Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Chapter 39: Fierce Battle
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In the end, the Payud Empire couldn't provide a large force for this war.
Of course, it wasn't a scheme for making an example or taming them like when Jess was still alive.
The problem was that most knight orders were undergoing reorganization and training in preparation for the Otherworld invasion.
The training locations were also mostly concentrated in the north or west of Emplord, where the major incidents had broken out.
Only Kyle's Guardian Knight Order, which had been training in the northeast of Emplord, could respond immediately and move the entire order to the Elstone Earldom.
‘Good thing we recently moved the garrison to the Verit region...’
Kyle inwardly patted his chest in relief.
Taking command of the knight order had been fine and all, but if the distance to their base—Lunenburg Mansion—was too far, mobilization would be tricky.
That was why moving the Guardian Knight Order to the nearby Verit region, which was also Claude's territory, had been the right call.
Even so, they had hurried, but over half of the Elstone Earldom was already lost. Claude raised his voice as he watched the enemies swarming in.
“Knights, listen up! This right flank is the most critical battlefield! We expect the largest number of enemies here! We can't avoid being surrounded!”
Thanks to that, they had formed a donut-shaped circular formation from the start, leaving the center empty. They were fully prepared to fight enemies pouring in from all directions.
“So don't panic even if we're surrounded! Hold your positions and fight as you've been trained—we can win!”
“Ooh!”
At the same time, the eight hundred knights raised their shields and roared in unison. Kyle prayed that even the rookie knights positioned deepest inside wouldn't need to fight as he continued shouting.
“Always remember who's behind you! No fewer than a hundred priests are inside the formation, supporting us!”
“Ooh!”
“The injured—fall back inside immediately for treatment and return! If we endure, we win!”
“Ooh!”
The presence of the priests stationed inside the formation boosted the knights' morale even further.
Upon hearing of the commander army's invasion, the grand temple had urgently dispatched fifty priests.
After discussion, they decided to deploy all of them to the most dangerous right flank. Thanks to that, the Guardian Knight Order entered battle with a recovery method for prolonged combat right inside.
“The enemy approaches! East force—focus on defense and diverting the enemy left and right!”
Even in a circular formation, the front—facing the initial enemy assault—had the east force layered much thicker. Kyle himself was positioned right inside the east force, with thirty priests.
“Enemy collision! Brace for impact across the front line!”
Kroooaaar!
Hundreds of zombies charged first, slamming into the Guardian Knight Order's front like they meant to devour it.
But the knight order's defense was perfect.
Hiding their bodies behind the newly issued large shields, the knights prevented the line from buckling by having those behind press forward to share the shock, organically distributing the pressure.
Kraaak!
Kyaaak! Kyaaaak!
Kraaaak!
The zombies, scraping wildly at the shields with screeches, began spreading to the left and right. At that moment, Kyle—waiting atop his horse—shouted briefly.
“Thrust!”
In an instant, the knights who had focused on defense thrust their swords through the tight gaps in the shields.
Pshaa!
A single volley dropped dozens of zombies, spewing rotten blood as they toppled. Kyle immediately raised his hand and issued further orders.
“Back to defense! Close the gaps! Maintain defense!”
“The enemy is widening the encirclement! North and south forces—focus up!”
“Now! East force—thrust!”
“West force! The formation's buckling! Hold position! Perion! One step forward!”
“Lynn! Thrust that sword until you're exhausted! Lead your squad! Panal! Skeletons are piling up there! Weapons are slipping through the gaps! Now! Thrust!”
He had positioned the classmates he'd dragged from the officer academy on the outer edges, each leading a small squad on attack duty.
Of course, that level of damage was a drop in the bucket against their overwhelming numbers. The real reduction in enemy forces would start now that they were fully surrounded.
‘Good. We're almost fully encircled.’
Kyle was mounted alone, with his saddle raised high.
Surrounded by thousands of enemies, with even more incoming—this was a desperate crisis.
But this was a crisis they had prepared for.
“Shield charge—prepare!”
Shhk!
The moment the order dropped, every knight on the formation's perimeter sheathed their swords and gripped their shields with both hands.
“Shield charge!”
“Charge!”
In that instant, the entire formation rippled like a wave.
The shield knight first pulled their entire body back.
At the same time, the knight directly behind shoved the pulled-back shield knight with full force.
The shield knight loaded all that momentum into the shield, while stepping forward with full power and shoving it ahead.
Kwaaaaang!
It sounded like a massive gong tolling.
The formation unleashed a shockwave, crushing the encircling enemies in one go and hurling them outward.
There was no way zombies or skeleton soldiers could withstand a shield bearing the full power of two magic-armored knights. In that single blow, the five hundred undead surrounding the knight order were shattered and flung away.
‘Success! It worked!’
Kyle inwardly pumped his fist wildly in joy.
Shield charge was basic training at the imperial officer academy, but since most of the Guardian Knight Order weren't academy graduates, he'd had to teach it from scratch.
‘Worth keeping all you noble brats in camp training without letting you go home!’
He also couldn't help but be grateful to the priests who had pre-cast strength magic on the knights.
Now that the first charge had worked perfectly, they could repeat it whenever the chance arose—and eventually annihilate all the enemies.
Even amid this, Kyle kept wheeling his horse, scanning the foes all around. Soon, he spotted a massive monster approaching beyond the east force.
‘Flesh monster... It's here.’
He'd wondered why it hadn't come sooner. From here on, they needed the elaborate plan crafted specifically to counter Otherworld monsters.
“East force—focus! Flesh monster approaching! Call a number, and open the trap immediately!”
“Yes, Vice Commander!”
