Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: Counterattack
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"Detonate it!"
"Yes, sir!"
The underground space located next to Denfos's central gate.
Derbal was about to carry out the order he had received from his lord.
And at the command to detonate, the territory's seven mages poured mana into the plate-sized mana condensers held in their hands.
Flash!
The mana condenser connected to the mithril wires buried underground.
A tool to activate the magic circle that Lord Kayer had buried outside the castle last winter.
KABOOOOOM!
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM.
ROOOOARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Powerful vibrations and explosion sounds resounding all the way to the sturdy walls.
"Arrrghhhhhhhhhhh!"
"Uwaaaaaaaaah!"
The screams of imperial soldiers echoing one after another.
"Send them out too."
"Yes, sir!"
It still wasn't over.
The imperial infantry beginning to climb the walls.
They would taste a terror they could never forget for the rest of their lives.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
".....!!"
KABOOOOOM!
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
ROOOOARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Kayer, who had finally approached firing range leading just six wyverns.
Duke Yanobis, positioned at the front and just about to hurl his spear, heard an enormous blast in his ears.
'What in the world is that!'
Magic exploding amid the soldiers who had been vigorously assaulting Denfos's dilapidated walls.
There were clearly no mages atop the walls, yet massive spells detonating simultaneously all around them in a ring.
Most were 5th circle or higher wide-area attack spells.
The soldiers' bodies igniting, shredding, and bursting apart.
For the imperial infantry arrayed in dense formation, it was akin to a bolt from the blue.
The ground, packed with imperial soldiers just moments ago, now riddled with gaping craters everywhere.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble.
And that was not all.
A scene visible through what appeared to be a mana scope mounted on his helmet.
Enormous masses bursting up from the earth beneath the walls.
'Dravilts!'
Combat golems once kept one or two per castle for smashing gates.
But these were not Dravilts in their usual form.
The Dravilts rising from underground were not wielding siege hammers or axes; instead, they were shoving chariots fitted with gleaming blue blades.
Thud, thud, thud!
The moment they erupted from the soil, they began pushing chariots over five meters wide, blades affixed.
Scraaaaaaaaape.
Crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch.
"Arrrghhhhhhhhhhh!"
"Uwaaa! D-dodge!"
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
The bodies of dazed soldiers shredded to pieces—armor and all—by the blue-bladed chariots, scattering in every direction.
Terror manifesting before the 200,000 soldiers who had been gleefully pounding the walls.
In an instant, the soldiers plunged into panic, and the once-mighty imperial elites turned tail before the hellish blade-chariots shoved by dozens of Dravilts, fleeing for their lives.
But the problem was that they had been attacking in such a tightly packed formation.
The bodies of the fleeing soldiers tangled with those still advancing forward, and the brutish Dravilt blade-chariots charged mercilessly, blades slashing wildly.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
"S-s-save me!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Get outta the way, you bastard!"
A scene of utter pandemonium.
Soldiers, infected by terror upon seeing their comrades' backs, attempting to flee the battlefield as well.
In their frenzy, they even lashed out with weapons at the soldiers unwittingly blocking their path ahead.
'W-what the hell are those things!'
Duke Yanobis, unable to collect himself.
And that was not all.
Suddenly, thousands of spearmen stepping forward atop the walls, spears at the ready.
Flash!
The distinctive mana glow of Blessed Spears emanated from the spears they held.
Whiiiiiiiiish.
The spear's characteristic blinding speed, visible to the startled Duke Yanobis.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
"Arrrghhhhhhhhhhh!"
Blessed Spears skewering soldiers standing in areas untouched by Dravilts, piercing them like kebabs.
In that instant, the ranks of imperial soldiers who had been charging so boldly before the walls split apart as if lashed by thousands of massive whips.
Drip.
There was not just one.
The enemy spearmen taking up Blessed Spears once more.
Whiiiiiiiiiiish.
Hurling them at the stunned imperial soldiers without a shred of emotion.
'You filthy bastaaaards!'
Duke Yanobis and the Raviter Imperial Army thoroughly outmaneuvered by a style of combat unprecedented on the continent.
The elite troops who had lived and died by orders—where had they gone? No retreat horns sounded, yet the infantry turned and fled desperately.
