Chapter 3: The Road to Being King
In the Naruya Kingdom, the young king—Cassia de Naruya—sat upon his throne. Despite his youth, the king already possessed both dignity and a regal aura that befitted a hegemon. Before him stood Count Roland with his head bowed. He was an emissary of the Herald Kingdom and was also said to be the strongest fighter in that country.
The Herald Kingdom bordered Naruya to the east. In terms of power, they were roughly on the same level as Brijit, meaning that they were weaker than Runan. But in part due to his fame within his own country, Roland remained confident even when standing before the King of Naruya.
“So, in summary, you are asking if we would like to form an alliance?”
“Indeed I am. And it is not such a bad deal, if I do say so myself!”
There had been a similar proposal from the Brijit Kingdom the other day. Not that Brijit existed as a nation any longer. Of course, Cassia had no intention of accepting.
“You people are also targeting Runan, then? You wish to join hands with us in order to occupy that country, is that it?”
“I won’t deny it. However, Your Majesty, if you were to form an alliance with Herald, I can assure you we would be able to conquer Runan with even greater certainty!” Count Roland declared, releasing mana as he spoke. It was a way of boasting about his own power. Perhaps an ordinary ruler might have been intimidated, at least somewhat, by such a display.
However, Cassia merely dug the wax out of his ear in boredom.
“It seems that the Herald Kingdom’s information is out of date. It’s absurd that someone like you is a famous commander there. A man with your level of martial ability would be no use anywhere else. You fail to even arouse our curiosity, emissary of Herald. Begone.”
At that moment, red light overflowed from around Cassia. The power of his red mana made the entire throne room shake. Count Roland’s mana was swallowed up in an instant, and the overpowered count was forced to sit on the floor, his trembling legs unable to support him. The king’s power was so great he was speechless.
With quivering lips, the count said, “I’m sure you’ll regret this... We’re after Runan too, so next time we meet...it’ll likely be on the battlefield...!”
He was likely attempting to save his pride by saying that, but all he was doing was wagging his insipid tongue.
Two of the royal guards flanked Count Roland, picking him up and removing him from the audience chamber in shame. He was so overwhelmed he couldn’t even stand up on his own.
“What a pitiful wretch,” the king remarked with a look of boredom before rising from the throne.
Once he was gone, Frann Valdesca, who had simply been watching as the situation unfolded, asked the Ten Commanders, “Have you finished searching for Runanese scouts?”
“Yes, Your Highness. The intelligence service has captured them all. Many of them were given rather sloppy missions, so it wasn’t difficult. It seems Duke Ronan isn’t very good at this.”
“I see. Please catch them and take as much advantage of them as you can.”
The King of Runan and his right-hand man Ronan were fools. Ronan didn’t even merit being seen as a threat. There was only one among the enemy who did. And if Valdesca’s reading of the situation was correct, that person would actually be pleased by the destruction of Runan. That being the case, the advisor to the Naruya Kingdom felt he should take as much advantage of the man as he could.
*
Soon, Naruya would invade Runan.
The time was at hand.
If so, this playthrough is coming to the main event.
No, rather than the main event, it was actually the beginning.
Normally, this game starts with the destruction of Runan. With the fall of Runan, the surrounding nations intervene in order to occupy some of their vast territory. That’s the fuse that sets off the era of war in earnest. I managed to dodge that opening, but the fall of Runan is inevitable.
In the three months since I’d infiltrated Naruya, I had been steadily preparing countermeasures against the Naruyan invasion.
Clearing the game is only going to get more difficult from here. It’s an era where the things that I know are intermingled with a newly rewritten history. Once Runan falls, each country should ultimately react in the same way that they do in the game. But this is also the point where there’s bound to be inconsistencies with the game’s original history.
Because I exist, and the Brijit Kingdom no longer does, there’ll be things that go like in the game, and then all sorts of unpredictable butterfly effects, both of them winding together as we enter a time of turbulence. That’ll make things more interesting, and more dangerous.
As part of my first strategy for that time to come, there was a need for me to not be in Eintorian, on paper at least. I’d turned to Euracia and got her to move Rozern. She had them declare they wouldn’t pay the tribute from the prior war. As anticipated, the King of Runan flew into a rage, and he gave me secret orders to go to Rozern.
I had used the Droy Company to notify me of the Naruya Kingdom’s invasion so that I could prepare myself a justification. If I was in the Eintorian Domain when it happened, then I’d be obligated to defend Runan.
Who wants to be known as the incompetent who let Runan be destroyed? It needs to be strictly the fault of the shortsighted king who sent me to Rozern.
Yeah, I was only in Rozern on paper, while I was actually in my own domain, shoring up the defenses, of course. And Naruya would soon cross the border.
*
“Whoa! What’s that?!”
At a sentry post on the Runanese border, a Runanese guard collapsed in shock at what he was seeing. The forces arrayed before him made him doubt his eyes. Soldiers here, there, and everywhere, roughly one hundred and fifty thousand men.
He could see the banner of the Ducal House of Valdesca at the center of the massive army, flapping in the wind alongside the flag of the Naruya Kingdom. On top of that, the banners of the Ten Commanders were everywhere. This time, they’d come with a massive expeditionary force on an entirely different scale from the last.
“Yahhhhhh!”
Just like that, the Royal Naruyan Army advanced on the border, their battle cries the only notice of the start of war. They were divided into three formations, each attacking Runan’s border from a different spot. This also marked the coming of a time of turbulence.
It was a sign that the entire continent would be pulled into a maelstrom of war.
*
“Your Majesty! The Naruya Kingdom’s invading us!”
There was chaos in the Runanese palace when reports reached them. The nobles looked around in a state of confusion.
“They’ve finally gone and done it...!”
The nobles murmured among themselves. They had been pouring resources into taking Brijit in a time when the threat of Naruya hadn’t completely vanished. The vast lands of Brijit had proven a sweet temptation. The cost of succumbing to it was that they now lacked the manpower to defend their own nation.
But Ronan had an idea.
If they occupied Brijit, they could raise their manpower. He planned to use that to counter Naruya. A major factor in all this had been the way Valdesca used the scouts Ronan sent into Naruya to deliver false information. They’d believed the fake reports that a new invasion from Naruya was still a long way off.
As a result, the enemy broke through the border forts before they could muster an adequate response, and the Royal Naruyan Army was bearing down on the capital at a breakneck speed. The King of Runan and Ronan had already been thoroughly defeated in the preliminary battles. In this situation, there was obviously only one person the king could think of, and even Ronan and the other nobles were on the same page.
The king was the first to say it out loud.
“Call Erhin to the capital at once! Assign him to protect me!”
