99 Conclusions

The Cavalry’s direction, which had been charging as if to crash straight into them, changed.

The soldiers, who had been bracing for impact, shifted their positions, following the Cavalry visible between the shields.

Clad in heavy armor, they exhaled roughly and raised their shields again.

Sticky sweat streamed down inside their helmets, but no soldier wiped it away.

Just moments ago, an arrow had struck the forehead of a soldier who had briefly removed his helmet to wipe away sweat.

Whoosh— Pow! A chilling sound sliced through the air, and simultaneously, a comrade standing next to him fell backward.

“One down.”

Agnes, still mounted and having fired the longbow, muttered.

The Empire’s archers returned fire, but the Cavalry, having already raised their shields, brazenly blocked the arrows.

Sword, shield, bow.

Even while freely switching between various weapons, their horses’ speed did not decrease.

“The 4th Cavalry…”

Fear crept onto the face of an officer in charge of the archers.

He turned his gaze toward headquarters. Since there was no order to cease fire, he continued to urge the archers on.

“Shoot, shoot! Hit even one of them!”

As he shouted at the soldiers frantically nocking arrows, the sound of air being torn apart rang out again.

Whoosh— Pow!

An arrow that flew over the shield wall pierced an archer’s neck, and the soldier collapsed, making a gurgling sound.

“Two down.”

“Agnes, you’re hitting them well today?”

Yohan, who had been leading the charge, slowed down and moved alongside Agnes.

“I’m the best archer, you know?”

Agnes said with a smirk.

“Ha, you little rascal. Don’t fall for this big brother’s skills.”

Yohan, revealing his pearly white teeth, took out his longbow.

Nocking an arrow, he pulled the string back with all his might.

And when he released the string, the arrow flew with a gruesome sound.

The arrow, squeezing through the gap between the shields, lodged in the neck of a shield bearer.

Thud. As the shield bearer in thick armor fell to the ground, they cleared away their fallen comrade and began to realign their ranks.

“How was that?”

“Just so-so?”

“You’re smitten but pretending not to be.”

As Yohan winked, Agnes pretended to vomit.

-Thwack

“Focus on the battle.”

Dorian, a giant who blocked the arrows with his shield, spat out a word and charged forward.

Watching his large back move away, Yohan and Agnes silently nocked arrows.

Each time the Cavalry fired an arrow, the Empire’s soldiers fell.

However, their numbers did not seem to decrease significantly.

“Casualties?”

Anna asked as she moved beside the Cavalry Commander.

“None. However, we’re almost out of arrows.”

“Approach is inevitable then. We’ll create some distance for now.”

“Understood.”

As Anna blew a whistle, the Cavalry slowly moved away from the Empire’s forces.

The Cavalry Commander looked at the Empire’s formation. Although their efforts had inflicted damage, it felt like scratching a giant boulder with a rake.

‘Traces can be left, but it cannot be broken.’

The Cavalry Commander clicked his tongue as he visually reaffirmed the fact he already knew.

“Hey, they’re tough. Usually, shaking them this much makes them fall apart.”

Yohan, drenched in sweat, also clicked his tongue.

“It means there’s a capable commander on their side too.”

The Cavalry Commander recalled the faces of the officers he had seen when he went to the military camp for the Emperor’s tea time.

“What should we do now?”

“Charge to the right.”

The Cavalry Commander pointed to the side that seemed to be the thinnest wall, the side that had received the most concentrated attacks from their men.

As he pulled the reins, the horse moved, and the Cavalry also realigned their ranks.

“Hyah!”

With the Cavalry Commander’s shout, the Cavalry began to run at full speed.

The slight incline added to their speed. The wind brushed past their ears, making a whooshing sound.

When they had gained so much speed that even the Cavalry skilled in horsemanship could not easily change direction, an ominous sound was heard.

Thwoom-

Gilbert, who was riding in the middle, raised his head at the sound of something heavy being launched.

Something like a building’s pillar was flying toward them.

Gilbert, recognizing what it was, shouted with wide eyes.

“Dodge! Ballista–“

Bang! The earth on the ground erupted with the sound.

“Shit, Gilbert!”

The sight of Gilbert, his torso pierced along with his horse, caused the men to waver for a moment, but then another giant pillar flew toward the rear of the Cavalry.

Bang!

“Commander, there’s a Ballista in the rear.”

Anna, who had turned around at the loud noise, quickly relayed the situation.

“It’s too late to change direction. Increase the speed even more.”

“Understood.”

The giant arrows fired by the Ballista began to rain down on the Cavalry.

