Chapter 143 - The Day the Sky Path Opens (2)

One of the imperial knights who saw me sprang forward.

And his chest was immediately split open as he died instantly.

Only then did the pace of the charging knights slow down.

However, they still did not stop their feet.

They had merely become a bit more cautious.

Among the Imperial Army, my name was still close to unknown. Even my spirit was concealed by the power of the poem, so outwardly, I looked like an ordinary mercenary.

A slightly large stone on the side of the road that they could trample over as much as they wanted if they tried.

But they wouldn't know.

The fact that all of them would be tripped up and fall over that very stone today.

The Paladin at the front ignored me and passed by.

I did not block him.

Instead, I consecutively cut down the knights following behind him.

"Gaaah!"

"Guh!"

At the continuous screams, the Paladin running ahead looked back.

"You bastard!"

The enraged Paladin belatedly gripped his sword and charged at me.

Looking at that Paladin, I,

Smirk.

Smiled and threw myself straight into the forest.

The Paladin's angry roar could be heard behind my back, but I ignored it.

I had no intention of wasting time and energy on a Paladin. Today, I planned to strike down as many imperial knights as possible.

Hiding in the forest, I leaped out again at the right moment.

I once again ambushed the imperial knights who were in the midst of a fierce battle with Dotrin's knights.

The knights who took the unexpected blow fell in an instant.

"You rat-like bastard!"

That same Paladin saw me and flared with killing intent. As it seemed I would flee into the forest once again, the bastard scattered an Aura Blade and rushed right up to me in a flash.

I crossed my twin swords to block his strike, and in that state, I pulled the sword in my right hand straight down.

SCRAPE.

The tip of the blade grazed his breastplate, making an uncomfortable noise.

The greatly alarmed bastard shook off my sword and opened up distance.

In that time, I fled back into the forest.

I repeated the same action countless times. Hovering around the Imperial Army, I struck down the knights.

I ignored those who seemed like they would tie me down even for a moment.

I solely focused on striking down a greater number of knights.

As a result, when the offensive ended, I was able to strike down enemies equivalent to almost one knight order.

Around dawn, the sound of a horn could be heard.

It was the promised signal for retreat.

I pulled out without hesitation.

And joining up with Dotrin's knights, I escaped the sea of trees.

Arriving at the main camp, some old men were waiting for me.

It was the former lord of Nopsaebaram Citadel, Burk Berten, and the old knights who followed him.

Seeing them looking at me like baby birds waiting for their mother bird, a laugh slipped out.

"Why? Didn't the knights who returned first tell you the results?"

"They told us we won, but there isn't a single guy explaining the detailed circumstances. Even if we tried to press them, they all have faces that look like they're about to collapse at any moment, so we felt too sorry to ask."

Old man Burk grumbled.

"So, since you're full of energy, you tell us."

I answered immediately without holding anything back.

"A great victory. We won overwhelmingly."

"In detail."

"Dark surroundings, a long drawn-out formation; looking at the whole, the enemy's military strength was overwhelming, but in individual battlefields, our forces had the upper hand. Because the enemies were scattered. Our knights moved around in droves and ruthlessly trampled the enemies. And the moment the enemy belatedly formed a formation and tried to respond, we retreated."

Old man Burk and the old knights exchanged glances. They seemed to be picturing today's battle in their own heads based on my words.

"So, how many did you strike down?"

"Add three hundred gold coins."

The moment my words ended, old man Burk suddenly frowned.

"See, didn't I tell you he would only do exactly his share? Anyway, a bet is a bet."

"Tsk. Still, I thought he would take care of at least a few more guys."

I wondered why they were acting like that, and it seemed they had made a bet.

Senile old men. War isn't a game, either.

"Old man, your country is currently at war with its fate on the line, and is this what you should be doing right now?"

"We didn't bet on how many of our knights would die, we just estimated how many you would kill; what's the problem? The more you kill, the more beneficial it is to our side."

