Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: 19. Vanguard (2)
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Ragna mounted his horse and gazed at the enemy lines.
The orcs had set up camp and were waiting for them.
They had erected barricades, with spears planted beyond them, and in the center of their formation, orc cavalry mounted on komodo drakes stood ready.
It looked like they had prepared for war with a systematic approach rivaling that of humans.
"Take a look at Brioll."
"Yes, sir."
He headed toward the Brioll forces positioned at the front alongside his adjutant.
Brioll's third prince stood tall atop his horse, staring down the orc army.
On the cusp of the charge, he had a sword at his waist and held a long spear.
Ragna clapped his hands.
"Yuri Brioll."
Yuri turned to look back. His pale cheeks were flushed from the plains wind.
"Your Highness."
"Are preparations going well?"
"Yes."
He was still a boy whose youthful air hadn't fully faded. But he wasn't to be underestimated.
Those pitch-black eyes and hair had been inherited from none other than Fiore Brioll.
"So, what are your thoughts?"
Ragna asked.
Forging a knight is a matter of innate talent. Did this boy truly possess the qualities suited for war?
Ragna smiled in anticipation of the battle to come.
"Are you afraid? Or excited?"
"Nothing like that."
Yuri stroked his black steed's mane and gave a curt reply.
"I'm just doing what needs to be done."
"That's far more reassuring than some half-baked resolve."
Ragna placed a hand on Yuri's shoulder.
"Take a look behind you."
Yuri shifted his gaze as instructed.
"See them."
The armies of the thirteen nations summoned by the Allied Forces stood fully armed.
The helmets of the aligned knight orders gleamed brightly, reflecting the sunlight. Above them, banners of various designs fluttered.
Ragna lowered his eyes to scan the faces of the individual soldiers.
They all wore similar expressions.
Their eyelids barely blinked, their lips were parched, and their pupils trembled like leaves in the wind.
Those with such faces wouldn't last long. Embracing fear meant becoming a sacrifice to the madness of the battlefield.
"And now, what do you think?"
"Same as before. No particular thoughts."
In contrast, Yuri's response was dry. He sounded like a veteran soldier accustomed to war.
Ragna tilted his head.
"This is your first war, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"What will you do when the signal comes?"
"Charge and break through their barricades."
"That's all?"
"Yes."
"I see."
He let out a burst of laughter before raising his hand high.
"Then there's no need to hesitate."
At his signal, the empire's trumpeter at the rear blew a mighty blast.
The resonance spread across the entire plain.
It was the order to advance.
Yuri bowed his head to him and urged his horse forward with steady steps.
Caught off guard by the sudden action, Ragna stared at his back.
"Yuri?"
"I'll head out first. See you after the battle."
"Isn't that too far ahead?"
"I'll take the vanguard."
He wasn't sure whether to laugh or try to stop him.
No matter how skilled, a unit commander doesn't charge at the very front.
"Well, then..."
As Yuri advanced, the soldiers parted ways, and the knight order opened a path.
Soon, Yuri Brioll stood at the forefront of the entire Allied Forces.
His retreating figure etched itself into Ragna's eyes.
Was that recklessness, or something else?
Yuri raised his long spear high.
"Is everyone ready?"
"Yes!"
"Let's go."
His tone was as calm as if he were going for a stroll.
With those words, Yuri spurred his horse.
The steed reared up on its forelegs with a neigh.
And then it charged forward.
Following suit, the entire Brioll contingent around Ragna began surging ahead.
Fierce roars mingled with the plains wind, battering Ragna's face.
"Impressive..."
The rest of the Allied Forces advanced next.
Ragna watched as the army marched toward the enemy lines.
Brioll's Rose Knights led the charge in a wedge formation.
Their momentum was strong, but the orcs' massive shield wall looked equally solid.
Then, someone stepped up beside him.
"Your Highness, excuse me for a moment."
"Magitech?"
It was Marirose.
