Chapter 281

Chapter 281 - Shadow Legion (4)

The Shadow Legion, united by the pride of being the true descendants of the ancient kingdom. The warhorse caretakers, who had lived their entire lives chasing clues of the World Charger, had shocked faces.

"Lies..."

"There's no way."

Someone tried to deny it, but it was impossible. Because everyone knew the appearance of the World Charger well through the murals and statues remaining throughout the capital.

Grrrr-!

The teeth and cry Might threateningly revealed matched the descriptions in the records they had read.

⌜While Royal Guard Sir Bastian was subjugating a Troll, his warhorse suddenly bit its neck. The Troll fainted from massive bleeding, allowing Sir Bastian to easily finish it. The King, receiving the subjugation report, laughed heartily and rewarded the warhorse with 20 castrated pigs as well.⌟

⌜Due to a poor harvest, public sentiment in the capital was bad, so the Prime Minister suggested strengthening the Colosseum. The King accepted and ordered the Royal Guard to provide three warhorses, and the arena's reaction was enthusiastic. One warhorse headbutted a Bugbear, incapacitating it; another trampled and crushed both its legs; and the three buried their faces in the bastard's belly. When the Bugbear's screams echoing in the arena died down, the warhorses lifted their heads. The slimmed-down Bugbear's body had not a single speck of fat left, driving the audience wild. The King, who provided a great spectacle, was also praised.⌟

Every record featuring a World Charger unfailingly described its mouth as a predator.

"How on earth did he get that horse?"

Aberdeen simply couldn't hold back his question. Any knight of the Shadow Legion would feel the same. If only they could mount that lost warhorse, there would be an overflow of knights willing to sacrifice their lives.

"The seed of kings and nobles is not separate. Have you heard that saying?"

Eugene stroked Might's neck with an affectionate touch. Then, peace flowed into the eyes that were glaring fiercely as if to destroy the whole world. Like spring water filling up in a dry well of hell through God's miracle.

"What an incredibly atrocious thing to say. The first virtue of a knight is loyalty, and the second is also loyalty. Only when noble blood and loyalty become one does the world stand upright."

"Perhaps so."

Eugene recalled Might before his past life, who had taken the Lamia Queen's curse with his entire body instead.

Clank.

Eugene lifted his flail. An iron rod longer and thicker than most spears. A thick and long chain was attached, and at the end hung a chunk of iron that could well be used as an anchor.

"Wait! Wait a minute! You haven't answered my question yet. Please tell me the secret to reaching the World Charger."

"I told you, didn't I?"

"What?"

"It's time to fight now."

"What kind of answer is that..."

Vwoooosh!

Aberdeen's desperate voice was swallowed by the noise of Eugene swinging the flail above his head in a circle.

An extremely deadly, extra-large flail seen for the first time in their lives. The allied faction went wild at Eugene's monstrous strength swinging it lightly with one hand.

"The rumors about him being half-Ogre weren't for nothing!"

'Were there such rumors circulating too?'

At the mercenaries' shouts, Eugene made an awkward face.

The reason he chose the flail as his weapon for the duel was simple. Because the weapon Aberdeen used to defeat the knight of House Batol was a morning star.

In a setting like this, what's as important as winning is the performance. Facing him with a similar weapon to highlight the difference in ability would be perfect.

'What a monster.'

Aberdeen licked his dry lips. He handled the long and heavy two-handed morning star freely. When his innate strength and the weapon's characteristics combined, even a hit to the helmet caused a concussion, and it easily pierced chainmail, delivering fatal blows.

Even a decent shield would shatter if battered by a two-handed morning star, so he was extremely strong in 1-on-1 duels.

"Sir Aberdeen, you must win!"

"His Majesty the Emperor is watching!"

Aberdeen steeled his will to fight upon hearing the cheers from behind and charged.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The morning star hit Eugene's shield several times, throwing orange sparks. However, at this rate, even if he battered it for a hundred days, he would only be able to leave scratches at best.

'Truly a monstrous bastard!'

Eugene's shield wasn't ordinary either. An iron rectangular shield covering his entire body. He had never heard of or seen a knight engaging in mounted combat while gripping something like that.

Whoosh!

As Eugene suddenly struck with his shield, Aberdeen was greatly alarmed and dodged backward. Because it was such a large shield, the reach and wind pressure were also extraordinary.

Clang!

The edge of the shield only grazed his helmet, but a tremendous shock shook his neck.

"Wow!"

"That knight is incredibly lucky. If he had a chin strap, his head would have been pulled off."

The spectators also dropped their jaws at Aberdeen's helmet soaring tens of meters into the sky.

Eugene swung his flail at Aberdeen, who had widened the distance. A whooshing sound even more deadly than the shield bash just now rushed towards him.

'I can't dodge this angle! It's not a power I can block either!'

