109. The Red Knight of War
109. The Red Knight of War
War's Red Knight.
Her very name embodied war itself. Among the Four Horsemen, her power was so immense that she was deemed a calamity by sheer martial force alone.
The strike she had unleashed earlier was her maximum possible firepower in a single instant.
The moment her power clashed with the opponent, she felt a distinct sense of wrongness through her blade.
Even though the target ultimately vanished without a trace, just before that happened, her full-force attack had met with 'a slight feeling of obstruction.'
'He was tough... No, it felt more like the attack itself was distorted somehow.'
It was likely an ability that nullified physical attacks upon contact with his body.
But such abilities still responded to the user's mana, and in most cases, overwhelming them with sheer output that surpassed their magic would eventually punch right through.
In the end, although his ability was extraordinary, she held the overwhelming advantage in raw capability, and that decided the victor.
Had he approached the fight more cautiously, there was a good chance he could have negated her attacks several times over.
'Heroes really are a pain in the ass, as usual.'
Yes, looking purely at their abilities, they were not opponents to take lightly.
That was the assessment the Red Knight had formed of those called Heroes from their recent clash.
"What was that? Was he stupid?"
However, to those ignorant of that process, it would have simply looked like he'd charged in recklessly and gotten himself killed.
Realizing that such a blunt assessment was being muttered beside her, the Red Knight silently turned to look at the undead creature next to her.
Unlike the other undead who were busily assaulting the ramparts at her command, this masked corpse alone had ignored her orders and taken up a spot right beside her.
"I was wondering if he had something up his sleeve, but no, he just charged in and got himself snuffed out in an instant... Pfft, it's honestly amazing he managed to stay alive this long with that kind of brainpower~"
"...Blight, why are you in the army that I am leading?"
The Plague White Knight, Blight.
No, to be precise, a 'doll' created by his hand.
He'd simply cobbled together some suitable corpses to form a body, then injected it with his magic to replicate his own consciousness.
His main body was probably tied up in a diversionary attack striking from another direction, so she couldn't help but question why he'd bothered to attach a clone like this to her.
Did he have some message to deliver?
"Why d'you think I came~? I figured our dear Miss Red Knight might be bored, so I dropped by to play~"
"...Blight. You bastard."
"Whoa there~! No need to be so hostile~ You know, when you're running an operation, comrades can joke around with each other now and then, can't they?"
Blight sprang back two steps in mock alarm.
Bickering like this was a daily occurrence, but that only applied when they weren't in the middle of an operation.
"Do you think what we are doing right now is some kind of game?"
This was a command from their master, of all people. How could he stand there so brazenly cracking jokes right in front of the enemy?
"Pfft, it is a game~!"
And yet Blight maintained his trademark jocular demeanor as he answered her.
"What does it matter how many living humans charge at us? You, of all people, should know exactly what the 'titles' bestowed upon us really mean."
He was right. Each of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse embodied a potential force capable of wiping out humanity.
To beings like themselves, created to project that very existence, humans were mere insects to be crushed underfoot at any time.
So much so that lacking the leisure to exchange wordplay would be considered a humiliation.
"...It is a matter of mindset."
Nevertheless, the Red Knight silently maintained her stance.
No matter how easily one could trample mere humans, cracks would inevitably form in loyalty if discipline wasn't enforced.
"Oh dear, so that's how it's going to be, as usual."
"I should be the one saying that, Blight. I don't care what sort of creature you are or what thoughts brought you here. But if it means disregarding the orders our Mother has given us..."
"Yeah~ alright~ For the sake of our loyal service to our glorious liege, I'll refrain from any jokes from here on out."
Blight grumbled to himself that at least it would have been fun to tease if Famine had tagged along.
The Red Knight, deciding even that was none of her concern, turned her attention back to the tide of battle—until Blight's clone called out and stopped her again.
"Alright, jokes aside, I actually came because there's something I wanted to ask in earnest."
"What are you trying to say now..."
"Annabel Britannia."
The Red Knight's movements froze dead.
Had this been another round of his games, she would have cleaved that body in two. But her blade did not swing at him.
That name he had just uttered was something not even she could overlook.
"...You kept saying you couldn't remember it, but could it be that's your name?"
"......"
The Red Knight turned back to Blight in silence.
The figure still wore the familiar mask and white tatters, but his characteristic jesting smirk had vanished.