His words brought a sudden look of bewilderment to the nobles’ faces.
Ronan was so exasperated that he just shook his head.
“Your Majesty, we sent Erhin to Rozern!”
“What are you saying?! What does Rozern matter at a time like this?!”
That the king carried on as if he knew nothing of this, despite it having been his own decision, made the nobles mentally curse at him.
“We sent him there to punish Rozern for not paying the tribute they promised, remember?!”
“Who allowed that? Send a messenger after him at once! At once, I say! He can’t have arrived in Rozern yet!” the king shouted angrily.
“Your Majesty!”
It was at that moment when a soldier slipped into the room and prostrated himself before the sovereign.
“They’ve broken through Bern Castle. They say the enemy have over a hundred thousand men... No, it may even be two hundred thousand!”
“Spare me this nonsense! Two hundred thousand? They can’t...! Hey, lop that man’s head off! No, first, Erhin! Bring me Erhin! I want Erhin!”
Instead of coming up with any other countermeasures, the king simply kept on shouting Erhin’s name.
*
The First Army of the Royal Naruyan Army was a combined force assembled from their northern domains.
The Second Army was a combined force from the southern domains.
They were each commanded by one of the Ten Commanders who had the domain lords serving under them, each managing ten thousand troops. The commander-in-chief of the Naruyan Army, Frann Valdesca, had occupied the nearby domains in no time after they crossed the border. He had decided that they would take the capital as soon as possible in this invasion. Haste was a virtue for soldiers.
That’s why on this occasion, he chose to avoid the Eintorian Domain, where he expected to meet fierce resistance, and invaded exclusively from the north. There was no chance of Runan defeating him, but if there was then the threat lay in Erhin Eintorian alone. It was why he had to take the Runanese capital while Erhin was away.
He’d long since received reports that Erhin was sent to Rozern as an envoy.
However, Valdesca believed that was a trap.
What he saw in the Eintorian Domain and a comprehensive analysis of everything his agents had told him could only lead to one conclusion:
Erhin’s after Runan just like we are. The man must have been making preparations to seize the Runanese throne for himself.
Once Valdesca had that hypothesis, he started to see a strategy.
He must be trying to gain a justification for ruling Runan. The defeat of Runan and the death of the king. The cause of avenging his fallen liege. He no doubt plans to absorb Runan’s remaining manpower.
“I’m sure the Eintorian Domain Army will come to retake the Runanese capital no matter what happens. And they’ll do it once the king is dead. The key is that they’ll definitely appear after he dies.”
“Bwah hah hah! I should have expected no less from you, Your Highness!”
Commander Kediman of the Third Army let out an obsequious laugh.
Meanwhile the famously taciturn Commander Istin of the Second Army lived up to his reputation by remaining silent, but he said the same thing with a glance.
Still, the reason Valdesca was occupying the capital first was so that he could use Erhin’s own strategy against him.
Runan Castle boasted the highest and firmest walls on the continent.
He couldn’t afford to pass up being given it for free.
If Erhin had instead used the castle against Valdesca, protecting the king inside while forcing him to fight a siege battle, that would have been more troublesome than Erhin’s current strategy.
But because Erhin had motives other than loyalty to the king, it actually turned into an opportunity.
He would take Runan Castle effortlessly and kill the king.
That was just what Erhin was hoping for, but he didn’t care about that.
If I take Runan Castle and kill the king, then that will massively boost our troops’ morale.
It’s what Erhin wants, but I don’t mind.
Valdesca didn’t have any intention of giving Erhin the time to trumpet his righteous cause and start absorbing soldiers into his army.
Indicating points on the map with his pointer, Valdesca gave orders.
“The Second Army will head for Lynon Castle. Once you take Lynon Castle, head through the checkpoint in front of the capital and advance on Runan Castle.”
At this, Commander Istin of the Second Army bowed his head deeply and thumped his chest with his right hand formed into a fist.
“The Third Army will take the other castles, including Bern Castle, and then join up with the Second Army to advance on the capital.”
“Yes, sir, Commander!”
“Also, the First Army will move with you. While the Second and Third Armies are taking their respective castles, we will take a detour and head to the capital!”
This was how Valdesca divided his forces.
“Once we’ve killed the enemy king, the Fourth Army will immediately go along the west border to advance on Eintorian.”
“If we do that, then the Eintorian forces that set out to save Runan will be forced to...”
Valdesca nodded at what Kediman was saying.
“Yes, they will be forced to return and defend Eintorian. We will pursue and deal the enemy a blow from behind. If we join up with the Second Army to encircle and eliminate Eintorian, then Runan will be finished for good.”
This was Valdesca’s plan to turn Erhin’s hopes for a just cause and popular support against him. What would happen if Eintorian didn’t send troops to support Runan? In that case, Valdesca would just have to occupy the country and isolate Eintorian. He was ninety percent sure that Erhin would make the worst choice for the sake of his just cause and public opinion.
“Of course... We can’t afford to let our guard down.”
Despite his confidence, Valdesca shook his head. If the man could be so easily conquered, he wouldn’t be treating him like a serious opponent.
*
Word of Lynon Castle’s fall reached the palace in Runan. In the recent war, Erhin retook Lynon Castle, but this time it didn’t even hold out for a day. As soon as he heard about the fall, the king was so shaken that he made up his mind to flee.
“We’ll go south! Are we so short of people?! How could you let them break through so easily?! When will the troops we sent to Brijit return?! How could you invade Brijit when Naruya’s so close and bearing down on us?! No, wait, Brijit has a lot of mountains, doesn’t it? Let’s go to Brijit! We’ll move the capital there!”
He had zero intention of fighting. Even if Erhin had been here, the king would have hidden himself while he made Erhin defend Runan Castle.
“We’ll head for Brijit. Have Erhin come there too. Defend me, my royal guards!”
With that, the king slipped out of the castle with nothing but a desperate plea for Erhin, his envisioned hero.. When the king abandoned the castle without any forewarning and went outside, the people approached and began pleading with him.
He should have left quietly, but insisted on taking a gaudy carriage—essentially advertising his intent to flee—so it was little wonder that chaos ensued. The guards pushed aside the waves of people rushing toward them. The crowd quickly turned into a mob, and the royal guard began cutting their way through the rioters. But this only fueled more terror.
“Kill everyone who comes out of Runan Castle!” shouted one of the rioters.
The king in turn urged his royal guards to make haste. It would probably have been faster if he had been riding a horse himself, but the old king insisted on a carriage even in this situation.
Yet despite this decision, the King of Runan managed to slip out of Runan Castle and successfully escape toward Brijit.
“We must flee quickly! Hurry!”
