Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: 14. Salvation (2)
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Yuri galloped ahead with ten knights, Raymond among them.
Rolang and Jared were in the group as well.
Yuri glanced back with a grin.
"You all look like you're still hungover."
"Not at all, Your Highness."
"Getting used to the pace?"
"Yes, sir!"
Thanks to the magic Hernando had cast on the horses, they were moving far faster than usual.
"Jared, you look a bit green."
"I-I'm fine, sir."
Jared, who'd drunk heavily the night before, had a pallid face, but the rest seemed fine.
Suddenly, Rolang spurred his horse forward to ride alongside Yuri. He looked like he had something to say.
"Your Highness."
"Rolang."
"I've come to admire you all over again, Your Highness."
"Huh?"
Yuri turned to look at him.
"Not only do you forgive those who insulted you, but you personally extend a hand to save them..."
Rolang's eyes sparkled. He seemed to have misunderstood something.
"There's no need for me to stoop to the level of petty small-minded fools. You've awakened me from my narrow thinking, which was all about forcing submission."
"It's not quite like that..."
Putting aside his blind faith, the talk of "submission" rubbed Yuri the wrong way.
"Submission, you say...?"
"Well..."
Rolang hesitated before speaking up.
"I was planning to pretend to be drunk and pick a fight with the Paladin Order. My thinking was too shortsighted."
Yuri stared at him in disbelief. The Rolang he knew wasn't the type.
Under Yuri's gaze, Rolang scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"I know it wasn't right, but I couldn't bear the insult to Your Highness."
"I see..."
It was good to have won Rolang's loyalty, but it felt a bit burdensome. Still, he couldn't exactly criticize such devotion.
"I-I'm grateful for your loyalty..."
"Thank you for recognizing it."
Rolang beamed.
Watching his fair face, Yuri felt a strange sensation.
The Rolang who'd severed his head in his final life bore no connection to this pure, earnest one.
Maybe it was only natural.
He himself had changed, so why wouldn't others?
Humans tread entirely different paths depending on their circumstances. And Rolang had gone astray because of none other than Yuri's own mistakes.
This time, he would never repeat that future.
"Rolang."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
"Let's do our best."
"Pardon?"
Rolang's eyes widened in surprise, then he nodded vigorously.
"Yes!"
Yuri chuckled softly and looked ahead.
In the distance, the silhouettes of Sibylla and the Paladin Order appeared on the horizon, galloping along.
"I see them!"
Raymond stayed calm, Jared dry-heaved from his saddle, and the rest were tense.
Yuri spoke up.
"This is our first battle against orcs."
All eyes turned to him.
Yuri wanted to offer some advice, but nothing came to mind.
Battle couldn't be taught with words.
So instead of advice, he made a request.
"Don't get hurt."
It was a sincere plea.
They all nodded as one.
Yuri urged his horse faster.
"Your Highness, let us take the lead. Please fall back."
The other knights agreed with Raymond.
Yuri had shown unorthodox behavior so far, but he'd never fought a real battle. They didn't know his true strength.
How strong could an eighteen-year-old prince be?
Besides, Yuri was the commander of the Brioll forces.
Protecting the deputy commander's safety was basic battlefield common sense.
"No."
But Yuri shook his head.
"Since it's our first fight, I'll explain. This goes for the future too."
Recalling his mercenary days, Yuri curled his lip.
Mercenaries were different from knights.
No status, no rank.
The only way to earn comrades' respect was through skill and dedication.
Only those who stood at the forefront against the enemy could become leaders.
"I enter the battlefield first and leave last."
"Pardon?"
Yuri spurred his horse.
He willed it to go faster and activated Heart-Soul Severing. Mana flowed into the horse, boosting its speed even more.
No one could keep up.
Pure white mana aura rose from Yuri's body like a heat haze.
Erich Brioll's legacy was revealing itself on the battlefield for the first time.
"Your Highness!"
The knights called out, but Yuri didn't stop.
"Well, now."
In the distance, Sibylla and the Paladin Order tumbled down en masse.
Those who'd never faced orcs tended to underestimate their tricks.
"That must hurt."
As Yuri muttered, he spotted orcs approaching with torches.
Fire attack.
Yuri twisted his lips.
No time to think.
Mana swirled through his body.
Sensing his will, the horse strained its muscles and leaped.
Yuri's form shook.
In one fluid motion, he vaulted from the saddle, slashed an orc's neck mid-leap, and snatched a torch.
It was a close call.
Fortunately, the Holy Kingdom's leadership didn't all burn to death.
"Phew..."
He looked down.
Sibylla was gritting her teeth, eyes squeezed shut.
Yuri's lip curled up.
"Sibylla."
Some had their mouths agape, others were on the verge of tears. He spotted Fenek pale in the corner.
"Open your eyes."
They gradually grasped the situation.
Watching their expressions shift by the second, Yuri felt laughter bubbling up in his gut.
He tried to hold it back, but it was no use.
In the end, he burst out laughing.
"Your faces are priceless."
The Holy Kingdom's main force was holding off the orc assault admirably. The soldiers formed a solid phalanx, while a few Paladins from the camp handled the orcs that poked out.
The orc unit began retreating before their losses mounted further.
Watching the scene, Yuri muttered,
"Clever bastards, as expected."
Orcs were sometimes better at battlefield stratagems than humans.
Their target had never been the Holy Kingdom's main body.
