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25 – The Second Dreihart Rebellion Suppression Battle (1)

25 – The Second Dreihart Rebellion Suppression Battle (1)

Calix and Jarha were being observed from a distance by the Blood Clan, who were hidden behind their black masks.

They watched Calix without hiding their hateful gazes from within the masks.

“Is that Calix?”

“Yes, Kir. That is the lord who killed our compatriots.”

Kir was the commander of the southern Blood Clan unit, Valharim, which had been deployed to carry out the “Holy Mission.”

Their task was to divide and weaken the Empire, and they were fulfilling this mission by assisting the slaves’ rebellion and exacerbating the damage to the suppressing forces.

Included in their mission was the assassination of Lord Calix, who had been growing at an astonishing rate recently.

“I heard that he brutally murdered three of our compatriots with a dagger.”

“That’s nonsense!”

Kir snapped at his subordinate, Jan.

Jan flinched at Kir’s words and lowered his head.

“Rumors are often exaggerated, Jan. Don’t be swayed by false tales.”

“I-I’m sorry, Kir.”

Kir was well aware of their capabilities.

He didn’t believe that they would have been killed by something as trivial as a dagger.

It was surely the vile bard’s nonsense.

“He must have killed our compatriots after a fierce battle with a hidden dagger. Can’t you feel it? The aura from that man…”

“Yes… I can feel it, Kir.”

They were sensing Calix’s aura.

To be precise, what they felt was Calix’s magical power.

From the moment they laid eyes on Calix until now, he had not emitted a single moment of ‘magical power.’

This indicated one of two possibilities.

Either he was an ordinary person with no magical power at all.

Or he was an assassin trained in special assassination techniques like themselves.

Considering his reputation and abilities, it was undoubtedly the latter.

“We will surely avenge the humiliation of our compatriots, Jan.”

“Yes, Kir.”

The Valharim Blood Clan members all glared at Calix.

They continued to stare at him, as if vowing never to forget his face until the moment he disappeared.

“Damn, I thought I was going to piss myself.”

I was truly terrified during the meeting with Jarha.

The presence of Jarha right before my eyes was overwhelming.

He was more than 1.5 times my size, with bulging muscles beneath his blue scales and blue horns sprouting from his head.

His face was marred with countless scars, making his terrifying impression even more fearsome.

If there were a Hulk right in front of me, it would surely feel like this…

Especially when he suggested we fight at the end, I thought a punch was going to come flying at me right then and there.

But as a lord, I couldn’t show any signs of fear, so I used my ultimate technique, ‘Focus Disruption,’ to avoid looking at Jarha and withstand his presence.

I blurred my gaze, keeping my eyes open but seeing nothing, a method I often used when watching horror movies in my past life.

Who would have thought that skill would be used in a situation like this… Life is truly unpredictable.

Especially when I left the tent, I felt chills all over my body.

I felt a prickling sensation all over, but since I wasn’t a martial arts master, I couldn’t tell who was emanating such killing intent.

It was probably the slave soldiers who were radiating that aura.

After all, if they had been abused as slaves for hundreds of years, I could see myself acting the same way.

After finishing the meeting, I returned directly to the central tent where everyone was gathered.

As I entered, Noah rushed over first and asked.

“My lord! Did the meeting go well? Are you alright?”

“Yes, nothing happened. And it went according to plan, Noah.”

“I see! Thank goodness…”

Noah felt relieved that I had returned safely and that everything had gone according to the plan he had shared.

Our camp was already in a frenzy preparing for the battle the next day.

The plan had already been shared with the knights, and they were getting ready.

I honestly felt sorry for them, as they would have to play the most difficult roles in this plan.

From their perspective, my stubbornness could lead to their unnecessary deaths.

I spoke to Ricain, who was beside me.

“Ricain, I may be making an unreasonable request of you and our Krone Knights. I’m sorry…”

At my words, Ricain smiled with a more trustworthy expression than ever.

That smile resembled that of a reliable uncle.

“Honorable battle is the pride of knights! Thank you for preparing for what may be a great battle that will leave our names in history.”

He knelt before me.

Following him, all the knights in the tent knelt and said.

“We are ready. Please give us your orders, my lord.”

Their words filled me with gratitude but also a heavy weight.

With my words, a battle could begin tomorrow that might lead to the deaths of thousands.

Being here, I truly felt how heavy responsibility was.

I could understand why so many historical figures must have struggled when giving orders.

Feeling that weight, I commanded my Krone Knights.

“Krone Knights! In tomorrow’s battle, subdue those slaves without killing them as much as possible!!”

[ “We will faithfully carry out our lord’s command!” ]

The die had been cast.

There was no turning back now.

The next day, Jarha was the first to leave the castle and prepare for battle.

After finishing the meeting the previous day, he returned to Dreyhart with prisoners and food.

The food provided by the lord of Krone was ‘Western wheat,’ a type of flour he had never seen before, but it had been inspected and found to have no poison or magical traces, allowing everyone in Dreyhart to fill their bellies with bread after a long time.

He also reunited with his son, Rakan.

“Rakan! Are you alright? Are you hurt!?”

“Yes! Father! I’m fine! Lord Calix took good care of me!”

“Lord?”

His son Rakan had been well-fed in just a few days, his cheeks plump.

From what I heard, Lord Calix had personally shared his food with the prisoners.

