Ch.616The End of the Main Force

* The Ka’har expression for Tale of Heros has been changed from ‘sacred name chronicles’ to ‘will manifestation’! Because it’s cooler!

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“Joshua Blake-! Barama Hatan, war commander of the Red Banner Army, is here!”

Hatan, who took the lead of the Red Banner Army, raised his crescent blade high and swung it fiercely as he shouted. Like a divine axe splitting the earth, his strike condensed tremendous weight into the blade. It was a blow imbued with the power of his will manifestation, ‘Heavenly Weight.’

“War commander, is it? Seems you’ve climbed quite high, Hatan!”

Joshua deactivated his Giant Slayer Sword and swung his longsword toward Hatan’s crescent blade.

Giant Slayer Sword was a Tale of Heros meant for sweeping away multiple enemies or taking down massive monsters. When dueling a hero-class warrior, it wasn’t an efficient technique.

In one-on-one combat, it was more effective to simply channel all his power directly into the blade and swing it.

“I’ll send you to the afterlife!”

“That should be my line!”

The blade of Heavenly Weight and the hero’s sword collided mercilessly, releasing a massive explosion. The burst of light blinded everyone as shockwaves swept across the ground. Nearby cavalry lost their balance and staggered from the aftermath.

“Ugh…! This power, you’ve acquired quite a formidable weapon!”

Joshua felt his arms tingle as if electrocuted after blocking the crescent blade.

At the moment of impact, he sensed the tremendous force in Hatan’s crescent blade and twisted his sword to deflect the shock, but even after perfectly deflecting it, the remaining force was enough to momentarily paralyze his arms.

“You deflected Heavenly Weight? Well, let’s see how long you can keep that up!”

Meanwhile, Hatan swung his crescent blade again with a confident expression. Though his opponent surpassed him in both Karma depth and martial refinement, Hatan was still confident in victory.

Because the compatibility of his will manifestation gave him an overwhelming advantage.

Unlike Joshua’s will manifestation, which specialized in sweeping away multiple enemies, his will manifestation—Heavenly Weight—revealed its true value in one-on-one combat.

“Die crushed under the weight of heaven!”

The Heavenly Weight crescent blade flew toward Joshua, emitting a heavy resonance.

—-

“These Landenburg bastards, they’ve scraped together every elite they have!”

Targiyan, who had been delegated command of the Red Banner Army from Hatan, gritted his teeth in frustration as he swung his greatsword.

He had thought that with Hatan engaging the powerful Joshua, there would be no one who could stop the Red Banner Army’s advance. But the enemy’s resistance was fiercer than expected.

Enough to somehow defend their rear and hold out despite facing an enemy twice their number.

“Did you think you could break Landenburg’s swords with just this? How arrogant and reckless.”

Klaus, who parried Targiyan’s greatsword, sneered.

The Fourth Sword of Landenburg, Klaus. He had lost his right arm in the previous battle and was wielding his sword with only his left arm, but since Targiyan also couldn’t use his left arm, it wasn’t particularly disadvantageous.

While it was impossible to cut down Targiyan, blocking him wasn’t much of a problem. Though he was gradually being pushed back, he could still hold out for at least several dozen more minutes.

And Klaus wasn’t alone.

Heiden, Michel, William, Heinrich. Five of the masters known as the Swords of Landenburg from the Western Wall were gathered here.

In contrast, the Red Banner Army had only four champions, including Targiyan. The remaining two champions hadn’t yet joined as they were scouting elsewhere.

Even if each champion took on one master, it meant one master could rampage without any interference.

“Slow, too slow! Is that left arm just for show?”

The twin swords of Heiden, the Seventh Sword of Landenburg, swung like a downpour.

The champion wielding a great axe was accumulating more and more wounds, unable to respond to the frantically swinging twin swords.

“Damn. This guy is tough to handle…!”

Michel, the Sixth Sword, ran alongside a Red Banner Army champion as they repeatedly thrust and deflected spears at each other’s vital points.

Michel had the advantage in spear-thrusting speed, but due to the overwhelming difference in horsemanship, no matter how many times he thrust his spear, he couldn’t reach his opponent.

Even when he thrust his spear with perfect timing, his opponent would leap sideways with just his toes hooked to the saddle to avoid it, and then remount using just the rebound from his knees—such was the level of his horsemanship.

“Can I shake him off…!”

William’s axe, the Third Sword, deflected the fire halberd swung by a champion, producing a clear metallic sound.

Befitting his status as one of the higher-ranked Swords of Landenburg, William was handling the opposing champion without difficulty, but his expression was not bright.

