Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: The White-Horned Deer's Charge
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The Orc Mercenary Corps was mostly a group of heavily armored men-at-arms clad in steel plate.
Even seasoned Northern troops would struggle to hold their own against them, so to the smaller-statured Easterners, they must have seemed no different from monsters.
Could mere morale pierce that armor?
Before the citizens of Dain—armed with nothing but rusty pitchforks, let alone proper spears—could even form up for battle, they had already lost the will to fight and scattered in all directions.
Unable to fight, they were naturally pushed back.
The Crow rebels, who had once swallowed half the East, were now left with just a handful of small cities and their birthplace, Sodom.
Of course, the last news they'd heard before departing the capital—that Sodom was already surrounded and under siege—had turned into an even more hopeless situation.
The overall state of the war was grim.
Black Arrow, seated behind me, whispered so softly no one else could hear.
"What now?"
Helena, having somewhat regained her composure, had done her best to manage the crisis in her own way.
She'd sent as many refugees as possible toward the canyon linking to the North, while she and her men stayed behind in Sodom to buy time.
But just as paradise isn't found in flight, the price of a failed revolution was bitterly steep.
The refugee column trying to cross the canyon had been cut off in advance, and even their final stronghold of Sodom had been surrounded by the assembled mercenary bands.
Total annihilation was only a matter of time.
Having roughly predicted the unfolding defeat and the East's fate, I replied.
"If that's what you want, we'll find a way."
"...You're awfully fond of him."
"He's a good kid. He'll make a fine king someday."
Even as we spoke, Richard was personally tending to the growing stream of refugees.
It wasn't some show to impress.
The sense of mission etched deep in his heart was one of the driving forces that moved him.
"Hmph."
Black Arrow had seen through Richard's kind nature too, grumbling pointlessly but not denying his sincerity.
Just like Snow-Covered in the past, all Richard needed was a small favorable wind.
A spring to melt the harsh winter, a warm change to bloom flowers on barren soil.
Clop! Clop! Clop!
As the column plodded along slowly, Ronald appeared in the distance, riding a deer.
He'd left last night to scout Sodom and only returned the next day.
Clop! Clop!
Snort!
I slowed my pace momentarily, then urged my deer forward to the front of the line.
Ronald, his expression grim, yanked the reins amid labored breaths.
"Captain!"
"Good work, Sir Ronald!"
Thankfully, he didn't seem injured.
I tossed him my waterskin—his lips were cracked dry—and asked about the scouting.
"Sodom?"
Gulp!
"They're still holding out. But three days seems to be the limit."
With sturdy city walls, they could endure for a while.
But that limit was just three days, and it could shorten depending on the intensity of the assault.
I asked bluntly.
"What do you think of Richard?"
"...He wants to help them."
In truth, marching east without Northern aid was half a gamble.
But the Eastern uprising that had sparked it all was also their one chance to build a base of support.
Even if the royal-denying Crows were the core, justice didn't belong to any one side.
If Richard had won the hearts of the Knight King and his Northern brothers, he could do the same for the weary, suffering Easterners.
Gripping the reins, I ordered Ronald.
"We'll head to Sodom with Richard. See the refugees to safety."
"Understood, sir!"
If that's what Richard wanted, I'd gladly help.
Reading my intent, Ronald saluted earnestly and bowed his head.
Snort!
I yanked the reins again.
Racing back, I passed the now much larger group of refugees.
Ironically, though they'd only met him a day ago, they followed Richard's sturdy back like chicks trailing their mother.
Clop! Clop! Clop!
Snort!
We rode half a day from the canyon.
Familiar terrain crested into view, carrying an unpleasant smell on the wind.
The scent of burning wood and flesh.
I raised a hand to halt the group, then dismounted my White-Horned Deer.
"Sir?"
"Quiet. Get down."
Shing! Clang!
Rooooaaar—!!
Even in the late afternoon as the sun dipped low, the siege raged on.
They aimed to crush the enemy's sagging morale with relentless pressure, denying any respite.
Fwoosh! Thunk!
Barrage!
Countless fire arrows from the mercenary lines rained madly into the walls.
The rebel defenders, struggling just to hold the enemy at bay, were helplessly exposed to smoke and flames.
The walls wouldn't breach, but the damage was severe.
After observing the battlefield for a time, I turned to the Crow member who'd come with us.
"Any way into Sodom?"
"N-not really."
Of course. If there was, they'd have evacuated the civilians first.
I shrugged lightly—never really expected it anyway—then asked Black Arrow.
"What do you see?"
"Fewer of them than I thought."
"Yeah. No cavalry either."
The steel-armored, well-armed mercenaries were each elite troops.
But their numbers were lower than anticipated, and the assault focused heavily on the main gate.
