Chapter 36
Chapter 36
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Whisper of the Earth
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Whisper of the Earth.
It was the artifact Evangeline, the earth spiritist, had created using her grandmother's keepsake and gifted to Carlyle.
Suddenly, Evangeline's voice echoed in Carlyle's ear.
'An auditory hallucination?'
Carlyle doubted his own ears, but that didn't seem to be the case.
Perhaps because his unique ability, [Soul Soother Sword], allowed him to read the lingering will imbued in objects or places, it was conveying the emotions Evangeline felt when she created the [Whisper of the Earth].
- *May this bracelet be of help to the Young Master. Grandmother, please protect him.*
With a desperate wish, Evangeline had poured her power into her grandmother's keepsake.
The spirits of the earth blessed the bracelet, and magic was imbued within it.
'Ah.'
Carlyle was moved by Evangeline's warm heart.
As her wish was conveyed to him, he could feel the vividness of her sincerity.
'I should treat her a little more warmly when I get back.'
His thoughts of Evangeline ended there.
This was not a situation where he could fully immerse himself in such feelings.
“Valhallaaaaaa!”
Barbarian warriors were pouring endlessly toward the fortress entrance.
If the entrance was breached, a chaotic melee would erupt inside the fortress. It went without saying that the allied casualties, composed mostly of non-combatant engineers, would be immense.
'As if I'd let them run wild.'
Carlyle sneered and infused mana into the [Whisper of the Earth].
There was only one skill suitable for this situation.
[Notification: You have activated the [Mud Pit] skill!]
As [Mud Pit] activated at Carlyle's will, the ground at the fortress entrance visibly softened before quickly turning into a mire.
*Splish! Splosh!*
The squelching of the barbarian warriors' footsteps was loud and clear.
This meant the effect of [Mud Pit] was even better than expected.
“Ugh!”
“M-my feet!”
*Splat, splat!*
The barbarian warriors fell and stumbled in the mire, creating a scene of utter chaos.
The pit was nearly knee-deep, so it was only natural for the heavy barbarian warriors to flounder helplessly.
“Sir Helen! Now!”
Carlyle shouted to Helen.
“Understood!”
Upon hearing Carlyle's cry, Helen immediately gave the order.
“Cut down the enemy! And be careful not to fall into the mire yourselves!”
“Yes, ma'am!”
The soldiers thrust their long spears and fired arrows at the barbarian warriors trapped in the mud.
“V-Valhallaaaaa…”
“Gah!”
“Aaargh!”
Trapped in the mire, the barbarian warriors lost their lives to the spears and arrows of the Decaron army without being able to put up any real resistance.
No matter how tough and strong the barbarian warriors were, they couldn't withstand being beaten down one-sidedly while stuck in a bog.
'Right, of course.'
Carlyle nodded as he observed the effect of [Mud Pit].
Barbarian warriors were a race with extremely high magic resistance.
Their racial traits gave them such a high resistance stat that they were unfazed by most spells.
They could endure offensive magic with sheer toughness, and they often brute-forced their way out of crowd-control effects like stuns, confusion, sleep, and binds. In many cases, they were completely immune to effects like fear.
However, [Mud Pit] wasn't a crowd-control spell cast directly on a target; it simply turned the ground into a mire to restrict movement. Thus, the barbarian warriors' signature high magic resistance was useless against it.
'Guess they'll just have to stand at attention and die. Can't be helped.'
As he thought this, Carlyle's expression was grim.
Even if they were the enemy, watching blood and flesh fly as people died right before his eyes was not a pleasant sight.
But Carlyle did not look away from the battlefield.
'I'll have to get used to it.'
This was a world ruled by sword and sorcery, a world rife with primal violence.
To survive in a place like this, he needed to grow accustomed to such scenes.
'Especially as a Sigmund.'
Just as Carlyle faced the carnage unfolding before him, refusing to look away,
“Enemy! Block them!”
“The enemy has entered the fortress!”
With thunderous shouts, barbarian warriors began climbing over the palisade—not the main entrance—and pouring into the fortress one by one.
The barbarians were no fools; they had changed their tactics, abandoning the frontal assault on the entrance in favor of a flanking maneuver.
* * *
As the barbarian warriors began to pour over the palisade, the battle entered a new phase.
A chaotic melee.
A close-quarters battle had begun inside the fortress between the Decaron army and the barbarian warriors.
'This is trouble.'
Seeing the barbarian warriors who had breached the fortress, Carlyle's eyes flashed with alarm.
For now, [Mud Pit] was holding the fortress entrance securely, but with enemies now inside, there was a risk of that formation breaking.
If the allied formation holding the entrance were to collapse under the enemy's attack…
'Then we're all dead.'
Carlyle quickly assessed the situation, drew Grimungandr, and faced the approaching enemies.
Carlyle was not the only one.
“Reconnaissance team, protect the allied formation!”
“Yes, sir!”
Reconnaissance Captain Begman also grasped the situation and issued the appropriate orders.
As a man who had survived countless battles here in Kuberin for over a decade, Begman knew exactly how to act in any given situation.
“Rookie! Stick with me!”
Even in the midst of the chaos, Begman didn't forget to look out for the new recruit, Carlyle.
He seemed worried that Carlyle, still inexperienced in real combat, would freeze up and fall to a stray enemy blade.
“Rookie, you'll hold the line here with me. Got it?”
“Yes, Captain.”
Carlyle stood side-by-side with Begman, facing the oncoming barbarian warriors.
“Die, you continental vermin!”
“I'll split your heads in two! Val-hallaaaaa!”