With that sight as his last, Yanobis lifted his head to gaze straight ahead.
It was coming.
The distance now roughly 1.5 kilometers.
A range where no one could evade a thrown spear.
Gritting his teeth, Duke Yanobis raised his spear high.
'Die, you devil's spawn!'
Despite the biting cold, he cast off his helmet. His peculiar silver wyvern armor gleamed in the sunlight as his red cape billowed, and Kayer soared in.
Charging headlong into the fray alongside a massive black wyvern etched with golden stripes.
Though the ground forces had taken hits from the unanticipated assault, the wyverns' attack power remained largely intact.
With more than enough strength to claim victory, Duke Yanobis concentrated his mind and sneered at the fearless Kayer flying straight at him.
'Foolish wretch, you're dead now.'
Kayer, lord of Neruman—one hand on his spear, the other gripping the reins—relishing reckless bravado masquerading as courage.
Certain of the man's demise, Duke Yanobis tensed his grip to launch his spear.
Over a hundred spears would fly at him, starting with his own.
Even if he survived this, the 200 wyverns that had finished with the ground assault were already hurrying rearward to reform their formation, while the squadrons that survived the spirit attacks circled afar, preparing to strike.
The only escape left for him was hell itself.
Piiiiing!
'Who was that!'
Suddenly, a Blessed Spear grazing past him with a ping!
No one was to throw until he attacked, so it must have been a mistake by someone.
Pibing, pibing.
But it was not just one or two.
Kiaaaaaaaa!
Kuaaaaaak!
And then the wretched screams of wyverns resounding from the rear.
Instinctively whipping his head around, Yanobis.
'.....!!!!'
In that moment, an unimaginable shock froze his body solid, spear still in hand.
Reflected in his eyes, bulging impossibly wide within his helmet: a flock of over 300 massive wyverns materializing in the imperial army's rear skies.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Kaaaaaaaak!
"Fly!!"
These were no wind-fallen apples—wyverns and skynights plummeting helter-skelter from the unforeseen ambush.
'We... we lost.....'
Even in his daze, the word "defeat" streaked through his mind.
Skynights looking like ragtag bandits—no wyvern armor, just leather straps instead of air plates.
"Kiooooooo!"
Bellowing like wild beasts as they unleashed a barrage of Blessed Spears.
"Protect His Imperial Highness the Prince!!!"
Amid the chaos, loyal imperial skynights converging on the gold wyvern to shield the prince.
"Hahaha, hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!"
A heartylaugh booming in every ear the instant the imperial army's defeat was sealed.
'K-Kayer.....'
For the first time in his life, Duke Yanobis trembled violently in the chill of true terror.
Kayer, lord of Neruman—that man was truly dangerous.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
'.....'
Kayer, who had ordered them to flee if Denfos fell into crisis.
Princess Aegis of the Bazran Empire, unable to remain on standby with the Skywing Unit, had sortied alongside the imperial guard skynights.
She recorded the entirety of today's battle—destined to become legend—through her own two eyes.
Aegis beheld it.
A battle of unprecedented scale in continental war history, never before and never again.
Who could dare utter such a thing?
That the forces of a mere baronial territory had defeated 200,000 elite troops and 500 skynights of the Raviter Empire, which dominated the continent.
A flawless, overwhelming victory.
Scars lingered in places, but Denfos's walls stood unbroken.
There would be casualties aplenty, but compared to the mountains of imperial corpses piled before the walls, it was like a Fireball before the sun.
"Full assault!"
Even in the cold, helmet discarded, Kayer's commanding voice rang out for total attack.
"Waaaaaaaah! Open the gates!"
"Full assault!"
Whiiiiiiish.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
Kayer, who had seized the initiative with the sudden aid of Temir tribe skynights.
His thunderous roar instilled terror in the foe while definitively reviving allied morale.
Yet the battle was far from over.
The imperial army commanded such vast numbers of wyverns.
Counterattacks erupted from various spots.
"Air Boom!"
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Kayer and the mages unleashing spells upon the clustered enemies guarding the empire's prince.
A deafening roar like dozens of thunderclaps boomed out, sending scores of wyverns staggering earthward.
