Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: The Beastly Charge
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***
“How many do you think will come?”
“Rumor has it their knight order alone numbers over a thousand.”
“Really?”
“The Julius Count Family is done for now.”
The soldiers chatting while standing guard around the barracks suddenly tilted their heads.
“You hear that sound?”
“Yeah, what is it?”
Their gazes turned toward the perimeter.
A moment later.
Thud thud thud thud thud—
The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck.
“What the hell is that?”
Horses were charging forward like a massive black storm cloud.
“H-Horses...!”
Golden armor and blue armor!
It was the head of the Julius Count Family and the Phoenix Knight Order.
“Enemies!”
One soldier quickly blew the emergency horn.
Bwooooong—!
Another lit an arrow aflame and shot it into the sky.
The arrow streaked upward in a line before exploding with a bang, shining brilliantly.
At the same time, the knights in the barracks rushed outside.
“What’s going on!”
“What happened!”
“Look ahead!”
One knight pointed to the perimeter line.
The Julius Count Family’s Phoenix Knight Order was swarming in like clouds.
But something was off.
Compared to the mounts, the riders looked far too small.
As everyone puzzled over it in confusion, Giant Wolves appeared.
“Th-Those are...”
Someone shouted.
“Giant Wolves!”
And another muttered to themselves.
“Then those guys are Bri...tanica...”
“...!”
The knights’ eyes widened in shock.
It wasn’t horses—it was Britannica.
That’s why the knights had looked so small.
“H-How...”
Everyone was bewildered, at a loss for what to do.
But they soon snapped out of it and began preparing to meet the enemy.
“Form the first defense line!”
At the knight’s command, the soldiers swiftly formed a wall of shields, thrusting spears through the gaps.
“Assault Team, prepare!”
Behind the barracks, the remaining forces of the knight order—who had gone with Kapo to greet the Yarve Count—readied for deployment.
“Draw swords!”
The moment the hundred ironclad cavalry drew their blades, Steel Knight Order banners rose in various spots.
Banners bearing the steel emblem fluttered in the wind.
They glared ferociously ahead.
‘Daring to target us?’
‘We’ll show them what for!’
Vice Captain Europis gripped his sword tightly, staring forward.
‘As expected!’
Kapo had left half the knight order behind, suspecting a possible ambush.
And sure enough.
Right after the captain left and night fell, the enemy struck.
As murderous intent filled Europis’s eyes.
Voices of panicked knights came from behind him.
“What are those?”
“Aren’t those monsters?”
“Where did those things come from!”
The knights closed their eyes and looked again, wondering if they were seeing wrong.
They weren’t.
Monsters resembling Britannica and Giant Wolves were riding alongside them.
Shock filled Europis’s face.
“H-How could this...”
“Vice Captain, what do we do?”
“The captain will have seen the signal, so we buy as much time as possible for now.”
“Then instead of a frontal breakthrough, how about striking the flanks?”
“Hmm.”
Europis wore a grave expression.
The enemies were riding monsters.
Upper-tier ones called Britannica at that, along with the notoriously fierce and agile Giant Wolves.
Monsters that had vanished for decades reappearing was shocking enough, but the enemies riding them like horses was utterly bewildering.
“Vice Captain, give the order.”
Europis bellowed as if he’d made his decision.
“They’ll leap over the defense wall! We seize their landing points and attack, but prioritize holding out until the captain arrives!”
“Understood!”
The knights roared in response and glared piercingly ahead.
***
“Skevin!”
“Yes!”
Skevin pulled up right beside Arthur, galloping abreast.
Arthur eyed the enemies ahead forming a defense wall and spoke.
“They’ve set up a defense wall.”
“I see it too.”
“Setting up a defense wall means that guy ‘Kapo’ probably isn’t there.”
“You’re right. If he was, he’d have led the cavalry out to charge.”
“This is our chance.”
Arthur continued with sharp eyes.
“Go! Show them exactly who we are.”
“We’ll sweep them away in one go.”
Skevin veered off, raising his sword high to the sky as he shouted.
“Follow me!”
With him, the Phoenix Knight Order charged at ferocious speed toward the enemy.
Thud thud thud thud thud—
The Britannica hooves shook the earth.
Skevin smirked at the defense wall they’d built with iron shields.
“That’s nothing.”
He gripped the reins tight and commanded his Britannica.
“Ma-tan, smash it to pieces!”
The Britannica called Ma-tan let out a howl as if it understood.
Then, snorting fiercely, it charged straight at the defense wall.
“Raise spears!”
The soldiers angled the spears thrust between shields at 45 degrees, planting them firmly in the ground.
“Hold tight!”
“It’s coming!”
They clenched their jaws and gripped the spears hard.
“Foolish bastards!”
Skevin shouted.
“Go!”
Hiiing—!
Ma-tan barreled straight into the defense wall.
Boom!
“Arghhh!”
“Ughhh!”
Spears and shields flew apart, shattering to pieces.
The soldiers were flung back by the impact.
The Phoenix Knight Order following Skevin also charged the defense wall.
Kwang! Kwaaang!
It was like a runaway train.
They smashed the wall, rampaged through the barracks, and cut down enemies.
“Arghhh!”
“Mercy!”
In an instant, it turned into pandemonium.
Europis’s face twisted as he watched.
He’d expected them to leap over, not crash right through.
“Damn it!”
“Vice Captain, order quick!”
Europis swung his sword with all his might and bellowed.
“Charge! Kill them all!”
Waaaaah!
The Steel Knight Order screamed at the top of their lungs and charged the Phoenix Knight Order.
In response, Skevin shouted.
“Assault Team!”
Excluding the assault team sent to the castle with Herlot, the remaining thirty-odd cavalry lined up behind him.
Skevin glared at Europis charging from the front and yelled.
