Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: 27. Ants (1)
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Yuri wiped Guilty clean with a cloth.
As the blood and bits of flesh were wiped away, the smooth surface reflected back his black pupils.
He tilted the blade downward, revealing a drop of blood gathered just below his lips.
"It was a long fight."
As Yuri wiped his chin with his sleeve, someone suddenly plopped down beside him.
"What's this about?"
The face was unfamiliar, but chewing over the voice let him place the man.
It was one of the Imperial knights Ragnar had assigned during the ruins expedition. He'd barely seen his face back then because of the helmet.
"You only muttered 'yes, yes' back then, but you can actually talk."
"It was a mission."
"Can't talk on missions?"
"Not recommended."
The Imperial knights seemed to follow strict rules. Brioll's knights were a lot more freewheeling by comparison.
Yuri let out a soft chuckle.
"The Empire's different, alright."
"I saw Your Highness carving through those orcs earlier."
"Ah..."
"Honestly, I can't even guess how many you took down."
The allied forces had just been clashing with the orcs.
The bells had rung urgently, and Yuri had grabbed his sword and charged out.
And massacred them.
What had been passed down to him was a hunter's technique, but Yuri felt the term didn't quite fit. It was closer to a butcher's craft.
His body had been imprinted with the mechanical method of slicing meat—quick, efficient orc-killing.
"Truth be told, me neither."
Yuri said as he sheathed Guilty.
"Lost count while I was at it."
"Impressive. Truly..."
"Your name?"
"Rodaine."
"Rodaine."
Yuri extended his hand. Rodaine hesitated for a split second, wiped his own on his hem, then clasped it.
"Greetings are with handshakes."
"Ah, yes..."
Back in his mercenary days, there'd been a guy who set great store by handshakes. Old-fashioned, but sharp when it mattered.
"..."
And then the conversation stalled.
Yuri spoke up.
"Who sent you?"
"Pardon?"
"You don't seem to have much to say, so seeing you come all the way here makes me think someone sent you."
"N-no, not at all."
"Then why're you here?"
"Well..."
Rodaine cleared his throat awkwardly.
"I was so amazed by Your Highness's prowess that I wondered if you had some secret technique. Aren't orcs new to you in this allied force?"
"They are."
"Yet you handled them so effortlessly. Most find orcs tough opponents."
Yuri shared a few tips.
"Orcs get swept up in their instincts. Read their eyes, and you can predict their moves."
Of course, it wasn't as simple as it sounded. It demanded immense time and experience.
Yuri could only pull it off thanks to the hunter's technique he'd inherited.
"Their eyes, huh..."
Rodaine nodded.
"You've got real talent. At your age, too—your girlfriend must love it. Ah, you have one, right?"
Yuri stared at Rodaine in silence.
He blinked, tilted his head, then gave an awkward laugh.
"Why're you looking at me like that? Haha..."
"His Highness sent you."
"Pardon? No."
"Didn't he?"
"Of course not."
"Really?"
"Yes."
He'd suddenly brought up girlfriends.
Something was definitely up.
Yuri peered straight into Rodaine's eyes.
Rodaine leaned back.
"Uh..."
"Even if His Highness didn't send you, this is about him anyway."
"What do you mean...?"
"Be straight with me."
"Uh..."
Rodaine scratched his head, unable to speak.
Yuri nailed it.
"The Knight Commander?"
Rodaine jumped, staring at Yuri.
"Your reaction's telling. Good."
Yuri chuckled lowly.
Clad in black armor, he hadn't shown much emotion before, but up close, he was plenty human.
"H-how did you...?"
"You know His Highness favors me..."
"Yes."
"He'd want to know if things'll go his way or if I'll refuse. You're the only one he'd send for that."
"That's... yes. You're right."
Rodaine admitted it.
He let out a defeated sigh.
"Not just swordsmanship—your insight's sharp too."
"Insight? Just a hunch."
"So you won't give an answer?"
"I don't get why everyone's trying to pair me with that woman."
"You know about that too, huh."
"His Highness mentioned it."
Rodaine tilted his head.
"You don't like her?"
"Should I?"
"The Imperial Princess is stunning. How could anyone dislike her?"
"Rodaine."
Yuri put on a stern expression.
Rodaine might be older now, but counting his past life, Yuri was the elder.
"Looks aren't everything. The heart matters most."
"Ah, yes."
But it seemed to go in one ear and out the other for a guy in his twenties.
"You need to etch that in..."
"Anyway, wouldn't that make it even better? The Princess has a kind heart too."
"Oh, really?"
Yuri snorted.
"Sure looks that way."
On the surface, she seemed gentle and soft-spoken.
But she wasn't.
Her outer self and inner one were worlds apart.
And her true nature was layered besides.
When they were lovers, she'd shown Yuri a side different from how she treated others.
Yuri had thought that was her real self.
But it had just been another layer of deceit.
"You know the Princess?"
"No."
"But you don't seem to think highly of her."
"Like or dislike—what's it matter? She's got nothing to do with me."
"Ah, so in the end..."
Yuri stood up.
"I do."
"Pardon?"
"I do have a girlfriend."
He was a master liar.
Most people trembled or acted awkward when bluffing, but Yuri could calmly swap out his cards like a bold gambler.
"You do?"
"Yeah."
Rodaine looked flustered.
In the Empire, a youthful fling could be discarded for political reasons, but the Brioll royals were different from most kingdoms.
"I-is that so. Hope it's going well."
"It is."
"May I ask who...?"
"Rodaine."
Yuri hardened his expression.