Aberdeen tried to deflect the side of the anchor with his morning star. He had a track record of successfully using this technique against Bugbears and Trolls, punching holes in their skulls.

The problem was that he had never faced such a deformed weapon before, so he failed to gauge the distance.

Clink.

What he blocked with the morning star was the iron chain, and the anchor slithered over like a snake and struck Aberdeen's shoulder.

Crack!

Aberdeen, whose shoulder and arm were crushed at once, fell from his horse like he was hit by a battering ram.

A resounding roar surged from the allied fOrces' camp. The previous 3 defeats were the results of fierce battles of dozens of bouts, but this was simply overwhelming.

"In just two bouts?"

"Actually, it's practically one bout. He couldn't block that... chunk of iron or the shield even once."

Squires and servants from the Imperial army camp ran over to take Aberdeen away.

"Kuaaaaak!"

However, with his left half suffering comminuted fractures. No matter how they tried to move him, screams erupted from the terrible pain. This wasn't a pain even a great knight could endure.

"Sir Aberdeen! Please bear with it for just a moment..."

"Kuaaaah!"

The squires and servants tried changing their posture to carry him this way and that, but it was useless. It only increased the variations of Aberdeen's screams. Every time that happened, mockery and ridicule poured out from the allied fOrces' camp.

"Bring a stretcher and carry him or something. It doesn't look like bare hands will work."

Eugene, unable to watch any longer, said a word, and only then did they barely manage to carry him away. The score was still 3:1, but since it was such an impressive retirement, the allied fOrces were the ones full of spirit.

"I am Manuel of House Castile! Let's see if you can act cocky against my spear too!"

This time, a knight holding a spear rushed out. Manuel is famous for his one-hit-kill thrusts.

Unusually, he uses a custom shield slightly larger than a buckler with blades on the edges. His shield technique of pushing away enemies trying to close in is also excellent. Most knights were fOrced to deal with an unreasonable range and often ended up with holes in their bodies.

The problem was that Eugene's flail was longer than Manuel's spear. Manuel, who had thrust his spear, saw the chunk of iron aiming to crush his chest a beat faster.

'I must block the anchor...'

Manuel reflexively raised his shield.

Bang!

The shield shattered into several pieces as Manuel flew backward and rolled on the ground. Manuel, bleeding a thin stream from his mouth, barely stood up on trembling legs. This was the part that revealed the greatness of this knight.

Clank.

Eugene thrust the vicious anchor in front of Manuel.

"The match is decided, so surrender."

"Nonsense! I can still fight!"

Eugene knows very well that persuading such a knight with words is meaningless.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Eugene, who spun the flail in the air like a propeller, smashed it down right next to Manuel.

Kwang!

Even a rock fired from a catapult wouldn't make a sound like this. The dirt and sand that bounced up explosively were several times larger and wider than Manuel.

Splatter!

Thud!

It took quite a while for all the dirt and stones that soared high into the sky to fall.

"..."

A little later, Manuel appeared with his entire body coated in dirt. He looked like he was about to faint.

"Will you surrender?"

"S-Sur! Sur!"

"A wise decision."

Eugene clicked his tongue looking at the detached chain.

"I thought it would hold up, but I guess it was too much."

Since it was a duel watched by both armies, he wanted to provide an overwhelming stimulus, but it seemed he overdid it a bit.

As he abandoned the flail and waited, the 3rd challenger arrived. The knight armed with a sword and shield started shooting his mouth off first.

"I am Cedric Miller! The second son of House Miller, a bloodline continuing since the ancient kingdom! Appointed as a knight directly by His Majesty Gaius, and I subjugated Ghouls in Oren! With this very sword! The treasured sword of my ancestor who was a Royal Guard of the ancient kingdom!"

It's common for knights to show off their achievements or house before a duel. Cedric was confident in his bloodline.

How noble is the bloodline?

How old is the house?

Although the world of knights revolves around skill, nobles are nobles. Bloodline and roots are factors that cannot be ignored.

Even after that, Cedric persistently nitpicked the fact that Eugene rose rapidly from a humble family.

Plus one more thing.

"Usurper! You arbitrarily seized the Moving Castle! Furthermore, the World Charger is a divine beast that has protected the royal family since the distant past! Are you trying to mount the royal family's warhorse while pointing a weapon at the royal family?"

For a knight, he's quite a good talker. However, Eugene also had nothing to fall behind in terms of his mouth.

"I am the rightful master chosen by the Moving Castle itself. I proudly entered and sat on the throne with the key transferred by Decimus, the ancient kingdom's court magician. Talk of seizure is absurd."

A commotion arose in the Imperial army. There were also people with quite high status and nobles with titles within the Shadow Legion.

"Decimus?"

"Did that man just say Decimus...?"

The last court magician of the ancient kingdom. That name could only be known through records in the royal archive, which only restricted persons could access.

