The Black Knight's Valiant Charge
A greatsword knight is the very definition of romance and chivalry. For a fleeting moment I felt like I'd become less than a goblin, but it was only my imagination. Clang!
"Is this what they call turning the tables?"
The spear I had thrown was flying straight back at me. Fully loaded with aura. I drew my greatsword and knocked it aside.
"Holy crap, the power behind that is no joke."
The greatsword that had deflected the aura-infused spear hummed with lingering vibrations. No matter how sturdy it was, repeated clashes with aura could eventually shatter it.
'That goblin can imbue its weapon with aura. Which means it's at least an Aura Expert - Experienced.'
The realms of aura are divided into three major stages: Aura Beginner, Aura Expert, and Aura Master.
Aura Beginner refers to those who can sense mana but lack the cultivation method to refine it into aura. Most squires fall into this rank.
The Aura Expert rank is when one can actually manipulate aura. This rank is further split into three substages: Aura Expert - Entry, Aura Expert - Experienced, and Aura Expert - Perfect.
Entry is the stage where one can handle aura and use aura hardening to reinforce the body. This is exactly where I stand right now.
Experienced allows one to coat weapons or objects with aura. At this level, manifesting sword qi becomes possible.
Perfect goes beyond weapons, enabling external projection of aura. In short, you can strike distant enemies with it. Knights at this stage are considered ready to ascend to Master at any moment, and many seek them out.
Finally, Master is essentially a strategic weapon. They are among the few humans capable of facing an entire army alone.
'This might turn into a difficult fight.'
A battle against an Aura Expert - Experienced warrior was something I'd never experienced before. It was going to be brutally intense.
"Fire!"
As the monsters began their march, arrows rained down from the walls.
"Hold them back as much as possible! Don't let them close in! Do not allow them to climb the walls!"
The instant monsters reached the battlements, the formation would collapse. It would fall like dominoes after that.
"Not on my watch!"
I smashed the head of a gnoll climbing the wall with its sharp hooks. Each swing of my greatsword through the air erased three heads or more.
"Not a single one of you is getting out of here alive!"
I deliberately exaggerated my movements to raise the guards' morale. Even small actions like these could become the spark that boosted fighting spirit.
"Knock their ladders down!"
The guards used polearms to shove away the ladders hooking onto the walls, but the overwhelming numbers meant more ladders were catching than being cleared.
'This isn't working. There are way too many.'
The defending soldiers barely numbered over a thousand. Stopping an army of tens of thousands with those numbers was nearly impossible.
'...Didn't someone say if you're going to regret something, do it first and regret it later?'
My reason tried to stop the choice I was about to make. It wasn't a decision I could take lightly when it might cost me my life.
But my heart, my very chest, was screaming at me to move.
"It's do or die."
I planted my foot hard on the parapet and vaulted up.
"H-hey!"
"Stop right there!"
Voices called out to restrain me, but I ignored them. I drove power into my legs and leaped as if trying to shatter the battlement itself.
"Meteor Fall!"
Borrowing the force of gravity, I brought the greatsword crashing down with everything I had.
Kwaaaaang—!
Where it struck, monster flesh lay pulped and scattered. They must not have been able to dodge in time because they were packed so tightly together.
"I can do this. I just need to shatter their formation as much as possible."
If I rampaged in front and drew as much attention as I could, it would lighten the burden on the soldiers.
"Guess I should treat today like I'm already dead."
I had no idea if I'd make it back alive.
"Let's have some real fun for once!"
I leaped straight into the heart of the killing-intent-exuding monsters.
I sliced through the hands of goblins reaching out to stop me. Among the forest of raised goblin arms, I grabbed the sturdiest one and drove it straight into the eye socket of the gnoll standing in front of me.
"Kyaaaang!"
I shattered the screaming gnoll's jaw, then spun my whole body in a full circle, swinging the greatsword to cut off the approach of the other monsters.
"My body feels so light!"
This was the first time I'd gone all out with 30 points in physical stats. The sensation was on a completely different level from 15.
"It's nice being able to move exactly how I want."
Being able to perform every action I could imagine was the same as using the optimal movements possible in combat.
"Is this all you've got?! If you're just going to collapse like a bunch of disorganized rabble, why the hell did you even attack in the first place!"
Momentum. I had to seize the momentum. Raise my voice, move even bigger. Break their morale and raise ours.
"If an entire army is going to be stopped by someone like me, you might as well turn around and crawl back into your caves!"
"Grk! Kill her! Grk!"
"Human female! I'll start eating from the neck! Grk!"
