Chapter 275: The Right Path (2)

“It seems the eastern front cost them many troops, but I didn’t expect them to still have this many soldiers.”

“That means the defense of the imperial capital is neglected.”

“If that’s the case, do we really need to fight here? Maybe it would be better to attack the imperial capital while the Empire is distracted. In terms of importance and risk, in both aspects… suddenly going to Zveta could be a mistake on Briol’s part…”

“Hey, you.”

Jose, now indisputably the strongest in Brusen, looked at his lieutenant.

“What are you saying?”

“Excuse me?”

“The one who gave the order to advance was His Highness Yuri. None other than Yuri Briol, understand?”

The lieutenant looked at him with a puzzled expression. Jose, chest out, continued.

“Then there’s no reason to doubt. Something is happening in Zveta, something much more important than attacking the capital. And that’s enough.”

“Even so…”

The lieutenant pointed to the defensive line stretching far into the distance, so long the horizon couldn’t be seen. The imperial army was deployed without leaving any gaps.

“Suddenly changing course to charge against that huge number of troops… doesn’t seem like the best choice. We should attack the capital, not a city like Zveta…”

“Shut up!”

Jose smacked him on the back.

“You, have you ever dealt with His Highness Yuri?”

“No, but…”

“Then shut up. I’ve lived and fought alongside him, and I know how incredible he is. Do you think it’s common for Jose Aratur to acknowledge another man?”

“No, almost never.”

“Exactly.”

The lieutenant knew Jose rarely acknowledged anyone. It was said he trained to be the strongest simply because he couldn’t stand seeing mediocrities strut around.

Jose went on.

“If he were someone who did foolish things, I’d have already been displeased and would’ve gone to flip Briol over myself. With sword in hand, prince or not.”

“I see…”

“Of course, I would have lost.”

“Excuse me?”

“His Highness is stronger than me.”

“Really?”

It was the first time he had heard such a thing. He knew Yuri Briol had entered the Ten Greats after his father, that in every war he did incredible things, and that he had recently defeated the Black Knight. But he had always thought there was some exaggeration. However, for a monster like Jose to admit Yuri was stronger…

“Yes.”

Jose nodded naturally.

“That day, when we fought in front of the Sea of Orphen, we ended in a draw. So now His Highness is without a doubt stronger than me. Now I’m the one chasing him.”

“Hard to believe.”

“For me too.”

Jose let out a hearty laugh.

“Do you know how exciting it is to have someone worthy of being your target? In Brusen, there was no one like that, so I decided to be the strongest myself. But now there is a man named Yuri Briol. And that makes me very happy.”

“It seems you hold him in high regard.”

“Of course.”

In the middle of the conversation, a war horn sounded.

It was the signal to begin.

The first to advance were Briol’s troops. Brusen, who was to advance after, waited tensely. Jose pointed toward Briol’s front and shouted.

“Look. I don’t need to see to know who’s there, leading the charge and facing the enemy first.”

“Ah…”

Running several steps ahead of everyone was Prince Yuri Briol. He charged straight toward the enemy.

“The noblest one, taking on the most dangerous task. That’s why so many gather around him.”

Just before Briol’s forces clashed with the imperial line, a light shone in the sky.

“And I’m one of them.”

The luminous mass grew and split into dozens of beams that fell like meteors. Each impact caused huge explosions, shaking the earth.

Brusen’s troops instinctively crouched down.

“T-this is the first time I’ve seen magic in war! Does it bypass Dispel?”

“Of course! The Great Archmage Inariel is with His Highness.”

“Incredible.”

“Right?”

“Yes.”

“His Highness always surprises. But I’m not going to remain just another who admires him from afar. Jose Aratur will be a comrade on equal footing, able to lend him his shoulder when needed.”

Once Briol’s charge was finished, it was Brusen’s turn.

Jose drew his sword and rushed to the front. It wasn’t something planned.

All the soldiers saw his back as he launched himself alone at the imperial line.

“Brusen!”

His voice dominated the roar of the battlefield.

“Are you going to be Briol’s sidekicks?”

Jose roared.

“Attack as Brusen!”

The cry for the charge rang out, and as its echo faded, the cheers of Brusen’s army replaced it, rising to the sky.

“Charge!”

Brusen’s army slammed into the imperial defense. Some died, others killed.

Spears and swords clashed, and blood sprayed into the air.

Then the Holy Kingdom and Liberta advanced, while the Confederation of Small Kingdoms rained arrows on the enemy.

After the initial clash, a balance of forces settled in. Then, in the center of the imperial army, a wave of sword energy exploded.

“I am Jose Aratur!”

Jose had hurled himself into the enemy’s heart like a lion. The imperials surrounded him, but none could stop him.

Each time he swung his sword, the cutting energy lashed like a whip, tearing enemies apart.

“Hahahahaha!”

He looked around. At first, he thought the imperial soldiers showed no expressions, which bored him. But seeing them back away with tense faces intrigued him.

“Imperial scum! Bring me someone who can stop me!”

It wasn’t long before a knight in black armor appeared. Jose immediately felt he was a commander, and he even sensed a strange aura, as if he had been altered by black magic.

This promised a good fight.

Flexing his muscles, Jose asked.

“I am Jose Aratur of Brusen. Your name?”

The other did not answer.

Jose frowned.

“Imperial bastards have no manners! Before fighting, it is customary among knights to give your name. Imperial rats!”

Jose swung his sword. After exchanging several blows, the imperial knight retreated.

