Chapter 83: Chapter 83
Sitting atop his palanquin, the king was an old man with small, slanted eyes and an impressive large nose, looking just like Conrad as rumored.
Though Shan had heard he was only around fifty years old, his hair had turned white and liver spots had bloomed across his skin, making him look much older than his age.
On top of that, his complexion was dark and no strength dwelled in his body, making it clear at a single glance that his health was in a poor state.
However, his consciousness seemed sharp, as his rolling eyes alone were filled with a clever and cunning light.
Looking down at his sons and daughter with a haggard face, Gizel III coughed once before speaking to his eldest son first.
“Conrad.”
“Yes, Royal Father.”
“Was it fun manipulating my kingdom as you pleased?”
At the sharp interrogation that mismatched his faint tone, Conrad remained silent for a moment before answering.
“I merely took it upon myself as the eldest son to perform the duties that Royal Father should have rightfully carried out.”
“Oh ho, so expelling all the New Faith believers and foreign races from the kingdom, and trampling upon the magic tradition accumulated over hundreds of years, was what I was supposed to do?”
“That is correct. A king is one who rules the country according to the Goddess’s will; it is his role to correct false faith.”
“Foolish fellow.”
Tsk. The king clicked his tongue.
“Five hundred years ago, when the Goddess Order split in two, do you think the kings supported the New Faith believers simply because they wanted to have multiple wives? The Old Faith believers obeys the Holy See, but the New Faith believers obeys the king! Anyone who is a king should plot how to crush the Old Faith believers power by any means necessary. On top of that, unlike miracles that have been stagnant for a thousand years, magic is a power that develops further with research. Can you not look into the future?”
“His Holiness the Pope is the spouse of the Goddess and the representative who conveys Her will. I believe it is right for all nations of the Alliance to unite with the Holy See as the central focus.”
“That is why I did not make you my successor.”
Calling him a fool intoxicated by Old Faith ethics who could not even distinguish right from wrong, the king shook his head from side to side before looking at Cheryn.
Though father and daughter looked entirely unlike each other at a glance, the gaze in their eyes was chillingly similar.
“My daughter, you still hate me. I do not understand why. I thought I did enough for you in my own way.”
“Ask your own conscience, Royal Father. Though I doubt you have such a thing.”
Cheryn did not explain in detail why she hated the king.
To do so would mean exposing all of the king’s shameful secrets along with her own greatest secret.
In truth, even if that were not the case, she would not have bothered to mention it anyway.
Would it not be slightly more annoying for him to remain ignorant of the reason for her hatred rather than knowing it?
“How can a king run a country if he possesses such useless things?”
However, contrary to expectations, instead of becoming annoyed, Gizel III snorted and casually babbled that he had thrown away things like a conscience long ago.
Meanwhile, not a single speck of shame showed on his face.
“Yes, I heard your story with interest as well. You looked ready to fight the entire world; are you confident? Once you become queen and begin scattering magic devices in earnest, you will turn every Old Faith nation into an enemy.”
“If it is necessary, I must.”
No matter what he said, Cheryn had never regretted the things she had done.
Was not the black army lined up right behind her the very fruition of her efforts thus far?
“Ha, my word. One is excessively stubborn, and the other threw religion and social rules to the dogs… Neither you nor Conrad has a middle ground, no middle ground at all! If there were someone who could hit that middle ground, I could hand over the throne with peace of mind.”
“So, don’t tell me you think Elvin is the answer?”
“How could that be? This fellow is just as much of a fool. Still, he loosened my tongue when I was dying, so I am giving him my backing.”
“……Royal Father!”
Hearing those words, Elvin, who was standing behind, shouted with a flustered expression, but he merely twitched his lips as if wanting to say something without being able to bring it up.
From that alone, one could guess which of the two held the upper hand.
Looking at him as if he were pathetic, Cheryn turned her gaze back to the king and asked.
“Let’s get to the point. Why did you call us? You couldn’t possibly have believed that we would disband our armies. If you have no further business, I shall take my leave.”
“Meeting my children after a long time is… fine, I shall stop the nonsense. I called you simply to offer encouragement.”
At those unexpected words, Cheryn slightly raised her eyes.
“Encouragement?”
“Whoever wins this battle, as long as they stand proudly as the victor, I shall recognize that person as my successor and step down. I have long been old and sick, so it would be better for a younger and stronger king to stand in Pendia.”
