Chapter 128: The Calamity of the South (3)

“You... you bastard!!”

Unbecoming of a prince, Luon cursed at Karyl before reaching for the sword at his waist.

Thunk—!

However, he didn’t manage to fully unsheathe his sword.

“...!”

To his surprise, Karyl had effortlessly sped past the knights and pushed his sword back into its scabbard with a single finger.

“Wha... What is this?!”

Despite his desperate efforts, Luon couldn’t move his sword at all, causing him to shout in a panic, “You fucking...!!”

In that split second, Azif jumped between the prince and Karyl. He was the only one among the knights to react.

Clang—!

With all his might, he swung his sword upward, distancing the two.

“Identify yourself! Under whose authority do you dare act with such insolence?”

Azif infused his sword with mana, the blade crackling with lightning energy.

“Ohh...!” Karyl exclaimed lightly as he gazed at Azif’s sword. “The prowess of your Mana Blade is impressive. I’ve heard you’ve reached the pinnacle of the Sword Expert rank. One could even say you’re the strongest knight within the empire, apart from Belin Vallention and Kuwell MacGovern, you are the strongest knight in the empire.”

Azif’s face stiffened at Karyl’s words.

One didn’t simply observe his sword like that, completely unfazed. Moreover, he had an army of seventy thousand soldiers at his disposal. Not even a Sword Master would be so reckless, and yet this enigmatic boy seemed to enjoy this standoff.

“Running away with such power? From a mere Minotaur? Though it’s an S-rank monster, I’m not sure there’s a dungeon out there that can’t be conquered with seventy thousand troops.”

Karyl’s assertion wasn’t wrong.

“It seems that the Imperial Guard doesn’t live up to its reputation. I wonder if Kuwell MacGovern would have done the same?”

Karyl’s derisive remarks managed to get Azif to snap.

“Shut up!!”

With his composure shattered, and unable to bear Kuwell’s name being mentioned so carelessly, Azif charged at Karyl.

Zzzt...!!

Azif’s sword glowed bright yellow, emitting a searing heat as sparks flew from it. Bending like a bow, he swung his sword in a downward arc, aiming precisely at Karyl.

However, Karyl evaded by stepping back, and the sword struck the ground with a thunderous crash.

Thud—!!

Clang—!

Karyl kicked the sword embedded in the ground with all his might, causing Azif to stagger.

“Ugh!”

But being a skilled knight, Azif managed to keep his balance, and he used the momentum to swing his sword once more.

However, Karyl instantly closed the gap.

“...!!”

Before Azif could react, Karyl unsheathed his sword and thrust it forward.

First Step: Crown Posture.

Karyl could have slashed Azif’s chest right then and there, but he instead pulled back his sword and clenched his fist for a brief second before opening it and slamming his palm into Azif’s chest.

BANG!

The shockwave between them produced a deafening sound.

As Azif staggered back, the electrical energy from his blade dissipated with a crackling sound, almost as if it was oxidizing.

Did he block my sword...?

It had been an all-out attack, and yet Karyl seemed completely at ease.

Who is he...?

Azif had never felt this kind of overwhelming aura, not even from Sword Masters like Kuwell MacGovern or Belin Vallention. It almost felt like...inhuman.

Azif instinctively realized the danger posed by the opponent before him.

“Ca...Catch him!!” Luon shouted desperately as the distance between them widened.

The knights guarding him all charged at Karyl at the same time.

“Graaa!!”

“Aaaah!!”

Though not as skilled as Azif, the knights following Luon were among the elite of the Golden Knights, and they were all confident in their individual abilities.

Moreover, there were thirty of them at the scene. Even a Sword Master would find it challenging to face all of them at once.”

“S-Stop!” Azif suddenly shouted to the knights. This previous clash had made him realize that even these thirty Golden Knights would be no match for Karyl.

Thud!

Karyl swiftly struck a knight in the side with full force, breaking one or two of his ribs with a dull sound.

“Ghaaah!”

Although it seemed like Karyl’s fingers should have shattered against the armor, it was the knight who screamed in pain.

“Ugh... Cough!”

The knight, trembling and wheezing, collapsed before Karyl.

“...”

“...”

The knights stared at Karyl in a daze after seeing the fragments of their comrade’s armor on the ground.

What kind of power is this...?

After reaching a certain level, one could turn their whole body into a Mana Blade.

Zzzt... Zzzt...

But the power emitting purple sparks was unlike anything they had ever seen. Indeed, none of these knights knew about Arcane Mana.

Having seen their comrade fall from a single blow, the rest of the knights hesitated to approach Karyl.

“Settle down. I didn’t come here to fight you. Sure, I may have provoked you a bit, but don’t you think that leaving over a thousand people to die deserves some criticism?” Karyl jeered as he stepped on the fallen knight.

“Besides, you imperial scum are certain to throw away even more lives in the future.”

“...What?”

Luon frowned, not understanding what Karyl was talking about.

This one man had halted his army of seventy thousand men...? None of this made any sense, and Luon couldn’t even muster the courage to break through this one boy.

“At least the old shield is more knightly than you.”

Bang!

Boom!

With what sounded like two consecutive explosions, the tightly shut gates of the Lord Tower finally swung open, revealing Marze at the forefront.

“All knights, block the monsters from the dungeon! Soldiers, focus on rescuing the captives!”

Marze then proceeded to swing his massive mace at the monsters pouring out of the dungeon. Riding the momentum, the gates of Turtle Castle also opened, and as the bridge lowered, the troops of Tevanel surged out from within.

“Oh, I expected Marze, but Aben as well? Defending by the castle would have been the best strategy, yet even that old man came out.”