The carriage sped along, encouraged by the king shouting until his throat was raw. People called Runan Castle the most impregnable castle on the continent, and yet it had just seen its master evicted with relative ease.
*
A few hours after the king’s carriage took off for Brijit, Ronan also slipped out of Runan Castle. He had considered settling in for a siege, but he thought what the king was saying did have some merit. He decided fleeing to Brijit was the wisest thing to do.
Obviously, he was a little different from the incompetent king who had fled with nothing but his royal guard. He was already having the forces of the Ducal House of Ronan assemble in Runan. They’d be here any time now. Although roughly a third of the army had been sent to Brijit, there were still enough troops remaining.
That’s why he meant to join up with his forces along the way. After leaving Runan Castle, Ronan began fleeing in a different direction from the king.
“Your Highness, what about His Excellency Erheet?”
“Forget about him. We have no time to wait. I’m sure he’ll be able to escape and survive on his own.”
His priority was to assemble the troops somewhere far away from the enemy forces which had the momentum right now. The worst thing would be for them to scatter and be defeated in detail. If he considered how long it would take fighting the enemy while he waited for Erheet to join up with him, he was better off withdrawing to Brijit immediately and reorganizing there.
“Your Highness! Your Highness!”
As he was thinking this, a large number of soldiers rushed to his side. Ronan was frightened and on edge, but soon let out a sigh of relief. The three thousand men who’d rushed to his side were the army of Heina’s domain.
“Why, if it isn’t Heina!”
“Your Highness! I’ve come for you!”
“I see... Well done! I always knew you were sharp, unlike the rest of those incompetents. Really, well done!”
Ronan joined Heina with a smile so broad you never would have known he was the one who’d buried her father.
*
About half a day before Ronan left the castle, Valdesca, having left the capture of Lynon Castle to the Second and Third Armies, had advanced at a breakneck pace to reach the front of Runan Castle. Without Erhin around to interfere, he meant to seize the castle, bringing the heart of Runan under his control.
“We will spend a day here, laying out a great camp to demonstrate the splendor of our forces, but I forbid any further pillaging of the Runanese people.” These were Valdesca’s orders to the First Army, which he commanded, with Runan Castle in sight.
This was one of the frightening things about Valdesca: he, too, saw the importance of public opinion. There was no country without its people, after all. Tyrannizing those who would soon become citizens of his nation would only serve to weaken it.
On top of his superior intellect, he also had advanced techniques that made use of mana circles, the fame of heading one of the Twelve Continental Houses, and a power of command that was born of his good character. The man seemed perfect, but he was also humble, not known to boast of his own prowess.
“Your Highness!”
He had his shortcomings, of course. He’d nearly fallen from his horse as he attempted to dismount just now. He’d been getting on and off of horses since he was just a young child and he didn’t have especially slow reflexes, so it shouldn’t have been difficult for him. Yet he could be awfully clumsy when it came to actually doing things. Perhaps people found that side of him relatable, though, because it only served to make him more popular.
“Sorry. I’m all right,” he told Patrick, his lieutenant, as the man rushed to his side, then adjusted his posture and gazed in the direction of Runan Castle.
This was the castle he’d failed to take in the last war. It gave him such a rush to have it in his sight now. However, he was still rather concerned about Erhin’s movements. Despite how quickly they’d taken Runan Castle, he wasn’t doing all that much about it. That was actually more troublesome.
What in the world are you thinking? What’s your aim? Isn’t it to usurp the throne by retaking Runan? Is it because we let the King of Runan escape?
“Wham!”
Ultimately, Valdesca did the same thing he always did when he was agonizing over something. He slammed his forehead into a nearby tree.
“Your Highness! Stop that! You’ll cut your forehead again!”
Patrick and the soldiers hurriedly rushed toward him, but Valdesca raised a hand gesturing for them to stay back.
“Don’t mind me. Has Eintorian made any move?”
“None yet, as far as our information shows, Your Highness.”
It irritated Valdesca that, although the war was going smoothly, there was still someone out there who could make him uneasy. “Well, it’s fine,” he said. “For now...we’ll set it aside and deal with Runan Castle. If things go as I predict, it will have emptied out by nightfall.”
The reason Valdesca had made camp in sight of the castle instead of just attacking was to give the Runanese time to flee. There was no need to go out of his way to shed blood. If the king fled, Runan Castle would be practically undefended. That meant the castle ought to fall into his hands come morning.
*
He was sick of living as a landed count. No, the life of a warrior was what had his interest. Feats of courage were displayed on the battlefield. He stood there, sword in hand, for the first time at the age of fifteen. He’d defended the country for twenty-seven years since.
Erheet Demacine was approaching the final checkpoint on his road to the Runanese capital.
He’d have liked to die holding off the enemy at the border, but the Naruyans were pushing south along many different roads. Because fixating on the border would do nothing, he waited for further orders from the central government, but as none were forthcoming, he ultimately chose to act on his own initiative.
He stopped at the checkpoint between Lynon Castle and the capital.
Valdesca hadn’t participated in the attack on Lynon Castle, instead taking a long detour around the side where Bern Castle was. But for the Second Army, which was tasked with taking Lynon Castle, and for the Third Army, which would join up with them later, this checkpoint lay on their quickest route to the capital. This basically meant that the Second Army would have to break through this checkpoint in order to establish a supply line.
Furthermore, in order to keep up a smooth flow of supplies, the Naruyan Army needed to hold the checkpoint. Speedy resupply was key on the battlefield. That’s why Erheet had stopped just as the enemy were attacking Lynon Castle.
“Wouldn’t it be better for us to fight them at Runan Castle instead, Your Excellency?” one of his retainers asked, but Erheet shook his head.
“I will break their supply lines here even if that costs me my life. That should help His Highness and His Majesty, who are fighting at Runan Castle. If we can halt the remaining Naruyan forces here, that should delay the castle’s fall. And then...there’s Erhin! That’s why I’ll die here!”
Erheet was relying on Erhin too, but in a different way from the king. He planned to put his life on the line holding his ground here for that reason. However, his intentions were based on the naive idea that the king and Ronan would actually fight for Runan Castle.
Erheet never would have imagined his own king would flee immediately without so much as lifting a blade. The five retainers who always joined Erheet on the battlefield knelt before him when they heard his words.
“What are you saying, Your Excellency?! If anything should happen to you, then Runan will truly be finished!”
They tried to dissuade him, but Erheet only shook his head more forcefully.
“Listen, just shut up and stand strong. What would it do to the men’s morale if they saw you like this? The only thing we must think about is stopping the enemy that is rushing toward this checkpoint!”
