Chapter 144: The Day of Harvest (11)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 144: The Day of Harvest (11)
Beyond the collapsed castle gate lay a single, straight road leading into the city.
Orcs armed with spears and shields blocked the kingdom's army.
"Shield wall!"
The orcs formed a dense shield wall, their massive shields interlocked. They thrust the blades of their spears through the gaps, ready to strike at any moment.
It resembled a hedgehog.
But it was far from adorable.
Charging recklessly into that formation might eventually break the shield wall, but it would come at the cost of many lives.
A few such clashes, and the knight order would be reduced to a mere handful.
That was why Duke Pabir asked Cloud, "Hero, what will you do?"
Would they push forward as they were, or would they halt their charge now?
Instead of answering, Cloud spurred his horse and leaped toward the shield wall.
"Hero?!"
Cloud paid no mind to Duke Pabir's panicked voice. He focused on manifesting his sword aura. By the time his blue sword began to glow red, he was closing in on the shield wall.
"Target the Hero!"
Spears thrust at Cloud from all directions. Suspended in mid-air, he couldn't use dynamic movements to dodge.
Cloud twisted his body sideways and swung his sword, parrying only the spearheads aimed at his vitals—his head, neck, and chest. He ignored the ones that pierced his shoulder and thigh.
He gripped his sword with both hands and bent his body backward into a C-shape. Then, snapping forward, he brought the sword down in a vertical slash.
Everything the blade touched was split apart.
Shields and orcs alike, without exception.
He had cleared a path for himself.
Now, it was time to clear the way for the others.
Cloud gripped his sword in a reverse hold and plunged it into the ground.
Flames began to erupt from the blade.
"The human is trying something! Stop him!"
The orcs right beside Cloud swung their shields to knock him away, but it was too late.
Eredna Magic Swordsmanship.
[Revelation of Fire]
Pillars of fire erupted from the ground beneath the orcs' feet.
"Gyaaaargh!"
"Someone, put out the fire!"
The orcs hit squarely by the pillars of fire died in agony. A few managed to dodge, but they were swiftly cut down by the knights who arrived moments later.
Cloud pulled the spears from his shoulder and thigh, then leaped back onto his horse.
Holding the reins with one hand, he drank a potion with the other to treat his wounds.
Pabir watched him with a stunned expression.
Every time I see him, I'm reminded that the Hero is hardly human.
A proper orc warrior was a match for two of the kingdom's knights. And those warriors had formed a thick shield wall. Breaking it should have required sacrificing dozens of knights, yet Cloud had solved the problem in an instant.
One cannot defeat two, and two cannot defeat four.
For Pabir, who had always faithfully followed the fundamentals of warfare, this war was a series of shocks.
"What are you staring at?"
"Ah... It's nothing."
"Focus. This is just the beginning."
Cloud said, casually tossing the empty potion bottle aside.
Just the beginning...
He was right.
They had only just entered the city, and many obstacles remained.
He had to keep his wits about him to protect his family.
"Understood, Hero!"
Duke Pabir clenched his jaw, steeling his resolve.
Cloud smirked, then shook the reins to urge his horse forward. Returning to the vanguard, he broke the formation of the orcs blocking their path. The knights who followed dealt with the scattered orcs.
But the knights were not Cloud.
Sometimes they failed to finish an orc in a single blow and fell behind. Often, they were overpowered by the orcs.
Nevertheless, the knight order did not stop.
Even as they heard their comrades' screams and ground their teeth, even as their grip on their swords weakened, even as the fear that they might be next crept in, they pushed forward.
They avenged their fallen comrades by killing the orcs who had harmed them. When they lacked the strength to slash, they thrust. They overcame their fear with thunderous war cries and pressed on.
After doing their best, after sacrificing everything they could, they finally came face to face with it.
The scene of a great massacre inside the cathedral.
"What in the..."
A knight, who had charged forward driven by a sense of duty, was horrified.
"Dammit..."
A knight, who had followed his lord out of obligation, sighed at the futility of it all.
And the knights who had braved death to save their families...
"Ah... Ahh... Aaaaaaaargh!!!"
They screamed.
They screamed as they searched for their families in the piles of corpses.
Even then, a part of them hoped.
Hoped that their family's bodies wouldn't be here. That they had been lucky enough to escape and were hiding somewhere safe.
And when that hope was shattered, the screams and wails that tore from their throats hardly sounded human.
"Honey...! Ned...!"
Duke Pabir.
He, who had spent every night tormented with worry for his captive family, now clutched the bodies of his wife and son, weeping endlessly.
The bodies he held were only torsos.
"..."
Looking at the gruesome scene, Mars felt an indescribable emotion.
He had been through many things since leaving on his journey, but never anything like this.
He was angry, sad, and utterly devastated all at once.
How was he supposed to handle these feelings?
Mars instinctively turned his gaze to Cloud. Whenever he didn't know something, Cloud always had a simple answer, as if wondering why Mars would even ask.
But this time was different.
"...Brother?"
Sensing a change in Cloud's aura, Mars called out softly, but he didn't respond.
His eyes were fixed on the knights grieving for their lost families.
—Waaaaah! Mommy!
"Jackson... my son..."