Among them were most of the gold wyverns symbolizing the Raviter imperial house.
'I can't just stand by.'
Her heart aflame merely from watching.
Aegis gripped her spear and flew toward the close-quarters melee still raging over the city.
Bazran imperial guard skynights flew alongside her.
Mana-filled spears gleamed in their hands as well.
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'That prince gave us quite the show.'
Foolish loyalty.
Even with the Temir tribe skynights ambushing from the rear, a full-force battle would have devolved into a brutal melee.
Yet the Raviter imperial skynights, shattering their formation to protect the prince left in the rear for safety.
Their life-risking devotion was applaudable, but to my eyes, it was foolishness incarnate.
My knights—at least—would prioritize the greater cause over a single life.
That would be the correct call, not to hesitate if my death could save Neruman.
Whiiiiiiish.
Even amid his thoughts, a spear flew mechanically from his hand, slicing through the air.
The gold wyvern, jolted by the Air Boom, staggered toward the Kobiran Mountains, pursued by the empire's escorting skynights.
Their numbers had already dwindled by more than half.
'That was truly close.'
Had the Temir skynights not arrived precisely on time, not only my life but Denfos itself would have fallen.
"1st and 2nd Flight Squadrons, pursue the enemy rear at once. Do not close to melee range—intercept from standoff distance. 3rd Squadron, remain in the city and assist Sir Derbal in mopping up the routed remnants."
"Yes, sir!"
Orders descending from his helmeted form.
The mass melee unfolding over Denfos's skies had now concluded.
With the joining of the imperial guard knights led by Aegis and aid from the Temir tribe skynights, most enemy wyverns had been shot down.
Yet a fair number of the territory's wyverns had crashed as well, plain to see.
It pained his heart, but he could not stop here.
Tormenting the fleeing enemy to the utmost, implanting terror.
That was the villainous role he had taken today.
'Derbal will handle the rest.'
With the imperial wyverns fleeing tails tucked, the imperial infantry had utterly lost the will to fight.
Some discarded weapons and surrendered, while others scattered in all directions.
A staggering 200,000 in number.
But they did not know.
The bridges they had crossed were long since severed, leaving them with only two fates: wander the plains until starvation or be taken prisoner.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!
Turning Bebeto's reins, he pursued the prince fleeing eastward.
Hunting a lion stripped of its fangs.
He intended to savor it slowly.
The enemy would suffer dozens of times the agony his soldiers had endured today.
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"Ugh......"
Prince Alskane's head still rang from the Air Boom that had detonated at point-blank range.
Groaning in agony from his mouth, he clutched the reins in a bid to survive.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Kiaaaaaaaa!
Unsure of the situation, he followed the skynights ahead directing the path, while piteous wyvern cries echoed nonstop from behind.
The second time in his life tasting the terror of death.
Drip, drip.
Atop his wyvern, Prince Alskane pissed his pants.
No thoughts came to him.
He needed only a safe haven where he could breathe easy in this moment.
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"All of you, surrender! Those who drop your weapons and yield will have wounds treated and be treated as prisoners! But any who resist will be executed to the last!"
A skynight soaring overhead, mana-amplified voice urging the imperial troops to surrender.
Whiiiiiiish.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
"Arrrgh!"
"Gahk!"
Massive crossbow bolts hurtling toward knights and soldiers who fled without discarding weapons despite the surrender demand.
Even as they fled, the imperial soldiers instinctively maintained formation per training—yet the overhead surrender calls and arrows claiming comrades' lives at horrific speeds utterly shattered their will to fight.
Clang!
Craaaaaash!
They had fled in a daze, but with remaining strength spent, the infantry one by one dropped weapons and fell to their knees.
However, the prideful knights and cavalry spurred their mounts with all their might or stomped mana steps in desperate flight.
Whish.
Thud!
The skynights' merciless retribution descending upon them.
Neigh!
The ill-fated horses had their backs pierced by spears that impaled their riders, letting out final death shrieks.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud.
But the cavalry did not halt.
Three thousand survivors.
They believed that galloping would escape this hell even without skynight aid.
Yet the cavalry and knights were unaware.
That no bridges remained in Neruman for them to cross.