Chapter 286

Chapter 286 - Time of the Decisive Battle (4)

It is difficult to equip even one artifact with sealed magical power. Imbuing a weapon with offensive power is somewhat easier, but the process of infusing protective power into armor, shields, and other equipment is much more demanding.

Even Eugene, the head of a sizable military faction, only had personal magical equipment consisting of weapons as an example. Because there were simply no items for sale, it wasn't the kind of thing you could buy just because you had a lot of money.

'Counting the artifacts he's wearing... 1, 2, 3...'

Therefore, Magnus, from whom magical power could be felt from various parts of his body, could be considered exceptional. Although it wasn't strange considering he was a core figure of Roman, boasting a long history.

'Is it 4?'

He couldn't tell exactly what he was wearing where, but the mystery emitted by each artifact was strong enough to distinguish them.

Magnus's mind also spun quickly.

'That axe. Can I cut it with this sword? Even if I do, the fOrce behind it won't disappear.'

He was someone who had witnessed Eugene's monstrous strength twice. It was frustrating, but fighting head-on like a knight was suicidal.

However, if it was a monster exhibiting monstrous strength, he had already faced many. A knight is the foremost expert in dealing with monsters of overwhelming physical strength using techniques.

"I will attack first. Count."

Magnus, charging on his horse, suddenly threw a plumbata as the distance closed.

Beeeing-.

The plumbata, equipped with bizarre wings, made a sound like a flying hornet and its trajectory wavered. It was a dangerous hidden weapon where ordinary opponents would fail to defend while going "Huh?".

Ting!

However, Eugene simply deflected it with the flat side of Blackout. Because the axe blade was so wide and long, it was versatile for various uses besides slashing.

Taking the attack timing, Magnus delivered a flash-like blow with the AAAether Sword.

Kwang!

However, the one who staggered backward was also him. Eugene had struck him with a large rectangular shield. Sparks flew, and a deep scratch appeared, but true to an iron shield, it held up sufficiently.

The moment Eugene tried to bring down the axe on the off-balance Magnus, he felt a chilling sensation.

'It's a trap.'

Magnus kicked up a pilum tied to the saddle with the top of his foot, which he had slipped out of the stirrup. As soon as he caught it, he threw it with bizarre hand movements without a preparatory motion to pull it back.

Clang!

It was a surprise attack reminiscent of an assassin, but Eugene twisted his wrist and blocked it with the flat of the axe. The pilum, losing its momentum, fell helplessly to the ground.

"What kind of axe..."

"I don't see an angle to pierce it."

The Black Knights muttered with distorted faces. A giant axe and a shield larger than the scuta carried by legionaries. Seeing him holding one in each hand and handling them lightly was breathtaking just to look at.

"You have the typical impression of a rugged knight, but surprisingly good dexterity? Ah, I'm not being sarcastic, it's a compliment."

"Right now, nothing is higher priority to me than victory."

"That's a good military spirit."

"Curse as you please."

'I'm serious, though.'

Eugene, who charged with his shield forward, swung the giant axe, and Magnus deflected it diagonally with the AAAether Sword.

Fighting medium-sized monsters is a daily routine for the Shadow Legion. Knight-level combatants cannot survive without mastering such deflection techniques.

Furthermore, Eugene didn't know, but Magnus's sword possessed the opposite property of Last Autumn. True to a king's sword, it demonstrated its best performance when using defensive swordsmanship.

'I can feel the sword's desire to protect its master.'

Eugene tasted a bizarre sensation, as if the axe's trajectory was twisted and the power imbued within it poured out into thin air.

This was the first time an enemy had taken Eugene's attack and remained unscathed. However, Magnus was also at his limit just deflecting it and couldn't counterattack.

Eugene swung his axe consecutively while advancing. Magnus dodged the 2nd attack by stepping back and deflected the 3rd attack again.

However, because such ignorant power was imbued, his posture crumbled, and he had to block the 4th attack that flew in that state with his shield.

Kwang!

Blue magical sparks flew noisily.

Jjeojeojeok.

The silver shield turned black and then cracked into pieces like drought-stricken land. If it hadn't been a magic shield, Magnus's wrist would have been sliced off along with it.

Hihihihing-!

Magnus's warhorse, stepping back from the impact, tripped over a stone.

"General!"

"T-This!"

"Uwaaaaaah!"

"Magnus has fallen!"

As both knight and warhorse fell, the Black Knights lamented, and the allied fOrces cheered. Because if Eugene charged as is, he was a dead man.

"He's not attacking?"