Although he didn't shout loudly, Eugene's voice filled with magic power was clearly delivered everywhere on the battlefield.

"My beloved wife Valda is the last bloodline of the 1st Age Elven royal family. This is proven by the AAAether Sword bestowed by her."

Shhhng.

Eugene drew Last Autumn and held it high. The silvery-white blade emitted brilliant light. All the knights of both armies watched that beautiful sight as if bewitched. With greed and awe.

"I protect the royal family while riding the World Charger. But that is not Gaius's royal family, which soiled the spirit of Roman by usurping the Emperor's title. The 1st Age Elven royal family, loved by all people. I protect its last princess."

Everyone's gaze gathered in one place. There was Valda, who had come out to pray for her husband's victory.

The Elf princess sitting demurely side-saddle on Elion, whose golden fur fluttered.

Wearing a pure white royal dress with her golden hair fluttering. That breathtakingly beautiful figure clearly proved her noble bloodline more than a hundred certificates.

"The Sage of the Forest..."

"Lady Valda."

The Imperial faction knights bit their lips. Valda had been invited by the royal family and escorted to the capital before Gaius's ascension.

Sitting in the VIP seats of the tournament, receiving the victories of countless knights as gifts and blessing them. Now, she prays only for one person's victory.

"I protect my wife. I protect my lady."

"..."

"Knight of the Shadow Legion. Protector revering the old things. Can you say I am not a Royal Guard protecting the royal family?"

Cedric's face was a sight to behold. He seemed to have no idea how to retort.

The knight class is overflowing with illiterates because they do nothing but eat and swing swords. Who knew Eugene, highly renowned as a brutal fighter, could roll his tongue so well.

As there was no answer from Cedric, Eugene charged.

Clang.

Last Autumn severed Cedric's treasured sword in a single strike.

The edge of the shield swung next struck Cedric's mouth. Flying away like a puppet with cut strings, he rolled over and over on the ground and then convulsed.

His life was probably not in danger, but it would be hard for him to give speeches from now on. Because every time he tried to make a speech, a loud whistling sound would come from his mouth, ruining his dignity.

"Undefeated Knight! Undefeated Knight! Undefeated Knight!"

"Did he even break a sweat?"

Thunderous applause poured down on Eugene, who achieved 3 consecutive victories without a single scratch.

"I am Armand of House Bonnie!"

The 4th challenger appeared.

"You country bumpkin! I will surely see blood from your body today!"

Falling behind in skill, it seemed he was persistently going to nitpick Eugene's origins.

Already, 3 elite knights of the Shadow Legion had fallen. Did he feel there was no answer in close combat? Armand was holding a black lance. He is a man who won the royal tournament twice and is the Shadow Legion's best lancer.

'I must absolutely not clash weapons or defend. I must unconditionally land a pinpoint thrust at maximum range.'

The strategy was excellent.

"Wahahaha!"

"Look here, Sir Knight! What are you going to do with that toothpick?"

Until Homi handed Eugene the Predator Lance.

'The Royal Guard who died in the trial by combat at Cordon Castle definitely...'

There was a report that a Royal Guard dispatched to Cordon Castle a few years ago died instantly from a ridiculous lance.

At the time, the knights in the capital dismissed it as a report full of exaggerations to avoid responsibility for the defeat. But looking at it now, it seemed it was real.

Thwack!

The Predator's teeth pierced Armand's abdomen. The warhorse, suddenly freed of its master's weight, was running far away.

"Keurrrrr."

Suspended in the air like a fish on a harpoon, Armand's feet swayed back and forth. As Eugene raised the lance to the sky, the gazes of both camps followed it up.

When Eugene swung the lance forward with all his might, the recoil pulled Armand off and sent him flying.

Armand, who became the world's first flying man. His corpse flew all the way to the earthen fortress and crashed into the dirt wall.

"Fifth knight! Come out!"

"..."

Eugene pointed his lance and shouted, but no Imperial faction knight responded. The ugly sight of even averting their heads for fear of making eye contact with Eugene and being singled out.

Laughter of an unknown number filled the sky. As Eugene rested his lance on his shoulder and returned, the allied fOrces' morale pierced the sky.

* * *

"It was truly a duel that will go down in history! No, it would be better to see it as an execution!"

"A knight protecting the legacy of the 1st Age with the legacy of the 2nd Age. Is there any knight in the world more noble than this?"

Knights beat their chests with their fists and poured out praises.

Usually, after a duel ends, the battle begins. However, perhaps the shock was so great that the Imperial army in the earthen fortress maintained a death-like silence.

"It's mealtime!"

"Wow, why is there so much meat in the stew?"

Thanks to the supplies provided by Eugene, food was abundant. To commemorate the great victory in the duel, a high-quality meal was provided.

