Ch.73Clash

*Trembling…*

The soldier’s hand holding the hammer was shaking violently, but he wasn’t the only one affected.

Everyone standing beside him, in front and behind, was facing the terror of death head-on.

“Prepare the catapults!”

“*Prepare to fire!*”

At the officer’s command and the non-commissioned officers’ echo, the soldier raised his hammer.

When his hammer fell to strike the clamp securing the catapult’s counterweight, hundreds of kilograms of stones would fly beyond the walls, turning hundreds of enemy soldiers into minced meat.

And after that, the Sword Master would slice through the walls like soft tofu before taking their heads.

“Huff… huff…”

Extreme cold.

And surpassing that, extreme terror.

The fear humans feel before one who transcends humanity cannot be put into words.

“The enemy approaches!”

“Fire the catapults!”

“FIRE!!!”

“AAAAHH!!!”

BANG!

CLUNK! WHOOSH!

Finally, the order came down. As the hammer struck the clamp and released the lock, the counterweight descended, and the stones caught in the net flew toward the outside of the wall.

*

“Catapults. A classic approach.”

The Master muttered quietly, sword gripped in his right hand.

The soldiers around him fled in panic with wide eyes, but the Sword Master remained still.

There was no need to run.

With a quiet slicing sound, the projectiles covering the sky were cleanly cut in half.

THUD! BOOM!

“The… the stones were cut!”

Both the Fahrenheit and Amurtat forces were struck with awe at this overwhelming display.

In truth, for a knight who could manipulate Aura, cutting through rocks wasn’t particularly difficult. But to slice rocks hundreds of meters away, flying above one’s head? That was an entirely different matter.

“Is this all your strength amounts to? How pathetic! Wait for me atop those walls! I’ll soon cut through them as well!”

It was clear provocation, but its effect was tremendous.

“Fire the ballistas!”

CREAK! CREAK!

BOOM!

With a sound like cannon fire, enormous arrows as long as three men laid end-to-end were launched. The Fahrenheit Master quickly sidestepped to avoid two arrows, deflected one, while the remaining three missed their mark.

“How can he move in such an inhuman way?!”

“He’s a Master! There’s no point trying to understand!”

The ballista operators gasped at the Master’s literally inhuman movements, but their astonishment did nothing to change the battle’s course.

“Archers! Fire!”

“Everyone fire!”

THWACK-THWACK-THWACK!

But they still had means of attack. With hundreds of meters still separating them from the walls, even a Master, no matter how powerful, couldn’t possibly save his subordinates from thousands of raining arrows.

CRACK! THUD!

“Urgh…!”

“Guh.”

“…Damn it!”

Had their shields and armor been intact, the damage would have been far less. But due to the consumption of armor from continued ambushes and traps, and the loss of reserve supplies, the Fahrenheit soldiers were now suffering heavy casualties as arrows penetrated their shields and armor.

Of course, their deaths were already anticipated and not a significant blow, but the Master’s exposed vulnerability was quite a setback.

It was like trying to make stew with ingredients but no water.

As if mocking the heavily damaged Fahrenheit forces, Amurtat’s archers unleashed another rain of arrows, completely annihilating Fahrenheit’s infantry. Even the knights lost their horses, reduced to foot soldiers.

In the distance, Amurtat’s gates opened as the standard-bearer and 300 knights began charging on horseback.

“For Amurtat! Charge!”

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!!

NEEEIIIGH!

The momentum of 300 knights in armor with lances at the ready was powerful enough to make even the Sword Master hesitate, if only for a moment.

“Everyone draw swords! Form anti-cavalry formation!”

At the Master’s command, the dismounted knights quickly gathered, drew their swords, and pointed them forward.

They were recreating a spearman’s formation with swordsmen—it would have been better with spears, but unfortunately, they had to face the cavalry with swords.

Soon, red Aura began emanating from the knights’ swords, with some displaying blue Aura.

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!

