The Song Of Sword And Magic

Chapter 57: Nasus

[Translator — Asuka]

[Proofreader — Karane]

All of a sudden, a fireball was hurled at Fern. He immediately unsheathed the Sword in the Stone to parry the attack. Following that, his enemies charged at him once again.

“Damn it. Is there no end to it?” Fern brandished his sword and fended off three warriors. However, a group of soldiers then launched themselves at him. Behind them was a magician who kept casting fireballs at him.

“Niss, run!” Fern turned around and shouted at Niss. Seeing that the enemy’s sword was right before his eyes, he quickly parried it and stepped backward to give himself time to compose himself. However, the magician was relentless as he hurled another fireball before Fern could stabilize himself. The mercenary clenched his sword and slashed at the fireball. Nevertheless, he was sent flying backwards from the impact, so he was no longer able to save Niss.

“Fern, save me!” Two warriors took Niss’s arms and lugged her away. She cried out to Fern as her red hair swayed with the wind.

“Stop right there, bastards!” Fern struggled to his feet and ran after Niss, but the other warriors got into his way. “Go away, bastards!” He wielded his sword with difficulty, but he couldn’t go near Niss at all.

***

The magician sneered. “Mr. Mercenary, is that all you’ve got? Do you still think you can protect Niss till the end?”

“Damn it!” Fern used his last bit of energy and hurled his sword at the magician. Just when the sword was about to hit him, the magician’s figure became vague suddenly. The sword penetrated the figure and fell to the ground.

“What?” Before Fern could understand what was going on, the magician appeared right before his eyes. Incensed, he wanted to charge forward, but the two warriors struck him on the neck and stomach, which caused him to collapse to the ground and almost lose consciousness. He staggered to his feet again, but as soon as he stood up, the warrior on his left gave him a punch on the face, which caused him to fall on his knees. After that, he couldn’t get up anymore.

“Fern! Stop hurting him! I’ll go with you. Release him now!” Niss wailed. Both her hands were gripped by the warriors, so she could only let her tears stream down her face.

“Release him?” The magician looked dispassionately at the kneeling mercenary. “Rather than letting you keep struggling, I should probably send you to hell.” He raised his right hand and formed a fireball.

Seeing that Fern was about to be killed, Niss screamed. “No! Stop!”

Damn it. Is it the end for me? Niss, I’m so sorry… Fern hung his head low, looking like a defeated warrior who was waiting for his last moment.

In the blink of an eye, the fireball engulfed Fern and started burning him. He shrieked in pain as every inch of his skin scorched. At that instant, he could see nothing other than the redness of fire, as though he was in hell.

***

Seeing that Fern was struggling in his dream as his face contorted, Niss hurriedly pushed him repeatedly. “What’s going on? Fern, wake up. Fern!”

“Niss, are you alright? I…” Fern opened his eyes and saw that she was looking worriedly at him. Behind her was a wooden ceiling. “Where is this?”

“Nasus. Rae told me that this is the village nearest to the Doylan border, but no one lives here now. Fortunately, there are no traces of the Dark Tide here.” Niss squeezed a wet handkerchief and helped wipe away his sweat.

“Really? How did we get here? I remember that we were crossing the river, and I lost consciousness. I don’t know what happened next.” Fern tried to sit up, but he soon felt a sharp pain in his head and fell backwards again.

“Don’t move! Just stay lying down.” Niss said worriedly. “It’s been two days since you were stricken with a fever, so you must be having a headache now. Fortunately, you’ve awakened now. I was worried that…” She started sobbing, but she hurriedly brushed away her tears. “It’s great. I’ll tell Rae and Stan.” Upon finishing her words, she kept wiping away her tears as she dashed out of the house.

“So, it was just a dream. That’s great.” Fern heaved a sigh of relief and looked around. The house was small, but it should be able to accommodate four people. The firewood in the fireplace was almost burned out, and beside him was a wooden bucket. He dipped his hand in it and immediately felt a cold sensation. “It’s cold water, and her handkerchief is still here. She must have stayed beside me for a long time.”

He tried to sit up once again, but the sharp pain in his head almost defeated him. Placing his palms on the floor, he eventually managed to sit.

“Fern, how are you feeling?” Stan and Rae spinted into the house, followed by the fatigued Niss.