"Don't take it too negatively. In our own way, we made the bet as if making a wish, hoping that you would strike down as many enemies as possible to make things easier for our forces."

Old man Burk and the old knights replied shamelessly to my words.

Since those words also made sense, I shut my mouth again.

I roughly finished my business and was about to return to the barracks when the old men chased after me.

It wasn't anything new anymore.

The fact that Burk Berten and the old men followed me around closely.

The moment the retreat from the citadel was safely concluded, they laid down all their titles and completely retired.

The first reason was that someone had to take responsibility for losing the citadel, and the second reason was that an old man who couldn't read the times and repeatedly brought danger upon himself shouldn't be leading soldiers.

Dotrin's command staff rather highly valued the merit of safely retreating while even taking care of civilians and the wounded, and tried to entrust him with an army again, but Burk Berten adamantly refused.

The choice made by the old man who had laid down everything like that was to follow me around.

I was appalled, but I ended up being persuaded by a single sentence from old man Burk.

"I have a lot of money."

From my perspective, where I had to fight the Imperial Army anyway, there was no reason to refuse when he offered to provide extra compensation on top of it.

Burk Berten, he was the official financier of the Vale Mercenaries.

"*Ahem. *"

While I was lost in thought, old man Burk cleared his throat and stopped me.

Looking back, the old man with a serious expression was looking at me.

"I've said it time and again, you are strong. But war is absolutely not a game."

"I don't think that's something the old man who was just betting on that non-game war should be saying."

Despite my scolding, the old man paid no mind and continued speaking.

"The battle just ended. You said with your own mouth that you struck down a hundred enemies. But right now, you are excessively calm. You even look like you're enjoying yourself. The other knights were not like that."

The eyes of the old man speaking like that were deeply sunken.

"Do you think it was the first time for them killing someone? Even those full of a sense of duty who had sworn to die fighting for their country anytime are uncomfortable with the blood stained on their hands. You don't have that."

I fully turned my body around and looked straight at Burk Berten.

"I cannot even begin to guess how much murderous karma you must have piled up over time. If you reached such a stage while wandering as a mercenary at a young age, you surely must have accumulated a lot of murderous karma."

"So what is it you want to say."

"Do not become a murderous fiend who treats human lives like those of flies. Kill your enemies, but keep your heart reverent, and do not sneer in the face of death."

I quietly looked at him before nodding.

"I will keep that in mind."

"*Groan. *"

Did my answer feel insincere? Old man Burk let out a groaning sound.

"Something is wrong with you. You are lacking something somewhere. Only you don't know it."

The old knights pulled the old man who was shaking his head. Saying that was enough.

"Hey, let's just go drink some alcohol."

"The alcohol will surely taste bitter."

Saying that, old man Burk and the old knights disappeared somewhere.

As I stood there blankly alone, that Eli bastard and Gawain appeared from afar.

I told them the conversation I had shared with old man Burk.

That Eli bastard snorted.

"He's full of himself. He's so overwhelmed with happiness that he can't even tell shit from piss. It's a situation where I die if I don't kill, and what? The weight of murderous karma? Is he saying you should bawl your eyes out while thinking about the guy who was charging at you to kill you?"

Having said that, that Eli bastard looked at me and spoke. Unlike usual, he didn't show the slightest hint of sarcasm.

"Please don't pay any attention to the words of a senile old man. Because you are doing well."

I chuckled at those definitive words, but Gawain opened his mouth.

"Those words aren't wrong, though."

"What nonsense are you trying to spout now!"

That Eli bastard instantly flared his eyes in anger and shouted.

"It's true that Commander Ian is lacking something somewhere. He's also somehow inhuman."

"You bastard, what do you know!"

"You have to admit what needs to be admitted. Commander Ian is a War Maniac."

Extreme anger surfaced on Eli's face. It was a face of Eli that even I was seeing for the first time.