“I'll peel off your skins and feed you to the crows! Kehehe!”
Several barbarian warriors charged at Carlyle and Begman.
'Focus.'
Carlyle watched the enemy's movements.
'I see it.'
He saw an opening in the enemy's defense.
It was as if it was telling him, *Thrust here. That will be enough.*
*Shweeeek!*
Grimungandr shot forward in a straight line, tracing a black arc through the air.
Soul Soother Sword, Heart Pierce.
It was the ultimate thrust, perfected over a lifetime by a hero who had once defended Decaron from the barbarian invasion.
*Thunk!*
The tip of Grimungandr pierced the barbarian warrior's throat.
…!
Carlyle was shocked.
To think he could kill an enemy so easily, so simply.
Of course, he had split an enemy in two with [Genesis] before, but this felt just as new.
“Gak, keuk!”
The barbarian warrior, his throat pierced by Grimungandr, collapsed, spewing blood.
“V-Valhal… Gack!”
*Thud.* He fell.
'Is this real?'
A sudden doubt crept into Carlyle's mind.
He couldn't quite grasp the reality of the situation.
Were people truly such fragile beings that they could die so easily? Was he really dead…?
'It was too… easy…'
Just then.
*Whoosh!*
A handaxe flew past, grazing the tip of Carlyle's nose.
*Thwack!*
“Gah!”
The handaxe embedded itself in the forehead of another barbarian warrior who had been charging at Carlyle.
…!
Startled, Carlyle glanced in the direction the axe had come from.
The one who had thrown the handaxe, saving Carlyle in his moment of vulnerability, was none other than Begman.
True to his moniker, [Axe Murderer], Begman wielded two handaxes with complete freedom, sometimes using them as throwing weapons.
It was this axe-throwing skill that had just saved Carlyle from a crisis.
“Hey, you bastard! You wanna die?!”
Begman roared.
“Snap out of it!”
“…My apologies!”
Carlyle readily admitted his mistake.
Getting lost in thought during a battle—was that not tantamount to suicide?
Of course, this was his first real battle, and his sense of reality was dulled because he wasn't originally from this world, but…
“Focus and fight! You're a Sigmund, so act like one!”
That damn name, Sigmund, Sigmund.
Carlyle scowled slightly but didn't argue with Begman.
Because, like it or not, he was now Carlyle van Sigmund.
“Yes, I will.”
Carlyle nodded and reset his stance.
Right. He could think after the battle was over.
For now, the priority was fighting the barbarian warriors who were trying to break the allied formation defending the fortress entrance.
'Get a grip. This is a battlefield.'
Carlyle gritted his teeth and faced the enemy.
“Uwooooooooh—!!!”
*Shraaaaaa!*
Soul Soother Sword: Genesis split the enemy's chest.
* * *
The melee continued for some time.
The barbarian warriors persistently attacked the entrance while continuously climbing the palisade to break the formation defending it.
In the midst of that chaos, the soldiers of the reconnaissance team proved why they were called elite troops.
“Rookie! You're doing great! That's it! Keep it up! You're a Sigmund, after all!”
True to his name, [Axe Murderer], Begman swung his handaxes like a madman, crushing enemies while also keeping an eye on Carlyle and praising him intermittently, showing his quality as a reconnaissance captain.
“You bastard! You're my new wig!”
[The Barber] Wilson persistently targeted only the barbarian warriors with long, luscious hair, satisfying his own peculiar desires.
*Swish, thunk!*
“M-my jewels! My jeeeewels!”
Marder took not only the barbarian warriors' lives but also shot arrows into their groins, demonstrating why his nickname was [The Castrator].
“Hoo. What an absolute mess.”
As soon as he single-handedly finished off the barbarian warrior who had used [Wrecking Ball], Kudo rejoined the battle, cutting down every barbarian he saw with his single-edged sword.
And…
'Danger!'
[Piss-Stench] Russell caught Carlyle's eye.
“Ugh-aaaaaaaaah!”
Russell had broken away from the allied ranks and was surrounded by three barbarian warriors.
'I have to help…'
Just as Carlyle took a step to help Russell,
“Leave him be.”
Begman said as he passed by.
“But…”
“I said, leave him be.”
“You mean to let him die?”
“Who? You? Or that fellow Russell?”
…?”
“You clearly don't know. Do you have any idea who the strongest person in our unit is?”
“That would be Sir Helen…”
Carlyle was about to add, or perhaps Kudo.
Kudo seemed to be no ordinary man, after all.
But Begman's answer was unexpected.
“The strongest person in our unit is Russell, that guy right there. To be precise…”
A meaningful glint appeared in Begman's eyes.
“Russell is the strongest when he's pissed his pants.”
What is he talking about…
What the hell does pissing your pants have to do with combat prowess…
“Are you even making sense right now…”
It was at that very moment.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaak!”
Carlyle turned his head toward the unearthly scream and was utterly startled.
Russell, his eyes bloodshot, was letting out a hair-raising shriek.
*Drip…*
In the flickering torchlight, the crotch of Russell's pants looked wet.
“Kill… you.”
A mumble filled with killing intent escaped Russell's lips.
“I'll kill you all… all of youuuuuuuuuu!”
Russell charged at the barbarian warriors who had surrounded him.
A horrific scene unfolded.
It was a one-sided slaughter.
The time it took for Russell to butcher the three barbarian warriors was no more than a few seconds.
Furthermore, the sight of him hacking apart enemies who were already dead was so unbelievable that it was hard to imagine it was the same clumsy, good-natured Russell.
“You… you were a berserker.”
The words escaped Carlyle's lips as he witnessed Russell's true nature.