Chapter 527: For a Friend (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 527: For a Friend (5)
He could feel enemies taking their positions everywhere. The knights on guard duty were screaming, incessantly reporting the scale and movements of the enemy.
“Activate the defense equipment!”
“House Helter, draw your swords!”
“House Lofermo will support the rear. Assemble!”
Wrooooooom—!
The defensive artifacts installed throughout Sword Emperor Castle activated, creating a chorus of vibrations and resonances. A blue protective shield from the artifacts and a pure white sword-screen deployed by the knights enveloped the entire castle in an instant.
Dante stared at the reinforcements appearing at the main gate.
By a conservative estimate, there were over five thousand knights and mages, about twenty dragons, and more than fifty cannons of Imperial Dragon-Class or higher.
Though it was often criticized for falling behind Runcandel and Zipple despite calling itself an ‘Empire’—and was now even evaluated as potentially trailing Kinzelo—no one could deny that Viment was one of the four great powers. Setting aside the quality of the troops, the Empire was the only force capable of mobilizing such a vast number of personnel for war in such a short time.
Killing intent darkened Dante’s gaze as he surveyed the Imperial Army.
Even with an army well over ten thousand strong surrounding Sword Emperor Castle, Dante and the knights of Hairan were not the least bit intimidated.
Since the dawn of knights and mages, human warfare had never been a matter of sheer numbers.
In the face of a single superhuman, ordinary knights of 5-star rank or lower were no different from fallen leaves, no matter how many there were.
Though Dante was not yet a superhuman, he possessed a sword that rivaled one. Together with the Five Sword Saints and the other knights of Hairan, suppressing those countless ordinary knights would not be difficult.
What mattered were the enemy commanders. If they could cut down the knights and mages capable of single-handedly shaking the battlefield, they could win despite being outnumbered.
Dante estimated there were about a hundred such individuals.
The main body of the Imperial Army at the gate began to advance into the plains.
In their midst was a massive cannon, escorted by five dragons and about a hundred knights.
“Young Patriarch, that is…!”
The primary cannon of the Imperial Guard.
It was the Dragon Spear, a war machine reserved exclusively for the Emperor, with only one in existence. Originally installed in the heart of the Imperial Palace, the cannon possessed power comparable to the main batteries of Zipple’s ultimate weapon, the Kozec.
Since it had been detached from the palace, the Dragon Spear could not exert its full power.
However, the fact that the Dragon Spear had appeared meant the Emperor himself had taken the field.
“Dragon Spear loading confirmed!”
The voices of the knights watching the Dragon Spear trembled. Even Imperial Dragon-Class cannons would make breaching the castle’s currently damaged defenses a matter of time; the Dragon Spear was on an entirely different level.
Dante gazed silently past the Dragon Spear.
Somewhere far across the plains, he felt he could see the Emperor sitting in his palanquin, his face drenched in greed and arrogance as he awaited news of victory.
“Young Patriarch! The Dragon Spear is about to…! You must dodge!”
“To them…”
Dante slowly drew his sword.
Chiiiiing—!
The moment Dante’s sword was enveloped in radiance, the ominous hum of the Dragon Spear blanketed the battlefield. A faint tremor shook the entire area, and for a moment, everyone fighting turned their gaze toward the cannon.
“…I shall show them the dignity of Hairan.”
Kwaaaaaah—!
The Dragon Spear spat out a massive mana shell. The projectile flew precisely toward the top of the wall where Dante stood.
The layered protective shields of the artifacts shattered like glass.
Moving at a speed too fast for anyone who had not reached a certain realm to follow, the Dragon Spear’s shell seemed poised to collapse Sword Emperor Castle in a single strike.
Dante did not dodge.
He swung his sword the moment the shell reached the tip of his nose.
Imperial Sword Secret Technique.
Sky Piercing Slash – Dante Hairan.
The Dragon Spear’s projectile was split in half.
Even the knights standing right next to him failed to perceive the moment Dante swung his sword.
They only saw the sundered shell soaring into the sky along the trajectory of his swing before vanishing.
And true to its name, the secret technique left a long, shining sword-scar in the darkening sky.
For a moment, everyone on the battlefield looked up at that light.
The sword of Hairan, which all in the Empire looked up to, was right there.
For a few seconds, silence fell as if time had stopped. Those on the battlefield could feel nothing but the beating of their own hearts.
Awe.
They were reminded of the very word Hairan symbolized within the Empire.
Waaaaaaaah—!
The knights gathered under the banner of Hairan let out a simultaneous roar. As Dante leaped from the wall and stepped onto the plains, the approaching enemies faltered and halted their advance.
“I have no intention of showing mercy to those who have forgotten honor. If you are afraid, then run. Hairan will not pursue those who retreat.”
Knights gathered behind Dante.
“Young Patriarch… are you alright?” the assault squad leader asked, scanning Dante’s face.
Blood trickled from between his pale blue lips. Yet, Dante nodded as if he felt lighter than ever.
Even though it’s a secret technique Grandfather modified to suit me, to think I’d end up like this after using it just once.