A fine response, blending discipline and tension perfectly. As the thundering flesh monster swung its rusty axe down toward the east force's center...
“Number 114! Trap open!”
“Open!”
The number Kyle called was written on the back of the knight's helmet.
Knight 114 immediately fell back with the knights to his left and right, and those behind them followed, creating a deep pit in the perimeter.
Krraa!
The flesh monster, having whiffed its swing, barreled straight into the trap.
“Got it!”
“Close in!”
“Seal the gate!”
No need for Kyle to order it—the other perimeter knights narrowed their spacing, closing off the pit's entrance.
“Trimum!”
“Ready!”
The moment Kyle called his name, Trimum—Claude's escort priest—entered the trap and thrust out both hands.
“Evil—submit!”
A dazzling light shot out, wrapping around the flesh monster's body.
Anti Evil.
A holy spell commonly called evil-breaking magic—a minor version of Turn Undead.
Lesser undead like zombies or skeleton soldiers couldn't endure the light and vanished, while powerful high-tier undead could at least be sealed in place, unable to move.
Krgh...
The monster, flailing wildly at the knights around it, froze like it had been flash-frozen. Kyle immediately raised his hand with an order.
“Trap attack!”
“Attack!”
“Attack!”
“Attaaack!”
The knights, who had held pure defense in the trap, raised their swords in unison and began assaulting the flesh monster.
“Die!”
“You damn monster!”
“Stab! Slash! Stab!”
The knights swung as if venting pent-up grudges, even in that brief moment.
It was like phagocytes engulfing and dismantling an intruding pathogen.
That massive flesh monster turned into butcher-shop scraps in a mere ten seconds or so. Only then did Kyle raise his hand with an order.
“Trap cease! Everyone return to position and maintain formation!”
“Yes, Vice Commander!”
The knights, frenzied in their swordplay, snapped back to position in an instant. Kyle let out an inner sigh of relief and spoke to Trimum.
“Impressive, Priest. Thanks to you, we took down that monster easily.”
“The impressive one is you, Kyle.”
Trimum shook his head as he fell back.
“To temper the knight order this much in such a short time—when I first heard the orders, I worried the knights wouldn't move properly.”
“Real battle has them all on high alert, it seems. More importantly, how many more times can you do it?”
“Anti Evil, you mean? If we keep it short like that, at least twenty.”
That meant the pain would begin once the flesh monsters exceeded twenty. Kyle glanced at the supplies piled high in the empty central space of the formation and said,
“We brought all sorts of elixirs and sugar bars from the mansion, so take them as needed. We need you to stop even one more flesh monster if possible.”
“Of course. You focus on commanding, Kyle—don't worry about me.”
Just then, two more flesh monsters came charging in. Kyle nodded and issued fresh orders.
“East force! Focus again! Flesh monsters approaching! Call a number, open the trap immediately! And shield charge—prepare! Shield charge!”
Amid it all, he added an omnidirectional attack order.
Kwaaaaang!
Hundreds more undead clinging to the perimeter were blasted away with a heavy boom.
At the same time, the two flesh monsters latched onto the east perimeter, and Kyle responded with swift precision, handling them one by one just like the first.
“Whew...”
For the second monster, Kyle had to jump into the trap himself to buy time. Returning to the central clearing, he wiped cold sweat while scanning all around.
‘This consumes way more mental energy than expected.’
From inside the formation, he had to survey every direction and issue precise orders at every moment.
One slip, and one wall would crumble—then the surroundings would collapse in chain reaction, dooming the entire formation.
‘Stay calm. The battle's just beginning. We have to drag it out as long as possible with the priests' power.’
Amid this, two more flesh monsters began charging in. The problem was that, unlike before, they were coming at wide intervals.
‘One toward the north force, the other south...’
That would delay Trimum's travel distance—the core of the flesh monster trap.
The longer Trimum was delayed, the more the trapped monster would rampage, and the surrounding encirclement knights would take the damage.
“Trimum! Two at once, too far apart! I'll handle one—you get back fast as you can!”
“Yes! Take care, Kyle!”
Trimum and Kyle nodded and galloped in opposite directions.
“...Huh?”
Something odd caught Kyle's eye.
A bit away from the formation's north side was a forest, and someone was moving through the treetops toward the battlefield, agile as a monkey.
“Didi?”
Didi—who should have been in the rear as reserves—was traversing the forest like a beast, clad haphazardly in low-grade magic armor.
At the forest's edge, he grabbed a thick branch with both hands and started spinning around it like he was doing gymnastics.
“What the...”
Kyle couldn't comprehend Didi's actions at all.
After four or five spins building centrifugal force, Didi released his grip and shot forward like an arrow.
It was an astonishing leap.
In one instant, he covered over a hundred meters, slamming headfirst into the skull of the oncoming flesh monster on the opposite side—without a millimeter of error.
‘A sword?’
Looking closely, he'd driven the sword in his hand straight into the monster's forehead center.
“Didi! Get out—fast! That won't kill it!”
Kyle screamed like a banshee. As expected, the flesh monster showed no damage, smashing its palm down at Didi clinging to its head.
Fwoosh!
Didi twisted dramatically, dodging the palm.
Then, with nimble movements, he twisted the embedded sword every which way. Kyle felt his insides burn black as he shouted again.
“Didi! Please run! I can't come save you!”
But then.
“...!”
The flesh monster, swinging its palm wildly, convulsed like it was electrocuted and went rigid.
Then it crumpled in place like a puppet with cut strings. Meanwhile, Didi launched off the head of a nearby zombie, using it as a springboard to leap toward another zombie's head further ahead.