Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Black-Haired Knight King 20
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Clop, clop, clop, clop!
Snort!
The White-Horned Deer carrying me charged up the steep uphill path, snorting roughly.
Far from tiring, it didn't slow down at all as it dashed across the snowy terrain.
This was the White-Horned Deer I'd stolen from the orc encampment—the village's only mount.
It had helped with the palisade construction for a while, but today it bore a heavy responsibility.
Two soldiers came scrambling into view down the hill below.
"Knight sir! They're coming!"
"To the bypass! Wait for my signal!"
The two soldiers lit the beacon fire.
That meant the enemy had finally drawn near, and the moment had arrived.
I sped past the fleeing soldiers and finally crested the uphill path.
A vast white plain shrouded in heavy snow unfolded before my eyes.
Snort!
"Easy now."
Their formation was sloppy, no discipline whatsoever.
The barbarians were just clumped together in a mob, slowly crossing the white plain.
But their numbers easily doubled ours, and at the front rode their chieftain wielding Aura, flanked by several others radiating powerful auras.
What on earth had happened to produce such mutants among the barbarians?
If they'd had just a little more time, they might have built a real barbarian kingdom, I thought.
Shing!
Of course, that was all just hypothetical.
Because today, they'd be buried in the North, fertilizing the soil for spring.
I drew my sword, steadied my breath, and yanked the reins of the White-Horned Deer.
Snort!
Clop! Clop! Clop! Clop!
A blistering pace.
The loyal White-Horned Deer ignored their overwhelming numbers and charged down the slope.
The deer tore across the pristine white plain like a single arrow aimed straight at them.
Clop! Clop! Clop! Clop!
"- - - - - - -!!"
We're closing in.
The barbarians spotted me, of course, and went berserk like monkeys with hot coals on their feet.
But I didn't pull the reins.
And without hesitation, I drew my sword and bellowed loud enough for them to hear.
"Come forward if you want to die!"
A blatant provocation.
Understanding my intent, they screamed as if ready to kill me on the spot, grabbing their weapons.
But only the chieftain stared me down with eyes molten with rage.
"Pou! Poua - - -!!"
Too bad.
If the chieftain had lost his temper and charged, I might have gotten a shot at his neck.
But he wasn't chieftain by accident—he issued calm orders with a cool face.
Then two warriors radiating strong auras rushed toward me at high speed.
Neither was an Aura user.
But their movements were extraordinary, as if they'd glimpsed that realm.
The White-Horned Deer galloping at breakneck speed.
The two charging at equal speed, swinging weapons at me.
Their massive clubs hurtled toward me.
But in that instant, the world flipped.
Whoosh!
"?!"
I twisted my right foot and body aside.
The club sliced empty air, and unable to stop their momentum, they tumbled forward.
They hadn't expected me to dodge from horseback instead of counterattacking.
Of course, their failed read ended disastrously.
Slash!
"Puo?!"
Both collapsed in broken stances.
But while they fell the same way, one on the right had a red line across his throat.
His neck was severed.
"Gurgle..."
The line widened, blood spurting like a fountain.
The accelerated slash stole his life in an instant, spilling blood across the ground.
The remaining one stared at me in disbelief, face blank.
Thud!
That's what happens when you charge a mounted fighter.
I flung my sword indifferently, killing the other who hesitated.
Then I pulled the excited deer's reins and leisurely circled back to retrieve my thrown sword.
Snort!
"Good boy."
I flicked the blood from the blade.
As I stroked the deer's excited neck, the suffocating tension swallowed the blood-soaked plain whole.
It happened in a flash.
The two warriors charging me dead, the boastful foes silenced.
Clop, clop, clop.
I circled the corpses calmly, like nobility on a leisurely ride, and raised my head.
The chieftain glared at me, face nearly bursting.
I smirked and said,
"Rootless mongrels. Brothers from the same litter, perhaps?"
"Krrrrrrrraa!!"
As expected—universal across nations and eras, provoking filial impiety works wonders on enemies.
He clearly understood, exploding in rage and drawing his weapon.
The hesitant barbarian mob then charged me madly.
Perfect. Success.
Having slain the two threatening warriors and provoked them, I yanked the reins hard.
And turned the mount in the direction I'd dodged their clubs.
Clop, clop, clop, clop!
Not so fast they'd catch me,
nor so slow they'd lose interest.
I adjusted my speed deliberately for them to see, galloping toward the distant forest.
Toward the maw of the North.
Its white fangs gleamed ominously.
"Huff, huff..."
The youngest soldier, Short Leg, exhaled his ragged breaths from tension with effort.
But his fragile pride wouldn't let him relax or straighten up.
How much time passed?
Short Leg endured what felt like an hour in one minute, keeping his head up front.
Gulp.
The narrow canyon was flanked by dense forests.
With the sole path blocked by the Shield Wall formation, there was no way through.
But that also meant their only escape was behind them.
Was fighting here really the right call?
Where was the knight sir, and what was keeping him so long?
Short Leg's sweat- and snow-drenched face couldn't contain the surging doubt and tension.