Even on the battlefield, her attire was as flamboyant as if she were in Balshard. In her red dress, she seemed oddly out of place amid the surroundings.
She extended her staff.
Light poured from the crystal orb dangling at its tip.
"Brioll's prince asked me for a favor."
"Magic?"
"Yes. Exactly."
Ragna turned his gaze.
The distance between the Brioll forces and the orc camp was closing.
"When they pass that tree."
Yuri's words referred to a small tree between the two armies.
As if on cue, Yuri raised his long spear.
"Now."
Marirose thrust her staff high.
Ragna could feel the massive wave of mana cascading from her body like a tsunami.
Balshard's magitech engineer, Marirose Antre.
Her magic unleashed toward the orcs.
A colossal fireball materialized in the sky and began plummeting toward the enemy lines.
Ragna frowned as he watched its gentle arc.
"Cancel it."
"Hmm."
"Too late. If it hits like this..."
"It's exactly as the prince requested."
By now, Brioll's wedge formation had drawn perilously close to the enemy.
If the fireball struck now, they might get caught in the explosion's shockwave.
But Yuri didn't pull on the reins. Instead, he accelerated.
With his spear thrust forward, he outpaced the following knights.
Soon, the fireball crashed onto the orcs' barricades.
An explosion roared forth.
The ground shook, intense heat surged, and flames erupted.
Fire engulfed the surroundings.
Yuri plunged straight into the unquenched inferno without hesitation.
His figure was swallowed by the blaze.
Finally, the flames subsided, leaving only black smoke behind.
And there, piercing through the shattered orc formation, was a single streak.
"That guy..."
Ragna let out a hollow chuckle. Marirose let out a delighted squeal.
The Brioll Rose Knights followed, skewering the disorganized orc army.
Just before clashing with the orc camp.
Yuri lifted his head.
In the distance, he could see the orcs gripping their spear shafts tightly. One wrong move, and they'd slam into those shields.
Yuri calculated the distance.
Closer.
Closer.
The moment he judged it close enough, he raised his spear high.
"Now."
Suddenly, the plains lit up.
Yuri glanced at the sky.
A massive fireball, conjured from thin air, was hurtling toward the orc shield wall.
It was Marirose's magic, as he'd requested.
Seeing the descending fireball, the orc troops began to waver.
"Too close!"
"Hold back, sire!"
"Your Highness!"
The knights behind shouted, but Yuri didn't slacken the reins.
Instead, he accelerated toward the enemy barricades heralding the explosion.
The scenery rushed past.
The Allied Forces' fierce cheers pushed at his back. The gap closed in an instant.
His will transferred to the horse.
The steed ignored the flames, tensing its muscles.
Soon, the fireball slammed into the ground.
A flash of light erupted, the air expanded violently. Flames burst out, and everything living within the radius warped amid the thunderous boom.
"Ngh..."
Heat assailed his entire body.
Yuri gritted his teeth and lowered his posture.
He gripped the crystal sword at his side and circulated mana. The aura of water shielded him and his horse.
"Keep going!"
They broke through the flames.
The firestorm that had swept the ground devoured the surroundings before turning to black smoke and dissipating into the sky.
Unextinguished embers flickered here and there on the earth.
Yuri passed shattered barricades and charred orc corpses.
The orc troops outside the blast zone hurriedly reformed their lines.
But they couldn't prepare for Yuri, who burst in the instant the explosion ended.
He charged.
"Raaargh!"
The mana-infused impact sent several orcs flying back, collapsing their rear ranks.
"Hya!"
Yuri spurred again. His black steed began a frenzied gallop.
Even as orcs blocked the way, he didn't veer off.
"Aquaak!"
One orc resisted and was impaled on the long spear, hoisted up. Yuri shook the haft, hurling the body high.
He looked up.
The twisted faces of the orc legion stared at him in unison.
He was alone deep in enemy lines.
Standing still would mean being swarmed and torn apart like ants on prey.
