Ch.613Prelude to the End

As Haschal demonstrated propulsion power that surpassed even the ancients’ expectations, evolving from a human tank into something resembling an attack helicopter.

The detachment that chose to retreat without her desperately continued their frantic dash toward the wall, barely suppressing the urge to look back.

The military horses carrying them were foaming at the mouth, feeling pain as if their lungs and hearts would burst from the merciless gallop, but sadly, none of the riders had the luxury to consider the suffering and lives of their mounts.

Everyone was desperate beyond urgency.

They needed to get as far away as possible. They needed to reach the wall as quickly as possible. These thoughts alone occupied the minds of the cavalry as they gripped the reins and spurred their horses.

The life of the heir of Landenburg and the Empire’s strongest knight, the Baron of Median, depended on their dash.

“Pururuk…!”

One military horse at its limit collapsed, vomiting blood. The ground was torn up as the falling body tumbled, scattering rooted weeds in all directions.

“Damn it, this is as far as I go…! I wish you good fortune!”

“Please survive!”

The cavalryman who jumped off the dying horse drew his sword and saluted the advancing detachment without stopping.

Having lost his horse, he couldn’t possibly reach the wall. So he intended to stand his ground and delay the pursuers with his life, just as other dismounted cavalrymen had done before him.

Unless a Master or knight was dismounted, there was neither time nor energy to spare for ordinary stragglers, so the detachment’s numbers continued to dwindle.

From one hundred seventy to one hundred sixty.

And then to one hundred fifty.

“…Will Haschal be safe?”

Nigel muttered anxiously, biting his lip. The distance had grown so great. Even the occasional thunderous sounds were no longer audible. Anxiety was gripping his heart.

“The lady will be fine. Judging by the fact that the pursuit hasn’t caught up with us yet… she must be successfully tying up their movements.”

Leonore Wittelsbach answered, narrowing her eyes.

“…Probably.”

She knew her answer was closer to wishful thinking than certainty. The fact that Haschal was still fighting didn’t guarantee her safety.

Perhaps she was barely holding on, covered in wounds.

‘If only I had reached the realm of Heroes, I could have been of help…!’

Leonore bit her lower lip.

Her benefactor, lord, and friend was fighting in the face of overwhelming threats, yet all she could do was flee without getting in the way. The fact that she couldn’t offer any help was utterly frustrating.

Despite countless training sessions and battles since reaching the realm of Masters, she was still too weak.

‘Lady Haschal…!’

Jahan’s heart was also boiling with concern and worry for Haschal. Of course, the “Haschal” he worried about wasn’t the Empire’s First Sword, but the self-proclaimed Heavenly Demon.

—-

After tens of minutes of galloping, the detachment was able to advance at nearly twice the speed of ordinary cavalry, disregarding even the deaths of their overworked horses.

They would need to maintain this pace for three hours to reach the wall.

Reducing half a day’s journey to three hours was truly remarkable, but… it was ultimately meaningless.

It was impossible to maintain such a gallop for three hours, and even if they arrived within three hours, it would take several more hours for hastily organized reinforcements to reach the battlefield.

By that time, the Ka’har would have finished the battle, collected the casualties, held funerals, and even finished their dinner.

No matter how hard the detachment tried, sending reinforcements in time was impossible from the start.

All they could do was put as much distance as possible between themselves and the enemy, helping Haschal to retreat when she deemed it sufficient.

That’s what everyone thought.

“That can’t be…!”

Until the knight leading the detachment spotted dust rising from the direction they were heading.

======[ Haschal ]======

“Grrrr….”

The unicorn disappeared, glaring at me with hateful eyes. I got up from the pile of fading entrails and said a prayer for his soul. Though he would probably revive tomorrow anyway.

[ You managed to land safely. It would be difficult to take flight again, though… ]

‘Indeed. According to my calculations, I should have been able to maintain it for ten more minutes. Now I can fly for only about a minute at most.’

Thanks to that anger management-challenged lady with extreme filial piety.

Because of her, things had become quite awkward. While I was fighting Orhan, the Blue Banner Army, having regrouped, was staring at me with eyes that suggested they were looking at something bizarre, and they weren’t far away.

Their numbers had clearly decreased from before, and they all looked visibly tired, unable to fully recover from the fatigue of forced marches and fierce battles with just a short rest… but that didn’t mean I had any chance of winning.

I was even more exhausted.

Thanks to Durandal’s power, my stamina might be intact, but would a broken car perform at full capacity just because you filled it with fuel?

Bleeding, bruises, fractures, and internal injuries. Moving a body afflicted with all sorts of injuries wasn’t possible with stamina alone.

Of course, even without injuries, it wouldn’t have made much difference.

Once the power of Karma, the blessing that leads humans to superhuman status, was depleted, I was just a warrior with the physical abilities of a pureblooded Werebeast, two magic abilities, protection against blades, and tireless stamina.

…That was actually quite a lot for “just a warrior,” but it still had its limitations.

I might be able to handle ordinary warriors somehow, but defeating a mounted Champion would be difficult.

I could win in single combat since I hadn’t completely exhausted my Heroic Karma and Murder Karma yet, but unless they were idiots, they wouldn’t agree to single combat.