Only the endlessly drilled training held his trembling limbs through sheer stubbornness.
But then—
Clop, clop, clop, clop.
"Ah..."
Ears perked up.
His comrades, holding their breath, raised their heads in unison.
From the far end of the path came heavy, urgent hoofbeats.
A single dot on the white plain was clearly heading their way.
"- - - - - - - -!!"
The echo carried far.
The dot was shouting something at them.
It drew closer,
the deer's hot breath painting the air.
A colossal presence, a majestic sword.
Momentum like an avalanche swept away the tension, overwhelming their bodies.
Short Leg remembered clearly.
What that distant echoing voice commanded, what it meant.
Shield up!
Clack!
Shield up!
Thud!
His body moved on reflex.
And a hot blaze ignited from his heart, setting him aflame.
All preparations complete.
Swelling to the bursting point.
If just one more push,
one nudge to this heat, he could scream till his throat burst.
And that role fell to the man they'd awaited.
'Do you know why we call those brutes barbarians? Because they lack self-awareness, never agonize, never feel pain for family or neighbors!'
'This frigid North demands the warmest hearts more than ever! That's you! Fear not fear! Before sunset today, drive them from our home!'
'Rise, sons and daughters of the North! Raise shields and protect what's precious!'
Clop, clop, clop!
Snort!
"Shiiiield waaaall!!"
The knight leaped down from his mount.
And at the forefront of the Shield Wall, holding the same shield, he drew his sharp sword.
"Don't fall back!"
The enemy horde surged like a pack of dogs.
Like a black wave invading the white domain, jaws agape.
But fear was gone.
A sticky bond started from the vanguard, binding him to his comrades,
and unyielding battle spirit boiled fiercely from head to toe.
"Horoooooo!!"
"Pyo! pyo da!!!!"
The arrogant foes closed in.
"Push!"
Bam— - - -!!
Bodies moved on command.
The stationary Shield Wall shoved forward the instant the enemy hit.
The natural rebound hit both sides equally, pushing every soldier back without exception.
But the brunt fell on the charging barbarians.
Bam!
Graaaah!
Crunch, thud!
The frontrunners turned to pulp.
The next wave, unable to halt, crushed and trampled their own.
Narrow canyon, sturdy Shield Wall.
Can't advance ahead, pushed from behind.
The barbarians became ground meat, one by one.
"Hold!"
Of course, the Shield Wall was in agony.
No matter how sturdy the shields or narrow the path, the enemy numbers were too vast.
But now they learned what "hold with all your might" truly meant.
For that, the training seeped in slowly, like concentrated elixir.
Of course, it wasn't over.
Screeeee—!
A piercing whistle tore through the air.
The silent forest atop the canyon shook, and the remaining soldiers poured out.
Troops who hadn't trained in Shield Wall due to the short muster time.
But they held javelins instead of shields, aiming down into the canyon.
"Raaah! Throw!!"
"Die, you bastards!"
Mostly refugees who'd lost homes and families to these foes.
Their hatred and rage burned hottest, their desperation for survival fueling strength.
Thud! Crunch!
Whoooosh, thud!
Heavy javelins rained down.
Unarmored, shieldless rabble with crude weapons—pierced clean through.
Pushed from front, from back.
Heavy javelins flying at them.
The barbarians shrieked and flailed desperately to survive.
But the ground was slick only with guts and blood from routed stragglers.
"Ouooo..."
"K, Koya ca! ca!"
The vanguard wiped out in seconds.
The middle ranks lost will to fight and tried fleeing, but the rear lagged in grasping the situation.
Launch an offensive?
No—unleashing the rigid stance and advancing slowly was enough.
They'd chewed and torn enough; time to close the jaws.
"Cut!"
Snap!
Screeeeech!
A sharp severing sound struck the chaotic battlefield.
Trees atop the canyon shook wildly, shedding leaves.
Pre-cut timber.
Cracklecrashes!
Thud!
Giants crashed down in numbers.
Blocking the canyon retreat perfectly; fleeing foes impaled on sharpened branches.
Escape sealed in a blink.
But the soldiers didn't stop—they hurled torches.
Whoosh!
Conifers fattened on Northern chill.
The flames, as if mocking the cold, devoured resin and roared to life.
No way out.
No enemies escaping.
And Broken Sword, who planned and led it all, raised his sword.
"Shiiiield waaaall!!"
Raaaaah!!!
Blood-mad soldiers roared without order.
Then Broken Sword, sword and shield in hand, advanced slowly with the Shield Wall.
Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!
Long years of oppression.
They all remembered vividly the horror of family and neighbors taken, powerless to resist.
Because I was weak.
Because we were the weak.
That was how it had to be.
But not today.
We gripped spears and shields ourselves, formed a solid Shield Wall with comrades.
The reversal of endless defeat, a hymn to struggle.
The day to decide!
Them or us.
Soldiers lowered safe shields, thrust forward sweat-soaked spears.
That quiet command was enough to snap the long-accumulated tension.
"Charge."