Soon, more knights appeared to surround him and respond with a combined attack.

“You think just because you’re several, things will change?”

Ignoring them, Jose looked up.

The entire camp of the imperial army came into his field of vision. It was an overwhelming number of troops.

It seemed this would be a long fight.

“It’s going to be a long day.”

Spinning around, he deflected the sword of the knight coming up behind him, then grabbed him by the neck and slammed him to the ground.

The knight’s skull shattered, and blood along with brain matter spread across the ground.

Straightening again, Jose said:

“Good. Today I’ll kill more than His Highness.”

***

While Jose was committed to fighting with everything he had, Yuri was immersed in a chaotic battle against the imperial army.

He no longer counted the number of enemies he had killed; after so many, at some point he had lost track.

He had probably already surpassed three digits.

“There are really so many.”

Each time he swung his sword as if harvesting, a head went flying, but even so, the number of enemies did not decrease.

Moreover, among them appeared such strange creatures that they could not even be considered human, attacking without cease.

He could not tell how many more remained waiting.

He could endure it, but the other soldiers would eventually tire. He needed to end the battle before that happened.

“With this, the Imperial Palace must be empty.”

The fact that there were so many troops meant, on the other hand, that almost no defenders remained in the Imperial Palace.

What was Cedric planning to do in Zveta?

Yuri looked up.

“Lord Inariel!”

He shouted toward Briol’s forces far in the rear, hoping his voice would carry.

“Please, launch another one!”

Of course, there was no reply.

After killing three more just in case, he looked back to the sky, but saw no trace of fireballs or masses of light.

“Lord Inariel!”

He killed another five. Still, there was no reaction.

“Hey! Inariel! Are you sleeping?”

Then, as if in answer to his shout, something began to form in the sky. They were dense black clouds.

[I am not sleeping.]

“Huh?”

Suddenly, he heard a voice so close it startled him. It was as if Inariel were whispering in his ear.

“Where are you?”

[In the rear. I am transmitting my voice through magic.]

“You should be saving mana to launch fireballs, not using it for this. What’s with the black clouds?”

[Stop with the nonsense.]

Yuri smiled faintly, imagining Inariel’s scowling face.

[Black magic will soon be cast.]

“Black magic?”

Yuri closed and reopened his eyes.

In his vision, within the Mental Domain, black silhouettes intertwined chaotically appeared.

[If we let it be, we will lose.]

“Lose?”

[Even if we win, the casualties will be enormous.]

“What do we do?”

[At the moment it is activated, I will use the flow to steal the principle of that spell.]

“Huh?”

[There will be confusion, so direct things well. And do not be frightened.]

“What kind of magic is it?”

[Handle the situation as best you can. It’s up to you.]

Inariel’s voice cut off. Yuri frowned.

“No, he should at least tell me what it is…”

It was at that moment that he felt his heart pound.

The dark energy he had seen before began to stain the entire battlefield.

Darkness rose from the ground.

“This…”

From below, a voice transcending reality whispered. Yuri had seen something like it before.

Something grabbed his ankle.

“This is…”

A dead man had risen and was clutching his leg. The corpses of the imperial army that had lain on the ground were getting up one by one.

Wielding broken weapons and moving their shattered bodies, they rushed at the living.

Yuri crushed the head of a dead imperial soldier.

“This, this…”

With corpses rising and attacking, the anti-imperial coalition forces faltered instantly.

Even the knights left openings, unable to react.

The undead brought down a fallen knight and began to bite into his body. It was a spectacle worthy of a ravenous hell.

“Damn it.”

Yuri looked up at the sky.

It seemed Inariel had foreseen this would happen. Then, there must have been a reason for him to summon those black clouds.

Suddenly, a raindrop brushed his cheek.

He wiped it away with his hand.

“Rain.”

It began to rain.

The dark energy that raised the dead began to dilute.

The black mist reaching his ankles was soaked and sank into the ground.

“No way…”

But the corpses did not fall back down. Yuri felt disappointed.

“What? It just rains and nothing hap—”

He did not finish the sentence.

Something was rising from the ground again. At first, he thought they were more enemies, but on closer look, they were not.

They were allies.

Yuri let out an incredulous laugh.

“Well…”

If the black magic had raised the dead of the imperial army,
Inariel’s rain had absorbed that energy and done the same with fallen allies.

At his side, a soldier who had been dead stood up. His eyes looked vacant, but upon closer inspection, deep within there was a spark.

The dead soldier looked at Yuri.

“…”

For the dead to rise was something that should not happen. The deceased should be granted rest.

But the natural order had already been reversed and fate distorted. If the world was upside down, what was the right path to restore order?

Yuri extended his hand.

“Hey, Noah.”

It was a soldier he knew well.

When he had been with him in Bezos, he had been a clueless rookie, but now he looked like a veteran.

“You died too soon.”

Noah remained still.

Yuri grabbed him by the nape and pulled him close, embracing him.

“I’m sorry. Help me once more. Rest afterward.”

After patting him on the back, Yuri let him go. When he had him in his arms, Noah had nodded once.

With his battered body, Noah advanced toward the enemy again. His silhouette faded into the rain.

Yuri raised his head.

His gaze turned cold.

Guilty spun in his hand and rainwater slid down the blade. His eyes swept through the enemy ranks until they stopped at one point.

“Found you.”

Among the imperial troops, he fleetingly saw the figure of a black magic wizard in a robe.

He vanished in an instant, but it was enough.

Yuri stomped the ground.

His silhouette disappeared.