Chapter 120
Chapter 120
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Spear and Shield (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The moment I drew my sword, the world around me changed.
I was standing in the middle of a vast plain.
As I furrowed my brow at the sudden scene, I heard the sound of galloping horses.
I turned my head, following the sound.
*Neigh.*
A troop of cavalry, riding in with a cloud of dust, abruptly reined in their horses before me.
“You were right, Squire! There were signs of a large legion moving toward the fortress!”
A cavalryman, lifting a visor modeled after a crow, reported in an urgent tone.
I couldn’t help but ask.
“……What fortress?”
“Phalanx Fortress. Our garrison.”
The crow cavalryman frowned.
His expression seemed to say, *What kind of crazy talk is this?*
“Ah……”
Only then did I remember what I had been doing.
I had left the fortress with the crow cavalry of the War Legion to rescue our isolated allies.
The hot-tempered Roman had long since split from us and disappeared in the direction of our allies, and as always, it was my job to lead the remaining cavalry.
Normally, I should have followed Roman, but a prickling sensation at the back of my neck had compelled me to send five of my swiftest riders to the rear to check on the fortress.
And now, the crow cavalrymen who had just returned confirmed my suspicions were correct.
“Squire. Your orders.”
At the crow cavalryman’s urging, I glanced for a moment in the direction Roman had disappeared.
A two-day ride away.
Our allies, trapped in the enemy’s encirclement, were fighting a desperate battle.
“We’re returning to the fortress!”
“Then what about our besieged allies……?”
I shook my head at the crow cavalryman, who was asking if I meant to abandon the mission.
With the monstrous Roman there, I had no worries about that front.
The problem was.
“Defending the fortress is the priority!”
Phalanx Fortress, which was left with only poorly trained conscripts and a small contingent of the War Legion.
If the enemy had truly waited for Roman to leave before striking, the fortress was in danger.
“Let’s hurry! The enemy are murderers who spare no civilians! If we delay here and the fortress falls, the damage will be catastrophic!”
“As you command, Squire!”
Watching the cavalryman lower his crow-shaped visor again, I mounted my horse.
“Move out!”
The one hundred cavalrymen who were waiting began to gallop after me.
We turned our horses and rode hard toward the fortress for some time.
“Smoke, over there!”
In the distance, black smoke began to rise into the sky.
“Maintain speed!”
After riding a little further at that pace, Phalanx Fortress came into view.
“The fortress is under attack!”
It was just as I had expected.
An enemy force of about two legions was fiercely assaulting Phalanx Fortress.
“Crows! Charge formation!”
I ordered the crow cavalry without slowing my horse.
“Crows! Sharp Beak formation!”
The crow cavalry instantly formed a wedge.
As expected of the elite cavalry meticulously trained by the Mercenary King Yanick, they showed not a hint of hesitation even upon seeing the vast enemy force surrounding the fortress.
“We’re breaking through and entering the castle!”
“Aye, aye, Squire!”
I led the crow cavalry straight into the rear of the enemy besieging the fortress.
“Aaargh! It’s the enemy!”
“Agh! The crows are back!”
The enemy, who had been busy pounding the fortress, belatedly spotted us and screamed.
“Turn around! Turn around! Form a phalanx!”
The enemy moved frantically, forming a line of longspears.
Before I could even give an order, the crows simultaneously threw their hand axes and javelins.
“Gack!”
“Urk!”
Those who had stepped forward to form the phalanx collapsed, spraying blood.
All that remained were a few infantrymen awkwardly holding up their spears and shields.
“Charge!”
I parried a longspear that suddenly came close and kept riding.
*Crash.*
The makeshift infantrymen, struck by my warhorse, died without even a scream.
The crows charged into the line right after, and the poorly formed phalanx collapsed in an instant.
From there, things proceeded as expected.
It wasn’t difficult for me and the crows to trample the infantrymen who had been focused only on attacking the fortress and advance toward it.
In fact, we managed to completely penetrate the enemy lines in a very short time.
The problem started now.
The fortress gate, bolted shut against the enemy’s fierce assault.
“Open the gate! We’re allies!”
The terrified defenders didn’t even think of raising the gate.
“Those damn bastards!”
“We’re all gonna end up in the moat!”
The crows shouted curses and screams.
“Squire!”
The senior crow urged me on.
“We’ll circle the fortress along the moat!”
“Aye, aye, Squire!”
The crows yelled and stuck close behind me.
We galloped along the fortress wall, trampling the infantry in our path.
We threw daggers, we threw hand axes.
We swung whatever we could get our hands on, spears and swords alike.
After one full circle, the area around the moat had thinned out somewhat.
But the gate was still firmly shut.
“One more lap!”
Instead of answering, the crow cavalry let out a short, sharp cry.
We rode and rode, crossing the narrow gap between the moat and the enemy.
“Squire! The enemy cavalry……!”
A troop of cavalry emerged from among the enemies surrounding the fortress.
They were an elite cavalry unit, their gear a world apart from the rabble of infantrymen.
“They’ll hit our flank if we keep this up!”
“Shield your flank and stick closer to the moat!”
“Aye, aye, Squire!”
At my command, the crows raised their kite shields to cover one side of their bodies and moved closer to the moat.
The charging enemy cavalry hastily halted.
It was just as I’d predicted.
If they recklessly charged our flank, they wouldn’t be able to kill their momentum and would plunge straight into the moat.
