Chapter 91
Chapter 91
Iron Emperor — Chapter 91
Bwaaaagh!
Crunch!
"Hiek!"
A violent tearing sound split the air as Samdopyo's Mukbit Bong swept past an enemy soldier's head. In its wake, the body with its head blown apart shuddered convulsively and toppled sideways. At that sight the North Roselin troops could not bring themselves to approach, seized by terror.
"Advance! Why aren't you advancing?!"
The wall built of corpses could not hold the enemy's steps for long. They fought fiercely against the North Roselin soldiers who came rushing in like a flood, but they had begun to be overwhelmed by numbers. It was Dupyo who stood in the way of those North Roselin troops.
Slash!
"Aaaagh!"
"Any man who does not advance will have his throat cut just like this!"
A North Roselin knight who struck down a trembling soldier nearby shouted with killing intent, yet strangely the terror did not leave the soldiers' faces.
Crunch!
"Hiiiik!"
"A monster!"
Dull impacts and screams rang out from the soldiers' front. The knight, scowling, let his voice burst out, but something came flying at him as though flung.
"Hup!"
When something hurtled toward the knight as well, he snatched it quickly with his hand. But that wasn't all; small bits like flesh, tangled with blood, flew onto his armor and clung there.
Patter-patter-thud.
"What is this?"
Puzzled, the North Roselin knight stopped browbeating the soldiers and looked at the object he had just caught in his hand.
"Hurk!"
In the knight's hand, a half-burst human eyeball was staring right back at him. Sensing something deeply wrong, the knight pushed through the soldiers and stepped out.
"Out of my way, all of you!"
Quickly advancing, the knight emerged into a space that had transformed as if into an empty lot. And then he could say nothing at all.
"Heh-heh, so you're the one who's been yapping all this time."
The massive Dupyo let out a chuckle and greeted the knight. But the reason the knight stiffened without being able to say a thing was what he saw around Dupyo.
He had been astonished by the gruesomeness of the South Roselin troops who had built a wall of corpses, but compared to the current atrocity, that was child's play. Piled high again atop the rampart repaired with corpses were the bodies of North Roselin soldiers. Every one of the freshly made North Roselin corpses shared a common trait.
All of them lacked heads.
And they hadn't been cut off either. The scattered hair and white, pulpy brain matter strewn everywhere attested that they had burst open from being struck by a blunt weapon. Some corpses were missing everything above the jaw, some had no head at all. Those with only half a head smashed were the fortunate ones. The knight's eyes naturally drifted to the weapon Samdopyo was carrying.
The Mukbit Bong, with matted hair and brain matter clinging thickly to it and dripping down. He had deliberately picked out and burst open only the heads of the dozens of soldiers who had died here. While the knight's eyes darted over nothing but the weapon, the headless corpses, and the surroundings, Dupyo blew air from his nostrils and taunted him.
"Krh, this one fights with his eyeballs?"
"Kugh!"
When the knight only scanned Dupyo instead of speaking or acting, Dupyo had sneered at him. Only then did the knight belatedly realize his own behavior and readjust his grip on his long sword.
"Come at me! Demon-spawn bastard!"
"Oh, what's this?"
North Roselin too, perhaps because of the Holy Empire's influence, dismissed the northern mercenaries as demon-spawn bastards. When the knight who had shouted that glared at him with a tense look, Dupyo wore a dumbfounded expression and opened his mouth.
"What the hell is wrong with these bastards, all of them blabbering about demons, or demon spawn, or whatever? Krh, now I'm getting pissed off."
"Come at me!"
Dupyo's face hardened viciously as the flight from Haian suddenly came to mind. And the knight's provocation followed.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh, whaaam!
WHOOSH!
"Kup!"
Dupyo spun the iron staff several times as if shaking off the gore that clung to it, then swung it toward the knight. The knight groaned at the wind pressure and threw himself backward.
Crunch!
"Guuaaagh!"
"Damn it!"
