31. Battlefield (2)
31. Battlefield (2)
Yuma walked slowly.
The only ten Pyneton warriors who survived Yuma's <Absolute Counter> fled in a state of utter panic. They ran like arrows shot from a bow to spread the word that some kind of monster had appeared.
The three imperial soldiers who had been standing on the edge of the cliff quickly pushed through the forest and came down to stand before Yuma. Upon seeing the shining epaulette on the right shoulder of his black coat, they bowed their heads without hesitation.
One soldier shouted loudly.
"Thank you for saving us!"
A knight bent his right knee and lowered his body.
"A-are you truly the Grand Marshal, sir!"
Yuma replied indifferently.
"I am Yuma, appointed as the Grand Marshal for this battlefield. Guide me to Marquis Tornel."
"Understood! Grand Marshal Yuma, sir."
As Yuma walked, he faced the corpses of soldiers and knights scattered on the ground.
'A lot of them died.'
The forces of the Asthes Empire had already suffered considerable losses. Yuma walked, taking in the scenery of the battlefield.
The 3rd Corps Commander Clid, a core fighting force of the barbarian nation Pyneton that had occupied the ridge, was dead. Thanks to this, the imperial army, which had retreated, was able to reclaim the ridge.
'There's no point in killing any more.'
It wasn't a thought someone who had committed mass slaughter from the very beginning should be having, but Yuma genuinely thought so.
'The head.'
If he cut off the head leading the troops, there would be no need to kill the others.
Yuma's resolve hardened.
'They called him the Conqueror King, didn't they.'
***
Marquis Tornel stomped the ground heavily.
Whoooooosh!
An axe that fiercely tore through the air. The target it aimed for was Conqueror King Kamet. Kamet swung a sword as massive as Tornel's axe.
Kkwaaaang!
A heavy sonic boom echoed throughout the land as the two weapons clashed. The two giant bodies slid backward.
"Hraaaaaap!"
Unlike Tornel, who was shouting with his face deeply creased, a clear smile was painted on Kamet's face.
"Kuhahahahahaha!!"
It was a laugh of ecstasy, showing he was enjoying this situation, this battle, to death. Contrary to his giant size, Kamet's body moved with extreme swiftness.
The battle tribe.
Facing Kamet's sword directly, Tornel felt he understood in his bones why the people of Pyneton were often called that.
Kwang! Kwang!
A dozen or so exchanges of offense and defense.
And the exchanges continued.
Tornel's subordinates and Kamet's subordinates swallowed repeatedly as they watched the battle between the two alpha beasts. Everything was decided in a split-second judgment. In the battles of warriors who had reached the realm of Master, a single moment's decision was crucial.
Like a windmill caught in a typhoon, Kamet the Conqueror King blocked Tornel's swinging axe while his wild, lion-mane-like brown hair whipped fiercely.
"You are strong, you bastard."
At Tornel's words, Kamet raised the corner of his mouth.
"You are strong as well, Tornel."
The two had acknowledged each other's strength today. A difference in skill as thin as paper. They realized that if they continued to fight, one of them would die.
Standing beside Kamet, who towered well over 2 meters tall, an equally giant man approached. As the man's report began and continued, Kamet's face subtly hardened.
"Is that so, I understand."
Kamet sent his subordinate back and faced Marquis Tornel again.
"I don't know what reinforcements you've called in, but it seems I have suffered a defeat today."
However, Marquis Tornel, unaware of the detailed report Kamet had just heard, remained still without any reaction.
"We shall have to settle this soon."
Kamet slowly moved his giant body. A grand gesture conveying the order to retreat moved thousands of his subordinates.
Kugugugugugu!!
The Pyneton army retreated like a receding tide.
"...."
After staring intently until they disappeared into a single point, Tornel took his subordinates and moved to the barracks.
Kkiiik!
The barracks door opened. At the far end of the meeting table, there was one man sitting directly facing him. Dark gray hair. And blue eyes.
Tornel's eyes went to the clothes that man was wearing.
A black coat. And on its right shoulder, a golden epaulette was attached. He stared intently at the epaulette. Six stars decorated the epaulette.
It was the epaulette signifying the battlefield's <Grand Marshal>.
The Grand Marshal, Yuma, opened his mouth.
"Marquis Tornel, you have worked hard to hold the line."
Yuma stood up.
"Let us defend the Empire together."
Cheok-
And he extended his right hand.
"I am Grand Marshal Yuma."
Tornel grasped that hand.
"...I am Marquis Tornel. Grand Marshal Yuma."
Tornel observed the decorum due to rank. It was currently wartime. The front lines during wartime followed military law. On the front lines under military law, the title of <Grand Marshal> held the highest authority aside from the Emperor himself.
He had no choice but to be polite. This was because, on his way to the barracks, he had heard from his subordinates who had been in charge of the ridge. The unbelievable story that a single person had erased over 30 strong warriors from this world in the blink of an eye.