His firm resolve ultimately persuaded his retainers. And so, they all drew their swords. There was nothing left for them but to die defending the master they’d served all their lives.
*
It was the Second Army that came after Erheet’s checkpoint.
Commander Istin of the Second Army was a powerful warrior, ranked third among the Ten Commanders. He was joined by another of the Ten, a woman named Lucana who ranked seventh among them, as his second-in-command. Unlike with Naruya’s previous invasion force, all of the Ten Commanders had joined forces to participate in the subjugation of Runan.
This was an obvious move to prevent a repeat of their earlier failure.
The Second Army boasted a massive force of fifty thousand men.
“That’s the checkpoint on the way to Runan Castle,” Lucana said, laughing with glee at the easy battlefield. “Commander! Let’s hurry and take it, then join up with His Highness—no, I mean with the commander-in-chief and the main force.”
Istin gave her no response. The man was famous for actions over words, and what words he did say were few and far between. When the orders came down, he just focused on carrying them out. In fact, it was fair to say that none of the soldiers who had fought alongside him had ever heard the man talk at all.
Lucana, however, had been at his side since they were both young and had fought many battles with him, and so was used to carrying on by herself.
“By the way, did you hear that the guy who beat back our commander-in-chief during the last war’s not around? I kinda wanted to see what he was like... We all respect Lord Valdesca, so... Huh, I wonder what happened back then anyway? Did that guy just get lucky? Well, yeah, that’s probably all it was...”
Istin just stared at Lucana, but she went on answering her own questions and asking more as if she could read his mind.
“Okay, men! That’s the checkpoint there! Let’s break through it!”
At Lucana’s command, twenty thousand elite Naruyan soldiers with a Training level of around 90 or so charged toward the checkpoint. The remaining thirty thousand would trade places with them once they got exhausted. It was this tactic that Istin used when taking small fortification walls. If the walls weren’t that large to begin with, then trying to attack with everyone all at once was pointless. They only had so many ladders.
In fact, by dividing their troops, they could keep the wave attacks going around the clock.
The battle began using Istin’s strategy, but as time went by Lucana shook her head. The dubious look on her face lasted until the next day.
“It’s never taken us more than half a day before... What’s with this checkpoint?”
Istin, who was just standing there as silent as ever, obviously did not respond to her question.
“Hmm... I guess it’s my turn, then?”
Istin just looked at Lucana, still giving no response, but she took that as a sign he approved.
Lucana drew her favorite sword and mounted her horse.
“All right, time for a switch-up! This time, I’ll join the team that goes in!”
When Lucana shouted this, the thirty thousand troops who were currently unable to get over the wall turned their backs to the enemy.
It was time for the other twenty thousand to go back in.
But that’s when it happened.
A man with a massive spear leaped down from the checkpoint’s walls as if he’d been waiting for them to change shifts—it was Erheet. He swung his spear at the troops that had turned their backs to switch out with the other team.
It was like the grim reaper swinging his scythe.
A dark shadow assaulted the soldiers of the Second Army, and in the next instant, hundreds of heads flew through the air. It was Erheet Demacine’s mana skill Fiendish Spear, an instakill attack with a massive area of effect.
Standing in a sea of flowing blood, Erheet thrust his spear into the ground as he stood in front of the checkpoint.
“What was that?!” Lucana furrowed her brow at this development.
At that same time, arrows rained down on the soldiers who were racing toward the checkpoint. Erheet’s troops had been conserving their arrows. As the retreating force were caught off guard by Erheet’s skill and starting to lose their nerve, the hail of arrows sent them into total disarray.
Erheet stood in front of them, spear firmly in hand.
“Your Excellency, that’s the famed Erheet Demacine of Runan!” shouted one of Lucana’s retainers.
The name brought a smile to Lucana’s lips. If there was anyone in Runan worth fighting, it was Erheet.
“Erheet? The Erheet? I’ve heard he can be almost as taciturn as our Commander Istin, you know that? This’ll be interesting. I doubt anyone’s quieter than our commander, though.”
With that, Lucana rushed forward to turn the situation around, when...
“Hear me, enemy commander,” Erheet shouted. “I am Erheet Demacine. How long do you intend to watch from the rear? If you call yourself a warrior, then step forward and fight me. One-on-one duels are the only fun to be had on this bloody battlefield, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Huh?”
It was clear to anyone listening that Erheet was calling out Istin and not Lucana.
Lucana looked at Istin in exasperation. “Now hold on, Commander!” she cried. “Are you really going to fight him just because he’s caught your interest? What are you saying?! You’ve been wanting to fight a Runanese commander, and he’ll do perfectly?! That’s not funny! Now that he’s come out all on his own, it’d be fastest to just gang up on him and kill him...!”
It didn’t look like Istin was saying anything as far as the soldiers around them could tell, but Lucana went on as if only she could hear him. As she did, Istin slowly approached Erheet.
“Hold on! Wait! Let’s go together!”
Lucana hurriedly tried to stop Istin. There was no need for him to fight the enemy commander. She didn’t think Istin would lose, but it was absurd to agree to a one-on-one duel with the commander of a force so much smaller than theirs that it stood no chance against them. If he did somehow lose the fight, morale would plummet. They might be reprimanded by Valdesca for accepting at all.
But Istin was rather prideful.
Lucana was well aware that once he’d made up his mind to do something, there was no convincing him otherwise, so she just shook her head as she watched him go. The newly deployed Naruyan troops parted to make way for their commander.
Istin’s horse trotted between them until he reached the front. The two commanders faced off with about fifty meters in between them. Of course, there were fifty thousand men at Istin’s back, while Erheet just had the checkpoint and three thousand men behind him.
“Who are you?”
Istin didn’t answer Erheet’s question. Lucana rode up, as if she were there to interpret for him.
“You face His Excellency, Count Istin, ranked third among the Ten Commanders of the Naruya Kingdom!”
Erheet smiled when he heard her. He recognized the name.
To think I’d be able to face such a strong opponent. Could I ask for a finer end to my life?
Of course, regardless of who his enemy was, he didn’t plan on going down easy.
Still, the soldiers at the checkpoint were reaching their limit. Unlike the Naruyans, whose fifty thousand men were able to fight in shifts and take time to rest, the three thousand suicide soldiers from the Runanese Army hadn’t been able to rest at all.
Erheet wanted to fight the Naruyan commander in order to buy time for his men to recover.
“Thank you for accepting my challenge. I never would have thought I’d face a warrior as strong as you in what will no doubt be my last war. Hah hah hah hah hah! I don’t know whether to consider it good fortune or bad. Regardless, I’m pleased to meet you. Let us fight, Istin. If you are a true warrior, then will you face my spear one-on-one?”
