Total War 5

Doyun fixed the spear to his waist like a lance. Then, using the [Iron Armor] Authority, he hardened his spear-supporting arm and waist.

As the mana flowed along the green-tinted spear, winds gathered around him. The gentle breeze soon became a gale, spiraling around the spear’s shaft.

The originally green-tinted wind now carried a golden radiance, influenced by Doyun’s strengthened mana and will.

He recalled the Praetorian Knights he had fought alongside against Apolphis and the Holy Knights a hundred years ago.

The trait [Acquired Genius].

They were now gone from this world. But the valor they had shown Doyun became his experience, allowing him to grow.

‘Cavalry Spearmanship.’

Doyun himself transformed into a horse and rider combined. His thighs swelled like a horse’s. His radiant eyes glared ahead.

His threatening charge stance and the enveloping golden wind overwhelmed the Demon Lord’s forces before him, instilling fear in them even before the engagement.

An officer in the Demon Lord’s central ranks frowned at the pitiful state of the vanguard.

The vast center of the million-strong army was still quite far from Doyun. Hence, the officer had not fully grasped the atrocity at the vanguard nor Doyun’s imposing aura. Fearlessly, he shouted:

“Even a legendary warrior is still just one man! Moreover, he has not regained his previous life’s full power! What is there to hesitate over?”

He urged the soldiers to quickly reform the shaken ranks.

Meanwhile, Doyun extended the mana from his dantian throughout his body. He had given them enough time.

Shaaaaa—. The accursed raindrops scattered in his wind.

An improved movement technique inspired by Vyuskr’s style – that mana pattern flowed into his feet. The mana-concentrated soles stomped the ground like an enraged horse.

The moment Doyun’s consciousness envisioned a straight trajectory piercing the enemy forces, his feet erupted from the soil behind him as he shouted:

“Form a shield wall! Quickly!”

[Barracuda: Triumphant Jet Propulsion]

Boom—!

Doyun’s body vanished.

“If no shield bearers, block with your bod—”

The officer’s cry was cut off.

Where the officer had stood, only a green flash and golden wind remained, having passed through that very spot.

A charge exceeding the speed of sound. The path it traversed was silent, even sound left behind.

Only after the officer’s shredded remains scattered and a slight delay did the destructive boom sweep across the battlefield.

Kaboooooom—!

A straight green flash had blazed from Doyun’s starting point to the center of the ranks where the officer had stood.

A golden vortex violently scythed down the surrounding dragonkin. The dazzling, glossy wind and flash illuminated the battlefield darkened by the Black Duskroot.

Though blood trailed behind Doyun in the wake of the radiant cluster, not a single drop stained the fluttering hem of his cloak.

The movement technique Barracuda was based on swordsmanship. Hence, it was further enhanced by his leveled [Swordsmanship] skill alongside his increased mana output, granting Doyun an incredible charge force.

The same applied to the Aero wind spear. The vortex continuously expanded its mass, using the straight flash as its central axis, widening the path by tearing through the dragonkin.

An incomparable might to when he had first used the wind spear at around Level 3 Mana. It was the power of a divine armament that varied tremendously based on the user’s capabilities.

The first-year Paladin, Doyun. He had grown more than enough to singlehandedly ravage the Demon Lord’s forces.

The dragonkin soldiers could only gape in stunned disbelief at the atrocity that had unfolded in the blink of an eye. Most could not even locate Doyun’s position, let alone charge at him immediately.

Amidst this respite, Doyun planted the Aero spear into the black void and finally drew the sword from his waist.

‘Now then.’

Time to truly run wild.

“Hup!”

Doyun raised his right knee, infusing his ankle with Conquering Aura. Then, committing his full weight downward, his sole sank deep into the ground.

Web-like cracks spread across a wide area of the earth, causing it to buckle and upheave the Black Duskroot’s roots and large rock fragments.

[Hecleus’ Style Pugilism – Earthquake Stomp]

Kaboooooom—!

A quake-like shockwave rumbled across the ground.

The dragonkin soldiers, who had only managed to turn their heads in bewilderment, were struck by the shockwave before they could regain their senses. Their bodies were launched into the air, some already limp and unconscious.

Then, Doyun abruptly raised his head.

The Earthquake Stomp was not merely a forceful stomping technique but focused on utilizing the recoil force generated from the foot strike – a preparatory move for the next attack.

The black Conquering Aura, riding the recoil force, surged up from his waist throughout his body. Doyun fluidly channeled it to his arm’s end and into his sword.

The immense force concentrated into the thin sword’s edge. An uncontrollable intensity for any ordinary swordsman, but the pinnacle Doyun, at Level 9 Swordsmanship, could achieve it.

A golden sword aura blossomed from the blade. A single trajectory through the airborne enemies became distinctly visible to his eyes. In that instant, Doyun’s sword cleaved the air.

The sword, accelerated in an instant through localized acceleration control, momentarily vanished, leaving not even an afterimage as it traced a thin golden disk shape with its trailing sword aura – the Golden Radiant Sword.

Shink—

One of the airborne dragonkin glaring at Doyun saw his vision horizontally bisected. That was the last sight before his consciousness faded.

The Alliance forces observing from the walls gaped in shock.

“…!”

A massive golden disk had flashed into existence around Doyun, only to immediately disappear, leaving all the dragonkin in its wake cleaved in two and falling heavily.

Not an extended blade phenomenon, but a mere sword stroke. However, the result borne from the Hecleus’ Style’s intensity, the localized acceleration control’s speed, and Level 9 Swordsmanship’s precision was anything but simple.

