Chapter 334

Duke Cavern, who had been sitting comfortably, confident of victory, suddenly jumped to his feet.

His gaze was fixed on the horizon behind them.

*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*

The sound of galloping horses echoed across the battlefield, shaking the ground.

A cloud of dust rose into the air, obscuring the sky.

It was a massive cavalry charge.

“From behind?!”

“E-Enemy! Enemy!”

The soldiers shouted in alarm.

Even a fool could tell that the cavalry wasn’t a reinforcement, but an enemy.

Because the Erenbert family’s banner was fluttering in the wind.

*Crack!*

Duke Cavern clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, drawing blood.

His face was contorted with rage.

He had been tricked. Completely tricked.

For such a large force to suddenly appear out of nowhere?

It was impossible.

They had split their forces.

But how?

He hadn’t detected any suspicious movements while they were marching from Baydeli Fortress to Odinel.

It meant one thing.

‘They went back across the river?’

But even so, it was a massive force.

If their scouts had been doing their job properly…

“Damn you, you cunning bastard!”

He roared in frustration.

He finally understood why Max had been launching those relentless raids.

To distract them and prevent them from focusing.

And it had worked. They had been so focused on repelling those raids that they hadn’t had the time or the energy to pay attention to what was happening across the river.

And the fact that they had Baydeli Fortress in their hands had made them even more complacent.

Their carelessness had come back to bite them.

“What are you standing around for?! Form ranks! Form ranks and block them!”

He shouted at his soldiers, who were panicking and running around in confusion.

“Form ranks and block them!”

He roared again.

The eastern army soldiers finally started to form ranks and set up a defensive line behind them.

They hastily raised their spears, trying to stop the cavalry charge.

It wasn’t a bad response, considering the suddenness of the attack.

They were indeed elite soldiers.

But they were already losing the battle of morale.

The eastern army was demoralized by the unexpected attack from behind.

On the other hand, the Erenbert army’s morale was sky-high, having successfully launched a surprise attack.

And,

The Erenbert cavalry was different from ordinary cavalry.

They were the strongest cavalry in the empire, honed by the harsh northern lands.

Their formation alone was a testament to their strength.

They were wielding bows instead of spears and swords.

Shooting arrows from horseback was a difficult feat that required exceptional equestrian skills.

That’s why most armies didn’t have mounted archers.

But the Erenbert army was different. Their movements were flawless.

“Volley!”

Lobel Erenbert’s booming voice echoed across the battlefield.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

The mounted archers released their arrows in unison.

A rain of arrows swept over the eastern army soldiers.

“Ugh!”

“Gah!”

“Aaaaaargh!”

If they raised their spears with both hands to block a cavalry charge, they couldn’t protect their bodies with shields.

It meant that they were vulnerable to arrows.

And the rain of arrows exploited that weakness mercilessly.

It wasn’t just one volley.

They fired three volleys.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

With each volley, the eastern army’s ranks thinned, and gaps appeared in their formation.

The soldiers in the rear rushed forward to fill the gaps, but they couldn’t fill them completely.

Gaps inevitably appeared.

And the Erenbert cavalry was watching those gaps closely.

“Lancer charge!”

Lobel roared again.

The mounted archers on the front line parted, creating a path.

And then, the heavy cavalry charged through that path.

Their lances, gleaming menacingly, were lowered.

The heavy cavalry, the strongest unit in the Erenbert army.

They had finally revealed themselves.

“Crush them!”

Lobel roared.

Even a well-prepared army would have difficulty stopping their charge, let alone a hastily assembled defensive line.

And their ranks had already been weakened by three volleys of arrows.

There was no way they could withstand the heavy cavalry’s charge.

*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*

The Erenbert horsemen charged forward, their lances lowered, their momentum building.

The eastern army tried to block them with their spears, but it was futile.

*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*

Their spears were shattered, unable to withstand the force of the charge.

And the lances pierced through the gaps in their formation.

*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*

“Aaaaaargh!”

Eastern army soldiers screamed and fell, their bodies pierced by lances.

A large gap appeared in their defensive line.

And it was practically impossible to fill that gap.

Their defensive line had collapsed beyond repair.

“Ugh!”

Duke Cavern’s face contorted in frustration.

If there was a way to counter this, he would have already done it.

But he had already sent all his reserves, including the one hundred Cavern Knights, to the front line. He had no more trump cards to play.

“Charge! Trample them all!”

Lobel, on the other hand, was unstoppable.

*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*

*CRASH!*

The Erenbert cavalry’s powerful charge completely shattered the eastern army’s already weakened ranks.

And an army with broken ranks was nothing but easy prey.

*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*

The Erenbert horsemen slaughtered them like sheep, their lances piercing through their bodies.

It was no longer a battle.

It was a massacre.

“Aaaaaargh!”

Duke Cavern’s scream of despair seemed to signal the end of the battle.

* * *

The Odinel plains were littered with corpses.

Most of them were eastern army soldiers.

The Celtrine allied forces had won a decisive victory.

The eastern army had been completely routed by their strategy of holding the front line and then launching a surprise attack from the rear.

Duke Cavern and his heir, Arhin, were captured.

The situation was completely reversed from when they had met at Celtrine territory.

Duke Cavern, who had exuded an aura of invincibility, was now kneeling on the ground, bound tightly, while Max, who had been a mere boy, was sitting calmly in the seat of honor.

“Heh, this is why they say life is full of surprises.”