"Maintain formation, you idiots! Don't fall for her provocation!"
The goblin centurion struggled to control his troops, but my taunting didn't stop.
"That's your limit. You inferior race doomed to crawl along the bottom forever. Even if a lord appears among you, you'll never rise up in your entire lives!"
When I insulted their entire species, the goblins finally exploded and charged.
Did these low-intelligence creatures even understand that kind of provocation?
"Kieeeeek!"
"If you're going to ambush someone, you shouldn't scream."
Without even looking, I backhanded the goblin that had been sneaking up from behind. The creature flew away from my strength and collided with its comrades.
"Hmm?"
The way they fell like bowling pins gave me an excellent idea.
'No need to waste sword swings on these guys one by one.'
Thud—!
I stamped the ground, using the vibration to flip stones upward.
"Wanna play baseball with me?"
I smacked the stones with the flat of my wide greatsword. They shot forward with a sound like cannon fire, knocking monsters down in droves.
If I made maximum use of the surrounding terrain to toy with them, I could reduce wear on my weapon.
"What's wrong? Where did all that earlier momentum go?!"
This time I picked up a stone myself and hurled it with full power.
Kwaang—!
The impact that burst through the air created a sonic boom, blocking the monsters' approach.
"Kie, kieeek!"
"Grk! We can't get close!"
"They're throwing! Throw stones too! Grk!"
The goblins started throwing stones back at me.
"This is ridiculous. You really think those pebbles can even scratch my Black Shadow Armor?"
What armor in the world would be pierced by mere stones?
Clang. Clang. Clang.
It was laughable. But it still pissed me off.
Thwack—! Thwack—! Thwack—!
I returned their stones with interest. Heads exploded on impact. That's what happens when you throw rocks carelessly.
"Time to vent a little frustration?"
How dare they throw stones instead of proper weapons? (Never mind that I'd done the same.) When I do it it's romance, but when others do it it's an affair!
"I won't forgive this!"
Violence born of sheer absurdity crashed down upon the goblins.
"So that's the true strength of a knight..."
One soldier standing on the wall was the very man who had informed Nix of the monster invasion.
"She said she was just an aspiring knight, but she's clearly a real one."
Nobody but a true knight could put on a performance like that.
"Weren't there no knights left?"
"That's what I heard too?"
"Who cares?! Hurry up and support the knight! Shoot arrows, throw anything, just help her!"
Arrows flew nonstop from the walls. The soldiers worried the knight might be hit, but there was no need. What armor would be pierced by mere arrows? So the soldiers never let their hands rest.
"They're getting closer!"
"Damn it, go fetch the boiling oil!"
Even with the knight's spectacular efforts, stopping the monster advance was difficult. The soldiers began moving even more frantically.
"Sir Knight, please save our city."
"Is it mostly cleaned up?"
"They really came swarming in like cockroaches."
"Everyone, hurry and gather the corpses! Burn them all before the malice builds up!"
The undead that had invaded the mana spring had been completely wiped out. No matter how endlessly they rose, even that procession had its limit. Having confirmed it, the knights quickly examined the condition of the mana spring.
"Whew, it looks like it wasn't affected too badly."
The mana spring possessed its own purification ability. That was why it could maintain pure mana even after long periods of time.
"It seems the grudge of mere undead couldn't break through the spring's purification."
"How is the mana spring's condition?"
"Ah, Sir Yan. No need to worry. There's nothing wrong at all."
His fellow knight, Sir Yan, approached after examining the spring.
"That's a relief. I came bearing bad news, and it would have been a real headache if the mana spring had been compromised."
"Bad news? Something worse than an undead invasion?"
"Word is that a massive monster legion is advancing beyond Dorua's walls. The remaining garrison soldiers are barely managing to hold them off."
"Is that true? Then we need to hurry and reinforce them!"
"I agree. But there's an interesting piece of information as well."
"Hmm? Interesting information?"
Knight Sir Yan and his colleague Sir Robert spoke as they moved at high speed.
"They say a knight wearing black armor is single-handedly holding back the monster army's advance beyond the walls. Apparently her prowess is incredible."
"Was there another knight in this city besides our order?"
"Who knows. Perhaps a wandering knight happened to visit and got caught up in the situation."
"Then that's fortunate. The time she's bought us is worth its weight in gold."
"It's not a he. It's a she, apparently."
"...Huh. Female knights aren't something you see every day."
Whatever the case, there was no denying that thanks to her sacrifice Dorua had gained precious time. The knights, running as fast as their legs could carry them, prayed earnestly that the nameless woman was still alive.