—I'm sorry I'm the only one who survived...
"No... This can't be...!"
The cries and screams of the people echoed in his head.
In his eyes, the knights sometimes transformed into people in tattered clothes.
The past and present intertwined.
Just as his senses began to detach from reality,
—Don't be a fucking idiot. You would've looked away even if you knew. Why? Because that's who you are. The kind of person who thinks some sacrifices are inevitable for the sake of a goal.
The words of a certain man pulled Cloud back.
—So this is all your fault.
Thump, thump, roll.
Something rolled toward Cloud. It was a human head.
The head of a devout paladin who had performed miracles.
The head of a woman who was pure but foolish, and endearing for it.
The head of a woman he had once loved.
The disembodied head opened its closed eyes and spoke.
—This is all your fault.
Cloud knelt on one knee and lifted the head. As he brushed away the blood-matted hair, he saw the face of a complete stranger.
"It's not your fault."
Cloud turned his head.
Neria was looking at him.
"You did your best. I know you did. So don't blame yourself too much."
The Neria who spoke was not the timid woman who usually watched his every move. She was the gallant knight she used to be, the one who had lent him her shoulder and her back.
Looking at her, Cloud let out a short laugh.
Was it because it was funny to hear such words from someone who knew nothing?
No.
Was it because it was foolish of her to be so kind to him, a man merely wearing Cloud's shell?
No.
It was neither of those.
He laughed simply because he saw himself in her.
In the sense that by the time they came to their senses, they had already lost everything they held most dear.
Neria, how will you react when you find out I'm a fake?
I'm terribly curious, but at the same time, I don't want to know.
"Cloud..."
Assuming he was deeply hurt, Neria wore a bitter expression. It was the face of someone who wanted to offer comfort but didn't know what to say.
Cloud smiled faintly and gently placed the head back on the ground.
"Brother, Miss Neria? I don't think now's the time for that..."
Mars's voice was tense.
There was no need to ask what he meant.
A slight turn of the head was enough to see the orcs that had surrounded them.
The knights who had been wailing for their families rose to their feet, one by one.
Their eyes held an indescribable fury and hatred. They no longer feared death.
For they had lost everything that was as precious as life itself.
Other knights held back those who tried to charge at the orcs.
"Let go of me! I said, let go!"
It was the same for Duke Pabir. As he tried to run toward the orcs with bloodshot eyes, Duke Oller grabbed him.
"Calm down! Don't act on your emotions!"
"My wife and son are dead! Their bodies aren't even whole. And you're telling me to be rational?! Stop talking bullshit and get out of my way!"
"Duke Pabir, you are a commander! If you lose your reason, how will you control the knights under you? It's dangerous enough fighting as one, but if we fight recklessly, we'll be annihilated!"
The orc warriors surrounding them outnumbered the knights. As a result, most of the knights were intimidated. In an already disadvantageous situation, their morale was now shattered.
A direct confrontation would surely lead to annihilation.
Just as Duke Oller was trying to restrain Duke Pabir and think of a way out, an orc with a physique that stood out from the rest stepped forward. Dragging a giant, saw-toothed sword along the ground, he shouted at the knights.
"Vile humans! Were you so afraid of a duel with the great warrior, Lugar? Did it piss you off so much to lose and have to keep your promise?"
He was Zarag, chieftain of the Black Scorpion Tribe.
A great warrior who had admired Lugar's strength and ambition.
"You disgusting humans who dared to assassinate the great chieftain of the orcs. Do you wish to prolong your pathetic, insect-like lives? Then step forward. If you can defeat me, Zarag, in combat, I will let you go."
As soon as he finished speaking, the orcs began to pound the ground with their weapons.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The heavy sound echoed through the area.
Cloud stepped forward into the intimidating atmosphere.
Recognizing him, Zarag frowned.
"You... You're the human who was supposed to duel Lugar. I heard you were sworn brothers. I have one question. Why did you betray your sworn brother?"
"..."
"You choose silence? It seems you have some shame, at least."
Zarag nodded.
Then, his eyes widened as he scraped his saw-toothed sword across the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that obscured Cloud's vision. Zarag's blade began to glow black. It descended diagonally, as if to cleave Cloud in two.
Cloud drew his sword.
Drake-style Strong Sword.
[Mountain Splitter]
The thick, saw-toothed sword was split in half.
The broken blade flew through the air and embedded itself in the ground.
"What..."
Before Zarag could even process what had happened, Cloud's sword moved again.
Drake-style Fast Sword.
[Leaf Cutting]
In a fleeting moment, countless slashes passed through Zarag.
Cloud sheathed his sword.
Shhhk—
Zarag fell to the ground, diced into numerous pieces. Each piece spewed a fountain of blood, soaking the ground.
"..."
"..."
Orc and human.
Neither side dared to speak.
In the eerie silence, Cloud opened his mouth.
"They unilaterally accused us and declared war. Not only that, they brutally massacred civilians and prisoners. I consider this a clear act of hostility with no room for extenuating circumstances. As the Hero, I, Cloud, hereby issue a command."
A voice, calm yet strangely resonant, dominated the area.
Cloud drew his sword once more.
"All forces, annihilate the enemy."