“You don’t seem worried about our strength being weakened as we fight among ourselves.”
“Because it is a necessary sacrifice. In the first place, it is not as though you would stop fighting just because I told you not to.”
So go ahead and compete hard to win, the king said with a smirk.
Hearing that, Conrad nodded quietly and bowed his head with a solemn expression.
“Carrying on Royal Father’s will, I, Conrad, shall make Pendia the most pious and powerful nation in the Arman Alliance. Without fail!”
“Very well, I shall look forward to it.”
It was a heartwarming atmosphere that did not suit the scolding from just a moment ago at all.
As chance would have it, since the father and son shared similar appearances, it looked all the more plausible.
Cheryn, who had been standing quietly watching this, snapped her head around and announced.
“Then, since our business seems finished, I will be going.”
“My, how hasty! Wait just a moment. I have one last thing to say.”
Stopping Cheryn, the person the king pointed out was unexpectedly Shan, who was escorting her from right behind.
“Hey you, Altoan knight!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Whether Cheryn wins or loses, if you get the chance, come find me. Whatever you imagine, I shall show you something far greater than that.”
“Follow me.”
The moment Shan was about to answer something, Cheryn spoke like that and briskly moved her steps.
Shan, Ravana, and Yurk had to quickly follow behind her without even being able to observe the proper etiquette due to the king.
Conrad and the three knights following him also quickly followed behind Cheryn before they could be surrounded by the enemy.
While they were returning to their camp, Prince Elvin’s side was also wrapping up the meeting site, and the king and prince were returning.
As they split up from Conrad and headed toward the left wing, Cheryn whispered to Shan.
“Something is strange.”
“In what way?”
“The father I know is not someone who would ever say such things. That incarnation of greed for power stepping down from the throne?”
“Do you think it was just empty talk?”
“Even if it was empty talk, it’s strange. Since he said such things in front of everyone, the victor of the civil war has effectively gained the right to officially demand Father’s abdication. If he wanted to re-establish his authority, he could have just backed Elvin.”
Saying she had no idea what he was thinking, Cheryn pressed her thumbs firmly against her temples.
That lasted only a moment; recalling the original purpose for which she had gone to see the opponent, she spoke.
“And as I expected, Father’s illness is not completely cured. It’s just a degree of improvement. Though even that is on the level of a miracle.”
“Did he really use something like the mystery of the Southern Continent?”
“Probably. I didn’t feel the distinct presence of a holy relic. And…… no, it’s better to talk about this once it becomes a bit more certain. For now, let’s focus on what we have to do.”
“Yes.”
As it turned out, they had already arrived at the headquarters in the center of the camp.
After handing Cheryn over to Roden, Shan walked toward the front line with Ravana and Yurk.
As if waiting for that moment, loud drumbeats began to resonate thundrously from Conrad’s camp.
They were drumbeats foretelling war.
*
“Everyone, march in step.”
At a single low command, the elite soldiers of Palles walked across the plain with crisp, synchronized footfalls.
Among them, the ones moving most thoroughly like machines were those positioned at the center of the infantry line.
The Altoan mercenary band with diverse appearances.
Expelled about two years ago due to Conrad’s expulsion order and saved by the mercy of Princess Cheryn, through rigorous training and several real combat experiences, they had now become elite soldiers who would make anyone proud anywhere in Pendia.
Above all, what gave them courage was the hydra scale armor and helmets wrapped around their bodies.
The fact that they wore magical armor lighter than metal, yet impossible to pierce unless a knight thrust with Fighting Spirit infused into it.
The confidence brought by that fact was truly immense.
And nothing was harder to pierce than heavy infantry who had firm faith in the armor they were wearing.
“They are coming.”
Along with someone’s murmur, the enemies could be seen approaching from far away.
The infamous elephant corps was nowhere to be seen, perhaps deployed in the center or on the right wing.
Instead, a cavalry unit numbering as many as three hundred rushed forward to greet them.
Cavalrymen wearing light leather armor instead of full plate armor, with no horse armor covering their mounts.
In their hands were short bows modified for mounted archery.
Realizing the enemy’s identity, Shan’s eyes widened.
“semi-horse archers… They’re horse archers! Everyone, prepare shields!”
As Shan’s shout rang out, the heavy infantry tightened their grips on their shields.