Although surprised, Karyl didn’t seem displeased with Marze and Aben’s decision.

“Maybe it was sentimentality, but the monsters will reduce Twin Armor’s forces as you wanted. But those who survive will speak of you,” Karyl murmured softly as he passed by Luon, “as despicable cowards.”

***

“Fight! FIGHT!!”

“Shield bearers in ranks one, two, and three, maintain formation! Keep the monsters at bay until everyone manages to escape!”

The soldiers from Lord Tower and Turtle Castle followed Aben’s commands as if they had trained for this exact scenario.

Marze and Aben knew each other’s forces inside out, having fought against one another for years.

“Swordsmen, defend the sorcerers!”

“Spearmen, forward!”

Even without coordination, Aben entrusted his knights to Marze to lead them to the dungeon entrance. Conversely, the soldiers of Lord Tower followed Aben’s lead, and the officers obeyed his orders without hesitation.

Not everyone could confidently entrust their troops to someone else like that. This was a unique trust forged over decades of facing each other on the battlefield.

Combining the knights of Lord Tower and ours, we have just over fifty. Even with Marze, it’s a close call.

It wasn’t merely trust that formed the basis for this coordinated attack of the two castles. The Minotaur would be challenging even for fifty knights.

“The left side is empty! Call for reinforcements from Turtle Castle!”

“Yes? But with the imperial army here, if we pull more troops from the castle...”

“The gates are already open, so there’s no turning back! With that old man Marze out, we must ensure that everyone is evacuated to safety!”

“Yes, sir!”

If Aben had been in Marze’s shoes, he never would have considered opening the gates. After all, the monsters weren’t the only problem. The seventy thousand imperial troops would certainly take advantage of the chaos.

“I guess I’ve aged... Besides, he wouldn’t be Marze if he didn’t act like that.”

Somehow, Aben wasn’t entirely displeased with Marze’s actions, and he even let out a low chuckle.

But why aren’t the imperial troops moving? I thought they’d fall back and attack with the monsters....

Just as he had predicted, the imperial troops had abandoned the captives, but for some reason, they stopped moving after retreating to the Fonein River.

Has something happened?

Amidst the battle, Aben had no means to confirm what the situation was with the imperial army.

GHROAAAA!!

Following the monstrous roar, Abe’s field of view darkened. Looking up, he saw an axe descending upon him like a guillotine.

CLANG!

With a thunderous sound, the surrounding soldiers were flung away. Falling off his horse and rolling on the ground, Aben quickly grabbed at the earth and desperately shouted, “Fuck!! What the hell is Marze doing?! Why is this thing here?!”

Aben glanced at the approaching Minotaur, but turning his head, he saw Marze fighting another Minotaur at the dungeon’s entrance.

Two S-rank monsters at once...?!

At first glance, the dungeon's entrance appeared to be just one, but monsters were respawning simultaneously from two holes connected like a passage.

It was the worst possible scenario.

They didn’t even have enough knights to handle one Minotaur, so facing two was sheer madness.

“Damn! What about the castle’s forces?!” Aben shouted, seeing the left flank decimated by the axe-wielding Minotaur.

“They’re not here yet...”

“Save me!”

“Aaaah!”

People panicked and ran for their lives as the monster reached the main camp. Soldiers and civilians scattered chaotically, unable to maintain formation.

It’s going to get dangerous if it continues like this...

Discarding his broken command baton, Aben drew his sword.

If it comes to the worst, I will...

Though not as formidable as Marze, he was still the captain of the knights. Despite retiring from the front lines, he was among the few warriors out there who could buy time against a Minotaur.

Then it happened.

BANG!

A brigade pierced through the rear of the monster horde a sharp awl. With tremendous penetrating power, the troops charged hundreds of meters, quickly reaching the inner area where the Minotaur was.

Who are they...?

Aben was bewildered by the sudden appearance of those troops. Not even a knight order could clear monsters this fast.

“...!”

But then, one person caught his eye.

Is that... Princess Viola?

He recalled attending a banquet held in the kingdom. Aben immediately recognized her face, which retained the features he remembered from when she was younger. And with Greys at her side, he had no doubt it was her.

Fenria is providing us support? But why would the princess come herself....

Aben quickly scanned his surroundings.

Except for a few knights accompanying Viola and Grace, the rest of the troops were in unfamiliar armor.

What’s with them?

The soldiers clad in black leather armor and wielding weapons with a blue sheen exuded an unusual aura. But it didn’t matter who they were; Aben and his knights were just grateful that this mysterious brigade was killing off the monsters.

They’ve saved us.

As the surrounding monsters were being dealt with, the previously disorganized soldiers managed to regroup. Following the path cleared by the troops, the remaining civilians could flee to the safety of Twin Armor.

We need to reorganize quickly.

Though they had overcome a crisis, the greatest threat was still there.

“GHRAAA!!”

At the Minotaur’s roar, the soldiers hastily grabbed their weapons and encircled the creature.

“Hold it off! Don’t let it breach the lines until Marze’s knights return!”

Aben encouraged the soldiers, but the situation was dire. Without the help of knights, it would be almost impossible for these regular soldiers to stop the Minotaur. Nevertheless, buying as much time as possible was all Aben could do, and he intended to do just that.

“There’s no need for that. Withdraw the soldiers.”

Viola approached with a stern face. Her expression also conveyed a sense of surprise.

“Huh?”

Aben realized that the Minotaur, which had been rampaging moments ago, was now trembling in place.

But then, a shocking sight provided Aben with an answer to Viola’s question.

“Huh...?”

His eyes fell on Karyl, who was perched on the Minotaur’s shoulder, gripping its neck with a composed expression.