Max chuckled.

Arhin frowned.

“Tsk, stop running that smug mouth of yours! You were just lucky! Thank the heavens!”

Despite their crushing defeat, Arhin’s spirit hadn’t been broken.

He was indeed the Fierce Tiger of Cavern.

But it was also a sign of weakness.

It showed that he couldn’t accept defeat unless he blamed it on luck.

Max clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“You’re a noisy little thing. Why haven’t you silenced him yet?”

As soon as he finished speaking,

*Thud!*

“G-Gah…”

Milia’s chain sword pierced through Arhin’s chest.

Arhin’s eyes widened in pain.

He tried to say something, blood and foam bubbling from his lips, but he collapsed to the ground.

*Thump!*

It was a pathetic and miserable death for a man who had once been the terror of pirates.

Duke Cavern trembled, his eyes bloodshot with rage as he watched his beloved grandson die.

“Let’s not hold grudges. We’re both in the same boat.”

Max said casually.

If the victor had been the other way around, he would have been the one dying.

That’s what he meant.

“…Do you think you’ll always have things your way?”

Duke Cavern said, his voice filled with cold fury.

“Well, who knows? But so far, I haven’t had any problems.”

Max smiled, the smile of a victor.

“You’ll meet a miserable end. Even if you win this civil war. A hound that has outlived its usefulness is destined to be boiled alive.”

Duke Cavern predicted Max’s downfall.

To others, it might have sounded like the ramblings of a dying man, but not to Max.

Duke Cavern, a seasoned grand duke who had seen it all, was speaking the truth.

Max replied with a faint smile, “Well, I’ll keep your last words in mind.”

He gestured to Milia.

“He’s done a lot for the stability of the east. Give him a quick death.”

“Yes, Savior.”

*Thwack!*

Milia’s chain sword decapitated Duke Cavern in a single stroke.

His head, which had once belonged to a powerful grand duke, flew through the air.

It was a moment that completely changed the tide of the civil war.

But Max couldn’t afford to bask in the glory of his victory.

Annette approached him, her face grim.

“…Senior.”

“What is it?”

“I’m sorry. I lied to you earlier.”

“Huh?”

Max’s eyes widened.

The kind and gentle Annette had lied?

He would sooner believe that a cat would walk past a fish without eating it.

And yet, she was confessing it herself.

And her lie…

“Professor Regina told me to tell you that she was fine…”

“Wait. What does that mean?”

Max’s face hardened.

Annette’s eyes welled up with tears.

“I-I’m sorry. P-Professor Regina is…”

*Thud!*

Max ran towards Regina’s room.

* * *

“Regina!”

He burst into the room.

And then, he froze.

He saw Regina lying on the bed, her body covered in bandages.

Her bandages were stained with blood, showing the extent of her injuries.

“Regina!”

He snapped out of his daze and rushed to her side.

But,

She raised her hand, stopping him.

“Don’t fuss. It’s nothing.”

Regina’s face was calm, even though she was covered in wounds that would make most people scream in agony.

Max said, his voice filled with disbelief, “You call this nothing?”

“It’s a small price to pay for killing fifty men alone.”

“Fifty men?”

Even Regina, the best swordswoman in the north, couldn’t have…

“You’re surprised, so I guess it’s true. Fifty Cavern Knights.”

“What?!”

Max was shocked.

Because it was a number he had never encountered before, even in the game.

Cavern Knights?

They were some of the most skilled knights in the empire.

Max had fought them himself, and he knew how formidable they were.

Fifty of them, alone?

It was hard to believe, even though Regina was one of the strongest warriors in the empire.

‘Is this her true strength…?’

Max had never seen Regina’s true strength in any of the game’s scenarios.

It wasn’t because there hadn’t been any opportunities.

It was because they had never been close enough for her to reveal her true strength.

They had been close friends and comrades, but nothing more.

But this time was different.

They had started out as reluctant fiancés, but they had overcome that and built a closer relationship than ever before.

‘…She risked her life.’

Fighting fifty Cavern Knights was something that even Regina would have to risk her life for.

She had risked her life for the sake of this battle.

For the sake of her family?

He wouldn’t be feeling this way if it was just for her family.

‘For me…’

She had given it her all for him, her fiancé.

“Why are you looking at me like that? You’re the one who did something amazing.”

Regina smiled faintly.

But her face was pale.

Max couldn’t help but reach out and gently touch her cheek.

Her warmth flowed into his hand.

It was the first time he had done something like this.

He felt his face flush with embarrassment.

But it would be awkward to suddenly pull his hand away, so he tried to withdraw it slowly.

But then,

*Thump.*

Her hand grabbed his.

Their hands were now intertwined on her cheek.

This was also a first.

A strange feeling welled up inside him.

“The situation is reversed now.”

Regina said calmly.

“R-Reversed?”

Max’s voice trembled.

“Hospital visit.”

“Ah…”

She had visited him in the hospital when he had almost been killed by the Necromancer.

She was referring to that.

“I-It was the least I could do…”

“Thank you.”

“H-Huh?”

“Thanks to you…”

*Bang!*

The door suddenly burst open.

“A-Are you alright?! Are you alright?!”

It was Lobel Erenbert.

He had rushed over as soon as he heard about his sister.

But,

“Hmm?”

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence fell over the room.

“…I-I see. I’m glad you’re alright. Enjoy your time together.”

Lobel backed out of the room.