A man who appeared to be the commander shouted something, and a company of archers revealed themselves.
And a rain of arrows poured down.
*Clang! Clang!*
An incessant metallic sound rang out.
But there were no screams.
It was only natural.
From the breed of their horses to their barding.
The Mercenary King Yanick had spared no expense in arming the crows.
To fall from a single volley like this would have made all that money a waste.
Of course, that didn’t mean we could withstand the enemy’s fire indefinitely.
There was no need to endure it for that long in the first place.
After enduring the brief volley, we reached the opposite side of the fortress wall from where the archers were positioned.
But that only bought us a moment’s respite.
The crows were still riding, and soon they would be back in the archers’ line of sight.
I looked up at the fortress wall.
*Whoosh, whoosh.*
Someone was waving at us.
It was one of the few crows who had remained in the fortress.
“So slow, honestly.”
As I muttered briefly, the archers came into view again.
The enemy archers, nocking their arrows as if ready to let fly at any moment.
“What are you doing! You gonna come out after we’re all dead!”
As I roared, a playful voice came from the top of the wall.
“Fire, you bastards!”
“The Squire’s about to have a heart attack!”
Immediately after, a rain of arrows poured down from the top of the wall.
The target, of course, was the enemy archer company.
“Aaargh!”
Struck by the sudden volley, the enemy archers screamed and scattered.
The waiting enemy cavalry also retreated hastily from the unexpected volley.
*Creeak. Creeak.*
With a loud groan, the gate began to open.
“Do one more lap and come back!”
“No more! We’re going in now!”
Ignoring the crow on the wall, I galloped straight for the gate.
“Huh? Hey! You’re gonna hit it! You’re gonna hit it!”
The fortress soldiers screamed and made a fuss.
I paid them no mind.
“Hiyah!”
I pulled down hard on the reins with both hands, forcing the horse’s head low.
I pressed my body flat against the horse’s back and slid under the slightly open gate.
“That crazy Squire!”
“Whoa! My head’s gonna split! It’s gonna split!”
A string of curses and screams followed from the crows behind me.
*Clatter, bang.*
With a loud racket, the crows made it inside the gate.
I glanced back.
The enemy cavalry, which had briefly retreated, was now charging toward the gate, ready to break through.
“Close the gate!”
At my command, the gatekeepers hastily closed it.
*BOOM.*
The gate slammed shut with a deafening, shattering sound.
“If anyone didn’t make it or died, speak up.”
As I practically fell off my horse, the crows cackled.
But it was too early to feel relieved.
The fortress was still surrounded by the enemy, and it would take Roman at least three days to return.
And that was only if Roman realized the situation at the fortress immediately.
“Fire the signal flare.”
At my command, a crow shot a flare into the sky, though there was no telling if it would be seen.
Watching the red flame embroider the sky, I prayed earnestly.
Please, let Roman return in time.
And then.
“Roman is back!”
“What are our knights doing?!”
“Th-they all seem to have been defeated!”
Just as I heard terrified screams, the enemies surrounding the wall scattered in a panic.
*BOOM.*
Roman appeared, passing through the wide-open gate.
Seeing him covered head to toe in blood, it seemed things hadn’t been easy on his end either.
“Master.”
Exhausted, I went before Roman and knelt on one knee.
“While on the move, we discovered an enemy force targeting the fortress……”
After hearing my explanation, Roman gave a short nod.
“Well done. You saved them.”
The civilians who had been hiding inside the fortress ran out and cheered.
“We’re saved!”
“The enemy has retreated!”
Children, women, the elderly. Seeing them, I smiled with satisfaction.
But it was only for a moment.
“Haaah.”
A sigh escaped from deep within me.
“Damn it.”
I swore before I even realized it.
In that instant.
The world around me changed.
A ruined fortress, and half-burnt corpses.
This was the true end of Phalanx Fortress.
Because I had failed to protect it.
“Ah.”
The old iron sword in my hand vanished, and a pure white longsword appeared.
It was Baegya.
*Vwooom.*
Baegya trembled.
The sword was asking me.
“How did I know?”
I glanced at the mountain of corpses for a moment, then answered nonchalantly.
“The self-absorbed Roman never once said anything like ‘well done’ to me.”
The sword trembled again.
This time, it seemed to be asking:
‘Just for that?’
I shook my head.
“Actually, I knew even before that.”
‘If you knew, why did you wander through the illusion?’
“Because I wanted to save them, just once.”
I looked at the ruined fortress and the corpses.
My insides burned.
In my past life, I discovered signs of a large-scale enemy movement but failed to react swiftly.
I turned the army back too late; by then, the fortress had already fallen into enemy hands, and the defenders and civilians had all been massacred.
I shook off the idle thoughts.
“The curse was petty, and so is this trial.”
A chance to correct a past that would never come again.
A dream made sweeter by the depth of regret.
That was Baegya’s trial.
The sword trembled madly.
It was a strange experience.
Disbelief, shock, denial.
The emotions the sword felt were transmitted to me perfectly.
Baegya was shocked that I had overcome its trial so easily.
Then again, how could a sword know?
My past life, riddled with a series of wrong choices and regrets.
“I’m not shameless enough to act as if I’ve found salvation just by correcting one of them.”
Correcting all of them was an absolutely impossible task.
Unless, perhaps, I could start over from the very beginning.