Chapter 129

War was the clash of multitudes against multitudes.

For a single individual to change the course of a war was, generally speaking, impossible.

But if that individual was a Royal Knight, recognized as the greatest knight on the continent by the Emperor himself.

If he was an Archmage, acknowledged by the Pope of the Dragon God Cult as the greatest sorcerer on the continent.

The story changed a little.

They could alter the battlefield by themselves, and that’s why they were called one-man armies.

And right now, that miracle was unfolding before their eyes.

Countless fireballs rained down.

It was a disaster in itself.

Of course, the Archmage wasn’t entirely alone—dozens of priests from the Dragon God Cult were assisting him.

But that didn’t diminish the feat of the massive magic he was unleashing.

“Now’s the time to counterattack!”

“Fight!”

“Drive the monsters out!”

The morale of the soldiers, who had glimpsed a ray of hope, rose.

The lifeless eyes regained their light, the wounded grit their teeth and raised their swords and spears once more.

War was a matter of spirit.

And the flame of Bercheff was burning once more.

“…An Archmage? Shit, we’re saved…! Saved, damn it! And they thought I’d die here?”

Gismond raised his trembling hands and shouted in joy.

“Huh? That face looks familiar, who is it?”

“That’s Senior Gismond.”

“Gismond? Ah, the one who did well in the jousting tournament! But why is he here?”

“I brought him. How much holy water did you bring?”

At those words, Jace brought his palms together and dodged the question.

“Well… I brought a lot, but…”

“And who do you think you’re trying to haggle with?”

“You know monsters and the corrupted are popping up everywhere. The demand for holy water skyrocketed, so the prices—well, they rose a bit, no, a lot…”

“I owed you four favors.”

Fernan cut him off flatly.

“That…”

“Did you digest the Itarium root well?”

“Don’t mix personal matters into public ones…”

“I’m not asking for it free. Just sell it at cost.”

“Brother, that I really can’t do!”

“Then give me the equivalent amount of holy water for what the Itarium root was worth.”

“Uhm…”

Jace averted his gaze. He knew exactly how valuable that root had been.

“I’ll deduct two of the four favors. Give me as much holy water at cost as possible. That way you don’t lose out.”

“…If I think of the root’s value, I’m not losing anything…”

At last, Jace nodded in resignation.

“You’re a true merchant, brother. Alright, I’ll try.”

“The Dragon God will bless you.”

“Don’t say things even you don’t believe in.”

He replied bluntly.

“What I didn’t expect was to see Cardinal Alby here.”

“It’s a massive monster attack. It’s precisely in moments like this that the Cult must step forward. We’re only thirty, but they’re all high priests.”

And those high priests of the Cult were all top-tier sorcerers.

“I don’t think that’s the only reason.”

“Hahaha, we’re also interested in collecting some monster corpses. For research…”

“Saint! Stop talking and come help us!”

A priest’s voice interrupted from the wall.

“Coming! Brother, I’ll be right there!”

Startled, Jace ran toward the wall.

“Luina, Hyde. We’re back in the fight.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Fernan summoned more golems to cover the damaged wall.

But the situation was no longer the same.

Outside, everything was a sea of fire.

The monsters, with their brutal endurance, pushed through the flames, but they did not emerge unscathed.

Still, they were monsters—the fight remained brutal.

It was unclear how much time passed.

Fwooooot—

A trumpet sounded in the distance.

Thud thud thud thud—

Cavalry thundered across the ground, and cheers filled the field.

“Reinforcements!”

“Reinforcements have arrived!”

The Bercheff reinforcements had come.

***

The reinforcements struck the monsters’ rear.

The enemy lines became disordered, and the fortress gates opened so the soldiers could push out.

The tide of battle was turning.

But even with retreat orders, the monsters didn’t back down.

Lacking fear, they weren’t easily swept away.

However, the priests’ massive spells gradually tipped the balance.

“Hyde, Luina. Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

Taking advantage of the distraction, Fernan left the fortress with both of them.

He couldn’t contain his curiosity—he had to see how the real battle was going, the one that mattered.

‘If, even by the slightest chance, the two Royal Knights lose, I must intervene immediately.’

Even if he had to use Wooden, the demon had to die.

“This is it.”

The roars and explosions still rumbled.

The once ordinary plain was now a scorched battlefield.

And at the center of it all.

There they were.

