The Battle of Morena Territory (2)
The Battle of Morena Territory (2)
When the order of knights collided with the soldiers, a bomb-like boom rang out, sending soldiers flying in every direction.
Slash! Slash!
The knights' swords sliced effortlessly through the spears and pitchforks the soldiers held.
The bodies and heads behind them were just as easily cut apart.
"Aaack!"
"Please, spare me..."
The front lines collapsed in an instant, and the knights broke through the soldiers, pushing deep into the formation.
"Block them! Don't let them advance!"
Shouts erupted from the rear, but they were nothing more than meaningless noise.
Countless soldiers were slaughtered, while the knights suffered almost no casualties.
Murasen might have found some comfort if the Viscount's ability were responsible, but the Viscount wasn't lifting a finger.
He simply stood at the center of the knights, leisurely observing the situation.
They had put the soldiers at the front to force the Viscount to use his ability early, but that plan was useless if he simply chose not to use it.
Even the medieval knights of my past life were nearly invincible against ordinary soldiers, but the knights here could use mana.
On top of that, they weren't just ordinary knights.
Though they had formed a faction in support of the First Prince, they were still, strictly speaking, Royal Knights.
Even if the Viscount didn't use his ability, there was no way conscripted soldiers could hold them back.
The wall of soldiers crumbled in an instant.
The formation was pierced in a flash, and before long, the order of knights clashed with the Murasen Knights waiting in the rear.
The Viscount didn't have many knights with him.
Although they had lent him Royal Knights, it was difficult to assign a large number of them to a small territory.
A few dozen knights.
Though they had lost once before, the Murasen Knights still outnumbered them more than two to one.
Yet the Murasen Knights were visibly tense.
They had lost to that very order of knights before, despite having far greater numbers.
That was, of course, because of the Viscount's ability. He stood at the center of that order.
The knight at the front shouted as he watched the charging Royal Knights.
"The Viscount hasn't been able to use his ability yet! We can win!"
Indeed, the battle had begun, yet the Viscount had not used his ability.
He had certainly used it from the very start in the previous battle.
There was no guarantee, of course, but the knight had no choice if he wanted to lift their plummeting morale.
"Let's go! For Murasen!"
"For victory!"
Fortunately, the knight's words seemed to work. The Murasen Knights raised their swords and spurred their horses forward.
They galloped toward the Royal Knights who had broken through the screen of soldiers.
The knight who had shouted from the front reached them first and swung his sword with all his might at the charging Royal Knight.
Clang!
But his sword glanced weakly off the knight's armor.
"Could it be..."
"There's no 'could it be' about it."
The Royal Knight sneered at him and swung his sword.
Slash.
The Murasen knight's head was severed.
"Damn it! My strength is draining!"
"My mana is weakening!"
"Fall back! We'll be wiped out at this rate!"
At the same time, the charging Murasen Knights cried out and tried to rein in their horses.
The previous day's nightmare was sweeping over them once again.
But their strength had waned so badly that they couldn't immediately rein in their galloping horses.
And even if they stopped, their opponents had no intention of stopping.
Having cut down the soldiers and broken through the formation, the Royal Knights lunged at the Murasen Knights.
The Murasen Knights were literally slaughtered by the Royal Knights.
The Murasen Knights had become unbelievably weak.
Their swords nearly fell from their hands when they clashed, and they couldn't pierce their enemies' armor at all.
The Royal Knights cut down the Murasen Knights as if they were fighting mere foot soldiers.
Even as the Royal Knights ran rampant, three knights guarded Viscount Morena closely.
Clad in full plate armor, they flanked the Viscount on three sides. They looked capable of blocking any sudden ambush or stray arrow.
The Viscount's face had turned pale, but he still seemed fine.
It seemed he would easily hold out until the battle was over.
Meanwhile, one of the Royal Knights had gotten carried away and charged too far ahead.
After cutting down a knight who blocked his path, he raised his sword toward his next opponent, only to scoff when he saw who stood before him.
His next opponent was a mere common soldier.
He wasn't even on horseback, and he wore a battered helmet and breastplate he must have scavenged from somewhere.
Still, he must have gotten his hands on a decent greatsword. Though massive, it looked highly serviceable.
The knight figured he would strike the soldier down and claim the sword for himself.
And that thought was the knight's last.
Slash.
The soldier leaped lightly upward, and his sword sent the knight's head flying.
The knight let go of the reins and tumbled down, and the soldier mounted the horse in his place.
Now on horseback, the soldier raised a hand and scratched his helmet.
He seemed to find something puzzling.
"How dare you!"
A comrade swinging his sword nearby witnessed this and spurred his horse toward the soldier.
The soldier tilted his head, then guided his horse toward him as well.
They closed the distance in an instant and swept past each other.
Slash!
Blood sprayed from the neck of the galloping knight, and he slumped over his horse.
Neigh!
Unaware that its master had fallen, the horse continued to gallop forward.
I shook the blood off my greatsword and tilted my head once more.
"This is strange..."
I had drawn closer after sensing something odd, but even now, I didn't feel my strength draining.
Clearly, the knights around me had been hit by the Viscount's ability and weakened.
