Ch.686Orhan’s Advance

“Imperial army….”

Orhan muttered under his breath as he gazed at the fluttering military banners.

This was an unexpected situation. There were still a couple of cities before reaching the Empire’s border, yet here they were, already encountering Imperial forces.

‘So the Empire has noticed. That Dane has no intention of stopping us.’

The Imperial army’s presence here meant they were willing to protect the Dane people even at the cost of lowering their chances of victory. The common folk abandoned by the Kingdom of Dane.

‘Even so, I never expected Ludwig to choose such a reckless move….’

It was almost gambling—gambling with poor odds at that.

If they could defend this city, they might expand their territory by accepting the rescued people as Imperial citizens… but if they failed, they would perish alongside them.

‘Does he have something up his sleeve?’

Orhan raised his guard. He couldn’t imagine that the great Ludwig would make such a gamble without any countermeasures.

‘An ambush? No, that’s impossible. We avoided terrain that could conceal a large army.’

Unless they had buried soldiers underground, an ambush was impossible. His scouts hadn’t found any suspicious traces either.

‘…I’ll have to draw them out.’

If the enemy was hiding their forces, all he needed to do was provoke them until they revealed themselves.

Orhan divided his army into two groups: a siege unit to attack the city walls and a rear unit to prepare for unexpected variables.

“Ibama, Targiyan. Stay vigilant. Ludwig has surely prepared a trap we haven’t anticipated.”

“Yes!”

“Leave it to us, Father!”

After warning the two, Orhan led the siege unit toward the city, heightening his senses to detect any trace of Haschal.

Whatever trap Ludwig had set, as long as Haschal was the only one capable of breaking through the Unyielding Flesh, the core of the trap was predetermined.

In other words, if he could pinpoint Haschal’s location, he could anticipate and counter any trap before falling into it.

However….

‘…I can’t sense his presence.’

Even approaching to the limit of arrow range, he couldn’t detect any notable aura.

Was he hiding his presence like before? This was unwelcome news for Orhan.

It meant he wouldn’t be able to locate the trap until he committed his warriors to the siege.

‘In that case….’

Orhan glared at the city where the Imperial flag fluttered.

If they were hiding their presence until they could draw in enough warriors, then he would create a situation where they couldn’t remain hidden.

“Wait here. Until I give the order to charge, or until I’m unable to give orders.”

“What about you, Kagan?”

“I’ll go check what they’re plotting.”

After instructing the siege unit to wait, Orhan advanced toward the walls alone. His black warhorse with the blood of a spirit beast, Black King, charged forward with a fierce roar.

“Orhan is coming!”

“Concentrated fire! Drain his power!”

Imperial archers on the wall unleashed a rain of arrows toward him.

Not to wound him, but to somehow reduce the duration of his Unyielding Flesh. Hence, the number of arrows wasn’t particularly high.

“Haaaah!”

Orhan, balancing on two legs atop the fiercely charging Black King, swung his grasped Crimson Blade wildly to deflect the arrows.

He didn’t need to block every arrow. The soldiers’ arrows couldn’t penetrate his armor or Black King’s barding. He only needed to deflect those targeting the gaps in his armor.

After about a hundred meters…

That’s when attacks that required Orhan’s serious attention began to fly toward him.

– KWAOOOOO!

A hero’s Karma-infused spear cut through the sky with a thunderous boom. Ainfeld’s Flash. The Tale of Heros of Frederick, the Empire’s 3rd Corps Commander, bared its fangs against the Empire’s enemy.

A spear that would cause a massive explosion upon direct hit. While Orhan himself might withstand it, Black King couldn’t survive such explosive power. Even with thick barding, the horse would be crushed along with its armor.

“Hyah!”

Orhan gripped Black King’s reins with his right hand that held the sword hilt and spurred the horse to increase speed. If he couldn’t block, he had to dodge. The massive black horse’s hooves kicked up clouds of dust as they pounded the earth.

A gallop resembling an angry storm. The spear, missing its target, embedded itself in the ground and exploded with a thunderous roar.

– KWAAAANG!

The earth’s surface flipped, spewing rocks. The ground shook and the aftershock swept in all directions. A strong wind pushed against Orhan’s back, violently loosening his tied hair.