"You bastard! Did you see? How Your Highness fought at Winter Castle! The Orcs took over a wall! Our allied Ranger bastards were dying one after another! Did you see Your Highness charging in alone to save them and fighting until his body was torn to shreds!"

I ended up feeling embarrassed.

I knew that Dotrin's knights had been chattering about me being a mercenary obsessed with money. They respected my skills, but they did not approve of the baseness of my motives and my War Maniac-like attitude.

Just as the Mercenary King, the master of the [Poem of Gold], had been. I, too, was receiving that kind of treatment.

Just look at old man Burk, for instance.

I myself didn't care, but it seemed that Eli bastard had unknowingly taken those words as stress.

Seeing him suddenly throw a fit like that.

His excitement having reached its peak, he didn't even use the word Commander and called me Your Highness, but I couldn't cover Eli's mouth.

It was because that Eli bastard had spoken of an unpleasant memory.

"The day Winter Castle collapsed. Do you know what Your Highness was like when he was carried in as half a corpse? An unconscious man kept blowing the horn signal for retreat with it in his mouth. And do you know what he said?"

I thought I had become numb to it now, but the old memories revived in Eli's passion blocked my words.

"He said he would buy time. His chest was split open, and his wrist was dangling. While not even being able to control his own body! He told everyone to run away. Even when he couldn't recognize whether the person in front of him was a lancer or someone else. Not even knowing where he was. Saying he would stay behind, so go..."

Unknowingly, I shut my eyes tightly.

Did I do that. I couldn't remember. Because I was in a state where my consciousness was half blown away at the time.

"Spouting nonsense about being a War Maniac. What does a fifteen or sixteen-year-old child know."

It seemed I must have had a nightmare. The nightmare of that day, when Winter Castle's knights and lancers threw their lives away to save me. So it was possible I had talked in my sleep.

While struggling to calm my sorrow, I opened my eyes at a sudden killing intent.

"The Warlord. Anyone who remembers the sight of him collapsing and wailing in front of the corpse of that bastard, who wouldn't be satisfying even if chewed up alive, wouldn't spout such bullshit. Therefore."

That Eli bastard had drawn his sword at some point and was growling as if he would cut off Gawain's neck.

"Shut your mouth. Gawain. Before I kill you."

I grabbed that Eli bastard, who was trembling right down to his hands from sheer excitement.

And then shook my head.

"Aaaagh!"

Eli, who was looking at me, suddenly screamed. And then ruthlessly kicked the ground.

After venting his anger for a long while like that, the bastard huffed and sheathed his sword.

"So, Your Highness, please do not take the nonsense of those senile old men to heart, either. What's wrong is this damn situation, not Your Highness."

Having said that, he stomped his feet and disappeared over there.

"Where are you going!"

"I'm going to rest!"

"That's the opposite direction of the barracks!"

Eli huffed, turned his body around, and brushed past us.

As I was staring blankly at his back, Gawain's voice could be heard.

"I did not know. But I will not apologize."

"Yeah. We aren't close enough to apologize to each other, anyway."

When I replied apathetically, Gawain spoke again.

"But it is true that you are somewhat inhuman. So it is a bit repulsive, too. Well, it seems the people of Winter Castle absolutely adore you, though."

I shrugged my shoulders.

Those words weren't exactly wrong, either.

For I was someone who was human yet a sword, and a sword yet a Demonic sword.

* * *

After that day's battle, the Imperial Army did not hastily venture outside the sea of trees.

They tightened their formation and deployed knights and Paladins at regular intervals to fully prepare for ambushes.

On top of that, the Empire's Mages frequently used large-scale search magic, leading to a situation where the significance of ambushes had greatly faded.

A few ambushes ended with only casualties and no significant gains.

The Dotrin Kingdom's command staff held meetings day after day.

