Chapter 100: Chapter 100

‘He must be furious. It worked better than expected.’

Seeing roughly thirty cavalrymen burst out from inside the tents after the desperate shout, Shan immediately turned his horse around.

The expressions on the charging knights of the Ajun Kingdom were vicious beyond compare.

This was because Duke Ramis, fueled by resentment over his son’s death, had supplied the largest number of troops to the expedition to secure the position of supreme commander.

In other words, a significant portion of the Ajun knights belonged directly under the Duke’s command.

To them, Shan was the enemy who had slain their young master… the one they might have served in the future.

Regardless of their personal likes or dislikes toward the deceased young lord, they had to at least put on a display of fury.

“Kill that Altoan bastard!”

“Catch him and tear him limb from…”

Though they shouted with great gusto, Shan was not someone to be caught by their hands so easily.

Blessed with the help of her magic armor, Arwin ran as if flying over the earth, widening the distance between them.

As he fled, Shan pulled out the bow and arrows he had placed beside his saddle in advance.

It was the composite bow Ranta used originally, handed over to Shan after receiving a new magic bow.

When he pulled the bowstring, the bow… crafted from high-quality maple wood bonded with buffalo horn using glue… screamed under the tension.

Turning his waist right away to look back, Shan released the string, and with a heavy thwack, the fully drawn bow snapped straight.

Thanks to his determination to pierce the target turning into Fighting Spirit, the arrow flew without any hindrance and pierced directly through the eye slot of the lead knight’s helmet.

“Dan!”

“You despicable bastard!”

Enraged by their comrade’s death, they spewed curses, yet they could not charge any further and halted in their tracks.

For it was suicidal to keep rushing at a mounted archer capable of piercing a knight’s heavy armor in a single shot.

Thanks to that, Shan was able to ride another hundred and fifty meters unhindered, ascending along the opened mountain path to return to his unit’s camp.

“Whew.”

Taking off his helmet and dismounting from his horse, Shan took a deep breath to inspect his physical condition.

The stamina he had expended while infusing his Fighting Spirit into the arrow quickly replenished.

It was thanks to having received a blessing of vitality from a priest in advance.

Seeing him like that, Roden approached his side and asked.

“You aren’t hurt anywhere, right?”

“It was nothing. More importantly, will this be enough? Should I provoke them a bit more?”

“No, I think this is enough.”

Roden said so as he pointed toward the foot of the mountain.

An army of over ten thousand men could be seen moving like a massive swarm of ants.

“They’re coming.”

*

The opinions of Conrad, who originally wanted to settle the battle quickly, and Duke Ramis, who wanted to drag things out while requisitioning all surrounding supplies, unified in an instant.

Prompted by the roaring of the duke whose face had turned bright red with fury, Conrad’s army completed their preparations right away and advanced toward Cheryn’s forces deployed up on the mountain.

Seeing this, the young royal Count Glusa clicked his tongue.

“I somehow have a bad feeling about this……”

At the very least, it would have been better to rest and recover from the exhaustion built up from marching before fighting.

However, it was difficult to restrain Duke Ramis, who was half-mad with rage.

Though he was the King’s younger brother, he had brought few soldiers with him, meaning he held little speaking authority.

Before long, a thunderous shout echoed from above the mountain.

[“All forces, fire!”]

Patter-patter, arrows pouring like rain flew much farther than their normal range thanks to the advantage of high ground.

Ranta and the semi-horse archers, who were originally adept at shooting bows while mounted, also joined the other archers here to unleash arrows.

For even they could not ride horses up a rugged, steep mountain.

But even without riding horses, master archers were still master archers.

Soldiers let out desperate screams as they were pierced in various places despite raising their shields to cover themselves.

“AAAAAGH!”

“Save me, save me!”

“Shoot back on our side too! What are you doing!”

As if reacting to someone’s grumbling, arrows were fired from below as well, but their arrows did not easily reach the enemies above.

Even if a few arrows managed to reach the infantrymen in the front, they were frequently bounced off the armor covering their bodies.

However, the number of enemies swarming in was far too vast to drive off with arrows alone.

Before long, the clash between the infantrymen began.

“Kill the heretics!”

“The Goddess is watching over us!”

Spouting like a fanatic, an Ajun warrior swung a massive two-handed axe.

His attack struck accurately at the leg of an Altoan soldier positioned on the high ground.

“Ack!”

Fortunately, thanks to the Hydra leather armor wrapping his leg, it was not severed, but the impact alone transmitted through, snapping his shinbone.

While he was quickly supported and pulled back, the warrior who broke his leg was also pierced in the flank by spears thrusting from all directions, coughing up blood before falling flat on the ground.

