Chapter 64 - An Orc Above Orcs vs. A Knight Above Knights (4)

‘You get struck by lightning when you stand next to a bad guy.’

Bernardo Eli thought this saying represented his situation quite well.

Having ended up standing in the courtroom after being next to the eldest son of Count Quern's family who made a treasonous remark, it was truly a case of being splashed with shit water for standing next to a scoundrel.

He had thought exactly that right up until he stood in the witness stand and gave a testimony based on facts. That some filth had merely splashed onto him.

However, it didn't take long for him to realize that what was stained on his body wasn't filth, but blood.

Having exposed the sins of their children to the whole world, Bernardo ended up incurring the resentment of the nobles. As a result, from the second trial onwards, he found himself standing alongside others in the seat of a sinner rather than a witness.

He felt sorrow for his fallen family, and resented the Royal Family for offering him as a sacrifice under the pretext of appeasing the nobles' hearts.

But what could he do? It was a sin to be powerless.

He had planned to just serve as a common soldier and live quietly in his territory like a dead mouse once his sins were appropriately pardoned.

Even that was a delusion.

The North was more brutal than he had imagined. Orcs invaded every four days, and it was a terrible place where it wouldn't be strange for anyone to die at any time, in any manner.

In fact, before even two weeks had passed since arriving in the North, half of the scoundrels had died. Some had axes embedded in their foreheads, and some had misstepped and fallen below the wall to become bloody pulps.

No one cared about their deaths. The young men who were once the successors of noble families were thrown into the burning piles of monster corpses and turned to ash.

The sinners were desperate to survive somehow. However, this place was too harsh to survive on willpower alone, and in the end, they all died less than a month after arriving in the North.

The only one who survived was Bernardo.

The mana refinement method and swordsmanship passed down in his family sustained his life. The nuisance they had refused to give up until the end even as their family fell to ruin was his only lifeline in this moment.

Hope sparked that he might just be able to safely finish his exile.

However, this damn land of bitter cold was a place naturally gifted at trampling on human hopes.

An unheard-of monster called the King of Orcs led a large army of 20,000 and invaded the castle.

When he faced that mighty presence, he felt a terror as if his soul was being crushed. When the Orcs' military banner was planted in the spire, he felt despair as if he had caught a glimpse of an ominous future.

At that moment, a familiar boy climbed up the spire. Precariously scaling the frozen roof of the spire, the boy cut the waist of the red flag and held it up high.

The moment he saw that seemingly insignificant sight, hope bloomed amidst the despair.

The sound of a horn echoed. The knights sang a bizarre song. At that moment, the mana in his heart surged.

The fear that had been crushing his existence gradually diluted.

Only then did Bernardo realize that the boy standing tall atop the spire was the culprit who had led him to this brutal place.

He felt resentful.

He was displeased that while he had lost everything and was engaged in a desperate struggle on the wall without anyone's care, the Scoundrel Prince was receiving the cheers of the soldiers.

Dirty world. Damned life.

However, he couldn't just keep being resentful forever.

The Orcs were advancing. The Rangers of Winter Castle poured arrows down on them, but they couldn't stop the dark green wave dyeing the snowfield.

Orcs riding wolves scaled the wall. Ladders were hooked.

Countless Orcs climbed up the wall.

"Arrows!"

The Ranger in front reached out his hand. Bernardo, who had been on standby, tried to hand over an arrow, but for some reason, the Ranger froze and wouldn't move.

"Ah..."

Bernardo could belatedly see a spear jutting out from the back of the Ranger's head.

Thud.

The Ranger tumbled lifelessly over the wall. And in his place, a massive Orc shoved its head in.

"Eek!"

He drew his sword. Filling it with mana, he swung the sword at the Orc.

It was an attack that would have split the head of an ordinary monster at once, but the Orc was not ordinary.

CRASH!

The Orc, having blocked the attack with a blade shimmering with a red aura, thrust its foot out. Getting hit would mean falling right off the wall and turning into a bloody pulp, so he twisted his body to dodge, but unfortunately, it was far too crowded atop the wall.

Tripping over a Ranger's corpse, Bernardo rolled unsightlily on the ground.

"Someone help..."

He looked around for someone who could help.

A soldier with a severed arm shoved an Orc with his body. A Ranger who had lost both eyes hugged an Orc and indiscriminately stabbed it with a dagger. A knight surrounded by three Orcs fought desperately with a hand axe embedded in his waist.

