being forced to head to Paratu, the Montans gazed at the dense fog in the valley and hummed sadly:
“For refusing to be enslaved to death
“You vanish in this mist.”
—————–
[Varn]
As Monta Republic’s troops were assembling at the Paratu border.
The Ninth Legion of the Varn Republic [Skylark] was also being relocated to the United Province.
Due to pulling away too many troops from the mainland, to prevent “unexpected situations,” the United Province army patched holes by borrowing the Ninth Legion from the Varn Republic under pressure.
With relocation akin to firefighting, at present, the United Province’s two field armies were already in motion, yet the Ninth Legion had still not arrived.
Facing daily piles of sternly worded reprimand letters, the Commander of the Ninth Legion no longer cared to conserve the soldiers’ stamina, increasing the daily marching time to sixteen hours.
Already grumbling due to being far from home, the soldiers started composing ditties, and even openly sang while marching, not even the whip could stop them.
Like at this moment, the officers of the Ninth Legion could only watch helplessly as the soldiers stepped and sang loudly:
“It’s a bad day for legion soldiers,
“One, two, three;
“A hellish fate torments him,
“One, two, three;
“Walk a lot, eat little, and have to keep moving forward,
“One, two, one, two, three!
“My firearm on the shoulder…”
Though the lyrics were bitter, the soldiers sang comically and joyfully, causing passersby to stop and watch.
The officers of the Ninth Legion felt utterly embarrassed.
“Uh,” an aide from the command tent tentatively asked the Commander: “Should we stop them?”
“Leave it be,” the highest Commander of the Ninth Legion stood silent for a moment, sighed, “Let them sing.”
—————–
[Taniria Islands]
[Red Sulfur Harbor]
Just as the sun rose, the naval infantry of the island fleet began their daily morning routine training — rowing.