Chapter 451: He Even Stole Oara's Smile
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 451: He Even Stole Oara's Smile
Encrid reacted instantly, while Dunchabel and Rem sprang into action.
Arrows sliced through the dark night sky in rapid succession. Several torch stands were overturned, spilling fire onto the ground.
In Encrid's mind, the entire situation unfolded like a painting. In this desperate moment, his instincts shone with an absolute, frigid clarity. The blade of his intuition sliced through the darkness.
‘I can save half.’
Some of the hostages bound to the poles were already drawing their final breaths. The giant spiders clearly had no intention of keeping them alive; they were killing them simply to shatter the defenders' morale.
A monster capable of such psychological warfare? It was shocking, but now was not the time for questions. What mattered was how many lives he could salvage.
He couldn't save them all. Beneath the glowing blue-white stones, a giant spider raised its pointed legs, thrusting them forward like spears.
‘Exactly half.’
He could throw something to kill the creature, but that wouldn't be enough to save the victim.
His Will activated. The prediction from The Eye that Sees an Inch Ahead expanded, granting him a glimpse of the immediate future—a vision born from the realm of pure intuition. Even so, it showed a future he could not change.
Meanwhile, Rem and Dunchabel dispatched two spiders. Axe and curved sword split the monsters' heads in unison.
Encrid reached his first target and thrust Spark forward. Kicking off the ground, his high-speed lunge pierced a hole straight through the monster's head. He pulled the blade back and immediately channeled strength into his legs.
Should he give up just because he had seen an unchangeable future?
Encrid would not. Whether it worked or not, he took a step toward his next target.
There were nine poles in total. Even if he ran at full speed, the hostages would die. That was the image painted on the canvas of the future Encrid saw. Even so, he refused to stop.
Then, a silver light slashed across that canvas.
Riiiiip!
Tearing through the vision, the light cleanly severed the spider leg that was about to impale a hostage.
Encrid skidded to a halt just as he was about to spring forward. He forgot to breathe.
Had he seen a knight's sword? No, that was an understatement.
What did it mean to be a "One-Man Army" capable of cutting down thousands? Why were such individuals called "Disasters"?
He had seen the Mercenary King thrusting a spear at an incomprehensible angle. He had seen Ragna’s lightning strike with impossible power. He had seen Sinar’s sword manifest in an unfathomable form.
And now, he saw this.
Oara moved at a speed that defied logic, using her sword like a brush to rewrite the picture painted on the canvas of reality.
Though she had been standing further away than Encrid, Oara was suddenly everywhere at once. There were six poles with hostages—the six Encrid knew he would miss—and in that instant, there were six Oaras.
A divine feat of violent speed unfolded before his eyes.
If a single slash from her had sent shivers down his spine before, a sense of pure ecstasy now filled his entire body. This was what he wanted to achieve. This was what he wanted to witness.
This was what a knight truly was.
Oara of the Red Cloak Knights unleashed her blade, running wild among the monsters. Her sword became a rain of disaster, pouring down upon the arachnid horrors.
“She’s incredible,” Rem muttered in admiration.
“Ah…” Dunchabel could only gasp.
Encrid’s eyes were strained, desperately trying to track the movement of Oara’s sword.
“Hahaha!”
Oara laughed out loud. With a single, ordinary longsword, she slaughtered spider after spider, each with a head the size of a man’s. It was a relentless succession of simple movements—exactly as she had been taught.
“There’s no need for flashy swordplay.”
Her words seemed to ring in his ears. She thrust, slashed, cleaved, and struck. That alone was enough. Along with her laughter, Oara’s sword grew even fiercer, her kicks landed like iron maces, and her speed accelerated further.
One spider monster opened its maw and spat a massive clump of webbing, larger than its own head. Oara’s sword sliced through it effortlessly.
Pfft!
From the severed webbing, over a hundred tiny baby spiders burst out like an explosion, raining down directly over her head. They were barely the size of a finger, but their numbers were overwhelming.
Even that was no obstacle. Though he couldn't see her face, Encrid imagined Oara must have snorted in disdain.
In an instant, her sword bloomed like a flower—a kaleidoscope of afterimages formed by dozens of rapid-fire thrusts.
Psh-sh-sh-shk!
Dozens of baby spiders were shredded at once. She accomplished it through sheer, refined swordsmanship.
