Ch.615The Sword of Giant Hunting

During the time when Haschal’s detachment was engaged in a pursuit battle with the Blue Banner Army, the main force commanded by Joshua was also retreating from the Red Banner Army led by Aishan-Gioro Targiyan and War Chief Hatan.

Unlike the detachment that was caught by Orhan and the Blue Banner Army due to their rapid movements, the main force had started moving as soon as they received reports of Orhan’s deployment, giving them a relative time advantage.

By the time Targiyan and Hatan identified the main force’s trail and mobilized the Red Banner Army to begin pursuit, Landenburg’s main force was already well on their way retreating toward the border of Dane.

Of course, they couldn’t afford to be complacent. Due to the numerous fierce battles they had fought, the main force’s fatigue was incomparably greater than that of the detachment, and the escape route they needed to traverse was seven times longer than what the detachment had faced.

Consequently, their encounter with the Red Banner Army was inevitable.

—-

“Despicable Imperial dogs! How long do you think you can run?”

Finally encountering Landenburg’s main force, Targiyan charged toward them with a fierce battle cry, leading six thousand Red Banner soldiers.

The total strength of the Red Banner Army that had set out in pursuit was a massive force of ten thousand, but not all of them were gathered here.

Targiyan and Hatan had divided the Red Banner Army into five groups to thoroughly search southern Ordos for traces of the enemy, but only six units of thousand men had successfully tracked them to this location. The remaining four units were still searching elsewhere.

Of course, Targiyan was confident of victory even with just six thousand troops. The enemy was merely two thousand cavalry, and they were visibly worn down from repeated battles.

“Red Banner Army! Follow me! The time has come to avenge our kinsmen!”

Thus, he spurred his horse forward without a moment’s hesitation, charging toward the enemy. He believed this was a battle they couldn’t possibly lose.

“Lord Targiyan! Taking the vanguard is dangerous…!”

War Chief Hatan, the actual commander of the Red Banner Army, urgently tried to stop Targiyan, who was galloping ahead at the fastest pace. Even though Targiyan’s skill was at the Champion level, even a Champion couldn’t avoid the blind blades of the battlefield.

If it were just an ordinary Champion, it might be different, but if the Kagan’s eldest son were to die fighting at the front, the aftermath would be truly devastating.

– Thud-thud-thud-thud!

But before Hatan could finish speaking, Targiyan had already ridden far ahead. As befitting the Kagan’s eldest son, his warhorse was among the finest of steeds, and its galloping speed was remarkably fast.

“…Hah, that bastard’s losing his mind again.”

Hatan’s brow furrowed deeply as he muttered curses that wouldn’t be heard, then cracked his reins. At this point, he had to catch up and protect Targiyan, who was charging ahead like a bolt of lightning, before he engaged the enemy. If Targiyan were to die in battle under his command, Hatan would bear the responsibility.

“First and Second Thousand-Man Units, flank from both sides! Rain arrows on the enemy’s flanks! The rest, charge straight ahead! Follow His Highness and penetrate the enemy lines!”

As Hatan’s orders fell, the Red Banner Army that had been chasing Targiyan split into three formations.

Ordering a flanking maneuver while in pursuit might seem irrational at first glance. After all, they were already struggling to keep up, and now he was telling some to take a detour.

However, when there’s an overwhelming difference in mobility between the pursuer and the pursued, even seemingly irrational orders can transform into rational tactics.

Hatan was confident that the four thousand-man units pursuing the enemy in a straight line could engage the rear of the Imperial forces in chaotic battle, and when that happened, the two thousand flanking troops arriving later could attack the pinned enemy from the sides, launching a concentrated attack from three directions.

‘With arrows raining down from both sides and allies screaming and dying from behind, could they maintain formation and continue fleeing in such a situation? Not a chance.’

Those trying to escape and those attempting to counterattack would collide and mix together, falling into disorder and chaos. That’s what Hatan thought.

“Barbarians of the steppes! Behold and be annihilated! This is the [Giant-Hunting Blade]!”

Until an enormous piece of metal suddenly emerged from the very rear of the retreating Imperial army.

