Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Victorious Returnee (1)
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"Imperial Army, assemble under the banners!"
They couldn't afford to throw disorganized troops against the heavy cavalry assault unit.
Kasiyas gathered the Imperial Army's knights and soldiers, and Gestain summoned the Imperial Guard.
"Knights, to the front! Engage the heavy cavalry assault unit at the vanguard!"
Raymond issued the order, raising his Soul Sword as he advanced. Gestain naturally followed, and even Desia, a mage, boldly stepped forward without hesitation.
"Shields up!"
The infantry clustered together, hoisting their shields. They lacked the renown of the Free Isiria Kingdom's heavy cavalry assault unit, but the Philius Empire's Imperial Army was elite in its own right.
They formed ranks with perfect discipline. The sharp tips of spears and blades slotted between shields pointed straight at the heavy cavalry assault unit.
"They're coming! Brace yourselves!"
There was no worry of enemy spells reaching them. The 19th Heavy Cavalry Assault Unit's mages were tied up battling the Mage Tower mages Raymond had brought, leaving no spare forces to divert here.
Especially since the 5th Prince's mage unit included high-ranking mages.
Even excluding the Azure Tower Lord, withered from casting climate magic, the Crimson Tower Lord Berenus Kyle was still in fighting shape, forcing the 19th's mages to scream in despair.
No matter how desperately they burned through their mana, the 5th Prince's forces held overwhelming superiority in the magical battle.
"Gah!"
"Argh!"
The archers' relentless arrow barrages felled the heavy cavalry assault unit's knights and soldiers one by one.
Heavy armor or not, gaps existed in every suit, and some arrows pierced them cleanly.
Moreover, caked in mud as they were, they struggled to raise shields in time, their movement slowed dramatically—easy prey for the archers.
But the archery suppression didn't last. As the heavy cavalry closed the distance, the archers had to halt fire to avoid hitting allies.
"For the Free Isiria Kingdom!"
"Victory and glory to the Philius Empire!"
The formations clashed. Shields slammed into shields, spears and blades exchanged in brutal fury. Red blood sprayed as the front lines of both sides crumbled helplessly.
Despite exhaustion from the mud and a week of rain, the heavy cavalry briefly gained the upper hand on impact.
"Arrrgh!"
"Guh!"
Imperial soldiers, weaker in close quarters, fell like wheat. Then the Mage Tower knights' blood began to scatter.
The few Imperial knights held firm, but the line looked precarious.
They dominated the magic battle, yet close combat exposed their disadvantage. Raymond poured intense energy into his Soul Sword and stepped forward.
"Imperial Guard, follow me!"
Suddenly bursting through the formation, the 5th Prince charged in with his one-armed knight.
Before the heavy cavalry knights and soldiers could react, Raymond swung his blade of white mana.
"G-guh!"
"Arrrgh!"
The knights' blood sprayed into the air. Through the hot crimson arcs, Raymond emerged like the Grim Reaper himself.
"Just two of them!"
"Surround and annihilate!"
Soldiers fell back as knights surged forward. Nine elite knights from the heavy cavalry—top-tier even among their ranks—rushed in.
They encircled Raymond and Gestain in an instant, forming a wall of shields.
"I'll shake them up. Handle the cleanup, Guard Captain."
"Leave it to me, Your Highness."
Raymond swung his Soul Sword—or so it seemed—before slamming it into the ground. Just as confusion flickered across the encircling knights' faces, small ice storms erupted from the earth.
Five quick-reacting knights leaped back in time to save their lives, but the other four were swept into the merciless blizzard and frozen solid.
"I-impossible...!"
"Swordsmanship and magic at the same time?"
To those unaware of magic swordsmen, it shattered common sense.
Even those who knew of them wouldn't react much differently. Their lineage had effectively died out since ancient times. No one could imagine one suddenly appearing now, blessed with such power.
But before they could scrutinize Raymond, Gestain drew his sharp blade and intervened with lethal grace.
"How dare you point weapons at him? This is before His Highness the 5th Prince of the Philius Empire!"
With solemn declaration, his mana sword cleaved through the heavy cavalry knights. They couldn't withstand even a single strike from Gestain, now at high knight rank, and bled out profusely.
"Arrrgh!"
"Uwaaaah!"
The screams heralded the hell to come—an overture to the magic swordsman's return. Before such calamity, the enemy would find resistance futile.
Raymond's lips moved. He drew the Soul Sword to his chest, his sharp gaze sweeping the surroundings.
With the nine knights down, gaps opened, and the Imperial Guard poured in.
"Gestain, cover my back."
"As you command, my lord."
At Gestain's reply, Raymond shot forward like an arrow. Heavy cavalry soldiers blocked his path but scattered blood before the Soul Sword, unable to resist.
"This can't be!"
"The empire's wastrel prince is this strong?!"
"At least high knight level!"
All were stunned.
Only a minute had passed since Raymond penetrated deep into the formation.
Yet around him, enemy corpses piled like a "mountain of graves."
"The formation's collapsing!"
"Impossible! Just two of them, and the formation's breaking?!"
Unbelievable. They'd allowed two to infiltrate deep, sure—but for the entire line to crumble?
"We are the vanguard of the Free Isiria Kingdom! Heirs to the legacy of our founding king!"