None of them were looking at him.

"Ah..."

Bernardo had a premonition of death. He thrust his sword forward as he looked at the Orc panting and bearing its yellow teeth. But it wasn't swordsmanship or anything else; it was merely a powerless flailing.

His sword flew far away from a strike by the Orc enveloped in a red aura.

He closed his eyes. Hoping that, if he must die, it would be without pain.

SLASH.

A hair-raising noise dug into his ears.

Was his neck severed? Was his chest slashed? Was his stomach pierced? Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Yet, there was no feeling whatsoever.

Perhaps he had died instantly. Bernardo was rather relieved.

Relieved that he had died cleanly.

"Oh? Closing your eyes? You bastard, which order are you from!"

At that moment, someone smacked the back of his head. Bernardo opened his eyes at the shock that rattled his skull.

"Are you an Iron Lion? You're a bastard who doesn't even have the absolute basics down!"

A boy, caked in blood, was yelling with an angry face. The Orc that had seemed like a grim reaper was now a headless corpse.

"Y-Your Highness..."

"Get up! Grab your sword! If you can't fight, get down! You're in the way!"

The Prince, having rattled off his words quickly, ran along the wall. Wherever he passed, Orcs collapsed, spraying blood.

"Pour it!"

The Rangers poured oil. Flaming arrows rained down onto the Orcs.

With a loud *BOOM*, flames surged up from below the wall.

'If they had something like this, they should have used it earlier.'

Seeing the last Orc that climbed the wall get its neck slashed, Bernardo plopped down.

He gasped for breath. Then, he saw the Prince conversing with the Commander in the distance.

So damn frustratingly, the Prince didn't even remember him.

That felt more unfair than the relief of surviving.

From that day on, Bernardo hovered around the First Prince. Hoping that he would recognize him.

However, that was a truly stupid action.

Where the Prince was, the fiercest battles were always taking place. It was not a place to follow around out of childish sentiment.

He certainly thought so. Yet, stubbornness arose in him.

He fought through gritted teeth. Even when he almost died several times, he stuck close to the end and guarded his side.

The eastern wall was taken by the Orcs. Countless people died. And they were still dying. The eastern wall became a land of death.

The Prince climbed up to that terrible place.

"Fall back! Those who are intact, take care of the wounded!"

The First Prince shouted as he slashed down Orcs. The Rangers who hadn't been able to flee backed away hesitantly.

The Prince continued to push forward. The number of Orcs increased. Wounds began to multiply on the Prince's body. And proportionally, the number of soldiers whose lives were saved increased.

"Idiots! Don't fight and fall back!"

The Prince screamed at the top of his lungs. But as the Prince said, the Rangers were idiots. Instead of fleeing, they fought the Orcs with bloodied bodies.

Numerous Rangers grabbed one or two Orcs and threw themselves off the wall.

For a moment, Bernardo had a question.

Why were they fighting so desperately? To say it was to survive, there were far too many throwing their lives away like mere straw.

"Gah!"

Suddenly, his neck was choked. His vision flashed, and then he found himself falling flat on his ass on the cold floor.

"You stupid bastard!"

The Prince got angry. It seemed he had almost been killed by an Orc while spaced out in thought.

"I told you to stay below the wall if you were going to act like that!"

He didn't feel gratitude. Rather, he was angry at the Prince who still didn't recognize him.

'Because of whom do you think I came to this hell?'

He gritted his teeth and gripped his sword.

"If you're going to fight, do it properly. Eli."

The Prince said.

"Huh?"

Bernardo looked at the Prince. But the Prince was already charging far ahead.

"He knew?"

"He recognized you a few days ago. He just didn't show it."

A clear voice unsuited for the battlefield rang out. Turning his head, he saw a bloodied female knight.

"If you are going to fight, move forward. If not, step back."

Saying so, the female knight ran towards the Prince, emanating streams of sword light. The Orcs swarming like bees soon surrounded the man and woman.

"Damn it. Why does everyone keep telling me to go down!"

Bernardo gritted his teeth and grabbed his sword.

"I'll follow you to the end! I'll follow you even if I die!"

At that moment, his heart pounded.

A single story began.

Before he could even realize it, his wish was engraved into a poem.

With a sword harboring a distinctly bright flash, Bernardo Eli leaped into the midst of the Orcs.