"Eng?"

However, both camps were perplexed. Eugene didn't pursue and finish off the fallen Magnus but stood still with his axe lowered.

"I'll wait, so get on your horse."

"...Just like the rumors. They said you didn't attack when your opponent lost their weapon during the Great Warrior Duel in Bonyard."

Magnus stood up with a stiff face.

Why would the word chivalry exist? It originated from the plea to maintain some culture because knights acted so violently and dirtily.

To fight while protecting honor even in a duel with this much at stake. The Black Knights of the Shadow Legion also felt awe at Eugene's attitude.

The allied knights might be dissatisfied at losing an opportunity to win easily, but that was it. Those born and raised as knights could never complain about Eugene's attitude.

Purreureuk-.

Unluckily, Magnus's warhorse had severely sprained its ankle. It struggled to stand up but immediately fell over. Then Eugene also dismounted from Might.

Magnus was also rendered speechless by the noble sight unsuited for a sordid battlefield.

"I see why the Moving Castle acknowledged you as its master."

"Thanks for the compliment."

It was the highest level of praise the Emperor's commander could give. It wasn't just Magnus's thought, as numerous knights looked at Eugene with the same gaze.

A knight's honor comes in various forms. Eugene had already grasped more than enough honor gained through victory. However, there was also honor that could only be obtained in this kind of situation.

"To tell you one thing, the ancient castle is a bit different from what you think. Both the exterior and interior are radiant, but... there are quite a few places even residents shouldn't step into. It also prefers edible things over inedible honor."

Magnus, true to a member of the Shadow Legion, had his curiosity about the ancient castle boil over, but he suppressed it. He couldn't afford to distract himself when focusing solely on the duel wasn't enough.

But Eugene didn't fight immediately and looked back.

"Bring my mace."

"Yes, My Lord."

"You also need a new shield, right?"

Magnus nodded with a sour face. This young conquering monarch was peculiar in many ways.

"General. Please take this."

"Thank you."

Magnus equipped the new shield a Black Knight handed him. It wasn't a magic-imbued item, but an excellent shield made by a Dwarf artisan in the capital.

A moment later, what the Dark Elf messenger struggled to offer with both hands was a great mace. The iron rod, longer and thicker than most spears, was impressive, but that was it.

'It looks like an unremarkable weapon.'

Magnus carefully inspected the weapon. Generally, a mace maximizes destructive power by protruding iron pieces on its head, but that one was a smooth oval shape without such parts.

Magnus glanced at his subordinates.

Shake shake.

A magician dressed as a knight informed him it wasn't a magic weapon.

Thud!

Then Eugene threw the iron shield he was holding to the ground.

Clatter.

Similarly, he threw down the terrifying giant axe.

"..."

"..."

Both the Black Knights and the allied knights had faces that couldn't understand.

'I must discard distracting thoughts. I must discard distracting thoughts. I must discard distracting thoughts.'

Where did Magnus, hardened in both the battlefield and the political arena, go? He was constantly getting swept up in Eugene's relaxed and eccentric pace.

'No large shield bash, no mystery axe that even splits horses. That's just a large mace.'

No matter how he thought about it, it was a more advantageous situation than before. Magnus shook off his anxiety and raised his shield and AAAether Sword.

Tang!

Eugene kicked off the ground taking a thrusting stance with both hands. Dust exploded upwards, and he shot forward at tremendous speed.

Magnus presented his shield towards Eugene. He tried to deflect it diagonally rather than blocking it head-on, but he failed this time.

Wiiing.

The moment the shield touched the great mace, an unidentified fOrce acted, and the shield moved on its own.

Kwang!

"Keuk!"

Magnus, who received the attack head-on instead of deflecting it diagonally, was blown away.

[Kkiyaaaargh!]

The long glove covering his left hand and arm screamed. Hundreds of threads of the fabric unraveled, stood up, and then curled up, losing their vitality. The magic glove had taken the impact the wearer was supposed to receive and died instead.

The shield Magnus just lost was attached to Eugene's mace. The head of the mace was the King of Metals Eugene captured a while ago. A meteorite.

Confirming it wasn't a magic shield, Eugene roughly slammed the mace on the ground to shake off the shield.

'I don't know about other things, but I have to bring the AAAether Sword intact.'

It was a waste to only take victory in this precious seat. Honor or loot, Eugene intended to extract everything he could.

"What in the world is that mace?"

Eugene ignored the astonished Magnus's question and charged again.

