Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: I Came, I Fought, I Won (1)
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I passed right by the long spearman huddled on the ground, clutching his head with both hands and wailing in despair.
I galloped straight down the path cleared amid the long spearmen fleeing with their backs turned.
I unhooked the lance from under my arm and raised it at a slant.
It felt like a waste to swing a cavalry lance at enemies who had already lost the will to fight.
Whenever one blocked my path, I trampled it or crushed it flat.
Hoo, hoo.
Just moments ago, countless men who had been alive and breathing lay dead.
Yet I felt no shock, nothing at all.
Would it have been different if I'd heard their screams?
I didn't know. I couldn't know.
My ears had long gone deaf to the thunder of hooves.
No other thoughts surfaced.
Nothing mattered except following the optimal path right in front of me.
I kept riding and riding like that until, before I knew it, the enemies blocking my view vanished from sight.
A wide open space appeared.
Beyond it stood the heavy infantry formation.
I gauged the distance.
Fifty meters at most.
More than enough to build up speed.
As if delighted by the clear terrain, the Royal Gift Horse accelerated before I could even give the command.
I quickly scanned the enemy ranks.
Troop type: heavy infantry.
Armor: iron breastplates over chainmail. Weapons: four-meter halberds.
Tight formation, chaotic atmosphere.
Can I do this?
I gritted my teeth and hooked the lance back under my arm.
I can.
I lowered my posture and gripped the reins tight.
My field of view narrowed.
Now, only one path lay ahead.
Hoo.
I drew in a deep breath.
I filled my lungs with the scorching air inside my helmet.
My body burned hot, like it was on fire.
Thump, thump, thump.
My heart pounded like mad.
My temples throbbed in time with each beat.
Inhale.
I held my breath.
The world slowed to a crawl.
...
The helmet left his lower face exposed; his lips moved beneath it.
Was he reciting a prayer?
I didn't know.
Was his halberd aimed at me right now?
I didn't know.
How solid and thick was their formation?
I had no idea.
It didn't matter anyway.
In this sluggish world, my eyes were the only thing I could rely on.
The halberds intertwined in a haphazard weave.
Gaps between them. A path appeared.
It was blurry.
I twisted the hand gripping the reins.
The blurry path sharpened into focus.
Hoo.
I released my death grip on the reins.
I crouched low, pulling my arm back toward my shoulder.
A fierce headwind battered the shield strapped to my arm.
I lowered my body further to keep my torso from being flung back by the heavy resistance.
Hoo, hoo.
I clenched the lance shaft like I meant to crush it.
Through the long horizontal slit in my helmet, the world stretched out dimly.
The halberdier's face filled my vision, growing larger.
He wasn't praying anymore.
His lips curled back like a rabid dog, revealing jagged, uneven teeth.
Crunch.
The lance tip plunged into his mouth.
The few teeth he had left shattered.
Shards sprayed from his mouth as blood fountained out.
Thud.
I absorbed the impact through my shoulder and gripped the shaft tighter.
Graaunch.
Even through my thick gauntlets, I felt the vivid sensation of flesh tearing.
Crack.
Something solid snapped, and the resistance vanished.
But only for a moment.
Crunch, graaunch.
More impacts followed in quick succession.
The lance felt heavy.
Why?
I chased the tip through my narrow field of view.
Ah.
Three enemy soldiers were skewered on the shaft like spits.
Pierced through faces, throats, and armpits, they dangled like grotesque ornaments.
No wonder it's heavy.
The shaft bucked wildly.
Oh? One's still alive.
The one pierced slantwise through the armpit twisted, mouth gaping.
Foam flecked with blood bubbled up; his lung must be punctured.
Hoo.
The insane weight tilted my shoulder.
Thump.
I relaxed my grip on the lance handle.
The weight lifted.
I snatched the reins.
As I righted my leaning body and regained my posture...
Bam.
A heavy blow struck from beyond my shield.
My torso whipped back violently.
The slit in my helmet framed a world of pure blue.
...
Lying there dazed, staring at the sky, a gut-wrenching pain surged through me.
My mind snapped alert.
Grip.
I seized the reins hard and tensed my core.
My torso slowly returned to position.
...
!
...
!
The halberdier's exposed lower face twisted in agony beneath his helmet.
Through the eye slits of my own helmet, crimson eyes glared at me with hate.
Seeing that malice-filled gaze, I swung my shield fiercely.
Bam, bam.
The halberd hooking over my shoulder bounced away.
No time to draw my sword.
Halberds rained in from all sides.
Bam.
The endless barrage of halberds bent and snapped one after another.
Ah, right. I'm not alone.
It was the Bluecoats.
The Bluecoats who'd lagged behind caught up, riding shoulder to shoulder with me.
Using the brief gap they created, I drew my sword, but my head spun.
Only then did I realize I'd been holding my breath.
Phaaa.
I expelled the air I'd been hoarding in a ragged gust.
At that moment.
"Gaaah!"
"Urk!"
The sluggish world snapped back to normal speed.
"Major! Are you alright?!"
Lamir, visor up, called out to check on me.
"Forget that! Casualties?!"