As the knight evaded by throwing his body back, Dupyo's staff smashed the head of a soldier standing off to the side, and once again screams mixed with terror burst from the others. Dupyo, glaring at the knight who had spat out a short curse, kept a smile fixed on his lips.
A cold smile.
"You told me to come at you, so why are you dodging?"
"Sh-shut your mouth!"
The knight shouted loudly as though trying to shake off the fear inside his own heart. Perhaps it worked a little, because he soon felt his mind settle.
'Right. Even if that's an iron staff, a sword coated in Aura should be enough.'
Clenching his teeth, the knight slowly began to draw up his Aura. Watching this, Dupyo merely stood by without launching any attack, even as he saw the Aura being raised.
'Foolish brat, I'll send your head flying.'
The knight, who had inwardly been cautious of an attack, smiled scornfully at Dupyo who stood by merely watching. The fear he had held in his startled heart had vanished without a trace. And then a blue gleam began to swirl along his long sword.
"It's Aura!"
"Woaaaaah!"
The soldiers cheered at the sight of the Aura coalescing on the knight's long sword. Emboldened by their cheers, the knight brandished his sword forcefully and charged at Dupyo.
"Die!"
"Krh!"
The Mukbit Bong swung to meet the blue-glowing sword that shot like a flash of light toward Dupyo's head. And the moment his own Aura-imbued sword touched Dupyo's Mukbit Bong, the knight foresaw his own victory.
Clang!
CRACK!
But in that instant, the sword snapped in half and flew upward, its blue glow trailing through the air, and the knight likewise turned into a headless corpse.
Thud.
The soldiers who saw the knight collapse in his heavy armor could not believe their eyes. Aura had failed to cut through a simple iron staff. They had no way of knowing the difference between a sword merely coated in Aura and Dupyo's Mukbit Bong, with his Aura—his ki—fully drawn and contained within it.
"A demon!"
"The Demon Tribe really existed!"
"Uwaaaah!"
Now that even the knight who might have stopped their retreat lay dead, the soldiers' terror could only turn into flight. Seizing the moment, the northern mercenaries' sharp swords began cutting into their backs and driving them away. But Dupyo's expression remained grim. He had deliberately smashed only heads until now to instill terror in the enemy, but even that had its limits.
'Damn it, I don't want to die here.'
Dupyo, chewing back curses and catching his breath, heaved a great sigh when he saw another section of wall collapse and North Roselin soldiers come pouring out.
'Krh, my lot in life is just like this....'
But despite Dupyo's grumbling, his feet were already racing toward the North Roselin soldiers who were pouring in.
"Fine, let's die fighting, you bastards! Kuaargh!"
Dupyo's enormous Lion's Roar shook the battlefield. And behind him, the northern mercenaries dashed forward with eyes blazing.
"Huh? Haven't I heard that voice somewhere before?"
At that moment, Eulji Uru, having just annihilated the last outpost unit on the hilly terrain, was staring curiously toward the fortress from which the Lion's Roar had echoed.
Chapter 23 — The Three-legged Crow Unfurls Across the Continent
Once one part of the fortress was breached, the ripple spread beyond containment. They exerted every last measure of strength to block it, but when another magical attack fell elsewhere, heedless of friendly soldiers, the North Roselin troops soon began to surge in like a flood tide.
Baron Silen Bels and the South Roselin troops gave everything they had, but two hands could not block ten. If this had been a larger, high-walled fortress rather than an old, small one, the outcome might have been different. But if it had been such a place, Baron Bels would not have been able to muster soldiers here in the first place.
"The end is in sight. The knight order will open the way!"
"Woaaaaagh!"
Viscount Hyuen Belmaron's voice, leading the vanguard, held power. Naturally so, for if the battle ended, the merit of leading the vanguard would of course be added to his record for this battle. The enemy would have become a huge headache had they been left alone, so this battle would surely be a great help to the viscount's advancement.
"Hyat!"
Slash!
Viscount Belmaron's sword sliced open the chest of a South Roselin soldier who charged in desperately.
"Fall back!"
"Huh?"