Magnus simply had no way to dodge. He reflexively unleashed the deflection swordsmanship that had saved his life countless times. And half a beat late, he remembered how his shield was dragged away just before.

Sure enough? The perfect deflection swordsmanship was destroyed the moment the AAAether Sword touched the mace.

Ting!

The sword was helplessly pulled by a magnetism stronger than the muscle strength thrusting it.

Crack.

"Keuk!"

True to the best swordsman in Roman, his stubbornness to not let go of the sword even if he died broke Magnus's wrist.

The mace struck the chest of Magnus, who experienced immediate disarmament, a fractured wrist, and posture collapse. With bluish-white sparks flying, his large body floated and flew away.

"You really wrapped yourself in a lot of things. I could call you a walking treasure house."

Eugene looked at Magnus with a genuinely admiring face. The aura of mystery completely disappeared from him. There would be no more artifacts left to protect him.

Tap.

Eugene detached the AAAether Sword from the mace head and read the inscription engraved on the hilt.

"The King's Agony, huh. A name befitting the Roman royal family's sacred treasure."

Eugene threw the sword backward.

"Euaaat?"

"Catch it! No, dodge! No, cat..."

His knights were flustered and panicked. It was a very, very precious treasure, so they had to catch it, but it was the AAAether Sword thrown by Eugene, so it looked extremely dangerous.

Clang.

Hind, picking up what fell on the ground, looked at his liege with eyes of disbelief. Then he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and carefully wiped off the dirt as if handling a fetus.

"General!"

"To think Sir Magnus fell..."

Perhaps suffering severe internal injuries, Magnus couldn't even stand up properly, spilling blood from his mouth. Having lost his weapon and broken his wrist, it was clearly a complete defeat to anyone's eyes. The morale of the Black Knights hit rock bottom.

"Protect the General!"

Perhaps thinking the duel was over, the Black Knights blocked Eugene's path.

"What is the meaning of this? Move aside!"

"General. The match is decided. It's time to return to being a commander, not a knight."

However, the Black Knights didn't back down either. The greater cause takes precedence over personal honor.

The problem was that there were bastards worse than those doing somewhat rational thinking. Some Black Knights, exchanging glances, charged at Eugene.

"Now is the opportunity!"

"Kill the Count!"

The knights restraining Magnus also didn't seem to expect there would be such shameless bastards among their comrades.

"What are you doing? Stop!"

"Come back! Are you planning to smear the name of the Shadow Legion?"

However, the charging Black Knights raised their momentum even more and pointed their spears.

"Curse if you want! You will thank us later!"

"The Count has dismounted, and there are no subordinates nearby! We can't kill him if not now!"

Naturally, the knights of the allied camp were enraged.

"Th-These bug-like bastards?!"

"Save Your Excellency the Count!"

They also galloped their horses to save Eugene. But the Black Knights had already reached right in front of Eugene.

"Die! Usurper!"

The spears thrust while forming a fan shape to block evasion angles pierced empty air. The Black Knights looked up with stupid faces.

Eugene, using the great mace as a pole, vaulted and leisurely passed over the cavalry charge.

"T-Turn around!"

Giving up their backs in an instant, the Black Knights panicked and pulled their reins, but Eugene had already begun his attack.

"Keuhak!"

Along with the sound of helmets and armor breaking, 2 Black Knights fell from their horses.

'With the feeling of breaking only one egg by hitting eggs togAAether.'

It was a mace with powerful magnetism, but with Eugene's monstrous strength, techniques, and consideration of the opponent's weight, he could tune the sticking.

The Black Knight hit in the head slumped and didn't move, and the one hit in the back struggled to stand up. Eugene's mace head approached silently and touched his breastplate.

Ting!

"Keueuu... Euaak?!"

The sensation of his body suddenly being dragged and floating in the air. The startled knight flailed, but since it stuck to his back, it wasn't easy to detach.

Ting! Ting!

Moreover, the gauntlets he fOrcefully reached out also got stuck. Eugene aimed the guy, who looked ridiculous like a person caught by cannibals, at two charging Black Knights.

"Frank?!"

"W-Wait!"

Perhaps their friendship among ugly people was strong, the Black Knights couldn't stab their comrade and withdrew their weapons. Eugene punished them all.

Kwaang!

The ones on horses and the one hanging on the mace collided and rolled on the ground togAAether.

"Hiiik!"

Perhaps thinking it was hopeless, the last remaining Black Knight tried to flee from Eugene. Fortunately, there was a distance of a few meters, so escaping seemed to be no problem.

"Where are you going?"