The empty space created in that manner was promptly taken by other soldiers.

In terms of sheer numbers, Conrad’s side was more than double, but due to the terrain, the entry paths were limited, making it difficult to utilize numerical superiority.

Moreover, in terms of per-unit combat capability and endurance, Cheryn’s soldiers… armed with magic tools and well-trained… were vastly superior.

Reading these signs, Conrad immediately consulted Duke Ramis… though the duke was half-crazed and not in his right mind… and dispatched their most powerful force.

Namely, the branch of troops that could exert overwhelming combat power even in small numbers: the knights.

“Move out of the way! We are moving in!”

“I’ll slaughter you all!”

Dismounted knights scrambled up the hill, displaying running speed that surpassed ordinary humans.

Their weapons and armor were consecrated through the prayers of devout priests, and their bodies overflowed with vitality mixed with various blessings.

“Stop them! Don’t let them come up!”

The moment Cheryn’s soldiers occupying the high ground flinched at that momentum, knights rushed out from behind them as well.

Standing at the head, Shan scanned the enemies charging toward him.

Their number was about a hundred.

Not all of them were knights; it seemed even squires who had built up a decent level of skill, like Vico or Tavera, were fully mobilized.

The problem was that even taking this into account, their own military strength lagged behind.

Their number was a mere sixty-odd, and even this was the result of adding the vassal knights of minor lords like Viscount of Treba.

There was no choice but to overcome it through favorable terrain, powerful magic tools, and individual skill.

Unsheathing the Guardian of the East, Shan regulated his breathing and locked eyes on the enemy charging at him.

‘Come.’

The ones targeting Shan first and charging in were none other than the paladins of the Western Holy See.

Their number was as many as seven.

Among them, the figure standing at the front (presumed to be the order’s commander) declared in a low voice.

His voice resounded clearly even in the middle of a battlefield that was no different from absolute pandemonium.

“Shan Barendil, minion of the corrupt witch and descendant of a devil. In the name of the Goddess, I shall execute you here today!”

“If you can.”

As if even waiting for that brief answer was difficult, the paladin commander rushed forward, thrusting out his long sword.

Its power was reminiscent of Kamad’s, whom he had fought in the past.

Though his technique was slightly lacking, his combat capability could be considered even higher thanks to superior physical stats and gear.

Clang, the Guardian of the East and the commander’s sword (presumed to be a holy relic) entangled and let out a scraping noise.

‘Oh?’

Realizing that it was hard to overwhelm his opponent with raw strength alone, Shan showed a slightly surprised expression.

Originally, he possessed strong physical power compared to his build, and with the armor’s function added, his pure muscular strength was nearly comparable to Roden’s.

Furthermore, because the Fighting Spirit they pushed against each other was also roughly equal, their swords clashed without being pushed to either side.

Was it the assistance of a holy relic, or a blessing of strength?

Either way, the opponent’s strength was almost equal to his.

Along with that thought, his body was already instinctively twisting the opponent’s sword aside and digging into a vital spot.

A covert and lethal strike like a serpent’s fangs, aiming for the throat between the helmet and the armor.

“Mmh!”

Surprisingly, however, the commander quickly tucked his chin to eliminate the opening, blocking Shan’s attack.

Though slightly slower in comparison, it was a reflex far superior to any human he had seen so far.

Before he could even marvel at it, another paladin beside him brought a massive mace crashing down toward him.

Likewise, it was speed and strength that far transcended ordinary humans.

While evading it and launching a counterattack to pierce the flank, Shan suddenly felt his body being pulled sideways.

A shield as large as a torso held by a paladin pulled his body in.

‘Is this……?’

His surprise was brief; rather than resisting the mysterious attractive force, Shan accepted it, accelerating as he charged straight at him.

The flustered paladin deactivated the shield’s function and shoved it forward to push him away.

At that moment, Shan took advantage of the shield blocking line of sight between them to leap.

Leaping higher than a man’s height and landing behind him, his thrusting blade dug accurately into the nape of the paladin’s neck.

“Keugh……”

That made one.

Just in case, to prevent him from recovering through healing from priests, Shan twisted his sword once to sever the neck, and simultaneously, even more enraged paladins rushed in.

Looking at the remaining six, Shan felt his blood boiling.

A sensation that had grown increasingly hard to feel as he grew bigger, stronger, and acquired better magic tools.

A chuckle leaked out on its own at the sensation signaling danger.

Come to think of it, the most enjoyable battles had always been when his life was on the line.

*

‘Truly, this fellow is definitely a monster spawn born from a demon’s belly…… He must be killed here at all costs!’

Looking at the boy clad in faintly glowing golden armor, such a thought surfaced in the mind of the paladin commander.