“Spread out! Deploy to both flanks! The center will attack the Master with me!!”

At the standard-bearer’s command, 260 of the 300 knights dispersed to the left and right.

With 130 knights deployed on each side, the standard-bearer and 40 knights—the most skilled in Amurtat—formed a special attack unit to take the Master’s head.

“Indeed. You plan to take my head with an elite few.”

Seeing hundreds of cavalry charging toward them, the Master frowned in irritation, rubbing his temple.

“General! What are your orders?”

“You handle the left and right flanks! I’ll take the center and break their standard-bearer!”

“Understood!”

With his words, horse and human, lance and sword clashed.

WHOOSH!

Knights unable to withstand the speed and mass of the horses were sent flying, while the rest quickly cut the horses’ legs to prevent a second charge.

But Amurtat’s knights had anticipated this. They had already resigned themselves to sacrificing their horses on the first charge, content with breaking through the first line of knights. After somersaulting through the air and landing back on the ground, Amurtat’s knights reformed their ranks and began throwing prepared items at the Fahrenheit knights who were still struggling with the fallen horses.

“Throw the fire bombs!”

“Yes, sir!”

CLICK! HISSSS!

The detonators of fire bombs—made at great expense by the Alchemist Guild—were pulled, and flames began raining down like fiery judgment upon the Fahrenheit knights who were clearing away the horse carcasses.

WHOOSH! CRACKLE!

“ARGH!”

“Fire bombs!”

In truth, those who could manipulate Aura could surround themselves with it to cut off oxygen or momentarily release it in all directions to extinguish flames on their bodies. But the fire bombs weren’t thrown to kill them.

RUMBLE…!

“Damn it! The corpses are burning…!”

As fire caught on the fallen knights’ bodies and the horses thrashing with severed legs, the knights on both flanks found themselves unable to move freely.

They could extinguish the flames, but Amurtat’s knights attacking through the fire were faster.

SQUELCH!

“GAHK!”

“Damn! They’re using the flames to conceal their approach! Put out the fire! Release your Aura!”

The senior knights with blue Aura on their swords urged the junior knights, but unfortunately, Amurtat’s knights were faster at infusing their swords with Aura and slaughtering the Fahrenheit knights.

“Send these invaders of our homeland to the angels’ court!”

“Long live Amurtat!”

“Long live His Majesty Tiberius! Glory to House Adler!”

To punish the invaders, Amurtat’s knights charged through the flames with their blades ready.

“Show them the might of Fahrenheit!”

“King Marcus watches over us!”

To save their crumbling nation, Fahrenheit’s knights raised their swords with determination.

And finally, Amurtat’s standard-bearer and Fahrenheit’s Sword Master faced each other.

*

“My name is Ignatz von Jäger! The first knight anointed by His Majesty Tiberius, and standard-bearer of Amurtat! Sword Master of Fahrenheit! State your name!”

“To the standard-bearer of Amurtat, I say this! My name is Alcius de Shaillen! Sword Master of Fahrenheit and blade of His Majesty Marcus!”

CLANG!

With their introductions, they exchanged a single blow.

“URGH!”

The standard-bearer was ungracefully unhorsed, but true to his position, he demonstrated his martial prowess by executing a falling technique that blocked the Sword Master’s follow-up attack.

“Hmph! Truly worthy of a nation’s standard-bearer! I sense in you a much purer Aura than those behind you.”

“If I kill you, I too can step into a new realm!”

“Your courage is admirable! Then come and take my head!”

As he spoke, the Sword Master instantly deflected 40 blades approaching from behind and took five lives in the process.

“ARGH!”

“GUHK!”

Literally without blinking an eye, five renowned knights lost their lives, but there was no retreating now.

Even if all knights died here, they had to kill this Master for Amurtat to survive.

“Knights of Amurtat!!!”

The standard-bearer shouted, gripping his sword anew.

“Kill the Master!!!!”

And so began the battle of one against thirty-six.