As Erwin was resting against Lana's back, enjoying a deep sleep, the two of them passed Windmetal Fort and continued on toward the king's province.

Lana had never been intimate with another man like this before, and he could feel his warm breath as his chest rose and fell in an even rhythm. As her horse galloped along, Erwin bounced up and down on its back, and as a result, his slightly unkempt stubble was rubbing against the back of Lana's neck, constantly itching her in the process. Before she knew it, a deep blush had appeared on her face.

The entirety of Erwin's bodyweight was pressing down against her back, but she didn't mind that at all. Instead, her only concern was that Erwin could fall off the horse if the terrain became slightly more rough and rugged.

As it turned out, her concerns were unnecessary. Erwin's left hand was gripped tightly around his right wrist, and his arms were locked firmly around Lana's waist, so it wouldn't be so easy for him to fall off.

Occasionally, she would turn her face slightly to look at Erwin's side profile, and his handsome features told a story of exhaustion and despair. Even in his slumber, his brows were still tightly furrowed.

At this moment, Lana felt as if her heart had melted into a pond that was only large enough to accommodate a single person, and that was the man on her back. Even though she wasn't at fault, she couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt toward him.

"Wake up," Lana suddenly said as she shrugged her shoulders.

Erwin opened his eyes in a feeble manner, and the whites of his eyes were still very bloodshot. It was clear that he had accumulated a severe degree of sleep deprivation during the past few days, and his eyes were so sore and dry that just opening them felt like an arduous feat.

"What's going on?" Erwin asked in a slightly grumpy voice, displeased by the fact that he had been woken up while sleeping so soundly. It was noon, so the sunlight was very bright, which irritated his eyes even further, so he could only narrow his eyes slightly as he continued to rest against Lana's back.

At this point, the rain had already passed, and the sky had become so bright and sunny that the heavy storm seemed to be nothing more than a memory of the distant past.

"We've already passed the twin Reydnold Mountains," Lana said. "I won't accompany you any further beyond this point."

Lana began to pull on the reins in her hands as she spoke, and her steed gradually slowed down to a trot as a result.

Erwin didn't say anything in response. He knew that Lana wasn't going to accompany him to Sarus.     Instead, she would be accompanying Aiden and the others to Sarus to conquer the ancient city.

"Alright," Erwin finally said in a quiet voice.

"There shouldn't be anyone else to intercept you up ahead, but still, be careful on the rest of the journey." The wind was quite strong, and it was lifting up Lana's long red hair, blowing its alluring fragrance directly toward Erwin, a fragrance that he was eagerly inhaling.

"Alright," he replied with a nod, but just as he was about to dismount from the horse, Lana laid a hand onto his arm to stop him.

"You can ride this horse. I'll just wait here for my brother and the others."

Erwin's heart jolted slightly upon hearing this. He had thought that the troops from Burmen would've at least taken some time to rest before assembling an army to take down Sarus, but judging from what Lana was saying, that didn't appear to be the plan.

This is the capital city of the Effer Kingdom we're talking about here. Is it really going to be that easy to conquer? Erwin was rather perplexed.

Lana wanted to dismount from the horse, but Erwin was blocking her from behind, and she found dismounting from the front awkward and inelegant, so she could only sit still on the spot.

Erwin wanted to help her, so he grabbed onto her waist with the intention of lifting her off the horse. However, he forgot about the injury on his hand, and as soon as he tried to exert any force through his right hand, the wound was aggravated, and cold sweat immediately began to pour down his forehead from the agonizing pain.

However, he was very stubborn to have his way, and even though he couldn't use his hand, he still tried to lift Lana off the horse using his wrist. Finally, his wrist slid up and came into contact with a forbidden zone.

A deep blush immediately appeared on Lana's face, and she gave him a vicious slap on the back of the hand. "Get off!"

Erwin knew that he couldn't keep this up any longer, so he could only sheepishly dismount from the horse, then helped Lana down from the horse as well.

As soon as Lana found some stable footing on the ground, he immediately pressed his lips close to her ears, then whispered in a shameless manner, "They were really soft."

"Do you want to die?" Lana's eyes widened with rage as she pinched Erwin's waist before giving it a vicious twist, causing Erwin to grimace with pain.

"Alright, I'm going now." A serious look appeared on Erwin's face as he mounted the horse again, and after taking one final glance at Lana, he began to travel toward Sarus in the south.

Lana looked on at his departing figure and heaved a faint sigh.

...

After traveling for half a day, Erwin finally caught up with Onean and the others.

He pulled up his horse beside them, then whistled at them in a cheerful manner.

"Master Erwin?" Sherry turned to him with an astonished expression. "How did you manage to get away from them so quickly?"

Lanyon was also in a state of disbelief, and he was so excited that he was at a loss for words.

Judging from how confident Erwin had been when he had asked them to go without him, they assumed that he wouldn't be in any life-threatening danger. However, there was obviously no way that they could've been sure that Erwin would be safe. After all, there was no guarantee that Lana would be able to protect Erwin, and even if he could survive, there was a chance that he would become a prisoner. Thus, even though they were fleeing alongside Onean, they were still very much concerned for Erwin's safety.