At the same time, the enemies galloping fiercely toward them veered right at a distance of about a hundred meters and fired their arrows simultaneously.
Even though hundreds of men were shooting, the time difference between the first shooter and the last was merely about a second… a barrage of fire compressed to the extreme limit.
“Kuh!”
“Ugh……!”
Th-th-thud, with a sound like rain of metal falling, hundreds of arrows swept over the infantry in the front.
Fortunately, there were not many casualties.
It was thanks not only to having prepared in advance, but also to most of the forward troops being thoroughly armored.
The only ones injured or killed were the soldiers of Viscount of Treba, whose equipment was relatively poor, or the conscripts of Prince Conrad walking right beside them.
‘So these are semi-horse archers……’
Shan marveled at the skill displayed by that unit of horse archers just a moment ago.
Originally, even when cavalry numbered only in the tens, acting as a unit usually caused their horses’ feet to get tangled and collide, leading to casualties, yet despite numbering over three hundred, they moved as if they were a single body.
Even while moving and shooting arrows like that, there was no instance of shooting allies in front, nor any shot absurdly missing the target.
It was cooperation and skill hard to believe even after seeing it with one’s own eyes.
“The semi-horse archers of Horais… They say their upper body is an archer and lower body is a horse……”
As if Shan was not the only one who felt that way, Yurk, standing beside him, muttered with a fed-up expression.
Just as Shan was wondering whether he should tell him not to spout morale-lowering words, a messenger quickly approached and shouted.
“Message from the Deputy Commander! All forces are to ignore the horse archers’ fire and advance; Lord Protector is requested to command the knight order to intercept the enemy horse archer unit and disrupt enemy lines at your own discretion!”
It seemed Roden had judged that it would be difficult to chase away the horse archers simply by utilizing the main army’s archers.
Considering that archers were a relatively weak troop type in the Palles army right now, it was a logical judgment.
Unlike other troop types, skilled bowmen could not be raised in just a year or two.
Having no occasion to hold a bow during ordinary times for hobbies or monster hunting, out of the thousand or so Palles troops, archers numbered only about a hundred.
Even if an archer’s firepower was generally superior to a horse archer’s, a threefold difference in numbers made it difficult to deal with them.
“Alright, we move out. Everyone, assemble!”
“Ohhh!”
At Shan’s command, the knights shouted loudly and gathered.
Since they had left behind those protecting Roden and Cheryn, their total number was around seventy.
Although the numerical difference with the enemy was more than fourfold, the enemy were lightly armored horse archers while this side was fully armored heavy cavalry, so once they engaged in close combat, even a fivefold numerical difference could be easily dealt with.
“Let’s go!”
“Waaaaah-!”
“Follow Sir Shan!”
“For Princess Cheryn!”
With Shan at the lead, the heavy cavalry unit of Palles charged out while letting out thunderous war cried.
The horse archer unit, which had been circling around looking for vulnerable spots in the enemy to shoot at, quickly turned around and began to flee.
Chasing the enemies from the lead position, Shan realized that the distance was not narrowing easily.
Maintaining a distance of about eighty meters, they kept their distance as if mocking Shan’s cavalry.
‘As expected, since their bodies are light, running is faster on that side.’
Combining the weight of the armor worn by the knight himself and the horse armor, it was at least forty to fifty kilograms.
In effect, it was like mounting another average person on top, so falling behind was inevitable.
On top of that, the horses of those semi-horse archers were also small compared to the warhorses they rode, but possessed good endurance.
Though a completely different breed from Arwin, those too were bred and created for battle by the people of Horais, so they could be called Mount Horais warhorses.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, the fleeing horse archers all turned their bodies around at the same time and fired arrows.
An advanced technique of turning only the waist while mounted on horseback to shoot backward, just as Shan had done in the past.
Something that raised the question of whether even ten people in Pendia could perform it, yet the people of Horais pulled it off effortlessly.
“Ugh!”
“These bastards……”
Of course, aside from such archery being impressive, there was no way mere arrows would work on the knights.
In the first place, a horse archer’s arrow was weaker than that of an ordinary archer, and were they not all equipped with defensive magic devices made of Mana Stones?
Even the squires wearing relatively weaker armor took the attacks without much trouble.
However, even amidst that, one or two dropouts occurred.
“Kek!”
Neiiigh! Mournfully crying out with a scream, a horse tumbled onto the ground.