Originally, casting multiple blessings on a single person was no easy task, and the bodies of knights possessing resistance to magical abilities exhibited this tendency even more strongly.

It was the same principle as the difficulty of placing multiple spells onto a single magic tool simultaneously.

For that reason, the knights of Cheryn’s faction, including Shan, could each receive only one or two blessings.

Most chose the blessing of vitality, while those receiving blessings from skilled priests chose strength or endurance.

In contrast, among the secret arts of the Western Holy See, which had faithfully preserved ancient miracles, there was a technique where multiple priests wove miracles together.

This was called ‘Choral’, and the Cardinal… the highest-ranking priest who accompanied the paladins… led it.

Thanks to that, the paladins were currently receiving all sorts of physical enhancements at the highest level, starting from strength enhancement to reflexes, stamina, and durability.

On top of that, the armor they wore was also a powerful holy relic handed down since the days of the Arman Empire.

In other words, the paladins present here were practically monsters in human form.

Any one of them could likely overwhelm five to ten normally armed knights with ease.

It was for this very reason that ancient times, when the Arman Empire stood strong, were called the ‘Age of Supermen’.

In an era when everyone had to arm themselves with primitive metal equipment, a knight draped in holy relics and blessed with multiple powerful blessings was an existence normal people could not resist by any means.

Yet now, even as seven such individuals attacked simultaneously, they could not subdue a single knight.

And these were the elite paladins armed with the most powerful holy relics, of which there were only twelve even within the Holy See!

“You bastard!”

A strike from a blunt weapon shook the earth as if an ogre were swinging its fist.

However, Shan had already read and dodged it as if expecting it, using another paladin standing opposite as a shield.

Since trying to hit him now would surely crush his comrade’s body, the paladin wielding the mace bit his teeth and forcibly altered its trajectory to strike the ground.

In the short time gained that way, Shan kicked the paladin he had used as a shield and stabbed his sword into the exposed ankle.

It was an injury that would soon heal since the blessing of regeneration was active, but it rendered the foot immobile for a short while.

Following that, another paladin thrusting a spear realized that his comrade who had just been stabbed in the ankle was blocking his path.

Pursuing and being pursued like that, the paladins even felt terror at the incomprehensible phenomenon.

‘Why on earth……’

‘Can’t we catch him?’

Their physical abilities were clearly comparable.

Reflexes were also at a level where they could follow along to some extent, even if not completely.

Their equipment superiority was slightly better on the opponent’s side, but not by a wide margin.

Nevertheless, far from ending the seven-on-one fight in an instant, they were dragging it out in a miserable stalemate.

No, in fact, two of them had even died.

While they were flustered, Shan recalled ancient teachings and felt a fresh surge of joy.

‘Right, there were techniques like this as well.’

Among the various combat techniques he had learned from Sir Darkal, there were several suitable for fighting multiple opponents alone.

Methods that sometimes felt somewhat underhanded.

There had not been many opportunities to utilize them.

Because his physical capabilities were so overwhelming that simply attacking half a beat faster than others was enough to kill everyone and leave them sprawled on the ground.

After all, there was no reason to use complex methods against targets he could beat without any special tricks.

However, right now, the paladins before his eyes were moving with physical capabilities similar to his within a similar perception of time for the first time.

Even though their movements themselves were irrational, resulting in a severe waste of strength in many ways.

Thanks to that, for the first time in a long while, Shan engaged in a fight that relied not on his signature explosive agility, but on high-level combat intelligence.

The opponent’s positioning, terrain, armament, skill……

Factors he had rarely needed to consider in fights against ordinary warriors or massive monsters.

In the process of piecing all of these elements together one by one as he fought, Shan even felt an intellectual joy akin to solving a high-difficulty puzzle.

Boom! When he kicked a small cliff beside him, a rain of rocks showered down upon the head of the charging paladin.

*

While the knights of both sides clashed fiercely, the battle among the soldiers also grew even more intense than before.

The ones who marked the beginning were the priests of the Holy See who had accompanied the paladins.

The secret weapon they had brought, the Flames of Purification, flew through the air held in the hands of the soldiers.

Clatter, with the sound of glass bottles shattering, white flames surged forth.

“W-What is that!?”

“Dodge! If it touches you, you die!”

“AAAAAGH!”

The divine white flames devoured the bodies of the soldiers touched by them in an instant.

Even the magic tools wrapped around their bodies could not protect them.

At the blaze that did not extinguish even on the muddy ground, seeming to burn while consuming the dirt itself, the Palles soldiers backed away in shock.

“Great! They’re terrified!”

“Push forward!”