Eugene grabbed the end of the mace and extended it, hitting him by a hair's breadth.

Kihihihing-!

The horseshoe of the horse's hind leg was pulled to the mace head, causing the horse to lose balance and fall.

"Keuaaaaaak!"

Unluckily crushed under the lower half of the horse, the Black Knight screamed. He struggled to push it away, but of course, it didn't budge.

Ting!

When the mace touched the flailing horse's horseshoe, a clear metallic sound rang out. Eugene walked towards the allied fOrces' formation in that state.

"Kkeuaaaaaa!"

As the horse was dragged along, the Black Knight crushed underneath foamed at the mouth and fainted.

While Eugene mounted Might, who came out to meet him, the knights of both armies watched blankly.

And Homi's whistle was heard from somewhere.

"The river crossing devices are burning!"

At someone's shout, the Imperial army hastily looked back. The Rangers' blue arrows, who had approached the sniping point while stealthed, were falling on the flat-bottomed boats and waterwheels.

Puhwaak!

Since they were mostly composed of wood and rope, they began to burn grandly. The retreat and supply route across the river had been severed.

"Do not panic! We still have the advantage in the battlefield!"

"If we win here, we can prepare for crossing the river again anytime! Calmly focus on striking down the enemies!"

The Imperial faction nobles tried to calm the soldiers, but the disaster was not over.

"Viscount! L-Look over there!"

"...What are those?"

Sand dust was rising from the horizon across the Rein River. Since everyone was seasoned on the battlefield, they immediately realized what it meant.

"It's the enemy's flanking attack!"

"His Majesty's main camp is in danger!"

A thousand-man unit of tribal horse archers waiting in the Moving Castle was aiming for the Emperor's isolated camp.

"Nonsense! How can a cavalry of that size cross downstream?!"

The width of the Rein River downstream rivaled a lake. For cavalry to cross, they needed flat-bottomed boats larger and wider than the ones the Imperial army used. Preparing such things would take at least a few months.

What the Imperial army didn't know was that Eugene participated in the war with transport ships prepared from the start.

-Now now, roll them slowly.

-A log is sticking out on the left. Tap it gently with a hammer. We have to use it again.

-Apply some more oil here.

The large flat-bottomed boats enshrined in the Moving Castle's warehouse were moved to the river riding over numerous logs.

-I heard in ancient times, there was a king who moved ships for several kilometers doing this. Isn't he a madman?

-It's killing me to just move them a mere 200m, how on earth did he manage that?

The Dwarves had already carved selected logs round and even applied an oil coating. Thanks to moving them under the best conditions, they were able to launch the boats onto the river with only minor injuries.

"Centurion! What do we do?"

"..."

The Shadow Legion in the center, which had been unilaterally pushing, also panicked.

They hadn't ruled out the possibility of a surprise attack on the Emperor's main camp either. However, considering the terrain and battle situation, they were certain that a flanking attack by cavalry would be impossible for at least a few months.

"We must protect His Majesty! Hurry and blow the retreat trumpet!"

"Are you kidding? You want us to show our backs to the enemies now?"

When the messenger who received a noble's order put the trumpet to his mouth, a nearby mercenary captain snatched it.

"This lowly mercenary bastard dares?"

"The flat-bottomed boats are also burning, so what do you want us to do? Swim across? First, we must fight and defeat the enemies."

"What if His Majesty meets an untimely death? Can a bastard like you take responsibility for that?"

Scuffles were already breaking out everywhere. The confusion of the Imperial army worsened as the horse archers who entered range began shooting fire arrows.

They were ordinary fire arrows wrapped in oil cloth, but as expected of the Emperor's camp, luxurious tents were scattered everywhere, so the fire spread rapidly.

"Hind. Rampage. Our business here is done. You Sirs retreat and protect our allied archers."

"What about Your Excellency?"

"Are you not coming with us?"

Instead of answering, Eugene looked at the burning flat-bottomed boats.

His original plan was simple. After destroying the river crossing facilities, hitting and running the Emperor's main camp with the detached horse archers.

Although the main fOrce had sortied, powerful royal guards and reserves were still guarding the Emperor's camp. Anyway, just the fact that the Emperor was being attacked would cause immense confusion for the enemies. There was no need to push further here.

However, watching the burning flat-bottomed boats drifting down the middle of the Rein River out of control, a desire arose in him.

"Hey. Buddy."

Grrr-?

As Eugene stroked his cheek, Might was puzzled.

"Is it possible?"

Keuheong-!

Might blew hot breath from his nose as if his pride was hurt.