* * *

"Hah, hah."

Bernardo was completely exhausted. He couldn't lift a single finger. If an Orc appeared and rushed to slit his throat, he'd be in a position to just offer his neck.

But fortunately, there were no Orcs left on the wall. At least, none that were alive.

While he was catching his breath, a pair of feet abruptly appeared before his eyes.

When he raised his head, the Prince, caked in blood all over his body, was looking down at him.

"You said you'd follow me even if you die?"

It seemed he had managed to hear his muttering even in that urgent situation.

"Let's see you try, then."

The Prince spoke apathetically and turned around.

"Please, head over there."

While he was staring blankly at that sight, the clear voice he had heard once during the battle dug into his ears.

"Gasp!"

A woman whose hair sticking to her from sweat felt beautiful.

"He said that as of today, your status will not be with the Central Army, but directly under the Prince. If you do not wish for this, please say so. His Highness also mentioned he wouldn't forcefully hold onto anyone who refused."

"I-I don't refuse!"

Where did he get such strength? Bernardo shouted out.

"Is that so?"

The woman said in a calm tone.

'That woman is the female knight who was harassed as drinking gossip that day...'

Bernardo thought. The eldest son of Baron Valson's family, who was beaten to a pulp by the Prince and eventually died of illness, truly deserved to die. If he had lived, he would have killed him himself.

Bernardo, the descendant of the Eli family who had stubbornly clung to the Mana Heart until the end.

He had found a master to entrust his future to at Winter Castle, which was in battle with the Warlord. And he had met the target of an unrequited love that would not come true.

* * *

<A portion of the records of the Battle of Winter Castle, which Nicolo Marchiadell tried to write objectively, excluding rhetorical flourishes as much as possible, after seeing and experiencing it with his own eyes. >

[Day 1 of the battle. The King of Orcs, called the Warlord, arrived at the castle leading a large army of 20,000. Under the presence of the Warlord, even tough mercenaries wet themselves or dropped their weapons. The Warlord threw his military banner, breaking the spirit of Ballorhard, and planted his banner in its place. His Highness the First Prince climbed the spire, cut down the banner, and blew a horn. The soldiers sang a military song in tune with it.

Wolf Riders scaled the wall and hooked ladders. The soldiers of Winter Castle fought bravely and drove them out. They ignited 50 pre-buried pots of oil to stop the enemy.]

[Killed in action: 89. Wounded: 114. (Seven apprentice knights died in action.)]

[Day 2 of the battle. The Orcs attacked the wall in the exact same manner as the day before. Thanks to all the knights of Winter Castle and the knights of the Iron Lions stepping up, we were somehow able to drive the Orcs out. However, the number of Orcs lined up below the wall was still immensely large.]

[Killed in action: 114. Wounded: 240.]

[Day 3 of the battle. The Orcs constantly climbed the wall. Taking the place of Winter Castle's forces that had been overworked for two days, the Silver Fox mercenaries and the forces of the Central Army fought against them. But they gave up the wall so absurdly easily that the castle was almost captured. After that, the Rangers did not leave the wall.]

[Killed in action: 294. Wounded: 0. Because they all died.]

[Day 4 of the battle. The eastern wall was captured. Although we belatedly reclaimed it, the Rangers suffered heavy casualties. The first casualty also occurred among the knights. Ridoval Arnheim. He was a cheerful knight I had also seen a few times. The Rangers looked extremely exhausted. Their numbers had also dwindled significantly.]

[Killed in action: 371. Wounded: 114. (Particularly many Rangers were killed in action.)]

[Day 6 of the battle. His Highness the Second Prince was wounded during the battle. Everyone told him to go down from the wall, but His Highness the Second Prince remained on the wall to the end. His Highness the First Prince also sustained various large and small injuries. However, no one advised His Highness the First Prince to go down from the wall. When asked, they said he wouldn't listen anyway.

The bloodline of the Royal House of Leonberk was fighting like mere soldiers atop the wall. The knights' morale rose at the princes' resolve. But there were too many enemies to overcome the situation with morale alone.]

[Killed in action: 224. Wounded: 199.]

[Day 13 of the battle. Talk of retreating was brought up for the first time during the meeting. The Commander did not accept it.

Omitted...]

[Killed in action: over 300. Too many have died.]

[Why aren't the reinforcements coming?]