The sight of the supply unit driving empty wagons back to the Moving Castle instilled strength as much as the victory in the duel.

With the situation like this, the engagement resumed the next morning.

"Your Highness the Duke. Preparations are complete."

Hearing the report in the commander's barracks, Leray stood up with a satisfied face.

"Eugene, Robert. And honorable nobles. Follow me. I have something to show you all."

The place Duke Leray led the nobles to was a large tent spread out in one part of the camp.

"Remove it!"

"Yes!"

As soldiers untied the ropes from both sides, the tent collapsed with a flapping sound.

"Ooh!"

"When did you prepare such things?"

What was revealed were 4 counterweight trebuchets. They are expensive to produce, but instead, their core components were modularized to make them easy to assemble on site.

"I'm disappointed. To think you were keeping such pretty things a secret?"

At the words of a sulking noble, Duke Leray laughed heartily and patted him.

"To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your allies, right? Blocking the river crossing is the best, but if we couldn't block it, we should hit them when they are gathered in one place and defenseless. With Gaius's recklessness, there was no way he wouldn't cross the river, though."

Duke Leray wasn't outstanding in martial prowess as a knight, nor was he a master of tactics. However, he had a talent for preparing a winning battlefield.

"Coal?"

Eugene checked the jars piled up behind the trebuchets. They were filled with black pieces.

"That's right. There's a coal mining village nearby. I issued a trade ban and scraped togAAether the stockpiled coal. If you crush it finely and fill the jars, there is no item more wicked than this."

"It would certainly be more effective than rocks against an earthen fortress."

"It will be hard for them to respond suddenly even if they try. Because they have to transport supplies across the river every time."

A young knight who was listening to the conversation between Leray and Eugene approached.

"Your Highness the Duke. But since the river flows right behind them, wouldn't it be easy to put out the fire? Should we prepare rocks even now?"

"Young friend. I already tested it in my territory. That's not something that goes out easily just by pouring water on it."

Duke Leray, grinning, lived up to his title as the wealthiest man in the West. Like a merchant who doesn't invest unless there is a solid guarantee.

"Pour."

At Duke Leray's command, engineers poured a mixture of oil, tar, and rosin into the coal jars.

"Stir it 20 times left and right!"

It seemed he had already researched the optimal mixing ratio. A terrible black mass was completed and hung in the trebuchet's launch pouch.

"Dear allied fOrces! It's time to show those bastards a hot taste! Enter the Fist of Vulcanus!"

In time with Duke Leray's resonant introduction, a muscular laborer struck the trebuchet's footplate with a sledgehammer.

Bang!

The impact caused the fixed counterweight of the trebuchet to fall.

Clang!

Whooooosh!

The falling energy created by the counterweight swung the trebuchet's arm forward. The launch pouch attached to its end shot out the burning fire jar.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The other laborers also hit the trebuchet footplates consecutively with their sledgehammers.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

At that cheerful sound, the soldiers and knights stomped their feet and looked up at the sky. The incendiary projectiles that flew trailing tails of black smoke like comets struck the earthen fortress.

Kwang!

"Yeeeaah!"

The soldiers cheered at the sight of fire explosions occurring at the points of impact.

Kwang!

Kwang!

Kwang!

Three more explosions occurred consecutively, and flames shot up here and there in the earthen fortress. A scene unfolded where a mercenary who turned into a fireball floundered atop the earthwork.

The Imperial army somehow scooped river water to extinguish it, but it wasn't easy. Because the grounds were dirt and the fortress was dirt, even if they poured water, it didn't spread like a stone castle but was absorbed downward.

Bang!

Clang!

In the meantime, fire jars from the reloaded trebuchets crossed the sky.

"From now on, we will continue firing in 3 shifts 24 hours a day."

"Understood. Your Highness."

As the knight who offered a military salute retreated, Duke Leray grabbed Eugene's shoulder.

"Those guys will definitely not be able to hold out and will jump out. That's the time for the showdown. Even if we don't catch the Emperor, if we completely smash the ones trapped there, we can end the war within this year."

"I must make them regret crossing the river without fear."

"Exactly!"

Duke Leray was satisfied with Eugene's answer. The Dark Elf archer unit stationed in the camp infinitely reassured Leray's heart.

But that was the same for Eugene. He was worried because the army the Emperor led was more formidable than he imagined, but it seemed his side was also not to be underestimated.

Thwack!

Boom!

Looking at the earthen fortress starting to burn here and there, Eugene called a tribe messenger.

"I will relay your orders."

The content was an order for the horse archers on standby in the Moving Castle to prepare for a flanking river crossing.

Duke Leray didn't seem to expect much about catching the Emperor himself, but Eugene was different.

'The situation is much more doable than I thought. If we do well, aiming for the main fOrce might also be possible.'

He was a man of great ambition.