Everyone else was in awe, but Dante knew better than anyone that what he had just displayed was nothing compared to the true power of the Sky Piercing Slash.
He felt a pang of regret.
It wasn't regret for failing to display a better sword, but a sudden sorrow that he could never again strive for improvement on this land with his grandfather, the knights of Hairan, and their retainers.
For some reason, my body feels light…
Perhaps it was because he was carrying everything his ancestors and grandfather had built and protected on his back, all while prepared for death. Dante had entered a sort of awakened state.
He felt as though he could maintain the finest sword he could possibly wield, at the cost of his life, until the war ended.
“I will destroy the Dragon Spear first. I will break through at the front. The assault squad will follow me.”
*
At the same time the knights of Hairan began their charge, the Emperor was receiving real-time reports from the very rear of the battlefield.
“Oh, ohhh…! As expected of Lord Ron’s successor, he is truly magnificent!”
Standing beside the Emperor was Johnsina Perel, the Commander of the Dragon King Knights and Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army. Unlike the excited Emperor, his face was grim.
Kevin Perel—the Emperor had appointed him commander of the vanguard for the sole purpose of influencing Johnsina Perel.
The Emperor believed that the death of a blood relative was necessary to ease the guilt of this upright man, the Imperial Second Sword.
“You heard the report just now, Sir Johnsina Perel. That Dante Hairan killed your brother and massacred the ordinary knights who tried to keep faith with Hairan…”
Johnsina nodded heavily.
He was no fool.
He knew why the Emperor had placed his brother in the vanguard. He knew that Dante could not have killed those ordinary knights. And he knew exactly how irrational this purge was. Johnsina was not ignorant of any of it.
“I certainly gave Hairan a chance. But what returned was your brother’s head and their betrayal of our trust. If we do not finish this today, that venomous wolf will plunge the entire Empire into death and terror.”
Despite this, Johnsina followed the Emperor because he believed it was the only path for the Empire—or more accurately, for the people of the Empire.
“Your Majesty.”
“Speak, Sir Johnsina.”
“Keep your promise. And make sure they keep their promise as well…”
At those words, the Emperor smiled broadly.
“I shall certainly do so!”
As Johnsina stood and headed toward the battlefield, the Emperor waved at his retreating back. The moment Johnsina disappeared from view, the Emperor’s expression turned to stone.
*
Dante and the knights of Hairan were already advancing toward the Dragon Spear, drenched in blood. That blood belonged entirely to the ordinary knights who had thrown themselves forward to block them.
Except for the vanguard, the knights of the main army all believed that Dante had killed the knights who tried to remain loyal to Hairan.
In the midst of a cruel and desperate battle, there was no time to correct misunderstandings or reveal the truth.
The hundred or so rescued knights had ultimately failed to survive the storm of sword-light and magic. The main army had arrived faster than expected, and in the new battle that began, the knights of Hairan did not have the luxury of protecting them all.
To the eyes of the Imperial main army, it looked as if Hairan had indiscriminately slaughtered the vanguard.
If disobeying the Emperor’s command meant death, and fighting Hairan also meant death, the latter was preferable—if only to avoid a future where they were branded traitors and their entire families were executed.
Blood and war breed madness. The ordinary knights who blocked Dante’s path, even as they met a swift death, had simply chosen madness over fear.
Dante, who was cutting them down, was the same.
The Righteous Path.
The phrase that had once defined Dante’s very being was now being stained a deep, dark red.
How many have I cut down already?
Even as the question surfaced, Dante’s sword continued to take the heads of those rushing at him. A guilt heavier than blood weighed on his back, but he could not bring himself to acknowledge it.
As is often the case with those swept up in war.
Dante was naturally converting that massive guilt into hatred.
There is no turning back now. My family, my grandfather, and I have never betrayed the Empire. So why do you all insist on plunging your blades into us…!
Slash—!
Dante paused to catch his breath when they were about five hundred paces from the Dragon Spear. Until then, the assault squad following him was still entirely intact.
However, the moment he tried to advance again, someone struck their flank.
“Gah!”
“Block them!”
Golden armor—it was the Imperial Guard. Upon their appearance, they immediately cut down two Hairan knights at the rear.
Dante stared blankly for a moment at his fallen knights.
“You are nothing but a demon, Dante Hairan. Was your past behavior all an act? I didn't know you were so accustomed to killing innocent people… Ugh!”
Like an arrow, Dante rushed forward and thrust his sword. The man showed no panic and moved to counter, but his arm was severed the instant Dante accelerated.
The Imperial Guard knights who had appeared so confidently flinched at the sight.
The knight Dante had crippled in seconds was their 3rd Section Leader.
“Shut up,” Dante spoke, his voice cold. “I have nothing to say to trash like you.”
He took the 3rd Section Leader’s head.
“You bastard… cough!”
“Young Patriarch, we will handle things here! Go to the Dragon Spear!”
Without hesitation, Dante moved forward, leaving the knights of Hairan behind him.
He realized that if he hesitated for even a moment, his knights would die that much faster.
Moreover, he felt that only by continuing to cut down those blocking his path could he hold onto his sanity, which was on the verge of shattering.