Chapter 142
Chapter 142
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Helot's Sacrifice
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“Defense unit!”
At Skevin’s shout, the soldiers swiftly formed ranks to build a defensive wall.
Skevin called out next.
“Cavalry, form up!”
The cavalry mounted on Britannica steeds aligned themselves in perfect order.
Having blocked the wide-area attack spell, the knights’ morale soared, their fear of the enemy fading.
Seizing the moment, Skevin rapidly reorganized the Death Knight Order, eyeing a chance to advance.
He mounted his Ma-tan and turned the reins toward the front.
Countless fireballs rained down.
Boom! Boom boom!
Through the inferno charged Helot, visible in the chaos.
He clutched Arthur and Aria to his chest.
Skevin immediately shouted.
“Erect a forward defense wall! Jonathan, support Helot!”
Kraa-.
Jonathan led Assault Squad 2 forward with fearless valor.
He alternated glances between Helot and Arthur, bellowing at the top of his lungs.
“Vice Captain!”
‘Just a little more!’
Seeing Jonathan and the assault squad charging toward him, Helot gritted his teeth harder.
He barreled ahead, eyes fixed forward, undaunted by the barrage of fireballs.
Boom! Boom!
Fireballs poured from all directions, shards embedding in his body.
Unlike Arthur, protected by his armor and helmet, Aria was utterly defenseless against the fragments.
Each time a shard flew her way, Helot yanked her shoulder or pressed his head to shield her.
His face was a mangled mess from the debris.
The silver lining was that his eyes remained intact, securing his vision.
Tears streamed down Aria’s face as she watched Helot sacrifice himself to protect her.
Clutched in his arms, she tried channeling holy power, but as a newly minted saintess, it was no easy feat in this chaos.
“Hang in there just a bit longer. I’ll heal you as soon as we arrive.”
“With the saintess here, I feel secure.”
Even as he grimaced in agony, Helot flashed a faint smile.
The distance to Jonathan’s assault squad was now just over thirty meters.
Hope glimmered on the horizon.
Then fireballs poured from ahead.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Hold on tight!”
Helot ducked his head and upper body, charging straight through.
Chunks of rock hurtled toward them.
Pitter-patter-thud-.
“Ugh!”
A groan escaped Aria’s tightly clenched lips.
Helot blocked as much debris as he could, but perfection eluded him.
“I’m sorry! Just endure a little longer.”
“I’m fine.”
Aria gritted her teeth in response, shifting her gaze to Arthur.
His eyes locked on Helot.
Sorrow, rage, and affection twisted across his face, revealing his heart.
“Count…”
Arthur broke his silence with a word to Helot.
“Survive no matter what.”
Even as his body felt on the verge of shattering, Helot replied spiritedly.
“Of course! My life’s too precious to end here. So leave me and… Thud!”
A massive rock smashed into his face.
In that instant, Helot’s head snapped back, his body nearly toppling sideways. But in a flash, he stomped the ground hard with his foot to hold firm.
“Ughhh…”
One eye was deeply gouged, drenched in blood.
“Helot!”
Arthur’s heart tore apart.
Helot shook his head fiercely once, then resumed charging forward.
“I won’t… fall… to this.”
“You fool…”
Tears welled in Arthur’s eyes.
“Don’t… show that face… It doesn’t suit you, Young Master.”
Helot charged onward, heedless of his own state.
“Vice Captain… Sob, sob sob.”
Aria sobbed, tears flowing.
Helot clung to life solely by his iron will to protect them at all costs.
He could collapse and die at any moment.
Anxiety trembled through him at the thought of missing the treatment window, leading to the worst outcome.
Regret for his own powerlessness surged too.
“Sob sob, I’m truly sorry.”
“Nothing… to apologize for.”
Helot summoned his last reserves of strength for a final sprint, finally reuniting with Jonathan.
“Vice Captain!”
Jonathan and the assault squad dismounted their Britannica in haste and rushed to him.
“The Young Master… first.”
Helot crumpled to his knees and collapsed backward, caught by the squad members.
Jonathan swiftly placed Arthur on a Britannica.
He extended a hand to Aria next, but she wiped her tears and declared.
“No, I’m healing the Vice Captain!”
“Not here.”
“I have to! He’ll be in real trouble otherwise!”
Aria snapped.
Only then did Jonathan register Helot’s dire condition.
“V-Vice Captain…”
His face was deathly pale, eyes unfocused.
Every visible wound screamed severity.
As she said, it was a race against time.
“Damn it!”
Jonathan eyed one squad member.
“Escort the Young Master back. The rest, form a defense wall until the Vice Captain’s treated.”
At his order, they moved with speed.
One squad member departed with Arthur, and as the rest encircled Helot and Aria…
“…You all trying to die…?”
Helot grimaced, struggling to rise.
He fixed Jonathan with a fierce glare and rasped.
“Take… the saintess and go. Now.”
“How can I…!”
Jonathan faltered mid-sentence.
But meeting Helot’s resolute gaze, he instinctively grasped his decision.
And that he had transcended death.
Helot watched Arthur’s Britannica recede, flashing a toothy grin.
“I kept… my promise.”
He turned back to Jonathan.
“Grow strong… Protect the Young Master… in my stead.”
With that, he wheeled around.
The sky brimmed with fireballs and arrows.
Helot gripped his sword tight and murmured low.
“Perfect day to die.”
***
“Young Master!”
Skevin laid Arthur, returned with the assault squad, on the ground and doused him with potion.
Bright light enveloped him briefly before fading.
Confirming no major injuries, Skevin sighed in relief.
“Are you alright?”
“Help me up.”