“Father! I had grapes for the first time! They were really sweet!”

“Is that so… I’m glad.”

Seeing his son, who had lost his poison, Jarha felt troubled.

It was good that his son had returned safely, but he kept discovering that he was feeling humanity towards that lord.

And eventually, Rakan spoke those words.

“Father… I think that lord is a good person. Could he possibly be… ‘The One’ from the legends?”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Rakan!!”

“I-I’m sorry! Father…”

In Dreyhart, there is a legend.

It is said that one day, a figure will descend from the sky with a blue light to liberate the slaves.

But legends are just legends.

He did not come when his parents were dying without treatment, nor when his wife was giving birth to Rakan and dying.

On the day his wife died, Jarha made a vow.

That he would liberate his brethren with his own hands.

He didn’t dislike that lord who showed them compassion, but that was one thing, and this was another.

Jarha steadied his mind.

“Lord of Krone, I will not kill you. But we have no choice but to survive. Please understand.”

As time passed, everyone gathered in the plains.

The number was actually smaller than in the last battle, but Jarha did not let his guard down.

According to the information from the black masks, there was an enormous magician, and he could tell just by observing from afar.

The orderly movements and the strong energy felt in the eyes of each knight warned Jarha that they were not to be underestimated.

As the promised time of noon approached, Jarha shouted.

“Brothers! Charge!!”

[ “Waaahhh!!!!” ]

He didn’t care what strategies they had prepared.

They just needed to crush everything with sheer force.

As Jarha charged, the slave soldiers began to sprint.

In response, the Krone Knights also began their charge.

“Krone Knights! Let us begin our honorable battle!!”

[ “Yes!!!” ]

Brock, the lieutenant, led the cavalry and charged at them.

The slave soldiers and the Krone Knights were getting closer.

If this continued, there would be tremendous casualties on both sides due to a collision like last time.

Just as the clash was about to happen, Brock shouted.

“Everyone… spread out!!!”

[ “Yes!!!” ]

The cavalry, charging on horseback, began to scatter left and right in unison.

The slave soldiers, who had expected a collision, were taken aback when the cavalry suddenly started to disperse.

But what would surprise them even more was yet to come.

“Everyone, fire!!”

Whoosh-! Whoosh-!! Whoosh-!

At Brock’s signal, the knights began to fire their bows and crossbows in unison.

As the cavalry, who had expected a collision, scattered and began shooting arrows, the slave soldiers were left in shock.

“It’s arrows! Dodge!!”

“Shields! Raise your shields!!”

This was the Krone Knights’ specialty, the ‘Partisan Shot,’ shooting arrows from horseback.

The Krone Knights’ strength was lacking to fight against the beast-like Lion Family.

To make up for that lack of strength, they had learned the ‘Partisan Shot,’ which maximized the mobility of the cavalry rather than engaging in a frontal battle, resulting in them gaining a reputation for their archery skills even within the Empire.

The sudden appearance of the archers was a nightmare for the slave soldiers of Dreyhart, who thought they would engage in a frontal battle like the Lion Knights.

But the nightmare was far from over.

Thud-!

“Ahh! I’ve been hit by an arrow!”

“Are you okay!?”

“I’m fine, it just hit my arm… Gah!!”

“Hey! Hey! Sharan!! Hey! Get a grip!!”

The arrows were coated with a tranquilizing poison meant to subdue them.

While it wouldn’t endanger their lives, seeing their comrades collapse immediately would surely appear to the slave soldiers as an attempt to kill them, and it was enough to affect their morale.

“Jarha! Isn’t this dangerous!?”

“Indeed… they came with a cowardly trick.”

He had suspected there would be some trick, but poison…

Jarha was disappointed that the lord had used the least warrior-like trick.

But honestly, he also felt relieved.

With this, he felt he could fight that lord without any lingering attachments.

Jarha immediately transformed and shouted.

“Brothers, do not be afraid!! The fight will end the moment we strike that lord!!”

“Y-Yeah!!!”

“We have Jarha with us!!”

The slave soldiers, who regained their spirits leaning on Jarha, ignored the archers and turned directly toward the main camp where Lord Calix was.

The archers were a nuisance, but ultimately the core of this fight was to capture that lord.

Jarha thought there would be no warrior to stop him, like Hadem, and charged straight toward the main camp.

Before Lord Calix stood knights clad in thick armor, but with his transformation, he could easily break through them.

“Krone Knights! Prepare the shield formation!!”

“Yes!!”

Clang-! Clang-! Clang-!

Seeing him charge, a knight who appeared to be the commander raised his shield and prepared for the impact.

Jarha was determined to smash that shield as he charged at them.

Boom-!!!

“What!?”

At the moment of impact, Jarha could only be astonished.

The knights had united around the commander at the front and managed to block his charge.

For the first time in his life, Jarha was taken aback when his charge was halted, and as he pushed against the shield, Ricain revealed his face.

Perhaps due to the shock of the charge, blood was flowing from his head, but he paid no mind and spoke to Jarha as a knight protecting his lord.

“You shall not approach my lord even a step!”

Feeling the strength of a steadfast knight, different from the mad beast Hadem, Jarha broke into a cold sweat for the first time in this war.

He felt the war slipping further from his grasp.

Author’s Note (Author’s Afterword)

The use of the Partisan Shot while hunting deep locks was a buildup for this moment! (Just kidding)