Although they had inflicted massive damage on the vanguard, the Empire's main force and rearguard were still intact. They had to inflict the maximum amount of damage before they escaped the sea of trees.

But it was not easy.

As time passed, shaking up the massive Imperial Army that had somewhat adapted to battles in the sea of trees was absolutely not an easy task.

If there was any consolation, it was the fact that the Empire's Third Imperial Prince, who had solidified his position by being recognized for his merits in the previous war, was holding out as the commander of the main force.

The situation was quite coincidental.

According to intelligence, it was the Third Imperial Prince who had urged the vanguard to push forward unreasonably.

In reality, the incompetent and impatient Third Imperial Prince had pushed the vanguard into a death trap.

And the one who saved the vanguard right before its collapse was also the Third Imperial Prince.

It was said that the main force's knights, Paladins, and Mages who stepped forward to save the vanguard all followed the instructions of the Third Imperial Prince.

It was a situation where the vanguard's commander took the blame for the devastating defeat of the pushed vanguard, while the Third Imperial Prince only took the credit for saving them.

An excellent response unfitting for a figure destined to ruin the empire.

"It's obvious that someone who uses their head quite well is attached to the Third Imperial Prince's side."

I was certain.

There was someone by his side.

And not just someone smart, but someone resourceful enough to cater to the tyrannical Third Imperial Prince and make him issue normal orders.

It was a thought that was half right and half wrong.

It was true that someone with a quick mind was by the Third Imperial Prince's side. However, the thought that the person led the Third Imperial Prince by catering to his whims was completely off the mark.

He was someone who didn't need to do that.

Rather, the one who had to cater to the other's whims was the Third Imperial Prince.

I came to realize that fact right around the time I had nearly smashed the Imperial Army's logistics, which were receiving strict protection deep within the sea of trees.

"Guh."

Having struck down the imperial knight who resisted until the very end, I couldn't even think to pull out the sword lodged in his chest and froze on the spot.

THUMP.

My heart beat rapidly.

The energy unleashed from my heart ignored the will of the [Poem of Gold] and erupted outward.

My status naturally arose and surrounded all directions.

RUUUUUMBLE.

Even though the status of a Hero was protecting me, the pounding of my heart did not stop.

Creaking, I turned my head.

"Ah..."

And I saw it.

On a clear day without a single cloud, dark clouds unnaturally gathered in only one place.

FLASH!

The dark clouds spat out lightning.

Dozens of streaks of lightning fell.

CRASH!

A step late, the sound of thunder could be heard.

The lightning stopped, and the thunder subsided.

But I still could not move.

Because there was a monstrous entity that had summoned the thunder and lightning in that place.

I gritted my teeth at that terrifying presence.

Imbuing mana, I shouted.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

Dotrin's knights and soldiers, who had been entranced by the sudden anomaly, looked at me.

"Run away, you idiots!"

Oppressed by my status and spirit, they asked.

Where to go.

"Abandon the outpost! Return straight to the command center! Detour as far as possible!"

Forgetting that it was the order of a mere mercenary, they hurriedly escaped the battlefield.

Without even being able to destroy the supplies, despite having crushed the logistics unit with such difficulty.

I shouted as I ran along the sea of trees.

"Run! Detour as far as possible! Go to the main force!"

Dotrin's knights and soldiers, who had been conducting ambushes here and there and had frozen before the sudden miracle, pulled themselves out at my words.

I continued to run.

The troops that had set out for this large-scale ambush were close to half of the total troops on the defensive line.

If they were annihilated, the front line would inevitably collapse.

I had to pull everyone out.

There was no time.

The monstrous presence was coming this way from the exit, cutting against the sea of trees.

Imbuing mana, I yelled at the top of my lungs.

As I ran for a long while like that,

"Huh?"

The massive presence disappeared like a mirage.

Standing still in that spot, I looked up at the sky.

Thick dark clouds, which I didn't know when they had gathered, were completely filling the place.