Chapter 220: From Now On, I Will Put an End to Everything (2)
I never thought, never imagined they would take such a risk and challenge the Kingdom Army like this.
I was careless. I was so caught up in our continuous victories that I forgot a simple fact: the enemy can counterattack.
“Will of Destruction!”
Aila’s clear voice rang out, indicating she was close by. She unleashed the maximum power she could muster.
A large, white sphere appeared and then split into dozens of smaller ones. Some soldiers gasped at the sight of such effortless manipulation of reality.
Somewhere nearby, a golden light exploded. I knew it represented her enraged gaze.
“Die, all of you!”
Dozens of spheres tore through the air like arrows, all aimed at the Imperial soldiers calmly slaughtering the Kingdom Army.
Blocking was useless, dodging was futile. An explosion of overwhelming power that a mere soldier couldn’t withstand.
A deafening roar that could crush eardrums.
White light exploded throughout our camp. With the power to obliterate everything around it, at least dozens of cavalrymen must have perished.
When the light subsided and a brief silence fell upon the battlefield, I shouted,
“Kingdom Army, retreat―! This is the Grand General’s order!”
They were those who had heard my voice before, those who had received my commands from the front lines. The Kingdom Army swiftly moved their feet, and the Imperial Army followed about two seconds later.
However, those two seconds were more than enough time for some to mount their horses.
“Eku Naha Enkaha―!”
The hunt begins.
Kun shouted.
The Grenoian Guard, who spent their lives hunting gray monsters in gray-covered lands, charged towards the nearby cavalry.
Even for cavalrymen, once targeted as prey, there was only one thing they could do.
Be hunted.
Two or three Guard members would attack a single horse, unhorsing or killing the rider. Some attacked the horses themselves, steadily crushing the immobilized cavalry.
However, their numbers had dwindled considerably. Among the lives lost in the previous battles, the blood of their tribe also lay dormant.
Revenge for those who could be called friends and family.
Nevertheless, there were still many Imperial soldiers left.
Many. Too many.
Fierce battles raged locally, but it seemed like over 100 Kingdom soldiers were dying every second. In contrast, our struggle was merely a localized delay tactic.
“I am here―!”
So come here. Try to stab me!
Me, the one whom those you’re killing trust and follow!
Not many reacted to my words. The sound of clashing weapons, the screams even louder than that, and the sounds of falling men and horses were already deafening.
I ran in the opposite direction of those retreating, towards the charging cavalry. I kicked off the ground, dirt flying from my toes.
Try to kill me.
Try to kill me!
“Aaaargh―!”
With a yell, my body launched off the ground. The spearhead aimed directly at my chest gleamed red in the eerie twilight, like the color of hot blood.
I deflected it and thrust.
The tip of my sword pierced the horse’s hard skull and emerged from the mane of its neck. The nameless soldier tumbled forward, and so did I.
The ground beat me, scolded me for being a madman.
Yes. Perhaps I was. Perhaps I had gone mad.
I stood on the ground where the soldiers I had led were being brutally slaughtered. I had led them from the front, and I had ordered them to charge.
And now, they were dying one by one.
Their hot blood would be etched onto the earth, but even the sunlight turned its back on their blood, sinking beyond the western mountains.
No one was watching.
“Damn it―!”
I dropped my sword and drew my dagger. The moment I let go of Brandione, the magic engraved on my weapon suddenly activated, making me feel light despite the remaining shock in my body.
I ran to the groaning rider who had fallen from his horse and plunged the dagger into his neck, into the gap in his armor, without a moment’s hesitation.
“Gahk! Hick……!”
With an unsightly sound, the rider collapsed without leaving a last word. A nameless Imperial cavalryman fell.
Huff― Huff―.
Rough breaths wracked my entire body.
My ankle throbbed. It seemed to have been injured during my fall, and the pain was intense. But ignoring my condition, three more riders approached from ahead.
Were they coming to kill me?
Then come and kill me.
I picked up a spear that had fallen to the ground and threw it at the approaching riders. Then I grabbed Brandione and drew it. My body instantly felt heavy. I cursed the damn sword for its excellent performance.
The spear I threw flew uselessly into the air. It hadn’t even bought me time.
The riders simultaneously thrust their spears towards me.
Huff― Huff―.
I tried to control my breathing, but my wildly pounding heart wouldn’t allow it. My lungs desperately craved air, but I disregarded even my own life.
Come to me.
Point those 5,000 spearheads at me!
Leave those weaklings who can’t even move properly, suffering from the fever of destruction!
I threw my sword forward and kicked off the ground.
My lightened body soared to the same height as the riders’ heads. I stomped on the face of one of the riders with one foot as he rapidly approached.
Thwack!
A grotesque sound echoed, and a more intense pain shot through my ankle. I winced but reached out and grabbed Brandione, which I had thrown.
With all my might, I twisted my body and swung the sword.
Crack! Thud!
Two heads flew into the air in an instant. The three horses, suddenly riderless, continued their meaningless rampage. A headless knight and a horse ran, as if chasing the retreating Kingdom Army.
Boom!
“Ugh……! Gah!”
After being slammed hard against the ground, a cough that hadn’t surfaced for a while erupted from me.
A salty, metallic taste filled my mouth. Whether it had risen from my stomach or my mouth had been cut, sticky blood coated my tongue. It was a disgusting feeling.
Huff― Huff―.
I pushed myself up, leaning on my sword. My ankle screamed in protest, unable to support my weight any longer, but I ruthlessly ignored the pleas of a mere body part.
I stood tall and shouted,
“I am here―!”