Two knights and a demon.

Their movements were so fast Fernan could barely follow. Brutal. Dangerous.

The blue and red auras, mixed with black magic, covered the entire plain, unleashing shockwaves that reached even Fernan from afar.

“…Are they doing it?”

As much as he wanted to think positively, the battle didn’t look favorable.

Fernan muttered, uneasy.

***

Boom!

The swords clashed.

Sword and spear met.

They traced lethal paths, aiming for the enemy’s vital points.

─!

A quick body twist left only a fine slash of blood.

At the same time, the Mercenary King’s spear tore a wound into his own body.

“Ugh…!”

“Fine, I admit your combined attack exceeds my expectations.”

Kimaris growled in a low, savage voice.

His armor was shattered, his helmet torn off, and his grotesque face laid bare.

Even so, he didn’t look like he was losing.

Quite the opposite—the count and the Mercenary King were in worse condition.

“But even so, I am Kimaris! I will never lose to mere inferior humans!”

He unleashed a burst of demonic magic.

The two Royal Knights quickly dodged, but he followed instantly.

Clang!

The count barely managed to block the slash. The Mercenary King struck at his exposed back, but Kimaris reacted to even that.

Spinning swiftly, his sword hit and sent him flying with a groan.

“Where’s that confidence from before, Mercenary King? Did you think leading a bunch of trash made you someone important?”

“Of course. The title of Mercenary King isn’t won by playing cards.”

“Even to the end, all you do is talk. Fine, I’ll praise you for that. For a human to boast in front of me is already a feat.”

“What a load of crap.”

Spitting blood, the Mercenary King got back on his feet.

In that brief pause in words, he exchanged a glance with the count.

“Do you really call that praise? You must be insane…”

At that moment, the count stomped the ground.

“…Or not?!”

He charged at Kimaris again, and the spear attacked from behind.

The demon reacted as before, but the mercenary’s counterattack was different—he ducked and dodged, the spear slithered like a viper and smashed his leg.

As he flinched, the count unleashed a flurry of slashes.

“…Incredible.”

Luina murmured unconsciously.

“Yes…”

Even Fernan, who wasn’t an expert in swordsmanship, could see it clearly.

The combined attack looked like it was about to break—but it held.

It was as if sword and spear had always been one weapon—they covered, hid, and complemented each other without getting in the way.

Natural like a river, furious like a storm, violent like a tidal wave.

“…It’s like that sword and that spear were born to be together.”

“I’d heard my father and the Mercenary King shared the battlefield for years in their youth, but I didn’t think it was this much…”

“Years together?”

“Yes.”

That explained the coordination bordering on art.

The problem was, even so, the demon wouldn’t fall.

“Congratulations! No non-demon has entertained me as much as you two.”

“Is your memory disposable? Did you forget you were defeated and cast into hell a thousand years ago?”

“…You dare speak words you shouldn’t.”

The Mercenary King struck Kimaris’s most sensitive nerve.

The tension rose.

“I’ll tear your corpse apart and feed it to the Hellhounds.”

Suddenly, the world turned black.

A massive torrent of demonic magic fell upon them.

Boom!

A devastating explosion engulfed everything in darkness.

Only flashes of blue and red flickered intermittently.

“Father…!”

“Hold on! If you go now, you’ll die!”

Luina screamed, and Fernan grabbed her tightly to stop her from running.

When the darkness dissipated—

Crunch—

“Cough…!”

The scene before them turned them cold.

The Mercenary King’s spear was broken.

His chest bore a deep wound.

He fell to the ground, coughing blood.

But it wasn’t a defeat.

The count’s sword pierced through Kimaris’s chest.

“Guh…?”

The demon trembled and vomited blood.

“Hahaha… that’s how a combined attack is done, you senile demon.”

The Mercenary King’s broken spear was stuck in Kimaris’s foot, pinning him to the ground.

Taking advantage of that sacrifice, the count had driven his sword into his heart.

“Damn you…!”

The count pulled out his sword. Kimaris’s body staggered.

“I… me, defeated by mere humans…!”

Slash!

A blue flash decapitated the demon.

“Ah.”

“Ah.”

Fernan and Luina collapsed in relief.

“Father…”

Luina exhaled upon seeing he was alive.

“…We won.”

They had really won.

They had killed a demon—not a weakened one, but a complete one.

Without Aint.

