Chapter 303
Chapter 303
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.63 – A Knight's Valor Knows No Recklessness (13)
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"...A dream?"
A dazed murmur echoed softly from Modred's camp.
It came from the youngest soldier, who was on the younger side, and normally, the senior soldiers would have scolded him to snap out of it.
"...An illusion?"
But they were just as unable to pull themselves together.
If anything, they were even more dazed.
The sight unfolding before their eyes was simply too unbelievable.
"R-Reinforcements have arrived...?"
Modred had maintained its isolation for the past three hundred years not only due to fears that the Great Evil Spirit might break its seal and escape, but also because whenever they tried to cooperate with the outside world, 'ominous events' would occur.
Sudden plagues would break out in the territories that requested aid, or territorial wars would erupt—various ill omens like that.
If it had happened once or twice, they could dismiss it as coincidence, but when it occurred dozens of times, it was clearly no mere chance.
The decisive incident was five years ago, when they had requested aid from the royal family and war with Britannia suddenly broke out. That was when Modred reaffirmed that they must never seek outside help.
Whether it was the Great Evil Spirit's curse or some scheme, it was clear the spirit intended to isolate them.
And so, Modred lived without ever entertaining notions of 'reinforcements' or 'outside aid'.
They knew expecting such things was futile anyway.
Thus, when the first outside knight came to their aid, they only felt distrust.
They couldn't believe that outside help had truly arrived.
But...
"H-How many are there...?"
"Four hundred knights...?"
Elite knights mounted on warhorses came into view.
A total of 440.
One might say it wasn't even five hundred—what good could that number do?—but knights from prestigious orders mounted on warhorses each boasted the might of a hundred men.
And these were no ordinary prestigious order.
No, they were...
"Knights from great noble houses have come..."
Knight orders from great noble families that rivaled—or even surpassed—Modred in power.
They possessed strength equivalent to a thousand men each.
"White Sil... ver Lion...?"
...Though the White Silver Lion Knights looked more like they could handle maybe ten-to-one at best.
Even so, there was no denying they were reinforcements.
Impressively reliable ones at that!
As they stared at the reinforcements in disbelief, a group of knights in black armor suddenly broke from the formation.
Thud thud thud thud!!
Black horses boasting roughly twice the bulk of ordinary warhorses kicked off the ground with all their might.
Northern-bred Friesians were said to be braver and superior to other Friesians, tougher than most magical beasts—and now, facing hundreds of thousands of monsters, those tales proved true as the black horses charged without hesitation.
As if they would not stop until fulfilling their riders'—their partners'—wishes.
And the knights riding these notoriously fierce northern Friesians exuded an even more ferocious and immense aura. At some point, they had raised their lances.
Enormous lances that seemed too big to wield properly.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The horde of charging monsters clashed with the horde of charging black knights.
In terms of numbers alone, it was overwhelming, and the ant-like monsters' sheer mass and charge should have crushed the black horses and knights as a matter of course.
People wanted to scream at them to stop, in horrified panic...
Boom!!
But before anyone could intervene, the collision had already happened.
Whoosh...!
The massive shockwave from the impact spread in concentric circles, sweeping the area.
"Urgh!"
"What the hell...!"
It was an intense shock that blinded them, and Modred's soldiers—already exhausted—staggered or toppled over, unable to withstand it.
But they hurriedly picked themselves up, gazing anxiously ahead.
Worried that the reinforcements might have been wiped out...
Splat splat splat!
"Huh?"
...Yet their worries proved unfounded. What they saw next were chunks of flesh flying through the air.
Of course, not from the knights.
Raining down from the sky like a storm was none other than...
"M-Monsters...?"
"...How many did they just kill?"
...Monsters.
At least a thousand of them had been reduced to scattered flesh in a single clash.
And as if unsatisfied with that...
"Pick up the pace! You don't plan to be content with a skirmish like this, do you?!"
With a spirited shout from the man at the forefront, the black-armored knights pressed forward even more aggressively.
Charging, charging again, piercing and shattering the monsters.
Fierce and steadfast like the north wind's snowstorm.
Only then did they remember who these men were.
"...The north's strongest knight order."
The knight order that all knights on the continent—not just the kingdom—aspired to. They yielded not an inch to the north's countless hardy barbarians, mysterious races, monsters, and giants, subjugating them all and becoming objects of both fear and admiration: Lionel's warriors.
The [Black Iron Lion Knights], legends of the north—that was who they were.
"Hah..."
Awe-struck tremors escaped their lips involuntarily.
They had heard enough tales of their legends, but seeing them in the south for the first time meant witnessing their true form with their own eyes for the first time too.
And so, they could boldly declare:
The legends they were called...
"...Were actually understated."
If anything, understated—never exaggerated. Even now, they were underrated.
Their valor and majesty were that immense.
Boom!!
Intense and destructive.
The sight of their reputation manifesting instantly, the monster numbers dwindling in real time—it was almost unreal.
At that moment.
