Chapter 53: I Will Show You the True Terror of Black Magic (2)
Chapter 53: I Will Show You the True Terror of Black Magic (2)
Physical strength superior to that of an average human.
Durability that keeps them standing until their heads are crushed.
The primal fear instilled by the aura of death clinging to their bodies.
Setting those factors aside, zombies are not particularly threatening monsters. At the very least, an adult male armed with proper armor and weapons can sufficiently handle one in a head-on confrontation.
“Aaaaah!”
“Die! Just die already!”
The soldiers were managing to hold their ground, albeit fueled by sheer desperation. As long as they weren't overwhelmed by numbers and surrounded—as long as they huddled together and watched each other's flanks—they could fight.
I can do this. I can survive.
Hope began to sprout in the mind of a soldier who was thrusting his spear with all his might, shoulder-to-shoulder with his allies. The hope that if they combined their strength, they wouldn't have to die. But then…
“Ugh… Uh-uhhh?”
“Huh? Hey! What’s wrong?”
The soldier right next to him suddenly screamed and began to convulse. Startled by the sudden abnormality, he turned his head.
“Gasp!”
The soldier recoiled in shock.
Where his comrade should have been, a zombie now stood. The moment he realized a zombie was right beside him, blood dripping from its maw as it tried to kill him—
“Aaaaagh!”
He thrust his spear with every ounce of strength he possessed.
And the zombie struck by the spear…
“Kugh…!”
It let out a very human scream and collapsed to the ground.
Why did the zombie scream?
Why did a zombie collapse just from a single spear thrust to the stomach?
There were countless oddities, but that wasn't what mattered right now.
“Ugh… Uuuu…”
Before he knew it, his surroundings were swarming with zombies. Not a single ally was in sight; no matter where he looked, there were only zombies, and more zombies.
“Aaaaaah!”
The soldier went berserk, swinging his spear wildly in every direction.
There were no allies left. To survive, he had to kill everything around him.
And soldiers exhibiting this behavior began to increase in number.
“What’s wrong with you?!”
“Stop it! Snap out of it!”
“Aaaaagh!”
Screams erupted from all sides as soldiers fell into a frenzy. The tide of battle turned utterly desperate.
“Tsk… Is this…?”
The expressions of the knights, who had been doing their best to encourage the troops, twisted into grimaces. Some of the soldiers had suddenly fallen into a state of delusion, attacking everything around them in a mad frenzy.
“Sir Carlson! It seems the Dark Mage has made his move.”
“Damn it…”
Who didn't know that?
“What should we do? Please, give us orders!”
Orders? What orders could be given in this situation? The soldiers were no longer listening to commands, and the number of zombies was steadily increasing. What could possibly be done here?
There is… no way.
The word 'defeat' flashed through Carlson’s mind. Even as a 4-star powerhouse, he saw no way to rally the army in this chaos.
And the soldiers realized it too.
“Aaaagh!”
“Dammit, we can’t win this!”
“Run! Everyone, run!”
Fear was now compounded by despair. The soldiers of the two families, who had been the first to charge into the bandits' stronghold, began to flee without looking back.
“Do not retreat! Obey your orders!”
“You bastards… Stand your ground! Fight!”
The lords and knights of House Haspear and House Byson tried to rally their men, but the terror-stricken soldiers were deaf to their cries. In the first place, a chain of command couldn't function once the ranks had shattered.
The soldiers of the two houses were slaughtered or scattered in total disarray.
A complete defeat.
At the very moment despair clouded the minds of the two lords…
“All units, form up!”
A group of soldiers appeared from their rear.
Lined up with razor-sharp precision, holding shields at the front to form a literal wall, they were…
“Viscount Frace!”
“Ohhh…!”
Viscount Frace’s army, which had been slightly delayed while organizing their ranks, had finally arrived. Standing in the center of his men, Viscount Frace bellowed his command.
“Maintain the wall and block the zombies! All units, advance!”
Following his command, the infantrymen, led by large shields, marched forward in unison at a slow, steady pace.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Bit by bit. Inch by inch.
