Episode 238 - It’s a Hunt (5)
Among the buildings wrecked like ruins.
At the center of the alley, a single knight lay abandoned, his neck broken.
The death of a 5-star knight who had once dominated the Tobaron region.
A shocking piece of news, but here, there were no cheers nor lantations.
His death was quietly buried.
It was because everyone’s attention was focused on the collapsed castle wall.
Unlike the boiling battlefield up front, the fierce battle in the rear had co to a quiet end.
“Uwaegh!”
I vomited a bowlful of blood.
First, I pulled out the sword embedded in my chest.
The blade, now stripped of Aura, was cold. And sharp.
With a sticky sensation and the sword stained dark red, I threw it away and collapsed helplessly.
I didn’t even have the strength to move a finger.
[That was close.]
“I didn’t even realize what I was fighting…!!!”
A shudder ran down my spine like I’d been struck by lightning.
Lethal sword wounds on my chest and side.
My ribs, leg bones, and pelvis were twisted or broken. On top of that, the aftereffects of Burst Strike had arrived late.
All the pain surged like a storm, triggering a seizure.
!!!!!
When pain exceeds the limit, you can’t even scream—this must be what that ant.
The saying “victory is sweet” didn’t apply to .
I writhed on the ground, clawing at the floor.
Damn it, maybe dying would be better.
I never thought I’d envy Wiley, who had died.
Thump—! Thump—!
Maybe sensing how dangerous my condition was, my heart began to pound as if it were about to burst out.
[You’ll need ti to recover.]
“...How long!???”
There was no response to my question, perhaps because it was concentrating on recovery. Swearing under my breath, I glared as if to kill at the ring that flared bright red like a crimson autumn leaf.
The Ring of Desire.
Just like its na, I silently wished for the pain to vanish quickly.
Perhaps my wish had reached it.
With my heart working inside and the ring healing from the outside, the hellish pain that seed endless began to subside.
I felt like I was going to lose consciousness.
I lay there blankly for a while, then slowly pushed myself up with a long sigh.
“Do you just want to see soone go insane?”
[Your ntal defense barrier isn't strong enough.]
Damn it, can’t we have a normal conversation?
“You’re supposed to knock soone out in tis like this!”
Reto had prevented from losing consciousness, and it had been a truly awful experience.
[You didn’t have any protectors nearby.]
“There weren’t any enemies either.”
[The result turned out fine. But if there’s a chance of death, avoidance is the correct action.]
No use arguing with an old-fashioned bastard. It would just make more frustrated.
The truth was, Reto wasn’t wrong.
Survival—
A goal so instinctual and natural for humans, but the price was never sweet.
No, it was more often painful, endurable, sorrowful, and filled with bitter, burning sensations.
Especially in this damned world, the burning part was at level 10 in sheer perversity.
I looked down at the fallen Wiley.
The dead and the living.
I hesitated for a mont, then let out a sigh and moved toward the outside.
Even rolling through a field of crap, it’s better to stay alive.
If I had to choose between the two, I’d pick the “living”—clinging to life desperately.
Ggeaaahh!
Hold them off! Reinforcents will arrive soon! Just hang on until then!
Support Lord Natone! Hurry!
As I exited the alley and approached the collapsed wall, screams, shouts, and the clashing of weapons filled the air.
Beneta’s army was blocking the breach and pushing back the incoming cavalry.
They were packed tightly, so it was hard to approach from behind. After a quick scan of the area, I looked up and circumvented the army by climbing the wall and scaling up the ramparts.
“...Ugh!”
As soon as I landed, the wounds all over throbbed painfully. Even though I’d only climbed the wall briefly, like in rock climbing, the previously closed wounds had burst open, soaking my clothes red.
Damn it, I’m not a doll patched up with glue.
[If you push yourself in this condition, you won’t last long.]
“Burst Strike... is out of the question, right?”
[Your body would tear apart.]
I had six uses of Burst Strike left.
Plenty of ammo, but the gun was the problem.
My durability was trash.
It made sense, considering I was using an immortal’s technique in a human body.
Though the wounds healed quickly, I still felt unsatisfied.
“Shouldn’t have given away all the potions?”
I had handed Fenry all my potions after stuffing them into his bag, thinking his wounds looked worse—but turns out I was the one closer to death.
I had to be careful until I recovered enough to fight again.
I moved swiftly along the top of the wall toward the collapsed area.
As I followed the high ramparts toward the breach, sothing about the surroundings felt off.
“Why aren’t there any watchn here?”
All I could see were corpses scattered about. Each one had a bow in hand, but their deaths didn’t seem physical.
Eyes, nose, mouth—
They had died instantly with blood bursting from all facial openings.
[It’s sorcery.]
“Looks like it.”
Signs showed they were annihilated by sorcery while holding back the cavalry with their bows.
Realizing that the sorcerers of the Nest were nearby, I stopped before the sunken ground.
A cracked and crumbled wall.
Peering beneath the destroyed floor, it was like staring into a cliff. Below, a fierce battle was raging in the narrow breach.
I saw horses and soldiers’ corpses piled in the gap.
A rough wind blew up, carrying the scent of blood.
At that mont—
Hihihihihing!!!
The sharp neighing of horses echoed on the wind.
Following the sound and looking outside the walls, I saw Kal’s cavalry forming dozens of lines, charging toward the breach in tid waves.
A rotating-wheel-style cavalry charge.
Dududududu—!
I glanced down at the collapsed wall beneath the cavalry charge.
The cavalry collided with the defenders.
Ggeaaahh!