However, Onean had already anticipated all of this. She knew that there was no way that Lana would be willing to let Erwin die. After all, only women knew women best. At the time, she had a look at Erwin's expression, then took a glance at the look on Lana's face, and she immediately knew that everything would be fine. As for Erwin, she knew that even though he always appeared to be relaxed and carefree on the surface, he was actually an extremely stubborn person. No matter how much he loved Lana, there was no way that he would remain by her side, given the fact that her family had killed his father.

Looks like that red-haired witch really is completely enamored with him,  Onean thought to herself. However, what she failed to consider was that the same thing applied to her as well.

"Why don't you look happy to see me make it out of there alive?" Erwin asked as he rode along on his steed beside Onean.

Indeed, Onean was looking a little displeased. "It was only to be expected. I would've been very surprised if she allowed you to die back there."

"Jeez, what a cold response," Erwin murmured in a disgruntled voice.

"What do you want from me? Do you want me to be concerned for you like a caring wife?" Onean asked in a cold voice as she raised an eyebrow. "My apologies, but I don't have the time for that."

"Alright, alright, let's not discuss this any further." It was clear that pursuing this subject any further was only going to exacerbate Onean's foul mood. On top of that, Erwin didn't have the energy to bicker with her, so he hurriedly changed the subject, "I feel like the soldiers under Aiden are planning to chase us all the way to Sarus."

"What? They're not going to assemble a larger army? He only has several thousand soldiers with him!" Onean exclaimed.

Erwin nodded in response. "I feel like his plan is to conquer Sarus with these several thousand troops alone."

"That's impossible," Onean said as her brows furrowed tightly. "The only way that would be possible is if he brings those flying dragons as well."

"I don't think Lazaar will be so demented as to attack the city with flying dragons," Erwin said as he took a glance at Onean. "He would only bring the flying dragons if he's already made up his mind to destroy the city. Otherwise, he would have to at least worry about all of the citizens in the city. Surely it wouldn't benefit him to slaughter all of Sarus's citizens."

Onean shook her head in response. "He's not that deranged, nor is he that foolish. What would he stand to gain from destroying Sarus? The only thing that would earn him is the reputation of a cruel despot who slaughtered an entire city of innocent citizens. No one in the kingdom would be willing to support him then."

"That's what I've been wondering this entire time. How is Aiden planning to attack the city?" Erwin seemed to be raising the question to Onean, but he also seemed to be speaking to himself.

"We don't have time to worry about all of that right now. Let's focus on returning to Sarus first," Onean said.

Erwin nodded in response, then fell into deep thought as he rode along on horseback. He felt like the answer to his question was already somewhere in his mind, but it was just out of reach, and the more he strained to find it, the further it slipped away from his grasp.

With Erwin and Onean leading the way, the unit of around a dozen mercenaries continued to race along the provincial road toward Sarus in the south at a breakneck pace, leaving Aiden and his troops far behind them.

...

On the morning two days later, the group of exhausted travelers finally arrived at the foot of Sarus.

Erwin looked up at the grand and majestic capital, and he was very relieved that he had managed to return to this place alive.

If the Royal Orchestra were present, they would be welcoming their victorious king with triumphant music, but no such welcome had been prepared.

Of course, Onean and Erwin weren't in the mood to be appreciating orchestral music anyway, and as for the king that should've returned victoriously to the city, he had already perished on the battlefield in Burmen.

The soldiers standing atop the city wall were barely able to believe their own eyes. 

Isn't that Princess Onean? Isn't she supposed to be recovering from her injuries in the royal palace? Could it be that she accompanied His Majesty to the front lines? If so, why has she returned from the provincial road to the north looking so frail and exhausted? 

A string of questions surfaced in everyone's minds, and those questions gave rise to another question: what is the current state of the battle in Burmen? Judging from Onean's expression and complexion, things weren't looking very optimistic.

"I'll go inform Prime Minister Fuller of my return and discuss with him what I should do next," Onean said upon setting foot onto Phoenix Street.

Erwin nodded in response. Prior to her departure, Erwin recovered his sheepskin satchel from her steed. He looked on as Onean departed into the distance on horseback, feeling unsure of what to do next. He had no official rank in the royal court, nor had he inherited his father's noble title yet, so he would've been completely out of place accompanying Onean to the royal palace.

He turned around to look at the group of remaining mercenaries behind him, and he became even more undecided on how to proceed.

Theoretically speaking, the mercenary legion should be disbanded now that the war was over, but it was clear that another war was imminent. Unfortunately, he had no confidence in their ability to win this war, so how could he ask them to join him? It would be like asking them to die with him, and he couldn't bring himself to do that.

With that in mind, Erwin had no idea what to say, so he could only stare at the mercenaries behind him in an awkward silence.

Thankfully, Sherry broke the silence for him. "Master Erwin, regardless of what everyone else here does, I will follow you until the day I die!"