13 (39)

Cavalrymen flew away with spears lodged in their shoulder blades. Cavalrymen flew away with their heads pierced. Cavalrymen flew away with spears lodged in their solar plexus. And except for the occasional collapse of Louis’s cavalrymen beside him, the first line rolled across the ground like falling dominoes.

The cavalrymen behind leapt over those writhing on the ground. Soon they turned into mush and went limp. This process was unfolding on both sides of Louis. The cavalry possessed by House Boarne was naturally hardened by war and battle. So although the first line collapsed, they all had some skill with spears or swords and turned the situation into chaos.

The one charging toward Louis was a Sword Expert warrior. His build was smaller than Louis’s. Eyes that seemed somehow curved were fixed on Louis. His pupils were frightened. However, his movements were swift.

He swung his sword toward Louis’s neck. The sword cutting through the rain was smoothly deflected by Louis. Mana and mana made contact, failed to mix, and spread out as if scattering with a crack. The sound was so loud that it drew the attention of those around them. Louis thought he possessed a fair amount of mana. However, there was no time to check. In any case, when it came to mana quantity, Louis’s mana had surpassed 220.

He had reached the upper level of a Sword Expert. Louis brought his sword down diagonally. The aura was so huge that the surging mana could be seen at a glance. It was enough that the raindrops were cut apart and the trajectory was clearly visible.

He received that graceful trajectory, then let out a groan. He lowered his waist as if being crushed. The arm that had received it trembled. The shockwave was so strong that it even affected his horse. The horse suddenly raised its back.

His balance broke, and Louis had no intention of missing it. “It’s over…….” he muttered, striking at the nape of his neck, but unexpectedly, the man reacted. He had inserted his right hand in between. Like a fish being cut on a chopping board, his right hand was severed with a thud.

He benefited from the steel bracer attached to his right wrist. An instant of time gained. Without wasting that time, he was flung into the air. While his forearm spun loosely in the air, Louis’s sword did not stop and cut through the horse’s neck just like that. The horse collapsed, and the man who had fallen from it also collapsed.

“Sir Dwald!”

Another Sword Expert, after seeing Dwald fly away, cut down three or four cavalrymen and shouted. Louis briefly washed his blood-soaked sword in the rain.

“D-Duke Louis.”

“That man!”

“He is tremendous. I have never seen someone whose mana offense and defense are this perfect. We must kill him now.”

Dwald gripped the sword stuck in the ground with his left hand and leaned on it. The new Sword Expert was a delicate-looking fellow without a manly impression. Louis looked around. It seemed as though the entire world was filled with his cavalry. No matter how battle-hardened the cavalry force was, it was useless against this scale.

“I am Ollie Ferdi.”

The unfamiliar Sword Expert prepared to attack and spoke to Louis. From the look of it, the two planned to attack at the same time. Louis said,

“I don’t need a name I won’t remember. If you want to die, come at me. Though you will die even if you run.”

Blood flowed in streams between the hastily built bridges. Borenus thought he was in the middle of hell. He quickly raised his shield at an angle. Not long after he lifted it, the sound of the shield ringing made his spine chill.

His lowered gaze saw the dark-blue shining river rushing down like an arrow. The arrows flowing thickly with it were a bonus. Rain was still pouring down from above. It had grown stronger than before for a time, then weakened again, and from then on it stayed at about this level. Thanks to that, he did not know whether he should pray to God that the wind had lessened. Another arrow poked out between the shields like a toothpick. This was the only thing he could trust, but because impurities had been mixed in, its durability was in this state.

“Agh!!!”

A scream burst from beside him. The man had held up his shield well, but an arrow pierced through the shield and lodged in his forehead. He had been quite a good-natured fellow, but his current appearance was utterly unspeakable. Before Borenus could do anything, he staggered and fell straight off the side of the bridge. Splash. The current rang out refreshingly.

“Fill the gap!!! And advance!!!”

The centurion at the very front shouted. It was the first time his back had ever looked so small. His voice sounded tired. In any case, they moved forward again. At least the bridge Borenus was advancing on was a little better.

A total of four bridges had been constructed, but one of them had been left unfinished, and two were receiving concentrated attacks. Borenus was at least not in the unit entering at the very front, and if one had to place him, he was around the middle, but the infantry unit that would stand in the vanguard had already crossed forward by boat.

The front was…. something he did not even want to talk about anymore. From the beginning, there had been quite a few rumors that Gregory’s side had more troops. Borenus continued crossing the creaking wooden bridge. This time, there was no sign that arrows would pour down. It meant they were pushing the front line back to some extent.

Soon, the end of the bridge came into view. Rumble rumble rumble. The sound of waves came from the left. The waist of the bridge had snapped cleanly. He even saw a familiar face. The man plunged into the water, and only after quite some time did he barely surface far behind. ‘Mine won’t collapse, right?’ No matter how much he muttered it, it was not comforting at all.

No, perhaps being stalled like that would have been better. Finally, the centurion shouted that they had arrived. Borenus checked for the first time whether his sword was properly attached, then stepped down. Splash. The river water rose above his ankles.

The cold was not merely chilly but pierced all the way into his bones, making his teeth chatter. Yet strangely, he adapted in an instant. Well, just looking beside him, with corpses floating, broken arrows, and ownerless swords and shields, it was impossible not to. Then the centurion sharply shouted.

