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“Let’s go, comrades!”

Malroid charged confidently into the midst of the enemy. Until now, he had been unable to advance to maintain formation, but the arrival of the orcs had caused the enemy lines to collapse. Now, he could run wild.

Sloytle also leaped forward with a burst of laughter. The elves unleashed fire and wind spirits in all directions, felling the enemy soldiers. Once the line was broken, even a thousand men were of no use. They were all shouting in confusion, not knowing what to do.

“Oh, Seiya!”

An old knight, filled with despair, cried out the name of the god Seiya. The elite Fernando Knights were being trampled by what they considered wild slave races. The situation felt so surreal that it naturally drove him to call upon the divine.

A massive orc blocked his path. As huge as a mountain and as steadfast as a rock, he was Kalken, the chieftain of the Blue Bear Tribe.

The old knight pointed his sword at him and cried out in despair.

“How can a filthy orc harm a human blessed by Seiya!”

Kalken gave a nonchalant expression to the outcry, which was an insult if anything. Indeed, even he had to admit orcs lived without bathing, so he had no real rebuttal. Water was a precious resource in the desolate lands of Deathland.

“Well, you do look clean.”

Kalken stared at the old knight, rubbing his tusk.

“Did you spend more time bathing than practicing with your sword?”

Though rough, his words were understandable in the common tongue. The old knight’s face turned red with anger. How could he, as a knight, endure such an insult!

“Arrgh!”

The knight charged with a roar, his vision filled with a deep green light, like the lushness of a midsummer forest.

“Argh!”

As the decapitated knight fell back, Kalken rode his direwolf forward. In his hand was a weapon glowing with a great destructive power. The soldiers’ cries of shock echoed around them.

“Blade Aura!”

“My God! Even there?”

Stalla began to sweep through the battlefield, her twin daggers infused with aura. All around the battlefield, the dazzling lights of aura, something a person might be lucky to see once in their lifetime, were bursting forth repeatedly. The giant beast’s fangs cruelly took life after life.

“Damn it…”

Tetsvalt groaned. He was still locked in combat with Kadamyte. Unlike Kadamyte, who focused purely on his immediate opponent, Tetsvalt was distracted by the overall battle situation, causing him to be gradually pushed back.

‘What in the world is happening…’

Dazzling Blade Auras were blazing from all directions. The level of swordsmanship, which Tetsvalt had achieved through a lifetime of training and took great pride in, was now appearing so commonly.

A faint light flickered in Tetsvalt’s aged eyes. His mind felt utterly empty.

“What on earth has happened to the world!”

At that moment, Kadamyte gritted his teeth and raised his halberd above his head. Seeing Tetsvalt’s hesitation, he was making his final move.

“Yaaah!”

With a loud yell, Kadamyte swung his halberd down. Despite his confusion, Tetsvalt took a steady defensive stance. Although his mind was already in a state of panic, his body, honed through relentless training, did not abandon its duty even in this situation.

As the halberd and the long sword clashed, waves of Aura spread out.

Woooong!

A crimson light flared and swelled like flames from Kadamyte’s entire body. Without missing the timing of the clash, he amplified his Aura several times using the power of Earth Resonance. Pushing against Tetsvalt’s sword entwined with his halberd, Kadamyte shouted.

“Go! Haltron!”

In a situation where it had already turned into a contest of strength, with the sudden amplification of his opponent’s power, there was no way even Tetsvalt could avoid it. The overwhelming force crushed Tetsvalt along with his defending sword. Blood burst from his eyes.

“Kaaagh!”

With a scream, Tetsvalt’s head split in two along with his helmet. From the torn steel, blood and brain matter spouted like a fountain. Even as he was dying, he glared. He still couldn’t accept this reality.

This is a nightmare!

It’s nothing but a terrible nightmare!

At that moment, Kadamyte swung his halberd horizontally and effortlessly severed Tetsvalt’s head.

“I have beheaded the enemy commander!”

Kadamyte raised his halberd and shouted loudly. The dazzling crimson Aura pierced the sky. Following him, four streaks of Aura shot up from all around the battlefield in response.

“Victory is ours! Now, let’s deal with the remnants!”

Malroid shouted, infusing his voice with Aura. The cry echoed thunderously across the sky. The entire allied forces of different races, emboldened, charged at the fortress defenders. The Sinai Fortress’s army, already demoralized, had no fighting spirit left upon hearing of Tetsvalt’s death.

The dwarves charged in unison, swinging their axes.

The elves unleashed flames and wind, scattering sharp sword strikes.

The orcs threw their swords, creating fountains of blood.

They unleashed their rage, carrying the weight of hundreds of years of oppression and suffering.

And then…

By the time the shadows of the late spring sun had grown long, Sinai Fortress, which had been defended by the strongest knight of Crovence and his three thousand troops, had finally fallen to two hundred warriors of different races.

* * *

The capital of the Crovence Kingdom, the royal city of Crotin.

In a reception room situated at the heart of the palace, an angry shout echoed.

“What nonsense is this!”

A young man in his late twenties, clad in the lavish attire of a noble, slammed his fist on the table. The young man, with dazzling blonde hair and green eyes, clearly bore the bloodline of the Crovence royal family. In front of him, a middle-aged man bowed his head, unsure of what to do.

“But, it’s the truth, Sir Carsus.”

Carsus pressed his hand to his forehead, shaking his head. He struggled to calm his rising anger, but it wasn’t easy. The news brought by Baron Felik was truly shocking.

The Sinai Fortress had fallen!

