Chapter 156
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 156
Only the soldiers closest to him managed to turn their heads.
“Imperial Army! All of you!”
He screamed to his comrades in the distance, who were drowning in despair. “Please! Please!”
But no matter how he cried out, his voice couldn't reach them.
“No…”
Countless comrades had died just to get him to this watchtower. They had willingly sacrificed themselves because this flag—this cry—was worth that much.
Was it all going to end so pointlessly?
To make matters worse, the Orcs, drawn by his voice, glared up at him. Orc decurions and centurions bellowed orders to kill him, and their archers drew their bowstrings in unison.
“Kill that crazy human bastard!”
A shower of arrows flew toward the cavalryman. Just as he squeezed his eyes shut—
Thwack!
The rain of arrows struck a transparent barrier and fell harmlessly to the ground.
Low-grade magic, <Cure>.
Intermediate magic, <Commander's Roar>.
Energy surged through his exhausted body, driving back the collapse. An unknown power filled his throat; he let out a soft breath, yet the sound boomed across the area.
Looking up, he saw the Hero—Sian Tsukikrup—gazing down at him from the sky.
“...”
Without a word, Sian turned his gaze back to the front lines.
He was single-handedly enduring the concentrated bombardment of the Orc shamans. A brief defense and an amplification spell were the absolute most he could offer.
But it was more than enough.
Inhale.
The cavalryman took a deep breath, and even that simple sound echoed like thunder. He knew instinctively that this voice, amplified by magic, would reach everyone on the battlefield.
He could do this.
“This! This is the head of the Orc gatekeeper!”
His voice rang out like a thunderclap, instantly swallowing the chaotic noise of the battlefield.
For a brief moment, everyone—regardless of race or rank—froze. Every head turned toward the watchtower, the source of the cry.
Feeling the weight of countless gazes upon him, the cavalryman shouted again.
“And that’s not all! Lady Rainmay took one! Lord Kart took one! Lord Sturman took one! They’ve killed three of the six Orc tribal chiefs! Half of their leadership has already collapsed!”
Time seemed to stop for everyone on the battlefield except for him.
“Do not be afraid! They are nothing but a mindless rabble! They’re like a candle in the wind, those bastards!”
He raised the flag high. Overwhelmed by emotion, he choked up without realizing it. His voice, trembling and choked with tears, carried to every last soldier.
But it didn't matter.
“For our families waiting for us…!”
It didn't matter, and yet…
Thwack.
Before he could finish, his body swayed.
“Cough… ugh…”
The cavalryman collapsed onto the floor of the watchtower. An indescribable pain exploded in his back, as if it had been torn open.
An axe.
A flying axe was embedded in his back.
“Cough, hack.”
Even as he fell, he desperately clung to the flag. Though the pain made it nearly impossible to move, he pushed himself off the floor and forced his body upright.
Blood dripped from his back, splattering onto the wooden planks. It felt as if his insides were surging up his throat. He coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Yet, the cavalryman stubbornly stood on the watchtower once more.
“…Look at this.”
He raised the flag high again.
“The fact that they rushed to silence me is proof! The Orcs fear the truth!”
Having uttered his final words, the cavalryman collapsed back onto the floor.
Only then did his hand release the flag. The flagpole, unable to bear the weight of the Orc’s head impaled on its tip, swayed and tumbled over the edge of the watchtower.
Immediately after, a thunderous roar erupted.
It was the battle cry of the Imperial Army.
“Ah.”
…He had succeeded.
Breathing was harder now, but the pain was fading. Lying face down, the cavalryman quietly closed his eyes.
His senses faded one by one, like a candle being snuffed out before sleep.
This is an honorable death.
Not a bad end at all.
…
…
Step.
A sudden presence stirred his fading senses.
This was the top of a watchtower in the middle of a fierce battlefield. No one should be able to climb up here right now… The cavalryman forced his eyes open.
Through his blurry vision, he saw deep blue hair.
“It seems your speech was quite effective. I’m not sure if they’re drawing strength from your words or if they saw the gatekeeper’s head and decided they have a chance.”
“Who… are…”
“I am one who upholds the will of God.”