But no one came to me. I shouted again. And again. Until my throat felt raw.
Why! Why aren’t you coming at me!
I roared.
My blood is the same as theirs!
Just as hot as all those who are dying!
On this day, the Herduke Kingdom’s Imperial Conquest Force lost half of its hot blood.
August 5th, 378th year of the Imperial Calendar.
The Kingdom Army retreated significantly. From the plains where the Imperial Capital was visible, they had to retreat about 1 kilometer, with the mountain range leading to the central part of the Empire at their backs.
And they lost even more people. Because of the fever.
For those who had lost significant strength due to the illness, even a 1-kilometer tactical retreat was fatal. Every morning, more corpses were visible.
Around lunchtime, the cremation of the bodies and a memorial service led by Namias and the other accompanying priests began.
The smell of burning flesh permeated the vast plains as we burned the bodies one by one, so that we could at least send the remains back to the families of the fallen.
The lively Arisein still within me made a self-deprecating joke, saying it was a scene that would make the demons drool.
After accounting for the soldiers who were ambushed, succumbed to the fever, or went missing, the approximate figures were devastating.
The total remaining troops were a mere 120,000.
I bit my lip until it bled.
I was foolish. I had wasted too much focus on Artshever’s actions and underestimated the fever. As a result, I allowed the Imperial Army’s surprise attack and suffered heavy losses.
Although all 5,000 cavalrymen who attacked our camp were dead, the number they killed was several times greater.
In this situation, no one would blame me for swearing revenge.
Except, perhaps, for High Priest Damachi Ir.
“I won’t expect forgiveness as vast as the sun. But don’t forget what you have to do.”
“I haven’t forgotten. And I can do that even after killing all the Imperial soldiers over there.”
“If you say that, then the Imperial soldiers with fallen comrades among those you lead would say the same.”
“If I considered such relative matters, I wouldn’t have started this war. After all, war isn’t something you can avoid just because the other side doesn’t want to die.”
“But you didn’t start this war to kill, did you?”
“No, of course not. But a war without killing is impossible in the first place!”
The old High Priest sighed softly.
He had voluntarily come to the Kingdom Army’s camp around noon today, leading the priests himself. The reason was that he could no longer follow the will of the Imperial Family.
He shook his head and said,
“Then I’ll have to look elsewhere. If you’re going to use the brilliance of the sun for the same slaughter here, then even with our close relationship, I can’t help you anymore.”
“Yes, that would be good. If you go north, there will be many people who will welcome you. Everyone is suffering from the fever, so if a group of priests arrives, they’ll dance with joy even if they’re burning up. Please do so……”
“Risel, stop it.”
I stiffened my shoulders. If I looked at Levidian now, I could only show her an angry gaze. I took a deep breath and looked at her with a neutral expression, if not a friendly one.
She had recovered from the fever, but her complexion was pale and her lips white from the lost stamina.
“That’s not what you should be doing. Clearly, the Imperial Army made the worst decision in the worst situation and produced only the worst possible outcome for both sides. But you’re different, aren’t you? I don’t want you to do the same thing as those ignorant people.”
Just because you don’t want it doesn’t mean I can’t do it!
I almost shouted those words. That would truly be the worst decision I could make. I clenched my teeth and turned away from her.
High Priest Damachi Ir said,
“I’ve heard the whole story. Sermaila told me when she guided me here. I also felt that the red dust-like light emanating from the Imperial Palace was an ominous sign. But I never imagined that it was a harbinger of the world’s destruction and that this fever was the sign. Sigh, Tere Achuni……”
He sighed and made the sign of the cross. He said he had only heard from the military that the disease was being spread in this area temporarily to ensure victory in the war. And it’s usually easy to behead the sick.
Of course, the Achuni religion had declared its non-participation in the war, but as I expected, the military had forcefully broken into the temple and practically kidnapped the priests to make them treat the soldiers.
Even if a knife were held to their throats, those who follow the will of God would hardly follow the will of a human emperor. But they had no choice when the life of the High Priest, the closest representative of God’s will, was at stake.
High Priest Damachi Ir, who had been held hostage until dawn today to exploit the priests’ divine power, escaped with the other priests when the guards collapsed due to the worsening fever.
If he had entered the Imperial Capital, he would have faced the same situation, and he couldn’t use the power bestowed by God to heal all people to punish the Imperial Army, who were also part of those people.
In the end, he came here because he knew me.
And now, I was thinking about revenge.
“Are you telling me to forgive the Imperial Army?”
“Wasn’t that your initial thought? What did you think when you first started this war? At least, judging from your past battles, you didn’t seem like someone who wages war to kill. Is it so unreasonable to ask you to stick to your original intention?”
“But……!”
Many people have died!
Hotter blood than the sun you worship has been scattered on the earth and has grown colder than the North Sea wind!
Having heard their voices, seen their faces, and heard their cheers, I cannot simply bear their death throes, their corpses, and their screams!
These words only echoed in my throat.
I knew this wasn’t right. I knew that my current thoughts were terribly wrong.
If there was a cliché to use in this situation, it would be the one about the dead never wanting revenge, a phrase used to manipulate the deaths of others for personal gain.
“Think more deeply. And think about what you have to do. Time is running out. It’s not enough even for the revenge you claim you must take. And didn’t you say that all those who ambushed you are dead? Then your revenge should be focused on those who made that decision. Those in high positions are there to bear such responsibilities.”
“Like gods?”
I didn’t mean to be sarcastic, but my tone came out that way. High Priest Damachi Ir ignored my attitude and silently nodded.
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