No, actually, all these assumptions were meaningless. Orhan, who had been knocked away by the tentacles of Murder Karma, would be enough to defeat me in my current state.

Judging by his absence from the sky, he must have fallen like me… perhaps he landed behind their lines.

Well, he’d probably appear without a scratch soon enough.

“Haaaah….”

I caught my breath, using Durandal stuck in the ground as a cane, waiting for Orhan.

Charging at the Blue Banner Army from here would be the worst option. The best course was to wait for Orhan’s return and continue the natural single combat.

“…That monster isn’t flying again. Has he run out of strength?”

“In that condition…”

Perhaps convinced of my exhaustion, the warriors at the front of the Blue Banner Army began to stir.

They didn’t rush at me since no orders had come from Orhan or the Champions, but the atmosphere suggested they would charge without hesitation the moment the command was given.

“Run out of strength? Think you can kill me? Come at me if you’re confident. I’ll cut your throats one by one.”

I spat out the blood filling my mouth, then pulled Durandal from the ground and pointed it at them.

“I swear on the blood of the Aishan-Gioro flowing in my veins, the lineage of the Great Sorcerer. I’ll take at least a thousand of you as companions in death.”

I raised the corner of my mouth as I confessed to being of the Great Sorcerer’s bloodline. It was a deliberately chosen phrase.

The fact that “I” could use sorcery and that the “Aishan-Gioro” were of sorcerer lineage would be issues of completely different dimensions for the warriors.

“Sorcerer’s bloodline…?”

“What nonsense is this traitor talking…”

As I expected, the warriors’ momentum faltered for a moment. They probably didn’t believe me, but… having emphasized it with the word “swear,” it would be difficult to dismiss as mere nonsense.

That was enough. Just making the warriors feel “what if?” in their hearts meant I had succeeded in annoying Orhan.

If I survived this place, I planned to advertise this fact widely.

Those loyal to Orhan would dismiss it as mere rumor, but those who had submitted to Orhan’s power without true loyalty would certainly show interest.

Without my intervention, they would begin investigating the connection between the Aishan-Gioro and sorcerers to discredit Orhan. If evidence emerged, it would be very difficult for Orhan to contain the situation.

Isn’t that right?

“Your snake-like cunning has only grown, Haschal.”

Orhan appeared with a hardened expression, pushing aside the stirring warriors. The deep furrows between his brows revealed his embarrassment and anger.

He seems quite angry. Apparently, he had recited the family secrets as a sign of recognizing me as his successor, but he hadn’t expected me to openly spread them.

Well, since he misunderstood that my desire was to become Kagan, he probably didn’t think things would turn out this way when he told me those stories.

“You should have been more careful with your words in front of an enemy.”

I smiled even more broadly, mocking him. Though it wouldn’t change my current hopeless situation, seeing Orhan’s face contort seemed to improve my mood a little.

“…I’m not talking about that nonsense. I’m talking about that.”

Orhan pointed behind me with a teeth-grinding tone.

Behind me…?

Ah. Could it be, already…?

A possibility suddenly occurred to me. Without taking my eyes off Orhan, I focused my senses behind me.

And I detected it.

The ground vibrating slightly. Indistinct echoes. The presence of thousands… no, close to ten thousand, gradually approaching.

A large army was coming from the west.

“Your Majesty-! We must retreat! The forces of Landenburg, of the Empire, are approaching!”

A desperate cry rang out at the perfect moment. A Blue Banner Army scout, returning with five arrows embedded in his back, reported what was, for me, the best possible news.

[ Ludwig’s reinforcements…! They weren’t too late! ]

‘See, I told you good things come to those who believe?’

I hadn’t expected them to arrive so quickly… anyway, thanks to them, I was saved.

I smiled slightly and dropped my shoulders. There was no need to be tense anymore. With the Empire’s reinforcements arriving, all I had to do now was flee westward and join them.

—-

“We’ve wasted too much time…”

Having confirmed the ten thousand imperial troops charging toward the Blue Banner Army, Orhan glared at me with a tiger-like fierce face and issued the retreat order.

Yes. He had no choice but to retreat.

Three thousand exhausted Blue Banner soldiers couldn’t face imperial forces three times their number. It seemed the invincible Unyielding Flesh was also reaching its limit. If he had chosen to engage, wouldn’t he have lost his invulnerability and fallen during the battle?

Anyway, I was thus able to narrowly save my life.

Well. Who would have thought that what was merely a preliminary skirmish would be so tough and difficult? It was enough to make me sigh.

“Haah…”

With trembling hands drained of strength, I took out a cigarette, sat down heavily on the ground, and inhaled the smoke while watching the retreating enemies.

‘They’re running away so well. Didn’t they say Ka’har never show their backs to the enemy?’

That was just a lie. Seeing how quickly they’re fleeing, it seems “strategic retreat” has become second nature to them.

[ If pursuers catch up, they will turn their bodies on horseback and shoot arrows. Then they technically haven’t shown their backs. ]

‘What kind of sophistry is that?’

I chuckled, then coughed and vomited blood as the smoke caught in my throat. Perhaps because the tension had eased, my twisted and damaged intestines seemed to be screaming in pain only now.