They were not aiming for accuracy, but they were effective in stopping the charge of the Cavalry running at high speed.

But the Cavalry’s will was not broken.

“Ugh!”

The Cavalry Commander’s horse lunged forward, crushing the body of a shield bearer.

The soldier, who had screamed at the heavy impact, died instantly and rolled several more times after being trampled by the horse.

The Cavalry’s charge, shaped like an arrowhead, was enough to disrupt the Empire’s formation.

The Cavalry entered from the east and exited to the south.

The blood-soaked Cavalry breathed heavily, and behind them, the tattered Imperial soldiers collapsed on the ground, twitching.

“Go in again.”

To save the rear guard who had not yet escaped, the Cavalry Commander spurred his horse on.

“Prepare for impact… Kkyaaaaack!!”

The Imperial officer’s voice was heard, and Anna fired the last remaining arrow, piercing his eye.

They trampled with horses and beheaded dozens with cold weapons, but the number of Imperial soldiers did not decrease.

“Do you see them?”

The Emperor said, watching the Cavalry wielding their swords surrounded by soldiers.

“That was the sight. That sight was beautiful. His face, covered in blood and sweat, his teeth clenched, was so beautiful. I wanted to possess him.”

The Emperor, filled with elation, jumped up from his seat.

The wine glass he was holding shattered, injuring the Emperor’s hand.

“Your Majesty, the wound on your hand…”

The royal physician hurriedly rushed over and began to bandage the Emperor’s hand.

Regardless, the Emperor’s eyes were fixed on the Cavalry Commander in the distance.

“Ah- beautiful. That’s the sight that captivated me.”

The Emperor grinned, looking at the wounded beast.

“Your Majesty. If we delay any longer, the Cavalry Commander’s injuries will worsen.”

The Knight Commander cautiously spoke, and the Emperor nodded as if he understood.

“Yes, the Cavalry Commander must have realized it by now. That further resistance is meaningless.”

The men fall one by one.

Agnes, who had been strumming the Lute and laughing, was unhorsed by an arrow fired from a Ballista, her neck snapped.

Dorian, the large man, became a hedgehog with arrows, and fell from his horse after being stabbed in the heart by a spear while wielding a mace.

The men who had been laughing and talking at the campsite gradually fall silent.

One, two, three.

Those who had been sitting proudly on their horses fall to the ground like fallen leaves.

There was no fear in their eyes, which they had not even noticed.

“Hey, everyone’s lacking in grit. I guess their training was insufficient.”

Yohan, who even in this situation made a joke, looked at his empty left arm.

“Are you okay?”

Anna asked nonchalantly, and Yohan revealed his pearly white teeth.

“Let’s just say I presented it to a new era.”

The Imperial soldiers thrust their spears, pressing them.

“Are you two coming soon? I’ll go first?”

Yohan, jumping off his horse, wields his sword with his remaining arm. A few of the men follow him after Yohan.

And soon, he falls, pierced by spears.

The Cavalry Commander did not cry.

Anna did not cry.

“Commander. It’s just us left.”

The soldiers bringing nets from the rear, in the gradually tightening encirclement, came into view.

“That crazy Emperor is amazing too. Trying to capture us alive no matter what… I wondered why they were only firing the Ballista backward.”

The actions of the Imperial soldiers, who had strangely hesitated to attack him and the Commander, were now understood.

“Anna Irwena.”

The Cavalry Commander said.

“Yes.”

“I’ll take the lead.”

The Cavalry Commander jumped off his horse.

“I will follow.”

Anna also got off her horse, gripping her sword with both hands.

Inhaling, the Cavalry Commander threw his sword forward.

The Cavalry Commander’s sword, spinning as it flew, split a soldier’s head in half, helmet and all.

As the Cavalry Commander’s fist slammed into a soldier’s jaw, he flew into the air with the sound of bones breaking.

“Wh, what?”

While the soldiers wavered at the sudden hand-to-hand combat, the Cavalry Commander knocked four to the ground.

After that, Anna moved quickly, confirming the kills with her sword.

“What are you doing? Throw the net!”

Nets were thrown from all directions, but they failed to catch the two because their hands were not in sync.

The Cavalry Commander and Anna advanced, killing soldiers.

The soldiers could not do anything because of their terrifying prowess and the Emperor’s order to capture them alive.

However, it was not as if the Cavalry Commander and Anna were unharmed.

Their bodies were slowly accumulating injuries from the swords that the soldiers, consumed by fear, were swinging wildly.

Anna suddenly felt darkness before her eyes, and her head became dizzy.

She had lost too much blood.