The squire who fell to the ground and stood up realized that his horse had been hit in one leg by an arrow.
No matter how good horse armor was, it could not defend down to the legs that had to move vigorously.
Whether by coincidence or intention, a single arrow pierced the leg accurately, and the fallen horse could not rise, shedding tears of pain.
“Damn it, I’m sorry……”
Clenching his teeth tightly, the squire immediately raised his sword and thrust it firmly into the horse’s neck to end its life.
Had it been near the main army, it might be different, but having already ridden out hundreds of meters, bringing a priest to heal the wound was impossible.
In the first place, a priest’s healing miracle was scarce enough even when used on humans.
Seeing this scene, Shan realized that those semi-horse archers were intentionally targeting the horses’ legs.
Just as Shan had done in the past, they were fellows skilled at stripping away the mobility of pursuing heavy cavalry.
‘So that’s how it is……’
If left like this, time would drag on and casualties would accumulate.
Having come up with a similar thought, Ravana, galloping right beside him, shouted while trying hard not to bite her tongue.
“Sir Shan! If we go on like this, we’ll keep getting attacked! Instead of recklessly chasing them, we must use the terrain to corner them!”
Befitting someone who had seen semi-horse archers during the Libert civil war, an excellent answer came out immediately.
The problem was that the geographical conditions were terribly bad for cornering them right now.
Unlike the west, where there were several hilly areas, the east had only a shallow stream, which was clearly small enough for a horse to easily run across.
Nor were there any forests or marshes in sight……
It was clear that the enemy had anticipated this and intentionally deployed their horse archer unit here.
The enemy too must have racked their brains to win.
Finishing his long thoughts in a brief instant, Shan burst into laughter at the answer he had come up with.
In the end, relying on personal martial prowess was a method far too characteristic of him.
“I will go ahead! Everyone follow!”
With that shout, Shan lightly kicked Arwin’s flanks, signaling her to accelerate without matching pace with the others anymore.
As if waiting for that, this violent Mount Horais warhorse immediately surged with leg power and began opening a gap with the cavalry right behind him.
Already exhausted from running, the others could not catch up to Shan.
“Th-this…”
“Sir Shan!”
“It’s dangerous to go alone!”
Just as they said, the horse archers’ fire concentrated instantly toward Shan, who took the lead alone.
Moreover, most were attacks targeting the legs beneath the horse armor.
No matter how incredible a horse Arwin was, the moment a single arrow struck her leg, it would be over all the same.
The moment even one arrow hit, he would tumble to the ground, and at this speed, there was a high probability that every bone in his body would be shattered.
In that moment of crisis, as he heightened his focus as always, time around him slowed down.
In a world granted only to himself, Shan captured all the flying arrows and predicted their trajectories.
Their number was about a hundred.
Among them, eighty were arrows that did not even need to be deflected, nine required a bit of caution, and three had to be deflected no matter what……
Along with his thoughts, Shan changed ‘Heart Breaker’ in his hand to a length of 3.5 meters and brought it precisely into the trajectory.
Dozens of arrows flew toward the armor across his body and caused roaring sounds, but he cleanly ignored all attacks flying at his body and moved his spear.
It was a level of reflexes and concentration that was borderline absurd.
“W-what!?”
“Not even arrows flying at himself, but deflecting arrows targeting his horse’s legs……?”
Just as people who saw Shan’s transcendent technique usually did, even the famed semi-horse archers lost their composure before such overwhelming skill.
Normally, unless archers shot back to intercept them or terrain was used to corner them, semi-horse archers were close to invincible.
To such people, a strategy where a single knight approached atop a tremendously fast warhorse to stop them was close to the realm of absurdity.
However, flustered as they were, they still had to fend off what was closing in on them.
A moment later, the second salvo followed.
Shan continued to ignore the countless shots flying toward his body and deflected only those flying toward the legs.
Meanwhile, a single arrow struck right into his chest with a thud.
‘This is……?’
Though the armor craftsman’s skill was somewhat lacking, it was armor reinforced with an ogre Mana Stone, yet to think it could be penetrated so easily.
This was a power that would only be possible if considerable Fighting Spirit was infused into a large standing longbow.
Had it not been for the hydra leather armor worn underneath, he likely would have suffered a fatal injury on the spot.
