Chapter 86
3rd Corps and 4th Corps.
A force of twelve thousand soldiers was encircling the camp of the 5th Corps from a distance.
The supreme commander leading the army was none other than Viscount Bellington, one of Abel’s vassals and a high-ranking knight.
‘…Is the 5th Corps really going to move?’
Even though the sun was beginning to set, the inside of the 5th Corps’ camp looked unusually peaceful from a distance.
A few days ago.
Bellington recalled the words Abel had spoken when he came to visit him.
Abel.
It had already been ten years since he had sworn loyalty to him.
And in that time, he had come to understand one thing.
His lord possessed a strange ability.
If one had to put it into words, it would be something like intuition.
Whenever he wore a grim expression, large or small misfortunes would always occur, and when he spoke with a cheerful smile, good fortune would inevitably follow.
Once or twice could be coincidence, but if it continued repeatedly, it became certainty.
—The succession ceremony. Something might happen then.
Abel.
That was why Bellington couldn’t dismiss his grim words as nonsense.
What followed was even more shocking.
Adolf.
He claimed Adolf had full control over the 5th Corps and would incite the soldiers to madness on the day of the succession ceremony.
It was a hard story to believe, but Abel’s deeply serious expression left no room for doubt.
What if it was true?
In an unexpected ambush, countless soldiers could fall without even fighting back.
“…Klein.”
At Bellington’s words, a knight stepped forward.
“Yes, Viscount.”
“Have the mana bombs been distributed to the soldiers?”
“Yes. I’ve given them to those with a good throwing arm.”
“Warn them to be cautious in handling. A strong impact can detonate them.”
“Understood.”
Mana Bombs.
Artifacts newly created by the Fourth Prince, handed directly to Bellington by Abel.
A total of one hundred mana bombs.
Their power was beyond imagination.
When they tested one by throwing it—
Boom!
An enormous roar exploded, and a storm-like wind swept through the area.
People nearby were nearly blown away just from the shockwave.
‘With these weapons…’
They would play a crucial role in collapsing enemy formations. Truly revolutionary expendable artifacts.
‘Just how far will the Fourth Prince’s talent go?’
Hermemu.
It had been less than three months since he had overcome that disease.
And yet the Fourth Prince was already soaring skyward.
If given just another year, he might rise beyond the rank of marquises and become a mage whose name would shake the entire Alton Empire.
One relief was that his lord and the Fourth Prince didn’t seem to be on bad terms.
As Bellington briefly sank into thought,
The sun slowly dipped below the horizon.
The soldiers of the 3rd and 4th Corps had white cloths tied around their arms.
To identify friend from foe in case of night battle, the cloths were added as markers.
The 5th Corps camp was now completely shrouded in darkness.
‘…?’
Bellington tilted his head as he stared quietly at the camp. A chill ran through him.
It was the kind of chill that truly made one understand the meaning of the phrase “hair standing on end.”
‘What is this…?’
For some reason, the 5th Corps camp hidden in the dark looked eerily ominous.
And it wasn’t just him who felt it.
The knights and even the soldiers nearby frowned, unsettled by the eerie sensation.
‘Don’t tell me…’
His gaze naturally turned toward the camp.
Soon, a pitch-dark energy began to seep out from within.
It was a nauseating aura that made one frown just by looking at it.
A black fog-like energy began to slowly consume the 5th Corps’ camp.
“…What is that?”
“What’s going on?”
It was a sight none of them had seen before.
Even the veteran knights showed bewilderment as they stared at the black fog.
Bellington sent aura to his eyes.
To see inside the fog.
However—
Even with his high-level vision, he couldn’t see inside the camp.
To think that even a high-ranking knight couldn’t see through that fog?
After a moment of silence, Bellington made a firm decision and shouted.
“…Everyone, prepare for battle!”
He didn’t know what that was, but one thing was certain—it wasn’t good.
He had to prepare in case of disaster.
If Abel’s words were true and the soldiers of the 5th Corps charged toward the capital…
A massacre would be inevitable.
At Bellington’s command, the nearby knights relayed orders to the soldiers.
The fog didn’t last long.
Gradually, the dark fog began to recede.
But the way it faded was bizarre.
It looked as if it was being sucked into the camp itself.
And then—
The ground began to tremble.
It was the sound of countless soldiers running.
Sure enough—
Soldiers began pouring out of the camp.
Their momentum was terrifying.
Taking a deep breath, Bellington channeled aura to his mouth and shouted:
—Stop immediately! If you continue advancing, you will be considered traitors!
Treason.
A declaration that they would be cut down if they didn’t obey.
But despite that, fully armed soldiers continued pouring out of the camp.
—Kill all who block our path! For Lord Adolf!
—Waaaaaah!!!
“…!”
A powerful voice boomed from the rear of the camp.
The soldiers who heard it hardened their expressions.
They instinctively understood that this couldn’t be resolved with words.
—Prepare for battle! Ready your bows!
Creaaaak!
At Bellington’s command, the soldiers drew back their bowstrings.