While they were advancing without major losses thanks to their efforts, once the Red Banner Army coming from the flanks started raining arrows, it would be difficult for them alone to cope.

‘I have no choice but to rely on Lord Heinrich.’

William’s eyes turned toward Heinrich, the Second Sword of Landenburg.

The only Dane knight among the Swords of Landenburg, and like the Ghost Sword Valenstein, a powerful warrior just one step away from reaching the realm of heroes.

Unlike the other masters who were held back by champions, only he was freely cutting through the battlefield, turning Ka’har warriors into pools of blood.

“Come at me as much as you want, you ugly barbarian savages! I am Heinrich of Landenburg. I am the retribution you will face!”

Every time Heinrich’s halberd swung, warriors fell like autumn leaves, spraying blood. If they survived after taking a hit, it was sheer luck. No warrior could block the strikes of this near-hero rampaging freely.

“What’s happening to the ground…!”

“An earthquake? No, that can’t be…”

Even warriors who successfully approached while avoiding the halberd, rather than exploiting Heinrich’s openings to attack, lost their balance and tumbled down with their horses, rolling helplessly.

“Do you understand? The earth itself rejects your existence. This is the ‘Wrath of Ceres’!”

Heinrich’s halberd plunged into the warriors who were staggering and losing balance.

—-

In an era when humans were not permitted beyond the wall.

Even then, the strong who reached the wall glimpsed through the tightly closed door the milestone they must advance toward.

The Ghost Sword awakened by Werner Valenstein, the Iron Body obtained by Aishan-Gioro Orhan. Incomplete powers that were the starting point and fragments of the Tale of Heros.

Heinrich, who had stopped before the wall, had not reached the realm of heroes but had obtained a fragment of the Tale of Heros.

【Wrath of Ceres】

It was a technique of super-vibration that caused localized earthquakes by channeling one’s Karma into the earth, violently shaking the ground within a radius of several meters.

“Damn it, there’s no way to approach like this…!”

The ground shook violently in all directions. The Red Banner Army’s warriors couldn’t even attempt to approach Heinrich.

If they approached on horseback, the horse’s hooves would break and they would be thrown off, and even if they approached on foot, it was difficult just to maintain balance.

With their skills, they couldn’t swing or thrust weapons—they just staggered and fell, becoming prey for the halberd.

“Don’t fixate on him! It’s enough to keep him occupied! How many can he kill alone?”

“Third Thousand-man Unit! Bypass him and attack the westerners! Follow me!”

Of course, there was a limit to what Heinrich could do alone, despite displaying remarkable military prowess.

For every five Ka’har warriors he cut down, twenty Landenburg cavalry were dying on the opposite side.

Unless one possessed the power to sweep away dozens of warriors in a single strike like Haschal, it was impossible for one person to turn the tide of battle.

“Kuheu…! Damn these barbarians…!”

“Guaaack…!”

“Long live Landenburg-!”

One after another, Landenburg cavalry and knights fell, scattering blood and flesh across the plains.

—-

Dozens of minutes later.

After a fierce battle, Landenburg’s main force succeeded in shaking off the Red Banner Army’s pursuit once.

Whether reducing a force of 2,100 to 200 could be called a success was debatable.

Even with the struggle of five masters and a hero, it was impossible to perfectly protect allied forces against an enemy three times their size.

About ten minutes after the battle began, two thousand Red Banner troops who had flanked from left and right finally arrived and began raining arrows, and from that point, Landenburg’s casualties increased like a snowball.

Although Heiden and William managed to defeat the enemy champions, they couldn’t reverse the rapidly deteriorating battle situation.

If they continued fighting, it was clear that all cavalry and knights would be annihilated, and the “Swords of Landenburg” would also lose their lives trapped among thousands of enemy soldiers.

Therefore, Landenburg’s cavalry gave up on survival and blocked the enemy with suicidal charges, sacrificing their lives. They would all die, but in that gap, the Swords of Landenburg and the knights could retreat safely.

That was Ludwig’s final order before the knightly order’s departure.

‘If you cannot shake off the Ka’har pursuit… sacrifice your lives for the next battle.’

It was truly a cold-hearted order, but as there was no other option, Landenburg’s soldiers followed their lord’s command.

The gap of escape bought by the sacrifice of eighteen hundred cavalry and one hundred knights.

The “Swords of Landenburg” and two hundred knights galloped away with gritted teeth in bitter grief, turning their backs on their subordinates’ death throes. Toward the Dane border, which was now within reach.