“Our enemy is!”
Clang!
The entire assault team raised their swords high to the sky.
“Death alone!”
Skevin charged at the enemy.
The assault team followed, radiating terrifying killing intent.
Europis frowned at the Phoenix Knight Order charging with fierce momentum.
“Trying to face us with just that many? We’ll crush them mercilessly.”
He extended his sword to the side.
His knight order fanned out to both flanks, surging forward rapidly.
The I-formation shifted to a V-formation.
Skevin scoffed at the change in their charge formation.
“They still don’t know our terror. Guess I’ll have to show them.”
Keeping his eyes on Europis, he shouted to the assault team.
“Frontal breakthrough!”
Raaargh—!
They roared with fiery eyes and collided head-on with the enemy.
Boom!
The Britannica sent the charging foes flying along with their horses.
Then, splitting into two prongs, they swung their blades mercilessly.
The Steel Knight Order had no choice but to suffer helplessly before the onslaught.
The knights floundered in panic and chaos.
“Attack, damn it!”
As Europis bellowed, Skevin appeared before him.
His eyes met Ma-tan’s savage killing intent, and fear gripped him, his mind going blank.
Skevin spat a single line at the sight.
“Now you get why your men are like that?”
“D-Demon followers...”
Swish—
Skevin’s sword flashed like lightning.
“Guhk...”
Europis’s eyes bulged as his head dropped downward.
Ma-tan stomped his head with a front hoof.
Splat!
It burst like a watermelon.
Skevin trampled Europis’s fallen body and coldly spat.
“Who the hell were you trying to insult...”
He swept his fierce gaze around rapidly.
Arthur was nowhere in sight.
Far off, Giant Wolves were heading toward the Aslan territory.
They must have gone with them to hit the main base.
‘Young Master...’
Skevin’s face mixed worry and complex emotions as he shouted to the Phoenix Knight Order.
“Don’t leave a single one alive!”
***
At that moment.
Having seen the Steel Knight Order’s signal flare in the sky, Kapo was leading his knights in a furious gallop.
“Just as I thought.”
As Kapo urged even greater speed.
Thud thud thud thud thud—
Dust clouds billowed ahead, shaking the ground.
Through the hazy dust, a golden gleam flashed.
A powerful aura hit at the same time.
‘What’s this?’
He tightened his grip on his black spear.
Something enormous burst from the dust.
“...!”
Kapo’s eyes widened in an instant.
A massive horse clad in golden scale and breastplate.
A man in golden armor rode it.
Julius Count Family!
The armor confirmed it was him.
But something was wrong.
He’d left 150 knights at the main base.
For him to appear here...
‘We’ve been had.’
It was said the family clung to past glory, barely maintaining their line, but Kapo hadn’t believed it.
A knight order that once dominated the empire couldn’t vanish so easily.
Beyond the family head’s request, he had his own reason for coming here.
Demon followers!
The Julius Count Family had fought on the front lines in the war against the Demon King, earning great merit.
He couldn’t believe the order all knights admired had become demon followers.
So he’d come to confirm with his own eyes.
If proven true, he planned to judge them on behalf of all knights.
But seeing the man in golden armor on that mount brought one to mind.
Britannica!
‘No way?’
That was when.
Thud thud thud thud thud—
Giant Wolves emerged from the dust.
“...!”
Not one or two, but dozens, ridden by men in dark green armor.
And what they held caught his eye.
Black spears!
“Weapons of the Phoenix Knight Order!”
Kapo’s face twisted in dismay.
Taming monsters meant demon followers!
Confirmation complete.
Disappointment surged that a once-revered place had fallen to serving demons.
And with respect came boiling rage.
The vanished monsters’ return must be their doing.
“I’ll wipe them all out myself.”
Kapo raised his spear hand over his shoulder, drawing up mana.
Dark blue aura bloomed on the black spear.
The aura soon enveloped it, radiating immense power.
“Die!”
Kapo hurled the spear at the man in golden armor with full force.
Pang—!
It flew with deafening air-tearing speed.
Meanwhile, Arthur had sensed from the mana surge that Kapo was a Sword Master.
The aura was as overwhelmingly strong as expected.
But he hadn’t anticipated an immediate spear throw.
Staring at the spear hurtling at blinding speed, he bellowed.
“Scatter!”
At his command, the Giant Wolves behind split to both sides.
As Arthur turned diagonally right to dodge.
The spear curved like a guided missile, tracking him.
And its speed seemed to increase.
“...!”
Arthur’s face twisted.
Hiiiing—!
Suddenly, Khan roared like a blast. Then accelerated forward.
‘What’s wrong?’
Distance to the spear: mere 10 meters.
Khan sped up even more.
Arthur couldn’t read Khan’s intent but decided to trust him.
He gripped the red mane, lowering his posture to hug tight.
“Do your thing!”
Hmph! Hmph!
Khan snorted in response.
The dark blue aura-wrapped spear hurtled with terrifying momentum.
Khan met it with savage eyes and charged.
7 meters, 5 meters...
Collision imminent!
Khan kicked off the ground, leaping over the spear.
“...!”
Arthur’s eyes widened at Khan’s phenomenal jump.
He overtook the spear in a flash and bore down on Kapo.
“Good job!”
Arthur praised Khan and glared at Kapo.
No intention of dragging this out.
He’d end it in one shot.
He summoned the Sig Sauer in his right hand and aimed at Kapo.
‘Come on!’
‘Dodging the spear doesn’t end it.’
Kapo drew his sword. Dark blue aura swirled with intense blue flames.
Arthur held fire until the distance closed as much as possible.
30 meters.
15 meters.
Now 5 meters.
As the black-helmeted Kapo raised his sword high amid fearsome aura.
‘Now!’
Arthur pulled the trigger.