However, it wasn't just one person who said it, but three.
And the name of the person in question was Yuma. Since he was someone holding the title God of War, it lent credibility.
"I never expected the special force support to be Yuma, the God of War, of all people."
Yuma opened his mouth.
"They said one more is coming. They said the 2nd Seat is coming down leading his own forces. They said he'd be later than me, though."
"The 2nd Seat... since he owns a mercenary corps, he'll be a substantial force once he arrives."
Marquis Tornel sat down across from Yuma.
The two men faced each other.
"As you know, the position of Grand Marshal is the commander-in-chief of the battlefield. Do you have any orders to give?"
Yuma slowly shook his head.
"Giving orders is your job. Consider me as operating independently. I only accepted the position of Grand Marshal because I don't like taking orders from anyone."
Marquis Tornel, whose yellow beard was neatly trimmed, showed his teeth and chuckled.
"You are very honest. Please tell me whenever you have a request."
Yuma decided to bring up his only business right now.
"Then take this as an order. What I want is to face the enemy commander, Conqueror King Kamet. If I take down the enemy commander, they will lose their morale."
Yuma picked up the water glass in front of him and took a sip.
It was lukewarm water, but enough to quench his thirst.
Yuma continued.
"There would be no need for further slaughter beyond that."
Tornel's eyes widened.
Yuma's words sounded ordinary, but they contained one terrifying point.
'Does he mean... that if that Conqueror King is brought before him, he can kill him for certain...!'
Tornel rated Conqueror King Kamet very highly. The battle just now had been evenly matched, but he felt that Kamet's martial power was ever so slightly superior. And he was certain that Kamet had felt it too. Of course, unlike himself, Kamet would have sensed that his own martial power was slightly higher.
"That man is likely stronger than me. Every time I fight him, I get the feeling he's always hiding one more trick."
"Is that so."
Yuma stared at Tornel.
[Lv.138] Tornel
He was certainly strong.
He was weaker than the former 2nd Seat Sword God Kronos, whom Yuma had personally killed, but aside from Kronos—who had transcended [Lv.150] and reached the realm of Grand Master—he was the strongest human Yuma had met so far.
[Lv.138] Tornel
Race: Human
Class: Warrior
Realm: Master
'If the Conqueror King is a strong man that someone like him instinctively senses defeat against, then that bastard is definitely strong.'
Even so, he felt no fear.
Because he always felt like he was walking on thin ice.
"It doesn't matter. Create a situation where I can face that bastard."
Tornel felt confidence in Grand Marshal Yuma's words.
A confidence that seemed unshakeable by anything.
"...Understood. Facing the Conqueror King himself is not difficult. He is obsessed with settling things with me. He will come out to face the main army's forces tomorrow as well. If you follow me, you can meet him."
"Very well. Is there anything else to brief me on regarding the battlefield situation?"
A moment of silence fell.
Tornel opened his mouth again with a hardened face.
"We have lost too many troops. As the commander defending the front lines, I have committed a grave sin. Yesterday and today... we lost nearly a thousand men. Even though we greatly reduced the damage today thanks to you, Grand Marshal, and other reinforcements, it was still that many."
Yuma stared intently at the aging face.
It might be true that he was incompetent as a commander-in-chief. But it didn't seem like the situation would have been any better if someone other than Tornel had been there.
Yuma looked at Tornel, whose mind seemed weighed down by despair.
"What's done cannot be undone. From tomorrow onward, the task is simply to minimize the sacrifice of troops."
Tornel certainly understood war several times better than himself.
And he would understand the pain of war several times better, too.
Yuma thought he could only comfort him in his own way.
'...Words from someone who has lost many things.'
Marquis Tornel began to misinterpret and misunderstand Yuma's words.
'His outward appearance still looks like an extremely young man... but if he possesses that level of martial power, he can't possibly be a young man.'
He thought that his youthful appearance was because his martial arts realm had reached the extreme.
Without a clue as to the misunderstandings forming in Marquis Tornel's head, Yuma recalled that there was something in what Tornel had just said that he needed to ask about.
"You just said there were other reinforcements besides me. Who is it?"
Tornel slowly opened his mouth.
"A revolutionary group."
A revolutionary group?
"The Dawn Revolutionary Group. They introduced themselves as that, clearly."
He had heard that name somewhere many times.
Suddenly, a woman's voice came from outside the barracks.
-This is Cassiela, leader of the Dawn Revolutionary Group. May I enter, Your Excellency, Marquis Tornel?
Tornel looked at Yuma, who was undoubtedly his superior on this front line.
Yuma nodded, indicating she could come in.
"Enter."
The barracks door opened.
The woman with long red hair widened her eyes upon seeing Yuma.
"Yuma-nim."
And suddenly, she knelt down.
"I have followed in your footsteps."
It was Cassiela, the leader of the revolutionary group <Dawn>.