Ch.131Pelheim Senova (4)

# Fellheim Senova (4)

The tide of battle was already turning against them. And now, on top of that, the hero of the past, Fellheim Senova.

Esmeralda knew they had no chance of winning.

To turn this around, numerous conditions would need to be met, and that wasn’t something she could achieve by herself—she needed help from others.

The situation was hopeless.

By now, the fortress city’s soldiers must have learned that the commander they followed had betrayed them.

Despair spreading in an instant.

They would have to overcome that weight and defeat two Legion Commanders plus a defector.

“What do you think?”

Step.

Just one step.

The moment Fellheim Senova took that single step, Esmeralda felt a chill run down her neck.

An opponent unlike any she had faced before.

A soldier who had not only mastered the sword but also actively utilized magic and strategy as needed.

Different from Eleven, who had devoted his life solely to the sword.

Different from Twelve, who used adaptive magic depending on the situation.

He had reached the pinnacle as a human.

That’s why he was frightening.

‘He’s someone who climbed higher than me using the same methods.’

Because he wasn’t as straightforward as a demon.

But the problem was that he wasn’t as weak as an ordinary person either.

Esmeralda didn’t overestimate the power of her eyes. Even with a high level, it was difficult for a mage to guarantee victory against a swordsman in close combat.

In other words, there were type advantages.

Maximizing one’s strengths to precisely target the opponent’s weaknesses.

That was the universal method to bridge the gap.

But…

“Do you think you’ll be any different?”

“Ugh?!”

Clang!

Fellheim Senova was an upgraded version of the hero, Esmeralda.

She barely deflected the rapier thrust that came at her too fast to see. What followed, flowing like water, wasn’t swordsmanship but magic.

Whoosh!

Not an attack, but light and heat that seemed to obscure Esmeralda’s vision.

And from within that shimmer, a flash of light shot out.

“Kuk?!”

Esmeralda barely avoided the strike and retreated significantly.

She hadn’t predicted and dodged it. She had just been lucky.

She had evaded an attack coming from an unpredictable direction based on instinct alone. She knew this couldn’t be repeated many times.

“Hmm.”

Fellheim Senova didn’t pursue Esmeralda.

Clang-clang-clang-clang!

Because he knew what Esmeralda’s specialty was.

“This is certainly an ability that shines even more on the battlefield. I’m sure you’ll continue to use it effectively in the future.”

“That’s rich coming from someone who blocks everything.”

Many generals die from stray arrows in the chaos of battle.

And Esmeralda’s Igier Sword was a weapon far more precise and sharp than any stray arrow.

“Behind.”

“What?”

At Fellheim Senova’s words, pointing behind her with a smirk, Esmeralda tilted her head in confusion.

But realizing what he meant, Esmeralda rolled dramatically across the ground, leaving her original position.

“Lord Fellheim Senova. You shouldn’t be telling her that.”

“Oh my, weren’t you asking me to teach her? Six. I thought you were swinging your sword so ordinarily and weakly to see the hero’s reaction.”

After rolling several times and getting back on her feet, Esmeralda couldn’t have felt more miserable.

Not only was she covered in dirt stained with battlefield blood, but she could feel her opponent’s overwhelming leisure despite facing her.

And that leisure was justified by the overwhelming advantage the two had.

The fortress city’s soldiers were keeping the two in check, but they couldn’t provide significant help immediately.

They were already doing well just by blocking Legion Commander Six’s magic and undead forces.

‘I’m fortunate the soldiers are helping. They recovered from the confusion quickly.’

Though they were shocked by Fellheim Senova’s betrayal, the frontline soldiers quickly pulled themselves together and were supporting her.

“Esmeralda! Are you okay?!”

“For now. But at this rate, we don’t stand a chance.”

“Wh-what should we do?!”

“I don’t know. It would be nice if we had just one more reliable comrade.”

“Like… me?”

At that moment, a human-sized fireball fell below the fortress wall.

The person Esmeralda was thinking of. But also someone she thought would never be able to help.

“Sister Garnet…?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Former Legion Commander, Five.

Now known as Garnet, the balance-breaker of the hero’s party had appeared.

“B-but… you being here now… no, the fact that you appeared here at all…!”

“Then don’t worry about the small stuff. Isn’t surviving right now more important than thinking about what comes next?”

No. That wasn’t it.

Her power was desperately needed, but this wasn’t a stage where she could shine. Not just because of her reasons, but because this was human territory.

Beyond being noticed by other Legion Commanders or the Demon King, what would the soldiers gathered here think?

“Esmeralda. They’re not stupid. If they were as dumb as they are weak, the human realm would have been devoured by the Demon King’s army long ago. Look. Even though I’ve appeared so openly, they’re not even looking in my direction.”

