With a swing of the warhammer in Rin's hand, it was like a giant god's heavy punch smashing into the ground! Under the invisible heavy impact, a single blow carved a hundred-meter-wide crater into the frozen earth! It was like a giant's fist print on the ground. The frozen bones and debris of the Northern Nomads were completely pulverized to dust and ashes by this blow, leaving a human-shaped bloodstain on the ground in the center of the massive pit.
Rin looked calmly at the defeated one's only remaining mark in the world, her voice ethereal as she said:
"Your strength was good, but unfortunately, your opponent was me."
The Great Leader of the Northern Nomads' final hammer throw was a brilliant counterattack, exhausting the last of his life's strength, unleashing all his physical potential in desperation. The spinning flying hammer, due to the Imperial Armament's ability, could not be blocked, and its extremely fast throwing speed also sealed off the target's space to dodge. The power contained in that strike could not be withstood by anyone in the world.
However, even if Rin had dodged that blow, the immense force of the throw would have carried that Imperial Armament warhammer into the distant snowy mountains, collapsing ice mountains and burying the Imperial Armament there, thus at least preventing the Empire from obtaining that Imperial Armament, allowing it to be lost. His objective would still have been achieved.
If anyone else in the world had been standing there at that moment, his objective would have been at least partially achieved. But unfortunately, it was Rin who stood in that position, a strong person whose inner power had already transcended a dimensional gap with this world. A blow capable of shattering mountains and breaking the earth was thus effortlessly defused by her, as she simply caught the flying weapon in her hand.
Rin, holding the Imperial Armament hammer at her side, stood on the hundred-meter ice platform amidst the wind and snow. The howling northern wind, mixed with goose-feather snowflakes, made the night-colored cloak on Rin's body flap loudly. The calm-faced girl, like a war god from myths and legends judging and punishing the mortal world, looked down upon the earth. The warriors surrounding her from all directions were all captivated.
When the Northern Region Grand Commander saw the warhammer that had flown from his hand so easily fall into Rin's hand, he already foresaw it: the wind and snow of the Northern Region could not stop such a strong person's footsteps. She would surely lead this fierce black-armored cavalry, like gods and demons, through the obstacles of wind and snow. Swords would point at their compatriots, children, women, and the elderly, even sweeping straight through, staining the white snow plains red with blood, and finally killing their way into Ice Mountain City to destroy the Northern Region royal family.
The Northern Region... was finished... It was in this despair of national ruin and family destruction that the Northern Region Grand Commander watched motionlessly as the warhammer in Rin's hand swung down. Perhaps at that moment, he wished even more to die then, so he would not have to witness the snow plains turn into blood plains and the mountains of his compatriots' bones.
When the flying frozen earth and gravel, mixed with bone and ice fragments, settled, everything was already over. The Wind God Winged Dragon, soaring in the sky, descended from above. The two Little Ones, who had been unable to stay awake and had fallen asleep last night, were now wrapped in thick cotton quilts, curled up and sound asleep on the Wind God Winged Dragon's head.
Rin leaped two or three times before landing back on the Wind God Winged Dragon's head. Facing the black-armored cavalry, who were neatly and solemnly assembled on the snow-covered plain strewn with corpses, creating an incredibly stark contrast with the white snow.
"This battle, won."
"Victory! Victory!! Victory!!!..."
Sharing the joy of victory after a bloody battlefield, this was the most exciting moment for soldiers. They had survived and could continue to chat with those around them, discussing what to do tomorrow.
Cheers like waves and tides echoed across the entire desolate snow plain, transforming this tragic battlefield into an ocean of joy. The warriors on horseback laughed loudly, punching each other's chests, and stroking their mounts, their companions in life and death, expressing their delight.
The Seventh Expeditionary Force's ten thousand iron cavalry, in their first battle, completely annihilated the Northern Nomads' army of two hundred and thirty thousand. This was destined to leave a significant mark in the military history of the Empire, and their legendary deeds would undoubtedly continue to be written.
While her soldiers cheered on the ground, Rin, standing on the Wind God Winged Dragon's head, briefly wrote down the results of the victorious battle on a piece of paper. She used the Empire's army's special signal whistle to summon a snow eagle, trained by the intelligence department for transmitting messages in the Northern Region. She inserted the written intelligence slip into the bamboo tube on the eagle's leg and then released it. Afterwards, the news of the Seventh Expeditionary Force's great victory would spread throughout the entire Empire.
At this moment, the two Little Ones, curled up near the Wind God Winged Dragon's forehead, groggily poked their heads out from under the covers. With sleepy eyes blinking and rubbing them, they looked around. Little Esdeath mumbled:
"What's wrong? So noisy? Is it morning?"