They'd confirmed Sibylla and the Paladins scattered separately, then struck when they tried to regroup.
The Brioll forces might have been under observation too.
Word of the Allied Forces must have reached the orcs.
"Wonder how they got the intel..."
Yuri spotted a lone orc watching the battle from afar.
It had one eye missing and a flag strapped to its back.
"Orc Warrior."
An elite with rank among orcs.
Their eyes met.
The Orc Warrior stared back and bared its tusks in a grin.
Yuri muttered,
"I usually smile back when someone smiles at me, but that mug kills my appetite."
The Orc Warrior bellowed something. The orcs retreated faster.
The soldiers hesitated.
"What are you waiting for?!"
Yuri roared back.
"Don't let them go!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Hit 'em in the back!"
The Brioll knights pursued the orc unit relentlessly.
Rolang swung his sword with gusto. An orc arm flew into the sky. The other knights didn't hold back either.
The Brioll knights' sharp sword auras swept the area.
The Holy Kingdom troops' morale soared.
The soldiers pressed the orcs harder. Spears and blades sank into the backs of turning orcs.
"Everyone okay?"
"Yuri."
Sibylla and the Paladins were just climbing out of the pit.
Sibylla sighed, eyeing the fleeing orcs. In the end, they hadn't been much help.
"We owe you. Thank you."
She bowed formally to Yuri in gratitude.
"We'd all be dead without you."
Fenek looked displeased but bowed after her, as if he had no choice.
"My thanks to Brioll's Third Prince."
The entire Paladin Order followed suit, bowing to Yuri.
Yuri waved them off.
"What're you doing? Allies help each other on the battlefield."
He helped Sibylla up and clapped Fenek on the shoulder.
"When Brioll's in trouble next time, the Holy Kingdom helps out. Easy, right?"
Fenek's expression grew odd.
Yuri flashed him a grin.
Arrogant personality aside, this guy was key firepower. No sense prejudging him over one clash.
What about his past self?
Seeing someone like Fenek reminded Yuri of his own flaws.
He'd been sorely lacking too. Youth came with too many blind spots.
"Right?"
At Yuri's words, Fenek nodded.
"Yes."
Meeting Yuri's eyes, he said,
"I formally apologize for my rudeness earlier today. I won't forget this debt. Thank you again."
"Thank you!"
The Paladins echoed Fenek.
"Good. Apology accepted."
Yuri figured Fenek wasn't rotten to the core. Proof: the Paladins followed him like that.
Sorry to Sibylla, but Fenek was their real leader.
"Anyway..."
Mid-sentence, Yuri whipped around and swung Guilty.
The arrow caught on the blade thudded into the ground.
Fenek gaped at his reaction speed.
"A-Are you alright, sir?"
"Don't worry."
Yuri scanned for the shooter.
Among the retreating orcs, the Orc Warrior waved its bow at him.
Deliberate taunt.
"Must've stung."
It was furious at Yuri for foiling its scheme and saving the Paladins.
Yuri grinned.
Nothing beat riling up an angry foe.
After all, how long had it been since his return to the battlefield?
Killing one orc wasn't enough.
The Orc Warrior had provoked him, so more blood would flow today.
"I'll be right back."
"Pardon?"
Mana surged from his core.
Killing intent flared in his heart, sending a torrent through his veins.
Yuri thought:
Close the distance to the orc unit in one go.
The image formed, and his body used mana as thrust to pick the optimal path.
He instantly mapped the terrain's highs and lows in his vision, stepping to key points.
His form flickered a few times, and he was suddenly at the rear of the retreating orcs.
He slashed with Guilty.
The rearmost orc, unaware of his approach, was bisected.
Two more swung axes. No point trading blows, so he dodged sideways.
He aimed for the opening after their attacks, but a barrage of weapons followed.
He rolled on the ground and looked up.
The shadows of the orc pack engulfed him.
Surrounded by hulking orcs, it felt like being cornered against a wall.
Their grotesque faces leered down, fangs bared.
He didn't panic.
It felt familiar, even.
Yuri gripped Guilty tight.
After Brioll's fall, he'd become a mercenary dancing on death's edge. Always thrown into the enemy's heart.
He'd wanted to die but hadn't.
His senses sharpened most when death loomed.
He perceived all enemy movements at once.
One stepped forward, one pulled back its shoulder, one roared, one thrust a spear.
One intuitive path evaded every assault.
The moment the image formed, Heart-Soul Severing's mana shoved the flat of his blade.
Attacks crossed harmlessly.
Two orcs spewed blood and crumpled. Yuri slipped through, seizing their rear.
He struck faster than they could turn.
He carved their backs and waists.
Their belated strikes missed. The encircling orcs collapsed at once.
Their tough hides kept them from instant death, but that was fine.
Orcs didn't care for wounded comrades. They used them as bait and fled faster.
Yuri snatched a dropped spear. He stomped an orc's lower back, leaped high, and scanned for his target.
"Orc Warrior!"
Language barriers didn't matter for battle cries like that.
The flagging Orc Warrior turned.
Yuri hurled the spear with all his might.
The Orc Warrior's eyes bulged.
It dropped into a low stance, planting its feet and raising its double-headed axe in defense.
Its tension was almost comical.
Kwajik.
The spear whistled past its head.
The flag toppled.
Braced for impact, it couldn't react.
The Orc Warrior's face twisted.
"Scaredy-cat."