“Raise shields!!!”

Borenus tried to lift something, but the order was far too late. The fellow in front had arrows lodged in his eye and head, lost his balance, and collapsed, and the fellow behind him and the one right beside him were no exception.

Even the centurion at the front already had two arrows lodged in his forearm. Borenus gritted his teeth, leaned his body into his shield, and instinctively dropped tightly to his knees. The water instantly rose to his chin. He swallowed a little, and what was this? The taste of blood was thick. He did not feel nauseated.

“Charge!! Charge!!! Don’t stop!!!”

Chiliarch Boromir’s voice rang loudly in the hellish situation, and units of infantry that had not received the arrow barrage ran forward. Borenus barely lowered his shield, and when he realized there were only two living people around him, he was horrified. The one who was still alive was the centurion. He had been hit by quite a lot of arrows. Borenus immediately supported him.

“Hah…. Haaah….”

“Are… are you all right?”

The centurion did not answer. Borenus knew that they had to set foot on land first. As he supported him and moved forward frantically, he heard the sound of fireworks bursting with a bang. The riverside had exploded. It was the work of a mage.

The comrade who had just been charging toward that place flew away as pieces of flesh. One forearm dropped beside Borenus with a thud. Borenus knew they had to hide first. There were far too many corpses everywhere. Moreover, around 40% of the fallen were clearly still alive.

The way they kept drawing breaths and urging him to save them made Borenus feel as if he was going mad. Still, shouldn’t he save the centurion? Borenus barely found a corner where six corpses were crumpled together, supported the centurion, and walked unsteadily.

Arrows continued to fall one by one around him. It was unbearable. Even during this, the encouragement and shouts from behind were tremendous. Infantrymen were charging over the connected bridge. ‘I have to join too.’ Borenus finished the thought and laid the centurion down.

Now that he had laid him down, the man had been hit by far too many arrows. Borenus grabbed an arrow shaft that looked dangerous and pulled it out, then searched the man’s chest for a potion. Borenus knew that centurions were issued a small number of potions to use in emergencies. When he poured it over the wounded area, the centurion, as if in pain, grabbed Borenus’s wrist. Strangely, a sizzling sound came out, and the wound could be seen closing.

“Th-thank you.”

It was the first time Borenus had heard this raging-bull-like man speak politely to him. So the words of thanks had even more value. More importantly, he could see the front line becoming tangled. When a priest belatedly came running, Borenus shouted.

He was a fresh-looking fellow who looked like a woman. Borenus roughly left the centurion to the priest and picked up his sword and shield again. Now it was time for the real battle. As he began running again, he could see troops pulling away. Instinctively, he knew Duke Louis’s tactic was working.

“Kuh…. Hrk….”

Louis pulled out the sword he had lodged in the Sword Expert before him. Blood came out with it, but he paid it no mind and sheathed it. As the longsword entered the scabbard with a wet sound, he turned his head and looked around. Three of Louis’s cavalrymen were simultaneously stabbing the neck, waist, and arms of an isolated cavalryman.

The ones who were still relatively intact were opening a path to flee, but they were soon blocked, attacked by spears, and fell from their horses. Anok was still fighting hard against one of Gregory’s Sword Experts, and from Louis’s perspective, it was clear they had been fighting since earlier.

The two were so evenly matched that he could not tell how many exchanges they had made. There were three Sword Experts barely maintaining their lives, and they fell one by one. The rest already seemed dead. Kaiser rode his horse all the way to the far end and sent the head of a fleeing cavalryman flying.

It was roughly settled. The two who were fighting evenly were in such an intense battle that it was difficult to step in easily, other than watching. As if he did not know that the cavalry he led was collapsing, the cavalry commander finally struck Anok. Anok floated in the air while carried by the spear shaft, then rolled across the ground.

Louis picked up the horn bow attached to his horse. He nocked a string and quickly poured mana into it. His chest felt a little stiff, as though he had overdone it a little while facing the Sword Expert. A moving target in the pouring rain. On top of that, around the target, aura was surging like an enraged bull, so an ordinary arrow was highly likely to lose its trajectory.

Even so, Louis’s body astonishingly found the optimal line by instinct. Twang! At the same time the bowstring went wild, Louis’s arrow tore through the cavalry commander’s aura and struck his face.

“Aaaagh!!!!!”

He clutched his face and thrashed about. Looking closely, it had hit his cheek. Anok, who had barely survived, quickly stood and sent his neck flying with his spear. The head rolled across the ground, and Anok looked at Louis. Louis raised his hand. It meant for everyone to reorganize.

Louis opened the information window. He saw the army swarming toward this side. The infantry unit maintaining the front had split twice. The entire army had succeeded in crossing the river and was becoming entangled on the front line. With this, it was time to deliver the second strike. He had lost his cavalry, and Louis still had around 1,300 cavalry remaining.

Louis had thought it would be fine even if only around a thousand remained, but the fact that Boarne’s cavalry had collapsed helplessly had been greater than expected. Louis took the lead again and drove his horse. The air was wide open, and the smell of blood vanished in an instant. The blood splattered across his body also gradually decreased. Louis’s horse dashed like an arrow across the ground that had turned to mud.