—Fire! Show no mercy to traitors!
Fwoosh!
Hundreds of arrows shot into the sky.
Thunk!
Thunk!
Some of the soldiers charging from the front collapsed, but countless more remained.
Like they were engulfed in a massive madness, the soldiers of the 5th Corps charged forward, ignoring even the sight of their comrades falling.
Close combat seemed inevitable.
“Prepare!”
At the viscount’s command, several soldiers grabbed the bombs.
Since they had already trained beforehand, there was no hesitation.
“Throw them!”
With that shout, the round bombs began flying toward the oncoming soldiers.
Bombs dropped right into the center of their formation.
And the moment those bombs hit the ground or struck soldiers with force—
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted.
Crash!
With the deafening noise, soldiers collapsed all over the place.
More than half of the soldiers at the front line fell.
Naturally, the speed of those charging from the rear also slowed down considerably.
‘Right now!’
This moment, while the enemy formation was disrupted, was a perfect opportunity.
Screech!
The viscount drew his sword without hesitation.
As if that was a signal, the soldiers and knights all drew their weapons.
“All forces! Charge! Show no mercy to the traitors!”
“Waaaaah!”
The viscount and the knights began charging powerfully.
Behind them, over ten thousand soldiers followed.
Ack!
Kraaagh!
Soon after, screams echoed from every direction.
Blood splattered across the battlefield like a crimson rain.
***
Leonhardt and Emern.
There was no one who could stop the two high-ranking knights, each wrapped in layers of buffs.
Even the mid-tier knights who tried to block them had their necks sliced in an instant by their blades.
Three veteran knights.
Joining those three who were already fighting fiercely wasn’t difficult.
The most precarious among them was Kraft.
His pale face showed the toll of desperately parrying three swords at once.
Leonhardt immediately rushed in to assist him.
“I’ll help you!”
“Ooh! Leon! Thank you!”
Perhaps because of the sudden intervention, the high-ranking knights who had been fighting Kraft turned their attention toward me.
“You dare oppose the Second Prince, Fourth Prince?”
“You’re the ones rebelling.”
“…You’ll regret this.”
We’ll see.
We’ll find out soon enough who’ll be the one regretting it.
Now it was time to help Kraft.
I cast Haste and other various buff skills on him.
Realizing instantly that they were beneficial spells, he accepted them without resistance.
As the support magic settled in, surprise filled the veteran knight’s eyes.
“……”
He tilted his head in disbelief.
But it was too early to be surprised.
There was still one more buff stronger than all of mine.
Fwoosh!
The moment a pure white glow shimmered around the veteran knight’s body—
“……”
The high-ranking knights’ expressions instantly hardened.
Kraft.
From his sword, an aura mixed with white light began to rise.
Seeing that white aura, the ones who had been fighting Kraft glared fiercely at Erciel.
“…What the—?”
“…Damn it.”
So what if you glare?
Emern.
The reliable tank was standing in front of me and Erciel.
Thanks to the potion, my mana had recovered.
Even if three of them rushed in at once, I could hold out for a bit.
Besides, the veteran knights wouldn’t just stand by either, so safety was relatively ensured.
More and more gazes began to focus on Erciel.
Even the remaining six knights were now looking our way.
‘This is getting scary.’
If all nine of them rushed in, I’d get a first-hand taste of what instant death really felt like.
But that wasn’t likely to happen.
“You bastard! Where do you think you’re looking?”
“I, Malon, am right here!”
Boom!
Jacob and Malon.
Seeing that we had come to help, the two veteran knights began fiercely pressing the high-ranking knights.
‘Good.’
As their sharp assaults continued, the six knights facing them had no choice but to stay fully occupied.
From the beginning, those two—excluding Kraft—had been holding out against combined assaults from high-ranking knights.
As they unleashed sharper attacks, their enemies couldn’t take them lightly and had to focus on parrying.
In the meantime—
Some knights did charge at me and Erciel, but there weren’t many.
The knights under Abel’s command were holding out better than expected.
It seemed like they had been informed in advance.
Their numbers were few, so dealing with them wasn’t difficult.
As I blocked the incoming knights alongside Emern, I heard a scream.
“Urgh!”
Kraft, covered in all sorts of buffs, was now fiercely pushing one of the high-ranking knights.
“You damned traitor! Die!”
As if venting his earlier humiliation, he was unleashing a ferocious onslaught.
Before receiving buffs, the high-ranking knight had easily blocked his attacks.
Now he was rapidly being overwhelmed.
If they had fought three against one, they might’ve managed.
But one of the remaining two had been tied down by Leonhardt, who had just joined.
If you lack quality, you need quantity—yet that option was gone too.
Naturally, the number of wounds on the two high-ranking knights fighting Kraft began to increase.
“Helson! Damn it!”
“Guh!”
The one called Helson looked especially precarious.
Kraft’s attack had slashed through his chest.
He didn’t last much longer.
Three minutes.
That was how long Helson had endured before his head cleanly flew through the air.
It was the moment the tide of the battlefield turned completely.
—
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