Rodaine bowed his head.
"Forgive me. I overstepped."
"Do you have a lover?"
"Not yet."
"Good."
"Why?"
"This war ends, and you won't say something ominous like 'I'll propose to her'."
"Why's that ominous?"
"Go watch some plays when you get back to the Empire."
Yuri stood.
"How many fights since sunrise?"
"Three."
"We're setting records today since the war started."
Rodaine's expression shifted at Yuri's words.
He drew his sword, stood, and scanned the horizon. But he sensed nothing.
Then, a massive explosion rocked the air.
"From behind, huh."
Yuri turned.
The supply depot had blown up.
It was that shaman bomb from before.
"How'd they get in there...?"
"Underground."
Yuri grinned coldly.
"Looks like they tunneled in like ants."
Shouts began echoing over.
The urgent bells rang out again.
"Orcs! Inside the camp!"
"Protect the supplies!"
Yuri dashed inward, unarmored, clutching only Guilty.
The gauntlet now fully attuned to his hand gripped the hilt tight.
"Rodaine."
"Yes."
"Brace yourself. Steel your resolve again."
Yuri narrowed his eyes at the orcs emerging from within the camp.
There were a lot.
"Think everything so far's been easy?"
"Wasn't the march tough enough?"
"Any Imperial knights dead?"
"Not yet..."
The allied forces had casualties, but no Imperial knights had fallen.
"That'll change."
Rodaine's face wavered.
In his black helmet, he'd seemed like an emotionless machine, but now he looked just like anyone else.
"You really think so?"
"Yeah."
Yuri hadn't expected the allied campaign to go this smoothly.
In his past life, it had failed, with many fine knights perishing.
It had been a brutal war—his few feats wouldn't keep everyone safe.
"Hate seeing comrades die?"
"Yes."
"Then fight hard. Kill more orcs."
Yuri simultaneously registered every orc in his sight.
Each in different situations, their own flows. But the goal was the same.
They wanted to kill humans.
"That's a knight's duty."
Whether orcs were corrupted human sub-species via black magic meant nothing to Yuri.
He had no intention of telling anyone.
He had his duty.
The world had put a sword in his hand, so he'd do what needed doing.
"Your Highness... huh?"
Yuri had already charged forward.
An orc chopping down a soldier spotted him.
Yuri hurled Guilty right away.
Everyone values their own life.
The orc dropped its axe to block. Guilty clanged off the blade and spun into the sky.
Yuri leaped, snatched the hilt midair, and plunged straight down.
The orc's eyes shook.
It tried to flee, but the soldier it faced suddenly swung wildly.
Distracted blocking the soldier, it missed Yuri for a split second.
Guilty speared vertically into its crown.
He felt the skull shatter. Blood sprayed his face at the same time.
Yuri landed atop the crumpling orc and spat.
"Thank you!"
the soldier yelled.
Yuri grinned.
"Harrison. Don't fight alone."
His eyes widened. Shocked that Prince Yuri remembered his name.
Yuri clapped his shoulder as he rose.
"Live to see you again."
"Y-yes!"
Yuri spun around.
Vast numbers of orcs were bursting from the camp's heart.
Through the ground's vibrations, Yuri sensed more pouring in.
"Tunnels."
The orcs had dug tunnels right into the allied camp.
Yuri shouted.
"Hernando!"
A voice answered from behind.
"Yes!"
"Magic possible?"
"No! Shamans are countering!"
"Got it!"
He'd hoped maybe a shaman slipped through, but they'd come prepared.
Meaning this wasn't a probe—it was a full assault.
Yuri's eyes flashed.
The tunnel ambush had caught them off-guard, but it had upsides too.
A tighter battlefield meant easier targets for strikes.
"Hernando!"
"Yes!"
"Stand by!"
"Yes!"
"Cast when the time's right—you'll know!"
"Uh, yes!"
Yuri circulated Mana Circulation Method through his body. Heart-Soul Severing's energy lightened him.
Ready to leap.
His gaze suddenly snapped to one orc.
It drew his eye oddly.
A standard orc soldier he'd ignore normally.
But now, it looked different.
"Shaman."
The orc soldier guise was a ruse.
It was a shaman.
Through the hunter's technique granted him, Yuri pierced its true nature.
Its gait gave it away.
It pretended to swing an axe in combat but stumbled occasionally, blind to obstacles at its feet.
Loss of sight was a trait of orc shamans. Also black mages.
Yuri cocked his head at the sudden knowledge. But he shook it off, clearing his mind.
No time to think.
Yuri shot forward like an arrow.
He blew past orcs. Axes, halberds, massive hammers flew at him.
He dodged them feather-light.
Voices called from behind, but he ignored them.
He spotted the shaman fumbling with its axe.
Nearby orcs tried to block him.
"Outta my way!"
Yuri condensed mana, channeled it into Guilty, and swung wide. A boom erupted, shockwaving the armed orcs to the ground.
He'd reached the realm of projecting mana for shockwaves.
Yuri pressed on.
The orc shaman spotted him up close and gaped.
"Aku-ru ke...!"
Pfft.
Before it could chant, Yuri rammed Guilty into its maw.
The tip burst out the back of its skull.
Yuri wrenched the blade upward, cleaving its head in two.
Against the geyser of blood, Yuri turned.
"Hernando!"
With the enemy shaman gone, magic dominance tilted completely their way.
Hernando answered his call.
Just the massive fireball he'd hoped for.
Hernando's fireball plummeted exactly where Yuri wanted.
The tunnels exploded.