In response, Istin put his hand on a greatsword that was every bit as heavy as his silence, then nodded.
“Wait, Commander! We don’t have time! We have to break through the checkpoint and join up with the commander-in-chief quickly! What? A duel between men needs no justification? Are you kidding me...? No, that’s not what I mean! Augh, fine!”
Lucana ultimately backed down with a look of exasperation on her face, unable to dissuade Istin. Of course, she still didn’t think he’d lose. The fight was just incredibly pointless.
Thus, the duel between two commanders began.
*
“What is that monster?!”
The Royal Naruyan Army were astonished. They thought Istin would win handily, but the enemy commander held his ground.
“Lord Erheet...!”
Meanwhile, Erheet’s retainers, who knew exactly what he was thinking as he went into this battle, gulped at the tense showdown.
The greatsword tore into the ground.
The spear caught nothing but air.
They took turns unleashing attacks, parrying, and attacking again.
Any one of the blows could be fatal.
One mistake would mean certain death.
That was the kind of duel Erheet was fighting.
His opponent ranked third among the famed Ten Commanders of Naruya, whose infamy spread the length and breadth of the entire continent, and Istin’s martial prowess was indeed slightly greater than Erheet’s. But while Istin had an estimated Martial score of 97, Erheet’s Martial was 96.
With such a small margin of difference, there was no telling who would win. They’d have to fight like their lives depended on it, and that would be what decided the outcome.
Another factor was that Erheet had no way out. He couldn’t afford to think about conserving his stamina. He’d gone into this fight just trying to buy time. That’s why they were at a standstill.
The longer the battle dragged on, the more time his men had to rest.
That was the only thing that mattered to Erheet.
Of course, he’d been polishing his skills for decades. He never considered he might lose. He would buy time, then win the fight. He could only think that, once he won the showdown and the enemy fell into disarray, that would buy him even more time. He knew better than anyone that, even if he bested this enemy commander, overall victory in this battle would not be his. Nevertheless, he fought on for his people and country.
But the truth was, deep down, the main reason he chose to fight Istin was for his own satisfaction.
Bwoooosh!
Erheet blasted Istin with his skill, Fiendish Spear, engulfing the area around them in a massive explosion. Istin generated mana with his greatsword to form a barrier and stop it, but that didn’t stop Erheet himself. He leaped high into the air, holding his spear ready to strike.
This was the ultimate technique of the spear-fighting style that Erheet, the mightiest warrior in the Runan Kingdom, had spent all his life polishing.
“Aurora Spear!”
When Erheet threw his spear in midair, it shone brilliantly as it shot toward Istin like a laser beam. The light of the powerful mana surrounding the spear was blindingly bright to anyone who looked at it.
Erheet had used Fiendish Spear to mess with the area around Istin, forcing him to stop it with his greatsword. Then, before the smoke cleared, he’d immediately used Aurora Spear.
Even as Istin was blocking the explosion, he’d sensed the power of Erheet’s longspear right in front of him! Instantly realizing the spear was moving faster than he could dodge, he poured mana into his greatsword. Bright light shone from Istin’s greatsword as he swung it, and the blade grew to twice its already great size, and he used it to block Erheet’s spear.
Shiiiiiing!
Their powers collided, shaking the earth and filling the area with light. The famously quiet Istin let out a battle cry, swinging his greatsword around as it grew even more massive.
That one swing blew away Erheet’s Aurora Spear.
Roarrrrrr!
Erheet’s spear, which had been flying with a thunderous roar, stabbed into the fortress wall of the checkpoint. Landing on the ground, Erheet jumped into the air once more in order to pull his spear from the wall.
Obviously, Istin wasted no time in springing at him.
Erheet was in front of the wall, while Istin had been pushed back as he tried to block the skill earlier, so Erheet managed to snatch his spear in the brief opening he had before colliding with Istin in midair.
The two both landed heavily on the ground, skipping not a beat as they launched back into the fight. Having both used up their most powerful skills, they moved on to a never-ending contest of physical stamina. Istin had been trying to save his strength at first, but it was no longer viable for him to do so, and so they both went all out.
“Gah! I got totally absorbed in the battle...” Lucana cried, slapping her own forehead.
If she stepped in here, she could feasibly end this meaningless battle in an instant. In fact, she had been planning to do just that if it ever looked like Istin was about to go down.
But only as a last resort.
Istin hated it more than anything when people interfered in his battles, and thought it was a shameful injury to his pride. And so Lucana couldn’t intervene.
This battle between monsters went on for six whole hours.
Eventually, the sun set, and darkness swallowed the battlefield. The two men suspended their duel and looked at one another.
“Why don’t we settle this tomorrow?” Erheet suggested and Istin nodded. He immediately looked at Lucana.
“You want to pull back?” Lucana shook her head at this order. It was unthinkable.
But Istin’s eyes were filled with a strong will to defeat this man and seize the checkpoint from him.
“You just had to try and beat Runan’s strongest man...”
Lucana wanted to give him a piece of her mind, but she held back. She’d stayed with Istin all this time precisely because he was like this. And so, with his grand army behind him, Istin withdrew to camp, and once Erheet watched him go, he headed back within the checkpoint where he collapsed.
Erheet’s retainers all rushed to his side to support him.
“I’m fine. I managed to buy time for our men to rest, didn’t I?”
His retainers clenched their fists, seeing him like this. They shook with rage at their own inability.
*
“Commander!”
“What is it?”
“Our scouts have found the Runanese king!”
Hearing this report from one of his subordinates, Valdesca awkwardly scratched his cheek inside the commander’s tent.
The King of Runan, huh? If I killed the king, then I’d be doing just what Erhin wants me to, wouldn’t I?
Valdesca was confident Erhin was gunning for the throne. So if he killed the king, he’d be giving him a justification. Still, now that he’d found the king, he couldn’t just not kill him.
The King of Naruya had ordered his death.
Wham!
Valdesca slammed his forehead into the table.
So what if he’s after the throne? Justifications and righteousness had nothing to do with this.
His goal in this war was to beat Erhin. So long as he won, there wouldn’t be a problem. He couldn’t fight properly if he stayed scared like this.
You should be ashamed of yourself, Valdesca Frann!
Valdesca smiled bitterly. They had mobilized a full three hundred thousand troops for the Grand Subjugation.
Two hundred thousand of them had been deployed to Runan—enough to occupy the country and then immediately continue onward into the minor nations of the south. Runan’s manpower was insignificant. Erhin could move around fifty thousand troops at most. The gap in their forces was overwhelming. And Valdesca also had the powerful Ten Commanders on his side. If he couldn’t win like this, then he’d never be able to win. So what was he so afraid of?