The infantry legion, approaching with unwavering steps, possessed an overwhelming pressure. With shields covering not just their front but even the space above their heads, they looked like a literal moving wall.
Arrows fired by the bandits rained down from above, but the soldiers overlapped their overhead shields tightly to deflect them.
Naturally, the mindless zombies were not deterred by such pressure; they rushed the wall with guttural shrieks. However…
“Graaaah!”
“Ggggh…”
The moment those zombies clung to the wall, baring claws and teeth, Viscount Frace’s command rang out.
“Thrust!”
No sooner were the words spoken than long, thick spears lunged out from between the shields.
Stab! Squish! Thud!
The heavy spears bored massive holes into the bodies of the zombies clinging to the shields, occasionally shattering their heads entirely. One thrust might not have been enough, but after two or three, even the most persistent zombies were forced to fall away.
“Spread the formation!”
Following the Viscount’s next order, his army fanned out in a crescent shape, seizing control of a wide area. Amidst the chaotic melee where humans and zombies were entangled, his army had carved out a semi-circular safe zone.
This was it. This was the limit of what he could do. Advancing further to push back the zombies was impossible. However…
“Young Master Patrick.”
“Good work, Viscount. I heard you were quite the warrior in your heyday, and it seems the rumors were true.”
“Hahaha… I only did as you instructed.”
Though the praise sounded somewhat condescending, the Viscount didn't feel the least bit offended. Despite the young man being younger than his own son, looking at him felt like facing a veteran field commander with far more experience than himself.
In fact, the reason Viscount Frace had been able to proceed this far without a hitch was thanks to this young man, who had joined his formation and offered advice.
And the role Patrick had requested of him ended exactly here—pushing back the zombies with the infantry and establishing a formation. From here on, it was Patrick’s turn to step forward.
“Can you really do this?”
“Not just me, but…”
Patrick looked back at the fifty soldiers behind him and gave a smirk.
“Just trust us.”
Behind Patrick stood fifty men of the Schneider Estate Guard, including Sanson. Their appearance was peculiar; they wore light leather armor and held two swords drawn in their hands.
Dual-wielding—a rare sight on the continent. Moreover, what kind of organization would form an entire unit based on it? To an outsider, it would look like nothing more than a joke. However…
“Sanson.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
The expression on Sanson’s face as he answered was one of pure exhilaration. It was the same for the other soldiers lined up behind him. The slight trembling of their bodies wasn't from nerves.
Patrick chuckled.
They must be dying to explode.
He understood perfectly. The time had finally come to reveal to the world everything they had built through that hellish training.
Patrick gave them their orders.
“Squads 1 and 2, take out the archers. The rest of you, eliminate the zombies and rescue our allies.”
“Yes, sir!”
The response came without a moment's hesitation. However, Viscount Frace, listening from the side, was flustered.
“You’re splitting a force of only fifty men? No, and do you even know where the archers are located before deploying them?”
At the Viscount’s words, Patrick simply smirked.
“Leave them be. They’ll handle it just fine.”
“What do you mean by—”
“Execute the Young Master’s orders!”
Sanson’s voice thundered across the field. The sheer force behind that voice was so great that Viscount Frace forgot what he was about to say.
“Oliver, take Squad 1 to the left. Vinson, take Squad 2 to the right and eliminate the archers.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, sir!”
Then Sanson stepped forward himself.
“The rest of you will take the front with me. Eliminate the zombies and rescue our allies immediately.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Good.”
Sanson took a deep breath. Was he nervous? No. The emotion currently enveloping his entire body was not tension. It was…
“Go!”
“Yes, sir!”
The ecstasy of finally letting loose what had been suppressed for so long.
The moment Sanson’s command fell, the fifty soldiers bolted in all directions. They lightly vaulted over the wall created by Viscount Frace’s army and charged into the zombies.
“We’ve waited a long time for this, you bastards!”
“We’ll show you who we are!”
“Aaaaaah!”
And then, Viscount Frace saw it.
“O-Aura?”
He saw the sight of Aura flickering on the blades of every single soldier who had charged forward.
