episode_0049
by fnovelpia
49. Peerless Under Heaven
When Goldhelm was invited to the capital, he arrived leading his army.
The reason was simple—he was sick of rotting away in the northwest, beating up barbarians.
A shithole covered in snow where nothing grew.
So, he planned to station his troops in the capital and cozy up to O Yeong-je.
But there weren’t enough lodgings for the entire army, so they were stuck camping outside the capital walls.
Reina, atop her red steed, charged forward without a care, halberd in hand.
“Hahaha—! Get outta my way!”
“Reina betrayed us!!”
“She’s coming, run—!!”
Goldhelm’s army was now split into two factions.
One side longed for the days when their lord was sane, now following Reina and Athena’s lead.
The other consisted of spineless lackeys kissing up to Goldhelm or corrupt officials sent from the capital.
Naturally, the bootlickers were kept close to Goldhelm’s quarters and meeting rooms.
Which meant the soldiers facing Reina now were expendable.
“Hold the line—!!”
Every soldier foolish enough to raise a spear against Reina’s charge was already dead.
Without hesitation, she swung her halberd one-handed.
“Gaaaah—!!”
“Tell your lord—!”
“I don’t wanna die…!!!”
Was it just wind pressure or a blade slash? The sheer force was indiscernible.
The morale of the soldiers—armed with pitiful spears—shattered instantly.
But that wasn’t all.
“You worms actually ate the same rations as me?!”
Reina hurled her halberd diagonally with full force.
The weapon spun like a top, slicing through soldiers without slowing.
She spread her left hand, and the halberd responded, arcing back in a sweeping crescent.
By the time it returned, drenched red as if painted in blood, Reina caught it effortlessly.
“Pathetic worms…”
This time, she gripped the halberd with both hands, radiating a crimson aura.
The weaker soldiers scrambled away, but the rotating halberd had already carved a dam of corpses.
Those trapped in the center clawed over bisected bodies to escape.
“Drop dead—!!”
Reina swung downward, unleashing a sweeping slash.
Bodies weren’t just cut in half—entire chunks were obliterated.
Surveying the carnage, she smirked.
Then, she slapped her horse’s hindquarters and leaped skyward.
No—her muscular crimson steed soared over five meters, wings or not.
A beast barely contained by the term “divine.”
From midair, Reina crashed down like a meteor.
—BOOM!!
The impact carved out a crater, shockwaves churning dust across the battlefield.
Reina and her horse stood unscathed, halberd resting on her shoulder.
She tapped it teasingly, sneering at the soldiers.
“You guys are seriously fucking weak.”
Or maybe her brain lacked the capacity to understand their weakness.
Not that she cared.
She just had to grind them all into paste and kill Goldhelm.
Her halberd swung again, cleaving through futile resistance.
A few stronger officers blocked a strike—some wrinkled sycophant of Goldhelm, maybe—
But a second swing ended them. Too insignificant to remember.
Even B- or A-tier generals were just slightly tougher grunts to her.
She beheaded them all without distinction.
When surviving soldiers dropped their weapons, begging for mercy…
“Who said surrenders were allowed?”
Their necks met her blade like wheat to a scythe.
The fleeing were hunted down, halberd strikes finishing them off.
Reina—peerless under heaven.
In under an hour, she slaughtered 1,500 soldiers single-handedly.
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Goldhelm’s meeting tent.
The so-called lord was fretting to Athena.
O Yeong-je, whom he’d been sucking up to, was on the verge of collapse.
With his wits gone, Goldhelm clung to Athena desperately.
“Athena, say something!”
Why her, not his other advisors?
Simple.
The advisors were bootlickers or bought incompetents.
Unlike the straightforward barbarian-slaying of the past, political battles were beyond him.
Reina crushed foes with unrivaled might; Athena did so with skill and strategy.
Meaning Athena was the only brain left in his crumbling army.
Goldhelm clutched her arm, pleading.
“What do we do?! No one saw this alliance coming, right?!”
“……”
Athena shut her eyes, unable to face her ruined lord.
The once-wise, benevolent man who welcomed orphan soldiers—how had he fallen this low?
Goldhelm sobbed shamelessly, his face a mess of tears and snot.
Unable to endure it, Athena spoke softly.
“I don’t know… Politics isn’t my field.
One wrong word could endanger you, my lord.”
“You…”
Goldhelm gritted his teeth.
Whether in fury or needing someone to blame—
His eyes reddened as he unconsciously grabbed a flowerpot from the table.
A delicately crafted ceramic pot.
Unable to control his rage, he hurled it at Athena’s face.
—CRASH
Blood trickled from a gash on her forehead.
Goldhelm spat venom, cornering her.
“Worthless bitch! I should’ve sold you to a brothel!!
What a fool I was, training a useless thing like you!”
Insulting the very past he once cherished.
Athena endured silently, clinging to hope—
Maybe this outburst would bring back the man he used to be.
But then—
A crushing aura pierced the tent before she could react.
A halberd shot through like an arrow, impaling Goldhelm’s chest.
“Captain…”
“Oi, how’d you know it was me?”
Reina strolled in, utterly unfazed by the lord’s corpse at her feet.
Athena gazed at the man who once dreamed of building a better northwest.
Suppressing her grief, she answered plainly.
“Only you could move faster than I can react.”
“Damn right!”
Reina puffed out her chest, pride unwavering.
Athena chuckled dryly, brushing her hair back.
Without protest, she followed Reina out.
“No complaints? I just killed Goldhelm.”
“None. You don’t listen anyway.”
“The hell’s that?”
Athena’s playful whine earned a sigh from Reina.
Then, unexpectedly, Reina apologized.
“Sorry. I made the call alone.”
Athena could’ve resented it—but instead, she praised her.
“You’ve always had beast-like instincts. Saved my life in battle more than once. I trust you.”
“Beast-like… Compliment or insult?”
“Compliment, obviously.”
“Really? Feels kinda shitty.”
Their banter felt like comedy skits between best friends.
But outside the tent awaited 1,000 enemy soldiers.
Surrounded, Reina merely smirked.
“Heh… They really scraped together the last dregs. Seriously, this many ass-kissers?”
“…Missed a few, Captain?”
“Even I can’t kill 1,500 alone. One body’s not enough.”
“Kek… Fair.”
Unfazed, Athena drew her sword and spear, combining them into a glaive.
She planted it into the ground with a thud, sighing.
“Captain… Even ten bodies wouldn’t be enough with you.”
Reina scoffed, hefting her halberd.
“Whatevs. Hey, let’s make it fun—who kills more?”
“What?”
“Say… 50 silver coins?”
“…A kill contest? Have some—Hey!!”
Before she could refuse, Reina charged into the enemy lines.
“Cheating bastard!!”
Athena mounted her horse and followed.
Thirty minutes later—
Two women stood over 870 corpses.
Athena lost, 320 to Reina’s 550.
“Total bullshit!!”
Reina—Peerless Under Heaven.
Athena—Unrivaled in Battle.
Leading 2,000 loyal soldiers, they marched onward—toward Black Dawn.
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