Chapter 258: Western Front (2)

Yuri looked at Donchichi and said.

“Are you that big guy?”

He understood why people couldn’t resist him—his size was comparable to that of a building.

To the soldiers, he must have felt like a monster impossible to face.

But to Yuri, he wasn’t such a difficult opponent.

He was very strong, yes, but he had so many openings that, as long as Yuri didn’t make a mistake, he could toy with him again and again.

Donchich stood up in a fury.

“Insignificant human! I will kill you!”

“Oh…”

Donchich began to charge like a madman, and Yuri appreciated his determination.

“Everyone, fall back!”

When Yuri shouted, Brusen’s soldiers began to flee.

Although he had told them to get out of the way, they vanished so quickly that Yuri even felt a little disappointed.

Soon, only Donchichi and the imperial troops remained around him.

“Uaaaah!”

The charge of that gigantic creature created a pressure as if a wall were collapsing on them.

Yuri brandished Guilty and unleashed the Spinning Whirlwind Sword.

Now that he had achieved mastery, his cutting aura tore through the air in an instant, spinning with force. He no longer needed time to accelerate the spin.

The vortex grew in an instant.

The fractal structure, formed by spins interlocking like gears, expanded in size.

When Donchich arrived, the whirlwind was already as large as his body and roared with a deafening sound.

No matter how tough an ogre’s skin was, it was soft compared to the aura of one of the Ten Greats like Yuri.

Donchich instinctively slowed down.

“Scared?”

Yuri shouted and advanced, guiding the whirlwind toward him.

The deceleration was so abrupt that the ground split into a long trench. Just before colliding with Yuri’s cutting aura, Donchich came to a complete stop, then pivoted on his heels and fled.

Yuri chased after him.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

“Human monster! He’s back!”

While soldiers under black magic control fought without fear, it seemed Donchich hadn’t reached that level.

Surely his natural resistance to external magic was higher than that of a human.

Yuri changed his mind.

Instead of killing him, he would use Donchich to massacre the imperial troops.

“I said where are you going?!”

“Don’t come! Human! Enough, I’ll stop already!”

Donchich kept running in the opposite direction from Yuri, not caring about trampling his own imperial troops.

Yuri guided him, and Donchich crushed imperial soldiers with every step.

“Everyone, move aside!”

The knights of the Empire shouted, only to be crushed seconds later under the ogre’s feet.

Even in the middle of the enemy camp, Yuri had no trouble—Donchich was clearing the way for him. He laughed nonstop as he harassed him.

“This is fun.”

Then he moved faster and struck Donchich’s rear with the whirlwind.

Blood spurted, and the ogre ran even faster.

If this went on, it seemed he would retreat entirely to the Empire, so Yuri shouted.

“Donchich, stop!”

“I’m not stopping!”

“If you run, I’ll chase you until I kill you!”

“N-no!”

“If you stop, I’ll let you live.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Finally, Donchich slowed down.

The rumble of his footsteps stopped, and for a moment, silence reigned on the battlefield.

All the imperial soldiers looked at him, with a mix of fear and resentment.

But Donchich, ignoring those looks, tried to please Yuri.

“W-what… do you want?”

“Very simple.”

Yuri moved his fingers from side to side.

“If you run back and forth ten times between those two points, I’ll let you go.”

“Why… do I run?”

“It’s your punishment.”

Yuri crossed his arms and frowned.

“Because of you, things got complicated, so you have to be punished. Ten back-and-forth runs is being lenient.”

“Oh, really?”

Donchich scratched his head, but Yuri pressured him so he wouldn’t think too much.

“Start now. Ten times.”

“A-all right. Donchich runs.”

The ogre looked at the two points indicated.

It was a path that would directly crush the imperial troops facing Brusen. If he ran there, Brusen could advance easily, and the Empire would suffer catastrophic losses.

The imperial knights, understanding Yuri’s intent, shouted at him.

“Lord Donchich, don’t do it!”

“You’re falling into his trap!”

“Stop!”

But Donchich didn’t even listen to them; he even picked his ear.

“I don’t obey humans weaker than me.”

“Very good, Donchich.”

“Ten runs, and you forgive me, right?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s run!”

Donchich set off to escape Yuri’s harassment. The imperials, to avoid dying, had to scatter, disorganizing their ranks.

In those conditions, there was no way they could break through the defensive line that Brusen defended tooth and nail.

Little by little, the front began to tilt in favor of the Anti-Imperial Coalition. A single member of the Ten Greats had changed the course of the battle.

Of course, the Empire wasn’t going to let Yuri move freely.

At one moment, Donchich stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

Yuri raised his sword and approached to threaten him, but sensed an energy approaching from the surroundings.

He turned his head.

Six knights were advancing toward him.

The energy they radiated was not ordinary.

“Oh…”

It was clear they hadn’t sent their army without preparation.

Now he understood why in this battle they hadn’t sent someone like the Black Knight or the Shadowless Sword.

Seen individually, those six knights weren’t particularly fearsome to Yuri—barely on the level of an imperial cavalry captain.

But together, they radiated a force sufficient to make him get serious.

“Not bad…”

By their appearance, it didn’t seem they had reached that power by normal means.

If black magic could produce knights like that in mass, it would be a serious problem.

Yuri stood still, watching them. The war had barely begun, and he wanted to assess the enemy’s strength.

One of them spoke.

“Your show ends here.”

“Oh, really?”

Yuri smiled with disdain.

“Did you think that just because several of you came, things would change?”

Instead of answering, they drew their swords. From the six knights surrounding him emerged a black aura that wrapped around Yuri. It was as if a barrier had been deployed, and his senses grew heavier.