The man replied in a gentle voice. Lacking the strength to keep staring, the cavalryman closed his eyes again, his face pressed against the floor. He muttered:
“Bullshit.”
In the Empire, such a claim was tantamount to defying the Emperor’s decree. Only clergymen from the Holy Kingdom, who had entered the Empire with permission, could say such things. But a clergyman wouldn't be grinning like that in front of a dying man.
This man was no ally. He could tell that much.
“Do you think you’re winning?” the man asked. Judging by the volume, he seemed to be crouching, speaking close to the cavalryman’s ear.
“Of… course…”
“It doesn't look that way to me. If you wanted to turn the tide with sheer spirit, you should have done so from the start. The Imperial Army has already suffered too many casualties, and the Orcs are breaking through your lines. The Imperial Army cannot win.”
“...”
“Oh, and you were counting on reinforcements as your last hope, weren't you? Believing that once dawn breaks, they’ll send reinforcements from Riaze… Am I right?”
“Cough… You…”
“There will be no reinforcements.”
“...”
“And the other Hero the Imperial Army is so desperately waiting for—Uin won't be coming. No, it would be more accurate to say she can't come.”
“Why…?”
“Because God has handed down a revelation. Seven holy knights who uphold His will have gone to deliver judgment upon her… Ah.”
The blue-haired man—the paladin—stopped talking. There was no need to say any more. The cavalryman was already dead.
“May blessings be with you to the very end~”
Speaking in a mocking, sing-song tone, the paladin slowly stretched his limbs on the watchtower.
Given the circumstances, no one was looking up. The paladin leisurely blended into the battlefield.
Although the Imperial Army's morale had returned, the scales had already tipped too far.
The outcome of the war was being decided.
*
The corpses of the Imperial soldiers piled up.
“If we can just hold out until reinforcements arrive from Riaze…”
—But they could hold out no longer.
The Count groaned. The cavalryman and Lord Sturman's gambit had undoubtedly succeeded. The soldiers' morale was higher than before, and they fought with far greater desperation.
However, desperation did not translate to victory.
Morale alone was not enough to turn the tide of a battle that was already lost.
The Orcs gradually pushed forward. The Imperial Army had already been forced back to the castle walls, their final line of defense.
Furthermore, the members of the subjugation squads were not faring well either. Though they were putting up a decent fight, they too were being pushed back, barely holding on.
“Damn it, damn it…”
The Count muttered curses under his breath. Even though he knew reinforcements couldn't possibly arrive in the dead of night, with the entire chain of command halted, his resentment began to pointlessly target Riaze.
He truly knew defeat and death were upon them when two Orcs approached from the distance.
“This is crazy, absolutely crazy…!”
As the Count in charge of the Imperial Army’s front line, he was well aware of the Orc army’s command structure.
On the left was the massive Kaltum, chief of the Kariem Tribe. On the other side was Nargu, chief of the Kokan Tribe, the same one who had fallen from the sky and killed the Imperial Prince.
The gatekeepers, who had held back until now, were finally stepping onto the front lines. It meant the Orcs were ready to end the war.
Wherever the elite Orcs led by those two passed, only heaps of human corpses remained.
“All forces, retreat! All forces, retreat!”
The Count screamed. Horns blew from all directions. The soldiers stopped fighting and fled, but far more were caught and slaughtered.
The Count mounted his horse and retreated desperately, but before he could get far, his horse collapsed.
“Aaargh!”
Thrown from his steed, the Count tumbled gracelessly across the ground. He seemed to have bruised his entire body in the fall. Nearby, his warhorse shrieked in agony, its leg pierced by a javelin.
“Guh… ugh… aaakh.”
Even as he writhed in pain, the Orcs drew closer.
The Count curled into a ball, wrapping his hands around his head. Though his eyes were closed, he could feel their shadows looming over him. He cursed his own sharp senses. The footsteps drew nearer. He was paralyzed by the fear of death.
“Ugh, uuuugh, ugh.”
Just as he was filled with regret for ever participating in this war—
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
A voice, somewhat androgynous and girlish, rang out.
Then came a sharp whoosh of wind. The sound transformed into a wet thwack, joined by an Orc’s monstrous shriek—the death rattle of the beast that had been rushing toward the Count.