Wham!
Valdesca slammed his forehead into the table again.
I don’t care what his intentions are. I’ll kill the king, then destroy Runan my way.
He had already formulated a perfect plan for taking Erhin’s main stronghold in Eintorian. The Subjugation Army for Runan wasn’t limited to just the First, Second, and Third Armies which he was leading personally. There was also a trump card, the Fourth Army, still standing by in Naruya.
“Encircle him. I want to capture Runan’s king.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Once that was decided, it didn’t take long. Valdesca soon arrived at the place where the search team had the king surrounded. The royal guards were no longer among the living by this point. They had been no match for Valdesca’s elite soldiers.
The king was soon dragged from his carriage and forced to kneel down on the dirty ground, a far cry from the throne he was accustomed to.
“King of Runan,” Valdesca said, looking down at the king with cold eyes.
“S-Spare me!”
The king quickly began pleading for his life. He’d never had so much as one iota of pride to begin with.
“I’ll go into exile in the Naruya Kingdom. You can have Runan. I surrender! Surrender, I say!”
“That won’t do. It would be one thing before hostilities began, but now that we’re at war, I cannot accept your surrender without my king’s permission. If you intended to concede, then you should have offered up your country before our troops crossed the border.”
“I’ll give you all of Runan! So, please, just spare my life...”
Valdesca shook his head in dismay at this pathetic display. The king was an even greater fool than he’d heard. The wretch truly believed that if he cried and begged, thinking only of his own self-preservation, there would be some way out for him.
Valdesca despised men like him more than anything.
“I regret to inform you that I cannot allow you to live. You made a mistake in fleeing along the main road.”
“D-D-Don’t be absurd! I am Tutankha, King of Runan! A member of the most renowned family on this continent! You, a mere commander of an invading force, kill me? The idea is risible! Take me to the King of Naruya! I will speak to him personally!”
The King of Runan volunteered to become a prisoner in the hopes of extending his life even a little longer.
“Gah hah hah hah hah!” Valdesca laughed in his face. “I am Valdesca Frann! Inheritor of the House of Frann! Not once have I ever thought my house inferior to the House of Runan.”
“F-Frann...? You’re a Frann?! Th-That’s absurd...!”
The King of Runan shook his head in disbelief. The House of Frann was one of the Twelve Continental Houses. It was of the same rank as the Royal House of Runan.
“Would you stop this unsightly behavior? Runan is already finished. Now, Your Majesty, I believe it’s only natural you meet your end too.”
Valdesca nodded to his subordinate Rump, who responded by pointing a sword at the king’s throat.
“N-No... Spare me! Stop! Gwarrrgh!”
The king resisted to the last, but his head soon sailed through the air.
Such was the end of the King of Runan.
“Yeahhhhhhhh!”
The soldiers cheered wildly at the sight. The demise of the last king of the once great Runan Kingdom could not have been more worthless.
“We’ll send the king’s severed head to His Majesty. Prepare it so it can be sent to the front line in Herald.”
“Yes, sir!”
At that time, King Cassia of Naruya was personally leading another army into the Herald Kingdom. He had been more interested in their eastern border with Herald than he was in Runan. There were rumors of a worthy opponent, another S-class warrior like King Cassia himself, in Herald. That’s why Runan never interested him to begin with.
“All forces advance on the vacant Runan Castle.”
Those were Valdesca’s orders. This was the moment when that castle, with all of its long history, fell into his hands.
*
Istin and Erheet’s battle resumed in the morning. The fight looked the same as it had the day before, each man doing all he could to kill the other. However, a little past noon, the situation suddenly changed when another force appeared, approaching the checkpoint.
Lucana let out a big sigh when she saw what unit it was.
“Damn! Why’s he gotta be here...!”
It was the Third Army, roughly the same size as Istin’s Second Army. Their arrival changed Istin and Erheet’s battle as the man at the front of their vanguard rushed into the fray, his horse galloping at top speed.
“What are you doing? Is this really the time to be indulging in a duel, Istin?”
It was Kediman, commander of the Third Army and fourth in rank among the Ten Commanders. As he shouted that, he attacked Erheet, who was still fighting Istin, from behind. Istin didn’t have a chance to stop him.
In that moment, the perfect balance of their duel was broken.
Blood spurted from the wound in Erheet’s back and his knees gave out. Istin pointed his greatsword at Erheet’s now defenseless head, ready to deal the final blow.
“You’re so pathetic. If you just did it like this, you’d have finished him in one blow. Now finish him off and let’s go!” Kediman exclaimed.
Even as he bled, Erheet shouted, “Is this what warriors are like in Naruya? Have you no shame, sullying a duel where the pride of two men is at stake!” As Istin swung his greatsword, Erheet thrust his spear forward, fully prepared to offer up his head in exchange.
Even if my head flies, I’ll take down the enemy. That was the thought that led him to swing his spear without evading.
In that instant, the greatsword came to a stop.
Seeing this, Erheet also halted his spear and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Looking at the way that Erheet managed to stay firmly on his feet, despite the deep wound in his back, Istin shook his head in dismay. Then, with a murderous glare at Kediman, he pulled back.
“Heh! Pathetic to the end. Fine, I’ll take him on myself!”
Now it was Kediman’s turn to take a swing at Erheet with his sword. Erheet was already sorely wounded, but he fended off the blow with sheer force of will. However, the Third Army came charging in behind Kediman. Unlike the Second Army, they had no intention of waiting to see how the battle played out.
“We’re pulling back? You plan to leave this to Kediman? Hold on, Commander!”
Istin’s unit began to pull back. Obviously, they weren’t withdrawing completely. Istin’s army still had to make it through this checkpoint in order to join up with Valdesca. But Istin had no desire to work with Kediman.
He would have liked to kill the man for interrupting his duel, but he liked to think he wasn’t so selfish that he could turn a blade against his ally when they were at war.
If Kediman were one of his subordinates, he could have executed him for disobeying orders, but they were of equal rank. Istin quivered as he tried to suppress his rage. Erheet was a lot like him. Both had many techniques born of a lifetime devoted to the martial arts.
That’s why he’d at least wanted to kill him with his own hands. But that barbarian Kediman stole that from him.
Lucana saw all this, but she couldn’t say anything; she could only be relieved that she wasn’t the one who’d intervened. She’d planned to if the situation turned against Istin. If she’d had to do it, his anger would have been directed at her. When she thought about it like that, she was actually grateful to Kediman. She didn’t like him much, of course. The brute was a barbarian, after all.