She gritted her teeth and followed the Commander’s back in front of her.

“I will definitely go later than the Commander.”

The Cavalry Commander and Anna’s last stand, which had been breaking through the encirclement with unstoppable force, stopped in front of the Emperor.

The injuries they had accumulated were too great for them to move their bodies with will alone.

“You’re a mess. Cavalry Commander.”

The Emperor said, as if he felt sorry for them.

The Cavalry Commander nodded as if agreeing with those words.

“You must have realized it by now? That you cannot win. You confidently declared victory, but look at the situation now. Who is the victor?”

The Cavalry Commander replaced his answer with silence.

“Now that the conclusion has been reached. Become mine as promised. I will have the most outstanding doctor take care of your body, and I will give you the most precious clothes.”

The Emperor smiled.

“Your Majesty.”

The Cavalry Commander opened his mouth.

“Yes?”

“I have not yet admitted defeat. And my declaration of victory is still valid.”

“Hoo… Do you have a hidden card? You’re not talking about a separate detachment that you secretly diverted, are you?”

“Your Majesty, what is the reason for starting this war?”

The Cavalry Commander asked.

“To have you. If it weren’t for you, why would I have brought my army all the way to Zernoah?”

The Emperor answered as if he was asking something obvious.

“That’s right. Your Majesty started the war to have me.”

The Emperor narrowed his eyes.

“Your Majesty has won the battle. But you will not be able to win the war.”

“…What are you saying now.”

“Anna Irwena.”

“Yes.”

As the Cavalry Commander called Anna, Anna, who had been catching her breath next to him, beheaded the Cavalry Commander with her sword.

Before the Cavalry Commander’s cleanly severed head could fall to the ground, Anna Irwena pointed the tip of her sword at her own neck and said.

“You lost. You pathetic bitch.”

Anna’s hand, gripping the hilt of the sword, moved toward her neck.

“No… No!!!!”

What she saw with her closing eyes was the Emperor, who had turned pale, running toward her in a hurry.

Anna Irwena closed her eyes with a satisfied smile.

It was to meet the comrades who would be waiting for her in the resting place.

A man limped and opened the door of a cabin.

The cabin was in a remote forest.

Holding a hard loaf of bread in his arms, he desperately grabbed it with trembling hands and tore at it.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

A sound that did not form a sentence leaked from his mouth.

Whoosh-

As he heard the sound of wind blowing outside, he was startled and trembled.

Creak- Creak-

An ominous sound was heard.

Creak- Creak-

The sound of the rotten stairs creaking grew louder.

“Wh, who is it…?”

The man with sunken cheeks trembled and shouted outside.

Creak- Creak- Thud- Thud-

He felt a presence outside the door.

And. Crack.

Something black tore the door off its hinges.

“Heeik!”

The man stuck to the wall and curled up as much as possible.

The cold air from outside entered, freezing his body.

“Yuda Siller. Is that right?”

A calm voice. It was a woman.

Yuda carefully opened his eyes.

A woman in unfamiliar clothes was standing in front of him.

“Yuda Siller. Is that right, I’m asking.”

The woman pressed her temple and asked again.

“Y, yes, that’s right. Who the hell are you…?”

Yuda nodded at the pressure.

“I’ve come to the right place… It was hard to find you because you were hiding so well.”

“How did you get here… Su, surely!”

Yuda stuck to the wall again.

He pointed at the woman with a trembling hand.

“Th, the Emperor’s assassin…? You’re killing everyone related to the Cavalry?”

“You know it well. Then you must know why I came here?”

“S, save me. I, I just wanted to live. So I just passed on the information. They said they would kill all the men except the Commander, how could I not pass on the information? Th, think about it logically.”

“Is that so? But your former comrades all chose death.”

When the woman asked back with a pure face, Yuda had no choice but to shut his mouth.

“What’s it to you! I’m just trying to live! Is it wrong to do something to live? Who are you! What the hell are you that you’re doing this!!”

Then he suddenly got angry.

The woman repeatedly pressed her temple with her finger, as if the high-pitched voice he spat out like blood was uncomfortable.

And then she snapped her fingers.

Snap!

With a cheerful sound, her shadow grew larger and larger.

And the shadow opened its eyes.

“Heeik!”

Yuda screamed at the appearance of the monster.

“Are you done saying everything you wanted to say?”

“Wh, what the hell are youuuuuuu!!!”

Yuda shouted, struggling to shake off the approaching shadow, and those were his last words.

As the shadow writhed and swallowed the traitor’s corpse, the woman with a refined impression muttered.

“I don’t even know who I am anymore.”