episode_0024

The commander of the Teckel Knights advanced with a tattered body. Despite his body being soaked in blood from being cut by a sword, he paid no attention to it and continued to charge forward.

As the hesitant knights from behind joined the battle, he gained some respite. Thanks to this, whenever his body was still enough, he swallowed the potion he had kept in his pocket for such moments, and if there wasn’t even time for that, he hastily sprinkled the potion for hemostasis. Despite fighting without rest, the situation showed no signs of improvement.

The forces of the Kaorelden Empire, led by Commander Galard, left their core forces behind and engaged in a war of attrition at the front. Gradually wearing down their opponents, they used traps and magic successively, employing despicable tactics without giving any room for respite.

Whenever he managed to kill someone who seemed like a core force, he quickly retreated to receive healing from the saint, then returned to the front lines to fight again. While the Kaorelden Empire, even when sustaining fatal injuries, fought like zombies after receiving support from the saint, the Phibron Empire’s soldiers died on the battlefield immediately upon sustaining fatal wounds.

“Darn it… If only we had a saint as well.”

Teckel, who rarely blamed the gods, couldn’t help but feel disheartened by this irrational battle.

A saint is a being called upon by the goddess. Although the criteria are not widely known, women chosen as saints have divine power flowing through their bodies. While the Kaorelden Empire produces nearly a thousand saints each year, the Phibron Empire has barely produced a dozen or so saints.

It was truly lamentable to condemn the cruelty of the goddess Ruasta. Whether it be that the Kaorelden Empire sends only defective saints to the battlefield, or whether a saint is present or absent, it makes an enormous difference. The saint’s divine power can instantly heal wounds that cannot be treated with potions. The presence or absence of the miraculous power made a tremendous difference in combat, even if it was hundreds of times, no, even dozens of times.

It is said that the goddess Ruasta is also known as the Guardian of Balance. However, it was nothing short of exasperating why she favored the Kaorelden Empire to such an extent.

“Perhaps we should have brought that saint to our side back then.”

The saint who lost her arms and legs, even her eyes. At the time, they said she was worthless and not worth taking, but that was a lie. The Phaeron Empire is struggling with a severe shortage of saints. If they had taken her, they could have healed her and used her effectively.

“No. I have no regrets about my decision. I cannot do such a despicable thing.”

Knight Commander Tekelloman thought that his decision was not wrong, no matter how much he pondered it.

He had seen the saint lying on the ground, with her arms and legs severed, sadly smiling, on the battlefield before. He had witnessed her healing the knights of her own country from afar. She had dedicated herself to the knights of the Carelden Empire until she collapsed from exhaustion. In the end, she was discarded by them, losing her arms and legs.

How could he use someone betrayed by those she had dedicated herself to?

Knight Commander Tekelloman has his own determination. Even if he has to go to the battlefield to keep it, even if he has to kill countless enemy soldiers, he swears not to become a monster.

The reason he wields his sword is for his wife and child at home. If the Phaeron Empire falls, the emperor of the Carelden Empire will likely begin ruthless exploitation, perhaps even carrying out massacres under the pretext of pacification. To prevent this, one must fight back. But if he becomes a monster in the process, he would be no different from those ruthless demons.

That’s the one thing he does not want. Whether alive or dead, he wanted to remain a knight.

“Commander! Please fall back, there’s no hope here. We’ll hold them off, so plan for the future.”

“I won’t turn back, even if my head is cut off.”

With Tekelloman’s fingertips, the sword mows down numerous people. Knight Commander of the Phaeron Empire. Among them, five knights of the enemy empire fall to the ground in an instant at the hands of the man skilled in swordsmanship.

Tekelloman looks back. The citizens who fled have now moved far enough away. Although the situation where they no longer need to fight recklessly has come, the option of fleeing has been erased since they have reached close range.

The magicians behind the enemy were still intact. Even if one were to turn and flee straight from here, more than half of them would be hit by the concentrated magic saturation and die. It was more rational to engage in combat to increase the chances of survival. If luck favored them and they could win the battle, it would yield an unparalleled result.

“Everyone, charge! Don’t stop, charge toward the enemy!”

Bang!

