Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Twenty-First Form
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All of it had been for this moment.
The brothers who threw away their lives to sow chaos in the rear, the Northern Army's reckless assault on the walls—it was all for this single arrow nocked on the bowstring.
Kkiiigik.
I drew back the bowstring with all my might, the arrow at the ready.
Then I aimed the flaming arrowhead at the steel cauldron where black oil bubbled and boiled.
Pfuk!
Kwaaaang——!!
In that instant, an indescribable explosion swallowed the right wall whole.
Flames shot up toward the heavens, and the erupting black oil turned everything into a sea of fire.
Kwaaaah!
Help! Save me! Somebody save meee!!
The orcs danced a waltz of screams.
Burning flesh while still conscious was a torment beyond any other agony.
I stood lost in thought for a moment, facing the incarnation of fire that dragged the orcs into hell.
The flames and oil they so proudly wielded now turned on them, biting at their throats without recognizing their masters.
"Captain! They're coming!"
But my reverie was short-lived.
The orcs, finally realizing who we were, began to move. In the distance, hoofbeats thundered, kicking up clouds of dust.
Dakak! Dakak! Dakak!
It had to be the orc cavalry.
I hurriedly set down the bow and ran toward the knight who had been guarding our rear.
"Hurry!"
I clasped his hand firmly.
We slipped through the small side door into the wall's interior, brushing off the hot embers and ash clinging to our bodies.
"Thanks."
"No problem, sir. Let's get up top, quick."
We had passed the most dangerous hurdle.
I locked the steel side door tight to keep the enemy out, then climbed the steep stone stairs with him to the top of the gate wall.
Chaeng, chaeng!
The knights who had arrived first were already clashing with the orcs.
Gasping for breath, we reached the wall where the Northern Army and orcs were locked in fierce combat.
Waaaaaah——!
Orc archers loosed arrows like madmen, while Northern soldiers scaled ladders.
Our group of barely ten felt like no more than a drop in a lake.
"Knights! Our target is the gate tower!"
Now it felt like we were truly in the thick of battle.
With a mighty shout, I charged forward, and the knights fighting nearby followed me toward the tower.
"Wh-what?! Which side's been breached?!"
"Sergeant! This way!"
Their bodies were drenched in blood and sweat.
Exhaustion and fatigue washed over them; they could collapse at any moment.
Yet despite the dire conditions, the knights methodically cut down the orcs on the wall, clearing a path for me.
Seokeuk! Kwajik!
Kraaak!
The wall had become a vision of hell.
Our sudden intrusion into the fray threw the orc defenders, who had held the advantage, into utter chaos.
That chaos rippled outward, creating gaps, and soon Northern soldiers poured over the wall.
"Block them! Block them!"
The hole in the dam grew wider.
Once the sturdy oak infantry wedged through the breach, followed by the elite Huskarls, it became impossible to seal.
Even in the chaos, my eyes remained fixed on the gate tower to the right.
From the moment I resolved to climb this mountain, my goal had been singular.
Ttangrang!
I discarded my notched sword.
Snatching up an orc blade from the ground, I dashed through the heart of the melee on the wall.
Pushing all the orcs aside would take too long.
We had to ride this momentum as the Northern Army seized one side of the wall straight to the tower.
"Escort the captain!"
"For Mother North——!!!"
Reading my intent, the knights fought desperately to the end, driving back the orcs.
But as we neared the tower, the number of knights following me dwindled. By the time I snapped out of it, I stood alone before it.
Huhk, heuk.
My breath came in endless gasps.
Blood from unknown sources made my vision tremble; I could barely keep my eyes open.
How many had I cut down? How far had I come?
I wiped my face with my blood-soaked sleeve, trying to steady my blurred sight.
Around me, orcs had me surrounded, and ahead loomed the gate tower's entrance, sealed tight with iron bolts.
Golden Dawn, belatedly grasping our aim, had already dispatched several generals and sergeants to block the way.
"Archers!"
Kkiiigik.
One general raised his hand with murderous intent, and the archers drew their strings.
They meant to seal off all defense; I even spotted crossbowmen covering the blind spots.
"......"
I conserved my breath.
Raising my blood-smeared sword, I prepared to advance as always.
If I meant to give up, I never would have risen.
Honoring my fallen brothers, I hurled myself at the firmly shut tower door.
"Fire!"
Pfuwung, pfuk!
Shushushushuk——!!
'Can't block them all.'
Most arrows flew straight at me.
Even I couldn't fend off those coming from behind.
'Give flesh.'
I twisted my body.
Accelerating the sword dance of lifelong grievances—faster, faster, faster still.
Seokeuk! Seokeuk! Piing!
The blade altered the arrows' paths.
The tip split incoming shafts.
In one fluid motion, I ignored the arrows striking my back.
Pushuk! Puk!
Arrows pierced my armor. My blurring vision drowned the world in red.
But ignoring the screaming nerves, I pressed forward.
Face the fear of death.