—-

[Giant-Hunting Blade]

That was the name of the heroic tale mastered by Joshua Blake, Landenburg’s First Sword, after endless training.

A bizarre miracle that maintained the weight and strength of the wielded sword while increasing its length and width tenfold. Physically, it should be impossible. If the weight of the sword remained unchanged, its strength and size should be inversely proportional.

However, the essence of heroic tales is to defy the laws of the world with the power of Karma that melts the soul.

The Empire’s Second Hero, Joshua Blake.

His soul, the Karma he had accumulated throughout his life, manifested through the longsword he wielded, realizing a physically impossible phenomenon in this world.

– Kwadududuk!

In the form of a hero’s slash that swept across a radius of ten meters.

—-

“That’s…! Joshua’s manifestation technique!”

Witnessing the giant sword’s slash that cut down the vanguard of the pursuit force in a single swing, War Chief Hatan couldn’t hide his shock as his eyes widened.

Landenburg’s strongest swordsman who had firmly defended the western wall for decades, Joshua Blake.

Hatan, who had been merely a Champion at that time, had expected that just as he himself had transcended the wall of Champion to reach a higher realm, Joshua would have naturally done the same… but to face him like this, in this manner, now of all times.

It was something even Hatan hadn’t anticipated.

Every time Joshua swung his sword at the pursuit force, his blade enlarged to the size of a palace beam, sweeping across the battlefield.

With an unstoppable momentum, like sweeping fallen leaves with a broom. Warriors who tried to block with spears and swords were cut in half along with their beloved weapons and scattered on the ground. Death screams mixed with fresh blood, dyeing the battlefield red.

‘How dare he…!’

Hatan felt rage and fury rising in his chest. The vanguard of the Red Banner Army that had faced the hero’s slash head-on was literally being pulverized.

Giant-Hunting Blade, was it?

Perhaps because it consumed a lot of Karma to maintain its size, despite its absurdly large form, its power was merely that of a hero-level slash… but that alone was an attack that no one in the Red Banner Army except Hatan himself could withstand.

Even a Champion would be knocked back without lasting a moment if they tried to block a hero’s sword head-on.

‘Oh no, Targiyan! What happened to Targiyan? Surely he hasn’t been killed?!’

Only then did Hatan’s thoughts turn to Targiyan’s safety, and he urgently scanned the center of the battlefield.

Hoping that among the corpses with only their lower bodies still in the saddle, or upper bodies trampled into meat paste by hooves, there wouldn’t be pieces of flesh that once were Targiyan.

“Damn you, Imperial dog!”

Much to Hatan’s relief, Targiyan proclaimed his continued existence to the world with an enormous roar of rage.

His left arm was bent in the wrong direction, perhaps from failing to deflect Joshua’s sword, and he was barely clinging to the side of his horse with only his right hand gripping the reins, but he was alive.

“Your Highness! Leave Joshua to me and please take command of the Red Banner Army!”

Seeing that Targiyan looked ready to charge at Joshua again if left alone, Hatan quickly called out to stop him while rushing toward Joshua himself.

Knowing Targiyan wouldn’t retreat if simply ordered to, Hatan provided a suitable pretext of commanding the army.

“Damn it, I have no choice…! Very well! I leave him to you!”

Targiyan ground his teeth in rising anger but didn’t ignore Hatan’s words. He too already knew that defeating Joshua with his own skills was impossible.

‘Even if I charged in out of frustration, I’d last three or four exchanges at most. I have to leave this to Hatan.’

Among Orhan’s children, he was the most bellicose and reckless, but due to his obsession with warrior’s pride, he preferred wielding a sword over using his head, yet he wasn’t so lacking in rational judgment as to be like a beast.

In other words, he had enough sense to recognize situations where fighting would only result in loss. This was precisely such a situation.

If Hatan hadn’t stepped forward, it might have been different, but since he had directly offered to face Joshua himself, Targiyan had no reason not to comply.

As Targiyan remounted his horse and pulled back, War Chief Hatan, grasping his crescent blade, charged toward Joshua.