Yes, as if to signal that this question was one he considered deeply important.
"...Is it really that important?"
"Important or not. You see, for us, lingering regret is power itself, and within that, one's name plays the most vital role..."
-Shrrrk!
A belated slash severed his head from his neck.
Even as it was sent flying, the Red Knight's attention had long since returned to the battlefield.
"If you're going to spout drivel, get lost. I don't care if your main body is focused on the operation; your yapping beside me is a nuisance to the work at hand."
"...Kuh-hehe. You're reacting quite a bit more sensitively than usual. That bothers me a bit, you know."
The clone's head giggled where it lay.
As the power within it gradually faded, Blight's clone used its crumbling consciousness to leave a final remark.
"Ah well, we can save the rest of the talk for after the operation's over. Do take care with the stalling, Princess Enabel~"
With those final words, the head lost its power and crumbled.
Turning away from it, the Red Knight stepped into the fierce battle unfolding upon the ramparts.
And as she did, she felt the name he had spoken slowly surface in her mind.
'Annabel Britannia. The last heir of a kingdom annihilated by plague.'
Had she lived that life fully, she might have been fated to become a ruler. But such hypotheticals held no meaning for the dead.
Everything accomplished in life must be surrendered the moment it is buried beneath the grave.
Even if that memory formed her very foundation, fixating solely on the glories of that past would achieve nothing in the present.
'Yes. I am merely a doll that exists for Mother.'
And her sole lingering regret was to fight for her Mother.
To be the blade that fulfilled the unachieved regrets of her mother's past life.
'A tool that lives for Mother... If Mother wishes for humanity's destruction, then I, too, must dream only of humanity's annihilation.'
Enabel, resurrected with that one single obsession, began to focus intently on the siege being waged by her undead.
-Kraaaaaaaah!!
These undead, far more ferocious than ordinary ones, exerted immense force as they gnawed away at the ramparts nestled between the ravines.
Having received her power that governed war itself, their strength and savagery far surpassed that of normal undead.
No matter how sturdy the walls, without significant resistance, it was only a matter of time before they crumbled under that power.
"The enemy is eating away at the walls!"
"Archers, to your positions! If the enemy notices and responds, erect palisades for cover and regroup!!!"
But the defenders were a legion summoned from the Empire precisely to hold this ground.
Having trained under a brilliant and passionate officer, they fought to repel the undead onslaught without a hint of carelessness, even as they held the advantage of the ramparts.
"Magic Corps, Unit 1! Pour saturation fire on the outer zones and funnel the enemy toward the center! Once they're clustered together trying to avoid the barrage, we'll wipe them out in one fell swoop!"
"Infantry, hold in reserve! As long as the enemy can't scale the walls, there's no need to go out and fight them!"
Kwarurung! Kwang!
A volley of arrows and magic rained down from atop the walls.
As the undead were swept away helplessly by the barrage, the humans began to roar with elation, sensing the battle turning in their favor.
"Don't lose heart! These walls protect us!"
"If this keeps up, the fight's in our favor! Sweep them all away!"
Yes, in warfare, defending a fortress was overwhelmingly more advantageous than besieging one.
Human history was replete with sieges that dragged on for years, so throwing bodies into this assault would have been a wasteful endeavor.
That is, if this were a 'war between humans'.
"Defense Commander! The enemy is scaling the walls from the flank!"
"Block them immediately!"
"It's no use! We pushed the barrage too hard and our mages' firepower is spent! They need time to gather mana!"
Yes, being alive meant expending energy.
Both stamina and mental strength required time to replenish, but the undead were unbound by such concepts.
So long as the mana animating their bodies was replenished, they could fight indefinitely.
Dragging the fight into a war of attrition against an army composed of such beings would inevitably create an opening in humans, who were limited by their stamina.
-Kwarurung!
And such an opening emerged in that very moment.
Realizing this, the Red Knight readied the mana she had gathered into her blade and prepared to swing it.
"Commander! The Red Knight is gathering mana over there!"
"What, what is she trying to... Damn it! Everyone get down!!!"
-Kwaaaaaaah!!!!!
A storm of Aura, condensed from immense mana, was unleashed in a sweeping strike.
The surface of the wall was sheared away by the impact, and cracks began to spider out toward the soldiers standing guard atop it.
In a single blow, the ramparts that had taken a month to erect and reinforce showed signs of imminent collapse.