Encrid had watched intently, but the entire shift in the battlefield had occurred in a mere heartbeat. The appearance of the hostages and Oara’s demonstration of a knight’s true power had unfolded within just a few breaths.
Having cleared the immediate threat, Oara let her sword hang low, puffed out her chest, and roared:
“All forces—! Hold your positions!”
At her command, Encrid grabbed the hostages one by one and tossed them toward the rear. Rem caught them and passed them further back.
“Dammit, Oa!”
Rowena’s boyfriend shouted as he slung a hostage over his back. It was Rowena herself. Other soldiers followed suit, hoisting hostages onto their shoulders and sprinting for safety.
“Close the gates!”
Encrid’s gaze drifted back for a moment. He saw the fallen Milio and several other dead soldiers. If Milio had reacted to the initial shout, he might have lived, but he had thrown himself forward to protect his subordinates. He hadn't calculated the risk; it had been pure instinct, his body moving on its own.
It was a tragedy. He would never realize his dream now. His hope of taking Oara as his bride was over, for the dead cannot walk with the living.
But because of him, Rowena lived.
“Don’t die! I’ve got you!” the soldier carrying Rowena shouted repeatedly as he ran.
Do flowers bloom even in the Demon Realm?
There was a saying like that within the city. Even here, people lived, and there were those who loved. These were the things Oara fought to protect.
“Captain, are you just going to watch?” Rem asked.
The situation had changed. Monsters were swarming out in numbers far greater than what they had seen from atop the fortress walls. The scale was horrifying.
And that wasn't the end of it.
In front of Oara, a pitch-black shadow leaped out, striking down with a blade. Encrid’s eyes widened. It wasn't just one sword, but several, moving so fast they left dozens of afterimages in their wake.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Oara’s sword moved in a blur, parrying every strike. She seamlessly transitioned from defense to a counter-thrust, but the assailant retreated with unnatural agility.
The opponent finally came into clear view. It was a grotesque form—a monstrous spider with eight legs, standing upright on two of them while using the rest like arms.
“It’s a mutant,” Luagarne said, drawing her whip.
The face of the eight-armed spider resembled a human’s, with pale skin and compound insect eyes split into dozens of facets. It had a single round hole for a nose and no mouth. In its six "arms," it held six pure white blades. No, they weren't held; the blades were fused with its limbs. Its legs were the weapons themselves.
“Well, well, Jerix, you bastard. Is this the new lover you prepared for me?” Oara asked with a laugh. Even when the situation turned grim, she laughed. That was the Smiling Knight, Oara.
“Master!” Roman shouted, springing out from behind her.
“Filthy monster bastards,” the Short-Haired Blonde spat, stepping forward as the four squires retreated.
At that moment, a fresh rain of arrows began to fall from deep within the Gray Forest. They hadn't even had time to recover Milio’s body. Encrid raised his shield to block, while the others deflected the projectiles.
No arrows flew near Oara or the Associate Knights. The focus remained on the confrontation between Oara and the bipedal, eight-armed spider.
‘A knight-class monster.’
Why was a world without monsters unimaginable, even with the existence of knights? Because there were monsters capable of standing toe-to-toe with them. This was one such creature.
The eight-legged monster flashed its multi-faceted red eyes.
“Kee-uk.”
To Encrid, it sounded like the creature was laughing.
“Is it that fun, playing around with another bitch?!” Oara taunted. Her grit was incredible. The spider mutant exerted a suffocating pressure just by standing there, but Oara didn't seem to care.
She raised her sword, and the spider stepped aside. From behind it, an Owlbear emerged. It had the head of an owl, the massive body of a bear, and two abnormally large hands. When it clenched its fists, they looked like boulders attached to its arms. Its puffed-up feathers made its silhouette appear even more gargantuan.
“Oho? That one’s no joke either,” Rem noted.
Encrid felt the same. A chill had run down his spine the moment it appeared. His heart was pounding. This was a powerful monster—no half-baked creature.
“Are you guys really going all out?” Oara asked.
The two monsters lunged. Knight’s steel clashed with monstrous weapons. Speed exceeding all human limits drew long, spark-like trajectories in the air. The overlapping strikes painted a picture of scattering light.
Clang-clang-clang-clang! Clang! Clang!
Explosive booms echoed through the clearing. The two Associate Knights watched for an opening, but it was difficult to intervene. It was a two-on-one fight, yet Oara was barely holding her own.
And the wave didn't stop.
Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
Monsters continued to fire arrows, and from the depths of the Demon Realm, a tide of creatures began to crawl forth. It was a literal wave. The flood that Oara had been holding back was finally crashing down upon Thousand Bricks.
Oara swung her sword in a wide horizontal arc, forcing the two mutants back, and shouted:
“Enki, Aisia! Protect the city!”
She would handle the rest. The two Associate Knights flanking her moved out. Aisia had already vanished to deal with the archers.
“This is a headache,” Rem said, drawing his axe. Looking at the swarming horde, this wasn't a number they could handle with bullets alone.
Encrid drew his twin swords—Aker in his right, Spark in his left. Would Oara be pushed back? It didn't seem likely. She skillfully parried the spider’s eight blades and the Owlbear’s heavy fists.
‘What about me?’
He could never do it so effortlessly. The two monsters were incredibly adept at covering each other’s openings. How could he possibly break through that?
‘Ragna’s Black Lightning.’
With that power, it might be possible. Could his own white lightning achieve something similar? No. He knew the moment he saw them that it was impossible for him right now.
Encrid tore his gaze away from Oara’s duel. While she fought her battle, he had to do his job.
Skrrr!
Bizarre cries and the rapid scuttling of legs echoed through the dark. The swarm of spiders approaching was a horrifying sight. Encrid decided to cut through that horror with his blades.
Thwack! Crunch!
Aker split the head of a spider that stood as tall as his chest in a single vertical strike. Rem was at his side, his axe performing a similar, bloody task.
Luagarne assessed the situation and said, “We just need to hold out.”
At those words, Dunchabel looked visibly relieved. Encrid heard the shouts of the soldiers, who fought on even as casualties mounted from the arrow fire.
“Oa!”
It was the cry he had heard from Roman the night before. That shout was Oara’s “Oa.” These were the people she protected. They were the citizens of a city built on her conviction. If Knight Oara fought for them, they would fight for her. They fought for their home.
After slaying four monsters in quick succession, Encrid’s gaze drifted forward. He was following a gut feeling—intuition. It was as if a voice were telling him he needed to look ahead.
Deep within the forest, a monster of a different form than the spiders emerged. Stepping onto the black soil amidst the gray trees of the Demon Realm, the creature revealed itself.
“Jerix, you’ve certainly been busy,” Oara said. She spoke during a brief opening created as she parried the Arachne and the Owlbear. The two mutants retreated slightly, pausing as the newcomer arrived.
“Were you targeting me all along?” Oara asked.
The ghoul did not answer. Oara laughed.
Encrid didn't grasp the full scope of the situation, but he knew one thing: they were at a disadvantage.
Jerix—her ex-husband, the monster currently maintaining this Demon Realm. The creature Oara wanted to kill more than any other. If they killed him, the Demon Realm would lose its power, as it was essentially a massive colony centered around him.
And yet, he had shown himself. He was betting everything on a decisive battle.
When coincidences pile up, they become inevitability. Oara’s countless incursions into the forest. A monster that knew how to think. The Twin Red Moons. The sheer number of gathered monsters.
From the monsters' perspective, there was only one way to end the threat once and for all.
They had to kill Oara. All the coincidences had led to this moment.
Encrid’s gaze locked onto the ghoul. Blue skin, a torn mouth, a hole where a nose should be, and pitch-black eyes without pupils. Its arms dangled low, tipped with claws half a span long. The skin of its arms looked exceptionally hard, as if it were wielding natural swords.
The ghoul’s stance caught his eye. Its gait was different; it looked as though it intended to use its arms like twin blades. Furthermore, a concentrated poison coated those claws—a toxin so potent it could fell a knight with a mere scratch. Unlike its skin, the claws were dark, as if stained with soot, absorbing the light of the Twin Red Moons.
The bastard’s posture suggested it had actually learned swordsmanship.
“The Demon Realm causes monsters to evolve,” Luagarne had said.
Encrid couldn't fully understand the mechanics, but seeing the result, he could guess what had happened. A ghoul had been born in the Demon Realm. It had observed humans, picked fights, and barely survived. Oara had said she let Jerix slip away three times.
Each time, the bastard had grown stronger. Each time, he grew more cunning. The culmination of that evolution stood before them now.
‘An evolving monster.’
A monster that trained and disciplined itself.
The corners of the ghoul’s mouth twisted upward. The bastard had even stolen Oara’s smile.
Gwooooo!
The creature burst into laughter. At least, that was how it sounded to Encrid.