“Rest a moment. The saintess will be here soon…?”
Skevin caught the unnatural glint in Arthur’s bloodshot eyes.
The squad member who returned with him wore a devastated expression too.
Skevin whipped around to scan the front.
Jonathan and the assault squad were returning.
He’d spotted Aria, but Helot was absent—odd.
Then his eyes locked on Helot, standing solitary amid the battlefield.
Sword swinging, he parried enemy assaults from the front.
“W-What the hell…?”
Time-wise, they could’ve escaped together.
Leaving him alone made no sense.
The squad member who’d returned with Arthur shed tears he’d held back.
“V-Vice Captain… Sob, sob sob.”
“Damn it!”
Skevin mounted his Ma-tan and charged toward Jonathan.
Spotting Skevin, Jonathan wept openly.
“Captain!”
Upon meeting them, Skevin asked in a quavering voice.
“What’s… that guy doing…?”
Jonathan could only sob, his resolve shattered, speechless.
“There’s a saintess!”
“Sob sob, she insisted on healing him… But Vice Captain said it was too dangerous… Sob sob.”
Skevin squeezed his eyes shut.
He could guess the scenario.
Helot’s nature—prioritize subordinates over self.
Especially with a saintess present.
But he wouldn’t abandon him to die.
As Skevin gripped his sword fiercely…
“Huh? Count…”
At Jonathan’s words, Skevin spun around.
Arthur rose with squad member support.
Helm approached beside him, nocking the Death Bow.
Keda and his men stepped forward, summoning wind spirits.
‘What’s this?’
Puzzled looks spread across faces.
Then immense energy surged.
“This is!”
Skevin jerked his head.
Trevik, quiet for a while, lunged forward, swinging his sword.
A deep blue aura blade hurtled in.
“Damn!”
He realized it targeted him.
Arthur, spotting Trevik’s move first, moved to counter.
But he couldn’t leave Helot.
“We have to save that guy.”
As Skevin charged into danger…
Helot suddenly turned.
Seeing him pincushioned with arrows, Skevin’s tears burst forth.
“You bastard!”
He crushed the hilt in his grip.
Helot met his gaze with a smile, and Skevin roared in anguish.
“Helot-!”
Helot clung to his fading consciousness, peering toward friendly lines.
Nearly blind, he discerned only vague red silhouettes.
His brothers-in-arms.
Amid the red, a black silhouette appeared.
“Ah…”
Indescribable emotion welled up.
Arthur Julius.
He’d wanted to stand by him as he towered over the empire…
‘The lord’s world…’
“Sniff…”
Tears trickled as Helot’s lips quivered.
“Cough-!”
Blood erupted like a fountain; he collapsed.
Arrows rained next.
Pitter-patter-thud-.
Countless shafts pierced his back.
Yet Helot lifted his head proudly, murmuring.
“I trust in the Young Master. Advance onward.”
Pitter-patter-thud-.
Helot, mana utterly spent, lay dying but wore serene peace.
Arrows riddled his body ceaselessly, yet pain’s chains had long broken.
He gazed skyward last.
Vast blue, like spilled paint.
“Nice weather…”
As his eyes slowly closed…
Arthur’s voice echoed in his ear.
-Thank you. I won’t forget you.
Helot grinned, head drooping, as fireballs engulfed him.
Kwaaang!
A deep blue aura blade pierced the flames.
“Helot-!”
Skevin unleashed fury, swinging his sword.
Pang-!
The deep blue aura blade arced like a crescent, streaking forth.
Kwaang!
Aura blades clashed.
But it shattered, insufficient against Trevik’s.
Then Helm’s aura arrow slammed in.
Kwaaaang-!
A massive shockwave swept the area.
Ma-tan skidded back, unable to withstand, then slammed its forelegs down, anchoring firm. It bellowed powerfully, as if urging attack.
“I’ll kill them all!”
Skevin swung with all his might.
Paaaang-.
His rage-infused aura blade whistled through the air.
Thanks to Helm blocking Trevik, Skevin’s blade plunged unhindered into enemy lines, smashing the mana barrier.
Kwaaaaang-!
Cracks spiderwebbed across the barrier before it shattered.
The mage corps paled at the devastating strike.
“An attack from that range…”
Huan barely blocked Helm’s relentless assaults, mana nearly depleted.
“Persistent bastard…”
“Count, Sir Trevik seems mana-drained too.”
“Hm.”
Huan surveyed the field.
Cavalry locked in fierce stalemate with Giant Wolves, but suffering heavy losses.
Archers racking up casualties under constant fire.
Crucially, Trevik had lost the brat.
Prolonging meant attrition.
Enemy reinforcements from Tuherm Territory would take at least a day.
Wise to retreat, devise new strategy, and sweep them later.
Deciding to yield for victory, Huan turned without regret.
“Retreat!”
***
The Death Knight Order silently watched the Espanya Knight Order withdraw.
No one cheered.
All mourned their comrade’s death.
Rather than tears, vengeful glares burned.
‘With my own hands…’
Arthur endlessly replayed Helot’s final moments, cursing himself.
Self-loathing fueled rage, transmuting into vast power.
A tidal surge of energy filled his empty form.
Golden aura bloomed in Arthur’s eyes, soon staining blood-red.
Helm, watching beside him, stiffened.
‘The Tyrant’s…’
Blood-red aura erupted from Arthur with domineering might.
It swept over the Death Knights.
They bristled with murderous intent, as if buffed by fury.
As Arthur’s icy gaze lifted skyward, Persia’s voice whispered in his ear.
-Delivered.
Arthur nodded and spoke.
“It will be dyed in blood.”