“I’m having a headache. Other than that, I’m fine.” Fern leaned his back against the wall and replied with difficulty.

Rae closed the door and leaned her back against it. “You have to thank Niss. She’s stood by your side for two days without leaving at all. Even when she slept, she had to sleep beside you. I told her we could take turns to take care of you, but she didn’t agree to it.” She grinned. “Maybe she’s afraid that I’d be less meticulous than she was.”

“That’s not true, Rae. I was just worried that you’d exhaust yourself since you had to keep guard at night.” Niss blushed and explained.

With mixed feelings, Fern stared at Niss silently. “Thanks, Niss. I’m supposed to take care of you, but…”

Niss lethargically took a seat on the wooden chair and placed her hands on the table. With a faint smile, she replied, “No, Fern. You’ve fallen ill because of me.”

“No, it’s my own problem!” Fern became agitated and blamed himself.

“Stop arguing over such a pointless issue as who should be held responsible. Don’t you think you should thank Stan and me as well?” Rae crossed her arms and curled up her lips.

“That’s right, Fern. I saved you from the river and carried you on my back. Don’t forget that I was entirely soaked as well. It wasn’t a pleasant experience to carry a man on my back and run for such a long time in this climate.” Stan teased with a smile. “Also, Rae kept using the Dark Wall to keep us hidden. In the end, she almost passed out.”

“Thanks, guys. Thanks.” Fern put on a sincere smile as he was grateful for what his companions had done for him.

“Fern, do you understand now why I objected to you luring the enemies away on your own?” Rae gave him a look.

“Yes, but…” Fern flashed a smile at her. “Didn’t you act like me when you heard there were survivors of Sara?”

Rae laughed in self-mockery. “You’re right. Both of us should learn our lesson. Alright, Stan and I haven’t done our work yet. Do you want something to eat? For the past two days, you hadn’t had any food other than water. Of course, it was Niss who fed it to you.”

“There’s no need for that. Please continue your work. I can be on my own.” Fern waved his hand and looked at Niss. “Why don’t you take a rest as well…”

Niss didn’t reply to him, for she had already fallen asleep with her head resting on the table. Her stable breathing could be heard clearly.

At that instant, a strange feeling welled up within Fern. He wasn’t sure if he felt touched, warmed, or something else.

***

The next morning, the sky was gloomy. Even though it wasn’t in the wee hours anymore, there wasn’t much sunlight outside the house, as though it would rain at any moment.

“How are you feeling, Fern? Does your head still hurt?” Stan poured him a cup of hot tea.

“I’m alright as long as I don’t move too much.” Fern replied as he shook his head, but he immediately frowned and placed his hands on his head.

“It seems that you haven’t recovered. We’d better stay here for one more day. Anyway, Hersey didn’t say we had to get the sacred seal quickly.” Rae drank her tea calmly as the matter wasn’t so urgent.

“I agree with Rae. If there’s an emergency, I could feel it. So, there shouldn’t be a problem.” Niss put some leaves of kuzding tea into Fern’s cup.

After giving it a thought, Fern decided to give in. “Alright, I don’t want to slow you down on the road by letting you take care of me for a longer time.”

“Fern, you were really brave by jumping into the river in the winter. Even a Doylan would be hesitant, but you just jumped straight into it without any hesitation.” Stan smiled and clapped Fern’s shoulder.

With his hands still on his forehead, Fern replied helplessly, “I didn’t expect that I would end up drowning myself. I did it without much thought because we were in a rush. I know too little about the frigid climate. I thought I could get through it.”

“The Northern climate would teach anyone who underestimates it a lesson. Fortunately, Stan is a Doylan. I guess you had to swim a lot in the winter when you were a young kid.” Rae looked confidently at the knight.

Stan replied bashfully, “You’re right. When I was a young kid, my grandpa would always throw me into cold water in the winter.”

“That’s cruel, but you were able to save us because of that.” Niss clenched the cup in her hand.

Stan guffawed. “Niss, my grandpa wasn’t being cruel. This is the kind of training everyone in Doyle has to go through to increase our chance of survival in any war.”

Niss stuck out her tongue and pulled a face at Fern, who smiled weakly in response.

***

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