"No idea! We barely broke through ourselves!"
"These bastards aren't normal!"
Lamir parried a halberd aimed at his shoulder with his sword, roaring in fury.
"I'll take point!"
I kneed my mount hard, trampling a halberdier hooking toward me.
"Royal Gift Horse!"
The Royal Gift Horse, whose speed had slowed from repeated collisions, pounded the ground fiercely.
Graaunch.
I deflected a halberd with my shield and smashed the halberdier's back.
I left the foes ahead to the Royal Gift Horse.
Galloping down the narrow path through the enemy ranks, I slashed left and right without pause.
Hoo, hoo.
My breath rose to my throat.
My helmet was sweltering.
Every gasp filled me with searing heat.
My body kept heating up, but my mind grew colder.
Crunch.
I drove my sword into the gap in a halberdier's backplate and quickly scanned ahead.
Beyond the endless heavy infantry, I spotted a fluttering command banner.
Damn it.
The direction was slightly off.
Had I veered wrong? Or had Nightheart moved? I couldn't tell.
I had to correct course.
Which meant punching through the enemies in front first.
I hacked through them like a madman.
My wrist ached from the accumulating shocks.
I could hold out a bit longer.
The problem was speed.
It was gradually dropping.
Not enough to stop us from breaking through, but afterward...
With momentum killed, the odds of piercing Nightheart's close guard were slim.
"Major!"
A shout rang out—I couldn't tell whose.
Hoofbeats shook the ground a beat late, more vivid and lively than any before.
"Johanna!"
It was the suicide squad's second wave.
The timing was perfect, worthy of admiration.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
The hoofbeats drew closer.
The halberdiers who'd been relentlessly charging us halted, glancing around warily.
And then.
Bam!
The second wave arrived down the path we'd opened.
The halberdiers harrying our flanks were flung aside one after another.
Not content with just clearing our sides, the belated second wave surged ahead, overtaking us.
"Bluecoats!"
Watching the second wave flash past on either side, I bellowed at the top of my lungs.
"Vanguard!"
Hearing my voice, the Bluecoats roared back.
At the same time, our slowing speed began to pick up again.
With the flank pressure gone, our momentum surged while the halberdiers' crumbled.
The fired-up Bluecoats trampled the demoralized halberdiers like maniacs.
The enemy's secondary line was effectively broken.
Crushing the fleeing halberdiers, I eyed the distant command banner.
About a hundred meters left.
Just a handful of close guards in the way.
Right then.
Woooong.
The air trembled ominously.
The harbinger of disaster: a magical bombardment incoming.
Astoria's mage corps was about to unleash hell.
With countless enemies still unaccounted for.
"Niiiightheaaaart!"
I screamed at the rippling sky.
Screeeee!
A crimson streak plummeted from the heavens.
Woooong.
The ominous waves spreading everywhere vanished like a lie.
Pop.
A translucent barrier shimmered into existence over the distant Astoria forces.
"Natasha!"
I praised her for perfectly disrupting the mage corps' spell.
Was there any other lunatic this lovable in the world?
But the window she'd bought us wouldn't last.
We had to hurry.
The halberdiers, realizing they'd nearly been bombed by their own side, now ditched weapons entirely in their panic to flee.
I blew past them, charging straight for the command banner.
Crossbowmen in formation trained on us.
"Assault formation!"
The Bluecoats clustered tight.
Knees to knees, shoulders aligned.
"Shields up!"
We covered our torsos with shields.
The cavalry lances were long useless.
All we had left were much shorter bastard swords.
I ignored it.
We had no lances, but we wielded something far deadlier.
"Charge!"
Nearing a ton of weight, we poured on the speed.
Graaang!
Even amid the deafening hooves, the crossbows' twangs rang crystal clear.
Bolts punched through plate like nothing, raining toward us.
Crunch.
My shield splintered.
A bolt sank into my shoulder.
My thigh burned.
-Iiihiiing!
Bam.
Mournful whinnies echoed.
I clenched my jaw, suppressing the urge to look back at the damage.
...
?
...
!
The pale-faced crossbowmen hurled their weapons aside and bolted.
But before they could fully scatter.
"Trample 'em!"
Our forces plunged into their midst.
I spared a glance at the crossbowmen mangled beyond recognition and sought the command banner.
Heavy infantry with massive square shields and flails, and behind them—a man in ornate helm.
Even without the helm, I'd know him anywhere.
It was him.
I slammed into the heavy infantry.
My body jolted from the massive impact.
My eyes fixed on where he'd been moments ago.
Gone.
He'd been there a second ago, now vanished.
I scanned quickly.
Amid the infantry, a gaudy helm plume stuck out.
I yanked the Royal Gift Horse's reins.
Bursting through the blocking heavies, I veered toward it.
Crunch.
Leaning into it, I slashed upward with my sword.
A heavy infantryman toppled, armpit gashed beyond even thick plate's protection.
And finally, I faced the man I'd longed to meet.
Jewel-like eyes glared straight at me from beneath the ornate helm.
Whether trusting his meager guards or just his nature.
No trace of fear in that gaze.
"I've been looking for you, Nightheart."
I grinned.