The knight commander, Tekelloman, who was leading the charge, was engulfed in a sinister explosion.

Beep-beep-beep—

Loud noises echoed in his ears. When Tekelloman came to his senses, he saw his men protecting his fallen body. He tried desperately to get up but collapsed.

A man looked at his own arm.

“Oh…”

His left arm had been completely severed. He tried to rise using his right hand. A knight approached him.

“Please stop, Commander. You’ve done enough. Leave the rest to us. You’re not in a condition to fight anymore.”

Tekelloman roughly pushed the man aside and moved forward, raising his sword with unsteady legs and only one hand remaining.

“Die!”

Some of the enemy knights targeted the stumbling Tekelloman, but even with only one arm, he slashed their throats. His leg staggered, but his blade never missed.

He had to kill at least one more. To ensure that the knights who followed him didn’t die, he had to personally kill at least one more. Such thoughts were the only thing present in Tekelloman’s mind.

—

She walked slowly along the bloodstained road.

Choi Yebin grimaced unexpectedly as she looked at the corpses.

“This… is truly brutal.”

While moving through the border area, she passed by a hillside. After the battle, the place was filled with people’s blood and bodies. What stood out was that the majority of the bodies wore armor bearing the emblem of the Phibron Empire, and their bodies were severely mutilated.

Surely, the knights of the Kareldeen Empire who emerged victorious in battle must have resorted to this for catharsis. Having witnessed countless deaths and near-death experiences, even Choi Ye-bin, who had seen her fair share of corpses, didn’t need words to comprehend the horrors of the battlefield.

Choi Ye-bin’s grimaced mouth and chilled gaze were palpable.

“They toyed with people recklessly. You can tell just by looking at the wounds. This is nothing like a battle; it’s more akin to a scene of overwhelming slaughter by one faction.”

The saint also turned her head and spoke quietly.

“These corpses are from the knights of the Pibron Empire.”

She knelt briefly and prayed for them.

After the girl finished her prayer, the orb I had suspended in the air began to convulse wildly in response to the corpses, as if possessed. When I lightly flicked my hand, the blood that had filled the battlefield started to be drawn into the orb, which had now grown larger than before.

Amidst this eerie sight, Choi Ye-bin walked over and asked a question.

“Is that magic floating in the sky absorbing people?”

“It actually absorbs blood and life force.”

“So, is that the mass slaughter magic you posted about on Maelstrom?”

I shook my head.

“Slaughter magic isn’t as divine as this. Simply put, it serves as a… well, a kind of battery for casting mass slaughter magic. Even if mana is forcibly drawn from outside, the body can’t withstand it.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, recalling the days when I almost died several times trying to develop magic, and the days when I was consumed by agony. Those were the days when I had to witness the deaths of countless people. This power was never obtained lightly.

Erasing the distant past, I added briefly,

“This was a magic I nearly died trying to use bare-handed for mass slaughter. It’s separate from my body and absorbs people’s life force and blood, storing it. It can create life forms or tentacles from that, but its most crucial role is energy storage.”

Raising my hand, the sphere began to spin wildly. Gradually, sharp blades started emanating from it.

“Gah…!”

As the blades flew, several Knights of the Karelden Empire lurking nearby fell to the ground. Simultaneously, their vitality was drawn into the sphere.

“It seems there are some people protecting the surroundings.”

Sure enough, as I walked a little further, the sounds of a massive force engaged in battle reached my ears.

“Let’s take care of those who are fighting first.”

As I spoke and moved forward, Philemia grabbed my arm. For some reason, she tightly grasped my hand, trembling with fear, resentment, and various mixed emotions in her eyes.

“G-Gallad… Gallad is over there. The person giving orders from behind is Gallad. And on the opposite side, there’s Teckeloman… the commander of the Pibron Empire’s knights who saved us.”

Gallad, Teckeloman.

I confirmed the faces of those who needed to be killed and those who needed to be saved.

Then, I raised the sphere higher with a flick of my finger and, patting Philemia’s head, whispered, “Don’t be afraid. They are not worth your fear.”

A terrifyingly intense crimson light, unlike anything seen before, began to emanate from the sphere.