Chapter 63: The Great Warrior's Second Battle
Something about the pope made him seem a little pitiable. But there was nothing to be done about it. When you had a resource like that, you had to make use of it.
With Cecilia joining the fray, sticking her in there would create some nice synergy.
A hundred thousand troops were arrayed across the plain. Far in the distance, a single horse came galloping up.
Second Knight Division Captain Adel spoke in a grim tone.
"Shall we kill him?"
Smack!
"Gahk!"
"What do you do if you kill the herald? Tsk tsk."
"I heard the old lord used to rip apart heralds and everyone else."
"That's ancient history."
To be precise, it was before I'd dropped into this world.
There were all sorts of rumors about the Knight of Herculean Strength, including plenty of taboo-breaking exploits. One of them was killing enemy commanders and heralds during the Bingtan War. That had earned him quite the notoriety.
But these days, I tried to avoid anything that would put me at a disadvantage in terms of justification. The gods might go berserk if I broke the rules, but they didn't seem to want that anyway.
Thud thud thud thud!
The herald approached just beyond arrow range and shouted.
"Our commander proposes a duel to Count Auron Blaine! Do you accept?"
"A duel?"
The romantic showdown of this era. With massive armies behind them, generals would step out for one-on-one combat.
Hmm, when I was writing this novel, I'd been deep into the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. At least I hadn't made the mistake of casually setting armies in the hundreds of thousands. The Three Kingdoms featured a million-man armies like it was nothing, but after coming here and handling troops myself, I realized that was utterly impossible. A million troops? Just thinking about the food and supplies they would consume made my head spin.
But I couldn't cut out the duels.
"Is that a refusal?!"
"Hahaha! I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of meat shield you send out. Such courage—truly admirable! Tell him to come out at once!"
"Understood."
The herald rode back. The fact that even he hesitated to approach showed that my(?) reputation from the Bingtan War still held weight.
I drew my holy sword. I was a little curious what kind of guy would show up.
Eastern Alliance camp.
The dispatched herald returned. Fortunately, he hadn't been shot down with arrows. Considering Count Auron's infamy, they'd been prepared to lose him, but the rumors of Auron changing lately seemed true.
Marquis Reston had proposed the duel because of Knight Remington, who had recently started making a name for himself in the territory. He came from a three-generation knight family in Reston lands, loyal for ages. Impeccable background, and above all, he'd skyrocketed in skill lately, surpassing sword master level.
Marquis Reston's strongest card, truly.
Count Auron was no pushover, but Remington had proposed the duel first this time.
"My lord! I'll twist that bastard Auron's neck off!"
"Can you do it?"
"More than enough!"
Unbelievable growth. Surely the gods' blessing. With that, Remington might even beat Auron.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
"Yes, sir!"
"You're the star of the East—no need to fight that monster to the death."
As they spoke, the herald arrived with Auron's response.
"Count Auron accepts!"
"Good! Sir Remington, advance!"
"Yes, sir!"
A sturdy, reliable figure. But the other lords looked uneasy.
"Your Excellency, can Sir Remington beat Count Auron? I doubt he can smash the Knight of Herculean Strength one-on-one."
"That's because you don't know Sir Remington's power. He advanced dazzlingly for some reason. What else could it be but divine blessing? Even the gods must be sick of Auron's atrocities."
That was Marquis Reston's conclusion, more or less. But Remington's shout left him reeling.
"Auron Blaine! I am Remington Kline, Great Warrior of Odin! I have awaited this day for so long!"
"Wh-what the hell is that lunatic?! Tell him to come back now!"
"T-too late!"
Murmurs.
The camp buzzed. In an official setting, Remington had declared himself Odin's Great Warrior.
The Empire classified Odinism as heresy. To boldly proclaim himself Odin's champion in such a land—and one of his own knights, no less!
"That damned fool! So he's Odin's dog?!"
"Your Excellency, calm down first. If Odin sent a Great Warrior, our chances of victory rise. It seems Odin really means to kill off the other gods."
"Isn't that just a rumor?"
"Given the situation, it might not be."
"Urk."
His heart tightened. Losing here would brand them all rebels.
"Auron Blaine! I am Remington Kline, Great Warrior of Odin! I have awaited this day for so long!"