The Twin Dragon Knight Order of House Schneider, a group that would later become a legend. This was the moment they first revealed themselves to the world.
*
For the past five years, Sanson and the soldiers of the Schneider Barony had learned the true meaning of the phrase "every day is hell."
They feared the rising sun and often thought, Wouldn't it be easier if I just died? There were even reckless incidents where some openly defied Patrick, unable to endure the brutal training.
But Patrick never gave up on a single one of them. He would grab them by the scruff of their necks, drag them along, and throw them back onto the training ground to roll.
Around the time the equation Training = Hell became etched into their minds, Sanson was the first to manifest Aura on his sword.
The moment a blue light flickered on Sanson’s blade, the other soldiers saw hope. The hope that if they endured this hellish pain, they could become like that too. Humans can endure any hardship if a reward is guaranteed.
Starting with Sanson, then Oliver, Vinson, Robbie, and so on… one by one, the soldiers began to manifest Aura on their swords.
Finally, all 200 estate soldiers became proficient in dual-wielding and could manifest Aura. They had become strong. And now, having obtained such power, they were finally revealing themselves to the world.
They were finally deploying the strength they had gained through relentless discipline into actual combat. How could they not be joyful?
Slash!
Two swords drew complex yet elegant arcs of light in the air. The zombies caught in those arcs were instantly sliced into two, four, then eight pieces, raining down onto the ground.
Other zombies spotted the enemies and tried to pounce, but before they could even take a step, the twin blades flashed, emitting bursts of light. After the beautiful trajectories of Aura embroidered the air, only the dismembered corpses of zombies remained to thud against the earth.
Having displayed such ghostly skill, the man spoke to a fallen soldier.
“Can you move?”
“Who… who are you, sir?”
A knight of the Byson Estate, who had been lying on the ground, stammered in shock at the sight.
“I am Sanson, the Guard Captain of the Schneider Estate. Please retreat to the allied formation in the rear.”
“Guard… Captain?”
The knight was more shocked by the title 'Guard Captain' than the instruction to retreat. A Guard Captain was certainly the leader of an estate's soldiers. While knights sometimes held the position, usually it was…
“You’re saying you’re a mere soldier? That’s impossible—”
Flash!
While he was speaking, Sanson’s swords flashed past both sides of his head. That flash cleanly took off the heads of two zombies that had been baring their teeth at him from behind.
“Please hurry.”
“I… I understand.”
Even though the other man claimed to be a soldier, the knight didn't dare speak down to him. He hadn't even seen that last strike. If the target had been his own neck instead of the zombies behind him…
“…….”
A chill ran down his spine, and he quietly followed Sanson’s instructions to retreat. And as he withdrew, he was able to confirm it.
It wasn't just this soldier named Sanson. Everywhere he looked, soldiers wielding twin swords were indiscriminately butchering the zombies.
“Hahaha! Slow. Too weak. Fight properly!”
“Aren't zombies supposed to be slow and weak?”
“Oh, right.”
“Just hurry up and clear them out. Try not to kill the confused allies; just subdue them if possible.”
“Yes, sir!”
The soldiers with twin swords handled the zombies more easily than a farmer reaping straw. Their twin blades, overflowing with Aura, sliced through the undead with precision. They also subdued the frenzied soldiers as easily as handling children.
Despite the brutal melee, their movements were swift and accurate, and their blades seemed to represent the pinnacle of sharpness.
Though only fifty men had been added, the chaotic battlefield was being brought under control. The number of zombies, which had swelled to over a thousand, was visibly dwindling.
The soldiers who had been saved could only watch their performance in a daze, even in this critical situation.
“Are they all… at least 3-star rank?”
“Well, yes.”
At Patrick’s nonchalant reply, Viscount Frace whipped his head around so fast it looked like his neck might snap.
“You’re saying those men are mere soldiers?”
“Yes.”
“Where on earth do you find soldiers who can manifest Aura?!”
“Right here.”
Looking at the jaw-dropped Viscount Frace, Patrick gave a wide smirk.
“It’s quite cost-effective, isn't it?”
“…….”