Episode 248 – The Lord of Tobaron (1)
“Attack! Kill! I said, kill them all!”
“If you don’t break through, I’ll kill you! Charge!”
Kal’s main force.
Lords drew their swords and scread themselves hoarse.
In a battlefield steeped in chaos, both lords and soldiers had bloodshot eyes and unfocused stares.
In the eyes of the brainwashed, only a single objective remained.
The black smoke engulfing all of Beneta.
It rose high into the air, beckoning them forward with a seductive gesture.
[Under the black smoke, all glory shall be yours!]
Kal’s final speech, shouted before they headed to battle!
Those words had beco law, and law beca a rule to follow.
They would cross the wall and claim everything in their sight. Any enemy in their way would be killed.
UAAAAHH!
Kill them all!
Not a single soul among Kal’s main force was in their right mind.
KWAANG—!
The Shield of Oath radiated light as it swung powerfully.
Soldiers struck by it were sent flying. Their bodies were shredded, drenched in blood, yet no one reacted.
More troops simply rushed in, pointing their spears.
“Yeah! Co at ! I’ll kill you all!”
If they faltered now, they’d all die.
Drenched in blood, Dorneth swung his shield like a madman at the front lines.
His arms had long lost all feeling from accumulated exhaustion, but he couldn’t stop.
Every ti he swung his shield, allied casualties were reduced.
Thup-thup-thup—!
“Fire!”
Archers gathered around Sharbadin loosed arrows to support Dorneth.
Her fierce, uplifted eyes locked onto Kal’s main force.
She shot, again and again and again.
But—
“Ah, no!”
Those on the front lines defending began to fall one by one, skewered by enemy spears.
There were simply too many enemies.
Dorneth and the knights were slowing down from sheer fatigue.
Pain and screams.
A living hell.
“Arthur!”
Sharbadin thought of the man who had saved her.
When she had given up everything, expecting death atop the bloody altar, he had co to find her.
He had extended a hand of salvation.
Where are you...?
He had yet to return.
She didn’t know what he’d left for, but she believed—he would save her, and Beneta.
Arthur Clayton, the guide of the other races. For he had been chosen by the divine.
“Don’t give up!”
She kept firing without pause.
Her fingers, drawing the bowstring, were stained with blood. Cracked and torn, but she didn’t stop.
Moved by her determination, Beneta’s defensive line gave everything they had.
They continued holding the broken breach with stubborn desperation, and then—
“Reinforcents!”
“North! A golden flag is flying from the north!”
Soldiers defending atop the wall spotted distant troops and shouted urgently.
A golden flag.
The mont she heard it, Sharbadin’s eyes widened as she looked up at the wall.
She recalled Arthur’s final words before leaving:
[I inscribed Hunt’s emblem on a golden flag.]
Sensing her desperate heart, one soldier yelled with all his strength.
“It—it’s the bow emblem!”
“Ah...!”
“H-Hunt! It’s Hunt’s banner!”
No sooner had that cry rung out—
UAAAAAHHHHHHH—!!!!!
An overwhelming roar erupted from beyond the horizon.
It was so loud that everyone on the battlefield stopped fighting for a brief mont and turned to look.
Dududududu—
A massive force charged forward, kicking up dust.
“Kuagh!”
“From the back! It’s an ambush!”
Kal’s main force, which had been overwhelming Dorneth with sheer numbers, began to ripple and falter.
Gaps opened in the rear ranks, and confusion spread throughout the formation.
A new army penetrated the ranks from between the formations.
Screams and the clash of weapons erupted from all sides.
The Anti-Kal Alliance.
A force of ten thousand led by Heinz struck the rear of Kal’s main force.
Dorneth, who had gritted his teeth to hold the line,
Raised the Shield of Oath, eyeing the faltering enemies.
The sacred hamr of House Gader shone with a cold radiance, asserting its presence.
“BENETA—!!”
“Assist the reinforcents! CHARGE!”
“KUAAGH!”
Dorneth led the charge with his shield. Behind him ca the Dwarf Knights, the beastkin in berserk form, and Sharbadin with her archers.
“Kill them all!”
The long-cornered forces of Beneta, holding in anger and sorrow, finally surged forth from the walls.
“Strike them down! Annihilate Kal’s army!”
Though aged, Heinz raised his voice as he led the alliance army.
The main force of the alliance had already locked onto Kal’s rear, and Heinz led the elites to strike the right flank.
Dududududu—
Knights of the alliance charged, forming a wedge-shaped assault formation atop their horses.
Behind them, one wagon rumbled forward with rough wheels.
Heinz bit his lip as he glanced at the wagon.
“When is he coming out!?”
Everyone in the alliance believed that inside that wagon was their leader—Lochter Felice.
The knights wished for Lochter to lead the charge himself.
But the delay was reaching its limit.
We clash first!
Though puzzled by his absence, Heinz knew they couldn't wait any longer. Delaying would only buy the enemy more ti.
He raised his sword to command the knights—but just before he could speak, soone galloped forward and blocked his path.
Riding a pure white horse, donning a golden cape—the symbol of the alliance—
Two crimson twin swords glead from beneath the flapping cloak.
Heinz tightened his grip on his sword, recognizing the familiar back.
A commander who always gave him a headache.
“Sir Lochter!”
“Heinz, you’ve done well.”
As Lochter took the lead at the very front of the charge, the formation beca perfect.
Lochter Felice.
The knights had only to follow the back of the hero of Tobaron.
Not a trace of fear remained in any of their eyes.