Orhan charged forward with his black hair, streaked with occasional gray, flying wildly. He skillfully manipulated the reins to evade the continuously flying spears.

Like a thunderstorm raging, ear-splitting explosions resounded without pause.

‘…Getting closer and closer.’

The closer he got to the wall, the shorter the distance between him and the flying spears. Orhan sensed it. He could barely dodge the bombardment range until now. There was no way to avoid it anymore.

“Hold on, Black King!”

Having made his decision, Orhan spurred the saddle and leaped up. Having closed the distance to the wall sufficiently, he no longer needed Black King’s legs. Orhan’s body soared high into the sky.

“Neeeigh!”

Black King staggered with a groan from the immense pressure on its spine, but thanks to Orhan infusing his own Karma until the last moment to protect it, neither its spine nor kneecaps broke.

This was in stark contrast to Haschal, who treated warhorses as disposable jumping platforms, unhesitatingly shattering their bodies to leap forward.

– KWAOOOO!

Frederick’s spear flew toward Orhan as he soared into the air, as if it had been waiting for him.

“Not a chance-!”

With a fierce roar, Orhan kicked against the air and used the recoil to avoid the spear.

Once airborne, avoiding spears shooting in straight lines wasn’t particularly difficult. He charged toward the wall, sharply changing his flight trajectory at right angles.

Witnessing this, the Imperial army shouted as if screaming.

“Orhan is flying in! Emergency! EMERGENCY!”

“Lord Joshua! He, Orhan is approaching!”

At the knights’ urgent cries, Joshua, standing beside Frederick, finally drew his sword, glaring at Orhan who was flying in, changing directions like drawing complex geometric patterns.

“Where do you think you’re flying to!”

A hero’s Karma-infused longsword swelled in size and swung diagonally.

The Giant Slayer’s Sword.

Joshua’s Tale of Heros flew toward Orhan, leaving a massive shadow.

“KAAAAH!”

Orhan charged toward the giant sword that obscured his entire field of vision. His Crimson Blade vibrated with a dull resonance. The Dragon’s Wrath drew a red arc.

– KWAAAANG!

The clashing blades emitted a thunderous roar. Joshua’s sword, unable to withstand the impact, shot upward.

An unbelievable sight—a sword larger than a temple pillar deflected by a single demon-slaying blade. But when considered, it made sense.

While Joshua’s Tale of Heros could sweep away everything within dozens of meters, the power contained within wasn’t much different from an ordinary slash.

The Giant Slayer’s Sword was a technique that struggled to exert great power against fellow heroes, though it might be effective against weaker opponents.

From the beginning, Joshua never thought his slash could bring down Orhan.

“Now, Lord Frederick!”

He manifested his Tale of Heros and swung his sword not to cut Orhan, but to fix his body in one place.

– KWAOO!

The moment Orhan deflected Joshua’s giant sword, Frederick’s spear, shot like a beam of light, embedded itself in Orhan’s chest.

– KWAAANG!

The ensuing explosion. With an ear-splitting boom, the scales of Orhan’s breastplate scattered in all directions.

Orhan fell like a ball hit by a bat.

He quickly manifested Unyielding Flesh to block the spear itself, but there was no way to resist the explosive force pushing his body.

– KUUUNG!

Orhan crashed into the ground with a heavy noise. Frederick’s spears continued to rain down on him.

Ainfeld’s Flash struck relentlessly. The earth screamed as it burst open. The dust rising like smoke was repeatedly swept away by the next explosion.

By the time he had fired about ten spears, Frederick exhaled his held breath and his knees wobbled slightly. The backlash from expending massive Karma in an instant. A dizzying sense of exhaustion enveloped his entire body.

“Haaa….”

Catching his breath and looking down at the blast site, Frederick saw the dust cloud slowly settling, revealing the ground that had been torn apart and transformed into a crater.

In the center stood a one-armed man grasping a red demon-slaying sword.

Though his armor was damaged in various places, his robust physique remained unwounded.

“Damn that Unyielding Flesh…!”

Frederick gritted his teeth as he glared at Orhan. He had roughly anticipated that he wouldn’t be able to wound him, but even so, it was an utterly hopeless sight.

The only knight capable of wounding that monster hadn’t even arrived yet.