A regular garrison would've repelled this sloppy siege and counterattacked.
I counted the fluttering banners, spotting the mercenary main camp right ahead.
The solution seemed straightforward.
I called to Richard, waiting nearby.
"Richard!"
"Yes, sir!"
"I'll draw their eyes to the main gate. You and your men slip in through the back."
Using the back gate openly when stealth would still risk detection—had he lost his mind?
Unable to process the order, the Crow hesitated and glanced aside.
"Understood, sir!"
But Richard saluted without a second's pause and remounted his deer.
His bright eyes shone with unwavering trust in me.
"R-really...?"
"Grab my hand! Hya!"
Scolding his hesitant man, Richard spurred toward the detour with a shout.
With that, I gripped the reins in one hand and drew my sword.
Shing!
If it'd just been Richard and me, we'd have snuck in under cover of night.
But Black Arrow rode behind me—peerless in chaotic melees—and the enemy lacked proper cavalry.
We couldn't rout the army, but it was perfect for a master knight to rampage.
I turned to Black Arrow, who readied her bow and arrows as if waiting.
"Watch my back."
"...As if you need to ask."
"Haha."
Grinning, I spurred my deer, charging down the hill toward Sodom.
The cold northern winter wind that began in the North was now steadily claiming the East.
"Gruk..."
Shigma, leader of Redskin Squad Two, was in a foul mood today.
While other captains reveled in the plunder, he'd been stuck handling stragglers in this wasteland.
All because of a stupid drinking bet.
Shigma scowled at Sodom's stubbornly enduring walls.
"Pathetic."
The rebel defenders threw everything into holding the walls.
But to warrior Shigma's eyes, it was all meaningless resistance—dishonorable desperation.
Another day or two of pressure, and they'd collapse from exhaustion.
Never intending to accept surrender anyway, Shigma smacked his lips.
Ptoo!
The sun was setting.
Shigma spat thick phlegm and ordered his lieutenant.
"Burn the walls all night! At dawn, throw everything at them and breach."
"Gruk, got it!"
Growing too lazy even for orders, Shigma turned with his guards.
He planned to watch Sodom and the humans burn from the rear base tonight.
"Wh-what?"
"Enemy! Cavalry!"
Clop! Clop! Clop!
But as Shigma moved to leave the main camp, his shouting officers burst from the command tent.
A single unidentified knight had charged from the hill, barreling through the retreating archers.
Kyyyaaah!
Shoot! Fire!
A massive White-Horned Deer goring with its horns, a knight swinging his blade at unseen speeds.
And an archer atop the bucking saddle, freely shifting posture to loose arrows everywhere.
Orc archers who'd just emptied their quivers and were falling back.
With only sidearms, they were slaughtered.
The retreat scattering from one deer rider, drawing all eyes.
No major losses, but Shigma's irritation boiled into rage.
"What are you idiots doing? Send troops—keep him away!"
Denied light cavalry support, of all things.
He'd have to commit ranged units to shut down the rampage.
Clop, clop, clop!
"He's coming this way!"
"———!!"
But instead of hit-and-run, they charged straight for his main camp.
Thundering hooves!
One White-Horned Deer and riders hurtling toward countless steel-clad foes.
Panic was fleeting; the orcs sneered at the recklessness and formed a shield wall against cavalry.
300m, 200m, 100m.
Accelerating relentlessly, the deer became a white streak.
And as the charging gale peaked...
Screeeeech!
Whoosh!
The rear archer drew her bow.
But this arrow blazed not with fire, but blue aura.
An Aura user!
The orcs thrusting spears confidently paled.
Fwoom!
No arc—a perfect straight line.
The arrow pierced them, trailing glowing light.
Cough! Gack!
Kyyyaaah!
Steel armor meant nothing to aura.
Tight formation only worsened it.
Aura arrows pouring invisibly fast shattered the wall.
"For Mother North!"
As the White-Horned Deer broke through, a thrilling roar erupted, the knight gripping his sword two-handed.
BOOM—!!
Whoosh! Slash!
Slice! Crunch! Slash!
A massive fireball erupted.
The sword dancing in the Sword Saint's grasp swept through the mercenaries like autumn leaves from a tree.
Yet speed never slackened; those gored by horns or trampled left a gaping hole in the camp.
"Mercy!"
"Block him! Block, I said!"
Knowing didn't help.
Visible, yet uncatchable.
Ignoring mass and momentum, Shigma realized too late.
'Your head.'
The rider—no, human knight—wasn't disrupting; he targeted Shigma's head and the camp's central banner.
How arrogant, how savage.
But no better words fit the knight smashing all in his path.
Slash!
His body crumpled like a puppet with cut strings, vision soaring skyward before slamming down.
Shigma's last sight: the North's fierce wind proudly claiming the banner.