However, the moment the triumphant Old Faith soldiers charged at the sight of the retreating enemies, an unidentified powder was scattered toward them from above.

Because of its fine particles, the powder (feeling like thick smoke) was caught in the wind and dispersed all the way down.

“Cough, what is this?”

“Could it be poison or…… Huh?”

“Hey, what is that!?”

Covered in the powder, the Old Faith soldiers stared wide-eyed at one another.

This was because flesh began to sprout and grow from the minor wounds on their bodies.

There were those whose arms drooped under the weight of flesh masses sprouting like tumors on their forearms, or whose flesh growing from their cheeks covered their noses and mouths, rendering them unable to breathe.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Save me!”

“W-What on earth is that……”

At a sight that was truly hellish, not only the Old Faith soldiers but even the New Faith soldiers looking down from the mountain were unable to hide their shock.

Seeing this, a bishop of the Eastern Holy See let out a sigh.

“In the end, they used it……”

Much like the Flames of Purification imbued with powers of healing and purification, ‘Flesh Flower’ was a drug designated as taboo because it excessively bestowed powers of healing upon the body.

Though it had long been known to be lost to history, a certain monastery belonging to the Eastern Holy See had been secretly handing down the crafting method.

While anyone capable of wielding Fighting Spirit could easily shake it off, it was a killing weapon nearly impossible for ordinary soldiers to resist.

This battlefield vividly demonstrated why ancient priests had laid down rules prohibiting the use of the Goddess’s power in battles between humans.

The battlefield where spears, swords, and arrows had ordinarily clashed until moments ago now turned into a sacrilegious scene where the Goddess’s grace was twisted in the most malicious manner and scattered over her own children.

Even this was mild compared to the First Religious War.

Among ancient records, there were even methods of killing humans by purifying river water so that no one could drink it, or by specially blessing certain internal organs to an extreme degree.

To be sure, magic had developed greatly over the long years, but in terms of sheer influence, it was still inferior to miracles.

[“Front-row infantry starting from line one, fall back slowly from the white flames! Priests, quickly neutralize it!”]

Amidst all this, Roden was shouting at the top of his lungs, commanding the troops using a magic tool.

Even while all manner of miracles from the Goddess Church tore at one another, war was ultimately waged by humans.

Following his command, the directions where the soldiers aimed their spears and where arrows flew shifted accordingly.

‘The left infantry unit looked excessively exhausted. Should I have them fall back slightly to rest? The reserve unit was just swapped in recently, and the distance to swap with the right is too far……’

Along with his dilemma, Roden’s gaze turned toward the knights clashing in the center of the infantry units.

The knights of the New Faith following Cheryn were putting up quite a good fight despite their relatively small numbers.

It was thanks to the knights of Palles and Shedil who were armed with high-performance magic tools or powerful Alto relics, as well as a few skilled individuals.

Lug, holding a long sword fitting his tall stature and stalling for time against Marquis Abel.

Ravana, who had swallowed an Elixir of Berserk before anyone noticed and was overwhelming four Ajun knights single-handedly.

And even Shan, who was taking on a staggering seven paladins all by himself and whittling them down one by one……

‘Damn it, if only I could lend a hand over there.’

Although Roden was not particularly remarkable in terms of combat skills for a knight, his raw power (combining his signature monstrous strength with a flail made of ogre bone) was superb.

If a warrior of that caliber jumped in, he would be of help against at least two or three knights.

In reality, however, the moment he leapt into that place, he would with high probability become nothing more than a burden.

His legs were trembling even while commanding from such a distance, so how on earth could he fight?

Suppressing his frustration as he bit his teeth for a moment, he decided to focus first on what he could do.

Right now, there was no one else besides him who could command this army.

[“Archers! Commence firing at the enemies approaching the right ridge!”]

The moment he gave the forceful command, Roden realized that the aspect of the battle in the center was changing drastically.

The moment Shan (who had previously cut down two paladins and was clashing with five) dispatched another, their momentum broke sharply.

From four to three, then two, and finally even the one presumed to be the order’s commander.

Watching Shan defeat seven paladins in succession all by himself, Roden let out a cheer without even realizing it.

[“UOOOOOOH!”]

Because he had not yet turned off the voice-amplifying magic tool, his roar echoed loudly, causing those around him to send bewildered glanced.

Realizing his blunder, Roden quickly turned off the magic tool, then swallowed hard upon noticing who was standing where Shan headed next.

In that spot lay Lug, fallen with one of his arms severed, and Marquis Abel looking down at him.

Just as he was about to finish off the enemy he had defeated after a fierce battle, the marquis’s gaze turned toward Shan.

The two knights pointed their weapons at each other.