"Ah... it's morning... Time to wash up, do morning exercises, eat breakfast..."
Little Esdeath asked groggily, and Little Najenda replied groggily. Awakened by the soldiers' cheers, the two Little Ones, who had just gotten up and hadn't fully come to their senses, hadn't yet remembered that they were with Rin on a battlefield. Rin, who had just released the snow eagle, also noticed these two groggy Little Ones. She couldn't help but lose her calm expression, amused by them, and pulled them into a hug, rubbing and squeezing them~
"Ah ah ah~ You two sleepy Little Ones, you can even sleep on the battlefield. Do you know how much effort Mama put in to bring you here safely?! You two slept soundly, but Mama was out in the northern wind all night!"
"Ah ah ah~"
"Ah ah ah~"
The two groggy Little Ones were completely woken up by Rin's sudden "hug of love." The two Little Ones, who had been "abused," whimpered and wailed, but couldn't say a word.
Finally, Little Najenda and Little Esdeath came to their senses and realized that it was not time for morning exercises or breakfast. And when they followed Rin back to the front of the Wind God Winged Dragon's head, the heavy snow had already covered all the tragic sights. Only a half-broken remnant of a Native tent proved that a group of Northern Nomads had once existed there.
Being covered by wind and snow is the best burial. On the battlefield, there is no so-called loyalty or honor, and the victor does not need to respect the dignity of the dead.
"The entire army will set up camp on the spot, rest and recuperate. Each battalion will immediately tally battle losses, collect the remains of the fallen, and treat the wounded."
"Yes!!!"
With Rin's command, the soldiers of the Seventh Expeditionary Force quickly sprang into action. Following the detailed divisions of labor established before the expedition, each battalion swiftly began to set up the camp... The Wind God Winged Dragon crouched down, opening its mouth, and the Seventh Expeditionary Force soldiers responsible for transporting and unloading supplies immediately dismounted, bustling about, working with great fervor.
At this time, Rin went to the injured area, bringing only two children with her. There were no designated military doctors in the Seventh Expeditionary Force; instead, every warrior had mastered a considerable amount of medical skills for injuries. Whether on the battlefield or in the aftermath, timely mutual treatment of injuries was crucial, and this was also a mandatory assessment standard for new recruits in the Seventh Expeditionary Force.
However, injuries that were too severe, fatal wounds that could lead to death at any moment, could only be handled by Rin and a select dozen female officers. At such times, no one would consider status or position. Rin did not want to see any soldier from her painstakingly forged elite army die not on the front lines, but due to insufficient medical attention after battle.
"Needle."
Although Najenda was still young, she was quite skilled at detailed tasks like threading a needle. Esdeath had grown up accustomed to various dissections of Danger Beasts and was not at all afraid of the gruesome state of the wounded. These two Little Ones rarely had the chance to assist Rin at such a time, allowing the medically skilled Suzaku to be fully freed up to treat other seriously wounded soldiers independently.
The abdominal armor plates were completely shattered, a large gash ripped through the sturdy muscles, and intestines and internal organs were exposed to the air. In other legions, such a situation would likely not even allow time to send the soldier to a field hospital, and they would only be able to mercifully deliver a final blow to end his suffering. However, with the Seventh Expeditionary Force treating injuries directly on site, there was still hope.
Tools and medicines for treating injuries were prepared on every warrior's warhorse, ensuring no time would be wasted.
Rin took the fine needle, threaded with fish gut, from Najenda, held down the injured soldier's body, and then pierced the skin tissue at the wound.
After the wound was cleaned with a specially formulated disinfectant liquor, Rin had Esdeath continuously press the wound with a linen cloth to slow the bleeding, then meticulously stitched the wound using the fish gut-threaded needle.
Fish gut did not require removal; it would integrate with the skin if left there. As long as proper pre-treatment was done, infection was not a concern. On a tense and fierce battlefield, fish gut was the best suturing material. Of course, fish gut had one drawback: if it fused with the skin, it would form a large scar.
For soldiers with fatal wounds, preserving their lives was more important than anything else, and scars were a man's most reliable badge of military honor!
Naturally, the medical tools that could be carried were limited, so there was no anesthetic. The severely wounded remained conscious throughout the entire process, but there wasn't a single meaningless shout or cry of pain in the entire injured area. Especially the severely wounded soldier Rin was treating, his attention was more focused on the Legion Commander's figure, who was fully devoted to saving him, regardless of the blood staining her uniform, rather than on the pain of his injuries.
This was his first time being so close to Rin; he could feel the warmth of Rin's hand as she stitched the wound, a feeling that—
If he could survive, next time he would rather be injured more severely...
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