The strongest fortress of the Crovence Kingdom had been overrun by Prince Yubel’s forces, who had been pushed to their limit. This alone was astonishing, but the subsequent report was even more shocking.

Most of the three thousand troops were massacred.

Over a thousand were taken prisoner.

The elite Fernando Knights, save for a dozen, were all killed.

And the great knight, Tetsvalt von Fernando, was lost…

“This is impossible. How could Sir Tetsvalt…”

It was an unprecedented, tragic defeat in the long history of the Crovence Kingdom. The details made it even more unbelievable. The enemy forces numbered barely two hundred, most of whom were non-human slave races.

“Is this truly certain?”

“From the accounts of the survivors, there is no doubt.”

Baron Felik replied bitterly to Carsus, who continued to shake his head. The defeat was so severe that a considerable number of surviving troops had fled. Among them, over a hundred had returned to the royal city of Crotin.

They all recounted the same facts.

The enemies were Dwarves, Elves, and Orcs.

Each one was a monstrous being that surpassed knights in combat, and five Orc and Dwarf Aura Users were leading them.

One Dwarf, wielding a reddish-brown aura, had been seen beheading Tetsvalt with his own eyes.

With so many survivors recounting the same story, it was impossible to dismiss it as a lie.

“It hasn’t even been a day since I heard of Count Piterran’s fate…”

Carsus shook his head. He had just learned of Count Piterran’s death the previous day, who had attempted to seize Prince Yubel’s military supplies. Unlike the Sinai Fortress, Count Piterran’s importance within Carsus’s army was not high, so the information had reached the royal city late.

At that time, Carsus had scoffed at the mention of Dwarves being involved. He had dismissed it as the ramblings of traumatized soldiers speaking nonsense out of the fear they experienced on the battlefield.

However, given the current situation, he began to think that battle might have been real as well.

Frowning, Carsus muttered, “Could they all have been collectively mesmerized by powerful magic?”

Baron Felik only responded with a bitter smile, knowing it was not worth replying to. Carsus quickly fell silent, realizing how absurd his own words sounded.

To suggest that all those survivors were mesmerized by magic? That was even more far-fetched than the idea of Dwarves being Aura Users. If such a sorcerer existed, there would be no need for a siege. They could simply cast a curse over the entire fortress on their own.

“What about Sir Tetsvalt’s body?” he asked.

“Well, the Prince Yubel’s forces have respectfully prepared it for burial and are sending it back to the royal city of Crotin. It should arrive in three days…”

At Baron Felik’s somber words, Carsus closed his eyes. With all he had heard, he could no longer doubt the truth of this news.

“Truly, Sir Tetsvalt has passed away…”

Tetsvalt had been a loyal vassal of the Fernando ducal family and Carsus’s own swordsmanship mentor. He was like an uncle who had been by his side since childhood.

“Oh, my master…”

Overcome with grief, Carsus’s eyes welled with tears. Baron Felik watched him with sympathetic eyes.

It was indeed a catastrophic defeat, one rarely seen in the history of warfare. For the young Carsus, it was an overwhelming blow.

Yet, even in his sorrow, Carsus forced himself to regain his composure. He muttered calmly, “So, our current forces number twelve thousand. With the loss of the Sinai Fortress, the royal city of Crotin is also at risk. And the city’s defense force is only about four thousand…”

Suddenly, Carsus gave a solemn command, “Contact my father and my grandfather. And inform the other nobles as well. Gather all their forces in the royal city.”

Carsus’s father and grandfather were the Duke of Fernando and the Marquis of Brozen. Both had returned to their territories with their troops. The other nobles had done the same. Due to a poor harvest, they could not continue the war and had returned to strengthen their own territories.

Baron Felik looked puzzled. Although the Sinai Fortress had fallen, Prince Yubel’s forces still numbered only three thousand. Considering their numerical superiority, was such an action necessary?

“If we do that and lose our territories, our supply lines could be cut…”

However, Carsus spoke firmly.

“No matter the circumstances, it is a fact that they have taken the Sinai Fortress. Thus, we cannot judge their strength by numbers alone. Lost territories can be reclaimed, but if we lose the capital, we cannot recover. They possess the crown and the seal, so if they hold a coronation in the capital, the neutral nobles might side with Prince Yubel. We must concentrate all our strength in one place now.”

“Your judgment is wise.”

Baron Felik bowed his head in admiration. It wasn’t flattery; he genuinely felt this way. It had only been a few minutes since he heard of the death of his mentor and uncle-like figure, Tetsvalt. Yet, he had already regained his composure, embodying the qualities of a renowned knight and commander.

To exhibit such cold, quick judgment at such a young age?

‘Indeed, the true king of this country can only be Sir Carsus!’

Baron Felik rose to carry out the orders. Just then, Carsus spoke again.

“And organize an intelligence unit to gather accurate information. We need to know exactly what happened. Do not overlook even the smallest detail, and pay special attention!”

Unlike other knights, Carsus had studied tactics and strategy extensively. Most knights believed that victory could be achieved with just bravery and a large number of troops, but the most crucial aspects of warfare were supplies and intelligence about the enemy.

He didn’t believe the preposterous tale of five Aura Users from different races, but it was certain that the enemy had used some strategy involving these slave races. To enter battle without knowing this would be an improper stance for a commander.

“Yes, Sir Carsus.”

Baron Felik bowed and left the room. Once the baron was gone, Carsus slumped deeply into his chair and let out a sigh.

“Phew, I thought the throne was within reach…”