Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Melee Battle (2)
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Sir Rayfield von Orcd Valentis was a knight who held the rank of viscount.
Though it was merely a viscount's title, he never hesitated to serve the great Empire and His Majesty the Emperor.
The only issue was that his loyalty was excessively overzealous.
What the Empire needed was a swift victory. Even if the gap between the kingdom and the Empire was as vast as that between an adult and a child.
Any needless delay would only mean losses for the Empire.
'Try to accept their surrender as much as possible. They will become part of the great Empire anyway.'
'The staff officer said that, but taking in every mutt and mongrel isn't right. Even for the sake of the great Empire, we must weed out the chaff.'
He believed that only those loyal enough to gladly lay down their lives for the Empire were qualified to serve as its subjects.
Yes, his loyalty was so excessive that...
...he had begun accepting prisoners based solely on his own standards.
And that was the reason Sir Valentis's Imperial forces utterly devastated this rural frontier territory.
Surrendering without any resistance?
Trash without loyalty has no qualifications. Refusing to surrender?
To kick away His Majesty's grace as vast as the heavens—that sin demands death.
In other words, there had never been any real choices to begin with.
Yet in the eyes of Sir Valentis, who bordered on fanaticism, an unbelievable sight unfolded.
The gates of the shabby, tightly sealed walls began to slowly creak open.
At first, he thought it was just surrender. But what was this? Armed soldiers were advancing from behind.
"???"
"What the hell is that?"
"...No way they're trying melee combat? With this kind of gap?"
It was a choice that left even the Imperial soldiers bewildered. Their exact numbers were unknown, but...
At a glance, the disparity was at least fivefold. And yet, instead of defending the walls, they were opening the gates for melee combat?
It was a bewildering decision, but they still had to do what needed doing.
The mages immediately began chanting. A few fireballs could incinerate them all and claim the territory effortlessly.
"Mages, halt your chanting."
"Pardon???"
Had it not been for Commander Sir Valentis's order, they surely would have.
Stunned by the sudden command, the mages looked at Sir Valentis with confused expressions.
Thinking perhaps they'd misheard, but the moment they met his eyes, they realized it was no mistake.
"Even in such a disadvantageous situation, they don't cowardly hide in the castle but boldly draw their swords instead. What magnificent spirit!!"
'Here we go again.'
The courage of a lion, refusing to cower and facing the fight head-on!
And on top of that, the valor of willingly sacrificing their lives for their homeland!
"Splendid! Unknown lord!!"
Of course! Only someone like that qualifies to serve under His great Majesty the Emperor!!
Meanwhile, one of the mages who had been glancing sideways spoke up to Sir Valentis.
"Uh, Sir Valentis? We could handle this easily with magic without engaging in melee."
"The enemy is staking their lives to prove their loyalty. As a knight, shouldn't I gladly respond in kind?"
The mage squeezed his eyes shut.
He knew that once this fanatic's zeal ignited, there was no stopping him.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I hadn't expected much from the start.
My hypothesis hadn't even been proven yet.
But still.
I never dreamed that all 100 soldiers would flee at once.
Thanks to that, I had to face the Empire's army alone, boldly stepping forward.
At least the silver lining was that the enemy commander was a knight who lived and died by honor.
In other words, an honor hound.
Because of that, I barely avoided getting shot by a crossbow while walking out.
The knight stared at me curiously as I approached alone and asked,
"Where are your troops?"
"They all ran away."
"Hah! They abandoned their lord and fled? And yet you stand alone to block the Empire?"
Surrender wouldn't even be accepted, you bastard.
The knight's gaze, as if beholding some freak, made my blood boil for a moment, but I suppressed my emotions.
Right now, proving the hypothesis was what mattered.
Whether my stats rose even slightly with each regression.
It was an uncertain hypothesis, but at this point, I had no choice but to bet everything on it.
There were no other breakthroughs.
The knight eyed me silently for a moment, then laughed heartily and nodded.
"No more words needed, eh? Indeed! You lack the skill to command soldiers, but your spirit is commendable!"
"......"
At the very least, I now understood why this guy wouldn't accept surrender.
An honor hound who lived and died by honor.