“Is… that so…?”

At Garnet’s words, Esmeralda belatedly looked around.

The fortress city’s soldiers.

Those who had fought the Demon King’s army their entire lives were pretending not to see Garnet.

They knew she was the best choice to overcome this situation.

No, before that, they had realized that Legion Commander Five was an ally.

‘Is that even possible…?’

Isn’t their acceptance too quick, regardless?

Esmeralda was bewildered.

No matter how seasoned the fortress city’s soldiers were, it didn’t make sense that they could quickly overcome such a series of reversals.

“I’ll take care of that arrogant one, so you focus on the other side.”

But before Esmeralda could find the answer to her question, Garnet charged toward Legion Commander Six.

“Legion Commander Five, have you finally decided to stand on that side?”

“My, you knew I was here? How sneaky.”

The moment the battle between Legion Commander Six and Garnet began.

A being outside their domain began charging toward Esmeralda again.

“Kuk! Tina! Get ready!”

“Y-yes!”

“Well? Isn’t this amusing?”

Fellheim Senova smiled as if he found this situation quite enjoyable and swung his rapier.

***

Commanders typically don’t participate in combat. If they did, they could respond to changing situations faster than anyone, but they might also narrow their vision by getting caught up in the atmosphere.

That’s why they don’t know.

“The response is too quick. It’s consistent and without hesitation.”

And that’s why only those who are one step back from the battlefield can grasp its strangeness.

“And the betrayal is too sudden, with the response being woefully inadequate.”

I approached the commander standing on the fortress wall.

The adjutant who had earlier announced Fellheim Senova’s betrayal.

“Successfully controlling information is not easy. You were controlling it well until today, but then you let them use the communication device at the crucial moment and failed… It’s hard for me to imagine.”

“It’s unpredictable. If the communication itself doesn’t connect, it’s just like an ornament, isn’t it? That might not raise suspicion.”

“Is that so?”

The hero and others fighting near the fortress wall probably don’t know.

What the scene looks like from here.

“How could an already annihilated army have reported that?”

The reinforcements… no, the forces that came to restrain Fellheim Senova had already been annihilated long ago.

All that remained were commanders busy fleeing and a ragtag bunch.

They’re being pushed back so one-sidedly, yet instead of requesting reinforcements, they reported Fellheim Senova’s betrayal?

“And wouldn’t it be better to handle such matters secretly rather than announcing them? Rather than causing confusion, they could have just assembled a special operations team to assassinate Lord Fellheim Senova.”

He deliberately caused confusion.

If he were another informant recruited by the Demon King’s army, that might be possible.

But as I said earlier.

“The view from someone standing on the battlefield and someone one step away is bound to be different.”

Unlike those who are conscious of the enemy in front of them and the comrades beside them, from here, one can see the overall battle situation.

“They couldn’t act. The atmosphere of unrest was fine, but looking at each individual, that wasn’t the case.”

“I see now that you’re not just a simple porter. So, were you the strategist of the hero’s party? It’s frightening to think that your apparent stupidity was all an act.”

“It wasn’t an act. I was genuinely stupid. I was grateful for being able to be that way. But now, I can’t afford that luxury, can I?”

“Haha.”

The fortress city is isolated.

After all, the hero’s party had to take on separate supply missions.

It was a place easily cut off, making it simple to disrupt supplies, and because of that isolation, they had exceptional solidarity.

It was because of this solidarity that they could fight the Demon King’s army on the front lines, and because of this solidarity, they should have been more confused.

After all, the commander they trusted, followed, and were willing to die for had betrayed them.

“What do you think Lord Fellheim Senova was thinking? Could you give me a hint?”

“Well…”

A battlefield filled with blood and screams. Heroes of humanity who don’t hesitate to risk their lives.

“Surprisingly, he never once hid his true intentions. And those intentions, in a way, could indeed be called treason.”

“Treason… in what way?”

The adjutant looked at the devastation below and gave a bitter smile.

“For the sake of the world, not the empire.”

“…”

“Because he had no education and didn’t know how to live any other way. And because he knew better than anyone how hard and painful such a life was.”

There are people who use their own lives as cautionary tales.

Those who rise above pain and sorrow, looking not at their own happiness but at the happiness of the next generation.

And such people, without exception.

“Yes, knowing that, he’s risking his life to change the world so that there won’t be another precedent like himself. He’s a person who already thinks his life has gone wrong, so would he bend his will just because more despair is added now?”

Are terribly determined and.

“He must have resented and been disappointed in the empire, but more than that, he’s someone who wishes for the world to improve. That’s why we can follow him, risking our lives like this.”

Also beautiful.