Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: The One Who Sold What Couldn't Be Sold (7)
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My breath was catching in my throat. I hadn't even swung it a few times, yet my limit had already arrived.
Surprisingly, the greatsword was a tricky weapon to handle. If I just swung it around wildly like a brute...
I might see some short-term results, but even that would quickly drain my stamina.
That was how it had gone the first time. Breaking through the gates and boldly shouting out had been fine.
But the problem was that the greatsword weighed several times more than I'd imagined.
And I lacked both the strength and the skill to wield it properly.
"That monster's getting tired now!"
"Cut off his air for good!!"
"...Damn it."
As expected, even a rotting fish from the Empire was still from the Empire. They spotted my opening the moment it appeared.
And after they'd thoroughly exploited my weakness, my head came off—that was my first death.
I had learned through repeated deaths how to manage my stamina with my breathing.
But that only applied to normal situations. Things were different now.
Even with it slung over my shoulder, just standing there still felt like quite a burden.
Yet despite all that, there were far too many mountains I had to climb right now.
At least I can somehow handle your average Empire soldiers. The problem is...
I grow a little stronger with each death. I take one tiny step forward at a time.
But the mountain I faced this time was too vast and vicious to even contemplate.
I must have cut down dozens of them while dying over and over. At last, they stepped forward.
"Pull the soldiers back."
"You've done well up to now. From here on, we'll knights take over."
"Form up. Don't underestimate him—fight with everything you've got."
They must have judged that continuing with just soldiers would lead to heavy casualties.
The knights, clad in gleaming white armor and helmets, formed ranks and drew their swords themselves.
There wasn't a trace of arrogance or carelessness in their eyes, even if you searched with a magnifying glass.
Damn... These ridiculously strong bastards won't even get careless. This is cheating.
They were strong. Undeniably strong. Maybe even more than that honor-bound lunatic I'd faced before.
Even one Aura User had been tough to handle. Now there were five of them.
And that was after accounting for detachments on patrol or subjugation duty—an astonishing number.
The knights are one thing... but the real problem is those mages on the walls.
The mages and archers atop the walls were thoroughly watching for any gap in my defenses.
It felt like the entire world before my eyes was focused solely on finding a chance to end me.
And the moment an Aura-infused sword clashed with my greatsword, my head flew off at the same time.
No openings at all. It's like fighting a giant with ten arms.
The Empire's soldiers were no joke, but the knights were on another level entirely.
The instant I blocked the first attack, other knights seized the blind spot and went for my neck.
And even knowing it through death, blocking them wasn't easy.
"Come at me. I won't run or hide. Who will claim the head of this mountain lord of the eastern hills?" Every time my life ended, what unfolded was another death I'd met here.
Betrayed by one I'd once called a friend, reduced to a candle in a storm.
Yet still, he swung his sword with unyielding resolve. I watched it all from the beginning.
That's the Earl's swordsmanship... as ferocious as a tiger.
Crude beyond belief, and yet precisely because of that, it reached the pinnacle of simplicity and power with the greatsword.
Even those vaunted Empire knights couldn't stand before the Earl's greatsword and were swept away.
The moment I faced it myself, I realized what my goal should be.
"Hah!!"
I captured the Earl's crude sword aura clearly with my own eyes and recreated it myself.
Of course, if I could copy it perfectly after just one look, I'd be a genius—not some ordinary nobody.
And naturally, as a mere ordinary person, there was no way I could absorb it in one go.
If I lack teeth, I'll use my gums. If I can't do it right now... I'll keep going until I can.
Naturally, that process involved agonizing deaths repeating over and over. Pain I'd never get used to.
Beheaded, limbs severed, burned alive by lightning from the sky.
I die. I die endlessly. And when I open my eyes again, I pick up the sword without hesitation.
Was it because the situation was so hopelessly against me?
The death toll had already surpassed three digits.
Trampling through a mountain of corpses and sea of blood made from my own body and blood, I pressed on.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Empire army's strategy was lightning war.
Thoroughly crush those who dared defy His Majesty, but forgive them generously if they surrendered.
This wasn't mere mercy. If they killed or punished even those who surrendered...
People would think, "If I'm going to die anyway, better to fight to the end."
Even a cornered rat will bite a cat—how much more a human?
"Station 10,000 troops centered on Earl Sandwy's territory to occupy the east." "But if they resist to the end, it will take considerable time." "That won't happen. The eastern regions of Arpen Kingdom have many nobles friendly to the Empire from the start." Arpen Kingdom bordered the Empire to the east and the Alliance to the south geographically.
Thus, the east was friendly to the Empire, while the south leaned toward the Alliance.
It was only natural. Who wouldn't favor the one paying them money?
"In other words... now that pro-Alliance forces hold sway, the Empire-friendly eastern nobles are out in the cold." Just as Her Highness the Princess had said. Most eastern nobles harbored significant resentment.
And even without that, the overwhelming Empire forces led most to choose surrender.
That was why only 1,300 soldiers and 10 knights had been left in the earl's territory.
Considering that 800 of them were the routed remnants led by Sir Valentis...
It meant the initial garrison in the earl's territory had been just around 500.
"But Your Highness, is it wise to station only 500 in the freshly conquered earl's territory?" "What worries you, sir? The moment the earl's territory falls, no one in the east can stop our Empire." It wasn't wrong. The only wildcard in the east had been Earl Sandwy himself.
Even he had fallen in just a fortnight to Her Highness's cunning ploy.
And the royals were holed up tight in the capital, with no intention of coming out.
Secure the east completely, reorganize supply lines, then strike the capital.
Even at the latest, Arpen Kingdom would be absorbed by the Empire within a year.
Her Highness's strategy was nigh flawless. Except for one variable.
"Gah?!"
"Urk...!!"
"N-No way. Two of the Empire's proud knights felled by a single stroke...?!"
Someone's dazed, horrified mutter perfectly captured the current situation.
At first, when the Empire knights stepped up personally, they could finally breathe easy.
The Empire's knights were renowned across the continent, beyond even the Empire itself, for loyalty and skill.
Not just one or two, but five in formation—who could lose?
Sure, the opponent was a monster. But it was the knights who would slay that monster.
The beast would die soon enough. But that thought had just shattered to pieces.
One strike.
A mere one strike had claimed two heads. In the stunned moment of disbelief...
Boom!!!
The monster kicked off the ground with explosive force, leaping straight at another knight.
Even in that dire instant, hastily enveloping himself in Aura was worthy of an elite.
But alas, his foe was a cut above. He'd predicted it from the start.
He targeted the weak point in the defense. Thus, another knight met his end.
In an instant, three of the five knights had futilely lost their lives.
The mages on the walls hurriedly tried to cast spells to intervene.
"W-What?! He jumped into the soldiers?!"
"What do we do? If we cast now..."
"Nonsense! We'll take out our own troops too!"
He'd deliberately plunged into the soldiers to prevent magic. If they hit him...
Casualties could balloon from the spell's power alone.
You don't burn down the thatched roof to kill bedbugs. But even accounting for that...
Is something like that even possible...? It's like dodging one death only to throw yourself into another.
No matter how mighty the knight, without master-class prowess, encirclement meant doom.
Yet this man willingly dove into the horde—a suicidal special attack.
And maddeningly, the Empire soldiers couldn't even stop it and were getting swept away.
"Aaaagh!!"
"Monster...!!"
But the 800 soldiers who had witnessed that man's prowess were frozen stiff.
The monster drenched in blood, ceaselessly swinging his sword, personally butchering their comrades.
That nightmare from that day, unforgettable...
Was being reenacted right here, right now.