‘There is hope…’

Even without the Contradictor, humans were not powerless.

Fernan overflowed with euphoria.

And then he heard the voices of the Royal Knights.

“Damn it, when was the last time we fought like that? I’m exhausted.”

Both of them, battered and bloodied, collapsed.

“You okay?”

“Not really. If I don’t get treated soon, I’ll die.”

“This is serious. We need to return as soon as possible. The demon’s corpse is mine.”

“Says who?”

“Obviously. It fell on Bercheff’s land.”

“If not for me, you wouldn’t have killed it.”

“Same to you.”

The Mercenary King frowned.

“Since when are you this greedy?”

“I’ll give it to the Pellenbergs. They’ll appreciate its value. And I need to reduce my house’s debts…”

But at that moment, Kimaris’s body disintegrated into dust. So did his black horse.

“……”

The count stared in disbelief.

“Haha… What a funny phenomenon, don’t you think? Cough, gah…”

The Mercenary King coughed blood as he laughed.

The count threw him a potion.

“…Ridiculous.”

Fernan, who had almost had the corpse in his hands, let out a bitter laugh.

As soon as it was all over, he remembered what he’d lost.

If demons left behind corpses, he would already have Andromalius, the serpent, Kimaris, and the black horse.

“…My treasures.”

“They’re not yours, young master.”

“Shut up, Hyde.”

Fernan gnashed his teeth.

“Even tigers leave their skin when they die, and these bastards leave nothing…?”

His hatred toward demons deepened.

“First, we need to save the Mercenary King.”

He was on the verge of death.

Fernan took out a supreme potion from his subspace and ran toward him.

***

While in the imperial north they fought and dealt with the aftermath of battle.

In the Kingdom of Frazia, a hunt for the corrupt was also underway.

“Kill the monsters!”

“Kill all the corrupt! Aint Armian is with us!”

The holy light of Aint illuminated the field, driving out the darkness.

Veteran mercenaries followed in his footsteps.

Monsters fell, corrupt ones were decapitated.

The fight didn’t last long: there were barely any enemies left.

“…We arrived late.”

Most had already fled their hideouts.

It wasn’t surprising—Aint had already destroyed five of their refuges in Frazia.

“With this, the rest surely went into hiding too.”

Valoshi approached his side.

“But it feels like we’ve barely scratched the surface…”

“We can’t touch Frazia’s nobles. Even if you’re a famous hero, attacking the nobility of another kingdom would cause a diplomatic problem.”

“I know.”

Aint sighed.

He had come to Frazia by chance, stumbling upon the corrupt.

He tracked them, discovered they were infiltrated throughout the kingdom, and tried to exterminate them—but couldn’t.

— Frazia is already infested. There are surely powerful people involved.

— Doesn’t matter if they’re corrupt or just accomplices. They all deserve to die.

The problem was the lack of solid evidence.

The Kingdom of Frazia wasn’t cooperating, and Aint couldn’t go noble by noble demanding tests.

“Aint, what will you do now?”

Varus, disciple of the Mercenary King, carrying his spear over his shoulder, joined them.

“Let’s go back.”

“Perfect. Let’s grab a dark beer.”

“Drinking again? Don’t you ever get tired of it?”

Aria, the companion who had followed Aint since the academy, frowned.

“Drinking never gets old. Mercenaries and alcohol are inseparable.”

“You say nonsense with too much confidence.”

She smiled.

“Let’s go. I need beer too, after all this dirt in my mouth.”

“That’s it, Verian! Someone who gets it. Though this little rich kid probably looks down on cheap liquor.”

“One day your tongue will get you in trouble, Varus.”

Suddenly, Valoshi frowned.

“Advice from a great house is a precious thing. You’re welcome.”

They returned to the Ramons mercenary guild.

“Sir Aint, a letter has arrived for you.”

“A letter?”

— It’s from Bercheff. From that rich guy?

[Aint. We found a demon egg in the north. The border count and the Mercenary King tried to destroy it but failed—we need the power of Armian, the natural enemy of demons. That’s why…]

It was from Fernan.

— If it’s an egg, it must be Decarabia’s. Only he descends through that type of vessel.

— So they took it before he could incarnate. You want to destroy it yourself?

The letter was long, but the point was clear.

— Come without fail! It’s a one-time chance to take down a demon.

An offer impossible to refuse.

That same day, Aint set off for the north.