"We do not retreat before the enemy. We fight to the end!"
"Draw swords! Reform ranks! Surround them! The enemy is just two!"
Indeed, the Free Isiria's elite heavy cavalry assault unit.
Temporarily disrupted, they swiftly reformed under officers' and NCOs' commands with machine-like precision. Raymond, though the foe, gave a small nod of admiration.
"Charge!"
"Knights forward!"
"Take the 5th Prince, and we win!"
Nearly twenty heavy cavalry knights rushed in. But Raymond remained calm.
He wore a relaxed smile, as if savoring the battlefield din like background music—not even assuming a defensive stance. The one-armed high knight at his side, Gestain, mirrored his composure.
"Charge!"
Unease? They surely felt it, but ignored it. The sweet prey of the 5th Prince dangled before them.
But they should never have dismissed that instinct.
"G-guh!"
An arrow pierced a knight's throat unnoticed. Infused with wind spirit, it struck with speed and penetration beyond ordinary shafts.
"A-ah..."
His dying gaze ended on Sylvia atop a tree, green eyes gleaming as she nocked another arrow.
"Sniper!"
"Don't falter! Overwhelm with numbers!"
But the 5th Prince's trust wasn't solely in his high elf sniper. A ferocious ice storm suddenly raged from the skies, revealing Desia.
"Your Highness, you mustn't leave me behind."
She appeared with a fresh smile out of place amid the carnage.
Now at top-tier mage rank, every flick of her hand froze approaching heavy cavalry knights solid.
High mages were true terrors of the battlefield; top-tier ones earned the moniker "nightmare" for their lethality.
"Isn't falling behind your own fault? Don't blame our lord too much."
"The Guard Captain always takes His Highness's side. I hate that."
Desia pouted, raising her hand. A dozen ice spears materialized, firing like bullets to skewer the remaining knights.
"W-what... is this...?"
"Isn't he the empire's wastrel?"
The heavy cavalry officers trembled in fear.
The one-armed swordsman at the 5th Prince's side was clearly high knight rank. The mad old man blasting fire from behind was a high mage. The fearless woman mage blinking deep into their lines seemed top-tier.
Monsters, every one.
"Imperial Guard, advance!"
"Protect His Highness the 5th Prince!"
The Guard caught up late, but not a single Frost Shield Knight Order veteran lagged.
"Shall we strike the command now?"
"Straying too far from Sir Kasiyas's Imperial Army isn't wise."
Raymond glanced at Gestain, who stood firm. Raymond nodded.
"You're right. Hold position until the Imperial Army descends."
Raymond said. Only after Kasiyas's Imperial Army drew near did he advance again with the Guard.
Behind the 5th Prince swinging his Soul Sword aglow with pure white energy trailed a thousand knights. Having further assimilated the thousand knights' experiences from his body reconstruction, Raymond was now a war machine honed for slaughter.
Indeed, enemies fell without resistance at each swing.
And now, the vanguard banner loomed.
"Commander! At this rate, they'll take the vanguard banner!"
"We must avoid that worst-case scenario!"
Officers drew swords. Right behind them, the vanguard banner fluttered in the cold wind.
"Defend the vanguard banner with your lives!"
The 21 vanguard banners granted by Free Isiria's founding king transcended mere unit pride—they held profound meaning.
The heavy cavalry had rarely routed, but never lost a banner in history. That alone showed their devotion.
"We cannot lose the vanguard banner!"
The commander bellowed. As the banner retreated, soldiers charged to meet Raymond and Gestain but crumpled before a single blade.
"B-block them!"
"I'll clear the path."
Gestain spoke calmly, hurling himself at the gathering foes.
His mana sword extended to 3 meters, sweeping them down. Screams erupted anew as enemies toppled in heaps.
Leaping over the fallen, Raymond closed on the banner in a burst of mana-enhanced speed.
"D-damn it!"
The commander and three knights charged, but they were no match.
The Soul Sword, empowered by a thousand knights, sprayed blood. Lifeless bodies thudded into the cold earth as Raymond seized the banner.
"Vanguard banner captured!"
He raised Free Isiria's vanguard banner high, shouting.
Mud-bound heavy cavalry soldiers' eyes locked on it. Realizing it was lost, they went berserk.
"The banner's taken!"
"We must reclaim it!"
"We'll atone for this disgrace with our lives!"
Watching their fury as they struggled free of the mud, Raymond recalled the "Mad Legion" from ancient Philius Empire lore.
"Mages, unleash full firepower! Wipe them out!"
Raymond barked. Led by Crimson Tower Lord Berenus Kyle, the mages unleashed everything.
The heavy cavalry's mages, already faltering, collapsed entirely. Shields shattered, and a rainbow of mana rained down, devouring the mud field's heavy cavalry.
Screams drowned in thunderous blasts. When silence returned, none in the mud survived.
All were dead.
"Congratulations on the victory, my lord."
Gestain approached quietly. Raymond's lips curved into a smile as his gaze scanned sharply.
They'd annihilated Free Isiria's sole central army unit outside the royal guard—the elite heavy cavalry assault unit—and captured one of 21 banners bestowed by the founding king for valor. An overwhelming triumph.
"The first on the continent to seize a vanguard banner, my lord. A feat for the ages."
Kasiyas fawned. Raymond merely smiled silently.