Trembling violently, the Count barely managed to open his eyes.
“A miracle… a miracle…”
Rashumer Lichtenauer and Uin Historia.
Before the Count’s eyes stood two Heroes, one of the past and one of the present.
The Annun Plains, the battlefield.
The Hero, Uin Historia.
She had finally arrived.
She clenched her fists, overwhelmed by a tangle of emotions.
The battle was already half-lost. Seeing the corpses of Imperial soldiers strewn everywhere, her heart ached as if pierced by needles.
Even her own saliva tasted bitter, and she felt the weight of every death as her own responsibility.
“…I’m sorry I’m late,” Uin said to the Count, who was trembling on the ground.
If things had gone according to plan, she should have arrived yesterday, within hours of the Edelbreas Black Wolf Knights reaching the battlefield.
Being held back in Riaze had not been her choice.
*
It was certainly a shock that Arga had been hiding her curse. It was also a massive shock that the knights she had trusted as comrades had known about it and kept it a secret.
However, Uin was not so weak as to be paralyzed by the shock. She was no longer the same girl she had been just a few months ago.
Hadn't she been shocked time and time again recently?
Hadn't she faced her own helplessness repeatedly and witnessed the deaths of her comrades over and over?
The more a heart is wounded, the harder it becomes. Since she knew that every moment she hesitated meant another Imperial soldier would die, it didn't take her long to compose herself.
“It is the command of Her Imperial Highness. She has ordered Sir Uin to protect Riaze.”
—It was the Imperial family that had blocked Uin from going to war.
“Countless citizens of Riaze are gripped by anxiety. While the front lines are important, the stability of the capital is even more crucial in these dire circumstances. Her Imperial Highness stated that only if Sir Uin remains here will the citizens feel at ease.”
“What on earth does that mean…?”
“Sir Uin, you are the Hero, the spiritual pillar of the citizens of Riaze. Only when Riaze is stable can the other territories act calmly… If I may be so bold, this is a feat not even His Imperial Majesty the Emperor can accomplish. Only you, Sir Uin, can do this.”
“But everyone else is fighting!”
“Have not the Imperial Army—the pride and treasure of the Empire—and numerous subjugation squads already joined the battle? Trust them, and leave it to them.”
The envoy sent by the Imperial family was stubborn. He spoke without a moment's hesitation, as if he had prepared an answer for every possible argument.
No matter how Uin tried to argue, there was no flaw in his logic.
Ar, who would normally have helped her, was absent, and her relationship with Garot had already soured.
If I defy the order…
It would be tantamount to rebellion.
The mere fact that the Hero had rebelled would plant anxiety in the hearts of the Empire's citizens, and Uin did not want that.
She wanted to slip away using the Teleportation Hub, but under the Imperial family's orders, numerous soldiers were guarding it. She couldn't find a way.
Just as Uin was pacing anxiously, thinking there was no way out—
“Why are you being so frustrating? Are you stupid?”
Rashumer stepped in front of her.
He didn't make a single demand of the Imperial envoy. He simply knocked him unconscious with a blow to the back of the neck, casually broke his fall with his foot, and headed straight for the Imperial Palace.
“You should say these things to their faces.”
Grabbing Uin by the wrist, Rashumer went to find the 1st Imperial Princess and spoke.
“Rashumer Lichtenauer, a knight of the Edelbreas Black Wolf Knights, greets the 1st Imperial Princess.”
“How insolent! You must not value your life to barge in so suddenly…!”
“I would make a request, despite my rudeness, but since you are unlikely to grant it, I will simply make a report.”
Upon hearing of Rashumer's intrusion, Imperial guards rushed in. Members of the Imperial family, who had been keeping a low profile in their respective quarters, also gathered from all directions.
In front of everyone, Rashumer spoke.
“As of this moment, Uin Historia will be participating in the battle on the Annun Plains.”
To put it simply, it was a declaration.
“I’ve heard the circumstances, but your ulterior motives are far too obvious.”
Claiming it was ‘for the sake of the Empire and its citizens’ was nothing but a superficial excuse.
“The reason you’re trying to keep Uin here is because of that, isn’t it?”