But Yuri felt no fear.
The gazes fixed on him soon turned, one by one, toward his back.
Terror infected the orcs' eyes instead.
Yuri thrust his spear skyward and roared.
"Brioll!"
In response, cheers erupted from behind. Explosions followed, mingling with orc screams.
The Brioll Rose Knights surged in like a tidal wave.
Yuri burst into laughter.
"You're late! How long are you going to chase my tail?!"
Orc cavalry appeared belatedly.
A group of orcs on komodo drakes charged toward him, trampling their own kin.
"Krraaak, arakakra!"
One rider met him head-on with a roar.
It was enormous.
A big target.
Yuri hurled his spear at once.
The mana-charged lance pierced the orc's breastplate clean through.
The orc toppled backward from its mount, and the komodo drake thrashed with a shriek.
Nearby orcs got caught in the rampage.
Yuri wheeled his horse around the drake, yanking the spear free from the orc corpse.
"Onward!"
And charged again.
The orc cavalry tried to pursue, but the Brioll Rose Knights arriving right after cut them down.
Yuri speared orcs as he rode, killing them.
Soon, he spotted what looked like an orc commander at the rear.
The brute had gathered orc soldiers and hunkered behind barricades.
It glared at Yuri but didn't attack.
"Hey!"
He taunted, but no reaction.
Even for Yuri, charging solo into that extreme defensive formation wasn't worth the recklessness.
He blew past the leader.
"See you later!"
He galloped on.
Nothing blocked the path anymore.
The distant horizon of the plains and the clouds drifting above entered his view.
"Haa..."
Yuri drew in a deep breath.
Cool wind filled his lungs.
"Fun, right?"
He stroked his horse's mane with a grin. The steed, exhilarated by battle's heat, slowed but still pranced excitedly.
Yuri glanced back.
The orc army lay in ruins, Allied Forces banners fluttering atop it.
The panicked orc units were being devoured wholesale. One charge had decided the battle's outcome.
The Brioll Rose Knights who pierced the enemy lines approached Yuri.
"Why so slow?"
"Your Highness!"
"Any injuries?"
"None."
"Answering without checking?"
"If we couldn't keep up and got hurt, we'd be unfit as knights."
"Fair point."
Raymond rode forward. He led the knights in Yuri's absence.
"Your Highness, next time, go a bit slower."
"You come faster."
"Good grief..."
He shook his head with a chuckle.
RolAng bowed to Yuri from nearby.
"My apologies!"
"For what?"
"My meager skills failed to keep pace with Your Highness. Punish me."
"Uh, sure..."
He'd given up on Rolang by now.
His loyalty had long escaped Yuri's control. So he just nodded.
"Do better next time."
"Yes, sir!"
Yuri turned back to the battlefield.
Melee combat raged on.
The Allies encircled and pressed, but the orcs didn't go down easy. The madness of war filled the air.
Suddenly, a soldier bisected by an orc axe caught his eye.
Yuri narrowed his eyes.
"Overtime. Volunteers only."
"Pardon?"
Yuri slung his long spear on the saddle and leaped from the horse.
He drew Guilty and slung it over his shoulder.
"No extra pay. But I'll commend your zeal."
Now grasping his intent, the knights exchanged glances.
Yuri didn't wait.
"Charge!"
He dashed off.
RolAng followed, Jared clicked his tongue and stepped forward. In the end, the entire knight order chased after Yuri.
Raymond remained mounted, watching from behind.
"Really, now..."
The Brioll Rose Knights charging toward the melee looked like a ragtag mob from one angle, utterly fearless from another.
"I thought he took after His Majesty..."
He'd thought that once.
Having witnessed Fiore's prowess firsthand in the previous Allied Forces campaign, he'd seen echoes of it in Yuri.
But now he knew.
They were nothing alike.
Yuri resembled no one he knew.
Raymond shook his head with a laugh, dismounted.
And ran toward Yuri's back.