And so, once Istin and Lucana were gone, Erheet was forced into a battle that was clearly not in his favor. Kediman’s Martial score was roughly the same as Erheet’s. On top of that, the wound in Erheet’s back slowed his movement, while his opponent was in top condition.
Erheet found himself gradually being pushed back.
“Defend His Excellency!” Erheet’s retainers shouted as they tried to push back the enemy soldiers rushing onto the walls of the checkpoint. On his arms, and on his chest, the wounds grew with each stroke of the enemy’s blade, and soon Erheet thrust his spear into the ground without meaning to.
“You giving up? Heh heh! And to think they called you the strongest in Runan. You put up so little of a fight I can’t even be properly disappointed. All right, time for you to die now!”
Despite having snatched away Istin’s prey like a hyena, Kediman still had the gall to mock Erheet. That’s when Erheet’s retainers broke through the surrounding enemy forces and jumped in front of him.
“Your Excellency! Leave the rest to us! You get up back on top of the checkpoint and heal your wounds. We’ll buy time for you!”
“Stop... I can’t sacrifice my fellow countrymen to save myself! You all head back up on top of the checkpoint before me. I’ve long since thrown away my life!”
Bleeding all over, Erheet mustered the last of his strength in order to activate the skill Fiendish Spear, decapitating hundreds of troops behind Kediman who had been preparing to charge in. Kediman, who’d noticed the activation of a skill in time to dodge the Fiendish Spear, laughed.
“Oh, you’re fun. Real fun. I never knew Runan had a guy like Istin too.”
“Your Excellency!”
At that moment, a pair of Erheet’s retainers rushed in front of Kediman. They were no match for him, of course, but they still managed to slow the enemy’s advance a little.
“Are you going to let my death be in vain?! You all have to hurry back up on top of the walls! Just hold out a little longer. Runan needs your strength now!”
Erheet rose to his feet once more. Adjusting his grip on his spear, he glared at Kediman with the determination not to let him pass so long as he still drew breath. Erheet’s remaining retainers looked at one another. If they kept what they knew a secret any longer, their master would die. They nodded in unison, then shouted to tell Erheet.
“Forgive us, Your Excellency! The truth is...we received a message earlier. His Majesty has already abandoned Runan Castle. He fled at the first opportunity, without defending the people he was supposed to protect. And so did Duke Ronan... He abandoned the castle without waiting for you. There are no soldiers fighting for Runan Castle. It was left empty, and fell into the enemy’s hands! So, please...retreat, Your Excellency! There’s no need for you to die here too!”
The retainers told Erheet this because they wanted him to live, but their words instantly extinguished the flame of life that burned within him.
“I-Is that true?! Why would...His Highness do that...?”
Spitting blood as he trembled with rage, Erheet sat down.
How could he have run away so easily?
He’d served Ronan because the duke was the only one in the kingdom who was putting in the effort to protect Runan. He’d been disappointed to learn about the slave traders, but still didn’t consider it a betrayal.
This, however, was different.
“Gah hah hah! That’s just how your leaders are! Did you only just realize? Looks like your loyalty never meant anything. Well, I suppose it’s a fitting end for disgusting bugs like you. Runan Castle is already in our commander’s hands! I won’t spare you even if you surrender, though, so shut up and die. I hate boring people.”
Finally, Kediman’s sword pierced Erheet’s chest. Even as he sank into despair, Erheet clutched the blade with his bare hands, seeking to put off his death as he glared at Kediman. But at that very moment, arrows suddenly began to rain down on Kediman’s army.
“What?”
Kediman’s unit, made up largely of infantry, turned to focus on this surprise attack.
Atop the checkpoint, Erheet’s men rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
“I-Is that...!”
Erheet’s soldiers pointed in shock—at blue uniforms emblazoned with the Eintorian crest!
The iron cavalry clad in brilliant blue were charging in with enough speed to trample Kediman’s men under their hooves.
“Y-You’re...!”
A red-haired man wielding a rusted sword rushed ahead of the iron cavalry, forcing his way between Kediman’s men. It was Erhin Eintorian’s strongest weapon: Jint.
“My lord gave me an order. Rescue Erheet Demacine!”
The moment he saw Jint, Erheet’s hands clenched the sword that was stabbed into his chest even more tightly, as if saying he’d never relinquish his life. Kediman pushed with all his might, trying to snuff out Erheet, but he spent far too much time on it. With one great leap, Jint cleared Kediman’s soldiers and landed next to the two of them. At the same time, he struck Kediman with his sword, lopping the commander’s hand off at the wrist.
“Gahhhhh!” Kediman screamed as he clutched his arm, having been so preoccupied with Erheet that the attack caught him off guard.
Jint’s actions also constituted interference in a one-on-one battle, but Jint hardly cared. Staying out of it because they were fighting one-on-one? The thought had never even occurred to Jint. Erhin told him to save the guy, and so that’s what he did, regardless of the methods involved. The key thing to Jint was that he’d followed orders.
The iron cavalry, who arrived a little behind Jint, began crushing Kediman’s unit. Intimidated by the terrifying speed and momentum of these armored cavalrymen, Kediman’s forces were forced to pull back.
Kediman’s unit had a Morale of 80 and 95 Training, while Jint’s iron cavalry had a Morale of 90 and 97 Training. This was the unit Erhin trained to be the main force of the Eintorian Army!
He meant for them to be second to none when it came to their Morale and Training. But more than just that, Kediman’s unit was made up of infantry, so it was only natural for them to be pushed back by iron cavalry. Especially with their commander Kediman on the ground, screaming!
Erheet pulled the sword out of his chest with Kediman’s hand still hanging from it. The wound bled, but it wasn’t deep because he’d mustered all his strength and used up his mana to stop it. Then, taking his spear in his hands, he stood.
“Yarrgh! Damn you... Damn youuuuu!” Kediman sprang at Jint in a berserk rage.
He refused to accept that Jint had been able to cut off his hand because of any degree of skill. He was just some kid who got lucky with a surprise attack. He’d be no match for him in a fair fight. Or so Kediman believed.
“Give me a sword!”
Taking a sword from one of his soldiers, he immediately pounced at Jint. However, the moment his hand was cut off, Kediman’s Martial score had fallen precipitously. Jint’s sword struck like lightning, slashing open Kediman’s chest.
“Argh...!”
And just like that, Kediman died with his eyes still open.
Jint kept up his usual poker face as he moved on to cutting down the other nearby soldiers.
*
Sometime after they moved away from the checkpoint, Lucana and Istin thought there was something strange about the sounds of combat they were hearing behind them and turned back around. There they saw the blue iron cavalry and the young man with red hair leading them.