Yuri understood.

The black magic aura that had been implanted in them was interfering with him. And, as always happened with black magic, the price was their very lives.

Those six knights, in exchange for restraining Yuri, would consume their life expectancy until they died. It was a kind of magic circle that used a human sacrifice.

“For six people to risk their lives for me… it’s an honor.”

“Die without resistance.”

Yuri didn’t bother asking them why they were doing such a thing. From the beginning, all of them were under the influence of black magic. He didn’t know exactly what was happening in the Empire, but surely all its citizens were being indoctrinated with black magic.

You only had to look at the imperial soldiers present to realize—except for Donchich, they had all turned into war machines as if they were possessed.

“Almost makes Donchich seem admirable.”

At that moment, Donchich appeared.

“Huuh, huff… Human. Now the situation, changed. Revenge!”

“…”

Yuri immediately canceled what he had just been thinking.

“Idiot.”

“What? Idiot? Donchich, ready! Ogre genius! If you ignore me, revenge!”

Then Donchich charged at him.

The six knights stepped back as if they had been waiting for it.

From their bodies, the black aura merged, forming a six-pointed star that continued to hinder Yuri.

His body felt heavy.

“This is nothing…”

Yuri gripped Guilty, infusing it with the power of “The Cut of the soul and the heart.”
He cut.

That technique he had mastered contained the ability to tear apart black magic. The dark aura pressing on him vanished without a trace.

In the instant he prepared to block Donchich’s attack, the same aura he had just cut away clung to him again to prevent him from moving.

“Tsk…!”

For a moment, Yuri lost his balance.

Donchich’s massive fist struck his body. Although he raised his sword and adopted a defensive stance just before receiving it, avoiding a mortal wound, the impact sent him flying and rolling across the ground.

His head pounded and his body creaked.

The brute force of that blow was immense.

“Damn it…”

Meanwhile, the six knights activated again and once more formed the circle of the six-pointed star, plunging him into that sensation of being submerged underwater.

“Cowards, so many against one…”

Yuri raised his gaze.

“But, you know what?”

No one answered. Only Donchich kept running to attack him.

“You’re not the only ones who have allies.”

And then, Donchich, who was rushing toward Yuri, suddenly collapsed to the ground.

“Hahahahaha!”

A thunderous laugh echoed across the battlefield.

“It’s been a long time, Your Highness!”

It was Jose, one of Brusen’s Ten Greats, smiling broadly at Yuri. The latter returned the greeting with a wave. It had been a while since he had seen him.

“Have you been well?”

“I’ve been well until these damned Imperials messed everything up again.”

“That’s why I came out too.”

“And what do we do with this big slowpoke?”

“Beat him up.”

“Understood.”

Donchich got up and glared at Jose.

“Human! You annoy!”

“And you’re not afraid of me?”

“You, no, I win.”

“This bastard!”

A human as tall as a giant, Jose, and the gigantic Donchich clashed with each other.

The ground shook and explosions rumbled in their fierce fight.

Yuri shrugged.

“Well, what do you think now?”

One of the six knights spoke again.

“Even if it’s not Donchich, there are many who can kill you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, more imperial knights rushed at Yuri, all with eyes full of bloodlust.

In a state where his mobility was limited by black magic, facing dozens of knights wouldn’t be easy, not even for him.

He had to kill those six first.

While scanning his surroundings, Yuri suddenly spoke.

“Let’s kill those six first. What do you think?”

The others looked at him strangely, thinking he was talking to himself. But then something unexpected happened—one of the knights forming the barrier suddenly dropped dead.

“N-no…!”

“What the hell…?”

All were stunned. Over the lifeless body of the knight, someone was standing.

“So much boasting about fighting alone… and in the end, you’re nothing more than someone asking for help.”

The voice was clear, but the tone brimmed with sarcasm.

“I’ve already killed one, so you take care of the rest.”

The one who had killed the imperial knight and appeared before them was a young man with golden hair and handsome features. His face was pure and radiant, but the atmosphere around him was decadent.

Yuri narrowed his eyes at the sight of him.

“With that face and that attitude… something doesn’t add up.”

The young man was none other than Laurent.

With Inariel’s help, he had regained his original body, free of the deformities of black magic. However, inside, he was still the same cynical man.

“Well, it doesn’t matter.”

Yuri smiled indifferently.

No matter how twisted he had become, to his eyes he wasn’t that different from the Laurent who used to follow him everywhere.

As Yuri raised his sword again, another person appeared at his side.

“Lord Laurent, although your new appearance is also attractive, I must say I miss the adorable Lord Laurent from before. Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”

“Of course.”

“In those days when I followed His Highness the prince…”

“Enough. Laurent will get angry.”

“Yes, sir.”

He was Jared, one of the few who wasn’t intimidated by the changed Laurent.

Laurent’s face tensed.

“How annoying.”

Laurent swung his sword irritably. The battle resumed.

Yuri and Jared moved in unison. With Laurent killing one of the members of the circle, the barrier trapping Yuri had lost much of its strength, and that became a disaster for the imperial knights.

Yuri’s sword tore through everything around him. Blood and flesh splattered the air.

Jared, for his part, assisted Yuri by eliminating enemies with precision.

As he killed mechanically, Yuri straightened his back and looked around.

At some point, Brusen’s forces had broken the imperial line and were overpowering the Empire’s black troops.

The first battle had been a success.

In his previous life, the imperial army had been so strong that it had never lost a single time.

But this time was different.

The hope of victory could be felt.

“Wait, Cedric…”

Yuri looked up toward the northern sky, a cold smile on his face.