Thud thud thud thud!!
Another group broke from the formation.
Unlike the thickly armored Black Iron Lions, these wore lightweight turquoise-tinged armor and rode horses with navy-blue coats.
Even at a glance, the horses exuded extraordinary presence, rivaling the north's black steeds.
No doubt about it. Horses that could walk or run on water, descended from fairy horses that only followed houses blessed by fairies.
And as far as they knew, only one knight order could ride fairy horse hybrids.
And when they moved, it meant...
Slash! Slash slash!!!
...A blood festival was about to begin.
Unlike the black knights' boisterous monster-slaying, these knights sliced through with silent, swift movements.
[[Grrrraaah!!]]
Tens of thousands of monsters, sensing their comrades' deaths, surged like a tidal wave crashing in after an ebb.
It evoked a tsunami, but the turquoise knights regarded it calmly.
And then...
Whoosh!
They became a gale.
A gale of blades.
Shwick!
The tidal wave of monsters disintegrated.
No matter how fierce the tsunami, it crumbles upon hitting turbulent winds—and so the monsters meeting the blade gale were thoroughly shredded and collapsed.
If the Black Iron Lions were like war chariots, these were grinders, pure and simple.
Grinders with chilling blades that pulverized falling boulders or tsunamis alike.
"..."
It was a majesty that left even a hollow laugh impossible.
But at the same time, it made perfect sense.
Because they knew who they were.
Modred's pride and heroes, the knight order Garon had mentioned.
- The strongest knight order in the current southern era would be the Lake Sentinels.
The supreme southern force that guarded the continent's greatest river, crushed the monsters, pirates, and riverfolk inhabiting it, and mercilessly slaughtered the countless invaders from the eastern and western continents.
The Lake Sentinels, chosen by Duke Galahad.
"So those are the Teal Kirin Knights."
The [Teal Kirin Knights].
The south's foremost knight order truly lived up to their fame, swiftly butchering the monsters.
As if they wouldn't tolerate being outdone by the northerners.
And why not?
"Don't fall behind those water-logged fools! Losing to such frail weaklings would stain the north's pride!"
"If you're slower than those ice-brained lot, don't you dare use Galahad's name anywhere! It's shameful...!!"
They were genuinely competing.
When they should be joining forces, even in a war like this...
Yet there was no room for complaint.
"...Why are they so strong?"
Because they were strong.
Too strong.
So overwhelmingly dominant in slaughtering and grinding monsters that no gripes could escape their lips.
No nitpicks could form.
Just two knight orders—140 knights total—holding their own against six hundred thousand monsters was hard to believe even with their own eyes.
"That's..."
...the power of the north's strongest and the south's supreme knight orders.
...Awe-filled mutter escaped someone's lips, and they all nodded vigorously in agreement.
It was flawless strength.
"...Haha, what a sight."
Garon laughed in utter admiration, his eyes wide with wonder.
Even amid his fierce battle to the death against a hybrid he couldn't tell was a Death Knight or chimera, he couldn't stop laughing.
The 'miracle' unfolding now was simply beyond comprehension.
'What kind of magic did that young knight pull off?'
Was he truly a mage?
Garon muttered the praise inwardly—a grave insult if any knight heard—lost in thought elsewhere. Did the chimera sense it?
Clang!
The Chimera Knight unleashed explosive strength, swinging its lance.
Carelessness meant death!
Tainted or not, the veteran skill of a knight who had reached great heights in life, empowered by the Great Evil Spirit, shook the earth with its might.
The desperation to regain life by slaying the old knight was palpable, and the White Ghosts cried out in alarm.
"Captain!!"
A White Ghost's desperate scream, judging the captain in peril.
But...
"-It's fine. Seems some reliable young lads have come to help."
Clang!!
Shunk-!
Garon proved he hadn't been slacking, laughing heartily as he spoke.
"Phew, this old body's getting tired. Mind taking over for me?"
Garon looked at the giant who had caught the lance blade barehanded right before him and the lancer who cleanly severed the chimera's neck, asking if he could sit this one out.
To which came...
"An able-bodied warrior whining like that? Ahahaha!"
"Sir Garon, you've gotten old. In your youth, you'd have dispatched trash like this in moments."
...Impudent replies that knew no manners.
Yet Garon didn't find them arrogant; he just chuckled heartily.
He disliked sloppy impudence, but brave and kind impudence? He welcomed it.
Clang!!
Clang.
Enraged by their comrade's death, the chimeras charged at the two interlopers.
How dare they challenge the Great Evil Spirit's masterpieces, rivals to the Heavenly Bulls or Ninshubur!
Crunch!!
—Only to crumble in an instant to the two knights.
Shwick!
Pathetically so.
"...Youngsters these days are something else."
Garon clicked his tongue in amazement.
The young knight out there butchering thirty thousand elite monsters, and these two handling chimeras...
'Are all youngsters like this nowadays?'
Garon's cheerful misunderstanding, experiencing a generational gap in another sense.