Chapter 368: The Battle of Tatur (1)

“Attaaaaack...!!”

“One more day! Just hold out for one more day!”

The Free Army of Tatur fought desperately from atop the walls, pouring every ounce of their strength into repelling the imperial charge. With the empire now controlling the upper Fonein, Tatur was no longer protected by the fierce currents.

Rumble...!!

The imperial cavalry, followed by an overwhelming sea of soldiers, surged toward Tatur.

Raaaarghhh...!!

“The dragon is coming!”

The defenders of Tatur shuddered at the piercing roar.

“Second and Third Divisions, follow me to the front! Wyvern Squadron, focus solely on the Platinum Dragon!”

Even in the face of the overwhelming fear emanating from the supreme predator above, Kayla Spear didn’t waver.

“Yes ma’am!”

Her leadership seemed to instill some courage in the Spear warriors. In this dire situation, only Kayla and Ganeth were there to lead the army. Though previously seen as weaker than the other tribe heads, Kayla was now proving herself as the leader of the Spears.

“All remaining units, divide into squads to defend the walls and gates. Even though the Fonein’s current is dead, the mud will slow them down!”

Kayla then raised her sword and shouted, “Deploy the Fierce Fire Formation!”

Rumble...!!!

At her command, the gates of Tatur swung open, and the warriors of the Spear tribe poured out.

“Counterattack!” shouted the imperial commander at the forefront.

Boom!! Bang!!! Crash!!!

But as soon as the charging horses reached the banks of the Fonein, a deafening explosion erupted.

“Neighhh...!!”

The legs of the horses were shattered by the blast, and the lead knights fell into the river.

“Aaargh!!”

“S-Stop! Aaaagh!”

Thrown into complete disarray, the soldiers behind trampled over each other, mingling with the fallen knights and filling the air with agonized cries.

“Sorcery unit! Attack!”

Seeing his magic traps activate, Thompson summoned his mana and unleashed a torrent of fierce flames from the walls, sweeping over the entangled imperial forces. As the flames reached the Fonein, they spread over its surface like oil.

“The enemy’s resistance is fierce...”

“There’s barely 200,000 of them. And their main power, the Wyvern Squadron, has pulled back to fight the Platinum Dragon. We’ll settle this soon enough,” Tiren growled as he watched the burning Fonein.

“I’ll go ahead. There’s no point in sacrificing more knights here.”

With that, Kuwell pulled on his horse’s reins.

“All of you, follow me.”

“Roger!”

“Yes, sir!”

Elan, Faiman, and Magtou eagerly followed Kuwell.

“I’ll go too!”

The ambitious Elliot hurried to follow the trio of the House of the Sword.

Martte, however, remained standing in place, staring after them.

“Tiren...”

“What is it?”

“I saw Randol in the canyon.”

“Yes, I was informed about that. He stood in Father’s way, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, and apparently he’s lost a hand.”

“Good,” Tiren said drily, his eyes devoid of emotion. “He’s betrayed the empire to support the tribes. Losing his life wouldn’t be enough to atone for that. And though we’re not bound by blood, it’s still disgraceful to share the same name as him.”

“Is that so...?” Martte muttered under his breath. A hollow feeling gnawed at him.

Seeing his brother turn and walk away, Tiren asked, “Where are you going?”

“...To the battlefield,” Martte responded, glancing back with a bitter smile. “Where else should a knight be?”

* * *

“Grrooaarrr...!!”

“Skreeee...!!”

Crimson rained down on the soldiers of Tatur.

Thud...!! Splat!

Rumble...!!

It wasn’t just blood that rained from above; dead wyverns plummeted one after another, striking fear into the hearts of Tatur’s defenders.

“Keep the fires burning! Don’t slow down!”

In the midst of carnage, Kayla Spear fought valiantly, leading her fellow tribe members.

“Haaaah!!”

Her blade had felled so many imperials that she had lost count. She spun and slashed, unleashing death in every direction—until, at last, her blood-slick weapon shattered against a certain knight’s armor.

“This is as far as you go, girl.”

The knight loomed over her, his gaze cold.

“It’s him...”

The other Spears were shaken by his appearance.

Looking into his eyes, Kayla realized he hadn’t failed to dodge her blade; he had taken the hit on purpose.

“Kuwell MacGovern...!!” she growled.

“We have to retreat! That’s the continent’s greatest swordsman!”

“Chief, please!!”

The Spear warriors begged her to fall back, but Kayla bit her lip, the taste of blood sharp on her tongue as she snatched up her fallen sword.

“Greatest swordsman...? So fucking what?!”

Kayla raised her sword high and brought it down with all her strength—but it never reached Kuwell.

Elan had rushed between them, deflecting the blade and slamming his palm into her waist.

“Urgh...! Gah!”

The sickening crunch made it clear that several of her ribs were broken.

“Keep Sir Kuwell’s title out of your filthy mouth.”

“Screw you...!” Kayla shot him a glare, wiping the blood from her mouth. She then turned to her warriors. “What are you cowering for?! Have you forgotten who your master is?! You idiots!!”

In response to her defiant cry, Elan mercilessly plunged his sword into her shoulder.

“Ugh!!”

Kayla gripped the blade with both hands.

“...!!!”

Elan tugged, trying to pull his sword free, but it wouldn’t budge. He glanced at her in surprise, realizing that the chainmail she wore had entangled his blade.

“Stop making a fool of yourself!”

Gritting her teeth, she pressed down on his sword, veins bulging on her hands. Then, with a resounding, sharp clang, Elan’s mana-infused blade snapped.

“...”