The new Vanguard Commander ‘Crimson,’ whose gaze had met Doyun’s, stared down at his prowess with its four arms crossed, emerald eyes in its crimson armor shining with an artificial radiance.

“…”

As if analyzing his movements, Crimson’s green artificial eyes never left Doyun from start to finish.

Meanwhile, there were other perspectives observing Doyun’s rampage.

A humanoid dragonkin hidden among the thick branches of the Black Duskroot.

He had a weapon similar to an Earth sniper rifle aimed at Doyun, tracking his movements through the scope. The officer was ‘Death from a Thousand Li.’

Through a magic device in his ear, over twenty subordinates positioned on the surrounding branches reported:

[Commander. Power accumulation is complete.]

[Path calculation is complete.]

[Coordinate lock is…]

[…All preparations are complete.]

‘Death from a Thousand Li’ muttered softly:

“Prepare to fire.”

The crosshairs in his and his subordinates’ scopes fixed on Doyun’s head.

Just as he was about to give the firing order, a sound made him pause.

[Thunk—!]

“…Twelve, respond.”

[…]

The connection to one of his subordinates had been severed.

‘Death from a Thousand Li’ soon saw the freely falling corpse in front of him. It had been Subordinate Twelve, positioned on the branch directly above him.

A silvery spear protruded from the corpse’s head.

The ‘Earthen Spear of a Thousand Li’ that Doyun had used against the ‘Tsunami Tamer’ – a thrown spear that unerringly struck any target within his sight.

‘Death from a Thousand Li’ instinctively realized the attack that had killed Twelve was Razvolnic’s doing.

‘How?’

He continued observing Doyun’s movements through the scope, but there had been no spear-throwing motions.

‘Death from a Thousand Li’ peered into the scope again.

The branch he was on was at such a lofty height that, viewed from the ground, it would appear faint like the sky itself.

Yet the target, Razvolnic, was definitely meeting his gaze through the scope. With a faint smile, no less.

‘Death from a Thousand Li’ flinched.

Razvolnic, who had been rampaging across the battlefield, had halted and was now looking directly into the scope. ‘Death from a Thousand Li’ sensed an ominous feeling.

Soon, twelve black voids opened in the air around Razvolnic, and spears emerged from each one.

Twelve spears hovered around Razvolnic.

At this surreal sight, ‘Death from a Thousand Li’ opened his eyes wide and reflexively pulled his head back.

“What the…!”

A new realm Doyun had attained as his mana control ability, output, and [Spearmanship] level increased – Qixuanqian (Wielding Spears with Qi), manipulating spears in midair through mana control.

Of course, it was impossible for each of the twelve spears to fight independently as individual spearmen. This feat was only possible thanks to the enhancements of the [Spearmanship] skill.

But in other words, in the realm of spearmanship alone, the power he could exert was no less than directly throwing the spears himself.

Looking up at the canopy blocking the sky, Doyun smiled faintly.

‘It had been such a pity I couldn’t kill that one.’

The one who had troubled Enoch a few times with his sniping ability, yet whom Enoch had failed to kill even once across the 18 cycles. Enoch had lacked any long-range attack means, and even his Visible Sword technique could not reach enemies over a thousand li away.

But now, it was different.

Heeding his will, the spears simultaneously aimed at the enemy.

Doyun pointed like a commander with his sword, and the twelve spears shot through the air with piercing trajectories.

Fwoooooosh—!

Each a divine armament of distinct properties.

One became lightning, another dispersed sonic booms, and one spiraled in a vortex as they flew towards the target. Twelve colors of radiant flashes embroidered the dark battlefield’s sky, piercing the thick rain.

It was a spectacle akin to a mystic performance.

As the brilliant radiance from the twelve flashes illuminated his face, ‘Death from a Thousand Li’ muttered:

“This, this cannot be—”

Kaboooooom!

Explosions of diverse forces rocked the canopy, and an elite officer active since the previous war a century ago, along with his subordinates, met their demise.

The canopy’s fireworks briefly bathed the dark battlefield in brilliant light.

This dazzling display was enough to dampen the Demon Lord forces’ morale while raising the Alliance’s in turn.

Watching the fireworks, the soldiers’ hearts pounded fiercely at the warrior’s incredible prowess. Sensing this, Dokkomuyoung raised his staff towards the front lines and shouted:

“Behold! The warrior illuminates the darkness before us! What is there to fear from the Demon Lord? We stand with the warrior!!”

His mana-infused voice resonated across the battlefield. At his proclamation and the surreal sight of the warrior singlehandedly ravaging the enemy forces, the soldiers felt an intense thrill rippling through their bodies.

“Fight! Follow the warrior!!”

“Waaaaaaargh!!”

As if entranced, the Alliance forces charged with frenzied war cries.

Shrieks of morale and madness that seemed capable of piercing the canopy itself thundered across the battlefield.

Doyun glanced back, confirming the tactic’s success. The war’s opening act had played out triumphantly. Then he refocused on the front lines.

‘This is where it gets crucial.’

He would breakthrough the battlefield and reach the Vanguard Commanders themselves.

No matter what, he had to swiftly subdue the Vanguard Commanders, especially the Black Duskroot. If it remained active, the war’s outcome became incalculable. That was the nightmare of the battlefield – the Black Duskroot itself.

Steeling his resolve, Doyun tightened his grip on his sword.

And then, a blade flashed behind his back.

“…!”

Sensing the killing intent, Doyun twisted his body and swung his sword.

‘A Vanguard Commander!’

The new Vanguard Commander had been concealed in the darkness.