I knew the feeling well, having experienced it myself in the erased timeline.
What was more, a sensation like the one I'd felt back then had brushed against my skin just moments ago.
But this time, I didn't feel weakened at all.
What's going on?
I hadn't originally planned to step forward and fight the knights like this.
I only meant to get close enough to confirm the extent of the Viscount's ability and how far its influence reached.
That was why I had blended in with the soldiers, followed the Royal Knights, and crept around the outskirts of the clash between the two orders.
Yet even as I gradually drew nearer, I felt no weakening whatsoever, and ultimately ended up right in the middle of the battlefield.
"What should I do about this..."
I've already taken down two knights.
The Murasen Knights were already on the verge of annihilation, and the Royal Knights had all noticed me taking down their comrades.
It wasn't a situation in which I could flee, nor was this the time to do so.
"At this rate, it's going to be hard to argue against Balea's suspicions..."
I let out a bitter smile and spurred my horse.
My target: Viscount Morena.
Since things had turned out this way, I might as well pay the Viscount a visit.
I swung my sword with all my might, then turned my blade to parry an opponent's strike.
I channeled mana into my legs, forced my horse to change direction, then leaped to sever an opponent's neck and hijacked his mount in midair.
Thud. Thud.
Knights tumbled from their horses in my wake.
Seeing them fall, the charging riders pulled their horses to a halt.
The knights guarding the Viscount were frantically channeling mana into their swords.
The sudden loss of several Royal Knights had completely changed the enemy's mood.
"Who are you?! How did you block my ability?!"
The Viscount roared from behind his knights.
I wanted to know that just as much as he did.
I'd been planning to ask him, but did he not know either?
Even as the Viscount bellowed, I continued to close in on him.
Slash.
I cleaved through the knight blocking my path with sheer force, and blades lunged at me from both sides.
It was a splendid coordinated attack by the knights guarding the Viscount.
But an invisible shield blocked those swords.
As I raised my greatsword to block, a startled voice rang out.
"How?! The sword didn't even touch!"
It was thanks to the shield created by 'Mana Materialization', but there was no reason to explain that to men who would soon be dead.
Instead of answering, I swung my sword, striking the two knights and sending them tumbling from their horses.
With the knights down, nothing stood between the Viscount and me.
Alarmed knights began rushing in from all directions, but I was already standing right in front of the Viscount.
Even though he was pale with fright, the Viscount still looked handsome.
He raised a trembling hand and pointed at me.
"Why isn't it working? There's no way it shouldn't work!"
Tell me about it.
If it hadn't worked from the very beginning, I would have assumed I possessed some other unknown ability.
But it had definitely worked on me before.
The Viscount's face was drained of color as he vented his rage.
"It's impossible unless it's an ability of the same lineage! It cannot be blocked unless it's our family's power!"
Only then did he finally look a little ugly.
No—more importantly, I could figure out what was happening from his words.
According to the Viscount, his power could be blocked if one possessed an ability from the same family.
In the end, it meant his daughter Ivana's ability was more than enough to block it.
And I was currently under the influence of that very ability.
'Could it be that Ivana's ability can even block debuff-type effects?'
Whether it could block only the Viscount's specific ability or all debuffs and physical-weakening abilities was something I would have to test separately.
As I stood before the Viscount and raised my sword, he hurriedly threw up both hands.
He spoke rapidly in a groveling voice.
"Surely you don't intend to kill me? I am a close confidant of the Crown Prince, and the late Queen's..."
Thud!
No, shouldn't you take that secret to your grave?
Despite his refined looks, he was thoroughly unbecoming of a noble.
He was an incredibly disagreeable fellow, but I didn't kill him, just as he pleaded.
I had already killed a companion's father once before. It would be awkward to do it again with my own hands.
Though it might only be a way to save face, I settled for simply knocking the Viscount unconscious.
In contrast, I showed no mercy to the knights who lunged at me.
As I cut down the knights one by one, the remaining Murasen Knights and soldiers rallied once more, their morale restored, and threw themselves at the Royal Knights.
The soldiers, driven mad with fervor, swarmed the Royal Knights like honeybees attacking a hornet.
The Viscount was no longer in sight. It was impossible to tell whether he had been trampled by the soldiers or was already dead.
"Charge, everyone! Kill them all and seize Morena Territory!"
Just then, a shrill voice rang out from the rear. It was a voice I hadn't heard until now.
It was likely the voice of the Murasen noble.
I threw the knight I was fighting toward the soldiers and backed away.
While I didn't want Viscount Morena or the First Prince to win, I wasn't particularly keen on the Second Prince winning, either.
So I leaped toward the source of the voice.
Absurdly, the Battle of Morena Territory ended in the mutual destruction of both domains.
Both Viscount Morena and the Lord of Murasen had died during the battle.
The knights who had supported Viscount Morena were all wiped out, and not many of Murasen's forces made it back safely either.
Fortunately, the Second Prince did not touch Morena Territory again.
The civil war had already begun, and there were plenty of other, more important territories to focus on.
On top of that, the Duchy's movements were highly suspicious. The Duchy's forces had begun their march into the Kingdom.
And in these chaotic times, I was making my way toward the Duchy.