His voice boomed across the plain. As I prepared to advance, I felt like I'd hit the jackpot.
"Huh? What'd that guy just say?"
"Odin's Great Warrior, apparently."
"Holy shit, have you ever seen such a madman? What do they expect us to do when he says it right out like that?"
"Hahaha! Perfect!"
My retainers were in festival mode. With an idiot like that, victory would give us ironclad justification. From heresy petitions to Odin's own Great Warrior—they'd handed us undeniable proof on a platter.
"Scribe, record this clearly!"
"Yes, my lord!"
With two hundred thousand witnesses. Whatever that Great Warrior had eaten to get such a booming voice.
The pope watching all this was excited too, but the real highlight was the gods.
Honestly, I almost wanted to thank Odin. This might turn into more than just a skirmish.
The enemy couldn't match us qualitatively. They'd scraped together a hundred thousand somehow, but if the giantkin stepped in, they'd get swept away. And with me taking the field, the war's outcome was decided.
No full imperial army could stop me.
And right then, Odin's Great Warrior appeared. The gods were going wild, so things were looking up.
I patted my chest and advanced.
Killing him in one shot wouldn't satisfy the gods. I'd make it hurt as much as possible.
Screee!
True to his title as Odin's Great Warrior, he was nimble. He closed the distance in a flash and leaped into the air, sword raised to smash down.
'Lucky. He's still got a ways to go.'
Whether Odin's power had weakened or I'd grown too fast, I didn't know. I rocketed up and slapped Remington's face.
Kaboom!
Splat!
"Gwaaaack!"
A massive shock rippled through my fist. This one landed solid. Blood sprayed as Remington's body flew back, teeth scattering in the air.
A counter like that should've caved in his face. Sure enough, the gods went nuts.
Remington crashed into their camp far off, and I closed in fast.
"Time for a proper beating?"
Boom!
Kaboom!
A massive shockwave erupted from deep in the enemy main camp. Count Auron had breached their lines, and Sir Remington was floating midair, getting pummeled like a sandbag.
He looked half out of it, but Auron didn't stop. Blood sprayed everywhere, his armor reduced to powder.
Marquis Reston and his faction were stunned by the brutality, but given Auron's reputation, it wasn't that shocking. The monster who tore people apart in seconds.
The real problem was Remington's declaration.
"Odin's Great Warrior's about to die!"
"We're fucked."
That summed it up. Odin's Great Warrior couldn't beat Auron Blaine—instead, he was getting demolished. Even the soldiers dragged here were suffering.
One wrong move, and they'd all be branded heretics and executed. Even victory wouldn't save them from the imperial army.
They could become the Empire's top target. Marquis Reston desperately sought an out.
"Th-that guy's a spy! A spy!"
"Urk! Your Excellency, Sir Remington's family has served yours loyally for three generations."
"It's a ploy!"
"Too late. Two hundred thousand people heard him."
"I don't know that lunatic!"
"It's not over! Count Auron's alone in our camp. Order an attack—we can capture him! We still have a hundred thousand troops!"
Count Luil steadied Marquis Reston. Truth be told, the marquis was in full panic. No excuse could get him out of this.
But if he took out the Empire's headache, Count Auron? He could negotiate with the emperor.
"Capture Auron the moment the duel ends!"
Thud!
Kaboom!
The merciless beating continued. As Odin's Great Warrior, he had ridiculous durability. He should've been dead by now, but he clung on.
Time to finish it. I raised my sword to his neck.
"Hey, any last words?"
"Grrrk. Great Warrior of many gods."
"......"
His voice had changed. That was definitely Odin's voice. Using Remington's body, Odin was trying to talk to me.
"Are you Odin?"
"I am."
"......!"
Murmurs! Murmurs!
The area grew chaotic. Odin had fully possessed him. This was turning more in my favor by the second.
"The gods you serve will lose the final battle. Become my Great Warrior. Kill my enemies. I'll lead you to godhood."
"Godhood, huh."
The gods were thrown off too. No choice here. If Odin had a shot, I'd switch sides in a heartbeat.
But Odin was alone against all the gods. If he subbed me and then unsubbed, I'd drop dead.
The gods, and everyone else, watched me closely. I said one word.
"Fuck off."