I landed in the midst of the orc generals and sergeants' packed formation.
"Wh-what?!"
'Take bone.'
Seokeuk! Dudungsil.
I unleashed a single strike loaded with all my essence.
It severed the neck of an orc general hastily trying to manifest his aura.
A sword technique like a miracle, slipping the blade into a gap too narrow for a sheet of paper.
The severed head rose into the sky, frozen in shock.
'Twentieth form.'
A bloodstained sky filled my view.
Landing in the formation's center, I closed my eyes, and the world halted as if by magic.
'One more step.'
Every inaction has its realm.
Aura, swordsmanship—any who wield weapons dream of that sweet fruit.
Of course, I had too.
Chasing that one visible realm, I swung my sword again and again.
Now, trampling countless deaths, seeking to revive Northern glory, an unexpected crack shattered the chains binding me.
A tree that couldn't grow upward spread its roots wide.
With calm resolve, I grasped the new realm: the twenty-first form.
The sword's weight vanished.
I swung it along the ink path already drawn, leaving thick black lines.
Huwung! Seokeuk!
Huwung! Tseujujujuk.
No resistance. Spears, swords, shouts flying at me—all crumbled like sandcastles.
In this moment, aura was no longer my weakness, merely an annoying extension.
All auras around me vanished silently behind my slashing diagonals.
Teolkeok.
Jureureureuk.
I opened my eyes and dropped the dulled blade.
Grabbing another by habit, a suffocating silence descended on the wall.
Gulp.
No more arrows flew.
Enemy and ally alike paused the war, dumbfounded by the aftermath of the twenty-first form.
But my eyes held not triumph or joy, only profound sorrow.
This new realm, born of my brothers' deaths, weighed on me like a heavy duty.
Seokeuk!
Kung!
I slashed open the tower door.
The orcs guarding inside fled on their own, and I dragged my heavy body onward.
War is inherently futile.
A low voice from behind revealed who had survived to the end.
"Sword Saint......"
Teobuk, teobuk, teobuk.
The tower's interior was just as I remembered.
Descending the creaking wooden stairs, I lightly cut down the final sentry at the controls and sheathed my sword.
Kkiriik.
I gripped the lever and pulled.
Wounds tore open, blood flowed, but all my nerves focused on the sound of the door unlocking, not the stinging pain.
Kurureureung!
The White Gate finally swung open.
In that instant, a massive cheer erupted alongside blaring horns.
Bpuuuuuuu——!!
Dududududu!
How could I forget? This thunderous horn and the hooves thundering across the earth.
I secured the controls and pushed open the bloodied door to the tower's first floor.
"For Mother North!"
Just then, the White-Horned Deer cavalry burst through the gate, charging toward the heart of the fortress.
Of course, with the proud Northern banner flying and the Knight King Snow-Covered at the lead, sword in hand.
"Broken Sword!"
"......Gray Wolf."
And beside the entering Northern forces came a familiar face.
Gray Wolf, now looking quite the part in enemy armor, reached me first.
"You're badly hurt!"
"Just scratches. Got any water?"
This would heal with a day or two of rest.
I snatched the leather waterskin from the fussing wolf and uncorked it.
Jureureuk.
Pouring it over my head washed away the crusted blood and flesh.
Quenching my remaining thirst cleared my foggy mind.
The war wasn't over yet.
I briefed the oddly grim-faced Gray Wolf on the enemy.
"I know who their commander is."
"Who? One of their generals?"
"No. Golden Dawn. He's still alive."
Gray Wolf's face hardened.
Having taught him aura himself, he knew exactly what kind of bastard he was.
In the end, he died like a dog and survived like one, crawling under the orcs.
Gray Wolf scowled like a demon, glaring murderously into the pass.
With the impregnable White Gate open, a showdown was inevitable.
I took the knight order banner from a waiting Huskarl and mounted up.
The startled wolf tried to stop me.
"I'll go. Broken Sword, you stay and lead the main force following behind."
Logically, sending Gray Wolf to finish him made sense.
But I wanted to complete this mission with my own hands—the one we knights started together.
"I made a promise with my brothers."
"......Sword Saint!"
"I have to keep it."
There were no more protests.
I wheeled my horse and followed Snow-Covered, leading the White-Horned Deer cavalry.
Dakak! Dakak! Dakak!
Shwaaaaa——!
Dark clouds gathered, and rain began to fall.
The blood staining the White Gate washed away in the thickening downpour.
The world would forget this war someday.
Like countless fleeting seasons that bloomed and withered, this vivid scene would all fade.
But brothers, if we can etch it into history's pages, I will prove it true.
Who died, who lived.
What honor you fought for, what you swung your swords to sever!
That the Northern Knights, defying death,
Were the bravest of all.
Kwarureureung——!!
Lightning struck through the thunderheads.
Beyond the command tower, Golden Dawn's heavy cavalry finally appeared.
Flutter!
I raised the knight order banner high.
And alone, crossing the White Gate, I marked this historic battlefield with an indelible point.