Fortunately, however, it did not dig all the way into the leather armor, so he felt no pain, and Shan kept charging toward the enemy semi-horse archer unit.
Now the distance was about twenty meters.
Since their horses were gradually beginning to tire as well, the distance closed rapidly in an instant.
“Kuh, fight with swords!”
“Do you think semi-horse archers can only shoot bows! Where do you think you’re charging alone so arrogantly!”
Realizing they could no longer flee, the cavalry in the rear line slowed down, spun around, and drew the swords at their waists to face him.
Their number was about thirty.
What they held were curved saber-like weapons suited for use on horseback.
It was a weapon he had not often fought against, but that fact did not particularly affect the fight.
Maneuvering Arwin, Shan skillfully cut between the cavalrymen and thrust his shortened Heart Breaker in succession, accurately piercing their vital points and killing them.
Thump, thud-thump, thump.
Along with light movements that almost felt rhythmic, the warriors who used to command the plains fell helplessly, bleeding on the field.
“U-uh!?”
“What is that…”
For a knight in full plate armor to display overwhelming power in hand-to-hand combat against semi-horse archers was natural, but there was a limit to everything.
Though their swordsmanship might not equal their archery, they were all men who trained in swordsmanship as well, yet to be slaughtered helplessly as if they were conscripts?
Of course, Shan did not need to handle all the enemies charging at him.
Although exhausted and moving slowly, the Palles cavalrymen had continued to follow him.
They finally succeeded in latching onto the rear of the semi-horse archer unit.
It was thanks to Shan charging in first, causing havoc and reducing the enemy’s speed.
“Kill them all!”
With a rough shout, Ravana’s Rabbit Foot tore a semi-horse archer into two pieces along with his horse in a single blow.
Despite taking so many jousting lessons, was an axe more familiar to her in a situation like this?
With other knights and squires rushing in behind to disrupt the rear, Shan could focus his attention entirely on the front instead of dispersing it behind, continuing to tear through the enemy lines.
Slaughtering semi-horse archers with blood drenched over his armor, Shan turned his eyes at a sudden sense of incongruity.
At a distance of about fifty meters, a single semi-horse archer stood at the very front.
A middle-aged man with long sideburns looked at him with sharp eyes, pulling the bowstring until the bow stave bent round.
Unlike the others, the arrow he had nocked was engraved with magic patterns, and the color of its arrowhead was unusual.
‘It’s that bastard!’
Intuiting that this man was the owner of the arrow that had pierced his chest just a moment ago, instead of ignoring the incoming arrow, Shan raised Heart Breaker and accurately struck it away with the shaft.
He felt a tremendous pressure digging into the shaft.
“Ugh.”
Crack. Surprisingly, the blackened ash shaft crumbled, and the spear broke in two.
It was the result of the will loaded into the arrow to pierce everything overwhelming the will loaded into the spear shaft to block it, distorting reality.
Normally, infusing Fighting Spirit into a projectile was far more tricky than a melee weapon, yet to possess such power.
That it was far stronger than the first attack… had he ignored it as before, it likely would have pierced his helmet and shot through his head.
Pausing only briefly to marvel at that fact, Shan saw the man who shot the arrow wobble and almost fall from his horse before being supported by a subordinate beside him.
It seemed he had poured out all his strength to the point of exhaustion in order to finish Shan off.
Indeed, no matter if the arrow was a magic device, the power from a moment ago was at a level that could not be explained otherwise.
At that level, even if he received the Blessing of Vitality, it would be difficult to recover easily.
‘In that case, I should repay him.’
Placing the spear with only the shaft remaining onto its rack, Shan picked up the half with the blade attached and lightly gauged its weight.
Tossing it up a few centimeters and catching it once, twice… with just that, he could grasp its center of gravity.
“Hup-!”
Whoosh. The half spear thrown with all his might traversed a distance of over 50 meters in an instant.
The result of combining Shan’s shoulder strength, which was stronger than others, with perfect physical control.
The man who had shot the magic arrow just a moment ago could not even resist the sudden counterattack; pierced through his flank, he tumbled straight off his horse.
It was truly a mounted javelin throw that was nothing short of flawless.
Just as Shan was inwardly praising himself, he felt the semi-horse archers, who had been diligently fleeing even while being caught from behind, suddenly begin to come to a halt.
All of them looked at the man Shan had struck down and shouted in shock.
“Commander-!”
“The commander has fallen!”