-Kwaang! Kwaaang!
As those devastating strikes hammered home again and again, despair began to bloom on the faces of the soldiers stationed on the wall.
They had assumed this was a mere diversionary siege, launched with a relatively small force just to draw their attention.
Was this monster actually planning to smash through the walls right here and invade?
"S-Stop her! Stop her now!!"
"Impossible! The undead have already pushed their way up onto the wall...!"
"Ignore them and fire! If we don't stop that thing, the wall will collapse!!"
Taking advantage of the gaps in the chaos, the undead clambered up onto the wall from below.
Armed soldiers were belatedly sent up to protect the archers and mages, but by then, Enabel had already finished preparing her finishing blow.
After all, if she could break through, an outright invasion would serve just as well as a diversion.
-Kwaaaaang!!
That single-minded strike slammed into the support beams, and at last, the wall, its structural integrity compromised, came crashing down with a thunderous roar.
All the humans standing atop it could do was offer a futile resistance against the crushing gravity and falling stone.
"Aaaaagh! S-Save..."
-Kwarurung, Kwang!
A river of blood seeped through the wreckage of the pitifully collapsed site.
Stepping into the silence that followed, Enabel gathered her mana once more and rammed her sword into the ground.
'Half of the forces I brought to breach the wall have been expended...'
Even an army that knows no fear cannot avoid heavy casualties if it charges recklessly.
Nonetheless, Enabel did not consider this a disadvantageous fight.
'Numerical inferiority can be replenished over the course of the war.'
-Crunch, creak.
The mana radiating from her sword soon infected the bodies of the fallen soldiers buried in the rubble, forcibly raising them back to their feet.
The corpses of the slain were compelled to rise and join her ranks.
Sensing the danger, the enemy commander frantically shouted to the soldiers holding the defensive line stretched across the ravine.
"Dammit, assault troops! Cut off the enemy's advance now! If they break through here, the damage will be catastrophic!!"
"I-I can't. That's my comrade over there..."
"Hansun! Snap out of it! It's me! Your best friend... Khk!"
In an instant, their former comrades had turned into enemies.
And to those old friends who couldn't accept that reality, the undead charged without hesitation, seeking to slake their thirst on their flesh and bone.
The soldiers who finally grasped the situation tried to reform their ranks, but by then, over a hundred soldiers near the wall had already been infected and joined the undead legion.
"My army. Sweep away everything in sight."
Yet, not a single one charged at the general leading them.
The enemy possessed enough martial power to single-handedly destroy a wall that an army of thousands could not breach.
With no guarantee of victory even if they staked their lives, the soldiers' morale shattered with every step she took.
"Take their lives, and desecrate the dignity they prize above life itself."
Yes, humans were truly such insignificant creatures.
War might have been born of human hands, but it was called a calamity because they could never suppress the madness it stirred within themselves.
To her, the very incarnation of war, this battle was not even worthy of entertainment.
"And prove to those foolish mortals."
"That everything unfolding here is nothing less than the result of humanity's own original sin...!"
"Eeeek! Aaah! Save me!"
With that, a flood of soldiers lost their will to fight, throwing down their weapons and fleeing.
But the corpses showed no mercy.
Faithful only to their base instincts, they simply pursued them relentlessly to drag them into the vortex of madness as well.
-Kwarurung, Kwang!!!
Just before that relentless march could spill past the ravine and crash into the main encampment, the cliffs above collapsed, cutting off their route of advance.
With the path blocked by falling rock, the survivors barely managed to keep their lives.
Then, the ground where the rocks had fallen was overturned by some mysterious force, turning the interior of the gorge into a maelstrom of death.
-Kurrung, Kung!
It was as if gravity itself had inverted.
Moments later, gravity normalized, and the undead, sent crashing headfirst to the ground, were buried beneath an avalanche of earth.
"...What are you."
Seeing her troops buried alive, Enabel paused her advance and raised her blade at the one who had blocked her path.
There stood a paladin clad in heavy white armor.
"Nam Ja-seong, Paladin of the Mether Order."
Standing alone before the blocked entrance to the ravine, he hoisted his signature weapon—a massive shovel—onto his shoulder and announced his presence.
"And I'm here to bury you in this canyon."
Though he was only one man,
he radiated a presence more impregnable than a rampart and an army of hundreds.