Hiiiiiing!
So cavalryn crashed into the sturdy shields and collapsed. The survivors abandoned their horses and fought with swords and shields.
And died.
“Completely insane bastards.”
To , they looked like suicide troops.
They kept doing this ridiculous charge?
The craziest part—none of the soldiers seed afraid of dying.
Soon, what looked like another wave of suicide cavalry fiercely charged toward the death zone.
Definitely not normal.
My eyes moved to the group behind the cavalry that had a strange aura.
A unit in blood-red cloaks.
Identifying the root of this situation, I imdiately summoned the Ring of Blood.
Hoo—
With a short breath, I slowly drew the blood-red bowstring. Soon, a large arrow ford, soaked in blood and infused with a blue glow.
Elental infusion.
I enchanted the arrow with Piercing, then let it loose.
Tang—!
The blue arrow vanished into the air. Monts later, screams echoed on the wind.
A change rippled through the charging cavalry, who had been in formation.
Suddenly halting their charge, they all surged toward the collapsed wall.
Among them, I saw those draped in blood-red cloaks.
The Nest of Sorcerers.
The mont I locked eyes with them, they chanted spells at .
“Huh?”
Looking down, I noticed the ground around my feet was dyed in a gloomy light.
It happened in an instant.
Papapapapap!
Creepy black tendrils burst out from the ground and wrapped around .
In the blink of an eye, I was skewered and bound by them.
Ududck—
The pressure tightened as if I would burst.
Is this how those soldiers’ faces exploded? Clicking my tongue, I clenched my right fist.
I had one thing to say to these bastards.
“That crap doesn’t work on .”
The mont I unleashed the power within my body, golden energy radiated from my fist.
The Siren’s Hymn.
Exposed to the golden light, the black tendrils writhed in pain, then crumbled into ash.
Sacred Power is the counter to the dark sorcery of chaos-wielding sorcerers.
As expected— “Kuagh!”
“Kuhugh!”
The sorcerers who had cast spells on vomited blood and fell off their horses as the spell forcibly broke.
However, only a portion of the total sorcerers had fallen.
“Damn it, told you so!”
“There he is! Retreat!”
The Nest’s top-priority threat.
Once they identified , the sorcerers stopped resisting, turned their horses, and began retreating.
Unlike the fleeing sorcerers, the cavalry charged straight into the breach.
A full-on assault.
I furrowed my brow at the sight.
“A disposable piece?”
With the main force still behind, they were throwing away elite cavalry? What were they thinking?
I couldn’t understand their decision.
No—this wasn’t their decision.
It had to be Kal’s order, and that left a bad feeling in my gut.
Still, regardless of my suspicions, I acted quickly.
Ignoring the scattered sorcerers, I focused on the Ring of Blood-Drinking.
They’re coming! Get ready!
I heard Natone’s shout.
The cavalry burst through the breach and charged into the fortress.
Two thousand? Three thousand?
All packed together and charging at once—their montum was monstrous.
With that many, the defending forces would suffer massive casualties.
I made my decision and took a deep breath.
Suu—
I slowly aid the Ring of Blood below the gap.
Target: the cavalry.
The sorcerers would be spared.
But—
“You lot are not.”
Bang bang! Bang bang bang!
From the top of the wall, I fired blood-red arrows like a madman.
Like magic bullets, they rained down on the heads of the cavalry packed together.
Boom boom boom boom boom—!!!
A narrow gap.
No room to dodge, no place to run.
Wherever the arrows landed, screams erupted and corpses piled up.
Thick dust filled the gap.
A blind space.
Inside, it was a one-sided massacre.
“...What is this!”
The defenders, who had been preparing for battle with tense expressions, looked stunned at the overwhelming scene before them.
Only a handful of cavalry erged through the dust.
Even they were drenched in blood, their fighting spirit lost.
The survivors were soon finished off by Natone’s approaching axe.
Wiping blood from his axe, Natone turned his head. As the dust settled, only the remains of brutal explosions remained.
There were no enemies left alive.
Though it was a grueso scene of war, Natone wiped blood from his face and let out a long sigh.
A sigh of relief—for successfully defending the fortress.
“We’re not done yet.”
“...Ugh!”
Startled by the sudden appearance of a man, Natone jumped back.
After a quick look, Natone lowered his axe with a sigh.
The man’s appearance was such a ss he’d almost not recognized him.
One of the masters of the Blood Pact.
It seed he had led the massacre that had just occurred.
“You look terrible.”
“Not as bad as you, Lord Natone.”
“I’ve had it rough, sure, but I can’t complain in front of you.”
My entire body was drenched in blood.
Looking at myself, I let out a bitter laugh.
All I did was fire so arrows, but the wounds had opened again.
No, maybe I went a bit too far.
But that wasn’t the important part.
“Repair the wall imdiately. The enemy’s main force will arrive soon.”
“...Damn.”
Natone looked around at the collapsed wall and swallowed a groan.
“That’ll take more than a day.”
“Build a temporary barricade if you must. The next battle will be even tougher than the last.”
“That bad? We’ve already lost thousands.”
I didn’t bother explaining the strength of the main force.
There was a reason I had pushed myself and fired the Ring of Blood-Drinking so recklessly.
To stop the main force, the defenders were essential—and to reduce casualties, I had to push myself hard.
I can rest later.
I’ll just keep solving the problems as they co, with my body.
For now, I had taken out a key force—Wiley, and annihilated the vanguard cavalry.
Now, before the main army arrived—
“The lord’s castle, huh?”
I turned my head toward the Lord’s Castle.
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