At first, Lucana also took Jint for just a kid, and she didn’t pay much attention to him. The problem was the massive damage the iron cavalry were doing. But when she saw the intense speed with which Jint drew and handled his sword, she reconsidered that evaluation.
Neither Istin nor Lucana had thought Kediman would go down in a single blow like that, even if he had lost his hand.
Istin immediately looked at Lucana’s face. She knew what he meant and nodded.
“We’re moving to assist the Third Army at once! Charge!”
Lucana had never liked Kediman, so she didn’t feel even a twinge of sympathy over his demise, but his soldiers were still her countrymen. They couldn’t just abandon them. But more than that, they couldn’t let the enemy soldiers who’d just joined the fray run free when they didn’t know what their objective was.
Istin’s unit rejoined the battle in front of the checkpoint. That changed the balance of forces in this fight once again. Kediman’s unit was fifty thousand men, and Istin’s was another fifty thousand. That gave them a hundred thousand in total.
Meanwhile, the iron cavalry were just ten thousand men.
They’d still been able to hold the advantage when it was five to one because of the difference in what category of troops they were, but that inherent advantage against infantry couldn’t outweigh them now being outnumbered ten to one. Also, since this was an open field, there were no tactics they could use to take advantage of the terrain. The numerical advantage was overwhelming.
Jint was commanding the iron cavalry now. He’d just been at the front in order to save Erheet.
The iron cavalry had scattered all around, striking down Naruyan soldiers at random. Because of that, Istin chose to form a semicircle around them with his unit to cut off their escape route. Basically, that meant they had the checkpoint in front of them, and Istin’s unit at their backs.
“Lord Istin is in command here. Kediman’s troops will follow his orders! Form into battle ranks at once!”
With the famed Commander Istin of Naruya now taking the field, Kediman’s soldiers, who had fallen into disarray, let out a war cry and began regaining their vigor.
*
Jint’s abilities were specialized toward defeating the enemies he saw in front of his eyes. That’s why he was unusually powerful in one-on-one fights and situations where he could get the drop on his enemies, but he had practically no potential as a commanding officer.
“Hey, Erheet Demacine! Can you hear me?!”
However, he was second to none when it came to following Erhin’s orders.
“He told me once Runan Castle falls to take this unit of iron cavalry and go to Voltaire Castle!” Jint shouted after cutting his way over to Erheet.
On hearing this, Erheet looked at the iron cavalry again.
They’re a well-trained unit.
That much was clear at a glance.
“Gah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah!”
Despite their current predicament, he roared with laughter. Erhin was just as unpredictable as he’d thought.
“I see. So Count Erhin was training a unit like this.”
Runan Castle had already fallen. He’d given up when he heard that, but the sight of the Eintorian crest had made him muster the last of his strength to grip the sword.
If Erhin is around, that changes things!
He thought it was wrong for him to assume command of one of Erhin’s units, but there was no time to let that bother him. There was clearly no other competent commander here. These iron cavalrymen were sent to save him. If he treated their lives as carelessly as he had his own, then that would be far more wrong.
Ultimately, Erheet forced his battered and exhausted body into a saddle. In addition to the wound on his back, it was hard to fight with his mana so spent, but he wasn’t so weak he couldn’t give orders. In fact, if he didn’t rally the troops here, then he’d be too ashamed to face Erhin even if he did survive.
“Hear me, iron cavalrymen of Eintorian!”
As soon as he was mounted up, he shouted to the iron cavalrymen scattered around the battlefield.
“I am the Runanese commander Erheet Demacine. I will be taking command of you for the time being. Will you follow me?!”
There wasn’t a soldier in Runan who didn’t know his name.
“Yeahhhhhh!”
The iron cavalry let out a cheer when they heard his voice.
96 Martial. 70 Intelligence. And 92 Command!
He had built up his intensely commanding presence over the course of a lifetime spent on the battlefield. It was something completely different from Euracia’s charm, or the Brijitian king’s overwhelming charisma—a power that was purely for dominating the battlefield.
“Listen to me, soldiers of the checkpoint! You will abandon your posts and join up with the iron cavalry! Then, working together, we will find a single point to break through the enemy, so gather in the center! Do you understand me? Jint, you stay at the front and buy us time!”
In no time, he was giving orders to the soldiers of the checkpoint, to the iron cavalrymen, and even to Jint. Having been instructed to follow Erheet’s orders once he left the iron cavalry in his command, Jint obediently nodded.
Istin and Lucana were members of the Ten Commanders. Of course their Command scores were reasonably high, but they had been hired primarily for their martial prowess. When it came to commanding men on the battlefield, Erheet was far better than they were.
Now that he had assumed command, Eintorian’s iron cavalry began moving around like they were an entirely different army.
“If I can’t get you out of here safely, I won’t be able to face Count Erhin!” Erheet shouted. “Slowly assemble, and then break through at a single point! Those of you who are inside the checkpoint, follow the iron cavalry!”
Following his orders, the iron cavalry clumped together for a while, then broke through Kediman’s unit and charged at Istin’s encircling forces. Istin’s plan had been to encircle the scattered iron cavalry and exterminate them one by one, so he couldn’t handle the rapid change in the way they were moving. Erheet’s commands raised the iron cavalry’s morale even further, and neither Kediman nor Istin’s men could stop their momentum.
The encirclement was broken in no time. What was more, the battle fiend Jint stood at the vanguard!
The Naruyan soldiers who were standing in the iron cavalry’s path were sent flying by the momentum of the horses. The incredible vigor of the iron cavalry unit broke through them, and there was nothing they could do about it.
The Naruyans were left grinding their teeth in anger as they watched them go.
*
“You knew he was an incredible commander? But you didn’t expect him to break through us so quickly?”
Frustrated, Lucana grabbed Istin by the front of his shirt.
“You’re not going to pursue them?!”
But Istin simply shook his head.
“They already killed our momentum, and how are we supposed to chase them when they’re fleeing on horseback? Okay, you have a point, but...!”
Lucana groaned as she mussed her own hair. Her long hair, which was tied back, came undone and fell to shoulder length.
“You’re telling me our original mission was to take the checkpoint, and then join up with the commander-in-chief at Runan Castle, and we’ve accomplished that?!”
That was one way of looking at it, sure, but Lucana couldn’t help but feel they had lost, and badly.
Lucana was frustrated over the idea that Valdesca might ask them about what happened, but Istin was unconcerned.
“You’re going to settle things with that man on the battlefield, so you can’t wait for that day to come? Next time, you’ll fight fair and square? Augh, this is the problem with you...”
Lucana shook her head in dismay.
Istin remained impassive, and once he had finished communicating with Lucana in a way that only someone who had known him since childhood could understand, he advanced his forces into the checkpoint.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login