The sound of the South Roselin forces retreating reached the ears of Viscount Belmaron as he continued to press forward. The only place to retreat inside the fortress was the small inner wall. But it was obvious that if they withdrew inside, it would again cost time and soldiers' lives.
"Pursue them! Under no circumstances can we let them simply go inside! Hyah-ya!"
Crunch-crack.
"Guaagh!"
Beneath the hooves of Viscount Belmaron's horse, as he drove it forward with rising momentum, the chest of a wounded South Roselin soldier, who had been groaning, crumpled with a harsh sound of snapping bone.
"The knight order will seize the gate so the enemy cannot enter the inner wall!"
"Yes, Viscount! Knights, follow me!"
As Viscount Belmaron's command came down, the knight order of about twenty riders spurred their horses toward the inner wall.
"Stop them!"
Baron Silen Bels shouted desperately at the charging North Roselin knights. But even counting himself, only five knights remained—nowhere near enough to stop more than twenty mounted knights.
"Damn it!"
"Baron, hurry inside! You must get in before they seize the gate."
"Abelman, not yet!"
Two arrows were already lodged in the back of Sir Abelman, who was pulling at Baron Bels's arm. Yet even under Sir Abelman's earnest gaze, Baron Bels shook his head and clenched his sword tightly.
"About half the men are still out here, we have to hold!"
THUD-THUD-THUD!
"The enemy ringleader is over there!"
Roughly half of the soldiers heading toward the inner wall were still outside. That was what kept Baron Bels's feet from moving. But the knight order, spotting Baron Bels and Sir Abelman, quickened their pace and charged at them.
"Please go in!"
"Damn it!"
Sir Abelman's eyes, bloodshot and red, turned toward Baron Bels.
"Krh, what are you standing there gawking at, you idiots!"
"What?"
A rough voice flew at Baron Bels from behind. Flustered, Baron Bels and Sir Abelman turned and looked back. There stood Samdopyo, his whole body drenched scarlet in blood, holding his Mukbit Bong and seething.
"How dare you!"
Sir Abelman, bristling with murderous intent at Dupyo's insolence, thrust his sword toward him. Paying no mind to the display, Dupyo shouted directly at Baron Bels.
"Damn it. Krh, forget about 'how dare' and all that horseshit, I'm telling you to get inside fast, deploy the soldiers, and prepare to block them! Can't you see those dumbass idiots milling around in confusion!"
"......."
Baron Bels looked at the direction Dupyo had pointed while shouting. Everyone was desperate just to get inside, and no preparations for defense had been made. It was the result of the absence of a commander. Baron Bels turned again to Dupyo and spoke.
"It is no problem for me to go, but half the soldiers still remain. Sacrificing them...."
"Ah, shut up! Go in. You lot, follow me!"
"What!"
Without even listening to all of Baron Bels's words, Dupyo gestured to Abelman and the other nearby knights to follow him, then sprinted toward the North Roselin knight order that was bearing down on them.
"That reckless—!"
At the sight, Sir Abelman and the other knights did not even think to follow, merely staring. And then their pupils widened greatly.
"Uwoaaaargh!"
CRASH!
"Huk, that's impossible!"
Dupyo, in mid-sprint, had lifted a burning wooden pillar from a building on fire and hurled it at the charging knight order. With that single action, the charge of about twenty knights was halted, and three knights were unhorsed as a bonus, struck by the pillar.
"I'll blow off every single one of your heads!"
WHOOSH!
"What is this bastard?!"
Above the heads of the North Roselin knights, who were soothing their horses rearing in panic from the flames, Dupyo's body soared. And then his Mukbit Bong crashed down upon them, shattering shields and swords alike.
"Baron."
Sir Abelman, who had witnessed Dupyo's martial prowess, gave Baron Bels a small nod of his head and then sprinted out toward Dupyo. Four knights followed closely behind him.
"Krh! Did you come to watch them measure me for a coffin?!"
Sir Abelman glanced toward Baron Bels as the baron headed for the inner wall, urging the soldiers on, then smiled at Dupyo's exasperated shout and yelled in return.
"Don't speak down to me, you bastard!"