Neither the empire’s soldiers nor the Free Army had expected such a display of sheer strength from the youngest and seemingly weakest tribe chief.

“Don’t underestimate us Spears! We’re one of the Five Great Families!”

“Waaaahhh...!!”

“Hoaaaaaa...!!”

The other Spear warriors shouted in unison, their spirits reignited by her defiant cry.

“You filthy bitch...!”

Elan’s cheek twitched with anger.

“My ears can’t take any more of these barbaric shouts. Elan, what are you doing?”

Swish...!!

At that moment, Faiman, standing behind Elan, gripped the shaft of his spear tightly, coiling around it like a snake and aiming it at Kayla.

“Watch out!!”

The tribe warriors tried to warn her, but Faiman’s spear, imbued with mana, surged toward her neck with unbelievable speed.

“Chief...!!”

No one could get there in time. They could only watch helplessly as the spear closed in on their chief.

Shhhk—!

But suddenly, an arrow shot toward the narrow gap between Faiman’s helmet and armor, targeting his neck.

“Urgh...! Gah!”

Faiman quickly grabbed a nearby soldier, using him as a shield against the arrow. The soldier shuddered and gasped before collapsing, and Faiman casually tossed him aside.

“...!!”

Watching the soldier drop dead in front of her, Kayla quickly turned to see where the arrow had come from, but she failed to pinpoint its origin. Instead, she heard a voice that brushed past her ear like a whisper.

“Well said. As a leader of the Five Great Families, you should show at least that much courage. It seems the young one has finally grown up a little.”

Tat-tat-tat-tat...!!

The footsteps didn’t stop. A blade swept through the air like a deadly gale, leaving sprays of crimson in its wake.

Digon Twin Blade Technique - First Form: Crimson Moon Wind.

With each swing of her dual swords, another imperial fell.

“And someone who doesn’t value their subordinates’ lives deserves to die.”

“...!!!”

Faiman hastily retreated, narrowly avoiding the blade slashing at him.

“Let your rage be heard!”

Just before the imperial army could breach the gates, a surge of warriors struck from the side, causing the imperial formation to collapse in an instant.

“How dare you!!”

Miliana lunged at Faiman, driving her sword into his shoulder before he could react.

“Aaaargh!!”

Despite being famed for his speed, Faiman found himself ambushed and tackled to the ground. As Miliana planted her foot on his head, she shouted, “Digon has arrived!”

Following her cry, a hail of arrows rained down on the imperial troops around her, dropping them left and right.

“Charge!”

In response to Beikan’s distant shout, Kinu Mukari’s Free Army, with bows slung across their backs, broke through the imperial encirclement.

“Waaaahhh...!!”

The defenders of Tatur shouted at the sight.

“Open the gates! Welcome Digon!” Anthem called out as he immediately recognized them.

Even before the gates fully opened, Miliana scaled the walls, leaping onto the battlements of Tatur.

“When we reached the entrance to the Fonein, the scouts gave me a rough briefing. That old man Kamma is targeting their rear, isn’t he?”

“Yes. The outcome of the war hinges on today...”

“This one day, huh? Well, the sun has only just set, so we’ve still got a long way to go.”

“Yes. It’s going to be a brutal night.”

Anthem raised an eyebrow at Miliana’s casual demeanor. Unlike him, she was utterly calm, confident even.

“Don’t worry. We’re not the only reinforcements.”

Booom...!

A thunderous explosion erupted from the first and second lines of the imperial army surrounding Tatur’s left flank. Plumes of dark smoke rose into the air.

“Aaaaagh!”

“Ugh!”

Cries of agony echoed as imperial soldiers began collapsing, clutching their faces in pain.

“If you don’t want to burn in darkness, get out of here.”

The wall of smoke parted, revealing corpses strewn across the ground. A man stepped over them, his voice laced with satisfaction, as if savoring the darkness that swallowed all.

“It’s the Immortal Council! Reinforcements from the Immortal Council have arrived!”

A sharp-eyed warrior from the Flying Bow tribe recognized Nain Darhon. Behind him stood hundreds of sorcerers cloaked in black robes.

“We spotted them approaching from the entrance to Tatur, so I urged them to move faster separately,” explained Kinu Mukari.

“Why?”

“Lady Miliana refused to share any credit.”

Anthem looked at her, slightly bemused but more so dumbfounded.

“Graaaaaah...!!”

Noticing their arrival, the Platinum Dragon let out a furious roar.

“The battlefield belongs to Digon alone. We won’t let them steal the spotlight. Show them our gift!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

With precise movements, the Digon warriors rolled forward a massive cart, covered with a thick cloth. They positioned it over the mud-soaked banks of the Fonein River.

Thud...!!

Something heavy fell from the cart into the shallow river.

“Stake it down!”

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“Kraaah...! Aaarghh...!!”

It was Cruah. Her wings were chained, and the Digon warriors were driving massive iron spikes through them, trying to pin the dragon down. The muddy ground couldn’t hold the spikes for long, so the warriors kept tearing them out and hammering them into new spots, again and again.

“KRAAAHHHH...!!”

With each pull and thrust, Cruah’s agonized screams echoed across the battlefield.

“You said today is the day to decide the war, right?”

That day, they would either endure or fall.

“Sounds good to me!”

Everyone expected a brutal day, but Miliana saw it differently. With a vicious look on her face, she drove her sword into Cruah’s belly.

“GHRAAAAHHH...!!”

“Perfect. The night is long. Until the sun rises, I’ll make sure to keep you all entertained in the most delightful way.”

Then, she looked up at the Platinum Dragon in the sky.

“Come down if you dare. I’ll make you just as miserable.”