Lochter drew both swords, his eyes flashing with ferocity.
“CHARGE!”
As Lochter broke through the enemy’s right flank, blood splattered in all directions, and enemies fell like wheat.
CHACHACHACHAAANG—!
“......!”
A truly overwhelming sight.
Heinz forgot to guide his horse for a mont, awestruck by the scene of Lochter’s knights wreaking havoc.
Unmatched power, cleaving through enemy ranks like a blade through paper.
As Heinz admired the spectacle, new figures erged through the crumbling enemy lines.
From all directions—north, south, east, west—they charged toward the lords in the center of the formation.
At the front was Lochter and his knights, And now, to the left and right—ghosts appeared.
It happened in an instant.
Ghosts pierced through the formation with incredible speed, soaring above the horses of the enemy lords.
Light shimred in midair.
As their daggers rained down, the lords scread and toppled from their mounts.
Lords bled out and died.
Above them—
“Ah!”
One man rose high into the sky.
Platinum hair.
Fierce eyes.
As he reached out toward the ground with one hand—
“Don’t look at him!”
“Face forward!”
Karl and Lochter shouted at the sa ti.
In the dark night, a blinding golden light, so brilliant it seed to swallow the moonlight—
FLASH—
It rippled like waves, sweeping across the land.
“Ku... Kuugh!”
Heinz looked up in a daze at the floating man, then clenched his eyes shut against the golden glare.
A searingly bright light. The golden light didn’t flash just once.
It burst again, and again, from the center of Kal’s main force, engulfing the entire army.
Monts later, when Heinz opened his eyes, the battlefield had changed dramatically.
Enemies, once holding their spears, stood frozen, staring blankly at Lochter before them.
Spears began to fall from their trembling hands as fear took hold.
Terror spread like a plague.
Kal’s main force began to regain their senses.
“...Huh? H-Hey!?”
“What… what did I do!?”
“W-Wait, no—KUAAGH!”
Lochter’s army resud their assault.
Behind them, Dorneth’s Beneta forces pressed forward.
Assailed from both sides, Kal’s main force scread and began throwing down their weapons, fleeing.
“Surrender! Surrender, and you’ll be spared!”
Dorneth’s powerful voice rang out, echoing across the battlefield from the mouths of his knights and soldiers.
The fleeing enemies threw themselves to the ground, raised their hands, and begged for their lives.
A wave of surrender spread instantly, and the battle entered a lull.
“It’s over.”
The great battle in Beneta.
It ended in Kal’s defeat.
“Haah... Haah... haah...”
My breath ca in frantic gasps.
My legs had lost all strength, and I collapsed atop a pile of corpses.
Even breathing was a struggle.
I forced myself to regulate my breathing and stay conscious.
If I let go now, I’d pass out.
[You’re a man who lives on the edge.]
...Why? I still have one arrow left.
[That’s probably why you’re still conscious enough to talk to .]
I had used Burst Strike three tis in rapid succession.
It was to amplify The Siren’s Hymn—but with Kal’s main force being so massive, I had no choice but to overdo it.
Thankfully, I had managed to save one final shot. Though the aftereffects were intense.
Every ti my eyes started to close, Reto would speak.
Was it concern?
From the way he spoke, it didn’t seem like it.
[Nearly half your Burst Strikes were wasted. You squandered your power.]
“Killing fewer people is better than killing everyone.”
[The death of others has nothing to do with —or with you.]
“It does.”
Without divine power to cleanse brainwashing or black sorcery, this battle could only end in death.
How many more would we have to sacrifice to end a war like this?
Too much blood had already been spilled. I didn’t want to see any more aningless sacrifice.
A crimson earth.
Covered in corpses more plentiful than weeds.
As I surveyed the battlefield, I cursed under my breath.
The cost was too high.
And it had all been caused by the choice of one man.
“Kal, you goddamn bastard...”
I ground my teeth at the thought of him.
I had moved to kill him—but in the end, he escaped.
“No... there’s still a chance.”
All I could do now was place my hope in Fenry.
The spark of hope wasn’t extinguished yet.
Kal Blazer.
I wouldn’t sleep easy until I broke that bastard’s neck.
“Damn... this is rock bottom.”
As I panted while staring at the ground, a shadow suddenly approached.
Just from the shadow, I knew who it was.
A massive shield.
“You’re not exactly in a position to talk, Lord Dorneth.”
I looked up to see a bloodied dwarf, red all over, standing with a weary face.
His body was riddled with arrows—one tough little bastard.
Dorneth smiled faintly and slumped down beside .
“I don’t even have the strength to take a piss now.”
“At this point, no one would bla you for pissing yourself.”
Dorneth chuckled dryly, then looked around with a bitter expression.
“Is the fight... really over?”
“Not yet.”
“Leave Beneta out of it.”
“I understand what you’re worried about. But it’ll be alright now. For both Beneta... and Tobaron.”
“Coming from you, that’s comforting.”
Dorneth smiled and closed his eyes.
His head suddenly dropped, and for a mont I thought he had died—my heart nearly stopped.
But then he started snoring, and I cursed loudly.
“You damned dwarf! Don’t scare like that!”
Shaking my head, I looked down at what Dorneth was holding.
Even in unconsciousness, he hadn’t let go of it—the Shield of Oath, now caked in dirt.
“The shield of Tobaron…”
As I looked at his sleeping form, I nodded to myself.
Until Fenry’s ssage arrived, I had to quickly take charge here—as the bloodline leader.
Because soon, Tobaron would have to welco its new lord.
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