To such a hound, surrender was a shameful betrayal of loyalty. Defending the walls would just make him see them as cowardly rats.
In short...
'Isn't this guy just a total lunatic?'
The numbers were over ten times greater. And he expected them to charge head-on?
Even I, with my superficial internet knowledge of tactics, knew that was suicide.
Let alone a commander leading nearly a thousand troops being such a nutcase.
But what pissed me off most was that I, myself, had died dozens of times without even dealing with this one lunatic.
"Let's end this now."
At the very least, I needed to land one hit, or I wouldn't die satisfied.
At my words, the knight's eyes gleamed as he dismounted. His light steps made it seem like he was enjoying this.
"That's the spirit!"
"Sir Valentis, there's no need for you to step up personally."
"What nonsense is this?"
"One crossbow bolt would easily kill a pathetic lord like that. Why draw your sword yourself...?"
"Shut it!!!"
A roar so mighty it startled even me echoed across the unexpected plains.
The robed old man who had offered advice collapsed onto his rear in shock.
Ignoring him completely, the knight called Sir Valentis berated the mage with all his might.
"Even if they are enemies of His Majesty the Emperor! How can a knight call a noble who stakes his life for his lord disloyal?!"
"Th-that's..."
"The foe has shown such valor, so as a knight of His Majesty the Emperor, I must respond in kind—or else I'd tarnish the Emperor and the Empire!"
Indeed, a madman beyond imagination.
Honestly, even I thought there was no reason for the commander to step up for a duel.
Of course, a knight like him wouldn't lose to a pathetic rural lord like me. But what about that one-in-a-million chance?
In war, the commander is key.
If he foolishly showed off up front and dropped dead?
It'd be like cutting off the head—pure chaos in the chain of command and shattered troop morale.
No matter how I looked at it, it was all risk with zero reward.
Yet this lunatic insisted on dueling. Truly a madman beyond imagination!
'But I've got a rough read on his type. If I lose narrowly, maybe I can survive?'
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, enemy generals were often spared and recruited for their valor and skill.
In other words, if I impressed this lunatic, survival was possible.
For the first time, a spark of hope flickered. For about five minutes.
Slash!!!
The result was my defeat.
An obvious outcome. My opponent was a knight and commander of a thousand troops.
He'd earned his position through proven ability.
Meanwhile, I was just a lord barely managing a rural backwater territory.
Swordsmanship? Sure, I'd learned some. But how skilled could I really be?
Yet to think I couldn't even last one exchange. The gap was unimaginably huge.
Blood poured endlessly from the gash across my chest, armor and all. Sir Valentis clicked his tongue in pity.
"Your spirit and loyalty are splendid, but alas, your skill holds you back. With such meager strength, you'd only hinder His Majesty's grand cause."
Damn it all.
I wanted to curse him out, but the overwhelming pain made even moving my mouth impossible.
Sir Valentis approached slowly, raising his sword high to the heavens as he spoke.
"But for your loyalty, I'll behead you myself. Take it as an honor—to die by the blade of a great knight of the Empire."
Fuck off.
No voice came. My lips merely twitched.
Soon, the knight's sword fell like lightning, and my head parted from my body in a spray of blood.
"......"
And as always, I opened my eyes again. The shabby walls, terrified soldiers, and the Empire's forces rippling like waves.
"My lord! Surrender is our only option!"
"We'll all die!!"
"......"
The adjutant's endless pleas for surrender—I'd lost count of how many loops. And the soldiers screaming in terror of death.
But what surfaced first was the sight of those soldiers abandoning me and fleeing.
A chilling voice, startling even to me, slipped from my lips.
"From now on, anyone who flees or urges surrender without orders will be severely punished under military law."
Disappointment? Rage?
I didn't know which, but it had some effect.
At least the panicked soldiers stopped whining to me.
I threw open the gates with momentum and advanced toward the Empire's army.
Of course, only ten soldiers followed to the end this time.
...Should I be grateful that at least a few didn't flee?
If I kept looping, could I eventually get even one soldier to stay?
I didn't know.
That's why I had no choice. Just to survive somehow...
I die again this time.